Author Topic: Milwaukee Midget  (Read 3255320 times)

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Offline jacksoni

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7635 on: June 29, 2020, 12:44:56 PM »
 :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :clap :clap
Jack Iliff
 G/BGS-250.235 1987
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  G/FAlt- 193.934 2021 (196.033 best)
 G/GMS-182.144 2019

Offline manta22

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7636 on: June 29, 2020, 12:59:54 PM »
Hang in there, Chris.
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline wheelrdealer

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7637 on: June 29, 2020, 04:00:23 PM »
Great to hear Chris. I miss your daily wit and Chrisisisms! But its good to hear you are back working on the Midget.... can I even say that anymore?

Happy Birthday Mark.

BR
ECTA    Maxton D/CGALT  Record Holder 167.522
ECTA    Maxton D/CBGALT Record Holder 166.715

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Offline fordboy628

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7638 on: July 03, 2020, 12:57:42 PM »
Many thanks to all for the kind birthday wishes! !

It was a good day.   Just a couple of "10 minute jobs" for the "Queen" and one of the kids.    And then there was a nice low key party with all of our kids in attendance.   Even Matt was in town from Tacoma.   Very happy to have the "whole band" together again, because it just doesn't happen that often anymore.

4 years old and you've known me for 8 years you say? ? ?    Time is "different" here on Koozebane . . . . .

And to "ice the cake" as it was, a few days later I had a visit from my 5' 17" tall Hawkeye Midget buddy, who still resides in the Beerhaven section of Sconnie Nation.   He risked all crossing the Cheddar Curtain to deliver my favorite Bourbon tainted libation, New Holland's Dragon Milk.   A thoughtful and appreciated birthday gift, designed to make me overlook the fact he resides in Packerland.   Well, nobody is perfect . . . . . . .  (Well, uhhmm, except for the "Queen" and Mrs. Midget . . . . )

Gonna use this year to prepare for my entry into a new "decade", and a "retirement state of mind" . . . . .

Thanks for the kind thoughts, I really appreciate them.
 :cheers:  :dhorse:  :cheers:
Mark
« Last Edit: July 03, 2020, 01:12:20 PM by fordboy628 »
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 Queeziryder

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7639 on: July 03, 2020, 01:11:44 PM »
Hey Mark,
Congrat's on reaching another milestone :-)
If I can ever make it back there's more Austrian falling over water available

Neil
Old enough to know better, but too interested in speed to care

Offline fordboy628

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7640 on: July 03, 2020, 01:19:37 PM »
Hey Mark,
Congrat's on reaching another milestone :-)
If I can ever make it back there's more Austrian falling over water available

Neil

Thank you kindly.    We are just going to have to make it happen somehow.     My wife and I were hoping to visit her sister in Breitbrun, but that's now on indefinite hold.

Would be nice if things could return to some semblance of normal soon.    But I suspect that it is going to be: A "new" normal, and it is too early to know what that might be . . . . . .

Stay safe and be well.

 :cheers:
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 salt27

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7641 on: August 23, 2020, 11:47:55 AM »
I am COMMITTED to getting the Midget back into fighting shape.


The Midget ready for battle 2013.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7642 on: August 23, 2020, 02:42:26 PM »
Great shot, Don - Thanks for that, I never saw that one.

OKAY, MOUNTIES - SING IT WITH ME!!!
[/url]Chainsaw by Chris Conrad, on Flickr[/img]

As many of you in the Midwest are aware, Monday, August 10th saw an unusual and rather frightening weather event across the Midwest.  A derecho with straight-line winds almost as fast as the Midget tore through Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Indiana and Ohio.

Derecho by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

It ran down the corridor between I-80 and US 20 like a bowling ball down the chute of a cement mixer.

I was already scheduled to head to Iowa to assist my parents - mom was scheduled for hip surgery on the 11th - when the news reports came in.

It was at that time that I realized I needed to pack up more than an overnight bag.

My sister lives in Cedar Rapids, and the storm took out every tree on the property, along with the fence I had mended only 3 weeks earlier.  I still have a blood-blister under my thumb-nail that occurred working on that fence, and that damned blood-blister outlasted my handiwork.

I stayed with my parents in Marion, Iowa, and fixed them up with a generator.  They lost some shingles, the wind popped the seal on their windows, and they suffered a bit of water leakage, but all-in-all, they're fine.  Nevertheless, despite living in a modern subdivision with buried electrical service, it wasn't until Friday that they got service back.

On the other hand, Cheryl, my sister in Cedar Rapids, lives in a post-war subdivision with modest houses and hanging power lines.  Between the 70+ year-old trees and the aged infrastructure, it wasn't until the 21st when her power was restored.

It's been a while since I slung a chainsaw, but I walked away with all my digits and extremities intact. 

But let's focus on the Midget for a moment.

Due to COVID, Kate is working at home. Her work in advertising keeps her in a constant cycle of ZOOM meetings and teleconferences, and while I've been able to get the K-Motor started, despite a well-insulated brick house and a substantial distance between the garage and the house, the un-muffled roar of the Midget is something I need to work around.

I had a great conversation with Tommy Olson at T&T, and he gave me a good approach to get the thing to the point where it will idle without constantly having to pump the accelerator. Things have opened up for Kate at her place of work, and while it's preferable for her to continue to work from home, the next day that she feels she needs to be in her office to complete a project, that will be the day I conquer this monkey.

And there's a lot of little niggling things that need to be addressed.  It's been 6 years - the fire system and belts are outdated, and I do have a small rust issue I need to take care of.  That's par for the course with an MG, regardless of where it's driven.

The wiring all works, but I'm not pleased with the presentation, and I want to clean that up.

I also need to review the rulebook and confirm some safety issues that have changed things in the last 6 years.

I also need to find a job. I could dip into my retirement savings, but if my steadily improving health is any indication, I might need some of that cash in 25 years.

If the USFRA holds it's annual meeting in December, I'm thinking I might risk the trip. I'm missing my friends.  :cheers:



« Last Edit: August 24, 2020, 12:10:57 AM 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 64Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7643 on: August 23, 2020, 03:57:21 PM »
Chris

Its good to hear all is as well as can be with your family and all, also good to hear your back at the Midget and I hope you can get back to Bonneville next year to push the record higher.
 Bud

Offline salt27

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7644 on: August 23, 2020, 06:26:41 PM »
Here's the 2019 storm damage to my shop and the homemade scaffolding that I promptly fell 18' to the ground off of.     :oops:


Offline salt27

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7645 on: August 23, 2020, 06:33:52 PM »
Chris, do you remember me telling you I had a Midget in High School, well I found it in a barn about 20 miles away.

Offline Peter Jack

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7646 on: August 23, 2020, 07:47:58 PM »
It definitely has that stored on the west coast look about it!!!  :-D :-D :-D

Are you thinking of doing anything with it or just acknowledging that you know where it is?

Pete

Offline wheelrdealer

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7647 on: August 23, 2020, 08:47:37 PM »
Great to hear from you Chris.

Glad you are back on the Midget. I always liked this thread even though I had to do research on the side to get some of the references!

BR
ECTA    Maxton D/CGALT  Record Holder 167.522
ECTA    Maxton D/CBGALT Record Holder 166.715

WWW.WHEELRDEALER2100.COM

Offline salt27

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7648 on: August 23, 2020, 09:33:32 PM »
It definitely has that stored on the west coast look about it!!!  :-D :-D :-D

Are you thinking of doing anything with it or just acknowledging that you know where it is?

Pete


Pete, I had to run away from it before I did something foolish.

It's actually not too bad inside and out, drivetrain probably not.

Last stickered in 85, I sold it in 73.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #7649 on: August 24, 2020, 12:07:49 AM »
Chris, do you remember me telling you I had a Midget in High School, well I found it in a barn about 20 miles away.
If it wasn't BR Green to begin with, it's slowly taking on that hue!

Looks to be an early production with the side curtains rather than roll-up windows.

My first car was a '62 T-Bird convertible with a later 428 slid into it. Ratty, for sure, but it was a blast to ride around in.

If it still exists, it's probably in similar shape.

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