Projects Joe's American Graffiti Coupe with a Man A Fre (Milner Coupe Clone)

Here's a couple pictures from the garage. We're just patiently waiting for better weather. Cruising nights here we come!

Thanks for following along everyone. Soon we'll get the car up on the lift and get a few things changed out. It should be a fun day! Nick

 

I spy a Flathead

 

Oh yeah! Just a bit of garage art. It is a 1935 Ford engine that was found sitting behind an old auto shop in Bentonville Arkansas. It has a neat welded spot in the right head. It was just a pretty bare block when I purchased it. Since then, my buddy Rob and I added everything else and he built me a custom stand. Someday I'd like to get it running again. Here's a few pics from that day and of the "finished" project.

Have a great weekend! Nick

 

Yesterday, Elliott and I went for another drive. What an adventure! We broke down twice in rush hour traffic. The last one was uphill on a curve. It turned into what I call an "Unintentional Car Show!". We had over 8 people including 2 mechanics around the hotrod offering help. Even a farmer with a hay fork showed up. Nice people. They were great. Imagine trying to work on your car in the middle of the road while fielding questions and responding to compliments. Finally I figured out it was the disconnected fuel pump again causing all the problems. A quick reconnect and we were on our way! We'll get it fixed soon. Thanks for all the advice! It was a great day with good stories and awesome memories for my son, Elliott.

 

Hello everyone.
Just a note to let everyone know that we are safe. We found ourselves in a flash flood situation last night and today. During that time almost a foot of rain fell in our area. Thank God everyone is safe. Only a bit of wet carpet and some muddy water to clean up in the garage. Not too bad. Take care. Nick
(Here's a pic of our area... wrong date)

 

Glad to hear all is well Nick!

 

Thank you. I feel so fortunate seeing nice people around me with so much damage. Hopefully I can help them in some way. Take care.

 

Dang! A foot of rain around here would cause major flooding too. Glad you're OK and not too much damage. Take care!

 

Glad is was not worse Nick, and that you are all ok.

 

Darryl's a pretty cool guy, huh Nick? Portland East has grown up all around that little oasis...

 

Thanks! We're all very grateful. Have a great weekend! Nick

 

Yes he is! I hope he is doing well. I'd love to show him my hotrod someday. Thanks for saying hello! Nick

 

Man, that is a great milner clone. Usually people miss it when they build this car.0

 

Thanks so much! We really tried to make it as close as possible. All the best! Nick

 

Here's a little short video just to thank everyone for following along. These cars are great but the memories we make are really what matters in the end. I'm proud to be this little yellow monster's caretaker. Also, the kid isn't too bad either! Thanks so much!

https://youtube.com/shorts/gs_pJjC5EKs?feature=share

 

Hello everyone!
I started the car Thursday and let it idle. Then I intermittently worked the throttle up to 3500 rpms. The car ran great initially but after a few revs and 10 minutes of warmup I noticed that it wasn't the same. It was idling lower at 650 to 500 rpms, shaking, and on immediate pedal push it was stiff. Boom. It hit me. The sound after a quick punch at idle was 2 carbs sucking air like an old man wheezing. The carb linkage had slipped again, closing 2 carb butterflys at idle. Thus the shakey idle and wheezing on acceleration. So, we have another thing to fix again. This time permanently. My long time hotrod brother and Guru Dan Griffin suggested a notch in the linkage where the Allen key sits. This was an excellent suggestion as now it will prevent it from coming loose again and sliding forward closing the butterflys. Thanks Dan. You are 86 now, but, good God, you've got the mind of a 66 year old just retired hotrodder. Your brother always. Nick

 

My only concern is that you might loose some of the infinite adjustability of the original configuration.

 

Infinite adjustability , this is true , but not sure it’s needed once the car is tuned correctly .
4 carbs is way over my Sweet Potato IQ , to tune anyway . Keeping one working nicely sometimes seems to over load my mind .

 

Good discussion. I'll have a look at it with Rob. I know he can figure something out. Thanks again!

 

Well, life changes so quickly. Elliott was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two weeks ago at Children's Hospital. It is quite a challenge for us. He's only 8 years old and we are currently having to stick him 3 times a day and give 4 insulin shots. He wears a glucose monitor constantly. He will almost certainly have this issue for the rest of his life. It is so stressful and heartbreaking for us. Elliott is handling it like a champ though. No complaints. We are really blessed. We've had a few close calls with low blood sugar but they have each worked out perfectly. I'm so thankful. Something like this really makes you change your priorities. Unfortunately that also means that I'm going to be forced to sell my dream car. Very sad week for me coming to terms with all this. Hopefully it will sell quickly so I won't worry about that. I just wanted to let y'all know why. Thanks for all the help and support along the way. I'm sorry. Nick

 

@Nicholas Coe, you, the family and your son are in my thoughts. I am saddened that you have to part with your Hotrod to help in the journey which is fluid and so many times unpredictable. One of the most admirable clones around that I have ever witnessed. I hope down the road you can revisit the Hotrod scene with your son at your side as we live in times that management of these medical anomalies are forever changing and improving.

Regards,
Stogy

 

Thanks. I really appreciate the kind words. My whole world is upside down right now. Hopefully things will get better soon. Right now I'm really struggling to just find reasons to smile. It could always be worse. I keep repeating that. Thanks again for everything. Your friend, Nick

 

Juvinile Diabetes sucks, but hopefully your boy will be able to adapt qiuckly to this major chang in life. At least he has youth on his side, us old farts don't deal with change as well as kids. Shitty of a disease as it is, it is managable. My brother in law was diagnosed with type 1 at 14 years old and has maintained controle of his blood sugar with only a few hickups along the way. He is 41 now and has no real ill affects other then daley injections. I hope for the best for you and your family.

 

Thanks so much! We'll get there. I'm thankful to hear from so many friends and family like you who know someone who has been dealing with this condition. It is very inspiring. I have faith. Lately it is just been a little thin. Thanks again. Nick

 

Here's the first listing:

Check out 1932 Ford Coupe American Graffiti on eBay!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1446081594...c=2349624&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=SMS

I've got so much time and funds invested that I let my wife set the initial asking price. Hopefully someone will get their dream car too. Sad day.
Nick

 

hang on in there lads.ok things are not ideal but its not the end of the world. your friend in ireland

 

Absolutely brother. We'll figure this thing out. No giving up. We're just getting started!

 

Here's another garage pic, YouTube short, and link to the updated listing. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. All the best! Nick and Family.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1446081594...=2349624&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

https://youtube.com/shorts/DKfrxFfkI9w?feature=share

 

Hello northwest Arkansas. I like your car.

 

I’m sorry about your son. Diabetes is nothing to mess with. I’ve been hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) since age 11 or 12.
I hate to see you sell the car, too bad you couldn’t just put it away for a few years. It wouldn’t cost anything just drain all the fuel and pickle the engine. I wish you better luck in the coming days. May God be with you.