rv-4mike

I've been riding motorcycles on the street for 30+ years, averaging 10K miles per year. So noise, wind, visibility, etc... are not a huge concern. My back cant take the sport bike posture anymore, and carpal tunnel in the left wrist make clutch operation painful. The Ultralight will be my motorcycle replacement. I havent seen anything here to discourage me yet. Thanks for the input.

Dino, You are right in your description of what I want. The Ultralite really was my first choice going in, though I admit I really like what I see of your cars on your website. But... I've been checking out the Ultralite for a couple of years. Not only does it get my vote for looks and engineering, but it has an established track record. I like the engine choice. I like Hondas. Under other circumstances I'd wait, but WCM is offering the Ultralight in kit form until 1 Jan. Not clear when/if the opportunity would come up again to get a kit. I dont want to miss this opportunity. Best of luck to you with the SR27.

Thanks for the input WestTexas. I'm decided. My deposit will go out to Brian tomorrow. I agree with you on the looks. Its what drew me to the Ultralight in the first place. I prefer the look to the original 7. I just hope it looks as good in person.

I'm on the verge of ordering a WCM Ultralight, to be assembled purely as a street driver. So how are these cars on the street? Not just the Ultralight, but 7s in general. I've spent a lot of time reviewing archives to learn as much as I can about these cars and there are an awful lot of threads related to racing (especially on the Ultralight forum). Makes me wonder if most folks use these cars as track tools and dont drive much on the street. I realize the car wont be terribly practical, but no less so than a motorcycle. Only thing I can think of that limits streetability is the small size making them invisible in traffic. I just want to make sure I'm not making a mistake and buying the wrong tool for the job.

For those of you who built your cars from kits or scratch for street use, what do you typiclly do with interior finish? Carpets and upholstery or do you go with the bare metal to keep the weight down? I'm just about committed to ordering a WCM Ultralight (thanks for the comments and input on my other thread) and now thinking ahead to how I want it to look.

Dino, Thanks. Looking forward to getting those build pictures. I was on your site again this morning for a bit. I know I saw reference previously to what you use for donor parts (uprights/spindles, brakes, diff, etc...) but for the life of me I couldnt find it this morning. I'll do a little more looking and web surfing for more info on the Nissan engine. Now I have a new quandry. Car engine or bike engine? Cant get over how cool that car sounds in the video clip on your website! Decisions...

Yeah, I agree, neither of those two options are very streetable. Both are peripheral port engines. I just threw them out there as examples of how much power potential there is in a rotary. They do have terrific power to weight at the sacrifice of some low end torque. And are very quick revving smooth running engines. Not for everyone. But hey, there are people on this forum using V8s and others using motorcycle engines. I dont think I'd re-engineer somebody else's design to use one. Right now, I'd have to say (not having seen any of these in the flesh, much less driven any) that the most appealing car from an engineering standpoint is the WCM Ultralight. If building a track only car I'd probably be thinking the Deman with motorcycle engine. If building a DIY Locost though, it would be a 13B. I didnt mean to hijack the thread. My original reason for posting was to compliment Flyinmiata on their very informative website. Unlike most others, I really feel like I know what I'd be getting and how it goes together.

Racing Beat has built a normally aspirated 13B that is over 300HP. I've heard of a guy that drag races a turbo'd, nitrous'd 13B that's around 850HP. Thats a 1.3L engine. Like you said, 240 lbs.

I wasnt familiar with the SR20DET so did a little web surfing to find out more. Looks good, but as far as I can tell, not offered in any cars sold in the US. If thats wrong please correct me. If thats true, I cant speak for others but for me that would be a problem. I dont want to be stuck with an unsupported orphan.

The 13B dressed out to fit in my plane weighs under 200lbs (I'm estimating, but I can pick it up if need be). If stripped a lot of stuff off of it that you wouldnt need in an airplane. As was mentioned, throttle response and mid-range power are a non-issue in an airplane. If you really want to lighten it up, Racing Beat sells aluminum housings to replace the cast iron. But as I said before, I'm not seriously suggesting this. I have no problem with the boosted I4 Miata engine.

What Nissan car does that motor come from?

Obviously power to weight is what a Seven is all about, so presumably the rotary would be great in this application as well.

That was said as a kind of joke. But I do like the Rotary enough that I put one in my airplane. So I guess I have a bit of a bias. So what would it cost to get that kind of power out of the Miata engine?

Now that's the way to put together a website so prospective customers can learn about the car! Nicely done! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/hurray.gif The Miata would seem like a natural donor for a Seven. Just needs more power. A 250HP 13B rotary would be just the ticket!

Dino, Sent you an email for more info. Can you post a little more detail on the Nissan powered variant and reasons for choosing that engine? Which Nissan? Power? I really like the WCM at this point, at least in part for the S2000 power. I'd like to get big HP without having to go to extreme mods, and without having to go to more than 4 cylinders. My benchmark is the 300HP Ecotec powered Ariel Atom. My preference in power would be Toyota or Honda based on my experience with those makes. Although I think a tricked out Mazda rotary would be pretty cool in one of these cars also! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

Another option to consider. I just was looking at the Deman 7. Does anybody have any info or input? The website is really clunky and doesnt provide a lot of information about what's involved in building the car, what components are used, etc... I want to know more. It looks like some pretty good workmanship from what I can see on the website. And looks like pretty good bang for the buck as well. Also, anyone here have experience with the bike powered variants? The Hayabusa certainly is a powerful bike engine. Not sure how practical it would be as a street driven car, but sure would be different! I think I like it. Inputs please! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

OK. I just joined this forum a couple of days ago, specifically to learn more about the various 7 choices. I grew up with a series of oddball hot rods. A turbocharged 67 Camaro, turbocharged buick V6 in a 73 Vega burning LPG, etc... My last project car was a 73 Datsun 260Z with a 450HP 383 Chevy. Living in California I got tired of the hassles with smog and registration, and at the same time earned my private pilot license. That led to an infatuation with homebuilt airplanes. I started building my RV-4 in summer of 95. After on again off again construction I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope to fly it this spring. So now I'm looking at my options for a next project. My daily driver for the past 15 years has been an MR2 Turbo. And frankly it is more fun to drive than any of my project cars were although all of them had more HP than this car. I've also ridden sport motorcycles all my life. My current ride is a Honda VTR1000. So I've learned to appreciate that nimbleness is far more important than pure HP. What I want in my next project car is something light and nimble, but still with a high power to weight ratio. So what to build? My friend just finished an FFR Cobra. Nice car, but in a lot of respects its like the old hot rods - big, clunky, noisy, etc... Two months ago I stumbled on the Ariel Atom. Thats it! Instant love affair. It is the coolest car I've ever seen. Unfortunately, you cant get it as a kit, it only comes factory built. This means its expensive, and in California hard to register because it technically cant be registered via SB100. And insurance is an issue as well (which brings a a question I need to ask, how much effort is insurance with a 7?). Anyway I figured I was so infatuated with an Atom I could deal with all of those issues. But in just the 2 months I've been reading about it, the manufacturer has jacked the price up twice for a total of 20%. That means that by the time its in my hands and registered I'll have about $60K in it. Thats twice what I have in my airplane. So I've reluctantly concluded that I wont ever own an Atom. Which took me to other alternatives. I briefly considered a 550 replica. Good looking car, small and light, and Thunder Ranch, one of the manufacturers is about 10 miles from my house. Ultimately I couldnt get past the fact that its just a pretty VW. I've seen a few 7 variants over the years. I've always liked the concept of small, light cars. The looks a quirky (some would say ugly) but I like it. A friend has a really tricked out Caterham that he runs at Pro Solo events. I found the WCM Ultralight on the web a couple of years ago and really admired it, but at the time I thought it was pretty pricey. The Atom has put that in perspective for me. I'd have to say that of all the 7 variants I've seen the Ultralight is the one that interests me the most. I dont care that it doesnt copy the original. I like the fact that it's a little roomier and from what I've seen of the engineering it looks to be almost as well designed as the Atom. In terms of performance I'm not sure its quite up to the Atom's level, but since I'm looking for a street driver, that isnt all that important. I really want something well executed from an engineering standpoint. So that's where I am, considering my options. Whatever I decide on, it will probably happen this spring after my airplane leaves the garage and takes up residence at the airport. Meanwhile I will continue to look around. Anyone in SoCal who wouldnt mind showing off your car, drop me a line. I'd love to see it. Should have mentioned, I'm in San Diego.

I should have mentioned. I'm also partnered on a flying airplane, so I can pretty easily get around the southern cal, arizona area to get a look at a car if need be. If it's the right car it would be worth the trip. May even be willing to trade an airplane ride for a ride in the car. My flying airplane is an Rv-6A. The RV series are pretty comparable to the LSIS concept - 2 seats, small light, great handling, etc...

Guys, Thanks for the input to date. A little further information about me. I'm just finishing construction of a home built airplane (an RV-4, duh) and looking for my next tinkering project. My last project car has been a few years back. Was a Datsun 260Z with Chevy 383 power. So I am capable of building a car. I have a good friend who just finished an FFR Cobra. A pure donor build with stock 5.0 EFI and T5 tranny. I love the look of the car. But seating is very uncomfortable on both sides due to the cant of the seats and width of the trans tunnel. Steering and brakes are very heavy and rides like a buckboard. I'm still tempted based on the looks and performance, but less than enthused with the heavy steering, etc... My daily driver is a 91 Toyota MR2 turbo which is the funnest car I've ever owned. After driving the MR2 for 15 years I'm pretty sold on the small light car concept (not that the MR2 is all that light, it just feels light if you know what I mean). Finally, some of the engineering on the FFR strikes me as a little crude or compromised in order to work with the donor Mustang parts. I didnt seriously consider a Caterham for the money I could get the Atom and that would be no contest. Dont know about the Birkin. I've seen a couple but hadnt really thought much about them. I've also looked at the Locost route. Maybe somewhere in the distant future, but at this point its more work than I want to get into. Not that I couldnt do it, just not the right project at the moment. The Stalker looks good and performance looks good as well. I'm having a hard time with the idea of a small sports car that uses S10 donor parts. Seems to me to be pretty crude, but if it works who am I to argue? Due to the cost and claimed performance, I havent ruled this out as a contender. But I'd like to see one in person. The Ultralight is the car that is really appealing to me at the moment. Primarily because it strikes me as being closest to the Atom in concept, engineering, and execution. I'd love to see (and take a ride) in one if there is one somewhere in my part of the world. Call it a personality quirk, but I dont like to do the same thing as everyone else. That's part of the problem for me with the Cobra, everyone has one. I've been going to the Knotts kit car show the past couple of years. Last year there were about 80 Cobras, about 4 Porsche Spyder replicas, 2 LSIS. If I do decide on a Cobra it will probably be Chevy powered (my buddy wont even speak to me if I do that). My airplane that I am just completing has a Mazda rotary engine in it. I guess, bottom line is I do need to get a close look at a couple of the LSIS, try them on for size, and try to snivvel a ride or even drive one or two. Only time I've ever been in one was at a car show where Superformance had one they were trying to sell. But couldnt drive it. In hindsight should have bought it (I later heard that they practically gave it away because they couldnt sell it - everyone wanted their Cobra kit). I do have a friend of a friend who has a pretty serious Caterham that he auto crosses. Maybe I can get a ride with him. But as you pointed out, the Ultralight is wider (and presumably more comfortable) than a Caterham so I guess that wouldnt be all that helpful. Oh, uses. I'm looking for a car to cruise the backroads primarily. Something to replace my motorcycle (I'm getting to old for that). My guess is that in any street based comparison the smaller lighter cars like the Ultralight and Atom would eat a Cobra for lunch unless the Cobra was pretty seriously built. In fact probably on most race courses as well, unless the course was big with lots of straights like Willow Springs. I doubt I'd race it - thats not my thing, though I might be tempted once I own a car that is capable. And I'm located in San Diego, Ca. Thanks for the offer to contact you directly. I'll try to do that tonight. I did read the article about your car that is linked from the WCM website, but I would like to know more.

I just found this forum and spent the last couple hours looking around. In the market for my next project car and looking for some input. I'm looking at a couple of options: 1) My first choice is the Ariel Atom, but this car is really out of my price range. Beautiful car with awesome performance. A modern day incarnation of the Seven. Too bad they are so pricey. 2) A Factory Five Cobra Replica. More affordable and also beautiful cars. I have a friend that has one. Not the most comfortable car around. Rides like a truck. Everybody and his brother has one. 3) WCM Ultralight. Quirky looks but I think I like it. Havent seen one in person though. Engineering looks almost comparable to the Atom for considerably less $, but still pricey. 4) Stalker V6. From what I can tell, engineering looks a little more simplistic than the WCM, but the car performance looks pretty good. I like the look though the wheelbase appears to be a little longer than a typical Seven replica (or maybe just the pictures I've seen). Looks like good bang for the buck. Can anyone here give me some input here on the Seven clones? How do they compare to one another? How do they compare performance wise to a Cobra replica? Any feedback would be appreciated on the cars or on the companies that produce them. This seems to be a forum for all Seven's and I dont want to be responsible for pitting one against the other so feel free to PM me if you prefer. Thanks.