Milwaukee Midget

[Milwaukee Midget]

Talk of changing out a rear brings up a question, will you have spare axle with you?  Probably not a great concern on the salt surface, but BMC's finest were not the best.

Too true, unfortunately. My friends Sprite would consistently break its right rear axle in SCCA events. 

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Yeah, I'm familiar with the weak spot, but it's my understanding that it is the combination of lateral forces and hard acceleration that tends to cause the problems.  I've got spares, but I don't have a lot of space. 

I'm betting they will hold up on a traction challenged surface with thin tires, going in a straight line with less torque than a typical SCCA production Sprite.

Because of my stature, I often receive comments when I climb out of my MGB.  At 5’17”, people find it somewhat humorous that I drive a car that just barely reaches my bullocks.  The Midget is somewhat more confined than the MGB, but where there is a will, there is a way.

When the lateral restraint rule changed so that it needed to reach the front of the helmet, I knew I had a problem.

I chased a lot of stupid ideas, and pondered it for over a year, until one night, I came in from the garage and tried to shut the door.  The deadbolt was out and I biffed up the striker plate a tad, but after I pulled it back, shut the door and locked it, it occurred to me that a hinged piece could also be deadbolted from the hinged side, provided it was sturdy enough.

I did some drawings and finally came up with a very simple lateral restraint that would not encumber my entry and egress.


I ordered up the steel and dropped it off with Skeeter, the guy who built my cage.  Between some health issues and a large number of stainless jobs he’s been doing to supply parts for the North Dakota oil boom, he wasn’t able to get to it until this last week.

But it’s done, and I’m very pleased with the results –



You pull on the ring . . .



And the bar swings out . . .



So the order of exit in a bailout is –
1 Pull fire suppression, if necessary
2 Pull steering wheel
3 Unlatch harness
4 Drop net
5 Pull lanyard on window latches
6 Pull door lanyard
7 Pull lateral restraint ring
8 Swing out lateral restraint
8 Climb out
9 Take a bow

I try not to brag - it's often come back to bite me, but I'm pretty proud of this bit of innovation.



 

[Rob]

Watch that bowing, it will often get you a crack over the back of the head...

Dumb questions I have to ask... Have you got/made a spot to hang your wheel when it's not "in situ" Chris? When you put it on the floor it invariably rolls out of reach right after you tighten your belts.....

Cheers,
Rob

[Milwaukee Midget]

Have you got/made a spot to hang your wheel when it's not "in situ" Chris? When you put it on the floor it invariably rolls out of reach right after you tighten your belts.....

I just place it over the shifter. 

Come on, buddy, don't get me thinking about that type of stuff - my list is supposed to be getting SHORTER! 

[fordboy628]

Midget,

Nice job on the lateral restraint: well thought out, simple, EFFECTIVE, well executed.   KISS engineering at its' best.

Rear axles probably not an issue for your application.  No heavy side/g loads, no wide sticky tires, relatively low torque, lower traction on the salt, etc, etc.   Not saying they can't break, just that it's unlikely for the application.

Photos of the valve spring changing tool setup illustrate the concept:



The tool is the important part.  The valves are held in place with 80/100psi of air pressure through the spark plug hole.  Mounting can also be accomplished with a set of stock rocker pillars and a bare rocker shaft to hook upon.  If you have a stock setup from which you can remove the rockers, that would be helpful.  It's important to note that the substitute shaft assembly must be torqued in place to facilitate pressurizing the cylinder to hold the valves up.  Just another quirk of the engine family.   Retainer, keepers, spring can all be removed for spring/whatever changes.  This really helps with the "bed-in" of steel cams.

Ordered the steel bar stock for new steel pillars.  Will pickup & machine on Thursday.
 
Fordboy

[Milwaukee Midget]

Last (hopefully) capscrew arrived, and . . .

S H A Z A A M ! ! !
 
I'm looking at the pushrods I ordered Monday at 2:30 in the afternoon, and it's currently 9:30 on Wednesday.

Sent 2nd day air UPS on the 17th, so this order was on the shop floor no earlier than 12:30 Pacific time, machined, bagged and tagged and out the door when UPS picked up that afternoon.

Maybe I DON'T need a TARDIS, just first rate suppliers.

Thanks, Smith Brothers!     

[Milwaukee Midget]

Good lord . . .
Well, the pushrods arrived – suitably more substantial and up to the task than the soda straws they replace –



Today was spent running around picking up stuff – the auxiliary radiator, which I had a new bung soldered to, the timing wheel, which Mel at C&S had ready for me, and some heater hose for the auxiliary radiator.

My cap nut finally arrived from Fastenal.  They shipped the wrong part, which arrived on Monday.  I called and was told that the correct piece would be next day aired to me.  Would have been nice if they had put the replacement order in on Monday – but they paid the freight, and it’s here now.

The cap nut is to hold the sensor plate – it uses three, and I had two.  It was just what I ordered, but it needed to be shortened.  No problem there, but when I went to screw it in, the shoulder of the shank stopped it from full engagement.

I ran down to the hardware store and got a 5/16 die, chucked up the bolt in the vice and got it up to temp, let it cool, and cut the threads another 3/8 of an inch.  While these bolts are hardened, they’re not stressed, so I didn’t reheat and quench it.

So all the hardware is here, and I’m mocking it all up, and one of the spacers is too long.  .075 too long, so I ran down to work, where my employer has what he refers to as a lathe –



After operating it, I refer to it as something else, but I was able to neatly resize the part, and I spent 45 minutes cleaning up the owners . . . device (?) –



So now the entire ultra-trick Fordboy drive gear is ready to go –




Fordboy Racing Equipment and Surplus – AND ENGINEERING - you’re one-stop-shop for ALL your fitting needs. Talk to the guy in the Camo Cargo Khaki’s about special savings on Aeroquip overstock.  No job too large or too small.  

[Jack Gifford]

I have enjoyed dealing with Smiith Bothers. Are you aware of the impressive home-built sporty-car that one them did in the early fifties? (an article in an old Hot Rod issue).

[fordboy628]

So now the entire ultra-trick Fordboy drive gear is ready to go –

Fordboy Racing Equipment and Surplus – AND ENGINEERING - you’re one-stop-shop for ALL your fitting needs. Talk to the guy in the Camo Cargo Khaki’s about special savings on Aeroquip overstock.  No job too large or too small.

Midget,

Ahhh, progress, always good.   I love it when a plan comes together..............    Sorry about the dimensional differences between the mock-up block assembly & your jewel.   It's that precision BLMC CAD machining process randomizing everything, including the operating temperature of their refrigerators.........................
 
Mr. Burns, formerly of Springfield...................

BTW:  That lathe looks a lot better than a hacksaw & a file to me..................

[krusty]

     Watch out for that chuck key !             vic

[Milwaukee Midget]

     Watch out for that chuck key !             vic

Vic, when I worked as a "machinist", and I use the term loosely, because I was much better at turning dairy metal castings into scrap, I was operating a Warner Swasey #5 and left the chuck in.  Fortunately, I had also left the machine in reverse, and when I threw the switch, the chuck, probably about 1/2 lb of steel, catapulted right through the steel walled pole shed I was working in.

 

I went outside and retrieved it from a snow bank, and patched up the wall with a piece of sheet metal and a pop riveter, but to this day, I shudder to think what would have become of my shoulder if I had left it in forward.  I could guarantee you, my nick name would not be "Lefty".   

Mark, no apology necessary - It was just a tad long on one end.  I suspect the guide slot track that the stand-offs sit in were probably changed at some point during the production run.  If yours was .075 thicker, than your machining was perfect.

[Milwaukee Midget]

BTW:  That lathe looks a lot better than a hacksaw & a file to me..................

The lathe is a turd. 

Back in the day, my company built a lot of custom speaker cabinets.  We also built our own hanging hardware. 

After operating this thing, it scares me to think what might still be in the field . . .

[WOODY@DDLLC]

     Watch out for that chuck key !             vic

Vic, when I worked as a "machinist", and I use the term loosely, because I was much better at turning dairy metal castings into scrap, I was operating a Warner Swasey #5 and left the chuck in.  Fortunately, I had also left the machine in reverse, and when I threw the switch, the chuck, probably about 1/2 lb of steel, catapulted right through the steel walled pole shed I was working in.

 

I went outside and retrieved it from a snow bank, and patched up the wall with a piece of sheet metal and a pop riveter, but to this day, I shudder to think what would have become of my shoulder if I had left it in forward.  I could guarantee you, my nick name would not be "Lefty".   

Mark, no apology necessary - It was just a tad long on one end.  I suspect the guide slot track that the stand-offs sit in were probably changed at some point during the production run.  If yours was .075 thicker, than your machining was perfect.

Chris & Vic, we used to have chuck key catapult contests!   

We also turned a lot of stainless so we would put the feed low and see who could make the longest continuous chip. We would nudge the chips around the machines for 30 or 40 feet sometimes. Then it would snag and make the biggest stainless steel scrubbing pad you ever saw!  [Akin to flying razor blades?]

Ain't it amazing what you can survive when you are young & dumb! [And older and supposedly wiser!] 

[Milwaukee Midget]

Ain't it amazing what you can survive when you are young & dumb! [And older and supposedly wiser!] 

When people talk about Social Darwinism and try to back it up with statistics and bell curves, they never take into account the IL outlier . . .

Ineptitude= Longevity.

Case in point - I'm still above ground.   

[Milwaukee Midget]

Dyno time confirmed - 10:00 AM Tuesday.

I've got some work in front of me . . .

[wisdonm]

I'll be free then. Just say when and where.