lowflyer

My best "motorcycle" encounter took place about a year ago. My wife and I took the Stalker out for a Sunday breakfast in a nearby town. On the way home, I noticed a motorcycle following along behind us. Only after he got a bit closer did I realize that it was a motorcycle police officer from the neighboring town. I'm on pretty good relations with many of the "motor officers" in my town, but didn't know any of them "over there". I got close to the border of the two cities, and at that point he accelerated and pulled up beside me. He looked over and yelled "Cool Car!". Then he hollared "Did you build it?". I answered "yes", he followed up with "Very cool", slowed, flipped a U-turn and returned to his jurisdiction. One of those "fun moments" of owning a LSIS.

Ding-Ding-Ding - we have a winner. They are often described as a (semi) controlled fuel leak. As you say, easy to work on - which of course means that they are easy to screw up as well. Your advice is most telling, get them right and then leave them alone. They were so good, in fact, that the Japanese even copied them with their Hitachi carbs used in the '60's and early '70's.

Wow, is George still around? He was racing sedans in the old IMSA B.F.Goodrich series back when I was a "pup".

Very true, John. The big difference is that on a motorcycle, the "driver" will be the first one at the scene of the accident. With a 7, our passenger may arrive first.

Probably not an original engine if it's a crossflow. Thanks for reminding me that the BMC "A" used in the 7's was a 948 cc, the 970 was used in some Mini Cooper S models, I had one of those. You're also right about the Webers not being used on the BMC engines, at least not stock. They came with 2 SU's I believe How about a trivia question: What does (did) "SU" stand for? The 1340 was an original engine for the 7, and a 1500 non-crossflow was used later on, in the S3's as I recall. The 1500/1600 crossflow came along later.

Testing my memory here..... dangerous thing to do at my age. Wasn't the "standard" 7 equipped with a BMC "A" series engine of around 970 cc? The "Super 7" or Seven America was the one with the Ford engines in them, as I recall. Open to being corrected... it happens all the time. I do know that the Ford 1340 with the dual Weber 40's was a killer engine in that car.

I notice that we have a lot of motorcycle "types" here. It seems when ever I travel in my Stalker, it's the motorcycle riders that show the most interest in the car. I've made it a practice to tell them that it's just a motorcycle for those that "are balance challanged".

Speaking of military surplus, I picked up a couple pair of Army "sand goggles", the same you see being worn in Iraq. The first generation of them used a fairly thin polycarbonate lens, which could actually flex slightly at speed. The second pair I picked up are the latest version and are thicker, to the point of being able to protect against shotgun pellets at 50 feet! Picked them up on Ebay for about $15.00. They come with both a heavily tinted green lens and a clear one.

Do you think those "other guys" know that their exhaust DOES stink?

Slight correction, Jack. Bill Bradley and I both have NA 3.4 Stalkers. Welcome to our new AZ forum member.

Thanks, looks like a fun way to spend some time.

Please tell me more about this event. I am planning a trip to California during the time period and would like to know the details. Thanks.

There is a Stalker dealer in Canada, and there has been for a while, at least that's what Dennis' website showed when I bought my kit in 2004. A couple of random thoughts... make sure that you will fit into whichever kit you buy. Some of them are quite small for us "full-bodied" folks. Check on the availability and price of the parts you will need to complete your build. This was a major consideration to me. The Stalker uses off the shelf parts, no waiting for a shipment to come from 'across the pond". I looked into a couple of options before I decided on the Staker and haven't regretted it. The factory support and the Stalker's forum for kit owners is also a huge benefit. Just my 2 cents.

It isn't always the year of the car that causes the problem, sometimes it's the mileage. The same is quite true in my case too. While the age is 64, the mileage includes some long standing back problems, including arthritis in the lower spine. Sometimes the brain tries to write checks that the body can't cash!

There is going to be a three day event in Tucson, Feb 28, 29 and March 1 that may be of interest to those in the southwest. The info can be found at www.tucsonbritish.com and click on "roundup". It's open to "variants" as they call them, which I think is their nice way of saying kit cars. The schedule calls for a day of cruising, a car show, tech program, ralley and some drinking and eating. I'm planning on some personal backroading of my own, as well.

The concept sounds like great fun, but frankly, the idea of doing close to 400 miles in 2 days isn't all that appealing. I consider my Stalker and nice 1 hour car... drive it for an hour, get out walk around, have lunch, get back into it and drive it another hour back to the starting spot. Maybe it's my age!!!??? Anything available for the seniors among the group?

I've had my 3.4 Stalker for about 2 years now and love it. More power than most people would ever use. Something that isn't well known about the Stalker is that, while it uses the 5 speed out of an S10 truck, most Stalker owners never use 1st gear. Actually "almost never" is more accurate in my case. I do use 1st to get it up the trailer ramps at low speed, and occasionally use 1st just to make sure that it's still there. In second, the car will pull smoothly away from a stop, or light up the rear tires just about all the way to 50 mph or so, when you shift into 3rd. Mine is equipped with a 3.42 rear end and with the 5th gear overdrive it turns about 3000 at 80-85 mph. Refind? not a bit! I wouldn't have it any other way. The real difference between the Stalker and many of the other Lotus clones is that the Stalker will allow us "full bodied Americans" to enjoy driving a go kart on steroids, while most of the European based versions seem to better suit smaller folks. I'm about 6'2', 250 lbs and have an size 11 shoe. I doubt that I would fit into most of the others out there.

Agreed, you can generally count on about a 15% loss for drivetrain drag from flywheel HP.

I know of one situation similar to this. It was in a street rod using Flaming River pieces. The double ended U-joint was just below the valve cover, and had gotton some hot oil on it from a leak. At about 75MPH on a freeway the driver went to adjust his driving position, you know, just kind of shifting his position in the seat. Without realizing it he pulled back on the steering wheel to pull his body more upright and the steering shaft pulled out of the U-joint. The result was complete loss of steering control, since the wheel and upper shaft were no longer connected to anything. He managed to get the car stopped without hitting anything, although he did run off the highway and onto the grassy center divider. Shook him up a bit, needless to say. "If it ain't one thing, it's another!"

And my personal favorite to describe the many variations on the Lotus 7 theme. LALLAL7 (Looks a little like a Lotus 7).

The handle will give you a clue. While I haven't flown in years, there's a couple of good reasons. First, the $$$$, just got out of hand. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, my wife works for a major airline. It's hard to argue with sitting in the back, sucking down a Coke with peanuts - even if it isn't as much fun. The last plane I had was a Maule M6 STOL (Short Take Off & Landing), which was a great "hoot". The license plate on my car from that time period is LOFLYIN, since among other things I did low level search, rescue and surveillence for the local Sheriff's Office. The Stalker provides many of the same giggles, at a much lower dollar figure.

I guess I'm blessed, although I knew that before I built the Stalker. Not only did my wife help a little with the construction of the car, she loves driving in it. She doesn't have any interest in actually taking the wheel, but just about any time I take the car out she's ready to go. We've made a couple of backroad trips in the car and she's usually busy taking pictures of the road and surroundings. Already planning our next outing in September. Adding the intercom unit has made the trips more enjoyable also, since we can share thoughts about the ride as we go.

Congrats! And welcome to the "family". Once Dennis gets you all set up, you will be able to join the Stalker forum. There is a wealth of info and help for any issues you might run into during the build. The Super Stalker is a lot of car! I have a "normal" Stalker with a 3.4 and it's quick enough for me. See ya' on the forum Ken Edney Stalker #47

One thought to consider when you tie down the suspension. You can damage suspension parts, especially the light weight A-arms on a "7" quite easily. Also, you are pre-loading the wheel bearings which can cause them to flat spot. I have an open trailer and can watch the car's suspension work as it goes over bumps. Without that movement, the power generated by the bump can only go into the car's suspension and frame. A strap arrangement that goes over the tire is a better system, IMHO. I had a pair of them made up for the front wheels on my car. The straps have a "basket" which captures both the top and both sides of the tires, preventing them from slipping off. They are also available commercially. On the rear I can't use them because the fenders are in the way, so I go over the rear axle, but pull it to the rear, instead of straight down. Also, always check the tension on the straps, as they will loosen as the car "settles in" over the first few miles.

You're correct. Both about the fire dept. using headsets and the fact that not all states are as "enlightened" as Arizona. For those who have an interest... the intercom is a Flightcom II. There are several manufacturers, I chose this one because it was priced right. I picked it up on Ebay (where much of my car came from). The headsets are a Korean product (also found on Ebay). They are fairly light weight, offer something around 20-25 db noise reduction, and have comfortable ear seals and individual volume controls. I got them as a pair from a dealer, which made the "kit" easier to put together. The mikes are covered in a foam "wind" cover, but they do have some wind noise passing through them. The resultant noise is still much less than without them, and being voice activated, the mikes pick up voices within a split second. The whole package ended up costing me about $180.00. My wife will not drive in the car without them, unless the drive is a very short one. The addition of the patch cable allows us to listen to the radio or cassette and still be able to talk to each other. Very civilized for a LALLAL7. (Looks A Little Like A Lotus 7)