JohnCh

Ooh that's right! I forgot to include the hair dryer, mousse, and Old Spice body wash in my earlier list. I never take my Birkin or Miata anywhere without them. -John

Croc's list is pretty comprehensive. The only additions I carry that I can think of are: - tire fill kit with extra CO2 cartridges in case I need to use the tire repair kit - high performance bicycle pump for small tire pressure changes along the way. - disposable painter's overalls, and some nitrile gloves in case I need to do a roadside repair. Oh, and a good attitude is also important, because sh*t does and will happen (remember, Murphy and Sod were both optimists.) Unfortunately for me though, I generally forget to pack that item. -John

In addition to Slomove, there are several of us still on the forum: me, Hudson, Pierats, Sequential7 (who recently joined), and I'm sure I'm missing others. -John

Sorry for the size, but this one kind of deserves it. Group photo from the USA2005 tour while we overnighted in Page, AZ. http://www.throttle-steer.com/uploads/1/1/0/8/11083275/850330_orig.jpg -John

PM me your email address and I'll send you a word doc from the factory with the official settings for the Megabusa (even includes ARB positioning and shock settings). I find their recommended settings for street driven, touring oriented models are pretty conservative, but they're much closer for the track models (although camber is still understated a bit -- I'd treat the factory recommended camber settings as minimums.) Make sure your rake is set properly, as Westfields are very sensitive in this area. Don't worry about the actual ride height, which is dependant on tire size, but make sure the front to rear delta is correct (follow this link for proper measuring points.) The key is ensuring the imaginary lines between the front lower control arms' inner and outer pivot points are parallel to the ground. Adjust rear ride height from there. Also, check out the WSCC forum. There aren't a lot of Westfield owners in the US and even fewer with Megabusas, but it's a very different story in the UK. -John

There are several things I like about Emerald. Support from the company and community is great. It's a very popular ECU for se7ens in the UK, so there are a lot of people on WSCC and BlatChat who have been there, done that and are always happy to help. Dave Walker, one of the owners, has an outstanding reputation in the UK as a tuner. He's written a great book on the subject, and the company has tuned a very large number of cars on their chassis dyno, so getting a starter map for a car with you specific configuration is generally not that hard. And lastly, in addition to the self mapping feature built into the unit, Chris Good put together a great little program that enables you to get the fuel map dialed in very quickly (it also works with MegaSquirt). The hardest parts of the map to set up are timing and the myriad of adjustments that impact drivablity at various temperatures. The nice thing about having a starter map from an engine that is a similar spec (asuming of course it was done by a talented tuner) is that those items are really close. Usually the fueling table will require a fair amount of fiddling, but that's pretty easy with the self mapping feature and Chris Good's software. Also, unlike DCOEs where you need to invest in a wide selection of expensive jets and emulsion tubes, making tweaks to the map yourself is free. If you really screwed things up, you just install an earlier version of your map and you are back where you started. -John

I'd go this route. Emerald has likely done the conversion on a crossflow so will likely have a starter map and may even be able to get you some specific parts like a pre-fabbed crank trigger wheel/crank pulley and crank sensor bracket. Definitely worth an email. -John

But we're better than the smooth brick! :party: The numbers above make the original Lotus Elite all the more remarkable: 0.29 in the late '50s. -John

You mean embarrassing for Kenworth, right? -John

The rare fiberglass body certainly helps with the latte...er, latter (curse you PNW auto correct!) -John

I don't think 0-60 times would be an issue with a BDA. Affordability though is a slightly different story -John

I agree with Kitcat. I've had a 1700 Crossflow and now a 2.0L Duratec. They are both great engines, but serve slightly different purposes. If your primary interest in a se7en is for the undiluted driving experience, and you aren't that worried about ultimate performance, then the Crossflow is a great choice. It oozes character, is powerful enough to get a se7en to 60mph in 6 seconds or less, and sounds fantastic at any throttle opening or rpm. If, however, ultimate performance is more important to you and the idea of blistering acceleration is a key consideration, then you are probably better served with a more modern powerplant. You'll get a lot more power, better touring range and drivability, and you'll still have character -- just not quite as much. -John

Love the pic arriving in Moab. Agree that USA2005 really was a very special time - from the roads to the scenery to the people. Hope rumors of a 10 year reunion tour are true. -John

Hmm... http://www.throttle-steer.com/uploads/1/1/0/8/11083275/8024029_orig.jpg -John

Ooh, if it's that Mike, I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing his beast on USA2005. And if it's not that Mike, well...welcome anyway! :-) -John

I guess both congratulations and condolences are in order. Where is the car's new home? -John

That is great news! Was it found in the Greenlake area as per the tip on Pelican? -John

I replaced my Bell M3 with an HJC AR10 II. The rear section of the shell doesn't protrude as far back as the Bell, so it's a lot more comfortable when sitting in a one-piece seat. -John

I'm in the process of putting the Westfield back together, but if it's running, then I'll be there. -John

Looks great. Do you have a dyno graph you can share? Thanks, John

I've posted to the PNW 6speedonline forum and also the PNW 993 owners group. I've had a car stolen before so can empathize. Hopefully this ends well. -John

They are two different things. SkyDrive is for cloud storage and using Office Web Apps. Windows Live Photo Gallery is a photo editing/organization tool. You can use the latter to resize your photos and SkyDrive to share them with others via the web -John

I've never removed just the driveshaft, but going from memory, the chassis tubing that gets in the way only overlaps the rear of the driveshaft by a couple of inches. If that’s the case, one option is to move the engine and transmission assembly forward by the same amount to give the needed clearance. I’ve taken a similar approach to remove the sump, which on my car requires separating the bell housing from the block. It was definitely much easier and faster than pulling the engine out of the car. Might be worth a look to see if that would work here. -John

Looks like a fun trip with virtually no overlap with our route. An exception, and where I suggest you consider making an alteration, is from Fort Bragg to Santa Cruz. Pierats turned us on to some outstanding (really, really outstanding) roads between Santa Cruz and CA-35, that avoid Hwy 17: http://binged.it/KezGch -John

I suppose convincing the school district to delay the start of school by a week is out of the question? :jester: Let me know if you want the route we're taking. I have it in Streets & Trips and can export it as a .gpx file. -John