Anaximander

Shane, Glad to hear that you are making a pretty rapid recovery all things considered. Flying a desk is better than flying a bed. What kind of aircraft have you been flying for your job? Bob

Shane, It has been a while since we have heard from you. How is the rehab going? Are you feeling any better at this point? Hope you ARE feeling better. Bob

Toedrag, I want to thank you again for responding with some interesting recommendations. I rode my Harley up to the SCCA autocross regionals in Cecil, GA this morning and treated every car as if the driver was trying to kill me. I constantly scanned my mirrors and kept my head on a swivel and realized that the riding experience was quite a bit different than the lulled sense of people doing the right thing that I sometimes get into. I can't wait to do the same with my normal commuting vehicle. The only thing I noticed is that it is a lot of WORK to maintain that level of vigilance. I would sometimes find myself drifting into complacency and then begin the whole scan, swivel, anticipation thing again. I can see where this will likely make a huge difference in being much more alert to my surroundings and the fools that are trying to kill me:jester: On an even more positive note, Scott Minehart placed First in the SCCA Autocross Regionals at South Georgia Motorsports Park this weekend in his new AXR Stalker in E Modified. Glen did well and Krista won her class. However, it was sort of a gimmie for Krista as she was the only female in E Mod. Scott continued to tweak the suspension and the whole family reported that they really liked the way the car was performing. Apparently, it had been tending to push the front end and with the suspension tuning, it was performing like Goldilock's would have liked. "Just right".

Toedrag, Very insightful and useful observations! However, I can't get over your forum name as I think about flat tracking Harley riders and their metal "hot shoes".

Recently, one of our 7 brothers experienced an accident that caused injury to himself and his car. For a short time, I owned a really wickedly fast Brunton M-Spec LS-engine Stalker. I had wanted a sevenesque car since my junior year in high school when I almost purchased a stock 1962 Lotus 7. One of the things I noticed when driving the Storker was that a Ford Focus had door handles that were significantly taller than where my head was in my Storker. When I was blatting around on country roads and would face oncoming traffic such as a Ford F250, I did notice that the dimensions of my car vs. the truck were enormously different. I would perform an informal risk assessment, make sure that the truck was not crossing the center line and made sure that I had an exit strategy if that occurred. Fast forward a month and I bought my buddy's large Harley Davidson cruiser (Road Glide Ultra) that weighs 2/3 of what a typical seven weighs and one of the only safety feature upgrades is ABS brakes. So, I traded a car that sits inches off the ground, has a gas tank in the rear for a bumper and now sit atop a 900 pound behemoth of a motorcycle that has weak brakes at best. I have a lengthy history of owning high-performance sport bikes with performance characteristics somewhat similar to the Storker (Yamaha R1's, etc.) Both vehicles provide a significant amount of fun factor in different ways. At the ripe old age of 65.8 years, I have been giving some minor thought to a life filled with risk taking but one that has also been a hell of a lot of fun! It has been said that humans are fairly poor judges of risk/hazards in life and especially young males. I sense that the group on this Forum tends to be more affluent and likely a bit older than many of the young squids who go out on a sport bike and hurt themselves. Some of the evidence comes from the cost of insurance for our expensive cars and the fact that insurance companies are very astute at measuring risk and assigning monetary structures toward the risk with an eye towards profitability. I am wondering in the light of our recent community buddy who is recovering from injuries sustained while having a lot of fun in a very neat car if thoughts of risk are creeping into our psyches? I for one do not want to go through life too aware of all of the risks such that it significantly diminishes the fun I have with motorized vehicles. OTOH, it does cause some pause for reflection and might make me just a little bit safer if I can learn something from the pain that our buddy has experienced.

I may be stating the obvious but why hasn't Josh posted his car over on the Cars for Sale forum? I suspect that others as well as myself would love to see some pictures of his jewel of a car.

Snookwheel, funny that you should mention that home is a better place than any hospital. I had to go in for an outpatient throat procedure but ended up having to overnight on a OB/GYN unit much like depicted in the movie the Natural. I caught a really wicked nosocomial gut infection that laid me almost lower than the throat surgery. I hope that they had not had Shane on an OB/GYN ward but I suspect that he would not fess up to it if they had?

Good Morning Shane, Hope you had a restful night. Don't let Croc talk you into the beer and bourbon just quite yet. Chips and salsa however might be curative? He may tell you that the synergistic effects of the booze and pain meds will make you forget the circumstances but then nurse Hilda will be in your face with her mustache upper lip and give you the business thus bringing you back into reality. Great news for at least the present that your injuries are not going to require surgery. Thankfully, your young so your ability to heal is much better than some of us old guys. Keep up the good work. AstroBob

The trailer has been sold. It went however to someone with 4 wheeler off-road vehicles rather than a seven . All of that money and engineering for the shallow ramps. The purchaser wants the ramps so maybe they will get used. Thanks for your considerations.

Bump. It is starting to look a lot like Spring is coming. Here is a trailer that is low in cost yet high in performance for very little money.

OK Shane, It has been 4 days since the accident. Pilots are tougher than race tracks. Hope you are feeling just a touch better or at least floating above the bed with some nice pain meds if that is not the case. Please be nice to your Sainted Wife, they put up with a lot of our shenanigans. AstroBob

Positive energy going out to Shane for a speedy recovery. He is one of the best!

Hank, that is simply a beautiful build story and an exceptional conclusion to what must have been a lot of work. I had gone back through your threads and even noticed that you worked hard to match period style glass for the windscreen. Good job. I was wondering however if the non-stock engine was of any concern. Wondering why you didn't rebuild the stock engine that came with the car?

Wow Walgamuth, that was a pretty fast acquisition from general query to purchase. What did you end up getting in the D Mod class? Did it come with a set of slicks for xcrossing?

Walgamuth, I suspect that $15K will likely find you a nice automotive chunk of ground sirloin. I agree that looking around is half the fun. It doesn't hurt that your looking at a time where some owners cannot even imagine being able to use their sevens. The weather has been particularly wretched across the USA this year and apparently there are atmospheric anomalies that are causing all kinds of weird weather all over the place. Much good luck in your search. I was very fortunate to have found a beautifully sorted Brunton Stalker that I unfortunately only xcrossed x1. My wife sprung on me the fact that she was ready to retire and move to the beach in a flat and somewhat crowded Space Coast area. I am selling my 4-car garage home that I do not plan to replace with another 4-car garage home. I was frankly amazed at how linear and relatively easy it was to drive the M-Spec LS Storker on an autocross course. The car felt like it was running on rails with those slicks I had on it and the power was so linear that it was surprisingly not intimidating to run. I wish that I had had more time to play with that jewel but alas, I just sold my astronomy property, several large telescopes and the Storker and the house looks like it will sell in the next 60 days. Croc, xcarguy and a bunch of others are quite plugged into the seven grid and should continue to be a fountain of possibilities for you moving forward. Much good luck! AstroBob

Croc, Walgamuth is by his posts looking for a less than pristine seven for autocross. However, he only wants to spend $15K. It appears to me that unless fairy tales come true that $25K sevens will likely not cross his path for the $15K he has that is likely burning a hole in his pocket. We have all been there I suspect? Wanting chateaubriand for a hamburger price. I suspect that Walgamuth will either have to lower his expectations and targeted cars or dig around in the sofa and come up with some loose change to move up to the higher performing/sorted sevens.

xcarguy, He reported to me that he had just applied for membership and was awaiting Moderator approval. I am not sure what he will go by on the forum? At one time, he had a Birkin that he could not get sorted and really never drove it. It reportedly made its way out to Wyoming where it was eventually sorted. He found the Stalker to be well sorted when he looked at it and drove it. Since the Storker uses pretty much standard American parts and is located in St. Pete, I think he will have a much better experience this go round. Additionally, as you know, Scott Minehart really knows everything there is to know about Storkers and builds high quality well sorted vehicles. I talked with him today, the buyer, (Monday) and he and his wife had modified their plans due to weather. He mentioned that he planned to get the Stalker onto a skid pad to get used to understanding its limits. I think that is a great idea. I am glad that I had a go cart background as a kid along with 10 years of riding high-performance sports bikes on twisty country roads as well as tracking it one time. I also was a fright instructor a long time ago and taught basic aerobatics so am used to G forces. In fact, the Chief instructor and I used to go up in a Decathlon with an inverted oil system and see who could take more positive and negative G's before crying "uncle". I seemed to have a heartier stomach at the time. Of course, I was only 25 years old. Astro Bob

Sold my M-Spec Storker so I have a like new single axle (3500 pound) 6x12' trailer with custom ramps designed to put your seven on and be able to tow it with a vehicle that has a 3500 pound towing capacity. The trailer weighs approximately 1200 pounds with the custom ramps and has a total payload capacity of 2128 pounds. The custom ramps were professionally fabricated to allow a very shallow ramp and have built-in strong metal supports. The ramps have holders welded onto the trailer to be stowed on the outsides of the trailer securely without tie downs while transporting your car. The custom ramps do not protrude out farther than the wheels. The fold down regular ramp has been reinforced for your car and is drilled for bolts to temporarily bind to the custom ramps for a secure setup. All three tires are top of the line trailer radials. The trailer tracks beautifully.

The 2012 Brunton Storker was on the Virginia buyer's trailer yesterday afternoon headed up to the North country. It is gone, gone, gone! However, I did get a moment to demonstrate the linear acceleration of the LS-engine beast and it brought a smile to my face. Wishing everyone an Early Spring. Especially our brethren in the upper NE. Astro Bob

Virginia

Croc, xcarguy and others, I put out the notification today that Bob L. has sent a deposit for the M-Spec Storker and will be down with a trailer in a couple of weeks for a final inspection. I want to thank all of my 7 brethren for the support and sharing of information as well as the positive things you had to say about the Stalker. I will continue to monitor this site even after the sale of the car because it is such a great group of 7 enthusiasts. For those in the Northeast, stay warm and Spring is just around the corner in spite of Punxsutawney Phil's predictions. Astro Bob

Fellow 7 lovers, I was advised today that Bob L. is buying the Storker pending inspection that will occur in a couple of weeks. I want to give a big shout out to Croc, Xcarguy and others that were so kind in letting the world know what a great car and buy this represented. I only had the one opportunity to xcross it but I will forever remember how linear the power was and how much grip there was getting around the course with slicks on the Storker. The new owner will have the luxury of some brand new Toyo R888's that he will likely put on a track to improve his skills with the car and have a ball. I also want to give a big shoutout to Glen and Scott Minehart who made the car and got it so sorted out. It is a dream to drive especially with the electronic steering assist. I will let you all know when the sale is finalized. I will sure miss this really high performance car. Bob Schilling, AKA AstroBob

Not wanting to ride along on Croc's Saturday morning autoporn lists that he so kindly provides, I decided that it was time to list my beautiful M-Spec Stalker all by itself. An imminent move to the Space Coast beaches of Florida and selling my 4-car garage home in Tallahassee prompts my decision to sell my beautiful and very fast Stalker. I have a 2012 M-Spec Brunton Stalker that was factory built in St. Petersburg, FL. The fiberglass car is powered by a LS33 V8 engine with LS1 heads for better flow and 330 horsepower. Scott Minehart also installed heavier duty crankshaft bearings at the time of build to insure reliability. The car has a 6-speed manual transmission and all you need is to use second gear if you plan to autocross. The Stalker is a Lotus 7 themed car with incredible power and handling. It has front and rear independent suspension (you can see a U-Tube video of the terrific suspension on the Brunton site at: http://stalkercars.com/models/m-spec/ and was assembled by the designer/builder and nationally ranked driver of these cars. The blue M-Spec car in the Stalker literature is this car and Stalker is essentially only making variants of this newer design due to flexibility of options and improved performance. The ride is superb for a high-performance sports car and compares especially well to other 7 themed cars. The entire car has approximately 7400 miles with approximately 24,000 miles on the GM all aluminum engine. The entire car weighs 1645 pounds. The car has brand new Toyo R888 DOT spec tires for the street and 6 wheels/slicks for autocross use with the front wheels being Keizer aluminum race wheels (approximately 11 pounds per wheel). The car is both street legal and runs in the SCCA E Modified class. This car was the first of Stalker's new line and having been built by the designer, is quite well sorted through both street and track tuning. There are approximately 15 examples of the M-Spec Stalkers in various stages of partial to full completion from customers as well as the factory. The power is immense and the handling is out of this world. It is registered as a 1962 Lotus 7 kit car here in Florida. It was gone through at the factory with all new fluids, new winshield, new 5-point harnesses, new front pads on the Wilwood disc brakes, new driver's side seat cover in October 2014. It comes with a fiberglass hardtop that needs some cosmetic work. Factory support for the Stalkers is terrific and there are no long waits for any replacement parts as the car is fully made in the USA. New, these cars sell for approximately $49,000. This fine example can be had for a fraction of that price and is in beautiful condition. What is truly amazing about this car is that the one time that I autocrossed it, it was amazingly easy to get around the course because the chassis setup and way that it makes power are superbly blended. I am used to riding very high-performance sport bikes and flying high-performance GA airplanes and this car makes power and handles in an amazing fashion. The car has most of the upgraded options Stalker puts on their M-Spec cars and sells new for approximately $49K. I know it is Winter where many 7 lovers are living so I have discounted the car to $30K to move it in the dead of Winter. With the house up for sale, I may lose my extra garage space shortly. Thanks for looking. and if you would like to talk with me about the Stalker, call 850-491-2222 between 10-8 Eastern Standard Time. Bob Schilling AKA Astrobob

Shane, You are absolutely correct that I confused the two of you. It's kind of funny how I was sensitive to the difference in transmission sounds. The engine sounded different as well but I did not think much about it when I was looking at the video. These Storkers are sure great cars. If I was not selling my 4-car garage home, I would continue to have played with my M-Spec. I really like the independent front and rear suspension that Scott built into these. Bob

Shawn, Very nice run. Thanks for letting us come along for the ride. Nice recovery on what I think was the 4th lap? I don't know if you have changed anything in your transmission but the shifts seemed quieter than other videos I have seen of you running. It is fun to see a Storker eating up a Vette and some other pretty fast cars and making them smaller in your rear view mirror. Bob