Keith

My memory was faulty, I went back and looked at the pictures again. It's the rear outlet that was plugged. A common modification to improve cooling on those engines is to plug the front outlet (the primary one on a Miata engine) and use the rear outlet. That's how the engine was designed to run in the original FWD configurations. The Miata setup with the thermostat outlet at the front tends to run hot in #4. By blocking off the rear outlet - the reverse of what most of us do to improve cooling - you're making that #4 cooling problem worse. I'd recommend a stock coolant outlet on the back of the head, hooked to the heater return line. I've run a few cars like that (including my Seven) and it works just fine.

Yeah, I think Brian called me while they were trying to get that car running. The problem was the immobilizer system. I know a bit more about it now than we did then. I also highly recommend you fix that cooling problem, someone's "improved" the cooling setup so the front half of the head won't see any coolant.

It adds tension. This way, people will be forced to buy the magazine for the dramatic conclusion!

For those who never saw the article in print, you can see it online now. http://www.cheapsportscar.net/images/oct_64_75_atom_small.pdf Keith

Great, now I have to wait until after work to find out what they thought of the Westie!

Nope, sorry. It's been a while since they tested the car and went to the Dragon, so hopefully fairly soon.

As far as I know, Automobile has a bigger article coming along with some driving impressions of a certain Westfield.

My local glass shop will quickly cut a new windshield for me and mark it as DOT. Costs about $35 total, takes a couple of hours from the time I drop off the pattern.

I didn't know that, interesting. A bit of shallow research indicates the Nitto has a bit less tread depth and a stiffer casing, but that the compound is rumored to be the same. And the NT-01 comes in my 205/55-14 size - and at Onlinetires.com, they're also less expensive and have free shipping while the Toyo does not. If I hadn't just bought a set of the RA-1s for the Seven, I'd be trying out Nittos. The softer sidewall of the RA-1 may benefit those of us with lighter cars though. Here's a chuckle- the NT-01 is listed as "all season" on the OnlineTires.com website

It's not apples and oranges at all, other than price. They're both legitimate options for us. The RA1 is a streetable R compound which can legitimately be driven daily. Compare this to most other DOT R compounds where you are explicitly told not to drive them on the street. After two years of hard driving (including two magazine tests, a photo session involving lapping a skidpad at opposite lock, several lap records and a whole bunch of track days and road miles all over the country), my RA1s needed to be replaced because one was corded. That was because I'd used it on a Miata with an alignment problem for a track day - the other three were still good and sticky. Don't expect any other R compound to behave like this, it's the magic of the RA1. You cannot heat-cycle them out. Meanwhile, my Falkens have turned to rocks. There's still lots of tread left but they don't grip at all. They've heat-cycled out with about 1/3 as much use as the Toyos. I tried autocrossing on them recently and it was a terrible experience. So my "true 220 wear street tire" didn't last anywhere near as long as my track tire did. The R888 isn't radically different from the RA1. I've been told it's the same rubber compound (excellent) as the RA1 but with a different tread pattern and a slightly stiffer casing. So don't cry too much if they don't show up in our sizes.

I run the RA1 all the time. I have a set of Falkens, but don't like them at all. I do like the fact that I bought them for under $50 each, but the RA1s are worth the extra.

Well, I just talked to him on the phone He's new to Sevens. He's got a bit to do to sort out that car - someone "improved" the cooling system and it's going to overheat pretty quickly - but it looks like a good deal. The new owner lives in PA, EvilRomeo lives in PA, hmm...

In Colorado, a windshield has to be safety glass. It's cheaper than polycarbonate (generic term for Lexan) anyhow, but only if you want flat.

I had an old Subaru wagon with a bent rear axle like that. It also had some very entertaining oversteer, and it also would have been very slow around the track. Although it's quite possible this was due to other reasons as well.

Very slick! I added the ability to email and link to various combinations on my configurator a little while back. Printing doesn't work yet though.

Yeah, but by the descriptions being bandied about, your car isn't an LSiS anyhow The participants of the Se7ens across USA tour would gird themselves for driving with shorts, jackets and hats. Makes perfect sense to me.

That's pretty much what it comes down to in my mind as well. One could define a certain absence of styling as well And the cars should be capable on the race track, as they're essentially slightly-tamed racers. In most cases, it's pretty easy to figure out. There are a lot of cars out there that are copies or slightly evolved versions of the original - and that includes cars made by Caterham, really. It's also pretty easy to figure out that the Prowler was not inspired by the Seven - try to imagine one doing any sort of racing that involves a corner. But the X-Bow and the Atom? Both could easily be described as "a 21st century Lotus Seven", and I suspect both of them have at some point Our little cars are the poster children for performance through light weight. Here's one for you - what about the Lotus 340R? I think even Lotus said it was Seven-inspired, but with new technology. The engine's in the wrong place, it has a frame glued together out of aluminum extrusions...but you have to admit that it follows the philosophy, right down to a highly stressed engine that is prone to exbloding.

I'm running next year. Otherwise I would be in the middle of the third day right now For stage information, I suggest the TN website. http://www.targanewfoundland.com/route_stage06.asp You can have a support vehicle, yes.

The entry fee depends on how early you get your registration in, up to a maximum of $4995 Cdn for late registration. I don't recall what the early bird registration is though. Just look at the "stage by stage" listing of the route to get an idea of the logistics involved though. There's no way to put on an event like this without the full participation of the entire province. It's going to be expensive to get there, but it's a chance to be involved in a world-class event. The real Mille Miglia and Targa Floria are gone, this is the closest thing we have left. It might appear shorter than the One Lap in terms of total mileage, but most of the mileage of the One Lap is interstate driving, trying to get from track to track without driving off the road or hallucinating too much. It's an exercise in stress management, both for the car and the drivers. Meanwhile, 25% of the Targa mileage is full on, timed, competitive driving on real roads. Left over crest into decreasing right, watch for gravel...that sort of thing. If you're going to be building a car with a cage and you're thinking of running Targa, make sure the cage meets the requirements. It's an FIA event, not SCCA. Again, talk to the technical inspectors. They're pretty good to work with. I've not run it myself, but I've been planning my shot for about a year now. I'll be going to rally school early next year and I'm at the point of sorting out the car right now. I figure I have one shot at it as I can't afford to do it again.

I'm running the Targa next year - you can read the build here: http://www.targamiata.com. I'm not taking the Seven, but a highly modified Miata. The Targa is a very different event than either the Run and Gun or the One Lap. It's a tarmac rally, basically. It's more dangerous and more difficult. Definitely check with the organizers before making any plans. Kit/very low production cars occupy a grey area. I know Caterhams have run the NZ and Tasmania versions in the past. You'll have to run in Open class, but I suspect an Atom or a Seven would be welcome due to spectator interest. If you're going to run the Targa class, you'll need to do some work on a serious rollcage. Both the Atom and the WCM are going to have to run in Open class, and it may be required to run a windshield and wipers. Minimum weight is 1750 lbs. You'll need some ground clearance.

I run the RA1. The ones I had on my car at the Atom test were a couple of years old, having withstood a huge amount of abuse including a drifting session by Car and Driver. They just work and work and work.

Not the same engine, but a similar engine. The idea of a V8 built out of two bike engines seems to have occurred to a number of people at the same time The one being used in the dp Atom is a US-built design, the one on the USA tour was an RST and the Capriata is probably built by hand by Tibetian monks. Most of the cars on the USA Se7ens tour had tuning issues when they came through Colorado. Apparently altitude changes aren't taken into consideration for a lot of UK tuners.

"Obviously pricing has not been set but I would say that this powertrain package would add roughly $45K to the cost of an Atom, give or take a few."

I'd believe the trap speed of the Atom. Maverick's car is a 240 (claimed crank hp) and at 100+ mph the aero really comes in to play. There's more exposed tubing (bad) and more surface area (bad) on an Atom than on an Ultralite. I have the acceleration data from my car (148 at the wheels, call it 175 at the crank) and it really suffers above 80 mph. That's why the surge of acceleration from the S2000 motor when it hit the second cam profile at 100 mph really impressed me. Yes, a Caterham CSR 260 makes 260 hp at the crank. I think they generally do put down faster times than Atoms in the various EVO tests, but I'd have to pull out my back issues to determine that. The lap record at EVO's track is held by the Caterham R500 Evo, which has about 530 hp per tonne and a long history of competition. The same car also held the 0-100-0 world record until an Ultima took it. So it's quite plausible that the CSR260 would be faster around the Top Gear track than the Atom. Caterhams are bred for the track.

Comtech is no longer an option, unfortunately. We're putting a turbo on the Westfield right now though...