FE07

Hey Vlad- Congrats on the new addition. Let us all know how the car seat fits in the 7!! Jim

Thanks to Mike and Tom for setting up this event as always. Had a blast chasing everyone around and renewing friendships in the paddock and at dinner. Jim

2001 SLR, Vovchandr and I have very similar cars both being SLR's. Check to see if your nose and wings are carbon fiber. They should be on an SLR. Your engine is similar to how mine started although mine has been modified since I bought it. Don't have any idea on the key for your wheel covers since mine came without them as well as Vlads. I have the same header 'socks' as yours and given your location, this car was probably put together by Chip Bond at GT Classics in Charlottesville, VA. Quite the nice barn find!! Jim

I’ll be there. Thanks Mike and Tom. Hopefully still with some tires. Not easy getting Avons these days. Trying to win NO awards this year!! Hoping to see Catkong as well. Jim

Vlad, Seeing as we have (or at least started with) the same car- I run Avon ACB 10's on mine. Rear 245/45-13. Front 195/50-13. Available in a couple different compounds. Excellent on track. Terrible in the wet! They've been fine for me on the street and actually seem to last pretty well. Mine only sees rain by accident so they work well for me. Available from Roger Kraus or Sasco. Probably quite a lead time on them unless they've got them in stock. Let me know if you want more info. Jim

Looking forward to another event and seeing the group. Think I'll leave my new bonnet at home this year and bring the 'track bonnet' Jim

Raced a Vee for 5 seasons. A Womer EV-3. Great way to learn how to carry speed into turns in a low momentum car. And draft as well. I remember the first time I ever felt what it's like to be in a draft. Following someone down the straight at 80 mph with your foot off the gas and you 6" behind them is quite the thrill! Jim

Probably sounds stupid but the floor mats are not the same from right to left and can make it look like they don't quite fit. Almost took an x-acto knife to mine when I got them, UNTIL I put them into the correct footwell and saw they fit just fine. So..... might want to check that. Jim

Too funny- we're really all very similar. BAC Mono-absolutely! (if could only afford) Westfield 11- Uh huh. Xanthos 23- you bet. Lotus elan- of course!! Don't forget the Europa. Waiting to retire to hopefully do one of them. Well- not the Mono And don't forget there are alot of track options that will perform just as well/better than many of the above for significantly less money. Any older/vintage Formula car is a blast to drive on track although not any good for track days as you'll find very limited groups to run with and more safety issues than in a seven. Join a vintage racing group. There's always somebody to play with. Jim

Stay- they hold the rubber gaiter on. Jim

I'm honored by my debris rock but certainly wish I didn't need to receive it! Would like to thank everyone for apparently missing my bonnet and not flattening it out anymore than it was. And to echo everyone else- Thanks to Mike and Tom for again putting together a great event. Jim

Registered, new trailer tires (one of the old ones got a flat sitting in the sun on the driveway), hotel. Brakes bled, oil changed, nut and bolt done. Probably driving up early on Sunday. See you all then! Jim

Bart, Send me a PM. I’ve got a possible solution to your emissions testing problem. Jim

After you replace your sparking coil wire- take some rubber brake or fuel line, slit it down the middle, wrap it around the wire and hold it in place with some small tie wraps. That stainless line is like a file and it’ll protect it where it rubs. Jim

Vlad, I also had issues (more similar to Tom’s than yours) with spitting and overflow of coolant from the overflow tank. While we both started with a Superlight R with a Zetec, yours has been more modified than mine particularly with ITB’s while I still have fuel injection. I still have the stock Ford ECU as well. Mine always had a faint smell of antifreeze when I’d drive it but would only overflow primarily on track. Tried to make sure all the air out etc... new overflow cap and none really seemed to help. Then- started to see residue in the overflow. Black and coated the inside of the tank. Slightly oily but much more consistent with exhaust. Nothing in the oil. No white smoke. Figured it was head gasket and before I warped the head from overheating took it to George Alderman. Did head gasket, put a on a new non VCT head with machine work, new cams, timing gears and seemed to be running fine. For a while. Then on track one day- same thing all over again-spitting and pressurizing of overflow tank. Took it back to George. Neither he nor his son Paul could really figure it out. No exhaust in coolant, nothing really other than the pressurizing of the overflow with revs. They thought maybe had something to do with the way it was plumbed and looked into how Ford had it plumbed in the Contour. They changed around some hoses, and wired the rad fan so it’s always on. Oh- and changed the overflow cap. And told me to run it with minimal rad fluid in the overflow tank (not to normal marked level) Not sure what pressure the cap was. I actually just replaced it with one from a Mini. It’s been fine since but I honestly think it was just the freaking overflow cap and lower fluid level and had nothing to do with how it was plumbed. ?? I give you a lot of credit for trying to figure it out yourself. You’ll certainly learn a lot in the process (if you don’t drive yourself bat_____ first). Can’t really give you more info than that. Crocs post above gives excellent info on diagnosis of possible head gasket leaks and should be helpful. Let me know if you need more info and I’ll see what else I can remember. Jim

You could make them larger but you'd have to drill through the mounting plate that comes with the harnesses. If that size is good enough for Sabelt, it's good enough for me Jim

I use a HANS and had the same concerns in my car. I fabricated the adapter below to change the mounting points for the harnesses. The gold bolts mount the adapter into the existing holes for the harnesses so it's solidly mounted to the car. There are 2 steel plates so that the shoulder straps are mounted between them in double shear. Some spacers between the steel to space them out so the straps have a little wiggle room to rotate. Just be careful that the harnesses don't go onto your shoulders from more than about a 20 degree angle from horizontal from the adapter. If you're tall- the harnesses could compress your spine in an accident. (although they'd still save your neck with the HNR!) I'm 5'7"- works for me. (Sorry the last 2 images are upside down) Jim

You could certainly try to fabricate one yourself however SPA makes one for it: https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=5171-STEM Jim

Michael- Things are good. Have had the 7 at Summit a couple times. Not a big Shenandoah fan so really just the big track. Bought a vintage FF and having some fun with that but needs some parts (took a corner off at The Glen in the rain) and parts are not exactly plentiful. Looking to retire at some point but not quite there yet. Glad to hear all is well. Keep it off the green stuff! Jim A.

Hey Michael. Nice to hear from you. Still in Bethesda?? Jim A.

Mike, Couldn't agree more with all you said. Nobody ever talks about where all the electricity is going to come for to charge all those batteries. And don't even get me started on autonomous vehicles. The legal and ethical considerations for them are never ending. Don't expect to see them in my lifetime either. Sure as hell hope not. Oh- and what happens with all the batteries. Talk about hazardous waste. Jim

‘17 Golf R. Always been a VW guy. First car a 1980 Scirocco. Couple GTI’s and a Touareg. 290 HP and 6 sp. Hatchbacks are practical. And ingress/egress a little easier than the 7 and Elise!! Jim

If you like arai- stick with them. My last 2 helmets have been Arai GP5S (now changed to the 6S) Lightweight and with good aero. Have never really seen the need for aero add ons in the Caterham even with an aeroscreen. I'm 5'7" so if you're considerably taller- you might get some more buffeting, otherwise the aeroscreen does a good job of pushing the air up over head. Jim

Vlad, Really hard to compare sounds without having them side-side due to so many variables. Mine sounds different than the instagram post. Mine started as a VCT but then we swapped heads, upped compression and changed cams. Mine is still fuel injected. Lightened flywheel will make it spin up quicker. Sounds OK but could probably sound better. We're probably a little limited with mufflers as well. Jim