rv-4mike

In the for sale section there's a Caterham for sale. The link to the craigslist ad has some pictures and in one of the pics can be seen some pretty small headlight assemblies. When asked about them the seller said they were Katz. No luck finding Katz via a web search. Anyone using a similar headlight assembly? Anyone have any knowledge about the legality of such a headlight? Not very traditional, but then I'm building an Ultralite so not all that worried about tradition. I think these would look pretty cool but dont want them to make the car a ticket magnet. Already potentially a problem in CA with standard lights.

OK, well in contrast with ayseven's Deman experience the Ultralite hasnt been that bad. I guess you need a frame of reference. Just to clarify - I still think the Ultralite is a great car and when it is finally done I'm betting I'll love it. It just doesnt meet the easy to build criteria that towbone said he was looking for in my experience.

Ditto what Chad said about the Ultralite. I still am unable to send a PM unless I receive one first - then I can respond. If you want details PM me. Mike Wills Ultralite S2K build in progress

Kirk, I see you got the front fenders mounted since Knotts. Any issues with that? Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Cant move the Wilwood pedal assembly outboard. The steering column just barely clears the brake pedal. Can be seen in the pic posted of Banjo's car.

John, Just saw your dash picture. I'm curious about your gauge placement because my dash hoop on my Ultralite runs right through the middle of where your tach is placed. I dont think your speedo placement would work in my car either. Did you modify this, or??? Would like to see a picture from the back side. Wow, build started in 2005??? I was feeling bad about how long mine is taking. I started in November 2007. Thanks for making my day. Mike

Aznatama, Tried to PM you but for some reason my PMs dont go through. Been having this problem for a while and tried PMing Mazda about it, but.... Catch 22. Anyway, I'm putting together an Ultralite S2K down in San Diego. I can tell you a lot about it. Email me at rv-4mike at cox dot net if you are interested in discussing it. BTW, I'd highly recommend you find a way to scrape up the bucks for Loren's car. At that price its a screaming deal. You couldnt build one for that price and his car is well sorted. Driving Loren's car was what sold me on the Ultralite.

7evin, Hey share that thought on the brake pedal assembly with all of us! My Ultralite build is just slightly behind (well OK, way behind) Chad's. I'd appreciate any/all tips! Thanks, Mike

Bob's turbo car is awesome! I want to know where those headlight assemblies came from. Any info?

Brad, My Ultralite S2K build is a pretty slow process. It's a long story. Hopefully it will be a driver by the end of the year. Mike

Brad, Of course you are correct - under SB100 you have the choice of registering as the chassis year or engine year. The problem is that Mondo missed the window for SB100 this year. I thought you were suggesting that he ignore SB100 and simply try to register his brand new Ultralite as a 1960 Lotus which obviously wont work. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Mike

I didnt say it wasnt possible to register an Atom in CA, there just isnt a legal way to do it. I've seen Atoms with CA tags also, though not in person. I havent met the owners so I dont know what they pulled to make it happen. I know when I asked on the Atom forum my post was pulled and the admin PM'd me to tell me "we dont discuss registration issues in the open forum". I know one of the leading Atom proponents who lives in Arkansas has made it known that you can register an Atom there no questions asked, and I know the two guys I met both did that as the most painless way they could find to get plates on their cars. My understanding of SB100 is that it isnt a legit way to register an Atom because SB100 is intended for kit car registration and you cant get an Atom as a kit. When I was looking into this over a year ago my recollection is that you can title a car in CA that has been previously titled in another state. The trick is that the car has to have at least 7500 miles on the odometer. This was done to prevent builders from buying out of state titles and then immediately transferring title. I may be a little fuzzy on this because I immediately ruled it out as an option. The state actively sought out and prosecuted owners who bought out of state titles and then switched to CA after getting out of state plates. There are some horror stories on the Factory Five Cobra forum if you care to look. I'd say Mondo has the right approach. It's fortunate that the local DMV office is helping him out with temporaries (cant beleive I just used the words help and DMV in the same sentence!). Mike

Try going on the Atom forum and asking how to register one. That topic is forbidden because the guys who are doing it are cheating. Some are bluffing their way through SB100. I dont know how many Nobles are in the state but there are only a couple of Atoms. One belongs to Jay Leno who has the $ to make it happen one way or another. The two guys I have met personally both are registered in Arkansas where you can register anything. If those guys ever get pulled over and cant prove they have a legal Arkansas address I think they are in for trouble. You cant try to bluff your way past SB100 by calling it a 1960 Lotus. DMV is wise to that. You cant register out of state and then bring it to CA and try to change to a CA plate. They are wise to that too. SB100 is the only guaranteed no hassle way to register in CA. I am planning to register in AZ where I have some property and a legal address. CA requires you to register in CA if you reside in CA more than 6 months of the year, but I think I could argue that it's my AZ car and I just brought it over for a drive if I ever get hassled about it. CA, the just say no state. I cant wait to retire and get the hell out of here.

Roman, Not sure your chassis is set up the same as mine since yours is pretty old and mine relatively recent. Anyway, looks to me that it is somewhat arbitrary. Every Ultralite I've seen in person is a little different in seatback angle. I got no instruction from Brian so here's how I did it. There are a couple of tabs welded to the chassis below the seats with nuts welded on. Set the angle that feels comfortable to you and drill down through the seat bottom and through the middle of the welded nuts with a small pilot drill. Make sure the holes are centered on the nuts, remove the seats and drill through the pilot holes to open them up to clear the pan head mounting bolts. Reinstall the seats and bolt them down. Brian only provided enough bolts to secure the seats at the bottom. I didnt like that so drilled through the seat backs into the rear cockpit bulkhead for an additional couple of bolts. I rivetted a .060 aluminum doubler to the trunk side of the bulkhead to make sure the bolts wont pull through. If this isnt clear PM me and I can remove my upholstery and shoot some pics for you. Pretty easy to do since my car is still under construction. I'm guessing you'll hear from Jerry and Loren too, and they may have a better way. But I'm pretty confident that my seats are secure and they are pretty comfy too. Mike

Some of the latest sport bikes and sport tourers have turn signals integrated into the front side of the mirror. I havent settled on anything specific yet, but thats what I'm going to be looking for. I was in a Honda shop last week and the CBR1000RR has them.

I saw Brian and Mondo's car at Knotts today. I may be biased but it was the only 7 there, and in my opinion the coolest car at the show. Factory Five held their own event at Huntington Beach independant of the Knotts show this year. I think they thought the change would really negatively impact the Knotts show. In my opinion it was a refreshing change from the previous years sea of cookie cutter Cobras. And pretty obvious from the picture there were still plenty of Cobras to look at. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/370053798_DSCN0306 (Small).JPG

Love the green - was thinking of going with that color for my Ultralite but you beat me to it. Painting my airplane that color too. Also like the wheels. Details please - size, source, price???

Yes, that's the same car... Hey wait a minute, that's my wife in the car! Those are my pictures! The guy's name is Dick Laurie. Brian at WCM built the car, it was not an owner built kit. It's a great car, very fast, like brand new, and probably a steal at that price! First Ultralite I ever rode in and the car that sold me on the Ultralite variant of a 7. Unfortunately my email crashed mid year last year so i lost all my contact info. But you now have his name and his location is Cave Creek, AZ. just a little north of Scottsdale. Hopefully from that you can find him through 411.

Well yeah, there is the cost thing. Which of course is why I passed on the Atom and went with an Ultralite instead. I dont doubt that the normally aspirated Ultralite is a performance match for the Atom. The Atom definitely wins in the looks and build quality department. But I have no regrets having picked the Ultralite and it's probably a more practical street car than the Atom (can any 7 be considered "practical"; it's a relative term). You're car normally aspirated and the supercharged Atom were plenty fast enough - cant imagine your car supercharged. Must be frightening! Hope to have my Ultralite together in the next 6 months or so. Still waiting on some parts from Brian but it's coming together. I cant wait!

Got a chance to take a ride in an Atom this weekend. Awesome car - reminded me of the ride I took in Loren's Ultralite last year. Doug's Atom has the 245HP supercharged Ecotec engine in it. With the air intake right above your shoulder its a real attention getter. The supercharger makes the most incredible howl I've ever experienced in a car. Build quality of the Atom is amazing. It's a fantastic car. Hope I enjoy my Ultralite as much as his Atom.

Mcneil, I would take Loren up on his offer of a test driveof Mojo. I went to Texas last March and he let me drive it. That's what sealed the deal for me on an Ultralite kit.

Moller's Sky Car was never anything more than an investment scam. This POS has been for sale on and off more times over the past 10 years than I can count. The technology does now exist to make the thing fly from a controllability standpoint eventually (I work R&D on VTOL unmanned aircraft), but even if it was controllable power to weight issues would never make it practical. You couldnt carry enough fuel to stay in the air for any significant period of time. Paul Moller who created this thing does have a number of credible accomplishments. Among other things, I believe he is the inventor of the SuperTrapp muffler.

Mondo, Sounds like you have everything you need. My buddy had more or less the same situation with his Cobra this year. DMV does not need to see the car. That doesnt become necessary until you make your visits to the BAR referee for smog and the CHP. As for the 500 exemptions, my advice is be there early. Again, my buddy was at our local DMV at 4:00AM on Jan 2 and was first in line. Cant remember what number he got but it was in the first 100 issued. My understanding is that the system is more automated for 2008 and the numbers will go quicker. In past years there was 1 clerk in Sacramento that handled all the SB100 apps for the entire state. When you went into the local DMV the clerk would call that person in Sac for the number. The result was lots of busy signals.

Welcome to California - the just say no state.:nonod: You might try seeing if you can get Brian to print up some sort of invoice for you. I was hoping to go SB100 but I dont have enough car parts from Brian yet to have a prayer of a chance of getting the car driveable any time soon. You are right on the trick with trying to back door the car by registering somewhere else and then transferring registration to CA. DMV is wise to that. Search the FFR Cobra forum and you'll find some guys who really got screwed trying to do that. I'd be careful of the trick of having a relative register the car out of state and then "gifting" the car to you later. DMV is wise to all the tricks. Last thing you want to do is wind up in court defending yourself for trying to defraud the state. Nice to think you might get some help based on your military status, but... I think the only way this would help is if you are a legal resident of some other state. Out of state residents in CA for military service can retain out of stte license and registration. Locost - I'm surprised you were able to apply ahead of time. They would not do that last time around. My buddy tried to do that with his Cobra and DMV wouldnt accept it.

Good articles... a fun read. Something not mentioned in any of the articles, but something to consider if one is to have a long term relationship (ownership) is maintainability. I dont have personal experience with the Elise, but my daily driver for the past 15 years has been an MR2 Turbo. It's a blast to drive and being a Toyota is stone reliable, but everything breaks sooner or later. And when it does...:ack: I just recently had the experience of repairing a broken hose that supplies coolant to the oil cooler mounted sandwich style under the oil filter. This hose is affectionately known to MR2 owners as the hose from hell. I spent roughly 2 weeks under the car fixing this. There is virtually nothing on this car that can be fixed without MAJOR effort. The first time this hose failed I paid a shop to replace it. $1600 labor to replace a 2" hose. Any 7 type car should win this contest hands down. And this was a major part of the motivation for me to get my Ultralite. Exceptional performance in a basic easy to maintain package. I will probably own the MR2 for the rest of my life because it has been an exceptional car for the most part and I've had it so long its like part of the family. But if I didnt already own it, knowing what I know now, I'd never own another mid-engine car.