Mark,
Possibly due to previous, improperly repaired collision damage?
My son wasn't allowed to "solo" the Midget until he'd had his license for
three years, and, then, only for very specific reasons, and with no
deviations from the "flight plan". I've relaxed the requirements, a good
bit, due to the fact that my son is a volunteer fire fighter, and has
participated in rescue/extrication efforts for numerous vehicle accident
victims. He's a pretty responsible, level-headed kid. But, I keep
reminding him (and me, too) that driving a Midget is very similar to riding
a motorcycle, in that you have very little protection, and are often
invisible to semi-comatose SUV drivers. We've also lost four kids (all of
whom he/I knew well), from our small, rural community, to automobile
accidents, in the past few years. Also, he helped the paramedics extricate,
and stabilize the critically injured older sister of one of his life-long
best friends from her demolished Pontiac. She survived, but was in a coma
for several months, and required several more months of physical
rehab........
Kids & cars. A very scary mix. I'm just very thankful that God has watched
over the kids in our family, during those incredibly dangerous years.
Sorry for the digression from Spridget topics, but, kids and driving is a
very big item, with me (the parents of all of those kids were/are friends of
ours).
Bottom line: kids in old sports cars scare the crap outa me.
That being said, my almost 21 year old son will get to take "conditional"
custody of the '73 Midget we're working on, now. One condition is that he's
got to put in a very significant amount of time working on it (as well as
the 1098 vintage racer), if he wants to drive it. It is my hope that, if he
appreciates the amount of work it takes to restore one, and keep it up and
running, he's more likely to treat it with the respect it deserves.
Bud Osbourne
-----Original Message-----
From Mark Hineline [mailto:hineline at ocotillofield.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 2:33 PM
To: Bud Osbourne
Cc: Spridget List
Subject: Re: 1275 vs 1500 in a RB Midget
I had hoped to give it to my son for his sixteenth birthday, so that my
car's history would parallel yours, but it wasn't to be.
Thanks for the whole story, Bud. I'll be sure to share it with my wife
(who would doubtless respond that Stalin didn't make Hitler look good
either).
Mark
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