Larry, congrats on getting the Midget back on the road.
I also had a great driving weekend.
We did a 170 mile run in the Bugeye Sunday. Car ran great even with temps in
the 90's. We did not have any rain but had temperature extremes from the
90's inland to the 50's in light fog and 30 knot winds along the Big Sur
coast. It is a spectacular drive over the coastal range from Hunter Liggett
to the coast. Very narrow road with hundreds of twists and turns just made
for a Spridget, barely wide enough for two cars to pass.
Going up the mountain the road is lined with trees and in places the trees
form a canopy over the road for hundreds of yards at a time. We even had to
ford a river but the water was only about 6 inches deep. Coming down the
coastal side the trees disappear and the wild flowers start. Your passenger
can see the ocean for miles. The driver does not have time to look because
the road is just one turn after another. The longest straight is not more
the 20 or 30 yards. Highly recommended for anyone driving a Spridget.
BTW we finished 5th in the time and distance ralley driving strictly by the
seat of the pants (no speedo or odometer). When we were if 4th or 5th gear I
could pretty well estimate the speed from the tach. Most of the mountain
crossing was in 2nd and 3rd and I had no clue as to our speed except for
Sandi yelling at me to slow down. As it turned out, she was correct. We were
way too fast on the mountain sections :-)
Larry Miller
http://www.ado13.com
PARDON MY DRIVING, I'M RELOADING.
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Macy <macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu>
To: MG List <mgs@autox.team.net>; Spridgets <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 7:59 AM
Subject: The long weekend
> I finally got the time to put the diff in the Midget on Friday. That of
> course is a fairly straight forward assembly. All went well until time
> to torque the pinion nut. I did after all replace the seal. The spec is
> 140 lb/ft. Now I am laying on my back under the car trying to get enough
> leverage to pull 140. As I get closer the whole wheel assembly begins to
> turn. Even with the parking brake on as tight as I can get it. So I get
> somebody in the car to stand on the brakes. Finally my Snap-On torque
> wrench gives me a resounding loud crack!! I try again just to make sure
> and there it is again. Put the drive line back to the pinion and put the
> wheels on and let it off the jack stands. Start it up, cross fingers,
> pull out of parking lot quiet as a sheep from the rearend.(No comments
> from the peanut gallery) Hooray!!. Of course when I got the old pumpkin
> out I found several shards of metal from the gears, including one nearly
> as big as my little finger!!. I cleaned out the housing with solvent and
> a magnet to make sure I got all of it. Drove it a little on Sat to make
> sure - no laeks and it would hold together.
>
> Sunday, Father's Day, Damnit Dick's Day June 20,1999.
>
> Went out and played golf on Sun AM. Love pulling into the Golf Club
> parking lot with the clubs hanging out the front passengers seat. After I
> got off the course I got a call from some old camping buddies from my
> AR/OK days. They are in southern Joisey at a campground. So I grab a few
> things, clothes, sleeping bag, cooler, etc. and head out from Lansdale.
> Philly and then out into the back roads of Southern Joisey. Drove nearly
> 120 miles, the last 20 or so in the rain with no top!!. Arrived at the
> campground abot 4PM with a big ol' sh*t eating grin on my face!!! They
> didn't know for certain I was coming as I just took a message from them
> and couldn't call them back. Boy were they surprised when I pulled up in
> the rain with no top on the Midget.
>
> Then on Sunday we decide they want to see the Statue of Liberty. Another
> 100+ miles in the drizzle and rain. Unfortunately this was all up the
> Joisey Turnpike. Then another 100+ miles home, This time w/o the rain.
>
> The Midget ran like a top with nary a rumble or squeek out of the
> drivetrain.
>
> All in all a great weekend with some old good friends, The Midget too,
> back in action after 2 1/2 weeks down.
>
> Larry
>
> Larry Macy
> 78 Midget
>
> Keep your top down and your chin up
>
> Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
> macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
> System Administrator/Manager
> Neuropsychiatry Section
> Department of Psychiatry
> University of Pennsylvania
> 3400 Spruce St. - 1015 Gates
> Philadelphia, PA 19104
>
>
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