JAMADOR's 75 Midget

[JAMADOR]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6QHwrgTdmYG53sM7A

Success!
Got up to wrench on the Midget on Saturday.
Changed the diff fluid, after making a custom tool for the drain & fill plugs. Had to grind down a 1/2" socket extension, the square hole was just a bit smaller & this was easier/cheaper than finding the proper size square bit.
Quick & easy

Got to the trans, bit tighter to get to & it's a square head bolt, open end wrench took care of this one. Turned out that the fill bolt was just finger tight
Drain bolt took a bit of effort to break loose, but uneventful.
Really glad we trailered it home when we bought it. Pulled the drain plug from the trans, and only got a couple ounces of fluid out.
Topped her up with Redline MT90

Bled the brakes when I had a 2nd set of hands [feet]. Had to bleed her 1.5 times (rear, front, rear again)
First round, barely got any change out of the rears when bleeding them.
Moved to the front, where I'd put in new calipers, and had to bleed them enough that I had to top up the master cylinder twice.
Did the rears 1 more time, and they behaved like normal.
The rear drums were way out of adjustment. The PO had put in new wheel cylinders, but I guess didn't adjust them.
Non-boosted brakes, but they perform much better now.

Also put in a new ignition coil, as we felt it was getting weak spark last time we were working on it.
Probably put in a new set of spark plugs & maybe new plug wires next time I order parts.

Tossed in about 1/2 tank of gas from my dad's supply of treated fuel, cranked her up (which took a bit of effort, after sitting for a couple weeks), wheels on & torqued & went for about a 10 mile drive.
Runs great, and sounds pretty good, IMO. Will be better when the exhaust is matched up to the header, I think.
Bit of seepage from the oil pan gasket on the driver's side, so may have to plan to replace that soon. Also has a small grind in 2nd gear, small on upshift, a but louder on downshift, but otherwise it shifts great.
Took a bit of adjustment to the size & the roller skate wheels/tires, but she'll jump to 70mph pretty easily. Definitely quicker than I expected for only having about 60-65hp.
My dad is going to take it for an alignment, if it'll fit on their rack.
Then it's just down to the small issues & cosmetics.

Our town is having a July 4th parade & car show,. Might put her in it, if I can get it done enough to bring home & get the car cover built.

No pics from the weekend, just the 1 video, which didn't really turn out great. My attempted phone mount didn't work & ejected my phone into the seat when shifting to 2nd.

[JAMADOR]

The day started well. Took a warm up run to shake her down a bit.


Loaded up & hit the road


About 30 miles in, stopped at a light & tenp shot up, started bucking when we got a green. Pulled over & was dropping coolant


Going to trailer her the rest of the way. Thinking it's the fan clutch. Good opportunity to go electric.

[JAMADOR]

2 steps forward, 1 step back.
New water pump & clutchless fan installed, fresh coolant.
Also got the rubber bumpers [shockingly heavy] and grille removed.

Temps were holding in the 175-180 range in stop/go driving, big improvement.





My wife took her first drive in it & after a stop [engine off] the starter didn't disengage [dash interference with the key held it in the start position but it wasn't engaging the flywheel after the engine started].
Maybe a half mile like that & it wouldn't restart, nothing from the starter. Had to bump start it to get it home. Was running fine, but now the starter does nothing from the key.

Going to let it fully cool & see if it is maybe just overheated.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

I think it's toast or at least won't be consistent/reliable but you can order a reman for under $100 or have it rewound. There are still some local shops that do that sort of work.

[horchoha]

Yep I think a rebuilt starter is due.

[JAMADOR]

Luckily, a new starter is about $150
Oddly, a reman from the same vendor is $499, with $300 refunded on sending in your old starter. Which still leaves you out the extra $50

Going to short the starter solenoid to confirm the starter won't engage. Would be preferable that the solenoid is bad, as it's much easier to access.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

Try a new vendor:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303590682096?h ... R7C05cqsYg

New, $80 and free shipping. Definitely a new solenoid also considering what happened.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155435310330?e ... R6y05cqsYg

[JAMADOR]

Thanks, found the starter locally at Orielly for $45
Just need to call to order since they don't stock it. Should be able to have it by the weekend.

[JAMADOR]

Update, that O'Reilly reman starter was no good.
Returned it & found a new one locally, cost a bit more but it works.

Pulling the starter the first time was a pain, went a bit quicker installing/pulling the bad reman, and only took me about 30 min to install the 3rd one.

Decided to do something potentially foolish & removed the rear box muffler, leaving just the resonator/pre-muffler. It's definitely louder, but not obnoxious. It'll do until I can get the exhaust redone to match the header [currently it's about 1/4" smaller dia].

Before:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rDMrv4ZtmZEPwY6f6

After:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tDpVdzTJMydSAikNA

Brief test drive [phone mount blocks the camera:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8ujRQfdhooLiSwdAA

Drove her to work this morning, no problems other than it being a bit warm in the 80s, supposed to be quite hot this afternoon.

[JAMADOR]

Well, she stranded me yesterday on the drive home from work


Best I can guess:
>100* ambient temp, plus whatever was radiating from the pavement, and crawling rush hour traffic = fuel vaporizing/boiling before reaching the engine.
Sat for about 30 min & it started back on. Engine temps were good & it had been running well up to that point.
An odd layout, where the 2 legs of the intake manifold are straddled by the legs of the exhaust manifold. I'm sure that contributes.

[Lonnie-S]

Is it practical to wrap the exhaust to reduce radiated heat to adjacent areas?

I'm glad all it took was time to fix the situation, however.

Cheers,

[JAMADOR]

I'm not sure on heat shielding the IM.
I believe the SU carb'ed cars had a heatshield plate between the carbs & exh mani.
Guy on the Midget forum said it may be beneficial to change from the mechanical fuel pump to an electric. I guess over time when the mech pumps start to wear, they don't push enough fuel and/or can start wearing on the cam.
I've noticed that when it sits for a few days/week, it takes a few cranks to prime the fuel system, vs turning the key on & letting an e-pump prime before cranking.

[300D50]

I would take a piece of mica insulator board or fiberglass and aluminum board (https://www.mcmaster.com/4580N18/ might be good) and mount it to that intake.

Electric pump, just make sure you have the pressure dialed in right.
I'd maybe suggest leaving the mechanical pump in place with a loop of oil filled hose for when the electrical gremlins decide to get feisty.

[Warren Nethercote]

A mechanical fuel pump on a Spridget? Who knew? Growing up with Morris' and Austins, electric fuel pumps (Lucas or Smiths, I cannot recall) were the norm. The points occasionally stuck, but a whack with a screw-driver handle would fix that (for a while). No vapour lock issues either, although this was in Ottawa Ontario, not Texas.

[RichardSIA]

Unless someone has made changes or 1500's are different.
Electric fuel pump, mounted under the floor ahead of the fuel tank on the right side.