Milwaukee Midget

[Milwaukee Midget]

Nice wheels.

 

 

 

I'm glad they're finally here, Udo!

I wish I had Skeeter's welding chops.  This is child's play compared to some of the industrial stuff coming out of his shop.


Thanks for the encouragement!

[Milwaukee Midget]

Coming along.  Brake and clutch master cylinders mounted on the box, flywheel and clutch mounted, engine buttoned up – with the exception of the ignition, I’ve gone as far as I can go without the tub in the garage.  I’m waiting for a final approval before Skeeter welds in the door bar in the cage.  Hope to have the tub back this weekend.  I’ve scheduled paint for Labor Day.  Maybe it will be dry when I get to Wendover.

And the paint, too.

Much to do – Fire suppression, brake and fuel lines, net, blow shield, harness, electrical, interior, a bit of body work.  I can take comfort in the fact that most of the heavy lifting is behind me, but with September right around the corner, I really need to get the car back in the garage where I can spend  every extra moment on it.  It’s going to be close, but I’ll be damned, and I’ll never forgive myself, if I show up at Bonneville this year without a car.   

[Milwaukee Midget]

YES - I pick up the tub on Monday night.  Pics will follow.

Bought my fire suppression system and air filter yesterday.  Shoveled out the garage today and straightened up the front fenders.  New windshield arrived last week, along with a bucket load of other sundry items.  Tires are mounted, cleaned up the distributor - much to do, little time.

Time for some Midget wrasslin'.

[gearheadeh]

Coming along.  Brake and clutch master cylinders mounted on the box, flywheel and clutch mounted, engine buttoned up – with the exception of the ignition, I’ve gone as far as I can go without the tub in the garage.  I’m waiting for a final approval before Skeeter welds in the door bar in the cage.  Hope to have the tub back this weekend.  I’ve scheduled paint for Labor Day.  Maybe it will be dry when I get to Wendover.

And the paint, too.

Much to do – Fire suppression, brake and fuel lines, net, blow shield, harness, electrical, interior, a bit of body work.  I can take comfort in the fact that most of the heavy lifting is behind me, but with September right around the corner, I really need to get the car back in the garage where I can spend  every extra moment on it.  It’s going to be close, but I’ll be damned, and I’ll never forgive myself, if I show up at Bonneville this year without a car.   

That is how I feel about going without a ride, I totally understand. Here's to efficient, productive hours that leed to a great time at B'ville. Iam cheering for you.
                                                           

[Geo]

Chris,

This is looking good!  

Too bad I don't live close I'd be over to help.  I have a set of British standard whitworth combination wrenches and factory British Leyland license to use them!  But then I'd end up drinking your beer.

Geo

[Milwaukee Midget]

Too bad I don't live close I'd be over to help.  I have a set of British standard whitworth combination wrenches and factory British Leyland license to use them! But then I'd end up drinking your beer.

I'd heard you had to be licensed to use Whitworth's - some MI-6 requirement, no doubt - weapons of mass destruction or some such rubbish. 

I'd enjoy the company and the help, and would even restock the beer warmer, but of course you understand, I'd have to investigate your credentials if British Leyland issued the license.

Thanks, Geo, and Gearhead eh.  I am going to get this done. 

[Milwaukee Midget]

Probably the most nerve-racking day of the build.  Some of you street-rodding roadster guys might know of what I’m talking about.  But tonight, with the help of my patient and beautiful wife, Kate, I installed new glass in the Midget windshield frame.

This has less to do with making the car fast than making it legal – the old windshield was cracked.

The last time I tried this was on my MGB about seven years ago, and I swore I’d never do it again.  After three hours, and getting it oh-so-close, it cracked on me, and I just manned up, or wussed out, depending on how you look at it, and took it to the glass shop. 

But not this time.  Here’s the deal.  On both cars, the frame is four pieces, a top and bottom channel and the two side posts.  The glass fits in a rubber seal which fits in the channels on all four pieces, and rather snugly, too, I might add.

The reason I gave it a try this time is because the glass on the Midget has a lot less contour to it than the MGB.  The problem is snugging up the frame with the rubber and glass in place without wrenching the frame and breaking the glass.  It’s a case where you must absolutely center the glass into the bottom channel, attach, yet not tighten down the pillars at the bottom, then retain slight, yet constant pressure on the posts, pulling inward while the screws are aligned and attached through the top channel. 

Sounds simple?  It sure looks simple in the pictures -
http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=29326
Try it with vegetable oil smeared on the seal, polished aluminum frame, and edge of the glass.  There’s no way to strap it side to side, and you just have to keep gently, yet firmly squeezing while your trusty partner tries to line up and inserts the screws.

Made me wish I’d kept up on my weight training – my pecs haven’t had a burn like this going in years.

The roadster guys usually have flat glass, so it might be easier, but I don’t care how much beer you have, I will not help you do this.  This is the last time.  But I can check that off of the list.

[floydjer]

Well, Since you already managed to do it on your own.......How about using a ratcheting tie-down strap around the pillars to maintain pressure???

[Milwaukee Midget]

Well, Since you already managed to do it on your own.......How about using a ratcheting tie-down strap around the pillars to maintain pressure???

Tried that - it just kept slipping up the pillars.  I imagine the factory had to have had some sort of jig to produce these at a rate faster than one every three hours.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Reworking brake lines.  Will update when my hair grows back.

[Milwaukee Midget]

47 days.  Yeesh.

The last big bits of fabrication – brake lines, fuel line and blowshield – just about everything else will be assembly and finish.  I should take some strength from that, I suppose, but between an unanticipated “promotion” at work, (read “more hours, no help”), the great Milwaukee Flood (7 ½ inches in 2 hours), which coincided with the very week that Kate and I had the gutters, fascia and soffits torn off for replacement (read “bail out the basement”), too much band work and too many family functions, it’s been just frustrating trying to make some headway.

Tonight I started mocking up the blowshield.  I need to get this figured out in order to clear the starter, plumb the clutch line, fuel line, and the rear brake line.




Thanks to Udo (Bonneville Bugeye) and the Spirit of Sunshine (Australian Bellytank) for tips on this.  Udo’s worked on production Spridgets before, and the Jarman-Stewart design is simplicity in itself – provided you're not working around a production chassis.  I’ll be incorporating ideas from both, and I’m grateful for the insights.

This is the area I need to work around.




The transmission and bell housing are actually quite far forward in the chassis for a production car.  I took a spare block and tranny and dropped it in (don’t want to scratch up the paint on the Grenade) and with the factory battery tray gone, I’ve got some room to work.

Started on the top with Masonite templates.  This weekend, I’ll pull the block and figure out what I need to do on the bottom.  It’s my hope that if I can build it with wood, I should be able to recreate it with steel.

[Milwaukee Midget]

A bit more progress on the blowshield template.  It was suggested that I use cardboard, but given that the final weld on this is likely to happen outside of my garage, I need to have a dimensionally stable model which I know fits.
 


I’ve chosen Masonite to mock it up – it’s stiff and accepts 5 minute epoxy to bond it together.  After I glue the pieces together, I’ll be fiberglassing the corners for reinforcement.



 The outside dimension, particularly where the clutch master cylinder sits, is going to be the critical outside dimension – very tight here.



Back to it.

[gearheadeh]

A bit more progress on the blowshield template.  It was suggested that I use cardboard, but given that the final weld on this is likely to happen outside of my garage, I need to have a dimensionally stable model which I know fits.
 

I’ve chosen Masonite to mock it up – it’s stiff and accepts 5 minute epoxy to bond it together.  After I glue the pieces together, I’ll be fiberglassing the corners for reinforcement. The outside dimension, particularly where the clutch master cylinder sits, is going to be the critical outside dimension – very tight here.



Back to it.

Looks like that old clutch slave cylinder is made the old school way (heavy with lots of cast iron!),Should be okay to massage the sharp edge closest to the frame where it goes from flat machined surface for the bleeder to the cast surface 90* from it. Also , I can't tell but if it is bolted on, try drilling the holes out to offset it. A little grinding never hurt anything right?  Keep up the good work!!! root-in for ya.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Looks like that old clutch slave cylinder is made the old school way (heavy with lots of cast iron!),Should be okay to massage the sharp edge closest to the frame where it goes from flat machined surface for the bleeder to the cast surface 90* from it. Also , I can't tell but if it is bolted on, try drilling the holes out to offset it. A little grinding never hurt anything right?  Keep up the good work!!! root-in for ya.

Gearheadeh,

Thanks for the encouragement, and that’s a good thought.  Here’s what the new piece looks like -




A can gain a little clearance off of the bleeder boss.  And yes, there’s a ton of casting to work with.  Let me see how it goes together.  My big concern is that the engine is going to tend to torque toward the slave cylinder.

I could notch and sister the frame rail, but I’d sure like to avoid that.





Glue is curing, and I’ll fiberglass the top piece tomorrow.  Then, pull the block and start on the bottom side.  Should have a working model by tomorrow night.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Hmmm – too bad I can’t just use Masonite for a blowshield.

The mock up came out good – fits well, but still has a little wiggle room to adjust back and forth, and side to side between the frame rails.  Now I need to run this over to the blacksmith’s shop and have it rendered in steel.