[Spridgets] Finally working on my car...

[Jim Johnson]

Well, I finally got started on the Midget. Brought the engine and tranny
home from the brother-in-law's shop where the chassis sits yesterday. Today
I unloaded the lump from the back of the pickup onto my hydraulic bike lift
and dove into it. It didn't take long (thankfully) to identify both of my
main issues and actually fix one of them!  I lifted the rocker assembly off
and slapped a super-magnet onto the push rods one at a time starting from
the front. On the end of the fourth pushrod, there was my little metal pin
which I had knocked off the oil filler tube and down into the engine. # 1
problem fixed!  # 2 isn't going to go so quickly. When I took off the
flywheel and back plate, my Exxon Valdez scale oil leak became obvious. It
wasn't the oil pump can - it is the rear main pumping oil.  Now I get to try
Paul A's fix for the rear main. With a little luck I'll be putting the
engine and tranny back into a drivable car in a week or two if I get a break
from the cold weather.

Oh....   A final reminder!  Today is the last chance to vote for Buster's
Sprite and the BusterCluster article in Practical Classics.  You have until
midnight UK time (6:00 pm CST) to send an email to <pc.competitions at emap.com>
with a subject of "Best Reader-Restored"  and a text of "BusterCluster 1960
Sprite".  Remember that any winnings will be donated to help finance the
Spridget Golden Anniversary in Missouri so get those votes in!
-- 
Cheers!!
Jim - 68 "Spridget" in Dodge City
Don't miss "50 Years of Spridgets" at Lake of the Ozarks, June 26-29,
2008!!
For info and registration... <http://www.Sprite-MidgetClub.org>