JohnCh

Nice looking car! How does the size of the BMW box compare to the Type 9? Also, how do you like the Siltech ARBs? I've been toying with buying those for a while. Thanks, John

I didn't mean the avatars didn't migrate. I was referring to the bug discovered in testing where the Edit Avatar option in the User CP didn't give an option to actually use an avatar. I guess the fix you made didn't carry over when you wiped the test site.

Mazda, thanks again for all your hard work! Everything looks great, but I see the Avatar bug is back. BTW helpful hint for folks: The default editor doesn’t show the buttons to insert images, hyperlinks, or emoticons. To have those options display when you are writing a post, do the following: User CP>Edit Options (in left hand navigation)>Miscellaneous Options (bottom of the page)>change drop box from “Basic Editor – a simple text box” to “Standard Editor – Extra formatting controls” -John

Hank, Why don’t’ you tackle this yourself? If you are just extending the loom and tapping in a few components it isn’t that hard. I built the engine loom for my Emerald with no prior experience and it is about 4 years old and still going strong (I should know better than to tempt fate by writing that :banghead: ). I’m sure there are folks here who can steer you through the process. -John

Gert, Before I switched to 13” wheels with R888s, I used the Toyo T1s. The T1R is the replacement for that tire, and by all accounts performance is very similar. I think it is a great tire for a se7en given the criteria you set forth. As you noted, they are pretty light, and they also have a softer sidewall than most performance tires which is a good thing on such a light car. Wear rates are great and they do very well in standing water. In fact I have kept my wheels fitted with those tires and plan to use them when touring. -John

Happy to give it a go. I’m currently running IE8 RC1 which does have some problems with certain implementations of Vbulletin. It might be useful if people who volunteer also mention their browser type so we can attempt to cover all the bases. -John

You might want to take a closer look at a Westfield. They now have a version based on a donor Miata, so it is easier to source parts locally, and you can turn to Flyin Miata in CO for speed parts. Interior room falls between the Caterham S3 and SV, and like those cars, a dropped floor is available for taller drivers. -John

I think that's me Supersportsp, the offer still stands to come by some weekend and try my car on for size. Although you'll find the Westfield noticeably roomier than a Caterham S3 or Birkin, you should still fit in the latter cars just fine, particularly if you opt for the lowered floor. It's amazing what the body will adjust to after a little familiarity. Kind of like driving a car with bottom hinged pedals - at first they just seem wrong, but after a while you don’t even notice it. -John

Even the puddle underneath the car looks period correct

That's correct. The Westfield has quite a bit more shoulder and foot room than a standard 7 or Birkin, but it isn't quite as roomy as the SV. -John

Jay Leno’s weekly videos from his garage are always worth watching, but this week’s production on the Delahaye 135 S hits a little closer to home than usual. If you think a se7en is hard to get into, then you have to watch Jay struggle to get behind the wheel of this French GP car. For those who require immediate gratification, or who just don’t care for Delahayes, the ingress procedure begins with about 2:55 remaining on the counter. -John

Daniel Stern has a detailed writeup on the procedure in the tech section of his site. -John

Send your friend to The Garage Journal and tell him to spend some time going through the Flooring forum. There is a lot of great information there. I used the Rustoleum 2-part epoxy on our garage floor over 5 years ago and it has held up extremely well. From what I have read, there are much better options out there today, but regardless of the brand selected, proper prep is the key to a long lasting coating. -John

Not sure they will fit!

I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of those guys towering over the Megabusa. -John

There was another thread earlier this year (Best Seven picture ever?) that contains a lot of great photos. Some of those are definitely worthy of consideration for a club calendar. -John

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/1112768559_usa200522.jpg Taken somewhere in Utah on USA2005. -John

Interesting new car out of New Zealand. The engine is a custom built bike-based 2.4L V8 that makes a claimed 390hp @ 12,000 rpm, and the whole car features some beautifully milled components (I’m a sucker for nice machine work). I'm still not sure I care for the aesthetics, but I'm certainly impressed with the quality of his work. -John

I think it is an optical illusion. The links look parallel to the arms in this photo. -John

Randall, great story! Reminds me of a couple of trips we’ve taken with the Westfield. Nothing quite like driving a se7en on a busy freeway in the pouring rain to make you feel alive Matt, good hear you made it back to TX. Looking forward to seeing a thread about your trip home! -John

The boardroom was down when I checked it early this morning. Hopefully it will be back up soon. -John

Have you checked the tension on the water pump belt? I’ve seen a slack belt have enough grip to turn the water pump at idle speeds, but slip when the engine rpm increases to driving speeds. My guess is you had to remove that when you R&R the timing chain, so perhaps it wasn’t properly tensioned, or the tensioner bolt wasn’t sufficiently tightened when everything went back together? -John

Memory foam is nice stuff for seat padding. Although expensive if purchased from automotive suppliers, the price comes down considerably when bought as a mattress pad. Overstock.com carries 1” king sized pads for $40 and 1.5” version for $70. If you want the padding thicker in some area, just glue sheets together with a spray adhesive. -John

Mazda, is there a way to create an ignore list based on geography so I don’t have to read posts like this over the winter? :jester: Thanks, John

$8000 does sound really low. The R300 comes with the 6–speed which is about 2500GBP directly from Caterham. My guess is that the price of the R300 Duratec (which must be pretty basic given the 175hp output) will be similar to the outgoing SVT, which I think was about $11-12k with a 6-speed. I’m sure someone here will chime in with the actual price. As for currency fluctuations, it’s a tricky game. Go back just 4 months to July 18th and the GBP was worth $2, or 33% more than today. If Caterham USA were to adjust the price down from the July numbers to account for the renewed strength of the USD and keep their margins constant, then the poor guy who bought his car 4 months ago would have just taken a massive depreciation hit. His $60,000 car in July would now cost just $45,000 new, which means his car’s resale value took an additional $15k hit. I don’t think he would be very happy. Tying the price of the car directly to the GBP also means that the car price keeps changing while the potential buyer is deciding whether or not to purchase. My bet is that the sales cycle for a se7en is fairly long. Sure some people make the decision quickly, but based on what I have seen on the various forums, people seem to think about the purchase for quite a while before placing an order. Throwing currency fluctuations into the mix increases the complexity of the buy decisions. If the GBP is decreasing, then the buyer may hold off making the purchase because he’s hoping the price will fall further if he waits just a little longer. Long sales cycles are not good for sellers due to externalities that can affect the purchase (customer faces unexpected expenses, has a job change, wife files for divorce because he is spending too much time obsessing about the se7en rather than paying attention her, etc.) If the USD is declining, then the level of the financial commitment is increasing before the customer’s eyes and he may find himself priced out of the market by the time he is mentally ready to pull the trigger. -John