Alaskossie

The PBB 2015 organizers have concluded that for logistical reasons, the maximum number of Seven cars participating should be no more than 21. We already have 18 cars committed and registered for PBB 2015. After the quota of 21 is filled, we will compile a list of reserves, in the order received. This will allow for unexpected contingencies in the participants’ planning for this Blat, which is now a year and three months away. Due to the fact that the 21 available slots are filling up quickly, we need to get a firm idea of participation. Thus, advance registration for the 2015 Polar Bear Blat will close on 1 June 2014, first come, first served. To confirm your slot in this epic Blat, send the $250.00 USD registration fee by PayPal to: terryjohns@live.ca Our departure date will depend on the 2015 Alaska Marine Highway schedule, to be released by late October 2014. Our anticipated departure date from Vancouver, BC is in the first week of August 2015. All Aboard!

blubarisax, Where did you get your c/f A-arm airfoils? I have a pair of wide-track lower airfoils, but have not seen the uppers offered. I have the CC "aero" profile A-arms, and the lower airfoils I bought are not contoured to fit this style; so they remain uninstalled to date. Do you have the regular Caterham or "aero" A-arms?

xcarguy, great information. That is what I think Wheel Enhancement Co. was trying to tell me. Does your friend Rich Bogart have any estimation of how low a temp (and for how short a time) a powder-coat could be applied to a wheel and still be effective? I will ask around locally to see if any powder-coaters know how to do aluminum wheels. It would be nice to find a powder-coater (locally or otherwise) who is aware of the special care that should be taken with aluminum wheels.

Did your powder-coater specialize in doing wheels? Did he take any special precautions to keep bad things from happening to alloy wheels that have already been heat-treated originally? Or is this an old-wives' tale, even coming from a respected supplier like Wheel Enhancement??

Skip, If I could get a plastic color very close to my present wheel color, I would consider it. Where does one get this done? How durable is it?

My Caterham 15-inch spoked wheels were (I thought) too dark in color, so I sent them to Wheel Enhancement (the Porsche wheel specialists) to be painted a lighter stock Audi color (seal grey metallic, I recall). Their price was $225 per wheel -- an extravagance, as I look back on it. I asked WE to powder-coat the wheels, but they said, "We do not powder coat as baking the powder coat onto a wheel that has already been heat treated during the initial manufacturing process can weaken the wheel." So now, several low-mileage years later, the WE paint is flaking off all of the rim edges, the bolt-hole edges, etc. The paint just did not adhere well at any stress point, and removing tires and replacing them with new ones just leads to further flaking and paint loss. So, what's the story? Is it possible to safely powder-coat aluminum wheels? If so, what shops know how to do it right?

Registration for the 2015 Polar Bear Blat opened on 1 April 2014, and will close on 31 December 2014. The exact dates for the 21-day Blat will be fixed as soon as the 2015 Alaska State Ferry summer schedules are announced (anticipated in late October 2014), but the PBB is expected to start from Vancouver, BC Canada in the first week of August 2015. In the near future, we would like to get a fairly firm expression of your interest in participating in PBB 2015. We are anticipating being able to accommodate an upper limit of about 20 to 22 Sevens. All Seven-inspired cars are welcome. However, we expect that the support vehicle will be carrying some spares applicable to Caterhams, to supplement the spares carried by the individual participants. So drivers of other Seven-inspired cars should plan to be relatively self-sufficient in that regard. Normally-available spares and service should be available in the various nodes of civilization that we pass will through: Dawson Creek, BC, Whitehorse, YT, Fairbanks, AK and Anchorage, AK. To express your interest in being a part of this epic blat, go to: http://www.7cars.ca/polar_bear_blat.htm

rnr -- No hurry to actually register now. Firm registration and reservations will become important after October 2014, when we get the 2015 Alaska Ferry schedule and can set precise dates. However, we would certainly like to receive some fairly definite expressions of interest now, and up through mid-2014, so we have some idea of the possible size of the PBB 2015. Terry and I have been discussing setting a possible upper level of participants, perhaps 20 or 22 cars. The physical limiting factor will be the number of car spaces available on the ferries. Of course, if more than 20 or 22 participants register soon after we have the 2015 ferry schedules, the likelihood that all could be accommodated on the ferries would go up. We have no way of knowing the level of interest that this blat may generate, both in North America and in UK. The 2015 PBB will not be inexpensive, and it will be 3 weeks long. But we think it will be an epic blat -- and literally the "trip of a lifetime" that we hope will be well worth it ,for all who can join us. The long lead-time that we now have will allow the necessary pieces to fall into place without a lot of stress or trauma, we hope (fingers crossed).

Polar Bear Blat Update: 

Registration now opens 1st April 2014. 
 Most of the approximate pricing is done, and is shown on the proposed Hotel List. The Route Maps and the Booking Information and Form are prepared. Material for the Road Book is being prepared. Final conformation on hotels and costing will be available later in 2014 (around October), when we have firmed up the dates, which all depend on the 2015 Alaska State Ferry schedule. Our best guess at present is a Start Date of 8th August 2015. 
 For the Hotel List, the Itinerary and Route Maps, and the Booking Information, go to: http://www.7cars.ca/polar-bear-blat.htm

Slomov, You could always ship your car to Vancouver, then fly up just before the Blat; and then do the reverse after the trip was over. Or you could take less vacation this year (if you can persuade Rosie!) and the take more next year. Plenty of time to plan ahead.... We'd love to have you along.

This 21-day blat was the shortest trip that could be laid out, while allowing some time to drive the scenic paved roads in Alaska after reaching the state. The "shorter" trip is still a day longer than one option in the original itinerary; the original 4564 mile driving mile total in that itinerary was a miscalculation. A shorter variant could possibly be laid out for those who have less time. It could be as few as 11 or 12 days, driving straight to Anchorage from Tok Jct. AK, and then driving from Anchorage to Whittier AK to catch the ferry back to Bellingham, WA. But the problem would still be the limited August departure days of the ferry from Whittier.

We have prepared a slightly refined itinerary for the 2015 Polar Bear Blat, and a link to corrected maps (see attached). The total road mileage will be 3805 miles. In addition, there will be options for four separate out-and-back trips (two of them to hot springs), totaling 233 miles of optional out-and-back trips. Fixing a definite start date will not be possible until the 2015 Alaska Marine Highway System’s summer 2015 ferry schedules are published. This will not occur until October or November of 2014. The determining date for the start of PBB 2015 in Vancouver, BC will need to be made by counting backward from the departure date for the last ferry in August from Whittier, AK to Bellingham, WA. (Example: If the PBB were being scheduled for 2014 instead of for 2015, the last departure date from Whittier in August 2014 is August 25 (Day 17 of the Blat). This would mean that Day 1 of the Blat, in Vancouver, BC, would have to be August 9, 2014. Day 21 of the Blat, at the end of the ocean cruise from Whittier, AK to Bellingham, WA, would therefore be August 29, 2014). This should give potential travelers some idea of the time frame for this 2015 Blat. I expect that the 2015 ferry schedule from Whittier, AK will be generally similar to the 2014 schedule, but I have no way of confirming this assumption at the present time. PBB 2015 Route Maps.pdf PBB 2015 tentative itinerary No. 2.pdf

rjr - thanks for any and all feedback!

rnr -- On the proposed PBB 2015 itinerary, we have planned three days of 350+ miles (393, 358, 358, and 364 miles). These are interspersed with shorter-mileage days, or rest days. The last long day (364 miles) will likely be split into two days of 131 miles and 233 miles, respectively). One problem in planning an itinerary like this (as anyone who has driven to Alaska can tell you), is that setting a convenient day's drive distance, and finding suitable accommodations and fuel at the end of the day, are often two different things entirely. So I had to plan the daily destinations at places where we could be pretty assured of making advance overnight reservations, and that would make acceptable overnight stops. The long-distance reliability of any Seven is going to be a continual question mark. We will plan for some contingencies, but the responsibility of each participant will be to insure that the car is mechanically top condition, and to carry spares of items that might go bad. (Of course, hitting a bear like on the GBB 2013 is not among the contingencies that anyone plans for. We have one stretch on the Alaska Highway where there may be wild, free-roaming bison on the road, but we'll just plan to drive under them!).

Terry Johns and I have put together a proposed itinerary for the 2015 PBB. This epic Blat is tentatively scheduled for August of 2015. It will begin in Vancouver BC Canada, and end in the Anchorage, Alaska area, followed by a scenic 4-day cruise back to the Vancouver vicinity (Belingham, WA) on the Alaska Marine Highway System, through the spectacular Inside Passage. Attached is the tentative itinerary, with overnight locations and driving distances. Highway route names and numbers have no yet been added, but they are pretty straightforward. Terry and I are looking for feedback and suggestions for anyone who might be thinking of joining in. This promises to be an epic adventure blat for any group of Seven owners -- perhaps the most ambitious ever planned -- don't miss it! PBB 2015 prelim. itinerary No1.pdf

Well, spring may be here (says the calendar), but we just got 22 inches of new snow last Saturday. It will be awhile before we see clear, dry roads (though we're gaining daylight at the rate of almost 6 minutes per day). Meanwhile, I'm drawing up the initial outline of the itinerary for the Polar Bear Blat 2015, from Vancouver BC to Alaska and return.....August 2015 -- mark your calendars.

s2k7 -- the map pockets in Croc's car (also seen on Nick O'Teen's car) are made by Soft Bits for Sevens, in UK. I have one in my Caterham, and it is very handy (even if the elastic at the top edge does give out too soon). If you order one, make sure that they know it is for a lhd car, because the map pocket on the right side of a lhd car is usually put on the opposite side on a rhd car, and it is too large for the driver of a lhd car to cope with in the tunnel.

Steve, That's a damned narrow goat path..!

God, I'm glad I live in Alaska! I walked into the local DMV office with my title from Caterham, and the inspection certificate from the sheriff in Colorado (where I built my 2007 Caterham S3/Cosworth Duratec), certifying that there were no stolen parts on the car -- and 5 minutes later I walked out with my Alaska registration and plates. The DMV clerk even knew what a Caterham was....!

transalpian, If you have an opportunity, please encourage your Birkin buyer to join up on USA7s.

The Lucas factory worker's mantra: "A fair day's work, and home before dark."

I always knew that Corvettes were heavy, but this is ridiculous....

Cheapracer -- Don't forget the engine in the Daimler SP250 sports car (1959-64). It was a 2.5 liter V-8 Hemi, a jewel of a mill in a catfish-mouthed, bottom-feeder, fairly awful "styled" fiberglas body. I'm sure the SP250 engine is not readily available today, but it should be listed in any compilation of small V-8's. (Can you imagine the looks of surprise when you tell people that your Seven has a Hemi??)

But Mike, who pasted the PM in message #12, anyway? Appears to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.... or, "he said, he said...." Enough already!

One or two of these anecdotes deal with objects known to have hit the glass that shattered. The OP was talking about an incident where NO identified object had hit the glass. That was my experience: My wife and I were driving her 2004 Toyota Highlander back to Anchorage from the muskox farm in Palmer (great Alaskan tourist attraction!). My adult son and his wife were in the back seat. We were on a divided 4-lane road, with light traffic. Suddenly, without warning, BOOM! The *rear* window shattered and imploded inward, showering the rear-seat passengers with glass, and leaving the window opening almost free of glass shards. Since it was the rear window, only two possibilities seemed to exist: either someone had shot out the window with a rifle, or the glass had spontaneously committed suicide. Since I found no bullet or other foreign object in the car (and the location where it happened was one where a shooter would have had a difficult target), I had to conclude that the tempered-glass characteristic was the culprit.