70,000 Miles

The Midget turned over it's 70,000th mile today. I was on my way up to work when it happened. I was so worried I'd miss it, I pulled over and took a shot with my phone.

What's the odometer read this evening? About 70,050. I got pretty lost today. But that's another story.

So as of September 2005, I've only managed to clock 5,000 miles. I'll try to do better for the next three years.

Having a Gas...Line

As mentioned earlier, I've been wanting to replace my fuel hose connecting the two carburetors (or as the English say, "carburettors") with a steel braided fuel hose. Easier said than done.

After Victoria British Ltd. sent me the wrong length hose. After looking around locally, I found a Street Rod shop in Coopersburg who had some hose. After three different visits, I was finally able to talk to the "parts guy." He had 4 feet of the 1/4" hose that I needed, so I bought it.

Since I only needed about 15 inches, I had to cut it to the appropriate length. After my Dad and I struggled with it a bit (everything we used frayed the braids), we took it over to my Uncle who had a small circular motor saw. From there things went pretty smooth.

Here's a picture of the new hose in place.

Good Day

After experiencing some overheating and poor acceleration problems, I had a great day today with the Midget.

First, let me preface the story with a note about my extreme stupidity. I realized the other night whilst driving home from Greg's house, that hot air was blowing on my legs. I usually get warm air coming in from the engine, but this seemed more substantial. Turns out, I have the freakin' heater on. I thought I had the heater valve turned off under the hood, but apparently that was open as well. I closed the valve and I was anxious to take a trip and see if it fixed my overheating problem.

I headed out to the Lehigh Valley Mall and right away noticed the car had more pep to it. So that was good. But after about 20 minutes it started idling real rough and almost shutting down. I pulled over and decided to experiment more with the idle adjustment screws on the carbs. Ultimately, I ended up pulling them out about a half turn. Although it now idles high (1500 rpm with the clutch out), I can now stop at a stop sign with the clutch in and not have to worry about the car dying. With the clutch in, the car idles perfectly. I still think something else is at play, but this will let me enjoy the car for the time being.

I plan to replace the rubber fuel hose between the carb with a steel braided hose to help with any overheating. Victoria British sent me one that was too short so I'm still looking for a seller.

But anyway. Back to my day.

I arrived at the mall (in a great parking space!), did what I needed to do, and sat on a bench near my car to relax and make a phone call. During this time, a group of four or five guys starting looking at my car. Naturally, they were not speaking English so I couldn't understand anything. And at one point one guy took another guy's picture by my car. I guess they don't have Midgets wherever they're from. I like how no one ever thinks the car is mine.

When they left, I left, and I headed over to Wendy's for dinner.  I ate inside and made up my mind to go to a drive-in movie theater. I called my awesome friend Greg to look up some directions for me and as soon as I hung up it started raining pretty good. I was convinced it would pass, so I put the top up and took off on 22 west. The theater wasn't very full. The rain was down to a light drizzle and it fizzled to a stop as the movie started (Wall•E). So I put the top down and was able to enjoy the movie in the cool evening air. Audio for the movie was broadcasted through FM 90.7. My stereo worked great for this. This is the only time I was happy enough with the quality of my speakers.

I left after the first movie at about 10:30 and headed home. As if it knew I was leaving, it started drizzling again. It didn't warrant putting the top back up, but it got progressively worse as I got closer to home. It was still raining when I pulled into the driveway, but surprisingly the interior was hardly wet.

All in all I probably spent close to 5 hours in my car today. I often dream of selling the Mini and using the Midget as my daily driver. I honestly think this could work if I lived closer to my job. Car payments would just be replaced with buying car parts and getting bodywork done. Ideally, I'd have a garage at my house and I have covered parking at work, so rust wouldn't be as much of an issue. Of course, everybody would tell me this is a horrible idea. And it might be. But I can dream.

Quakertown Community Day

Today I entered my Midget into the Quakertown Community Day car show at Memorial Park. Overall, it was a good time and I got to talk with a lot of different people. I spoke with Dave from Ragtops and Roadsters who admitted that his boss was making a conscious effort to cater more towards high end clients. Jaguar and Rolls-Royce owners and the like. He was a nice guy though, and invited me to America's British Reliability Run (abrr.org).

Upon registering my car, I received a raffle ticket. There were 17 winners, and I was one of them, receiving a $25 gift certificate to rockauto.com. They have Midget and Mini stuff there, so I should be able to find something to buy.

There weren't many other British cars there. Just two Lotuses. Mainly American stuff.

I had a good time and I plan to attend next year. Possibly with a Mini?!

MGB GT

During the latter half of my ride home today, I was followed by a green, chrome-bumpered MGB GT. I wasn't in the Midget, so it wasn't as cool as it could have been.

For some reason, I've always had a soft spot for these cars. It's basically a fixed-roof version of the B that boasts seating for four. So it was basically a practical version of the B. They are much more rare.

Below are two photos of the MGB GT.

High Speeds

This weekend I covered a lot of ground, literally, with the MG. First, at work on Friday, I was assigned to drop off a print job to a client in Easton. Through miscommunication of the directions, I ended up driving on Route 33 for about 15 miles...in the wrong direction. Although I was sad I couldn't get to the client in a timely manner, I had fun enjoying the Midget at such high speeds. At one point I may have driven the fastest I've ever in the car. In fourth gear, I was at about 4700 RPMs. Since my speedometer is somewhat vague at high speeds, I couldn't tell the exact speed. But it had to of been well over 70mph. Possibly 80?

The sprint was brief as it got kind of scary. The car ran great that day.

Then on Saturday, Greg joined me on a trip down to Bally to get my dad a gift card for Father's Day. It was a scenic and enjoyable trip. We even saw an old Mini cabriolet which Greg managed to capture with his incredulous photography skills.

British Motorcar Gathering, Hellertown

Well, I woke up extra early this morning because I was planning to attend the 15th Annual British Motorcar Gathering at Reservoir Park in Hellertown. I asked my dad to go and he was game.

He skipped church and headed up with me. What a fantastic route. We headed up 309 and turned onto Passer Road which led us through miles of winding, wooded roads. We went sans GPS and found the place okay. It was 95 degrees today.

We got to the show and I registered my car. The cars were organized by class and positioned in different areas of openness throughout the wooded park. I parked next to 7 other MG Midgets, many of which I've seen before. We chatted with fellow owners, ate some hot dogs for lunch (very reasonably priced), I bought a shirt, and we perused the other classes. The highlight for me was the number of Minis that showed up for this. There were probably 8 or so. There was a red one that had a Suzuki motor (aptly named a Minuki), another 70s red one, a heavily modified cabriolet with a body kit, and my dream Mini (blue with white stripes) which had Riccardi seats in it (whatever). I spoke with a couple who was showing a 2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman (hers) and an all original 60s Mini in white (his). The guy seemed nice enough so I asked if I could sit in it. 

I really want a Mini.

All in all it was a good time. We were there from about 11:00am to 3:00pm and stayed for the awards. Three cars from each class were given plaques, and out of the 8 Midgets, I wasn't one of them. The drive home, although very hot, was quite enjoyable.

This was the main MG section.

Here are all the Midgets that showed. Look at that sweet orange one at the front!

I love this car!

This Mini is all original. It is officially the first Mini I ever sat in. It won't be the last.

This is one of the many MGBs at the show. My dad is considering selling his Benz for one of these. There are more convenience accommodations in the cockpit (cup holders, center console, etc); more room in the boot and the cockpit; and overall it's perhaps a more practical car than its little brother.