Beck TD, Part 2: Taking Stock and Getting Started

I sure was excited after getting the Beck's Brewing MG TD (hereinafter called "Beck TD") into the Grant St. Garage in Part 1. The only small problem is that we left it pointing the wrong way! A couple of days later, John Zimmerman and Mark Forsha and I were having lunch, and I imposed on those guys to help me push the car back and forth to turn it around. Once done, I got it into the air:

Finger Treadle, Part 4

At the end of Part 3, I stated that I wanted to finish the Finger Treadle in time for a library demo on July 22nd. That's today, and I had it finished with time to spare! No more need to show you a photo from a magazine - here's mine, and I'm quite pleased at how it turned out:

I even made a brief video showing the treadle in action:

The Beck's Brewery MG TD, Part 1

Well, now I've done it. I went and bought a car even older than I am! It's a 1952 MG TD, converted to racing spec some decades ago. Part of that work was to install an engine and transmission from a period Volvo - a very common modification in the 60's and 70's that doubled the horsepower. Here's a photo sent by Mark, the prior owner, when it was all together:

Finger Treadle, Part 3

Man, this "simple" project seems like it's taking forever! Of course, it was probably designed to occupy, for example, a high school shop class for an entire semester, so it takes the time it takes. Just for consistency, here's the photo from the original plan one more time:

Finger Treadle, Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I got started on a machinist's training project called a "finger treadle." Here's the picture again, from a 1991 issue of Projects in Metal,  to jog your memory: