Anaximander

Kitcat, Suave, xcarguy and croc, you are making this MUCH more difficult to contemplate. I really LOVE the Storker and the Storker tilting drive-on trailer but am trying to somewhat downsize from a home with 4 car garages to maybe 2 or 3 car garages. I didn't mention the two trikes (Harley Tri Glide Ultra with the new M8 engine and Can-Am Spyder F3S with a 115hp Rotax 3-cylinder engine) that are also tucked into my garages with a folding trike trailer (Drop-Tail) to transport them if necessary. Sheesh, a trailer for the Storker and one for the trikes. I feel like I have had my thumb on the scales of conspicuous consumption! Oh what fun it has been :party:Here's looking at you kid

Mike, you are unbelievably perceptive and scarily omniscient. I am thankfully married to a slim, 6.5 year younger beautiful wife that will probably not let me slow down much. Bob

We are in the process of moving from North Florida closer to the beach on the East Coast of Florida (beginning of the sub-tropics) in the months ahead and am contemplating the possible sale of my much loved 2012 Brunton Classic Stalker with a 3.8l supercharged engine and is titled and licensed in Florida. The car only has 3700 miles and has brand-new Toyo R888R tires, newly installed 5-point G-Force racing belts with a December 2017 date code, and has had several trips to the Stalker factory here in Florida to get it running and performing magnificently by the very skilled hands of Scott Minehart, owner of Stalker Cars. The signing of a listing contract for our home today and the thought of losing my 4 car garages has me thinking that I may have too many toys for the beach (I know that comment is close to total blasphemy). Anyway, we will be out of town and in the mountains overlooking a beautiful lake for the next few days trying to walk off our Thanksgiving gluttony and when I return, I will come up with some more information, detailed pictures and certainly some prices (someone is going to get a great deal on the prices). This was one of the very last Classic Bruntons to come out of the factory before the M-Specs and the builder is a nationally renowned furniture/cabinet maker (yes Martha, the dash/shift housing is African Bubinga wood because the builder could) who put on the first 2k miles and I have put on the rest. I will leave you with a couple of tantalizing pics and have further information early next week upon our return. Thanks for looking and Happy Holidays to all my fellow 7 lovers. Bob and Suave's evil twin stork, Lester Suave.

+1 and what he said.

Bruce, I know if I have to ask, I probably can't afford it However, if one of us were to have you assemble the kit and add a nice paint job, about how much money would we be talking about FOB the State of Washington? I had followed with interest your reports a while back that Caterham had rescaled their prices downward and maybe this unspoken for beauty is within the reach of some of us less wealthy folks that may only be able to dream? In reading other posts, you and your outfit seem to have garnered an excellent reputation through racing and doing the right things. Bob

Mike, You don't think that an LS3/480 with cup holders is a match made in heaven? What about those gentle blats where you are actually able to talk the spousal unit into taking a ride on a beautiful day? "Honey, see how smart and civilized this car is? I rarely take it over 70mph". Oh, you forgot to mention that that was in second gear:drool:

Mike, That Stalker XL that you just put up with cup holders that is listed on EBAY and is in Clearwater, Florida was assembled by a former aircraft manufacturer/builder who built his third Stalker. Scott Minehart, the owner of Stalker Cars who is marketing this for the owner said that he could not build a car any better at the factory unless the customer wanted to pay for the extra time it would take to refine each element above the already exceptional levels. The owner was extremely meticulous in the build having taught dozens of his own customers how to build their own aircraft and added features that are not normally found on the factory Stalkers. The paint (which in the pictures does not show the beautiful metallic silver), interior, engine compartment and suspension are superb. Scott actually showed this car to some prospective clients as a model of what could be accomplished by a very skilled builder. Somebody is going to get an extremely well-sorted and extremely fast/nimble, almost new Stalker that was never tracked/raced but is ready for the track or to just have a great time on the street as it is fully licensed. (Disclaimer, I have no financial interest in the car or the sale ) Bob Schilling

That is an absolutely beautiful example of a very "fresh" Caterham. For those of us on the forurm who muck around with these cars, what is the ballpark number you are looking to get for this jewel?

Bruce, As a former owner of a Cobra clone car and a sevenesque car, you have reinforced an issue that had been told to me and reportedly was personified by a group of Cobra owners excluding Sevens due to being badly shown up in a racing venue. I have long admired Shelby's design but have come to recognize that for a fraction of the cost, I can own a car that is as fast and can in some circumstances handle better than a Cobra or clone. OTOH, it is a real testament to cottage manufacturing in the USA that FFR has done so exceptionally well in the kit car business.

Mike, My 2012 Stalker came with unassisted brakes with EBC Green Stuff on the rear calipers and Wildwood B10's on the front. The braking pressures were incredibly significant to me having had two previous Storkers with power brakes. I had Scott Minehart install the power unit that had come with the car and it made a world of difference. After the installation, Scott noticed that the bump steer was very prominent and the front geometry had not been set up properly. I took the car back to him and he did the adjustments such that the car's wheels now pretty much lock up in a relative hard pedal application uniformly. It was a bit tricky to get all four corners to work in unison IIRC. Bob

Mighty Mike, That Storker is absolutely beautiful!!! And with an LS3 engine to boot. Man, it doesn't get too much better than that. Congrats on coming close to the end of the build. Oh wait, that car of yours is a continual work in progress. It is like the Winchester House out in California. As long as you keep modifying it, you will never expire according to Lady Winchester. Love the paint color and the interior treatments.

I am 5.5 weeks post surgery for a complete left hip replacement. I have been diligently working both with my initial home health Physical Therapist (PT) and my current outpatient PT who I have been seeing for 4 outpatient visits. Because I was pre-morbidly in pretty good shape and had done my pre-surgical exercise regimen, it was determined that I could safely get in an out of my 2012 Brunton Stalker without risk of injury. Earlier in the week, the clutch seemed a bit heavy to depress but later in this week with continued rehab, healing and diligent exercise, I was able to get in the Stalker and drive to my PT appointment this morning with no difficulties whatsoever. I even left the PT session with two new sets of G-Force 5-point harnesses and had my local indy shop replace my 5-year old belts. I cannot tell you how happy I was that in doing my pre-surgical research that I elected to use a surgeon who specializes in the Anterior Approach which allowed me significantly more comfort and less limitations post surgically. I don't plan to even consider autox for another couple of months but after almost 6 weeks, just being able to get back in the cockpit and feel the wind in my face was PRICELESS! I should mention that I was able to safely mount and dismount my Harley Tri Glide Ultra one week ago and have gone on several rides with that machine so accumulating more wind in the face:hurray:

Croc, Your weekly listings really do serve as a significant market maker for sevenesque cars. I am on my third Stalker and I think two of them were identified with this weekly update you provide us. The third Stalker was the charm and it is likely that it will be my last 7 style car. It only has 3500 miles and is a beauty to look at and run heck out of it. I both enjoy riding around the countryside and autocrossing this fun machine. Like others, even though I may no longer be in the market, I look forward with great anticipation each week to seeing what is available. Thanks for your hard work. Bob

Mike, Thanks for the very detailed response to my plethora of questions. It appears that in many respects, the Caterham's are more plug and play than the Stalkers that are built by a variety of people with varying skillsets. Scott Minehart of Stalker Cars has often opined to me that when someone calls him out of the blue and asks if such and such Stalker is a good car that he responds "I don't know? I would have to see the car in person for a closeup inspection". As you so aptly pointed out, there appears to be more variability among some of the kits that have been put together by various builders. I think your practice of staying ahead of the curve on maintenance issues for your exotic cars is a wise one and likely keeps you from having many unexpected problems cropping up. I am surprised that someone has not yet hit the "buy" button but suspect that someone will be feasting their eyes on your car in their garage before the Thanksgiving holidays. Bob

Mike, I showed your Caterham to my wife and she thought is was absolutely beautiful! She has an eye for good looking pieces of rolling art. I watched your on-track video and that car runs like a scalded cat. I am now on my third Brunton Stalker and my current one was one of the very last ones built by and exceptional craftsman with the old frame pre-Minehart chassis design and ultimately very sorted by taking it to Scott Minehart and having him do a bunch of things to get it really dialed in. As you know, it primarily uses USA sourced components so the availability of replacement parts is not a big deal. I have long admired the Caterham's as they are the official Lotus 7 sponsored manufacturer when Lotus sold the manufacturing rights. Over the past few years, I have watched the distribution system for cars coming into the USA varying in all kinds of ways and have reportedly lead to long lead times for parts from the UK. I guess my questions are: How reliable are these cars overall and how difficult is it to currently obtain replacement parts for these cars in the event of breakage or a mishap? Are the parts costs significantly greater given that these are low volume cars and the source is in the UK? BTW, I am not trolling in any way shape or form. I am really curious about how ownership of the Caterhams is in the USA?

Sold a few month back to a fellow in Virginia. Thanks

I am not jealous; I am not jealous; I am..........JEALOUS!!! You are no longer missed. Well, maybe just a little.

Shane, Suave better not get ALL of our characters riled up while he sips his Shar-donay. My wife has her own menagerie that does not take kindly to recalcitrant storks! BTW, absolutely loving your build! I think Suave's butt is a great shining tool when you get light dust on that four-tired beauty.

Things are turning into pandemonium at this Storker house. Pee Wee just jumped into the fray and is bashing Mr. Bill while Les just looks on in utter Stork amazement. Looks like your color choices may sicken your opponents on the track thus giving you the edge you probably always wanted. I am not in the same camp as my group of garage crazies other than maybe the blistering blue seat covers. Where is Gumby, my color consultant who has a different take on green?

Shane, Les and his friend Mr. Bill are outraged at the abuse poor Suave is getting in being subjected to vomit (aka seasick) green and blistering blue. I just heard Mr. Bill exclaim "Oh Nooooooooooooo!"

Suave, Your older brother Les is concerned that you were never seen as a fashionista in our flock. He told me this afternoon that you used to wear your diapers backwards and he never understood how you got to be called Suave whereas he ended up Les Suave. I offered to take him on a ride to the coast this afternoon but he was busy preening his feathers. He seems to be more self-conscious than Suave and would never allow me to use his butt to wipe my hood. He did however ask me how the new Toyo r888r tires felt on my Storker and I told him that the jury is out at this point. Addendum, I got home and inspected the new r888r's and found that the outer 1" strip of rubber on the two front tires and about 3/4" on the rear tires was not really making contact with the road with 19 pounds of air. I decided that I am going to lower the tire pressures to 17psi and see if I get a more uniform contact patch. 19psi may just have been a tad over-inflating?

Croc, I have been looking at those wing vents and thinking how cool they look in black. To my eyes, it is a striking contrast with the bright "lime" green or whatever color it is called.

Shane, Suave will be ticked off if you buy another car before getting the Super Chicken ready for the track.

I am going for blats now before surgery and am going to do one more autox before surgery. It looks like I will be out of the game for 5-6 weeks. I will give everybody a heads up after I get the surgery in September. My surgeon's schedule is pretty full but should be done with rehab by the end of October. I finally have my Storker really dialed in just when I am going to be taken off the track for a couple of months but I am going to run like hell on this next event to have smiles on those days when I am feeling a bit sorry for myself.

Shoe String Racing and M Worth, Thanks for your inputs. I have decided that if my non-invasive Orthopod agrees with my decision, I am going to move forward to a consultation with a surgeon and get this funky "football shaped" femur head replaced with something that is round and glides in a new cup. I hate the thought of major surgery but I dislike decreased ability much more.