Author Topic: Milwaukee Midget  (Read 3417140 times)

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Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #270 on: September 23, 2010, 08:35:08 PM »
Lovely wooden dash and comfy leather seats
G

Yeah,just like the local Doctor.....incapable of sticking to the schedule , but the "waiting room" was nice......even if it did smell a bit weird.......
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

http://thespiritofsunshine.blogspot.com/

Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #271 on: September 23, 2010, 11:34:52 PM »
It's just that any time an English car has made me hold up traffic, it is usually a bendix fuel pump problem
And I would have forgotten about bendix , but I was at the Roadworthy testers the the other day and he had a Jag on the hoist that wouldn't do more than about 30. My suggestion was to replace the fuel pumps with a pair of anything else.
He rang me later to ask me the same question you did
Used to own a Landrover I did.
G

The Colonel , at his best. :wink:



I think it's the longest complete thought I've ever seen him post. :-)
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline grumm441

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #272 on: September 24, 2010, 04:03:59 AM »
Yup
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Spirit of Sunshine Bellytank Lakester
https://www.dlra.org.au/rulebook.htm

Offline floydjer

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #273 on: September 24, 2010, 11:53:02 AM »
M.M.    The starter took a dump on you??  That seems a bid rude of him. :cheers:
I`d never advocate drugs,alcohol,violence or insanity to anyone...But they work for me.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #274 on: September 25, 2010, 12:55:05 PM »
M.M.    The starter took a dump on you??  That seems a bid rude of him. :cheers:

An honest mistake.  The port-o-lets had faster time slips than I did, and given the similar paint schemes, it could have been anyone.

Amazing where even a slow car can accumulate salt.  Stiff brush, wash - rinse - repeat.  Seems any and EVERY surface that lacked paint has developed a patina this week.  WD-40 in hand - Salt-X on order.

I thought I was pretty thorough in painting each piece before assembly, but I'm quickly finding those little areas I'll need to attend to if I'm hoping to keep the little guy rot free.

Debating between pulling the distributor this afternoon, or just pulling the whole engine.  I’m torn between trying to figure out where the problem is on this engine configuration and simply moving forward.  The ignition will be a crank trigger next year, I don’t know if my spare starter is any better than the one that’s in the car, and I could easily be chasing my tail troubleshooting an ignition setup that will never be used for racing again.  Still, I’m curious as to WTH is going on.


Other problems that creeped into the picture.  Crack in the steering wheel – a pity, because it came out really nice.  Clutch slave leaking – that was a surprise.  Rear seal leak – a common occurrence on the BMC engines – 80-90 psi is a bit much for the A-block.  Pinhole leak in a frost plug – that’s just an annoyance.

Taking notes, moving forward.

By the way – My old man finally signed up to add his 2 cents here.  I’ll warn you, he’s quick as a whip.
 
Welcome aboard, Crew Chief.




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

Offline gearheadeh

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #275 on: September 25, 2010, 03:28:52 PM »
M.M.    The starter took a dump on you??  That seems a bid rude of him. :cheers:

An honest mistake.  The port-o-lets had faster time slips than I did, and given the similar paint schemes, it could have been anyone.

Great how you can take this in stride and come back so well with that!


By the way – My old man finally signed up to add his 2 cents here.  I’ll warn you, he’s quick as a whip.
 
Welcome aboard, Crew Chief.

If he is half as quick as you we are all gonna have fun!

40 is the old age of Youth, 50 is the young age of the Senior years.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #276 on: November 08, 2010, 10:16:34 PM »
Been a while – It was good to just let the Midget sit.  I reintroduced myself to my wife (she still claims to love me), caught up with friends and family (who say I’ve become obsessive and lost weight over the summer), played a few gigs with the bands (chops are coming back – slowly), reinstalled the supercharger on the MGB (just in time for the first hard frost) and now, as the days grow shorter and my bank account has slightly improved, it’s time for an update.

1st off, I got the Pommy Pygmy started this weekend, and it still sounds great.  The starter (which gave out on me in September) acted positively to the same technique one uses to reactivate an SU fuel pump – a firm blow with a lead hammer.  Hey, I had nothing to lose – I just wish I had thought of it two months ago.
 
I found the problem as to why the Midget wouldn’t rev – under load.  That was the critical condition – under load, and the clues became apparent when I reread the build diary.  I follow everybody else’s advice – time to start listening to myself . . .

 

It doesn’t appear to, but the Weber DOES clear the bonnet – nevertheless, shorter ram pipes and a very low profile air cleaner are in order.  Probably will need to chain the engine down to keep the carb from hitting the hood under load.
 


If you look carefully as to how the carburetor is attached, you’ll see isolation springs on the mounting studs that connect the carb to the manifold -



Between the carb and the manifold, there are rubber O-rings which isolate the carb from engine vibration.  I found telltale scrapes on the underside of the hood where the carb hit the hood under load.  A variable vacuum leak, activated by the torquing of the engine.  And I received two mentions about stabilizing the engine  -

Getting rid of the Metalastic will end that worry.  :wink:
Geo

And –

put a chain on it to limit the excursion.....or even a rubber band :-D...

Now while both of these comments were with respect the proximity of my clutch slave cylinder to the frame, had I followed the advice of Geo and the Dr., not to mention myself, it’s likely that my time slip would have a somewhat larger number on it.

But this is the cost of an education. 

Great news from Deist – I got a call from Russ today, and my SFI spec blow-rag is done, and will be shipped as soon as Frank gets my tranny case out of the Deist truck and packages it all up.  So to you teaming hoards of Spridget racers out there, let the word go forth – Deist now has a pattern for the BMC Ribcage Bellhousing.  And they’ll gladly build one for you, too.  You’re welcome.

I’ve got fuel for the garage heater, a rather esoteric short-stroke A-block to contrive, parts on the way, more parts to order.  It just doesn’t end.  I like it.

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

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #277 on: November 08, 2010, 11:11:08 PM »
.............I didn't go back through it but I'm pretty sure I was just reinforcing something you'd said...I can't take credit for anything like that.

It's great that you worked it out and that it was a set up issue and not a "funda-flaw"................

"a firm blow with a lead hammer.  Hey, I had nothing to lose – I just wish I had thought of it two months ago"

I am the first guy to think "well, we're f*cked either way here , gimmee a hammer and we'll put those suspicions to rest 'cause right now it doesn't work"

you're a gonner for this game now,

btw:I think those guitars are in today....

thanks mate :wink:
« Last Edit: November 08, 2010, 11:16:26 PM by Dr Goggles »
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

http://thespiritofsunshine.blogspot.com/

Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

Offline Rob

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #278 on: November 08, 2010, 11:59:43 PM »
Good to see things moving again Chris and that you solved the lack of speed. Hindsight is a wondefully clear sense  :-D

I couldn't say enough about Russ after we visited Deist and loaded up our baggage with safety gear last month. What they didn't have in stock he moved up for first thing in the am on their "to do" list and I picked it up on my way past the following day. Even Marion Deist played hide and seek with the young bloke to keep him amused.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,
Rob

Offline grumm441

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #279 on: November 09, 2010, 02:59:06 AM »
Yep . sometimes it can be the simple things
I do some work for various motorcycle workshops around Melbourne sfter everyone else has had a try
Yesterday I got a call from a certain Vespa shop (est 1954) to come and look at an electrical problem on a modern injected Vespa
After spending three hours on it with all sorts of diagnostic tools I had not learned anything
It was when I was sitting at home watching a wasp fly around my kitchen that the penny dropped
So today, I went over to the aforementioned shop and stuck a screwdriver up the exhaust and out came the dirt and dead wasps
It can be the simplest things
The ironic part being that Vespa is the Italian word for wasp
G
Chief Motorcycle Steward Dry Lakes Racers Australia Inc
Spirit of Sunshine Bellytank Lakester
https://www.dlra.org.au/rulebook.htm

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #280 on: November 09, 2010, 03:52:06 PM »
Yep . sometimes it can be the simple things
I do some work for various motorcycle workshops around Melbourne sfter everyone else has had a try
Yesterday I got a call from a certain Vespa shop (est 1954) to come and look at an electrical problem on a modern injected Vespa
After spending three hours on it with all sorts of diagnostic tools I had not learned anything
It was when I was sitting at home watching a wasp fly around my kitchen that the penny dropped
So today, I went over to the aforementioned shop and stuck a screwdriver up the exhaust and out came the dirt and dead wasps
It can be the simplest things
The ironic part being that Vespa is the Italian word for wasp
G

There was a wasp hangin around when I was there last week wasn't there?......One thing that story tells us is that Piaggio have a handle on the emissions stuff if nothing else because nothing would make it's home in the exhaust of an old PX.........
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

http://thespiritofsunshine.blogspot.com/

Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #281 on: November 16, 2010, 07:46:19 PM »

There was a wasp hangin around when I was there last week wasn't there?......

C.O.E.?  :wink:

Take press where you can get it!

As long as they spell your name right . . .

My lovely bride, Kate, works for a rather large ad agency here in Milwaukee.  They have a blog which ties in to their online marketing and business-to-business presence.  She put this piece together about our trip to Bonneville this last September.

http://converge.baderrutter.com/blog/2010/11/16/the-slowest-car-on-the-salt-flats-sparks-imagination.html
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline hotschue

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #282 on: November 16, 2010, 08:20:37 PM »
Very nice!!
Udo Horn
221.559 D/CGC '03
182.144 G/GMS 2019

Offline Geo

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #283 on: November 16, 2010, 09:13:29 PM »
Hey MM,

Kate has a gift!  That's a wonderful story.

BTW send me your motor mounts and I will weld them solid.

Geo

Offline debgeo

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Re: Milwaukee Midget
« Reply #284 on: November 16, 2010, 10:18:51 PM »
Everybody should have a cheer leader and it is special when she is your wife. :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)Nice article.
George---Sidecar in progress