Kitcat

Wow, you really moved the tire wall and it did a fantastic job of absorbing the blow. I have no side protection on my 7 except for my left arm, do you have a cage?

I noticed that Grassroots Motorsports car mag matched Keith Tanner's $10K Lowcost against the megabuck Ariel Atom at the race track. According to the October '07 issue it was no contest: Lowcost 1, Atom 0. Congrats Keith! Also noticed that it's possible to rent Bruton Stalkers for trackdays at VIR. Go to www.rent-a-racer.net for details. Seems like a great way for a person to find out if its their cup of tea, before taking the plunge.

It is totally whacked to run race speeds on public roads. When I was there I dodged a few errant bikes whose speed exceeded the rider's skill/experience. The Dragon & other public roads are fine places for "spirited" drving, say 6/10th's. But if you respect the center line, you can't come close to a racing line and if you can't do that, you ain't racin. Also, the lack of run-off area makes any mistake a potential jackpot and oncoming traffic must proceed at its own risk. If you are serious about speed, find a race track. You might be shocked at how slow you are at 9/10's, compared to experienced drivers in theoretically slower cars. Being relatively speedy on public roads, only because you are willing to risk your safety more than the saner drivers around you, proves nothing. Rant over!

My '97 Caterham Crossflow has a faulty ignition switch. Is this switch available at the local parts store or do I call Rocky Mountain Sports Cars? If locally availble, what is its name/#? Thanks, Mike (I am looking forward to not having to always park on a slope)

The best solution is to switch to RHD: 20 -25 degrees cooler. Also, puts the driver inboard which is where he wants to be on all these clockwise race tracks. Putting a vent on the driver's side as currently configured mite just draw in more warm air as that's right above the headers/exhaust.

My car would be fast if Tommy Archer were driving it:).

Who was fastest? I saw that the stock Nobles were hitting 153 mph & the race prepped Noble says he was hitting 168MPH, at the end of one of the straights.

Did it several years ago. The ride on the train was worth the whole trip. We stayed at a cabin and when the 55 year old female owner met us she had a live crow perched on her shoulder. Our kids loved it. While we were there, the paper reported a 9 year old being attacked by a mountain lion in his garage. Definitely a different world. Mike

Run the heater (auxiliary radiator) full blast!

That is a better example. The felony murder rule is interpreted differently in different jurisdictions so who knows? Since the death would not have occurred "but for" the felony, it still mite be covered, tho its remoteness from the crime probably means it is not covered. That may not stop prosecutors from arguing that it is a "colorable" violation of the law and using it as a bargaining chip during plea discussions.

It's called "The felony murder rule" and is widely used. Example: Your son runs with a bad crowd and is persuaded to serve as the lookout while they stick up a liquor store. The clerk resists and is shot and killed. Yous son is as guilty of murder as the guy who pulled the trigger. The guy who shot the clerk might even get away, or get off at trial. Remember, now, I am just the messenger. Mike

Motorcycle helmets don't have to be fire proof, for obvious reasons. If you wear glasses, some full face helmets can be very hard to use (impossible to put on your glasses once the helmet is on, and impossible to leave glasses on while putting on the helmet). Open face helmets are less of an issue for glasses-wearers, but don't provide as much protection which, in a 7, is relevant.

I think that was listed here a few weeks ago and has already sold. Or, it's an identical twin. Beautiful car.

As I noted a week or 2 ago on the Se7ens mailing list, I took temps in my 1700cc Crossflow with just a handheld digital room thermometer. On a 80 degree day with the top off and side curtains up: Passenger side 85 degrees Driver's side- 111 degrees on my lap with side curtain fastened; Driver's side- 101 on my lap with the bottom 1/2 of the side curtain flipped completely up (where air pressure holds it in place @ 70 mph ). All temps measured in the shade, on a mostly sunny day. Toasty. On a really hot day, I am sure the #'s would be much higher.

I was truly stuned at how great some of the Stalkers at the Dragon looked. And, man, they were fast!

My 1700 cc Kent Crossflow is still pumping quit a bit of oil out thru the air cleaners & onto the clam shell fender. The build books suggests making a catch tank. I can easily see where the oil is being vented out of the carburetors, and I have an unused plastic catch tank already in place. My questions are: What is the best tubing to use, and, If I do this, the tube will have to exit the air filter which will compromise the filters' effectiveness (because I don't see any way of tightly sealing the tube where it would exit the filters). Any ideas? Can I add a sock filter over each Weber trumpet to deal with any unfiltered air that may enter? Thanks, Mike

My speedometer/odometer failed last week too. Then to add insult to injury, the entire speedometer unit fell part way out of the dashboard. I have been too busy dealing with the fact that the car also has quit starting to spend any time yet on the speedometer, tho I did find the brackets and nuts that hold it place on the floor. So I was able to put back in place at least. All of this in the middle of a 900 mile trip. I discovered one of the benefits of always attracting a crowd at every gas stop:"Uh, any of you Caterham admirers care to volunter to push me so I can bump-start this little beauty?" Never failed. My hunch is I heave a dead ignition switch. I will get to it this weekend. At the Dragon a fellow Sevener said his son asked him how he too could learn about cars and he advised his son to buy a British sports car. Its working for me.

I typically wear a helmet for anything more than around the town, even with the windshield up & top in place. And, I may start doing it around town too. It makes it quieter and I like doing something to try to offset the car's inherent lack of driver protection. With the screen you are selling, where does the wind hit your helmet?

Is there a measurable performance advantage at the track with a Brooklands screen? I assume if there is, it's with top speed. My 1700cc Crossflow SuperSprint is good for about 110 mph indicated, probably more like 103 mph, corrected, and it's pretty slow getting there after about 85mph. Since one of my main focuses with my car is doing track days, is this worthwhile? Is it that hard to swap out for the windshield (I don't trailer, I drive everywhere, and would want the full windshield for the road). Mike

As I noted on the Se7ens list, this is a deal!

I have 17.3K on my '97 Crossflow. It had 13.8 when I bought it 7 weeks ago and I have put 3.5K miles on since then (Drove home from NJ, did the Dragon and 3 track days). No trailering. Mike

Cell phone, triple A card, build manual, as many essential tools as you can pack. Contrary to informed advice, I drove my '97 Caterham back from NJ (800 miles) no problems. Big deal I thought. Then after I got it home, a coolant line sprung a leak & shorted out the electrics, necessitating a tow, the throttle linkage broke and the ignition developed a short so sometimes its starts, some times it doesn't. Guess I dodged a bullet (or two). Wear your lucky socks.

Ditto Going to the Sun road, 4 years ago. Fabulous. Elevation increase 2400' on the one side and 3700' descent on the other. A friend recently did it on a bicycle, as part of his cross country ride (and they say Seven-ers are crazy!). There is a rule that bikers have to hit the Summit by noon or turn around. He left at 5:00am and didn't quite make it. The park ranger told him to turn around . Using his vast skills as a trial attorney, he persuaded the ranger to change his mind. Anyhow, spectacular views, surrounded by mountains, glaciers, countless scenic overlooks, etc..

I have had persistent ringing in my ears ever since my first drive in my seven, 5 weeks ago. I have put about 3.5K miles on it in that time. I wore foam plugs on that trip. Now I use foam plugs and industrial ear muffs. I am looking into the Bose noise cancellation muffs. Being 60 makes my ears more sensitive, I am sure.

I should add that my comments about putting the left leg over the head etc., referred to getting in and out with the top up. I have been in Exiges and getting in & out is an adventure, not to mention v limited rear view vision.