Milwaukee Midget

[kiwi belly tank]

"Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 1326?"

Is that the firing order?  Wayno

Only in a misfiring flathead with a bad distributor!   

Good one Wayno, you're still on form!
  Sid.

[Dean Los Angeles]

 Ahem . . .

[Milwaukee Midget]

I'm still alive.  I'm in the midst of my annual work regime which has me doing 16-18 hour days for three weeks. 

I'm pretty well situated and ready to run with a few details.  I have a new header collector that should be here in the next week, and I also have an appointment with my friend, Bob Merkt, who just moved back from Austin, Texas, and will add the additional roll cage tube.

Some of you may be aware of Bob - he was at the Austin Speed Shop, and appears in a couple of episodes of "Outlaw Garage".  As is often the case in "reality television", the producers aired the footage that made Jesse look like the star, and edited it in such a way as to make others look like incompetents.  I can state unequivocally that the show didn't do Bob's talents justice.  I've seen his '32, and his skills as far as chassis and body work are concerned are world class.  When I first started this project, Bob was my first call, only to find he had just moved to Austin.  That he's back in Beerhaven and will at least have a small part in this project is very important to me, because he's a solid fabricator and a good friend.

Additionally, he'll be heading to Melbourne in October with his band, "The Jade Idol", for the annual Chopped show.  I've insisted he contact a guitar slinging racer friend of ours while he's in town.  I only wish I could be there to trade licks with 'em.

So I've got a few things coming up in the next month to put things into a pseudo thrash mode, which is probably important - I don't want to get too complacent.

Just let me get through this weekend - 4 hours a night sleep is getting a little old . . .

[Tman]

Did not know you knew Bleed? Good to see him back in Cheddarland

[Milwaukee Midget]

A little down time - so I ran off to, "gee, I wonder if . . . " land. 

I dug around the slag pile that is my used BMC engine parts corner of basement world and pulled out an old 948 block.  Dale posted up the diameter of the Harley Davidson tappets the Flatcad is using - .750, which is smaller in diameter than the .812's in the Midget, but are of a roller variety.  The 948 has an open tappet chest - the 1275 block is solid, but they're similar enough that I'm thinking I might be able to pull this off for next year.

Just bouncing some numbers around, but I'm thinking a machined insert might accommodate a modified Harley roller tappet in the Grenade. 

[salt27]

Chris or Fordboy or who ever knows,

My daughter asked me the differences between the old Mini motor and the modern one.

I did not have a clue.

She was looking for a car and was concerned about reliability.

Educate me.

Thank you, Don

P.S. She bought a Mazda 3.

[Tman]

Chris or Fordboy or who ever knows,

My daughter asked me the differences between the old Mini motor and the modern one.

I did not have a clue.

She was looking for a car and was concerned about reliability.

Educate me.

Thank you, Don

P.S. She bought a Mazda 3.

She will love the Mazda, we had two of them over the years. The Minis at least upholding the tradition of Lucas. I have been around several, all with electrical issues!

[salt27]

Trent,
I will let her know.

She got it yesterday and still has a big grin on her face.

Thank you, Don

Chris, I apologize about the hijack but would still like to know about the mechanical changes.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Chris or Fordboy or who ever knows,

My daughter asked me the differences between the old Mini motor and the modern one.

Actually, she answered the question herself.

The old Mini motor is OLD -  the modern MINI motor is MODERN!  

I don't think that even the oil is interchangeable between the two . . .

Kate test drove a MINI when they came out in 2001 - which meant I test drove one, too.  I loved the feel the agility and the whole vibe of it, but that was the first year, and there were a few issues I had with the cheezy dash and the general finish.

Plus it was just too damned big . . .

[salt27]

Chris, thanks for clearing that up.

Now back to Midgets, beer and getting Fordboy to Speedweek.

 Don

[Milwaukee Midget]

Chris, thanks for clearing that up.

Now back to Midgets, beer and getting Fordboy to Speedweek.

 Don

Gentle persuasion, he knows he has lodging, and if it's possible, he'll be there.

Stopped by Bobby "Bleed" Merkt's shop with the Midget last night and dropped it off.  When Bob cashed out of the Austin Speed Shop, he brought up one of the team members, a guy named Jeff.  They're just continuing what they were doing in Austin, working out of his dad's old shop west of town, and the three of us just talked rods, Bonneville and BS for a good solid hour.  Bob's been thinking about a roadster to do both LSR and drag racing with.  He's got a good starting point in a rough'n'riginal '32 five window - a bit beyond saving for a street rod, but a good starting point for an Olds powered Salt Deuce. 

I told him that before he starts welding, I'll drop him off a copy of the rule book, so he'd only have to build the car once.  That's what friends are for.   

He fast-tracked the Midget - tonight - tomorrow night at the latest.  I've got the camera with me, and I'll snap some shots of the projects and customer's cars he's working on.

[Tman]

Tell Bob howdy.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Tell Bob howdy.

Trent – a big Howdy back atcha from Bob!

Wow – the cage is done – at least until the new rule book comes out – but I had another great visit with Bob and Jeff today.

Bob was in a quandary as to what to name his new shop.  Let’s face it, with a name like “Austin Speed Shop”, it’s tough to come up with an acronym that has that kind of punch.  But Bob’s a creative guy, and I’m proud to be the owner of the first Bonneville car to have had work performed on it by “Midwest Fabrication”.

The tin they’ve got just lying around is scary . . .

Bob just sold this one – the potential for a ’41 lincoln 2 door is, imho, huge.  I love the C pillar – it points the way to a lot of early ‘50’s GM and Virgil Exner styled  Mopars of the mid 1950’s, yet here it is before the war.  The engine is intact . . .



What kind of speed shop doesn’t have a parts runner?



This is one of M.F.’s customer’s cars.  It’s just slightly more modern than it appears with aluminum heads, but if you don’t have a magnet, you’d never know by looking –




Jeff, the overtly courteous fellow who is also working at the shop found a very hip historical rod which he’s in the process of restoring.  That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!




He has original pictures, and documentation from Hot Rod magazine, circa 1961 -




And what could be more fun than a drop top Ford?  This one will require work, but I think it has potential . . .



That’s it for tonight, other than to say that this is precisely the type of thing I really dig about this sport.  It permits one to seamlessly network with computer engineers and tin benders, vintage racers and tuners, artisans and hacks, visionaries and historians.

In short, it’s all good.

[wisdonm]

Where it that located? We used to tow with a GMC motor-home just like that, back in the '80s.

[Milwaukee Midget]

He's just west of 83 on 18.

By the way - I didn't get a shot of it, but in the pic with the Magnum in it, you can kinda make out a '66 snub nose 100 series Dodge van with a HP 340 and a 727 in it.

I'm thinking if it's still around when I get back, it might become my next tow vehicle . . .