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Still plodding away on #27 and getting there slowly. Engine's in, starts, stops and cools itself and all four wheels are on the ground. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15626&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15627&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15628&stc=1

Mike, I see from these photos and from your Stalker gallery that you've wrapped your headers. How has that worked out for you? I'm thinking about doing mine and so I'm looking for insight. The frame rail above the headers gets quite hot on #27.

Ah yes, the steel hood scoop. Long story short, I wanted a smooth hood on #27 but the L26 won't fit under it. An inch and some change-worth of the UIM sticks up through the line of the hood. I bought this metal hood scoop from Parr Automotive with the intention of using it as a mold to make a fiberglass part that I'll set in the hood to accommodate the bit of L26 that sticks through. It's got a bit of draft to it so the part ought to pop right out with the right persuasion. -Dave

:rofl: It certainly is - in fact it's a ɐzuoW oɯoW. ǝʌɐp-

I've been plodding away on Classic R #27 since December 2015. Saturday felt like a day of real progress as I dropped the engine back in and as I'm at last getting into final assembly I thought it might be time to share progress here. #27's story (packed with mind-numbingly dull detail and photos of hacksaws and fasteners) is on the Stalker Cars forum at http://stalkercars.forumotion.com/f3-stalker-m-spec-and-classic-r and there's a gallery over at http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=29163 which is basically the same thing without words. #27 is a Stalker Classic R with a naturally aspirated 3800 V6 (L26) motor and a T5 transmission. Shipped as a level 3 kit, the frame and parts arrived in December 2015 and it's taken me since then to get to the point of final assembly, a task which I fully expect will take another year of my life. But what's the hurry? To summarize the story in 4 images: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14498&stc=1 Frame on the build table ready to get started. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14496&stc=1 #27 after initial build and prior to dismantling for final assembly (and moving house) http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14497&stc=1 Isn't that wheel upside down? Ihttp://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14495&stc=1 The state of play after Saturday's engine reinstallation. And it's outdoors, in daylight too! Reading folks' build and ride stories here has been a great source of motivation and inspiration so thank you all for keeping me motivated during the long dark hours of the build. I see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel! -Dave

I found myself in a similar situation a while back. I'm also from the UK and grew up seeing Caterhams on the road over there. I'd wanted a Caterham forever but wasn't able to fund a project at that $ level even after living in the US for many years. YMMV but finally after a lot of soul-searching I concluded it was more important to me to have something Seven-like near-term, rather than a Caterham in the potentially very long-term. That realization helped and I pulled the trigger on a Stalker build last December with some 'personalizations' to get my Seven to be what I wanted. -Dave

Good to see #154 back on top form Ted. -Dave

I may be able to help you as I went through the same thing earlier this year on my Classic R build. I totally ripped off what jevs and toedrag did on their parking brake caliper brackets for XL#22 and XL#23. Perhaps the only element of originality I can claim is that I 3D-printed mine in ABS (how appropriate for a brake component) to check the fit prior to ordering. Have a look in the build thread for Classic R #27 and see if this is what you want. http://stalkercars.forumotion.com/t207-classic-r-27-build-parking-brake I'd offer the following cautions: the design of the bracket will be critically dependent upon the dimensions of your rotors, both diameter and thickness. I suppose it might potentially affect your choice of wheel as well. In any event, Mark at IPS provides a drawing that explains exactly where the caliper should be mounted relative to the rotor. The other factor that will be critical is the design of your particular uprights on your car - the ones currently shipping from Brunton may be the same as mine or they may have evolved in which case my brackets may not match your application. Standard disclaimer mumbo-jumbo: note that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing and therefore this bracket may or may not work in practice so use it at your own peril! -Dave

Cheers everyone for the welcomes. Happy to be here in such august company. Mike, nothing really special about the engine in Storker #27. It's a plain vanilla old Buick V6 motor, the naturally aspirated 200-ish hp GM 3800 series III variant. Mine started out life in a 2007 Buick Lacrosse. I think the LS and supercharged 3800 V6's are more popular and carry a substantial performance advantage over the NA V6 but I wanted to use something simple. I have given some idle thought to replacing it at some point with a four-banger of some sort. The transmission is the Brunton-recommended T5 out of a 2000 Camaro. NJMP next year - well who knows? Will #27 be ready by then? Will I figure out how to get the completed car out the basement (a challenge yet to be addressed)? I enjoyed reading the threads here about NJMP - looked like an absolute blast and almost enough to convince me to put the car on the track, just to see what would happen. Also LOG36 was just over the river from where I live so hopefully there will be opportunities to get out and about with the car once it is standing on its own four wheels. -Dave

That must be a gut-wrenching decision to make. I know how much work goes into these cars. XL #22 has many unique features; I'm sure it will be snapped up fast when the time comes to put it up for sale. -Dave

I've been a member here since 2013 so probably time I introduced myself. Based in New Hope, PA, software engineer by trade and builder of Stalker Cars Classic R chassis #27, a work in progress. I ordered my kit from Scott Minehart almost a year ago to the day during a visit to the Stalker Cars factory in FL; it arrived just before Christmas and I have been working away at it ever since. Some folks here may know me from the Stalker Cars forum where I have been recording a build log for the car (http://stalkercars.forumotion.com/t165-classic-r-27-build). #27 is GM 3800 NA-powered (L26 motor from a Buick Lacrosse) and destined to be a road car so much of my research time and build effort has been spent tailoring the car to meet PA street regs. I'm a long-time Caterham fan, a lot of which comes from being British and growing up seeing Sevens and particularly Caterhams on the road over there. In recent years I've been able to drive various rented Caterhams while visiting the UK because the showroom (first in Caterham, subsequently in Crawley) are both very close to where my family live over there. Eventually of course the time comes when you have to get on and own or build a Seven for yourself - which is where I find myself now. Having a gallery is a rite of passage for Stalker owners - here's mine: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=29163 Although the build has always been part of the journey for me, I'm looking forward to being done with endless weekends of fabrication, part research and head-scratching. These cars are time-consuming and highly absorbing animals and they demand a lot of attention. Wouldn't have it any other way though! -Dave

Great to see XL #23's build on the move again. It really is amazing how much time these projects eat up and it's especially hard now that spring is here and there are so many other things waiting for one's attention. I'm following your handbrake install with interest as I am about to tackle the same thing on Classic R #27. -Dave

If there are any Brunton V6 builders out there, can I pick your brains about your choice of oil filter housing on the GM 3800 Series 2 or Series 3 engines? I'm in the midst of a Brunton Classic R 3800 NA build and I'm at that point where I have to go buy an oil filter housing for my L26/series 3 engine. If you've been through this you'll remember that on the shopping list for the 3800 V6 NA (or the supercharged version for that matter), it more or less says "get any Buick V6 oil filter housing from the salvage yard for $15" - all except the one I have, I guess, which is off a 2007 Buick LaCrosse IIRC, and doesn't work because it interferes with the alternator belt routing. In my research into Buick oil filter housings I've found many variations on the theme - filter tilted forward, backward, shifted upward etc - but nothing that looks as though it would definitely fit. I've considered making or even buying an adapter plate (somewhat expensive from intense-racing.com) and using a filter relocation kit to get the filter out of the way, but I can't help thinking there's an easier solution. Here's my dilemma in pictures: the housing I have fits inside the frame just fine, and won't interfere with the suspension, but it doesn't play nicely with the alternator belt. Any recommendations/part numbers appreciated. I'll post this over in the Brunton forum too. Thanks, -Dave http://i68.servimg.com/u/f68/19/33/57/86/oil-fi10.jpg http://i68.servimg.com/u/f68/19/33/57/86/altern13.jpg