Keith

Sold!

The car's now up on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/171554861147?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Last two. http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0154.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0155.jpg Feel free to contact Brandon or ask here if you have any questions.

http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0149.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0150.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0151.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0153.jpg

Now, some of the uglier stuff. mostly damaged fibreglass. Call it "patina". http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0141.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0142.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0144.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0148.jpg

http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0178.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0134.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0135.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0136.jpg

http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0116.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0159.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0167.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0138.jpg

Many, many more pictures. http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0123.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0124.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0171.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0125.jpg

It's been a while. Yes, I'm still driving my car, although I've also turned my attention to other ways of going fast. It's parked in the garage beside an LS1-powered MGB and the monstrous V8 Miata with active aero, both built from the ground up. You know how it is... Anyhow, I'm here because a friend has a Locost for sale. Not just any Locost, either - Chris Fiaccione's old car that was featured in Car and Driver back in 2006 along with my own. When Chris put the car up for sale, I started pestering my friend Brandon to take it on. He did, and has put a bunch of work into making it a very competent track car. He's improved the seats and the roll protection, dropped in a bigger engine and strengthened a number of parts like axles. It's been seeing regular use at track days. I'll answer any questions I can about it. Here's what he has to say. --------- I’ve been putting this off long enough… It’s finally time to sell my Se7en - a homebuilt Locost. I’m the second owner, it was built by the first owner. He got it into Car and Driver with Keith Tanner’s Se7en, you can check out the article here. It’s seen quite a few modifications and upgrades since I’ve had it, though - check out the list below. It’s an absolute riot to drive and it’s pretty fast on a tight track. I believe it currently has the car record at my local track, Grand Junction Motor Speedway, with a 1:00.4. For reference, Keith Tanner’s 400ish whp V8 Targa Miata has a best of somewhere around 1:01 and his Se7en is somewhere around 1:02. Granted, that’s not on a wide open track, but you get the idea. That having been said, here’s a breakdown: 975ish lbs wet. 2003 Yamaha R1 engine and sequential transmission. Stock, but with heavier springs in the clutch and a Dynojet Power Commander. Paddle shifter, no-clutch upshifts. Clutch-pack limited slip diff. The housing is from a Merkur XR4Ti, but I replaced the diff itself. Westfield fiberglass racing seats - surprisingly comfortable, assuming you’re relatively skinny. Five-point Crow harnesses. Custom (sufficiently tall) roll bar. Custom 3 gallon fuel tank, with baffling - you can run it low with no starvation, probably down to a ½ gallon or so. 1.6 Miata brakes, unknown pads, but they’ve always worked very well (they don’t have to slow down much weight..). Right hand drive. Street legal and titled in Colorado. I’ve let the registration expire, as I only drove it on the street to get to the track, but it should be a non-issue to get it re-registered in Colorado. For other states, you’ll have to do your research. It doesn’t have wipers or a real windshield, but it does have headlights, brake lights, turn signals, horn, etc. Civic radiator - it’ll get warm if you let it idle long enough (although it does have a fan), but I’ve had zero overheating issues. Nitto NT01 tires (one is corded, the others have decent life left) on 1.6 Miata hollow-spoke wheels. Shift-I rev light. Wilwood brake proportioning valve, located for on-the-fly adjustment. Very light but pretty loud exhaust. The bad? Not much. The only actual problem is that it’s pretty bad about cold-starting - I think there’s a voltage draw somewhere, you typically have to hook it up to a running car to get it to cold start - but it starts perfectly every time when it’s even a little warm (engine temp, not ambient). In the interest of full disclosure, there are a few other not-perfect things: The header isn’t the prettiest thing in the world (it was meant for a CBR900RR and has been modified). One of the tires is corded, as mentioned previously. The battery’s dead and will need to be replaced. It’s pretty twitchy, which is fantastic under 80 and is a little unsettling over. Between gearing, aerodynamics, and horsepower, this isn’t really a high-speed car anyway. It rides and handles really well, but it also has a decent amount of body roll - sways were on my list of upgrades, but never happened. There was a little bit of fiberglass damage but most of it has been repaired with more fiberglass and some Bondo (not much). I didn’t do a perfect job, but it’s only obvious if you’re looking for it (see the pictures). Buy this if you’re looking for a fast car, don’t buy it if you’re looking for a show car. I’m asking for $10,000, and that’s firm. I considered asking for more so that we can wheel and deal our way to $10,000, but figured I’d save everyone the trouble. I really don’t want to sell it, as it’s an absolute riot on track, but I don’t drive it often enough to justify having it. If you’d like more pictures or have questions feel free to get in touch with me - brandon@flyinmiata.com. 77O.378.3O48 if you’d rather talk. I also have a relatively rough but perfectly adequate trailer that works perfectly for this car. It’s a pretty small / light car trailer, for better or worse - it’ll handle a Miata, but that’s pushing it. $500 for the trailer. If I sell the car without the trailer, I'll sell it separately. I'd rather not sell the trailer prior to selling the car, though. Brandon Fitch brandon@flyinmiata.com 77O.378.3O48 http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0113.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0115.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0116.jpg http://www.slowcarfast.com/Se7en/IMG_0121.jpg

I just called Toyo USA. The RA1 has not been discontinued in the US (despite what you read on the internets) and there are no immediate plans to do so.

I've driven the RA1 in heavy rain and standing water. They're really good. No concerns about hydroplaning. They last a good long time on a Seven - I probably got a dozen track days out of mine easily.

First off, I'd double-check with Toyo that the RA1 has been discontinued. I've been hearing those rumors for over a year but that didn't prevent me from buying a set of RA1s a couple of months ago. Maybe it's time for me to check with Toyo again on that, I've certainly learned not to trust the internets on this topic. I had to choose between the RA1 and the R888 for the Targa Newfoundland. Standing water was a strong possibility, and the RA1's always been the tire to beat. After talking to those who have run both tires (the R888 has been available overseas for some time) and talking to Toyo, I decided to go with the RA1. The tread depth was important to me (we had a minimum tread depth requirement at all times) but so were some comments from previous users. It appeared from all sources that the RA1 did have an edge in wet braking, IIRC. There's quite a difference between wet pavement and standing water, of course. A number of cars were running the R888s, and I'm going to poll them to see what they think. On my Seven, my next set of tires will be either the R888 or the NT01, we're running the latter on the turbo Westfield right now.

Awww, thanks guys! I didn't scare Janel at all. She doesn't scare easy, and our first goal was to bring the car home. So I stayed well within the traction circle. That's why you don't see us much in the highlights video I'll admit to exploring maximum traction and maximum road once or twice, but that's why you leave some in reserve... You can read the reports from during the race here: http://www.targamiata.com/race.php I'll have articles in one or two magazines, but that link gives you the pure stuff, written late at night in hotel rooms as Janel worked over the pace notes for the next day. Video's coming as well. To understand how an old BMW can beat a new Evo, you need to know how the Targa works. Here's something I wrote up: A bit more explanation about how the Targa works. It's a lot more than a TSD. Each class is given a base time for a stage, both in terms of elapsed time and in terms of average speed. For example, we might have to maintain a minimum speed of 121 km/h through a certain stage. Unlike a TSD, this doesn't change throughout the stage, nor is it necessarily an achievable number. That last bit is important. TSDs are about self-control as much as anything else, as you try to maintain 33 mph on a fairly open road with a 35 mph limit. I went by one 30 km/h sign doing 150 km/h, that's not The TSD Way If you finish the stage within the base time, you don't get penalties. If you can't finish in time, you get one penalty point per second that you're late. And nobody finishes without penalties, there are certain stages that it's simply not possible. In other words, all stages are run at maximum attack. The navigator tells you what's over blind crests, what the next turn looks like, if there are special dangers, major bumps, etc. Instead of the typical TSD instruction of "turn left at Grossman Ave", you get "in 50 meters, over crest into medium left, caution gravel cut". Which is different than "medium left over crest" or "over crest then medium left". In previous years, there was an FIA-mandated maximum average speed for any stage - 130 km/h, I think. You got penalties for cracking this, and only on certain stages was it even possible. However, since the Targa Newfoundland is no longer FIA-sanctioned, this is gone. There is a blanket speed limit of 200 km/h on the event, but you're not exactly rolling down the interstate and we never managed to hit more than 190 despite trying pretty hard And that was exciting, we were rocking down a road we'd never seen before covered in bumps and lined with trees. Shortly after, a multiple winner of the event did multiple somersaults down the same road. Why are there penalty points and base times? So the vintage guys have a chance. They're driving slower cars, so they can't compete on sheer speed. So basically, you're handicapped based on your car's age, engine size and modification level. It works pretty well, the top 10 this year ranged from a 1969 BMW 2002 (1st) to a factory-backed Mitsubishi Evo with a pro driver behind the wheel (3rd) to a 1969 Camaro that was sucking the white lines off the road (4th) to a hybrid Lexus driven amazingly well (6th) to an honest-to-god Group B Quattro driven by a multiple champion gravel specialist (10th). So the results show the total penalty points. If you want to see the actual stage times, you can spot them on the "Targa Stages in Details" pages such as http://rallyscoring.com/results/2008/Targa/Targa2008Stage0leg2.htm, linked from http://rallyscoring.com/results/2008/Targa/index.htm.

Se7ens need better tires than most other cars. But since they're so light, their tires also last a whole lot longer. My first set of RA1s lasted a few years, including two magazine tests and countless autocrosses and track days. Get Toyo R888, Toyo RA1 or Nitto NT-01s. They'll last a long time and have nice friendly behavior. I autocrossed my car on a set of worn Azenis RT-215s once. The car was terrible. On the RA1s, it's so much better behaved.

Ken Hill did the Hydra installation, and he's an old coworker of mine. After driving the car, he sent me an email that basically said "You know, you might have a point about how good these cars are..." Glad to see he hasn't lost his touch!