Kitcat

Didnt meet reserve, highest bid, $18.1. Exdoc-It mite do better if more pix like the two with just the pure green shrubbery in background, no other clutter (cars, charcoal grills,motorcycles, boxes etc). Those really show off the car's strengths (What do I know tho, my Birkin hasnt sold either:)).

Yes, Jeff's wife could fairly be described as a "car guy" and/or "track junkie".. She comes in off the track just as pumped up as any of us and talking all about apexes and braking points! Jeff: Dancing? Where was that???? Klassic-Tom actually is an amazingly successful guy who invested much time and $ in a comany which was so successful that he was able to cash out at a relatively young age: sort of the dot.com dream, without the dot.com. Have you done Tail of the Dragon before? If so, what was your impression? It makes me nervous to see all that Armco and all those trees, so close to the "track". As you may know, many of us participated at the USA7s.com 50th year birthday celebration of the Lotus 7 at the Tail of the Dragon, back in 2007 (Jeez time is flyin by). For recreational driving, it was fantastic.

Karl: But those were the "low fat" ribs I was eating:)! I gotta say, Croc on the bronco was a highpoint. As I have previouly noted, he got the good sport award for that one. Klassik-Retirement guilt? Talk to Tom (YellowSS), I think he retired in his teens and seems pretty much guilt free:).

Thx. The date I used is the SCDA date. My court case calender fills up 3-4 months out (scheduling cases for May now) so wld be very helpful to know what the alternate dates mite be so I can block them out

Klasik: Order the cage from Mid-Atlantic and then pick it up when you and your car join us for the annual usa7s gathering/track day event at NJMP this June 24-25:)!

I had Toyo RA1s on the back of my Cat and Avons on the front. The car was very balanced/neutral, even at 10/10ths on the track. So grip was identical in spite of the fact that the RA1's cost about 1/3. And My Toyos (which I still have) have abt 13K miles of mixed street and track use. Doubt you cld get that out of an Avon R500 (and still have any grip).

Thx, Nick, I realized that also, after my post.

The rear wing seems way too low/out of the airstream to have an effect. Any thots?

Call Chris at Sevens and Elans for likely definitive answer. Or, consider cross post on the usa@se7ens.net list.

Ahhh, the joys of the dyno "Grand Prix". Your Duratec is making abt 75 more hp than my Duratec. So ya got something for all your money. And, normally aspirated cars show smaller and smaller returns as hp goes up for $ spent. If ya really want to go big, do a turbo!!! You have that "large" SV engine bay. Much bigger bang for the hp buck w/forced induction. I am very impressed with how (relatively) flat your curves are between 6-8.5K rpm's. With your 6 sp transmission, you should be able to stay in that large, predictable sweet spot everywhere on the track. So the engine looks to be very ''driveable". That is a tuning goal even more than peak hp. Also big diff between crank hp and rear wheel (aka, real world). Also big diff between what after markets suppliers promise vs. reality. And, every dyno is different. Some are much more conservative than others.

The Birkin sale ended with a bid of $22.2K which didnt make reserve. Looks like a $25K+ car to my uneducated eye.

To digress: The term "Simplicate and add lightness" is attributed to William Bushnell Stout (1880-1956), or to one of the engineers in his employment. Like Chapman, Stout also designed a lightweight car with aluminum panels, etc., (but in 1932). It was called the Scarab and 9 were built. So I think Colin C popularized the expression. And he certainly had more automotive success. PS: I ordered the shirt, BTW.

I think the straight rear axle makes it a pre-2009 Birkin. How "pre" is unclear tho.

Woody Hayes would be proud!

Well, if you screw it up Karl, just throw in another used Ford Focus engine, like I did on my Birkin:).

James: Why not use the 6sp Caterham tranny in lieu of 5sp, regardless of rear diff? It adds 2 more (usable) gears, ie.6th is the 1:1 ratio, on the T9 4th is that, and 5th is overdrive.

Mechanical, electrical and civil engineer arguing about which category of engineer God is: Electrical: He has to be an electrical engineer, look at the elegant neural wiring system he designed for the human body. Mechanical: Nope he has to be a mechanical engineer, look at the ingenious system of moving levers, beams and flexible joints that comprises the human skeletal system. Civil engineer: Sorry guys, he was obviously a civlil engineer, who else would put a major playground right next to a sewage dispsal system!

I have added a new starter: that should be worth a coupla seconds a lap! And, I replaced the batterry in my GoPro mic, again, another coupla seconds. Karl: 9500 RPM's, wow, I really cant wait to hear that sound! Croc: Dont forget your new on-track Garaj Mahal, and restored vintage racing Mustang, when tallying your racing oriented toys. I think Karl has a ways to go to be up there with you,and that's before counting your Aussie racing toys. Taxi story: LMFAO. Tom to the rescue!

Hard to establish a value when so few are ever sold. I suspect $8-14K range, but just a wild guess. I agree w/Martin tho, $3-4K seems low. As I recall, an offbrand Miata engined se7en sold for abt $8K here abt a year ago. BTW, the Craig's list link has no info on the car.

There is something menacing-looking abt those BDA engines. Glad to see all of the progress, hope it makes its annual appearance at the se7ens track day at NJMP in June. I know another X-flow owner (or 2) here are drooling!

The Honda does 0-60 in 5.6 secs, the Vette in 5.8. Then add similar weight, the Vette's semi functonal drum brakes that wld fade almost 100% after 2 hard breaking areas, the 'Vettes skinier tires, much cruder suspensension, slower/slopier steering, the Honda's traction control, vastly superior suspension, ABS, stability management, etc., etc. I dont doubt that an old 'vette w/many, many track oriented and updated mods cld hang with the Honda, I am talking bone stock.

Thx Skip! Your post confirms what I suspected: compared to cars of its era, the 'Vette was awesome. Compared to, say, a new 6 cyl Honda Accord, it wld be no contest-even at the track I wld expect the Accord to dominate. Of course, if it was just a beauty contest, the 'Vette wins.

As I have posted here before, back in the really old days, in Sept, in my small town, they' d have a new car parade. So, in the early 60's we'd line the streets to see the parade of first time models orchestrated by the local dealers. And, when the '63 Vette turned the corner and eased down the street, amidst various luxo-barges and not so luxo barges, the '63 vette Sting Ray was like a feking spaceship, too wild, too different, too cool to comprehend. So, I gotta report, I am a bit underwhelmed by the '14 Vette. Tho, I hasten to add, I am sure it's a pretty nice car.

I saw a Dink Brink post elsewhere that one or more were on their way from S Africa to USA.

Ya shudda just put in a draw bridge over the pool Steve, the ultimate security system:). I am actually profoundly jealous, it looks wonderful.