Milwaukee Midget

[Milwaukee Midget]

Okay - the engine is now back together and in place.

2022-08-28_09-37-59 by Chris Conrad, on Flickr

Picked up that sexy marque plate from a vintage MG parts supplier in Perth. Still debating whether MG stands for, "My Goodness", or "Motherf%*^#ng Gawdaweful" . . .

The last few times I was trying to start the Midget, I noticed that the starter seemed to be dragging a bit and felt overly warm. While it hasn't been used all that much, it has been used on the salt to turn over two different engines with about 13:1 compression and to start engines that weren't too keen on starting. For a car that has fewer than 100 miles on it, the starter has seen extraordinary abuse.

I took it over to MJ auto Electric on Friday to have them give it a go-over.

My explanation - a Japanese starter of unknown origin, modified by a company in New York to fit a 1275 BMC engine, then remodified to fit a destroked K-series MG-Rover engine utilizing a custom crank, ribcage transmission and an adapter plate - didn't faze them one bit.

They were quick to note the modifications and questioned the unusual application, but recognized the guts as something that they could service.

I dropped it off on Friday - it was done Saturday. I'll pick it up on Tuesday - because tonight we're boogie'in off to see Asleep at the Wheel in Door County.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6sO_W-vzs4

[fordboy628]

midget,

Allow me to, as a public service, point out an alternative to the high cost of performance camshaft regrinding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRrHUBFqXVo

Additionally, to all you racers who have complained to me about this "high cost" of cam regrinding, please direct your communications and inquiries directly to the YouTube poster.

 
Publicserviceboy

Disclaimer:  This is 15:28 of your life you will NEVER get back . . . . .

[Stainless1]

That almost looks like it would come from Willie's builds... backyard engineering... I'll bet that's the way Isky did it in the 50's 
 

[Milwaukee Midget]

A little on the "arts and crafts" spectrum, and I'm trying to justify the time, though the part was certainly shiney when he finished.
But is it worth getting swarf in your sandals?
In the next video, he fly-cuts the piston for clearence . . .

[floydjer]

Of much enjoyment did I from video.

[Jack Gifford]

... I'll bet that's the way Isky did it in the 50's...

Not quite. It was still the fifties when Isky went to computer-generated profiles to precisely control maximum acceleration and jerk values. And still in the fifties when Ed first offered 7075 alloy rods.

I hope the guy in the video uses hydraulic lifters, because he surely didn't create any clearance ramps on those lobes!

[fordboy628]

... I'll bet that's the way Isky did it in the 50's...

Not quite. It was still the fifties when Isky went to computer-generated profiles to precisely control maximum acceleration and jerk values. And still in the fifties when Ed first offered 7075 alloy rods.

I hope the guy in the video uses hydraulic lifters, because he surely didn't create any clearance ramps on those lobes!

x 2!

Based on the way he did it, I'd bet real money that instead of a ramp, there exists an "inverse flank".   Good luck with that if it is a "flat" tappet!

[fordboy628]

"Necessity is the mother of invention."   Plato

Well, that is clearly the case here.


And I DO applaud the guy's ingenuity.   Judging by his "safety sandals" there probably isn't much in the way of "technology" available in his probable third world environment.

And I'll be the first to admit it, ALL kinds of horrible things get "cobbled together" at the race track!   We have all done it, just the circumstances are different.
It's a testament to how much abuse the internal combustion engine can tolerate, and still run, more or less.

I have to wonder though, how long it ran?  And how well?

Bonneville die hards, I think you are "safe", for now.   Or at least until somebody sets up a Go Fund Me page for this guy, so he can buy a Cam Dr!

 
Possiblegofundmeboy

[salt27]

I remember my dad telling me about welding and grinding cam lobes in the 40s and 50s and how spoiled we were now to be able to thumb thru a catalog and pick out what we THINK we need.

[fordboy628]

I remember my dad telling me about welding and grinding cam lobes in the 40s and 50s and how spoiled we were now to be able to thumb thru a catalog and pick out what we THINK we need.

Consider for a moment that if you have chosen to race something "orphan", (ie: any application for which there are NO blanks or billets),  your only choice may be welding all the lobes and regrinding your original cam.    Web Cams provides this service for many orphan applications.   Needless to say, this can be expensive.

Another reason to race something "Normal".    As if any racer is . . . . normal!

 
Abbynormalboy

[Milwaukee Midget]

Let's see, . . . where was I?

Oh, yeah,

So the engine is back in place and plumbed.  I was looking to go through the wiring harness to see if there are any issues I need to address.  One issue that has been churning over in the back of my mind for two years is that I wired a switch directly to the fuel pump circuit, bypassing the dedicated outlet from the ECU intended to activate the fuel pump.

It's more of an annoyance than an issue - and actually, having a switch in the circuit isn't a bad thing.  But by bypassing the ECU out, I lose the automatic pump shut-down when the fuel reaches pressure in the rail while the engine isn't running. So if your struggling to fire up, the pump runs constantly, despite having built sufficient pressure in the fuel rail. I decided to fix that.

But after tearing the house and garage apart looking for my notes, spreadsheets and schematics, I came to the conclusion that I had lost 'em all.

So the last two days have found me in the garage with the Holley manual, my laptop and a continuity checker, retracing and confirming my terminations one-by-one, re-entering the locations through the amphenol connectors, and, in general, recreating the pin map and a new spreadsheet to mirror the ones I created 6 years ago when I first installed the EFI system. 

I'm just about done, but I felt my cranium was so far up my rectum that if I blinked, I was going to tickle my sphincter.

Things are falling into place for Speedweek. Nick's ready to drive, and I'm looking forward to simply dealing with the vehicle and not have to worry about wheel-time.

Heading to the SCTA tech meeting on the 22nd. Stopping at the Roge-Ma-Hall in Salina on the way out - I've got a guitar amplifier I repaired for Wayno, which he uses for harmonica. Clean little Fender amp - should wail - I know guitar sounds great through it.

[Elmo Rodge]

Yay. 
Wayno

[Stan Back]

Long time no hear.

Longer time no see.

Hope to fix those this year.

Stan

[Milwaukee Midget]

Long time no hear.

Longer time no see.

Hope to fix those this year.

Stan

Hey, Stan.

Just been off the game of late. Tough getting motivated, but the plan is Speedweek.
To that end, I pulled the tank and replaced the fuel pump today. The gas was garbage, although there was only about a quart to deal with. The pump was locked up, and my troubleshooting of the wire loom kept blowing the fuse. Pulling the tank and checking the wires showed no issue with the wiring, leaving the pump suspect.
Cleaned the tank, replaced the pump, reinstalled the whole kit, and I'll pick up a pale of fuel tomorrow to test the rest of the fuel plumbing.
It was a solid day of garage time.

[Speed Limit 1000]

After Bonneville we would drain our fuel system and pump some Marvel Mystery Oil into the fuel pump. Back when we ran carburetors we had to disassemble and clean our Holley fuel pumps sometimes. Dried race gas can be difficult to clean off parts