JohnCh

Sounds like you have one of the Yarwood-era cars. As far as I know he didn’t do anything oddball with his installations, so it should be the same as what the Caterham guys are running. If no one chimes in with a good source, then I’d start with Dave Bean Engineering and RD Enterprises. They can probably help out or steer you in the right direction. -John

Self control is overrated. Just buy it! -John

It looks like Mr. Orange's garage mate just made Bring a Trailer. It must be painful to part with such a beautiful, well sorted Elan. Of course, the replacement is no slouch. Good luck with the sale MoPho! -John

Looks like a YES Cup/R. More info here. -John

With 190lb of ballast in the driver's seat and about 4 gallons of fuel, my car came in at 46.9% front, 53.1% rear. -John

That car is scheduled to appear at our local version of cars and coffee this Saturday. Although it’s not really my style, I'm still looking forward to seeing it in the flesh. -John

Is the car currently registered in MD? if so, then my guess is that you would be fine, but if the registration has lapsed or if it is currently registered in another state, then you should definitely look into it. I found out (nearly the hard way) to take nothing at face value when dealing with kit cars and registration. Before I purchased my first Westfield, the car was legally registered in CA and had the coveted smog barcode. I assumed registering it in WA would be straight forward, but before completing the purchase, I called up the proper authorities here in WA to check if it was the same as a normal car. I was told “No problem. No differences. We’ll just do a VIN check to make sure the car isn’t stolen and a brake light inspection.” When I actually showed up with the car, however, the story changed. I had to see someone called “The Specialist” (really) at the Highway Patrol station who made me jump through a lot of hoops before he finally allowed me to license the car in WA. -John

In that case, the amount of time you will spend accelerating at really high speed probably won’t be that significant, so I bet the 185hp will be more than enough in the beginning. Given that you are trading a car that you like for something that is radically different and has its own set of unique challenges though, I recommend you do the following: Find out the registration requirements for MD. Some states will require you to pass emissions for the year of your engine. Although Webers don’t necessarily cause big problems in that situation for an old crossflow, the zetec is a different story. Again, might not be an issue where you live, but if it is, then you don’t want to find out after you have swapped the 996. Mazda (slngsht) may be able to offer some advice here. Go for a ride, or better yet, drive a se7en. They aren't for everyone, and some people just aren’t comfortable driving them on the street. I have some friends who are instructors with my local PCA chapter. They love driving my Westfield, but none of them would ever consider buying a se7en of any type for themselves. They feel they are just too small, raw, and exposed for their liking. Drive that particular car. If you are using it primarily for street use, then you want to make sure you are okay coming from a car with a sophisticated engine management system to something with a pair of Webers. Webers add their own additional level of character to the driving experience. For you that could be good, or it could be bad. Only you can answer that. -John

In that case, I should definitely stay away from a programmable ECU. There is a lot more to screw up than with a pair of DCOEs -John

That 0-100mph time seems really quick for a 185hp road car, even if fitted with an aeroscreen. Power to weight ratio is great for acceleration, but acceleration at higher speeds is more dependent on absolute hp and aerodynamics. Consequently modern high hp cars that may lose out to a se7en in the 0-60 dash will often claw back an advantage at 80+. The Car and Driver article pksurveyor linked to earlier tests a Caterham Superlight R with the SVT engine. I didn’t notice any hp claims in the article, but as I recall the plug and play SVT engine in a Caterham was rated at 185hp, more if it has cams. CD clocked that car from 0-60 in 4.0 and from 0-100 in 11.8. The car you are considering looks very nice, but I’d think hard about buying a zetec on carbs unless the price reflected that setup and you were sure you wouldn’t have emission issues in your state. Don’t get me wrong, I love Webers and have owned three cars with dual DCOEs, but they are hard to tune for clean running and the more radical you take the rest of the engine in pursuit of more power, the harder it is to maintain civility in low rpm, part throttle situations. Converting to fuel injection can be very expensive. Throttle bodies, ECU, wiring harness, fuel injectors, high pressure fuel pump, and other items add up very fast. There are cheaper options such as motorcycle throttle bodies and Megasquirt, but that will also require more work on your part. How do you plan to use the car? Is it primarily a track weapon with street mileage mostly to get you to the track and back, or do you plan to use it a lot on the street? As for the Porsche comparison, the Caterham will certainly make your 996 feel bloated and slow to react to inputs. I have 993 and getting in that after driving the Westfield for a few days straight is always an eye opener. -John

Another vote for shift lights to replace the need for a high visibility tach. I mounted my shift light module to the windscreen so that it is in my line of sight but not blocking the view of the road. It's very easy to see in your peripheral vision, so no need to take your eyes off the road and focus on a needle swinging around on the dashboard. The photo below is a fairly accurate representation of my view from the driver’s seat, although the shift lights do appear a bit high. In reality the top of the module is about even with the top of the head light bucket. Edited to add: ignore the disclaimer above that the photo doesn't accurately show where the shiftlights sit. I'm currently in the garage so I took a new photo that recreates my view pretty closely. New photo is below. http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/driversview1024.jpg -John

Or we have outstanding peripheral vision -John

The mud flaps definitely made things better in my car. Powderbrake, I suspect part of the reason you had increased debris thrown out the front may have something to do with the size and location of the your WCM cycle wings. If you look at where the front ends on this picture of your car, it is just forward of the vertical centerline of the wheel, whereas the front of my car's wings extend much further forward and covers more of the tire. Regarding cycle vs swept wings, I’ve had both. Although I love the more vintage look of swept wings, I was sold on the cycle fenders the first time I drove down a winding road with them in place. For me, seeing the front wheels rise and fall with the bumps and turn into the corners adds to the driving involvment. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070112_150149_5.JPG -John

One of the nice things about the new forum software is that you can link to a specific post. Post #35. -John

Alaskossie, go to User CP > Edit Options, scroll down to Default Thread Subscription Mode and set the drop down box to "instant e-mail notification" and click Save changes at the bottom of the page. -John

This link will take you to a high res photo taken on US2005 that shows how some of the folks handled extra storage on tour. This particular car has the Soft Bits for Sevens E-bag on top of the boot and small backpacks bungee corded to the roll bar’s rear stays. Rather than backpacks, some folks attached dry bags in that location, which do a great job to keep things dry when you hit the inevitable rainstorm (it isn’t a proper se7en tour if you don’t experience any inclement weather). Space saver travel bags are another great way to extend your luggage space. It’s amazing how many clothes you can pack in a small space using those. -John

Schroth has patented a technology called ASM which adds an additional level of safety to a 4-point set up. A fold is stitched into the inner shoulder harness that artificially shortens the belt. In a collision, the stitching breaks lengthening the harness and causing the body to twist as it is propelled forward. Schroth claims this twisting motion tightens the lap belt bellow the hip and prevents the torso from sliding beneath it. It has been blessed for road use by the German TUV and seems to get good feedback all around. The youtube video below shows it in action compared to a traditional 3-point. -John

So New Zealand offers: - very affordable se7ens - great roads - beautiful scenery - friendly people How hard is immigration from the US? -John

What does Caterham charge for the various installation packages for the Duratec?

Several years ago I tried to start a North American Westfield Registry in an effort to keep track of Westfields in the US & Canada. Thanks to some issues on my side, it didn't really go anywhere, but I am going to give it another shot. If you own a Westfield (SE, XI, XTR2/4, et al) and are interested in participating, then please go here for more information. Thanks, John

Looks great Mazda! Dare I ask the ETA for getting the beast back on the road? -John

If I was planning to use the car mainly on track, then I would be very tempted by a BEC. The light weight, sky high revs, lack of reciprocating mass, and the sequential gearbox are at home in that environment. If, however, I was planning to use the car quite a bit on the street, then I’d go for the Duratec. Which is exactly what I did. The 2.0L and 2.3L share the same head and bore dimensions, but differ in stroke length and block height (the 2.3L is about 14mm taller.) 250hp is easily, although not cheaply, achievable in either configuration. As you would expect, the smaller engine makes power with revs, whereas the stroked version relies on big gobs of torque. I currently have a 210hp 2.0L Duratec and love it. I wish it was a bit more frantic up top, but the broad torque curve is pretty compelling. With my gearing, 7500rpm in 3rd is 102mph – so not particularly short – yet starting in 3rd from a dead stop isn’t a problem and still results in strong acceleration. -John

Hank, Fluke Motorsports carries them for Westfields, but they refer to them as half doors, not quarter doors. I believe there are other firms who also sell them for our cars. Just do a search for "half doors" on WSCC. -John

Jerry, User CP is your friend. Click that, then Edit Options in left hand navigation and scroll down to the Thread Display Options section. There is a drop down box that will let you change how the threads are displayed. -John

Avatar fixed! Thanks, John