JohnCh

One of the main benefits of converting to an ECU controlled ignition is 3D mapping which requires knowledge of the throttle opening via a TPS or MAP sensor. The advantage over 2D is better part throttle response and reduced fuel consumption since different engine loads have different advance requirements to optimize the burn. Although we don't intend these cars to be gas sippers, the tanks are small and every little bit helps when touring. Given the cost and effort involved, it might be worth having that discussion with SBD before placing the order. -John

I don't see a Throttle Position Sensor mentioned. Did they feel there was no reason to proactively replace that? If you piecemeal this and buy common parts elsewhere (coil pack, have Magnecor make a set of plug leads to your spec, etc.), you could likely do this a bit cheaper, but there is peace of mind knowing that if something isn't working as planned you have support. -John

To answer your original question, there are a few ignition-only ECUs available today: megajolt, Nodiz, Omex, and others. MBE also makes a unit, which might be a little more plug and play given it's the same manufacturer as your current unit. Of course, things have moved on so much, that might not be the case. The size of the job is...it depends. If you aren't making any other changes, you'll want to ensure your sensors are compatible with the new ECU, and then you will need to rewire the plug so the correct wires go to the correct pin out out the ECU. I'm also not sure if the current crop of ECUs will work with your distributor setup rather than a wasted spark. Although, even if they do, I'd consider modernizing that aspect of the system. -John

Congrats on the purchase and glad to see you understand the importance of decreasing practicality in the garage. It's surprising how many people have trouble grasping that concept -John

Welcome to the forum and se7en ownership! I'm sorry to hear about your brother-in-law but it's great to know his car is staying in the family. Woody Harris was the Birkin dealer in Vacaville. I haven't connected with him in over 10 years, but I do have an email address that might still work if you want to get in touch with him. -John

It is a great photo. In fact a cropped version just made the club Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/COPARc-saBC/ -John

Nope, you're a paid club member and this is just a heads up for the BaT auction, so it's fine here. -John

I moved this to Cars for Sale forum since it's more likely to be found by someone looking for a car. -John

That looks like a spherical mount vs. a rubber bush mount shown in the manual. Is that a difference in the various Sport/Track/Race suspension options? -John

If I understand you description and the photos, one of the downward facing rectangular section's sloping sides hits the adjacent tube, but the other does not, yet the De Dion tube is equidistant above the chassis on either end. Is that correct? I am not familiar with the De Dion, so am probably way off here, but is it possible that the De Dion tube isn't centered within the chassis? -John

Pics will help. Also, paging @Pokey to the thread. He was very meticulous in his recent build and may be able to comment on the amount of clearance or any installation issues that could potentially minimize that gap. -John

Some of you may have stumbled across the new USA7s Instagram and Facebook accounts (user name: usa7sclub) @Croc and I have been playing with the past few weeks. Our goal is to use both platforms to increase awareness of USA7s and drive participation in the forum. The use of social media is not intended to bifurcate the community or knowledge base by creating a second USA7s location to ask questions or share information. In support of this, the Facebook account is public -- anyone can read or post a comment -- but only admins can create a new post, and clicking on the content will bring you directly to the relevant page of the forum. The Instagram account is intended to showcase photos taken by the USA7s community, not se7en-related photos borrowed from another site. We've seeded it with photos previously posted in forum threads or Member Galleries, and with some Croc and I have taken over the years. We'll continue with this approach and will also create a path for everyone to submit a photo they've taken for future Instagram posting. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, I encourage you to Friend or Follow these accounts and help increase our reach. The more we can encourage people to join our community, we all win; more people to chime in when we need experienced advice or to share activities and ideas for what we can do to/with our cars. The user name for both sites is USA7sClub. Direct links are: https://www.facebook.com/usa7sclub https://www.instagram.com/usa7sclub/ Thanks, John

The FAQ in the Help Guides section has been update with an explanation of the upside down photo issue, two options to fix it, and how to identify if your phone is in its natural "right-side up" orientation before you take a picture. -John

@KnifeySpoony I don't see a file physically attached to your post, so my guess is you either uploaded a URL from a location with private permissions, or a file path from your device. That would explain why you can see it, but others see this: -John

I've had my coffee, so fixed the orientation for you! -John

What are the specs of the engine? Is this a big power build? Also, what types of temps do you anticipate it will see when doing track days? With that information in hand, you might get some real world feedback from folks that heat isn't an issue provided you have an adequate radiator and/or oil cooler. -John

It's a very common problem. When taking a landscape photo with the rear-facing lens, you want the bottom of the phone rotated to your right, not your left. See this old article for a more thorough explanation. I'll add this information to the FAQ when I have time. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/why-does-my-iphone-take-upside-down-photos/ Thanks, John

Just noticed that you wrote you tried turning it upside down, then saving. The correct fix is to rotate it 1 or 2 full rotations and save it. The issue is you took the photo with your phone upside down and the forum software is having trouble applying the correction using the embedded meta data. -John

That's the normal fix, but it didn't work for me using the Windows native photo tool. I then tried it using Paint and it seems to work fine (Murphy's Law says it will be upside down when I click Submit Reply) -John

@mdork that's great news! Make sure you do a build thread. It's a great way to get input from those who have been there/done that. -John

First photo shows one of the (many) blind crests I mentioned in my earlier post. Very pretty, very fun road. -John

Did my first proper blat of the year this morning with @Pokey. It's unseasonably warm in the Seattle area this weekend, hitting 80F yesterday with today's expected high just a little cooler. We opted for an early start to avoid the crowds, leaving my house around 7:45 when temps were still in the mid 40s, and returned a couple of hours later to temps 20F higher. Perfect weather and shockingly, almost no traffic. Not even bicycles. If you live on Seattle's Eastside, I highly recommend Ben Howard Rd, which runs along the South side of State Route 2 between Monroe and Gold Bar. Great set of undulating twisties that dead end after ~15 miles, forcing you to pull a U-turn and do it all over again. Life is hard. The only down side is the number of blind crests. As you approach, you have no idea what's on the other side: Straight? Gentle corner? Hair pin? Left? Right? Chipmunk (just missed one of those on the return leg)? Consequently you frequently find yourself lifting or feathering the brake pedal as you approach only to find you could have maintained speed. Frustrating, but not slowing and getting it wrong is obviously not an option. And if that's the only negative about the road... Unfortunately no photos, but I'm still grinning! -John

This one is also listed on the forum here:

Closing this thread since someone started a thread on this topic earlier today:

Beautiful Europa and Elan. Snipping out relevant parts of the above; To reduce production costs compared to the S3, the S4 used a simplified chassis with sections of folded steel and welded steel side panels to regain some rigidity. As I recall, the fiberglass body is also stressed to help in that area. That type of chassis construction is not as elegant as a real Caterham, real Birkin, real Westfield, real Brunton, etc, but it reportedly still works well. The folded steel sections are similar to the Elan construction, so as with that car, it's important to check the relevant areas for rust. It sounds like an interesting project, and with few exceptions, any se7en is a huge amount of fun. Ignoring the state of that particular car, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone here who would talk you out of buying a se7en. We're what you call...enablers. -John