I thought I was all set for summer driving, but it appears my case of the mightaswell's is worse than previously diagnosed. I intended to only replace the blown head gasket, but decided to go all the way with a full rebuild. Took the complete head, block with crank shaft and pistons and exhaust manifold to National Machine in Olympia, WA and the cam to Delta Cams in Tacoma, WA for a mild torque grind. Ordered up my parts (mostly nuts and bolts) from VB (never again) LBCC and BPNW. New 9:1 pistons .020 over made by County, crank shaft reground, .010 under main and rod bearings made by King, new angled oil pump, new timing gears and chain, new clutch made by AP Driveline. Original rocker shaft, valves, guides and springs were suitable for reuse. Took the radiator and heater core to The Inlet Connection in Olympia, WA. The radiator need to be rebuilt, but the heater core was fine. Assembly was done in my brother Sean's garage over the course of two weekends. He's amazing, works incredibly fast, yet with great care and a great sense of humor. One of the head studs broke at about 35 ft lb, so I had to upgrade to ARP head studs and nuts. I have an oil cooler that we'll fit on a bit later. Also, lowered the rear suspension with lowering blocks from Moss to even up the dramatic difference VB's "lowered coil springs" made. Also have an upgraded 3/4" Addco sway bar to install. Had the driveshaft straightened and balanced with new u-joints by Capitol Driveshaft Balancing in Olympia, WA. Purchased new 165/70-13 tires made by Runway (purchased at the local Firestone) and put them on the early Rostyles and they look great. Now I hope I'm all set for Fall driving season!

Well, it's been a long, ugly winter. What have I done since last September? Let's see. The Pertronix Ignitor II module sent me chasing my tail for a while. The car would develop a misfire after it warmed up. I changed the coil 3 times and changed the wiring to the coil just as many. Turns out the Pertronix module seemed to be at fault. I replaced the stock 45DE4 distributor with a cheap (probably Chinese) 45D4 knock-off. Misfire is gone! I have an off-brand electronic module to add when the points are due for replacing. Rebuilt the front suspension a couple weeks ago. Reconditioned wishbones and rebuilt shocks from mgocspares.com and a major suspension kit and lowered coil springs from VB. I chose not to spend extra on poly bushings. The Weber is still not 100%, it seems to run best with just a touch of choke... probably time for a re-jet. Also added a headlight relay harness and new H4 headlights. Some other, smaller replacements were fitted recently... new side mirrors, new windshield washer pump, new stereo, new side post seals, new door seals, dual air horns and a few other things. New tires are on order and I'll be fitting them to a set of early Rostyle wheels. My 2nd Midget (a light Blue '72) had the early Rostyles and I HATED them. I thought they were so ugly that I bought a set of gaudy wire wheel hubcaps to cover them, but that was about 20 years ago and my appreciation for these wheels has changed quite a bit. In all my google searching for various pictures of Midgets, I've yet to see the early Rostyles fitted on a rubber bumper Midget. No doubt that the next major undertaking will be engine and transmission overhaul. I'll probably do that next winter. For now, I *think* I'm all set for Summer driving season.

After many years without, I bought another Midget. A 1979, dark red with a very faded Beige interior. Paid $1900. Pretty much 100% stock California car. 75,000 original miles with a patina to prove it. Car was, to my knowledge, a native California car until circa 2005 when it came to Washington State. I bought the car in June 2009.

First repair needed was brake light switch, followed within days was a new Pertronix electronic ignition module, installed by the highly intelligent John Dahlin of Rocket Restorations in Olympia, WA. In July 2009, "The Bitch", as I like to call her, got all new or rebuilt brake and clutch hydraulics and leaf springs, installed by my amazingly talented, hardworking and, above all, patient older brother, Sean. Bought a 32/36 Weber and installed new water pump and thermostat, again by the almighty Sean in August 2009.

Bought a used, black interior panel set from a 1974 model year.... still have to use a couple of my original panels since some of the 1974 panels are little different. Some laquer thinner and vinyl spray paint provided adequate results for painting the original "Autumn Leaf" panels black.

New convertible top and brake light relay switch installed by John Dahlin in Sept 2009.
Carpet to be installed later in September and will complete my initial round of repairs and upgades. From there, I'll drive the car for a while (+/- 6 months) and see what repairs or upgrades present themselves as most important. It will probably be front suspension or transmission / clutch repairs.