Author Topic: Milwaukee Midget  (Read 3255931 times)

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Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6900 on: March 10, 2018, 10:43:29 AM »

FB, this project has always been transcendental!  :-o :-D :cheers:


Maybe we should move our base of operations to Fairfield, Iowa.  We could offer a certificate program in irrational racing development through the Maharishi University (aka "Guru U"), and get the post-grads at the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts to create a feature film - kind of like "Twin Peaks", or "Blue Velvet", but with a lot more beer.

https://www.mum.edu/mfa-in-film-production/ 
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline fordboy628

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6901 on: March 11, 2018, 09:34:02 AM »

FB, this project has always been transcendental!  :-o :-D :cheers:


Maybe we should move our base of operations to Fairfield, Iowa.  We could offer a certificate program in irrational racing development through the Maharishi University (aka "Guru U"), and get the post-grads at the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts to create a feature film - kind of like "Twin Peaks", or "Blue Velvet", but with a lot more beer.

https://www.mum.edu/mfa-in-film-production/ 

While initially, un-nerving, after some research, maybe not such a bad idea . . . . . . .

http://time.com/money/4714381/best-state-retire-study/

AND, as a bonus:
A/   Northeast Iowa has a variety of fly fishing opportunities . . . . . .   :-)
2/   Rumors of "drinkable" craft brew . . . . . .
d/   Easy to drop off the grid and: "Go Amish"


Also according to Money Magazine, Iowa City, Iowa, is the BEST city in the Midwest to retire to.   You will have to scroll down the link provided, to get to Iowa, go figure.   Only 70 minutes from Fairfield, Iowa though . . .

http://time.com/money/collection-post/4538894/best-places-retire-2016/


Though, my "bi-lateral" nature compels me to point out the "Downsides":
B/    Well, still have a crapload of snow every year,
3/    Tornados
e/    HEFTY state income tax . . . . . . .
z/    Most disturbing, it's the birthplace of Grant Wood . . . . . .   No "Gothic neighbors, please."

Well, I guess you pays your money, and takes your choice.    Perhaps being born there has created some "undiagnosed" longing . . . . . . .

 :cheers:  :cheers:  :cheers:
Illiniboy       For the time being at least . . . . . . . . . . . 
Science, NOT Magic . . . .

I used to be a people person.  But people changed that relationship.

"There is nothing permanent except change."    Heraclitus

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."     Albert Einstein

Offline ggl205

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6902 on: March 11, 2018, 10:08:54 AM »
Wichita, Kansas ain't so bad. Hardly any snow but it does get pretty cold for a while. I am told we get tornados but have only heard of one (and it was a BIG one) in the past twenty plus years. There are even a few Bonneville nut jobs out here, some of which like mass quantities of "drinkable beer".

John

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6903 on: March 11, 2018, 10:35:32 AM »
A couple of other attractions to Fairfield -

You're virtually equidistance to Milwaukee, Chicago, St Louis and Kansas City, so it's a daytrip for Brewers, Bears, Blackhawks, Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Royals and Chiefs.

It's an hour and a half to the Knoxville Nationals.

And yes, the nation's best kept secret in Brown Trout fishing - NE Iowa.  The DNR takes fishing very seriously there, and they have a great stocking program - and as little as I fish, I still know a spot.

On top of that, if you want to go totally primal on the fishing, the Wapsipinicon is a world class Catfish grappling river.  They get big enough that sometimes the fish still wins.

Downside - an overabundance of white-tail, corn fed rats.  It's gotten crazy the number of deer-related car accidents in the last 15 years.



« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 02:37:05 PM by Milwaukee Midget »
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline fordboy628

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6904 on: March 11, 2018, 02:00:00 PM »
A couple of other attractions to Fairfield -

You're virtually equidistance to Milwaukee, Chicago, St Louis and Kansas City, so it's a daytrip for Brewers, Bears, Blackhawks, Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Royals and Chiefs.

It's an hour and a half to the Knoxville Nationals.

And yes, the nation's best kept secret in Brown Trout fishing - NE Iowa.  The DNR takes fishing very seriously there, and they have a great stocking program - and as little as I fish, I still know a spot.

On top of that, if you want to go totally primal on the fishing, the Wapsipinicon is a world class Catfish grappling river.  They get big enough that sometimes the fish still wins.

Downside - an overabundance of white-tail, corn fed rats.  It's gotten crazy the number of deer-related car accidents in the last 15 years.

I knew that Iowa had a "high" concentration of Odocoileus virginianus, but I was skeptical that Iowa was at the top of the deer/car accident list.     Like their collegiate basketball and football programs, not #1, but close:

https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-deer-vehicle-collisions


SO, there is "room for improvement" . . . . . . .  and the reasonable possibility of "venison burger" . . . . . . .

Meh,   grilled trout for me please.


 :dhorse:  :dhorse:  :dhorse:    (Readers will have to pretend the horse is a deer . . . . :roll:)
Piscatorialboy  
« Last Edit: March 11, 2018, 02:37:28 PM by Milwaukee Midget »
Science, NOT Magic . . . .

I used to be a people person.  But people changed that relationship.

"There is nothing permanent except change."    Heraclitus

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."     Albert Einstein

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6905 on: March 14, 2018, 12:48:44 AM »
Trunnion land - not to be confused with Runyonland from "Guys and Dolls".

I mentioned last week that I was looking to shore up the camber on the Midget.  I ordered up a set of offset Nylatron upper trunnion bushings for the Midget from Moss Motors, and they came with no instructions, which normally wouldn't be an issue, if not for the fact that, with these, I wasn't even able to bank on a YouTube video to observe somebody else's experience (or ineptitude).

Nylatron is a REALLY HARD Nylon polymer, self lubricating, and is often used in conveyer systems and as an aftermarket bushing material for the notorious Triumph Spitfire and TR6 rear suspensions.  So if it's used in an upgrade in Triumphs, all that tells me is that it's at least a little better than rubbish.

The offset idea is to give a racing Spridget some negative camber for better cornering capability in road racing, but as the bushing is round with a non-concentric hole, it can be set infinately to make adjustments positive or negative.

DSCN1000 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Now what's odd is that according to Moss Motors, this is how you're supposed to utilize this bushing - with the bolt head against the bush.  A phone call to Moss gave me assurances that this is how it is, but the guy was unable to CONFIRM this with any tech resources, and nobody on staff had actually done this converision.

It may well be the hardest Nylon on earth, but it's still Nylon, and I simply don't feel secure bolting this into place without something more substantial than a machined plastic tube holding my front end in place.

The bushing on the other side of the trunnion mates to the iron control arm, and I certainly didn't want THIS wearing it's way into the bushing . . .

DSCN1004 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr


The original rubber bushings have a metal flanged bushing inside -

DSCN1005 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Despite the retailer's recommendation to use the Nylatron bushing as is, I wasn't convicted that it would be safe, so I stopped and picked up some stainless washers.

DSCN1001 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

I set up my vertical datum . . .

DSCN1007 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

And dicked around for about 3 hours - took both sides apart twice to get it right, but . . .

Top of wheel . . .

DSCN1014 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Bottom of the wheel . . .

DSCN1011 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

At the end of the day, I'm at .28 degrees positive on the driver's side - from 1.11 negative, and .573 degrees positive on the passanger side, from .44 positive.

Considering the shape of the salt last year, I'm calling this a bullseye. 

"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline fordboy628

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6906 on: March 14, 2018, 10:02:37 AM »
midget,

I have a Dunlop Camber gauge I can loan you if you wish.

 :dhorse:  :dhorse:  :dhorse:
Definitelyoffcamberboy
Science, NOT Magic . . . .

I used to be a people person.  But people changed that relationship.

"There is nothing permanent except change."    Heraclitus

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."     Albert Einstein

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6907 on: March 14, 2018, 10:20:02 AM »

I have a Dunlop Camber gauge I can loan you if you wish.


Certainly - can I drop down and pick that up . . .  oh . . . maybe . . . yesterday?  :-D

Worry not - I'm confident with the results, although we'll use it to double check once the drivetrain is in place.
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6908 on: March 19, 2018, 11:39:34 PM »
A little cleaning of the engine bay tonight, and replaced the shock valves with the high performance pieces from Moss.

shock valves by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Stock piece is on the left, the new unit is the one that's not covered with oil - at least is wasn't - it's submerged, now.

Trying to figure out the differences. 

The HP version has heavier internal springs.  The stock piece appears to let oil bleed back around the outside, whereas the O-ring forces the fluid through the bleed holes.

Either way, I can say unequivocally that the shock lever arms are stiffer than before.

So the top Nylotron trunnion bushings are providing more control than the original rubber units, along with allowing me to get the wheels more perpendicular to the salt, and the shocks should provide more control up and down.

I won't know until August, but this looks like one of those incremental wins.  I just want to make it easy to drive.
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6909 on: March 20, 2018, 07:32:45 PM »
Parts update.

Diamond tells Mark the pistons should be here by the end of the week.

AND . . .

Mel tells me the Saenz rods are on their way to Argentinian Customs.

It's POSSIBLE I could at least have this short block screwed together by April Fools Day.
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Online salt27

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6910 on: March 20, 2018, 08:18:59 PM »
It's POSSIBLE I could at least have this short block screwed together by April Fools Day.


Chris, Don't rush yourself, just try and have it done by Easter.     :roll:

 Don

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6911 on: March 20, 2018, 10:46:25 PM »
I've been called a "doubting Thomas" before . . .

But all jokes aside, considering how long it took to get the block back, and the time I spent on the Frankensprite, I'm thinking we may well be on track for a fire-up by the end of April, and hopefully on to the dyno by end of May - provided the dyno bay isn't cluttered up with small blocks before Memorial Day Weekend.

Still a lot of work, but I've cleared my weekends 'til August.

AND

I heard back from the folks putting together the Elkhart Lake car show in September.  It's going down in conjunction with the vintage race weekend, the featured marque is indeed the Sprite/Midget (60 years), and it looks like I've got a spot on the green set aside for a LBC with a Bonneville history.  8-)

"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Ron Gibson

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6912 on: March 21, 2018, 10:37:01 AM »
Excuse me!!!! Wouldn't yours be considered a small block, in fact a verrrry small block :? :? :?  Damn circle trackers.

Ron
Life is an abrasive. Whether you get ground away or polished to a shine depends on what you are made of.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6913 on: March 21, 2018, 11:23:18 AM »
Excuse me!!!! Wouldn't yours be considered a small block, in fact a verrrry small block :? :? :?  Dodge circle trackers.

Ron

Well, yeah, I guess it would be considered diminutive in physical size.

Maybe "small buck" might better describe the roundy-pounders.
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #6914 on: March 23, 2018, 10:29:42 PM »
Busy day south of the Cheddar Curtain.

Mark took a buttload of pictures which he'll eventually post up.  I'll let him describe his work, but it's safe to say that the 360 bearing oil scheme is a complete success.

Me?  I fettled.

I fettled the oil pan - I fettled the new plate for the oil pan - I fettled the oil ports in the oil pump.

When Tommy at T&T gets around to welding up the oil pan, it should be easy sailing.

In our "divide and conquer" approach, I need to figure out precisely where I'm going to bolt this damned thing into the chassis.

We took measurements of likely threaded bosses which I'm pretty certain we'll be able to use to hold the engine in place.  I've got the measurements in hand and took these photos to reference them . . .

This side, I'll need to concern myself with the dipstick flange/bushing/boss/thingy, directly below #s 3 & 4 . . .

motormountR by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Driver's side, the new oil manifold will need to be taken into account, and anticipate a header . . .

motormountL by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

And it would all be easier if the centerline of the crank were ALSO the centerline of the block . . . but it's not . . .

motoirmountfront by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

I'll figure it out.

Placed the order for the EFI today - should be in next week.  I will still need to purchase a fuel regulator and a fuel rail, but overall, the pace is as steady as a couple of part-timers can do to make it happen.

Did anybody notice the somewhat lower prices for hotels in Wendover this year?  Still not cheap, but at least I don't have to take out a mortgage to rent a room.

"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll: