JohnCh

I made wind wings similar to Michael's. They made a huge difference! You can (barely) see them >here and >here. -John

I work in the tech sector on the business development/marketing side of the house. Not very thrilling stuff, but it pays for my blatting addiction. I’ve been a fan of the Seven since I was a little kid and kind of fell into my Westfield ownership. The consulting firm where I worked had just hired a new Exec VP to start our California office. During an introductory, get-to-know-ya e-mail thread between us, I discovered that he had recently bought the Westfield that had appeared in the March ’96 issue of Road & Track. I was impressed that he owned such a unique car and he was impressed that I actually knew what it was, so a friendship was born. I began managing some of his projects and drove/thrashed the Westfield whenever I was in town for meetings. When it finally came time for him to part ways with the car, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. After I had the Westfield for about 2 years, someone backed into it in a parking lot which shattered the nosecone. That shouldn’t have been a big deal, but the color formula had changed since my car was manufactured (Cadmium, a key component, had subsequently been deemed a hazardous substance) and so a replacement nose cone would not match. I fought the insurance company for a full rebody and eventually won. I then spent the next 18 months radically transforming the car. Virtually every component was replaced with lighter, more performance oriented components. The result was a weight reduction of 165lb. and a power increase of more than 50% (and soon to go up by another 30hp http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif ). Although technically I have only owned one se7en, the difference between the car today and when I first bought it is so dramatic, that I feel that I have been fortunate enough to own two examples of the breed. Last year my wife and I joined about 50-60 other se7en owners on the USA 2005 tour of the Western US. 4000 miles in 2 weeks. What a blast! For the masochists and truly bored among you, I have a very outdated website >here. -John JohnCh2006-11-14 19:52:44

I was in Portland on business a couple of weeks ago. On the way home I stopped by PIR to watch dp1's track debut and finally see the car in the flesh. Very impressive. -John

This guy built his own McLaren Can Am inspired car – from >scratch. He even hand formed the aluminum body. Unbelievable…

The combination of small mudflaps and big wind deflectors has virtualy eliminated the rock-in-the-seat problem with my car. I will still find one or two small pebbles each week, but I haven't felt a direct hit since the mods. -John

My Westfield was originally fitted with clamshells, but I switched to cycle fenders when I did the rebody. Xflow7 is correct about the additional road debris in the cockpit, but installing small mud flaps cured this on my car. I love the cycle fenders and am very happy I made the switch. There is nothing like turning in to a corner and watching the fenders dive for the apex – fun stuff! -JohnJohnCh2006-10-26 18:03:44

Thanks Mike.

Mike, talk about a mirror-like finish! Do you use these polishes on your fiberglass bits as well? If so, do you have the same enthusiasm for them on this material, or is it overkill? Thanks, John

Fluke Motorsports has a >weght database available where users can submit weights of various components -- including entire cars. >Here are the results for the latter. Makes for interesting reading. -John

When my Westfield SEiW was corner balanced with 4 gallons of fuel, it came in at 1238.5lb. 2.0L Duratec Custom roll bar built for strength not light weight Heavy 14” wheels (14lb/ea) LSD Type-9 Windscreen MOG carbon fiber seats No heater, spare, or carpets -John

No. 6, the forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies and highs in the mid to upper 60's. Sounds perfect for a blat! -John

>AIM Tire is a good source for R-compound 13" tires.slngsht2006-09-12 19:22:20

Mike, The claimed output numbers I have seen for built Zetecs (cams, head work, individual throttle bodies, programmable ECU, etc) are in the 200-220hp range depending on the aggressiveness of the cams and the amount of head work. I've had a couple of rides in a Zetec-powered Caterham with a claimed output of 210hp and it seemed to be very streetable with good low rpm torque. -John

Welcome to the wonderful world of crossflows and webers! Your mileage is only 1-2mpg worse than what I used to get with my old 120hp crossflow. My Duratec on the other hand has 190hp and typically returns 25-28mpg in city/back road driving. Of course it doesn't sound anywhere as near as good... If the mileage is a concern, then you might want to consider installing a 3D ignition system. I explored this before switching to the Duratec and heard from a number of people who reported much better drivability and another 3-6mpg. -John

Glad to hear we now have another 7 in Seattle! Did you take the long (i.e. twisty) way home from Portland? -John

My daily driver is a tweaked 944 turbo that I've had for over 10 years. I tried to replace it a few years ago with an M Coupe, but I didn't enjoy that car nearly as much, so sold it after 10 months. The Porsche is getting on in years though, so I am probably going to retire it from daily duty next year (don't think I could ever sell it). The family car is a Subaru Forester 2.5XT with a 5 speed, which is a fun little sleeper. -John

I have size 11.5 and used to drive with my crosstrainers (the Westfield has a big pedal box) but last year I switched to Puma Speedcats and now only drive the car with those shoes. I find the rolled heel of a driving shoe is a lot more comfortable when seated as low as I am in the Westfield. -John

It's shocking how fast the average car has become. I recently was looking at some old Road & Tracks from the early-mid '70s. In one issue I noticed that the 2 fastest cars from 0-60mph in the Road Test Summary both took 7.2 seconds to cover that milestone. As I recall only 11 cars had a 0-60 time under 10 seconds. How times have changed... -John

Seems to me that limiting membership to people who have an interest in a se7en/7/seven/LSiS (whew!) should be restrictive enough for the IRS. After all, that is a pretty dams small percentage of the population. -John

Great, and then the purist will begin referring to se7ens/LSiS as Faux 7s or perhaps just F7s. Just what we need... http://www.usa7s.com/forum/smileys/wink5.gif -John

Westfield uses rod ends in the rear suspension and there are a number of posts in WSCC about durability. The factory items are fine (Goldline?), but there are a number of complaints about National Rod Ends, which apparently don't last that long. NMB/NHBB are regarded as the best, but they are pricey. Aurora Bearings are considered very good value (about 1/3-1/4 the price of NMB!). Apparently you can also purchase rubber boots that help keep out some of the grime. -John

I recommended "faux 7" to the previous owner of my Westfield. I still have the plate kicking around the garage and should probably mount it on the wall one of these days http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif -John

Rivet Nuts and Insert Nuts are both available at >Pegasus. -John

I would love to belong to a US se7ens club and am happy to get involved to make it happen, but I don't want to join the US Caterham club -- and regardless of the name, L7GB *is* the Caterham club. Although LF is a very nice little publication, the ads and articles are almost exclusively about Caterhams with the occasional nod to the Lotus 7. There is no mention of other se7en makes, and I can't believe the editors will change that policy for us. I hate to think that a significant portion of my dues will go towards a publication that targets only a segment of the US membership. I believe we need to take a closer look at our objective. If it is to take the simplest path to having a club, then I agree that aligning with L7GB or WSCC, or some other club has merit. However, if the goal of the club is to bring all US se7en owners together and to spread the word on these great little cars -- regardless of manufacturer -- then I think we should start something ourselves. Thanks to Mazda, we already have the forum. We can do an e-newsletter while getting started, and we can help people in various regions to hook up. Over time we can sort out the liability issues and begin to officially coordinate/sponsor events. But it would be *our* club. Given the state of the US se7ens market, some of the US distributors/manufacturers of the various makes may even be open to sponsorship opportunities. If we are the US arm of L7GB, I can guarantee that isn't going to happen http://www.usa7s.com/forum/smileys/smiley2.gif -John JohnCh2006-08-07 06:59:36

Boy, I have a feeling I am going to step into the crossfire with this post, and I hope it doesn't come across harshly, but… I'm not a fan of the Bloodline concept. To me a Lotus 7 is a Lotus, and a Caterham is a Caterham. Yes, the latter company purchased the rights to continue production and until recently the same company produced the chassis, but to me that doesn't make it a Lotus 7. Birkin has the rights to reproduce the S3 in South Africa, so shouldn't they get the same treatment? Also what do you do with the CSR? The chassis is made by Caged, not Arch. The suspension was designed by Multimatic, not Lotus, and the performance and price target are leagues away from Chapman's original concept. To me Caterham has it's own heritage created over the last 30 years and to tout the tie-in to Lotus just diminishes those accomplishments. I personally believe we should view all of the cars as Se7ens. Tiny, doorless vehicles inspired by the Lotus 7. Why stratify them? As for access to Lotus clubs, I guess it will vary by region, but the Lotus club in the Seattle area actually approached me to join. Most of the Lotus Club regions are so small they are always looking to affiliate themselves with others. -John (awaiting the barrage)