Milwaukee Midget

[Milwaukee Midget]

Time for an update!

Saw some of you last month in La Habra at the tech inspection soiree. Steve made me feel welcome, and it was a worthwhile trip. I've been in touch with Ellen at the USFRA, and I'm looking to volunteer this year for the WOS in whatever capacity they'll have me, but attending the tech meeting will hopefully give me a leg up.

Stopped by Nick's on the way out - along with his 5-year-old son, James (named after Kate's dad and Nick's grandfather) they are currently terrorizing the pee-wee classes in motocross around Boulder. I couldn't even ride a bicycle at 5, and this kid's turning laps and developing a reputation as a real competitor.  I know from experience his crew chief is a damned good manager.

And since I last visited, Nick and Elizabeth have had a new arrival. Meet Zoe - soon to be giving Nick grey hairs, no doubt . . .

20230419_172339 by Chris Conrad

I would be remiss on a trip to LA to not stop at the Rodge Mahal and get caught up with Wayne and Gus. The tank is just about ready to go - I suspect if we get a season in this year, Wayno will be taking no prisoners.

HEAR IT RUN!

https://www.facebook.com/100080413390071/videos/152848574147127/

This was the view I had leaving the truckstop in Salina - I had never been there early enough in a year with precipitation to enjoy a view quite like this -

20230421_094818 by Chris Conrad

While I didn't take any pictures in LA, I was equally stunned by the greenery on the hillsides - I've been there 4 times - this was the first time I didn't arrive during a drought.

Now, on to the Midget -

AARGGHH!

When we attempted to run in 2021, a number of problems cropped up. Part of what Stainless and the Bombshell Betty crew attempted to help me sort out  - trying to make some sense out of the ECU settings - is something I'm still trying to get a complete handle on. You can't really work on this stuff without the engine in the car and running, so now that the engine is in place, I was hoping to come to grips on setting it up to the point where I can throw it on the trailer and take it up to La Crosse to Badger Tuners to get it dialed in. One would think that a straightforward task . . . and one would be underthinking it.

When we initially installed the Kettle into the Midget, the plan was to tune the engine at T&T, which we did, but it never performed as well in situ as it did on the dyno. A lot of that was my destroying the #4 cylinder by not installing a circle clip on the piston ring, but there were fundamental issues with the way the engine was performing that were related to the reinstall of the engine into the chassis. I switched from break-in oil too early, which glazed a couple of the cylinders, causing oil fouling on the 1 and 2 plugs, and the incorrect clutch cylinder sizing turned the clutch into scrap. Not the first time I brought back a non-running race car from the salt.

One of the things I did do - in order to facilitate isolating the ECU in the cockpit and being able to move the wiring harness to the dyno - was to install Amphenol connectors on a plate on the footwell. It made setup at T&T a breeze, and mostly worked when I reinstalled the motor in 2021.

Now I'd been working on and off on the harness since 2018. I was out with my cancer diagnosis for a while, and it took a while to get the car back together, but by and large, little had changed. Nevertheless, upon reinstallation of the K series this time, I wanted to double-check my work.

I dug for my notes and drawings on the harness from 6 years ago - the last time I remember looking at them was at WOS in 2021.  I have torn the house apart looking for them, and they simply are no longer here. So I determined I would recreate the schematic and pinout sheet. Pin by pin - point by point.

When I was convinced I had it 100%, I reinstalled the plate with the Amphenol connectors, checked everything over and . . . not a bloody thing. No spark, no fuel through the injectors.

After spending two days going over dozens of bulls#*t YouTube DIY videos on diagnosing Holley HP systems (why does EVERYBODY running Holley EFI speak like they know precisely how many catalytic converters it takes to buy enough Sudafed to make meth?), I decided to recheck the pinouts.  I discovered upon reinstalling, I broke two on the back side of the footwell plate.

20230509_200333 by Chris Conrad
 
I'm on it, but I'm looking at a more effective strain relief method - possibly potting the connections.

It's beer time.

[Milwaukee Midget]

'bout 80 days or so - kind of need to remind myself of that.

The Midget fired up yesterday - first time in over a year, and that's after the block repairs and reassembly. I had to dial up a few extra degrees of advance for it to catch, but it sounded healthy.

Only ran it for about a half minute and shut it down, let it cool, and proceeded to fill it with water. Two leaks became painfully obvious. The first was on the driver's side at the heater hose flange at the back of the head. It was an easy fix of a stupid oversight - I had installed the adjoining header gasket backwards, and while it's functionally symmetrical, on one end of the gasket, there's a little ear that pokes out and was just catching the edge of the flange. I trimmed it back, put a skim coat of RTV on the flange gasket, and done.

The second leak is not quite so clear, but it's on the intake side. I had to pull the manifold and throttle bodies to get at it.

From what I was able to see, it appears as though it's leaking down around the water pump/thermostat housing. While the thermostat housing and gasket are new, all that really means in a NOS part is that it's unproven. It's all a bit dodgy and cobbled on this side, but the engine design was intended for a transverse mounting rather than inline - every clamp is another opportunity for a leak . . .

Notice the rubber plug with the screw coming out of it to the right of the first intake port. I've capped off the hoses as well, secured the stopper with a bit of Hylomar. I'll top it off tomorrow and lightly pressurize the system to locate the leak . . . or leaks . . .

20230513_210348 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

[WOODY@DDLLC]

Progress in spite of your efforts! 
Harold would be proud of ya! 

[fordboy628]

Progress in spite of your efforts! 
Harold would be proud of ya! 

The "FIRST RULE" of "development engineering":

2 steps forward, 1 step backward . . . . .

It can vary . . . . . . and can be "difficult" to deal with at times.

Hang in there like a 3 toed sloth!   They have a "unique" perspective.

 
f/b

[Milwaukee Midget]

Hang in there like a 3 toed sloth!   They have a "unique" perspective.

 
f/b

I'm thinking less "Bradypus" and more "Platyruhini", judging by THIS prehensile appendage . . .

Prehensile by


 Leaks are stopped - and now, so has the spark . . .
Back to the garage . . .

[Milwaukee Midget]

I don't know which is more frustrating -

A. Taking apart something in order to repair it and not being sure, capable or able to fix it, or . . .
B. Putting something back together and having it work BRILLIANTLY and remaining unsure as to what the problem was in the first place.

So the good news is that I have spark and the Midget runs BRILLIANTLY.
The bad news is that I have spark and the Midget runs BRILLIANTLY.

I will say this - generally speaking - be it a breaker panel, a PA system, a trailer, a Fender amplifier or a race car, if there's a problem, CHECK THE GROUNDING FIRST.

Which is what I did.

Every connector checked out fine - both grounds and signal wires at every pinout to the Molex connectors on the ECU. I'm thinking (a fool's errand, in my case), everything should be fine.

And the damned thing fired right up.

The problem is that I CHANGED NOTHING, and now it decides to rock and roll.

Perhaps I'll be able to recreate the failure before August, diagnose it and solve it - or maybe it IS solved - I simply don't know.

It was useful having the pinout sheet completed - the time last week was well spent.

Anyway, I'll continue to button things up and make an appointment to dyno the damned thing.


 

[manta22]

Chris, the most maddening problems to trace in electronics are INTERMITTENTS. Things work OK during testing but stop working when they are needed. A British lady once described how she fixed her TV: "If in doubt, give it a big thump".

[wheelrdealer]

Chris:
I have been out of the LSR thing for a while to concentrate on some circuit racing. I do check in and I want to say it is good to see the conversation on the Midget cranking up again. I always enjoyed this thread albeit some of yours and Fordboy's wit were over my head. Requiring some quick google searches to understand the depth of the commentary! 

Take care and good racing,

BR

[Speed Limit 1000]

Chris, looking forward to seeing the worlds tallest midget on the salt. May the salt be hard and dry and the electronics gods smile as you set new records

[Stainless1]

Chris, often connectors that have been to the salt just need to be unplugged and re-plugged... That can be a fix...
See ya on the salt 

[Milwaukee Midget]

Guess what I learned today?

I learned how to operate a fire extinguisher . . . 

2023-05-21_04-47-06 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Hoping to vent the exhaust out of the garage and dial in a respectable idle - something I've done in the past with no real concern - it appears as though the exhaust hose may have had too abrupt a turn/curve in it exiting the exhaust outlet. 

At first, I couldn't quite figure out why it had gotten so much louder . . .

Anyway, I'll come up with a work-around - just not tonight.

[manta22]

Guess what I learned today?

I learned how to operate a fire extinguisher . . . 

2023-05-21_04-47-06 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Hoping to vent the exhaust out of the garage and dial in a respectable idle - something I've done in the past with no real concern - it appears as though the exhaust hose may have had too abrupt a turn/curve in it exiting the exhaust outlet. 

At first, I couldn't quite figure out why it had gotten so much louder . . .

Anyway, I'll come up with a work-around - just not tonight.

Remember what happened to Keith Turk, Chris!

[desotoman]

Chris, I just ran across this so I thought it fitting to post on your thread.

Tom

[Milwaukee Midget]

Thanks, Tom - yeah, the "Roaring Raindrop" - EX181.
Frame and bodywork aside, the car utilized a number of off-the-shelf production pieces, including an MG TC gearbox and MGA front suspension pieces. It's reported that it only took 29 hp to achieve 100 mph with this shape.
It ran a prototype blown MGA Twin Cam engine which produced 290 hp from 1.5 liters. For 1957-59, that was pretty damned remarkable.

[Stan Back]

That's like 300 H.P. per 90 inches  (converting leitters to mule/pounds per-inch), minus royalties.  Quite a feat.

By my calculations, the Midget will go to somewhat generously over 200 MPH!  (Your results may vary -- along with his.)