Well, after a few weeks of scheduling between Scott and I, we have the master brake cylinder almost disassembled. However, when wee were punching out the roll pin with a nail, the roll pin came out but the nail got snapped off inside, which obviously sucks.

So I am going to go to a local mechanic who has the right tools to fix it, and will pay for the rebuild while I'm there. I'm just ready to move on with this phase of the project.

On a good note, I got the water temperature and oil pressure gauge pulled and will get it shipped out today to be rebuilt. So we're moving forward slowly but surely.

well last night (1/8/08) we got the midget running. It took awhile to push all the old gas out of the tank. We used an air compressor to push it all out through the fuel line in the engine, into an old drain pan. Looked to be about 3 gallons of gas. I can't believe the previous owner would let it sit with 3 gallons of gas for 4 years. Oh well.

I had drained and replaced the oil and oil filter, so when it first started it made a hell of a noise, but it quieted down really quick, and ran rather smoothly. There is a leak in the fuel line right after the fuel filter, but that is an easy and inexpensive fix.

I also discovered the battery is not holding a charge, so I'll have to get a new one of those. Easy fix, just more money.

Next step is the brakes, I've already got some parts on order to rebuild the master cylinder, so I should have that done, as well as the front brakes completely redone in about 2 weeks.

exciting stuff!

I got the car in Franklin, Ohio on 12/23/07. The previous owner stated the engine ran except the water pump was bad and the carburetor leaked pretty bad.

My basic plan for this car is:

1) get it drivable and safe
- fix water pump and rebuild carb
- basic tune up stuff
- make sure clutch and transmission are working
- replace all 4 tires
- install new top
- new passenger side mirror
- new steering wheel

Estimated cost: $700 - $1,000

2) make it looks nice
- fix few small rust spots
- new paint job
- new carpet
- new seats
- new dashboard

Estimated cost: $1,400 ?

3) improve performance

Estimated cost: ???