Bob, your vote has most definitely been counted. May not be PC but then, neither is a BBB/MGB or for that matter, a P51D. You just know when they first saw it the comment was "That's one BADASS airplane!" Well, we'll see how the count looks on Monday. In the meantime, it turns out that a 2-1/2" muffler clamp saddle makes a near perfect gusset for half of a 1-3/4" shaft collar so a little positioning and the rack mounts will be ready to weld. Probably should position the steering column at the same time. Jim
On the name right now we have: BASCHS (British American Sports Car Historical Society) BADASS, (British American Derived Auto Sportscar Synergy} BAS, (British American Synergies)(known internally as Badass) BASEHEAPS (British American Sportscar Enthusiasts Historical, Educational, and Preservation Society) TACHS, (The Anglo/American Car Hybrids) BHH, (British Historical Hybrids) and whatever else anyone wants to be on the ballot. Comments? I'm presently asking for someone to send us a steering U-joint from a late model MGB so work can continue on the steering. Jim
I think we should try to comply with Robert's Rules of Order to the extent possible in a loosely knit online organization, so with that as the basis of our articles of incorporation and voting procedures I recommend the following in this specific instance and we can revise them if we like after incorporation is accomplished. Those who have made contributions (or pledged contributions which have a reasonable expectation of being fulfilled) as of the date of incorporation are the Founders of this organization. As such they may take any necessary actions required to ensure the initial success of the organization prior to and immediately following incorporation. Founders and later contributors shall be members. One principal officer will be elected initially, who will serve as secretary, treasurer, and president. After incorporation election of additional officers may be done upon request of five of the members. Until such time as objected to, election shall be by simple majority of the votes cast with no requirement of a minimum number to form a quorum. All members shall be eligible to vote, any votes offered by non-members may be taken as advisory. Voting shall be accomplished in a combination of two ways: By posting on one or more forums where discussion of the issue to be voted on was had, provided reasonable attempts are made to inform the members equally, and by email addressed to the principal officer. The purpose of the Corporation shall be to promote knowledge in the general population regarding the synergistic effects of combined American and British Technologies and the effects of that synergy on humankind, specifically directed to but not limited as those involving British Sports Cars and American engines. The Corporation shall not be limited to specific means of accomplishing that objective but may use any means legally available to it, specifically including construction of a display automobile incorporating those technologies. Corporate member's meetings may be conducted online or by any means available including at the annual British-V8 meet. This organization is to conduct itself in accordance with the principles and applicable regulations as a non-profit organization. This concludes the initial draft of the Articles of Incorporation, or Bylaws. Any recommended changes should be submitted within 24 hours. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Now on to the vote. There are two items on the agenda: First is nomination of the principal officer, Second is nomination of the organization's name. I suppose some liberty may be taken with the second as we've had a number of recommendations already, but in at least an attempt to comply with Roberts, let's open nominations anyway. I will reserve the right in this instance to add prospective names to the ballot. I will keep nominations open for 24 hours, and then allow 24 hours for voting afterwards, unless anyone objects. Should anyone feel that adequate discussion has not been had, upon notice I will suspend nominations and re-open discussion. Your nominations Please. Jim
I have been nominated as principal officer, waiting for the nomination to be seconded. BADASS has been nominated as a name choice, we will dispense with seconds there. Jim
well, that's just BADASS as all get out. :TU: i don't think i qualify as a founding member, but i'll second you if'n you think it will work for the purposes of Roberts.
From MGE: "You might repost where we can make a contribution by Paypal, I'll do one right away. I did contribute some sheet metal so I am assuming I can make a nomination, but I will get some cash in the kitty. Keep up the good work! I'll have an SBC update soon. Brad" Bob, you or anyone else who wants their vote to count can make a contribution by paypal and will be considered a Founder up until the election deadline. After the deadline they will be a member but not a Founder. Members have the same rights as Founders but not the prestige nor the responsibilities. The address to use is: Jim@BlackwoodLabs.com and put MGB Roadmaster in the subject line. We now have the following names nominated: BADASS (BRITISH AMERICAN DERIVED AUTO SPORTSCAR SYNERGY) (discussion to modify the name is now opened) BASS (British American Sportscar Society) BAHH (British American Historical Hybrids) and are accepting others until at least 7:00 tonight EST and perhaps beyond that. And do we have a second of Carl's nomination? Jim
From MG Enthusiasts: Thanks Dan, Carl's nomination has been moved and seconded. Does anyone wish to nominate additional names? The names discussed but not nominated include: BASCHS (British American Sports Car Historical Society) BAS, (British American Synergies)(known internally as Badass) BASEHEAPS (British American Sportscar Enthusiasts Historical, Educational, and Preservation Society) TACHS, (The Anglo/American Car Hybrids) TACHO, (The Anglo/American Car Organization) These or others may be nominated. At this point I do not feel we have allowed enough time for all concerned parties to be current with actions here so I feel it best that we extend the deadline. One more day won't hurt us, even two if we feel it necessary. So I recommend that we go another day and then entertain motions to close nominations. Jim
I thought it might be good to list the Founding Members, but first, I'd like to note that Brad Carson has donated $25, that in addition to the matching panels that he sent us. Our newest member, who sparked discussion of name choices for the organization is my brother, Dan Blackwood, who attended the V8 meet driving his nearly cherry TR4-A/IRS. I think he enjoyed it. I donated $5 for him and left it up to him to determine what form his contribution will take. Professionally he produces training videos for the state of W.Va. but if not for Dan I don't know if we'd have more than one choice on the name. So on with the rest of the membership, in roughly chronological order, as well as I can remember it. Carl Floyd Eric Enneking Jimmy Litterell Curtis Jacobson Dan Masters Steve DeGroat Pete Mantell Bill Guzman Michael Domanowski Rick Ingrahm Kelly Combes Bill Young Brad Carson Ted Nagel LUV455 Edd Weninger Michael B. (Woodie) Dale Spooner (Motion Machine) Spring Grove Sheet Metal Co. Fast Cars (Ted Lathrop) Allen Mandeen Dan Jones Tom Craddock Graham Creswick and me of course. I think that makes 25 Founders, a good number and strong individuals as well. We'll be fine. But should anyone feel his contribution is say, less significant than he is comfortable with there are three choices: say nothing, decline membership, or make another contribution. I recommend the last. Also until we execute the voting deadline should anyone wish to join and vote you can do so by contributing as in the post above. Boy what an opportunity THAT presents to stuff the ballot box. I think we'll be OK with it though. Right, so I've had to write it twice and now I'm off to bed. Jim
The results of the vote are one vote each for the three names and one advisory vote for BADASS which could be taken to break the tie. (I abstained) Instead, in accordance with rule #1 (Founders to do what is required to cause the organization to survive) I will combine BASS and BADASS and we will use both terms to refer to the organization, depending on circumstances. The only votes for the officers were those cast by me and I voted for Carl and myself so we are elected. I would have liked to have seen more participation but we managed to do what we needed to do so we can call it a win. I'll get the papers filed in a few days. Jim
Right now the bottleneck is a late model (rubber bumper) MGB steering universal joint. If anyone runs across one we could sure use it. Jim
Well i think that BADASS is the only choice that you had. And you sure have my vote for there ain't nothing says it better then a BBB in a small package. Like the setup you are working on ,my Chevy LUV whith a 455 Buick ,or even HotRods 500 Cad. in a Chevette. Now thats American ingenuity:TU:
Jim since the org is going to be about Anglo-American hybrids you might want to start getting info on the 1966 and 67 Formula 1 champion. 3.0L SOHC version of the 215ci aluminum Buick v8 campaigned by Jack Brabham. there's all kinds of crossovers due to British Leyland / Land Rover buying 215 design and tooling from GM in 1964. i like the TVR Griffith myself.
You are correct Bob, and eventually we should have a library of relevant information. But first things first. I've prepared the paperwork for filing, the official name of the parent organization will be: British American Deviant Automotive Sports-Car Society, Ltd. and for short, BASS or BADASS, whichever seems most appropriate. I will wait until the end of the week to mail it in in order to allow ample time for any discussion before taking final actions. In related news, pressure washing of the car has begun. You can get the full story at: http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?40,538455,page=11 but the gist of it is that this pressure washer is one heck of a Man's toy! Photos below. Jim
Repost from MG Enthusiasts: As the August Roadmaster Weekend draws to a close I am happy to be able to report some progress on the project. Nobody showed up to help this month, but we made some headway nonetheless. Friday saw the removal of the front and rear suspensions (front crossmember and steering still attached), lower wiring harness, lines and such and a general cleanup of the removed and some spare parts as well as some pressure blasting of the bottom of the car. Saturday I took a day off and spent most of the day in front of the TV and today, well I did some work on the bathroom. Somewhere along the way I managed to put away the parts that had been cleaned as well as removing the doors, trunk lid and dashboard of the mock-up car. At some point I will turn it over on the cart and use it to mock up the rear suspension for the Jag IRS. There are a couple of items we should discuss: In terms of weight, perhaps we should consider if we wish to try to get the weight down around what the stock vehicle had. It's possible to do that. In a week or two when the papers come back from Frankfort I can begin contacting manufacturers about sponsorship so here's how the weight game plays out. If we are able to drop 80lbs with heads and intake, and Allen's 455 is 50lbs lighter than our 430 that leaves us 70 lbs heavier than stock. There is a great deal of weight in the front suspension, much more than is necessary. The obvious solution, if we could get one of Ted's units we'd actually end up around 10lbs lighter than stock. But Ted can't just give us one. I don't know to what degree he can help us but there are two possible routes here. We can raise the money to buy it or we can find other ways to lighten the front suspension. Probably the route we take will be determined by the amount of money we raise, but I'd like to get a feel for what our members would like to see happen in this area. The next thing I would suggest we discuss is air conditioning. I'll admit that I've not looked into it very deeply but a GT would be a very good candidate for it and we'll be disassembled enough to make for a fairly easy install. The down side is that both of these items will take some cash to make happen, and then there is the paint and engine parts, so I should probably propose a budget over the course of the next month. I suspect we'll be going cheap on as much of the project as we can unless we can get one or more sponsors with deep pockets, and even then the idea is to keep the budget at a minimal level. I'd love to see us complete the car with only say 2-3 thousand in cash outlay, and to tell the truth, if we cared nothing for how it looked when finished we could probably do it for much less than that. But that would be with no new paint or interior, a used engine, and a bit nose heavy. Still, the whole rationale for the car was that it can be done, therefore it must be done. And if it must be done then we can't be too picky about "how" it is done. At this point my motivation is to get the car out of my main doorway so that it doesn't block the breeze and I can get my roadster back into the Lab, and before I can do that I need to finish the pressure blasting. I'd hoped to do that this weekend but I expect by mid-week I'll be finished with it. Then comes strengthening of the floor structure, sills and rear suspension mounts. Once that is done my attention will go back to putting in the engine and what happens to the rest of the car will be very much dependent on those of you that make it happen. In the end we will have a car that can be put on the road, I can pretty well guarantee that much but beyond that it's up to you guys. Hopefully in October we'll get the 455. In case we don't, over the course of the next couple of months I'll clean up the 430, run compression checks, and probably pull the heads and begin teardown unless compression looks OK in which case it'll get buttoned back up and held in reserve in case we don't get the 455 or money to buy rebuild parts. In that case we'll just use it as is and hope it doesn't smoke too much. The mock-up car has replacement floors which were anchored in with screws and we can use those or parts of them. Pete has pledged some sill parts. Spring Grove Sheet Metal can probably be counted on for some shaped parts for reinforcement. And I'm guessing we can come up with some donated paint and primer for the bottom of the car, quality unknown. And that gets us back to the suspension. I hope that by Thanksgiving we will have found a way to transport Dan's Jag IRS up here and we can start to fit that up. I would like to have that installed by around the first of the year. Assuming we retain the stock front suspension that could be done about the same time. I have the reamer so if a rebuild is needed it poses no difficulty other than buying the parts. That will give us the spring and early summer to come up with a set of tires, get the engine in and prep the car for next year's V8 meet as a static display. I think that is very achievable and should generate enough interest to help us finish the car by the following year, right on schedule. Jim
Repost from MG Enthusiasts "TOM!, Oh TOM! Now where did that boy get to?" I have to admit, that scene has played through my head often since the beginning of this project. How, in heaven and earth did Tom get those other boys to whitewash that fence? I've painted white fences and first hand I can tell you there ain't no way! No way possible I'd ever lift a finger to paint ANY fence white, and if it's someone else's I'm gonna RUN!!! Friend or not. So how? HOW? Couldn't be that they were just weak minded children, we've read the stories and know that they were brave and bold companions and friends. Oddly, there is not even a flicker of discontent or complaint. They clearly did it willingly and enthusiastically and were proud of their handiwork. So HOW?!! There can only be one possible answer. It was a challenge to their Manhood. A challenge and a competition. That is the only possible way that each of these stout fellows would have virtually fought each other for the right to demonstrate his prowess with a brush and bucket. Only in this way could we see the outcome painted in the story, and there's little doubt that the stories were based at least in part on actual events, along with a keen instinct for human nature. Looks like Tom was on to something there. Not only did he get an onerous task done, he entertained his friends in the process and they all had a good time. That whole concept just seems so applicable to the BADASS MGB Roadmaster project. I'll freely admit, it's not all fun and games. In fact, most of the fun -n- games only starts after the motor does. Let's look at the pressure washing as an example. So far I've spent a total of about 2 hours pressure washing the bottom of the car, including somewhere between a half hour and an hour today before I destroyed the drive belt on the washer. Before that, aside from fairly normal teething problems I had the absolutely hilarious opportunity to watch the lower double groove 8" pulley jump off the pump at max engine speed and "Burn Rubber" across the gravel, fetching up against the lip of the concrete floor and continuing to spin at a high rate for a goodly while before finally stopping. Priceless moments to be sure, but hardly enough to keep me interested in a task which, if approached without the right frame of mind could be as onerous as Tom's fence, even if I did get the better of the machine. "Frame of mind", is indeed just what it's all about. Approaching the car as a painter with a canvas before him is a much happier place to be, and it is somewhat similar. There is indeed an art to removing the crud from under the car. And though the canvas is not blank, it is a canvas nonetheless. Every pass of the wand leaves its mark, with the pattern of it's author written in the fine print of the finished job. And there's a kind of enjoyment to be had in learning to create small patterns that do what you want, while varying your location and method as you progress. At the same time there is most definitely a machismo element to it. Stamina is required, some strength, good balance, muscle control, and a willingness to take on the challenge to see through and around the spray to take the actions that you intend. In a way it is not unlike a whitewater trip. Despite what the guide says, you know darned well that first spray of water to the face is going to be uncomfortable, But the trip promises a feeling of accomplishment, of stretching your limits, doing what you thought impossible and coming back safe and sound despite the risks. You may prove to your friends just how great your prowess really is. You may laugh in the face of danger. You may prove yourself the greatest among your peers. And for these rewards you are willing to do it, more than willing in fact, perhaps even enthusiastic. And so it goes on the BADASS project, in every phase. Are we not the best there is? So we'll do what can't be done, we'll exceed expectations, and burn our psyche into the job by excelling at every stage, small and large that we set ourselves to accomplish. We'll do this because we are MEN! And because the Badass BBB MGB is the most macho expression of our art conceiveable, which we are able by our strength and skill, to complete and then in true form, enjoy. Want to know what keeps me going on a project? That's it in a nutshell. Hope you liked it. Jim
Jim i'd be happy to get suckered into white washing your fence but i'm a bit too far away. o No::bla:
Well guys, the BADASS Bunch are at it again. I told my older brother about the Roadmaster project and he immediately said he'd start watching the truck junkyards for a 6-71 to sit on top of it. Seems that since those old 2 stroke Jimmys are so hard on fuel they are being scrapped out for more efficient engines so along about now blowers are plentiful and cheap. Well who am I to say no to that? Jim
