JohnCh

If you are looking for a good suspension, then I wouldn’t say that limits you to a Westfield. When set up right, they do handle very well, but then so do most se7ens. Bike engine vs. car engine always fosters great debate on the WSCC forum. The consensus is that for a road car, a car engine is better thanks to the torque, more progressive clutch engagement, and lower revs when cruising at freeway speeds. The tables are turned for track use, where the lighter engine, sequential gearbox, and the fun of spinning to over 10k rpm make it shine. How do you plan to use the car? -John

Is there any interest for a really short tour this summer in the Northern CA, OR, or WA area? I’ve got the bug for 3 or 4 days of winding roads. -John

In that case, unless there are other reasons to sell the car, then I would investigate extending the inner panel. Looking at this picture of the foot box (shamelessly stolen from banjo29’s build site), it seems reasonably easy to cut out a section of the inner panel and fit a small aluminum box that extends the area to the right of the accelerator. Just shape the extension out of aluminum sheet from Home Depot, add some silicone to seal it, and rivet it in place. http://www.marshsite.com/116-7.jpg -John

How much space do you need to free up in order to work the pedals safely? Is it possible to find some of it by extending the panel to the right of the accelerator pedal or is there already zero clearance in that area between the inner panel and the bellhousing? -John

A couple of weeks ago I drove the Westfield to the grocery store to pick up dinner (and some wine – have to keep your priorities in order). When I returned to the car 10 minutes later, I found a black and white photo on my driver’s seat that featured a young man behind the wheel of a seven. The car had external control arms on the rear which were reminiscent of the 7-1/2, but rather than one arm per side, there were two. On the back of the photo was written “Rod, 1965” along with a phone number. I called the number and much to my surprise, Rod answered the phone. After a brief conversation I learned that the car was a clone he built to race in the 60’s and it featured an IRS setup borrowed from a then current Lotus formula car. Further, Hugh Haskell of Lotus fame had a hand in the design. Apparently Rod has seen me driving through town on a number of occasions and has been trying to meet me. These days he is a driving instructor and was with a student that day when I went flying by. They saw me turn into the parking lot and tried to catch up, but by then I was already in the store. For some reason he had the photo with him and dropped in on the seat as a very compelling calling card. We are still trying to find a time to meet in person so I can hear the whole story about his car…and return his photo. I love this hobby. -John

2,091 miles and 30 hours for me. Not sure that is doable :banghead: -John

The folks at Flyin' Miata have a forum devoted to the Westfield Miata that might be worth a look if you haven't already been there. Unfortunately we don't see a lot of the Westfield Miata folks posting here, so you may have to go to them to get their opinion on the car, and find out why they chose to go in that direction rather than a different brand. Mazda, sorry for linking away to another forum! Let me know if I have to pay some sort of fine... -John

Welcome to the madness Avery! Is it possible for you to drive any of the cars listed to either rule them out, or move them up the list? I think the Westfield is a couple of hundred miles away from you, so that might be worth the trip. The Caterham in Atlanta is a bit far for a drive, but perhaps you can get a cheap flight? Not sure where the other cars are located. Might also be worth seeing if anyone on the forum is in your area so you can pay a visit and try their car on for size. -John

(Revising an old thread) I finally had the new wheels and tires mounted, so thought I would offer up my early opinions on the R888s. For background, before the rebuild I ran 185/60-14 A032Rs on my Westfield. After that I changed to 195/55-14 Toyo T1-S. I made the switch from R compounds in part to prepare for potential rain on USA2005 (we had it!), but mainly because the AO32Rs really lost their grip below ~60F. The car is often driven in 40F weather, so this was pretty annoying. I noticed a couple of things when I made that change. Warm weather grip was down (duh!) but there was a significantly smaller drop in grip between warm and cold weather, and the T1-S gave a significantly more comfortable ride. I’ve heard good things about the R888 when cold, so I recently decided to make the switch to 13” wheels and install 205/60-13 R-888s all the way around. I’ve now driven on them a few times with outside temperatures in the upper 40F range, and I am blown away by the grip. I was hoping to just be in the same ballpark as the T1-S under such conditions, but they stick much, much better on cold roads even before there is any heat put into them. And the ride has surprisingly improved! I’m sure part of this is down to the taller sidewall, but it seems to me that the sidewall is also much softer than the old AO32R, which is certainly a good thing for such a light car. Here is a pic with the new wheels installed (and yes, I did mow the lawn after taking that picture ) http://qa7fkg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pAXUZYTMSZ_FBlCT_IZleqQA7_pC-DXPAAldv7ja3PbE_fpmoAQ1JikN-fmLjUlYLMpgbwbPwABnMPkv7TGg6oQ/New%20Wheels%20800.jpg -John

Al and Mike make two great points: price sensitivity when you break the $30k barrier, and people finding comfort in a larger installed base. Let’s face it, unless you are extremely hardcore, a se7en is bought as a recreational device. Given that the average price of a new car is mid to upper $20k’s, spending more than that on a toy is a bit tough psychologically for a lot of folks – even if they have sufficient disposable income. As for the installed base, although some people enjoy being an early adopter, most find comfort in knowing they aren’t a guinea pig. They like having a large knowledge base out there to tap when something goes wrong or they have a question. Somewhat ironically, one of the reasons I bought a Westfield was because I didn’t want to be an early adopter. Westfield has been around for over 25 years, builds 400-500 cars per year, employs 5o people, and the club forum has 6500 registered users – i.e. they have a long track record and a solid customer support base. The irony is that here in the US, they really haven’t made many inroads, so they are often viewed as a very minor player without these assets in place. I think that misperception is one of the reasons why the orange car hasn’t moved yet. The Deman looks good and by all accounts is a very well built, great driving vehicle, but couple a price well over $30k without a track record and the addressable market becomes quite small. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the money, but finding the right buyer may take a while. -John

That's probably a good thing. If it had pulled any harder over 5000rpm, then I probably would have ruined my new pants -John

From the website, I see you have an option of renting either a 140hp K with 6-speed, or a 150hp Sigma with 5-speed. Whichever car you choose, just make sure you take it easy. You aren’t used to handling a car with that much power ;-) -John

Brad, no one has ever accused me of being fair. Good luck with the local sale Rick -John

BGH recommends a 75W90 GL-4 for the Type-9. The Redline equivalent is MT-90. Although MTL is the correct grade, it is a slightly thinner 75W80. Interestingly BGH doesn't recommend Redline, claiming they've seen excessive gear wear with that brand. I've always had good luck with their engine and gear oils, and was unable to find the BGH recommended brands here in the States, so I went with MT-90. Certainly works well for me...so far. -John

There is a se7en less than 10 miles from my house and I don't find out about it until it is listed in the classifieds :banghead: Good luck with the sale! Hopefully it stays in the area. -John

According to one of the bullet points in the listing "Battery is cleverly mounted under the air cleaner on the frame." I have a PC680 mounted in a similar position on my Westfield -- although I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it cleverly mounted -John

Good eye Stan! That was taken at the hotel in Tehachapi. If anyone is interested, I have about 75 photos from that trip located here. -John

Yep, that's mine (well, actually my wife's) from USA2005. Here are two more from the tour that I like. http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/1305838974_usa200522.jpg http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/1947346428_usa20055.jpg -John

My understanding is that a lean condition can also cause a backfire. The mixture is too lean to fire, hence raw fuel is pushed out on the exhaust stroke and ignited by the hot exhaust. Another thing to consider is you timing, which can result in incomplete combustion. A good online Weber tuning guide is located here. -John

I would love to have an XI to complement the se7en. Keep it simple with power around the 100hp mark and skinny tires with moderate grip. It’s a recipe for fun at reasonable speeds. Hmm… I wonder if Tom would be up for a group buy? -John

I'm afraid that might have been me Sorry about that! This is the first I have heard about a change to later crossflow installations. Did they move to a different bellhousing? -John

I think that car may win the award for widest rear tires on a se7en. -John

My Westfield tipped the corner balance scales at 1239 with ~ 4 gallons of fuel. -John

Looks nice! Not to hijack your thread, but if anyone wants a nice, round aluminum shift knob, then check out the knobmeister (despite the name, it is a safe site to view at work ). For $20 he will laser engrave anything you want on the surface. I had him do the Westfield logo, but he could easily do the “7” logo, “USA7s” or whatever else you want. http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/images/shiftknob.jpg -John

Check with Coker Tire. No personal experience with them, but I have seen their ads in some of the classic car magazines. -John