Milwaukee Midget

[55chevr]

First trip out is always a learning experience .... (experience is what you get when you dont get what you want) ... My first trip was ... and this last trip was also ...

Joe

[nickleone]

When you get home check the firing order 1342.
 
Nick

[Dr Goggles]

There but for the grace of God and our own tinnie luck go many of us..............our first year out the fuel pump died , fortunately it was at the end of the last run we could make, this year we had a rocker come off, on the first run, fortunately nothing was damaged. We had a wheel come off the trailer the first year...that could have been disastrous , we've been lucky , lucky lucky.

You're right the thrash was necessary to get there and get the thing beaten into shape... This time around you'll can deal with the things that were done as a matter of expediency and chase out whatever it is that has given you the grief.You've been through tech , all the big questions are answered, you've towed there...driven the car suited up.........

I'm thinking of the tanty that Paul Dano's character throws on the roadside in Little Miss Sunshine......I don't think anyone would begrudge you that.

go!

 

[Milwaukee Midget]

. . . it is quite likely that more people will see an LSR car on a trailer being towed across Nebraska than will ever see one compete.

About two years ago, I made that statement in a discussion with Franklin Ratliff.  I never realized that it would come back to me in quite the gratifying way that it did today.

Kate and I stopped in Lincoln, Nebraska on our way home to get gas.  When we came back out to the car, there was a man and his son, Dalton, looking at the car and taking pictures.  The kid was really intrigued, but kind of shy.  I explained to his dad where we’d been and what we had attempted to do.  Dalton noticed the salt kicked up under the wheel well, and his dad turned it into a teachable moment about how Lake Bonneville used to be a vast, inland sea, and how evaporation had turned it into a hard, flat surface.

Then Dalton asked if I had been through last Sunday afternoon, and in fact, that was right, I had – he remembered seeing the Midget.  I don’t know where he saw it – I didn’t stop in Lincoln on the way out, I just drove past on I-80. 

His dad reached up under the wheel well, and grabbed some of the salt, and showed it to Dalton up close.  He asked if he could keep it, and Kate happily handed him a plastic bag to put it in.

I’m grateful to have been a part in this super example of a father putting the elements of a young man’s observations and curiosity together in a way that could never be recreated in a class room.

Dalton - stay curious, stay observant, and don’t lose sight of the fact that your dad loves you, very much.

[Geo]

Chris,

You have done what many have only dreamed of.  Built a car, gone to the salt and ran a car to see how fast you could go.  Thanks to the build diary we all went along for the highs and lows.  Keep after it and take us along for the future work.  All the best to you and Kate.  Go break 100!

Geo

[AJR192]

Hey chris I didn't get a chance to come say hi at WOS but it made me happy to see you on the salt with the race car. Remember it's not so much the destination but the journey. Best of luck to you.

[Dr Goggles]

Come on, tell us more........

[Milwaukee Midget]

Come on, tell us more........

Well, not a lot to say, except a huge thank you to all who have chimed in here.  No regrets - I'll do it again, I'm on the right track, and after I've had some time to figure out where the problems were, I'll take some notes and move forward.

The encouragement I've received from everyone here and those who stopped by our pit has been incredible. 

The following was intended just for my personal consumption.  I find it helps me to sort things out if I write about it, but I'll share it tonight before I hit the hay.  I might change my mind tomorrow -

1550 miles – home.  Gives one time to think.

For all the distance, it's really not a difficult drive.  94 west to Madison, 151 to Cedar Rapids, south on 380 to Iowa City, 80 west to exit 4 in Utah.  Reverse order, you're home.  Little likelihood of running out of gas, never more than a half hour away from a place to take a leak. 

It wasn't always that easy.  Used to be US 30 was the highway you'd take, every town on the way adding 10-15 minutes to your travel time, two lanes, stuck behind a manure spreader or a person unwilling to drive more than 40 mph.  Sharing driving duties, I imagine in the 1950’s, 4 days would have been making good time.

During the 1930’s, the time of Gardner and Campbell, if you wanted to race at Bonneville, you had to bring in everything and spares, truck it in over mining roads, or rail it in from SLC.  How they got Bluebird, or the EX 135 there, I can only imagine.

Anyway, Kate and I are home – 2 ½ days on the road from Wendover back to Milwaukee.  The only time we were off of pavement was when we were on the salt.

We've got it pretty easy. 

 I'm thinking I need to bring some additional human resources to this project.  I enjoy the work, the discovery, the time working on the car, solving (and often creating) problems.  But for the first time, I'm wondering if I'm the guy who should be driving it.

During this entire build, my focus has been on building a safe, fast, production-based race car.  I've done two out of three on that account.

But I can honestly say that the thought of driving the thing has been an afterthought from the beginning.  In fact, it wasn't until I put on my helmet for my calibration run (and yes, I did in fact, keep it under 100), that it completely dawned on me that somebody has to pilot the car.

Two things –

1 - It's occurred to me that my passion for this sport is not necessarily in driving a race car, but in its creation.

2 - The best thing I could do to increase my chances of success is to find somebody who IS passionate about driving a race car.

I have a few friends who are very capable race car drivers and also have other car chops that they can bring to the table.  A new engine is on the horizon, and I have a chassis that is essentially done, but I'm thinking that the chances of the car reaching its full potential probably lay in collaboration.


So that's what I was thinking tonight. I reserve the right to change my mind.

Pics will follow after desalination procedures - stay tuned.

And again, thanks to everyone for the encouragement.

[wolbrink471]

Well Done Chris,

It has been great following your adventures !!!

I have only competed on the salt a couple of times and Maxton a few more, but I have had the chance to run both events solo and with mechanical help. Tara is a big help with ALL the details, but Kevin and I are the ones that change jets. With Kevin at the track, a guy can either focus on driving or jetting. This seems to make both jobs more fun, with less angst for all. Trying to do both really spends your attention $1 quickly!

In addition to fitting the bike much better, there are 40+ really good reasons why Kevin is slated to drive the fully faired bike next year. I am excited to see what the bike can really do, so that makes the driver choice super easy! However, I am having too much fun with the MX bike and really want to keep experiencing the ride! (Lucky for me, two bikes don't require as much trailor space as one Midget.)

With all my experience, I would seriously encourage you to find a buddy that fits the pedals where you like them and try running another event....with two drivers. I believe there is something about quietly preparing for a run, lighting the fire, charging forward and especially the silent reflection after the turn off!  

Good Luck,

Mark

p.s. Maybe this winter we could take the withs out for dinner and race talk....what do you think, tacos at Conejitos or fish at Turner Hall??

[Anvil*]

Two areas that will kill torque are way lean and cam timing retarded. The manifold doesn't have too many areas to leak air but a pass near the gaskets with an unlit propane torch (on a running engine) can turn up a suspect area. I'd do that before pulling the engine. Ignition timing after top dead center rather than before seems less likely but check anyway. It can happen if the pulley timing marks aren't where they should be (always good to verify and paint your marks).
 


Mentioning the salt placed in the plastic bag: A friend came back from the Budd meet (2009) and sent me the salt he had cleaned off with a comment we should build something (years back we built a Ford to go dirt-track racing). I informed him he had sent an obligation to take that salt back to Bonniville in that plastic bag.

[Milwaukee Midget]

When you get home check the firing order 1342.
 
Nick

Checked it - good there -

Two areas that will kill torque are way lean and cam timing retarded. The manifold doesn't have too many areas to leak air but a pass near the gaskets with an unlit propane torch (on a running engine) can turn up a suspect area. I'd do that before pulling the engine. Ignition timing after top dead center rather than before seems less likely but check anyway. It can happen if the pulley timing marks aren't where they should be (always good to verify and paint your marks).
 

The propane test is something I've witnessed, but have never tried - I'll give it a shot, but I will say that the plugs looked good, although I hardly was able to push the thing to the point where that observation could be proven valid.

One other point I should check, and I’ll do that on tear-down, is the cam timing.  The cam was reground on a stock shaft, and it’s possible to grind centers inaccurately.  It rarely causes the degree of power loss I witnessed, but if it’s off, it could have been a contributing factor.

A niggling concern that has weighed in the back of my mind has been if I have reassembled the distributor correctly. My friend, Jeff Everts, suggested this today without my prompting, as the symptoms I described were similar to those he once encountered on a late model he used to campaign.  It’s possible to put the counterweights in incorrectly, and he suggested I check that out, also.

As for tonight, I’ve got to pull the top off, pull the seat and get the salt off of the floorboards, hopefully clean off the undercarriage, and do all in my power to stop any corrosion that’s already started due to a misty rain that followed us through central Iowa and activated the salt.  That’s right – even an MG with a hard top will leak.  Brit cars are prone to rust without any assistance, and every hour it remains unattended is another hour taken away from sorting out the problems.

Off to begin the postmortem.

[Anvil*]

> even an MG with a hard top will leak.

Even?  Always found the top seemed to direct the rain from the windshield into the cockpit. Always preferred to run with the top down, if I could keep a reasonable forward speed. My Midget wasn't too bad (just annoying) but the MGA seemed to drip from the crotch to eyebrow dependent on forward speed. More so on the passenger side if you were out on a date.

[Glen]

Spray it with salt-x after washing

[55chevr]

I bring back 5-6 pounds of salt every year ... I dump it the boat ramp which was high and dry thanks to the deposits of many ...

[Graham in Aus]

Chris, I think (?) you are still running points / condenser? It is quite common for 'new' items (made who knows where nowadays) to fail in very short time, I try to find NOS condensers, rotor arms, points etc.

Just an idea??

You got it done, got there and drove on the salt!