Anaximander

Poor Suave, I should have known you were a Stork. Now I have ruffled your feathers. My apologies, sentient one! Soon, your flyboy buddy is going to be zooming around the track again in a beautiful "cousin" Storker. Maybe he will take you along for rides as long as you don't sit in any more paint:driving:. Suave, I just hope you don't have an evil twin that is going to give me payback for thinking you were a duck when in fact you're a Stork!

Suave was always billed as the low price/high value duck that got the job done? You might not want to let him near the newly powder-coated storker until his butt feathers dry.

Looking for any folks that have experienced a full hip replacement and how it may have affected their ability to get in and out of their seven? I have a classic Brunton Stalker that I dearly love for both street blats and autox and want to carefully consider my options before proceeding with a hip replacement. Any experiential information would be great. I stand on the seat, then slide down into the tunnel and have a roll cage that I can use my arms to position myself.

Shane, The Stalker adventures for autocross and general street blats continues. Only this time, my car and new-to-me Stalker tilt trailer I got from Brit after he sold his Stalker XL are in the same bay of one of my garages. Note the really cool tripod floor mount trailer ball piece that I had a local machine shop make up that I bolted to my garage floor with (3) 3.5" Red Head concrete bolts. I just drive the Stalker off the trailer for a local blat and come home and drive it back up on the tilted trailer until the tilt is no longer there, shut the Stalker off and secure the intermediate ball hitch latch you can see just behind the spare tire. The person tasked with making the device got overly exhuberant and used their 60,000 PSI water jet to cut the base. Thankfully, the shop foreman realized the overkill and did not charge me x3 for the water jet usage. The piece is so stout that I could probably take a 25 mph run up the trailer, slam on the brakes and the floor mount would likely not even quiver. This retirement is killing me. I was coerced (:smash:) into making a 3400 mile roundtrip drive a couple of months ago to Gila, NM to round up a fully computerized (tracking/GOTO) 28" f/3.58 Kennedy/Webster Newtonian telescope that was in need of rehabbing from someone like myself who knows how to do that. It gives me something to do on those clear Florida nights when the stars/planets/galaxies etc. and or partial Moon are up and the Stalker is resting. This might begin to explain the handle Astro Bob instead of Stalker Bob. Shane, I just realized that you might be wondering about what happened to the blue Stalker #94 that I had gotten from Jim. It had the 3.8L N.A. engine which was really fine. However, a fellow out in Oklahoma had completed #156 with a 3.8L SC and only driven it 2k miles before I went out and picked that up a couple of months ago. I sold the blue, red and white Stalker to a fellow in Virginia who is tickled with his new ride.

Trailer has been sold!

John, Went to the longer version. Nice blat! Snow in June, who'd think it? Those higher elevations will get you every time. Glad you got the Westfield out to play while being able to drink some nice beers at night.

Asking price?

I called Scott Minehart of Stalker cars this morning on an unrelated matter and asked him about the coil values that I had just changed to. He advised that with the 600#/300# combination, he was able to place 3rd in the Solo Nationals in E-Modified with this shock setup on a Classic Stalker. He also mentioned that Dennis Brunton had used the same coils over the GAZ shocks to win road races. Apparently, for the Classic Stalker, the spring weights have utility in different kinds of genre which was a bit surprising to me but helped me to realize why his father had recommended the increased spring values. I still can't wait to try them out on course to see how the changes in handling will affect my performance. I am trying to act like a sponge and take in all of the knowledge I can find about how to be faster/better and improve my skill set for a unique form of driving (SCCA Solo).

Dave, I have the GM 3.8L Supercharged V6 which is fairly heavy from what I have been told. Apparently, a GM LS1 V8 engine is lighter than my V6? One of challenges for a newbie is that my driving skills in Solo events are rather limited although I used to race go carts as a kid and have lots of experience with high performance sport bikes and aircraft. I am still experiencing a fairly steep learning curve. I was a little cautious to change anything but was assured that the setup I changed to was preferred by others with similar cars/engines that have been doing Solo events for many years. I have only run 2 Solo events with the original 500#/250# springs on the car and hopefully will have an opportunity this coming weekend to determine if the change has much change in performance. What is additionally problematic was that when I was changing the springs, I noticed that the left rear coil was not even compressed which caused great concern in terms of initial suspension setup. Furthermore, I reset all of the GAZ shock preload settings to the recommended values and did not expend further energy to determine what they had been set to originally because the car had not been set up by the original builder for autocross. I have a pretty good handle on what my Avon A11 compound slicks are doing on the surface I am running on so should be able to get a bit of a handle on whether or not the slightly stiffer springs and proper preload settings have moved me forward or backward. Hopefully, the weather that has been rainy in South Georgia/North Florida will be clear this coming Sunday so I can see where I stand. The manufacturer's representative (Glenn Minehart), had mentioned a story about how profoundly important the preload settings were for the shocks when he related a story about one of his customers that reluctantly and cautiously changed them to the final setting only to find that the final recommended values decreased his time significantly.

Dave, Wonderfully articulate explanation. I had been told by a representative of the manufacturer that historically, the increase in spring weight improved autox performance. I indeed used the compression ring on the front springs to set the ride level such that the A-arms were parallel to the ground. The rear compression rings for the coils were set to a historically predetermined spot that has proven to be effective in increasing rear-end performance with the shock angles being different than the fronts and different demand characteristics for the rear shocks in terms of performance. I don't know what the weighting strategy is of a Caterham R400 but I know that the Classic Stalker has about a 54% bias to the rear. Although being a total rooky in autox, I do find that when the Stalker gets out of shape from say too much throttle that just a slight let-off really straightens out the car unlike some vehicles like a rear-engine Porche where the rear-end weight bias is significantly greater and reportedly leads to the rear wanting to swap ends with the front of the car in a more pronounced way. The Classic Stalker weighs about 1450 pounds which I suspect is not a full 500# greater than the Caterham and more like about 350# difference? I am just at the very beginning stages of learning about chassis geometry, corner weighting, etc. and as a newb found the difference in spring values to be dramatic between my current car and the Superlight R400. Thanks again for your keen explanation and I look forward to any others who have insights into why the big difference in spring values?

I was looking at an ad on the For Sale forum at a 2008 Caterham Superlight R400 (drool) and noticed that the front Bilstein shocks (Caterham #75517) were either 150# or 170# shocks. On my 2012 Classic Brunton Stalker, I have begun to autocross the car and the stock configuration for the front shocks is a 500# coil over the GAZ shocks. In autox mode, the recommended coil is a 600# coil which I just installed along with upgrading the rear 250# coils to 300#. On a blat after installing the upgraded coils, there was a noticeable difference in the handling of the Stalker with a more taught (little lean) but still not unpleasant ride. I can't wait to hopefully autocross the car this coming Sunday. I know the suspension geometry is different for the two cars along with likely different front end weights but I was sort of surprised at the significant differences in coil stiffness between our two cars?

Mike, The above-posted coffinesque car reminds me of how I sometimes feel when a Ford Focus drives by me when I am in the Classic Stalker and the door handles of the Focus are well above my head:svengo: As always, thanks for the time you take to provide wonderful weekend entertainment. I always miss the weekends that you are distracted and can't get to post.

For sale is a custom duck-tail trailer built circa 2008 (the rear part of the trailer slopes to accommodate lower clearance cars like our sevenesque beauties) with new passenger tires that ride well and a new spare tire/wheel. The trailer was custom made by a trailer manufacturer in Texas and weighs approximately 700 pounds. It also has a 3500 pound capacity single axle. The trailer is not equipped with brakes. The ramps attach to the trailer when not in use and so you do not have to carry separate ramps. The hubs were repacked with grease about 6 months ago and the wood was replaced in the past couple of years and has been treated with Thompson's Water Seal. All lights work well on the trailer. The trailer also has a tilt down swiveling wheel to move the trailer on level ground without lifting the tongue. The trailer has towed my Brunton Stalker with great ease and is extremely stable at freeway speeds. This would also be a great trailer for other sevenesque cars like Caterhams, Berkins, Lotus, etc. Selling for $900.00 FOB Tallahassee, Florida. I tow the trailer and my Brunton Stalker with my Honda Odyssey that has a 3500 pound towing capacity. Note: Could deliver to the Dallas, TX area or places in between there and Tallahassee, Florida for a reasonable fee in the next couple of weeks. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12721&stc=1

PM sent with a phone number. Thanks

Kitcat, How right you were! The Brunton Stalker has been sold! Somebody is getting a very well sorted car that should bring lots of smiles.

For sale is a very well sorted 2007 Brunton Classic Stalker that is street legal and has been licensed in Texas and then in Florida. I am the second owner and the original owner/builder is a very highly skilled former technical writer that spent an entire year building this beautiful sevenesque car. The car/chassis has a total of 14,644 miles and the engine has less than 57k total miles. The car includes the following: Brunton Classic Stalker Chassis #94 completed in 2008 - Dry total weight of car approximately 1450 pounds GM 3.8 liter fuel-injected naturally aspirated V6 with approximately 250 horsepower Thermostatically controlled radiator fan that keeps the car in the proper operating range on the warmest of days 5-speed synchromesh transmission Limited Slip Differential GAZ coilover shocks Disk brakes front and back with new EBC Yellow Stuff brake pads Almost new (4) Dunlop Dirreza DZ102 Summer tires All fluids including engine, transmission, rear end, brakes have been changed and engine running Mobil 1 synthetic Brunton Stalker fiberglass seats with 5-point seat belt harnesses Removable steering wheel Carbon fiber dash panel with AutoMeter gauges Latest chassis/fender mods performed at the Stalker factory here in Florida this past year Folding Prop rod for hood Newly installed carpet 10 gallon fuel tank Parking brake/turn signals/headlights/stoplights Hidden latching drop-down glove box on passenger side Cockpit cover made out of marine grade fabric that zips/snaps to cover the entire cockpit or just the passenger side Two spare brand-new radiators All paperwork since the inception of the build included Dennis Brunton designed and built these cars in a way that has defied the experts and in doing so produced a kit car that is both very stable and very fast. Brunton set a class record in a supercharged V6 version of this car at Homestead Racetrack that has never been beaten. The car is very suitable for everyday outings, autocross or track days. It has only been autocrossed x1 by me and has never been abused or tracked. I love these cars so much that I got an even faster/newer Classic Stalker that I am now autocrossing with racing slicks. The price had been dramatically lowered for a Spring/Summer sale and is FOB Tallahassee, Florida. For about $10 a pound, you are getting filet mignon and not some ragged out chopped steak. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12617&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12618&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12619&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12620&stc=1

Price Reduction. My lovely Classic Stalker is now available for $16,500.

PM sent this morning. Just got back from Stalker cars and a two-day fabulous experience watching Scott Minehart, the owner/designer/builder of Stalker cars perform an incredible amount of work in 2 days on my second classic Stalker that would have taken any other shop at least a week and likely a lot more money because they would not have known exactly what to do. Watching Scott work is like a study in work efficiency. He seems to expend very little unnecessary movement in accomplishing a plethora of tasks in what I would suspect is about the shortest period of time for any given work task. He is able to do it all from engine work, welding/maching, electrical wiring, suspension, and safety mods. It was incredible to watch him work, and trust me, I did not make one suggestion throughout the time he was working on my latest classic Stalker or the one that is currently for sale. He just absolutely knows what to do and how to go about accomplishing the tasks in the most efficient manner. Of course, being the manufacturer, one would sort of expect this level of expertise but it is magnificent to watch. BTW, in terms of shop time costs, if you offer to help him, it will cost you at least 50% more money because he would essentially be training you and it slows him way down. I just generally try to smile, interject conversation when appropriate and watch the master perform at his craft. What fun!!! Bob Schilling

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12150&stc=1For sale is a 2008 Classic Brunton Stalker with a 3.8L Naturally Aspirated (Fuel Injected) five-speed Sevenesque car in superb condition. The car has 14.8k miles and the engine has approximately 57k miles total on the bullet-proof 3.8 liter GM engine. It has either a 3.42 or a 3.73 limited slip differential rear end that comes from an S-10 (there are no markings on the differential but the LSD was sourced from Stalker) I just purchased my third Stalker and brought it home yesterday with an L32 engine and have to make room for all of my toys. I purchased this Classic Stalker for sale from the original owner/builder who spent 1 year and a lot of work carefully assembling a great functioning car (notice the laced wiring). It even has a functional prop rod for the hood to be able to work around the engine compartment and comes with a custom made marine grade cockpit cover that snaps into place for either solo driving or transport down the road. The builder kept all receipts and carefully documented the entire build with paperwork that stacks up over a half a foot high. Since purchasing it, I took it down to Stalker here in Florida (Scott Meinhart, the Stalker company owner builds great chassis and cars) and had all of the latest safety mods completed on the car. It comes with almost new tires,upgraded GAZ coil/over shocks, new EBC Yellow Stuff racing brake pads front and back and brake fluid flush for the front and rear disc brakes. The rear end was just serviced along with new Mobil 1 oil and filter for the engine. I also have two brand-new spare radiators for the Stalker. It has a 10 gallon gas tank and even a custom concealed glove box. The car weighs approximately 1500 pounds and is putting approximately 205 horsepower to the rear wheels while designed to run on 87 octane fuel. The car has never been abused but I did autocross it one time a couple of months ago with great delight and did not touch a cone on any of the 4 runs. It is an extremely fast and nimble car to drive but makes power such that it is quite controllable. The car is licensed/registered here in Florida as an assembled vehicle replica (ASVE) as that is how it was titled/licensed in Texas where it was built. The builder is a former technical writer and took painstaking care to document virtually every aspect of the build. A detailed visual history of chassis number 94 can be seen here:http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=13089 Please no trade offers as my 4-car garage is now fully stuffed. The builder sold the car at a very reasonable price and so I am simply passing on the savings (at a bit of a loss to expedite a sale) to the next owner after having spent months doing minor sorting out to make it a really fun/all purpose car. Price is FOB North Florida (Tallahassee). Thanks for looking. Spring/Summer is just around the corner! Bobhttp://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=12140&stc=1

Taber, Here in the South as you well know, mud daubers are pretty much ubiquitous in stationary items. They are like little bee-like insects that make nests in the most curious places. We will frequently have mud dauber nests behind our articulating exterior shutters on our home. It just means that the car has sat up for considerable lengths of time. Thanks for scouting out this car for us. It is likely that the real value is as a Hagerty's condition #3 which would place the value at about $17.5k instead of the $22.9k they are asking for it. At $17.5k, I think it would be a fun project for someone. It has such low miles and would just need some TLC to likely bring it up to a #2 vehicle.

Taber - What suggested that "there appears to be evidence of some '70s vintage insect inhabitation under the bonnet"? What would 40 years of "insect inhabitation look like??? Thanks, Bob

Jay, I think because Dennis Brunton was the builder and it was his company at the time, he may have wanted to highlight the sevenesque qualities of his car during the build. You can see all kinds of 7 geegaws on the car. It looks like a blindingly fast car. However, the new M-Spec (Minehart) cars have a significantly upgraded suspensions from the original Stalkers when Scott Minehart bought the company from Dennis Brunton.

Do let us know here. It is a little early in the "season" for our type of cars but hey, if there is a Cyber Monday-Sunday price, you never know? I have never built a car but your build process looked pretty methodical from what my mostly untrained eye could perceive. It looked like you powder-coated the frame early on in the build after fitment of the fiberglass which I think is considered a best practice.

Brit, Beautiful new paint job on your XL. What are your thoughts on how much you are going to ask for that beautiful car and trailer?

Oh boy! I just ordered some slightly used Avon biased slicks with the A11 compound from John Berget Racing Tires and I will be able to autox the Stalker in December near my home. The fun just keeps on getting funner!