A Berkeley with Bite! (ccrunner)

[ccrunner]

October 12, 2024

The Streets of Bakersfield Car Show

Lisa and I like to say that by moving to the coast a few years ago, we escaped living in Bakersfield. If you've ever been through Bakersfield (CA) in the summer, you know why we share that sentiment. There aren't enough adjectives to describe all of the levels of hot that a denizen of Bako must endure. For several months a year, you might as well be living on the surface of the sun. Did I mention it's hot there?

Our oldest daughter is in love with a man who's job and family have him anchored in Bakersfield, so she was not able to escape as we were. I love her and all, but not enough to go visit her during the summer.

When I saw that there was a car show in mid October, I told her I'd come out to visit her and attend the car show IF it was under 100* and/ or not raining.. I can be insensitive sometimes. As the event drew nearer, the weather promised to meet my demands, and I drove the Berkeley over for the show (about 150 miles each way).

The car ran great and we had a good time. My kid took me out to sushi, which is a rare treat as her mom doesn't like seafood, so I lose out yet again. (For those keeping score, Lisa: 2, Dean: 0 / re: hot tubs and yummy sushi). The show had a really interesting mix of vehicles, with something for everyone.. A good time

Late in the show a voluteer told me I had won an award, and would I please stay until the end to accept it? Of course I will! There were the typical categories (i.e. best VW, best paint, best muscle car, etc.), so I was curious to see in where my not-yet-done toy car might have garnered notice.. best under construction was my guess.

In the end, I was awarded "Best Sports Car." I'm not really sure what to make of it as that's a category I don't remember ever seeing before, but hey, it's a cool thing to win an award, so let's not think about it too hard. Actually, part of me wonders if they didn't just make up the category in the event that an oddball such as a motorcycle-powered Berkeley might show up?? .. No matter.. They gave me a cool plaque, and however it went down, I'll take it

--ccrunner

[ccrunner]

November 17, 2024

AS OF TODAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2024, THIS BUILD IS NOW BACK IN REAL TIME

We went to see family north of Sacramento this past weekend, and on the way home we went through the SF bay area to pick up a GM 3.4 motor that will eventually power my next project, a 1960 MGA coupe. I mention that here and now because this is my typical pattern for my builds. I'll get the current thing down to its end (or close), then I start going out and gathering bits and bobs for the next thing.

To that end, I'm planning to finish this 1959 Berkeley build late summer 2025. The plan is to clean up a few loose ends, blow it back apart one last time, paint it at home, then reassemble it and consider it 'done.' Things don't always go as planned, but the general direction is to phase out of this build and onto the next one.

About that MGA.. I'm brainstorming my mods and how I want the car to shape up during the build process. I always think these early days of a build are so exciting because there's new energy for what could be.. AC? Power door locks? V8? V6? Auto? Manual? OEM vibe? Outlaw? I'm still formulating ideas and concepts and doing a ton of research. Two changes I'm looking forward to on the MG platform; It's a popular and well-supported marque, someone has been there and done that; no need to reinvent the wheel on this one, and that is appealing after having built the orphan Berkeley. The other appealing element of building the MGA coupe will sound odd, but I'm looking forward to having space within which to work. The Berk is so tiny that even the diminutive MG seems huge by comparison.. These last many years I've had to fight for millimeters at every turn; it will be nice to measure things in inches again

...If you'd like the follow the fun, the MGA build has already started (sort of) at: https://www.mgexp.com/forum/mga-forum.2 ... d.4748126/

--ccrunner

[JAMADOR]

Glad to be caught up.
My wife is from the mountains [Tehachapi] between Bakersfield & Edwards AFB.
We got married, in Bakersfield, outside, in July. Hot is definitely an understatement.
We were there in June for Tehachapi HS graduation [her niece], and stay in BK for a few days. Crazy, crazy heat.

[horchoha]

Thanks for posting the catch up Dean.

Glad to see that you found, fixed the issue, and reconciled with the Berk.

Will you be posting a build log on this site for the MGA build? Sure hope so

[ccrunner]

Thanks for posting the catch up Dean.

Glad to see that you found, fixed the issue, and reconciled with the Berk.

Will you be posting a build log on this site for the MGA build? Sure hope so

I think it's unlikely that I'll archive it in two places Perry.. This site has stability issues, and lurkers can't see our pics, both of which I find very frustrating.. Also, the MGA affords me the chance to go into the deep end with MG-specific builds and builders, which is something my last 3 oddball builds wouldn't allow for (Honda N600 / Volvo P1800 / Berkeley).. I'm sure I'll fab myself into a corner at some point and will dip back in here for some expert help, but the plan is to put the granular stuff on MGExp..

--ccrunner

[ohmite]

Hi Dean,
Glad to see you are caught up, now I feel I am too…phew .

Watching the Berkley project has been quite an experience. You’ve fought for every mm of space and succeeded. It’s a great looking car, even in primer. It will look spectacular in paint. It definitely has exotic appeal. I’m sure you said at one point and I don’t remember, what will the final color be?

It’s great you are getting prepared for the Coupe, I’m really looking forward to you digging into it, especially the V6. I think I’ve had my last drives of the season in the MGAs. The weather has definitely turned to Fall and I see little snowflakes in the forecast next week. I hope to bring the Rx-7/Locost home to start working on getting it legal for NY roads this coming Sunday. I’ve been storing it in my son’s garage since I started painting the MGiata, now that painting is done it’s time.

Cheers,
Eric

[ccrunner]

Hey Eric!

Sucks that driving season is over out there, but to have driving weather into the last week of November must be a small victory.. If you're like me, it will be nice to turn your attention to something different (your 7) and have a shift of focus..

I'm not 100% sure yet, but it's likely I'll go with Wimbledon white/ creamy white when I go to paint it next summer.. My thought is it's marque and period correct, and it will serve as a blank canvas to add stripes/ numbers/ or even a full wrap should I (or the next owner) decide to tart it up a bit

--ccrunner

[MangPong]

"Hello old chap" (it's what we used to say to whoever was sitting in the "Dicky Seat"...)

Yet again Locost has let me, you and presumably others, down... because it seems, while designing a new format for this site they have yet again lost me (and presumably others) and I've not had update emails since the 3rd September - not for any of the threads that I've been following for years.

Thus I've had to scour the site and re-find you (and others), and am glad to have done so.
There is too much here for me to comment but I still love all your work, and appreciate all your efforts to entertain and encourage your followers.
Maybe this is why you have felt nobody was paying attention, which must have caused you upsets at times.
I did seek your HAN/VC comment and cannot but agree with your attitude. I have visited Las Vegas , and enjoyed myself, but i doubt I'll be going anywhere near Reno... or not even NV, if the Governor ignores this incident...

I have also made a note of your MG build site and will check later...

Best wishes to you and yours, now and always... "MangPong"

[ccrunner]

"Hello old chap" (it's what we used to say to whoever was sitting in the "Dicky Seat"...)

Yet again Locost has let me, you and presumably others, down... because it seems, while designing a new format for this site they have yet again lost me (and presumably others) and I've not had update emails since the 3rd September - not for any of the threads that I've been following for years.

Thus I've had to scour the site and re-find you (and others), and am glad to have done so.
There is too much here for me to comment but I still love all your work, and appreciate all your efforts to entertain and encourage your followers.
Maybe this is why you have felt nobody was paying attention, which must have caused you upsets at times.
I did seek your HAN/VC comment and cannot but agree with your attitude. I have visited Las Vegas , and enjoyed myself, but i doubt I'll be going anywhere near Reno... or not even NV, if the Governor ignores this incident...

I have also made a note of your MG build site and will check later...

Best wishes to you and yours, now and always... "MangPong"

Well hello to you too old chap! I had wondered what happened to you MangPong.. it's nice to know you're still kicking around here.. Hopefully the site becomes more stable and user friendly with updates.. Glad you checked in

--ccrunner

[ccrunner]

12-7-2024

Not really an update, but a better look at the reshaped grille opening.. I had it out last weekend and took these pics to better show how the front of the car looks now that it's been reworked.. I haven't decided whether I'll fill the void with an egg-crate insert or not.. I'm leaning toward leaving it as is, but I'm open to suggestions and feedback.. I've thought about fabbing in a 'floating' horizontal bar (think type E motif bar).. just not sure..

*Top pic shows what I started with and how the factory shaped the grille opening way back when..

--ccrunner

[JAMADOR]

Looks great, Dean!
Much less of a shocked/surprised face

[horchoha]

Definitely a sleeker look than original.

[Reddragon]

Dean

Like the new look. Need to have something there, even if it is recessed, to catch any road debris to protect the radiator. That is a big opening and small rocks or pieces of tires could ruin your day if bounced up into the opening.

Dale

[ohmite]

Dean,
I definitely like the new look, purposeful and looks like a sports car (to me). The original definitely had that ‘surprised gaping mouth’ look. I agree with Reddragon, something to protect the radiator, even if it is a fairly coarse mesh.

Cheers,
Eric

[ccrunner]

Thank you for the feedback guys, and I'll be taking the advice to affix some sort of mesh into the void.. I'll sniff around and see what might look good.. maybe a black mesh.. There's very little chrome on the car, so maybe a nice bright (diagonal) stainless mesh (like Eric's reworked MGiata grille) would look good.. don't know, but something.. The car runs cool, so I'm not too worried about reducing air flow with a fine/medium mesh..

Thanks again guys

--ccrunner