trials_man

I'd assume if I went for a 1275cc, I shiukd try and find the high compression variant? The 1098 is interesting as well, especially since it is a pre-emission controls engine. Vizard states it can use a longer duration can than a 998, being a stroke version of that engine. That plan at this point is to roam the yards, survey and get things as is where is. The stuff wiukd then be rebuilt/remain with quality performance stuuf with a view toward the finished product being "new" and tuned.

Good lord! Is that a GMC suoercharger in the Bugeye? Vizard's book arrived today, it'll be priority reading for a while. 140HP from and A series???? I doubt I'll do that, but the tuning potential is pretty nice.....

I'm leaning more and more toward using a Spridget donor. I'm liking the idea of a series 1 type replica and much from a spridget wiukd drop right in. They are a nit more plentiful, oddly it seems than a 1.6 Pinto which at the outset I thought might be tops. Anyway I've got David Viziers tuning.book on the A series coming so I'll be intereste in that.. I'm thinking a tuned Spridget drive train would make a quick Series 1 copy. I looked at the car that gave me this idea, looks like it wiukd have what I need from the outside. I couldntt check it as to engine, etc, though. No one answered the door when i knicked. I do know it would have to have an A series in it.....

I've been looking into the spridget option this weekend, it's become a bit more appealing and interesting. I have to look into the abilities of the 1098/1275 A-series, I figure a 948 is too rare. I also read where you can use a Datsun 5-speed in one. Sounds plausible, since Nissan license built Austins that used the A-series. I've got a copy of Tony Weale's book on the way, that might answer some things...

While I was working, driving my route through Southern Indiana, I saw a Spridget that was pretty forlorn and likely for sale, and it got me to thinking about using MG's, Triumphs, and Sprigets to harvest for components. I'm interested in a "historic" or "period" at this point. I'm quite open to Ford stuff, but I did a little cursory research for an updated Series One/Two style Seven: Ford Crossflow MG/Triumph gearbox with Laycock OD, or Pinto 4-speed BM/BL sports car rear axle, brakes, and spindles Wire wheels, 13-15 in. I know the Spifire's pretty attractive for this sort of thing, and I reckon the Spridget's track dimension wiukd likely work against it. Thoughts? Dennis

Tony Weale designed it. I Googled him a few nights ago and got a link to a 2009 Daily Telegraph article by Malcolm McKay. It sounds pretty interesting: Wheel on the simple pleasures Malcolm McKay rediscovers the fun of kit cars with a brand new special that takes them back to first principles In the Fifties, everyone was doing it: a trendy young guy had to have a sports car and, except for the very favoured few who could afford an MG or Triumph TR, that meant building your own. A whole industry supplied the bits to turn a rotten old Ford Popular into a racy little sports number, and some were actually quite good - though if you didn't spend almost as much as that MG cost, you were just as likely to get a rattly old boneshaker. Still, out of that era, great names like Lotus and Lola emerged, and their descendants, all the Lotus Seven-style kit cars, are still with us today. Clean profile: the minimalist Altair's lengthened wheelbase allows a low seating position Lotus Seven authority and ex-Caterham engineer Tony Weale reckons they've all gone too far from their basic origins in the mad quest for unusable power. "Kit cars should be inexpensive, simple, easy to assemble, good-looking and have superb handling and performance," he says, "and you don't need a huge power unit to achieve it." Unlike most bar-room boffins, Weale went out to his garage to prove it and, six months later, he's developed the Altair (Arabic for "flyer", Altair is the brightest star in the Aquila galaxy). It uses Ford Pop components just as in the Fifties - but an immensely strong, welded spaceframe chassis ensures that they work properly. Beam axles front and rear keep the wheels upright at all times, a neat hydraulic brake conversion dispenses with the original crude mechanical operation, while the Ford Pop steering box does a reasonable job, if a little heavy at low speeds with a tiny steering wheel. A lengthened wheelbase provides good weight distribution and helps to keep the seating position really low. By simply applying his brain, Weale has solved problems that have troubled enthusiasts for decades; fitting an external water pump, making 15in wheels, fitting a higher ratio axle: all the details that make this a well-rounded car. Exceptional light weight - around 950lb - is thanks to the car's small size, light aluminium-alloy panelling and the little sidevalve engine, which also allows a very low bonnet line. And keeping the weight down means you can make full use of the 30-odd bhp of the standard Ford engine. Tuning parts can still be found - some are still made - to double this, but it's astonishing how lively the car is without that, its wide torque band easily overcoming the gaps in the three-speed gearbox and making this a highly enjoyable tool on country lanes. Of course, there are cars that go faster. In fact, in a straight line virtually every other car goes faster. But that's not the point. The Altair is a laugh-a-second fun machine that makes everybody smile, gives enormous driver satisfaction on country lanes or in town, costs next-to-nothing to run and could even be used for commuting if you're wild enough. It's a great way of opting out of the rat race and recycling components from a car way beyond restoration; there are plenty of Ford sidevalve parts at most autojumbles, and suitable donor cars can easily be found through the Ford Sidevalve Owners Club (see Practical Classics magazine). The donor car's identity and tax-exempt status should be transferable, meaning no need for seatbelts, emissions tests, SVA test or Q-plates. The standard kit price is just £1,297 and you could be on the road for under £2,000; a £2,500 budget should ensure a really nice example. Altair Price/availability: from around £2,000 OTR. Contact: Tony Weale, Altair Engineering, PO Box 252, Reigate, Surrey RH2 8YZ; tel 01737 240482. Engine/transmission: 1,172cc Ford sidevalve four-cylinder; 30bhp at 4,000rpm, 46lb ft of torque at 3,000rpm. Three-speed Ford E93A gearbox, rear-wheel drive. Suspension: Front; beam axle, transverse leaf spring, Panhard rod, telescopic dampers. Rear; live axle, torque tube, transverse leaf spring, Panhard rod, telescopic dampers. Performance: (est) max speed 75mph, 0-60mph in 20sec, fuel consumption 40mpg. Here's an example that was for sale: http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C113640 Anybody know more about it, I hope? If the Ford Popular bits don't do it for you, what abut as a "6.5“? I'm wondering how it might do with and extra gear or two, a Kent engine and a Seven type front end?

I'm a medical courier, drive about 400 miles a night, four days a week. I hold a BA in History, with a minor in Appalachian Studies. I live near Lexington, KY in the area where the Derby winners are put to stud. Nice country with twisty lanes. Always single, never married. I first got interested in Sevens when i switched from reading Hot Rod and Car Craft to Car and Driver and Road and Track when i was a high school freshman in 1975. I saw a Seven in a C/D article and my curiosity was piqued. Been following them ever since. I drive a minivan for the company, I've full use of it, business and personal. My own cars are a 1964 Karmann Ghia and a 2008 smart cabrio. I gained a taste for simplicity when i took my Light Sport lessons in a Piper Cub a few years ago. Driving the Ghia has reinforced that. I'm ore involved and enjoy driving more in it, although I won't win any drag races. The appeal of a Seven in its combination of simplicity, competence, and involvement. It's about perfect. Not sure what direction I'll go toward a Seven. I'm open to a used factory example, but I'm also finding building an "historic" replica to my own taste mighty intriguing. I'm investigating, so either a kit, or Locost route is a possibility...