JohnCh

TWM isn't cheap. If you are looking for something off the shelf, have you considered the Twincam conversion kit from QED? It sounds pretty comprehensive with a DTA ECU, distributor block-off plate, crank trigger setup, and wiring harness. Not sure whose throttle bodies they use, but probably Jenvey which is pretty popular in the UK. At today's conversion rate it's less than $3k. -John

The post-Monterey route is locked and hotel reservations have been made for the three confirmed drivers! If you have been toying with joining us for any portion of the drive, but haven’t contacted me directly about it, then please do so right away so I can give you the hotel details. There is very limited space at some of these places so you need to jump on your reservations now. -John

I think you are chasing a red herring here. Yes, the drag on a se7en is terrible, but even if the total drag was on par with a contemporary car, the lack of hp will still put you at a disadvantage at high speeds. Take two hypothetical cars with identical drag and power to weight ratios, but one car is 2.5 times heavier with 2.5 times the power. Car A weighs 3750 lb with driver and has 600hp, car B weighs 1500 lb with driver and has 240hp. Doing the math, both carry 6.25 lb/hp. Now assume both cars require 100hp to cruise at 100 mph. That means car A has 500hp available for acceleration from that speed, and car B has just 140 hp. Running the numbers for available power to weight from that speed, car A has a still impressive 7.5 lb/hp, but car B now has a far more pedestrian 10.7 lb/hp. Bottom line, if you want to have the fastest car down the straight, you either need a car with a lot of hp, or you need to run at track days where those cars don't show up -John

When I bought my car, I drove it 850 miles by myself in a little over a day to get it home. My wife & I did 4000 miles in two weeks on USA2005 – half of that mileage was done travelling to/from the tour (630 miles was the longest day), so no other cars were along for support. I did about 1400 miles on PNW2007, 300 miles of which were done without any support cars along, and I am planning to cover about 2500miles this summer going to Monterey and then taking the long way back with a few other cars. So yes, I guess I trust it for driving longer distances I carry an assortment of hand tools, a motorcycle tire repair kit, duct tape, a cell phone, and a AAA Plus card. -John

You mean they have forums for things other than cars? I guess I need to get out more often... Westfield Sports Car Club California Caterham Club Flyin Miata's Westfield Miata forum Rennlist Pelican 6-speed Online (just for the regional forum) Grassroots Motorsports Garage Journal Aside from the first two on the list, and of course USA7s, I mostly lurk. -John

Or a reunion from Monterey this summer Once I get back from that trip, I'll have a better idea how my back holds up to longer drives. I'm pretty sure I can still do an occasional 350-400 per day in the Westfield, but the 600+ days are probably no longer an option. BTW I'm sure we can convince Ed to come along as well... -John

Gert, I may be interested as well, but probably only for a week given the extra time it will take me to get there and back. -John

I have the Emerald K3 and can highly recommend it. A lot of guys with Westfields in the UK run a Zetec with the Emerald, so finding a starting map for that combo that was created on a dyno should be pretty easy unless you are using uncommon cams, pistons, or headwork. Having a starting point is particularly important for the ignition map which is pretty difficult to get right on your own unless you really know what you’re doing (I don’t). Mapping the fuel table though is pretty easy. Chris Good created a really cool little app for the Emerald that uses the native datalogging capability and a wideband O2 sensor to fine tune the fuel map. Simply input your target AFR and do a number of full throttle runs in higher gears and then it does the analysis to tell you which cells you should tweak and by how much. It also shows you how many data samples it has at each point to help you interpret the accuracy of the suggestions. I used this on my car and after playing around with it for a couple of weekends it was almost spot on. In fact the dyno operator I took it to afterwards for final tuning was really surprised at how close it was to optimal – it saved me a lot of expensive dyno time. The K3 also has a self-tuning feature that is similar to what Chris Good’s app does, but it actually creates a new table with the recommended changes. When I did my initial mapping I had the older version of the Emerald which didn’t have the self-mapping feature, so I can’t comment how well it works for mapping full throttle. However, I now have the K3 and can confirm that it help in light throttle situations. I just keep it on and over time it recommends changes to the parts of the map where I do the bulk of my driving. As for difficulty, if you are already plumbed for fuel injection, the only hard part is creating the wiring harness. Even that isn’t hard, just time consuming. BTW if you are making a lot of engine changes to increase power, you should ensure that the fuel pump already in the car has sufficient headroom. -John

Shamelessly stolen from another forum: A gynecologist had become fed up with malpractice insurance and HMO paperwork, and was burned out. Hoping to try another career where skillful hands would be beneficial, he decided to become a mechanic. He went to the local technical college, signed up for evening classes, attended diligently, and learned all he could. When the time of the practical exam approached, the gynecologist prepared carefully for weeks, and completed the exam with tremendous skill. When the results came back, he was surprised to find that he had obtained a score of 150%. Fearing an error, he called the Instructor, saying, "I don't want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wonder if there is an error in the grade?" The instructor said, "During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total mark. You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the mark." After a pause, the instructor added, "I gave you an extra 50% because you did it all through the muffler, which I've never seen done in my entire career."

The 25th is Tuesday (tomorrow) not Wednesday -John

Great news Tom! I was about to ask if you are also staying at the Wiebe but then I remembered my geography ;-) -John

Just a reminder that the deadline to pre-purchase your tickets and corral pass for Monterey through GGLC, is next Tuesday the 25th. Also, will those who are planning to attend please PM me and let me know the following: A) Are you a local to the event or will you be staying at a hotel? If a hotel, are you staying at the Wiebe? B) Will you be bringing your se7en? If yes, what make/engine? C) Are you interested in joining the tour after the race weekend is over? If yes, for how many days? Hudson, Alaskossie, Slomove, & RNR, I already have your details, so no need for the PM. Thanks, John

USPS Priority Mail flat rate envelope is only $5 and adding a tracking number is only another $1, so that might be the best option. You can even do this online and have USPS send the prepaid envelopes to your door, so there isn’t even a reason to make a trip to the Post Office. I know I’d be more than happy to pay the extra to ensure the tickets arrive on time. Would GGLC be willing to do this? RNR, lunch would be fun, but I prefer to have the tickets before I leave rather than pick them up on the drive down. I'd like to keep my route and schedule as flexible as possible. Thanks, John

Sounds like we should have a decent turnout for Monterey! Ed, if the seven isn’t ready, I expect to see the Mini I’m having my tickets/corral pass sent to my house (Seattle area) and I’m hoping they show up before I take off on the 10th or 11th. Kiyoshi, any advice here? Should they make it by then, or do I need to make other arrangements? -John

It's SR-129. Drop me a PM if you want to scout some other routes for us, er...I mean if you want some other recommendations -John

Gert, did you get this straightened out? The process worked flawlessly for me a few weeks ago. BTW for those of you considering joining the driving portion after Monterey, here is a picture of a road in Eastern WA we are considering for the route http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Washington_State_Route_129.jpg -John

Check out Protex. Lots of options and good quality. -John

Wow, I never thought you would actually buy my logic. Perhaps I should try the same approach with Al? Gert, do you think you can convince any of the other CCC folks to attend? -John

Is that Estoril blue? -John

Take the redeye to San Jose Thursday night. Meet us at the track on Friday morning, and then fly back Monday. Only 2 days away from work. -John

How about joining Alaskossie’s drive home? Folks in the Western states can join on the legs leading to or from Monterey, and those in the East can fly out for a 3-day weekend of automotive nirvana: Monterey Historics, Pebble Beach Concourse, Concorso Italiano… -John

Fiat recently confirmed that Alfa is returning in 2012, so it is looking good. Not sure about the plan to build SUVs though -John

On the way back from USA2005, we stopped at a drive through coffee shop and fielded an interesting question from the barista. The car was filthy, loaded down with gear for a two week trip, and most of left rear wing was torn off after an incident earlier in the day with a tire carcass -- remains of which were still visible on the tub. She looked down at the car, scanned it from front to back and then asked “did you buy that at the swap meet this morning?" http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/rearwing.jpg -John

Bruce, the 8C was brought in and sold through Maserati dealers. Cars are fully certified and perfectly legal. Great pics Croc, thanks for posting! -John

Why does the phrase "If pimps drove Sevens..." pop in my head when I look at this picture? http://photos.evo.co.uk/images/front_picture_library_UK/dir_733/car_photo_366994_25.jpg -John