I have a series of questions, mostly of a general nature, but some which may
pertain only to spridgets. Since the questions are numerous, let us begin:
1) Suspension. I have a 73 midget in which I replaced the front lever
shocks with a tube conversion kit. I did not own the car long enough to
establish a baseline pre-tubes, to know how a midget should handle. The
car's ride is best described as jittery. All bumps are felt and the car
seems to "hop" side to side. The worst case was a railroad track at 30 mph.
I hit it at a slight angle and was thrown 15 degrees off course :-( After
changing skivvies and checking the wire wheels, I went on my way. Question.
Is this normal for spridgets? Is this normal for tube conversions? Is
something else in my suspension suspect?
2) Transmission Whine. My tranny whines very noticably in first and second
gear. In third and fourth, it may be masked by road noise. It is filled
with to the required level with the required fluid. The tranny gives no
obvious signs that it is overly worn, but I don't know what all to check. Is
this whine normal? The interior is apart so I hear everything. No carpet
for sound deadening. If the whine is standard equipment, is one of the
redline fluids a deluxe option worth investing in?
3) Cooling Fans. A couple of weeks ago, someone talked briefly about
cooling fans on a midget. The obvious advantages include the fan runs only
when needed and that there is reduced engine drag due to no mechanical fan.
In talking with some local auto shops, there are also some other plusses and
minuses, but they are not clear. The following points are in dispute: The
extra drag on the alternator almost negates any gain from taking off the
mechanical fan. The electric fan will not push as much air through the
radiator as the mechanical fan. Any ideas on either of these points? Also,
how much power is gained by removing the fan, 2-3 horsepower? You may laugh
at that gain, but when you start out with less than 50, 2-3 is 5% of your
power!
4) New Noise. Yesterday, a friend helped me turn my two piece exhaust
header into a single piece. The two pieces were clamped together with about
3/4 inch overlap. It would slip apart about once every three weeks. It
won't do that now! Now that the exhaust is quieter than ever, I noticed a
new noise. It is a tapping sound that seemingly occurs only under heavy
application of the right foot. Given my above horsepower comment, a heavy
right foot is almost a necessity :-) It may be nothing more than that the
header is not on quite tight enough. However, if that it is not a slight
blow-by problem at the header, where should I look next?
5) Thanks for any and all thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc. If there is
enough interest in the cooling fan issue, I can put together a summary of the
responses I receive.
Sincerely-
MAD
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