MG Sports Cars

Having a little insomnia?

Jim, I think the idea of moving it around is a great one. It may be short notice, but I hope somene will agree to take it -- doesn't have to be a year commit either. A lot can be done in 6 months even. I need to get my car done -- which I'm still expecting will be sometime this year (a couple of weeks work is all it needs, but those couple of weeks get spread an hour or two a week with my schedule). When it is done, I'd certainly agree to take a shift. Assume someone else takes it for the sill work, what'd be next on the list?

I ordered the T-shirts yesterday. If you PM'd me then I have yours ordered. I will have large , x-large, medium shorts for sale in WI.
Not going to WI? Then PM me and I will get them shipped to you. Prices $12 for M-XL.
I ordrered no XXL unless I had a PM to do so, they cost more.
See you in a little over a week.

Steve

Jim,

I've had no luck tracking down information on the 'yellow' front suspension coil springs. I only know that these were rated as MGB performance springs and that the front of the car would be 1" lower.

I was planning on taking the entire week and coming to the event. And, staying on at Elkhart/Road America till the following weekend. But now that I'm so far behind schedule, and will be without toy, I think I'll just drive up for the day.

See you then,

Arthur

The car is on the trailer and sitting in the driveway waiting to be hitched up. I did take it over to Terry Kesselring's shop to show it off a bit and see if he was interested in helping us with the bodywork. Unfortunately my timing could have been better, as they are just finishing up an advertising job so we'll have to look elsewhere. Had my fingers crossed guys, but no dice. We may as well plan on doing it ourselves.

You know, there were a lot of things that it'd have been really cool to do with this car, but when I think back to the start of the project and what our objective was coming in, we weren't kidding ourselves about what we were going to do. We were going to build a streetable 455 MGB, and that really was the entire definition. When you go right to the core of the matter, the only thing that really matters is that the body be as strong as a stock MGB GT in good condition. We're more than capable of doing that, and when you get right down to it smooth bodywork and paint is an option. Now for the benefit of all who have contributed to the cause, and our sponsors especially it would be good if we can make it look nice. But if we get to next summer with a sound body and the items completed that it needs to run I think we will all deserve a big pat on the back for pulling this off. For my part, just getting to drive it will be a big part of the reward.

We'll probably arrive late Sunday afternoon and the first thing will be to pick a display spot, unload the trailer, and hopefully bolt on the doors and perhaps the gas struts. I'll bring a few tools, whatever isn't scattered all around the shop, and maybe some minor visual aids, Maybe even manage a jackstand or three but the floor jack might be asking too much. I'd like to get it up on stands for easy viewing, guess we'll just see what we can do. I want some of you sharp youngsters and some experienced towers of knowledge to give me your time in looking at the rear suspension since I'm at the point where I needsome bright fella to make a suggestion or two which will pull all of the work back into focus. It's comparable to the compression calculations on my 340 today which went awry until I found that the dish volume needed to be in negative numbers and all was clear. This should be similar but I won't be in the mode to look at it until we've settled in.

Somewhere along the line I'll come up with a list of components we still need and with luck there may be enough to go around. If not we may need to buddy up on some of them

Jim

Jim,
I should get there in the early to mid afternoon, so will be able to help.
We leave early morn on Sat and spend that night in IN.
Anything I can bring?
Jack stands?
Tools?

Steve

Jim,

Do you have any room for my son's chair that you rescued last year?

Carl, I believe that chair is already in the back of the car, not to worry. Steve, bring whatever is handy, how much and what we do on the car will depend on the group dynamics. There are a few relatively small tasks, obviously nobody wants to be taken away from the festivities. But if we find ourselves with time and motivation... I'll see if there's room to toss a creeper in too. I'll be doing the last of the loading tomorrow evening.

Stake us out a good location if you can.

Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2008 02:28PM by BlownMGB-V8.

Carl, be sure to keep your receipts for expenses. As an officer of BADASS your costs to attend the meeting are all deductible.

Jim

British V8 2008 is now over...and was VERY enjoyable and informative!

Our "fearless leader" brought the BADASS GT up for all to see...and a tech session for same was held on Monday morning.

Small tasks such as installation of the doors and hatch were completed...then Jim did a "walking tour" of the project.

It is great to see this "dream" begin to come to reality!

A "brief" organizational meeting was held on Monday night...BADASS is on the right track in my opinion!

Here's a couple of pics of Jim's walking tour:

How many CFM does a slice of cheese provide?

Rick neglected to mention the struts visible in the last photo which he donated along with rear struts for the hatch and installed at the meet. Thanks Rick.

I'm glad Rick got a couple of pictures to post, since I didn't. I'm afraid that's one of my shortcomings (and one that Edith complains about bitterly too), I just don't think of taking pictures at events and occasions. Too busy trying to be the center of attention or so I've been told. So I'm really thankful for those of you who do think of it.

Wow, what an event this was! As you may have surmised by now there's been a lot of variety in our annual V8 meet and this was no different. How about a 4 mile road course that makes Nelson Ledges look like a horse cart trail? (Don't get me wrong, I really like Nelson Ledges but it's in a different league) How about a Garden Party second to none? How about the comraderie of old friends and new who are just like family? How about an autocross the likes of which you'll never see again, and lest we forget, how about the incomparable BADASS MGB Roadmaster project? The meet was smaller, most likely due to the gas prices, but because of that those who attended were really motivated to be there. People like Ted Lathrop, Pete Mantell, Bill Guzman, Brian McCormick, Steve Carrick and Rick Ingram showed up to represent our favorite vendors. Y'all keep that in mind next time you need or want something for your car. Incidentally, Steve is taking over Advance Auto Wire, which is really good news for all of us. I have complete confidence in Steve's ability to take it to the next level. Steve also assured me that Dan and Mike Master's pledge of assistance with the wiring would be honored, no small consideration.

Your officers were in rare form, parading around in their custom made BADASS Officer's shirts courtesy of Margaret DeGroat. Carl became the unofficial announcer of the meet, and we all turned to him to let us know the important stuff. Steve DeGroat was an instant hit with the crowd with his t-shirt sales. There's no way for me to describe for you just how good they looked but maybe someone will have a photo of somebody wearing one. I had bought 2 of them before they even came out of the box. As for me, I'll leave that to others, but I did have a great time putting on a show in the autocross with the Lincoln Blackwood truck. Speaking of officers, Steve has been kept pretty busy with the Treasurer's duties and would like someone else to pick up the job of Secretary if I understood him correctly, so we have an opening for which we can accept nominations (I can make a nomination if someone lets me know they are interested in the position). One of the benefits of an officer is that your expenses associated with BADASS, NLC are tax deductible, such as gas, food and lodging when attending meetings or events, a pretty decent incentive.

Our tech session kicked off the meet's events first thing Monday morning, and I have seldom seen more interest and participation. From the time we began to set up a crowd started to gather, and it seemed only fitting to give some people the chance for a little hands-on participation. In short order the car was up on jack stands, two tires removed for ease of viewing (no idea who's idea that was, but a good one nonetheless) the doors mounted, hatch fitted, and before we were ready to start the session the struts were installed, front and rear courtesy of Rick Ingram and Max Fulton. I tell you, these guys are fast! I then gave an overview of the project, it's history, it's progress, and future plans, interspersed with questions about the car and other interesting comments. It was all about as informal as it gets, with Steve selling t-shirts, people taking pictures, and altogether a real good time. But one thing I overlooked. We really should have had people get in the car to get their pictures taken. Next year if I neglect that, please someone remind me. That's a photo which will be long remembered and treasured by more than a few.

The BIG NEWS is that during the tech session Terry Schulte (Pres. Schulte Management Co., Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Subaru in Sioux Falls, SD) offered to paint the car for us. This is very big news indeed, and I'll elaborate on that in a bit. But a very big THANK-YOU to you Terry, from all of the rest of us. We have now come one very large step closer to completion and I think this means more to us and to the project than you know. At least I hope it does! And lest I forget, a number of other very significant donations were made as well. Bill Young brought us a set of NEW APC seats which are quite attractive, functional, and comfortable. (Carl kept trying to trade his Miata seats for them ;-) Bill Guzman brought us a combination master cylinder designed to be used with 4 wheel disc brakes and the late model brake assembly, sans booster, and there were several cash donations made as well. Steve would have the details on those.

Regrettably there were some who could not attend and we missed you guys. People like Dan Masters, Kurt Schley, Arthur Mitchell, Dale Spooner, Rob Ficalora, Jim Stuart, Mike Domanowski, Denny Williams and others. We sure hope you can be there next time, maybe even for the Winter Meeting.

Anyway the days and events ran together to the point that it was hard to remember which day it was and it was all over way too fast, but the day we had the pizza, also Monday iirc we called an open meeting of BADASS, NLC right afterwards and moved indoors to a conference room which we packed to capacity. The women folk called us out after we'd been at it an hour and nothing would do but we wrap it up and rise to the challenge, but while we were there we got a lot done.

It was decided that the current occifers would serve through the completion of the build before an election would be held, provided nobody wanted to step down. We discussed moving the car from site to site for the more specialized parts of the build and this was generally approved of, and we decided that doing rust repair on the current body is not as good of an idea as it would be to get another body to use which is free from rust. (But also noted that without the current rust eaten body we'd have never gotten this far.) During that discussion Bill Guzman said that he has a rust free body which he will donate to the project. We just have to transport it to the build site here in N. Ky. for prep work and modifications before taking it up to Terry's place for final finish work and paint, prior to moving on for wiring, glass, trim and such. Those of you who have seen Terry's GT are well aware of his own personal standards in terms of fit and finish. While only Terry would be able to guarantee that these standards would transfer to our project and I personally think that would be asking for more than we should, still it is such a phenomenal advantage to us to have this part of the project covered. Between that and elimination of the need to do rust repair we can potentially gain MONTHS in our build schedule, enough to make completion by spring a distinct possibility if we move swiftly. Joe Schafer said that he has some contacts in the transport industry and will investigate reduced rates for return trips and get us some cost figures, and Bill mentioned that he may have a trailer that we could use to haul it in stages cross country. After the meeting Steve DeGroat also informed me that he knows of a potentially suitable body in S.C. which he will check on, so it looks like we may have a couple of options, but we need to move quickly if we hope to finish the build by next year's meet.

I have to admit, the generosity of our contributors sometimes takes me completely by surprise. Sometimes I have an inkling that a contribution might be possible, but when people like Steve, Carl, Allen, Dale, Dan, Arthur, Bill, and Terry step up and make the kind of contributions that they have it just boosts my spirits and gives me renewed confidence that we can do what we set out to do. That's an incomplete list by the way, if you're not in there it doesn't mean you're not included. I've been given undue credit for finding contributors and sponsors. There's no magic to it and no mystery, but you do have to be willing to ask That's really about all it takes, and that has to be true, because I'm about the world's worst salesman ever, so if I can do it, think what anyone with an ounce of talent could do. Don't be bashful about asking for help on the project, it's a worthy cause. Speaking of which, Terry recommended we ally ourselves with a well known charity of some sort, an idea which we should discuss as soon as we can.

Anyway, by now this definitely qualifies, in the words of valued contributor Graham Crestwick, as a "Blackwoodian" post, so I'd better wrap it up. But that gives me an idea. Graham, would you have any interest in the Secretary's position?

Finally we headed home and some 11 hours later rolled in the driveway, having endured one shredded tire on the trailer and one 10 mile wrong turn, but NO Chicago traffic, no 25 dollars worth of toll fees and no 75 mph burgers. Very much worth it, and definitely a trip we'd all do again.

Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2008 10:08PM by BlownMGB-V8.

"two tires removed for ease of viewing (no idea who's idea that was..."

That would be your "'Occifers" backing you up. ;-)

Two of our B.A.D.A.S.S. occifers, Jim & Steve, checking things out....


Jim, never thought I'd be asked to do a secretarial job without knowledge of shorthand - do you have a job description before I accept?

Yeah, just attend the meetings, give a report on the last meeting and take a few notes on anything of particular importance, you know how formal we are (not). If we were to decide to send out any sort of promotional materials you'd likely be involved, and it'd probably be up to you to maintain the contributor list and official documents such as they are. Plus keep these danged Occifers in line, somebody needs to do that... Gee, I hope that's not asking too much, might be sorta like herding cats.

Jim

Let's give it try - can't be any harder than the Vice President's position.
As far as giving a report on the last meeting - you've already done that admirably and in true Blackwoodian fashion.

I'm sure those of you who were at the meet took care of this there, but I want to thank Jim for the tremendous amount of work he's put into the car and also for working to get sponsors -- paint being the latest & that's awesome -- and probably the biggest deal... for sacrificing by leaving his car behind & hauling project BADASS to the meet. So THANK YOU Jim. I know a bunch of other folks have helped out both w/parts, financially, & on the work weekends, but this project wouldn't be off the ground w/o your drive & dedication!

"Let's give it try - can't be any harder than the Vice President's position. "

Official BADDASS Secretary Uniform:

MGBV8 Wrote:
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> "Let's give it try - can't be any harder than the
> Vice President's position. "
>
> Official BADDASS Secretary Uniform:
>
> [socialitelife.celebuzz.com]
> hristina-1.jpg


That is SO Graham (Norton)!

:)