Pe7e

Thanks, Paul! Yet another plus to the weekend: our own photographer. Those are first good pix I've seen of my car on the track. I'm looking forward to seeing you and your sorted Birkin next year. Most experts recommend skinny, waxed street tires to start with. (See a previous thread.) Not that I'm looking for any advantage any way I can get one. (Non-7) people I've spoken to have been puzzled by the consistently great camaraderie during the weekend. MichaelD, "We're all missing the same screw." explained it perfectly. And a shot of his mount. Great colors and superb trackday patina. It looks even better in person: http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/MichaelD.jpg

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/TomDooleyrr1024.jpg[/url]

Tom diagnoses the Tyrell six wheeler's lack of success as incorrect wheel positioning. I'm reliably informed that the motto on his family crest is "Et Non Transibunt". Roughly translated, "They shall not pass (and if they try, I will punt them off.)" http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/TomDooley1024.jpg Pe7e

Signed up and enjoying the anticipation. I had a great time running with and learning from this group at Thunderbolt this summer. I've had some rides on Lightning and it seems like just plain fun. Pete

Having watched F1, Sportscars and CanAm there back in the day, Watkins Glen is high on my list of tracks I want to dive. Unfortunately, Email question to Bill Schultz, President of Trackmasters: Hi Bill, Would a Caterham with a cage qualify to participate in one of your track days? (Thinking of the upcoming event at WGI.) Pete Reply: Pete, No sorry. Bill

What funny little cars! Brilliant! Inspired theme and editing! Thanks for the gift. Between this and your Spa posts and your video audio report, you deserve some sort of honorary Doctor of Sevenology (or arrest and imprisonment as a dealer.) Pete

I think this means, "Is it available in yellow?" Pete

My two cents for improvement: Use steel (about 1/3 the thickness of the aluminum, if you want it to weigh about the same). The steel will have a much higher number of cycles to failure than the aluminum (or aluminium for Croc and others ). If properly stressed, though it appears that stays are often over-stressed, steel will have a virtually infinite cycle life, aluminum's cycles are numbered. Not that I'm a big Wikipedia fan, but "Fatigue limit" is a good intro. to the topic. The main cause of stress failures in steel is the existence of some sort of stress riser, such as a tight bend, a spot of corrosion, a poorly concieved or executed weld, or a hole or some other change in section. Therefore, try to soften the inside corner bend radius. Pete

You have email.

I like the idea. You have pm.

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/BMW2010M3GT2JeffKoons01.jpg http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/BMW2010M3GT2JeffKoons03.jpg So I"ve known for years that I'm a mess, but I like it that way. I don't believe all the color psycho-babel I hear, but yellow IS the best color :jester: Pete

Here are some of my favorite colors: http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/BMW197530CSLAlexanderCalder.jpg http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/BMW1977320iGroup5RaceversionRoyLichtenstein1024x768.jpg http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/Pe7ey/media/BMW197530CSLAlexanderCalder.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="<!--url{0}--></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a> border="0" alt=" photo BMW197530CSLAlexanderCalder.jpg"/></a> http://usa7s.com/vb/<!--url{1}--></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a> target="_blank"><img src="<a href=http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/BMW197530CSLAlexanderCalder.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo BMW197530CSLAlexanderCalder.jpg"/>' alt='a>'>

The short version: A whacking good time! Haring around a track in a 7 lets you use the car to its yowsie! maximum capacity. Having been abandoned by Croc and Kitkat for various good reasons, such as having to drive a third of the way across the country and something about needing to floss, I alone am left to report; so here goes. The reason for LTW Motorsports existence, they say, is to enable the owners of lightweight, "momentum" cars to enjoy them to their full potential. In other words, speed through the turns! This was the first track day run by LTW, but judging by the attention to detail (the day's schedule was included on the I.D. lanyard, for example) and the smoothness of the proceedings, they could have been at it for years. LTW provided at least a dozen ride-along instructors, covering everyone in run-groups 1&2. At the driver's meeting, I discovered that LTW Co-founder Greg Miceli had apparently drawn the short straw and had ended up as my ride-along instructor for the day. To my surprise and great relief, he was willing to contort himself into the "passenger" side of my 7, managing to somehow get his left leg over the battery (mid trans tunnel) and his right over the cables and under the fuse block which conveniently (for the fuse replacer) is mounted hanging below the dash. Though Greg immediately saw through my ploy to make the instructor so uncomfortable that he will solo you asap, he professionally guided me through two sessions, providing instruction that took many seconds off my lap times and made the laps safer as well. At the end of the second session, to my quiet delight, Greg nonchalantly handed me a red wrist band and said (with a hint of relief?) that he was comfortable with me driving solo for the remaining sessions. Thanks to the optimum introduction to tracking a Seven given to me by Croc, Tom, and NJMP and the finishing school provided by Greg, I felt comfortable with it, too. The day's sessions were 30 minutes, not the more typical 20 minute runs, but they still went by too quickly. :drool: I was delighted with the number of prompt point-bys (Yes!) I received. Though LTW allowed cars greater than 2000lbs to participate, they stressed the importance of letting the light cars into the turns and the day was quite successful. There was one guy in one of those P cars that had to be black flagged to break up his train, but we live, as others have observed, in an imperfect world. Bill Thomas, the other founder, told me that their goal is to reduce the maximum allowed weight as the events become more popular. They took the not-covered-by-the-rules nature of my Seven in stride and were very welcoming and flexible. There are rumors of a Fall event and I'm hoping that we can get a pack of Sevens to attend. A Seven on a track, the best. Sevens on a track with other Sevens, the bestest. -As you lucky stiffs who were able to make it to the East Coast USA7s Track Weekend are well aware. Still enjoying the post track day mellow, Pete

I'll join you in the paddock. I'm not up to your run-group, yet. Glad to be able to make it at all - the schedule parted for me quite unexpectedly. Pete

Hey, Swede, I'm a Zetec newbie myself, but I have read that if a Zetec is leaking, it will be from the cam cover, so it looks like you're on the right track. And you have an advantage on me - my engine has a tube holder stuck into the dipstick port. Pete

Well he did say ancient, so I felt warmly included. I was more puzzled about who might qualify for the middle-aged part. :jester: The real question is whether or not I can take a by on an extended-family function which is awkwardly planned for that weekend. I may only be able to do the Monday LTW event, if at all. Still holding out hope for Saturday, though. Thanks for the words of welcome, Jeff, Karl, and Kiwi. After I got a ride in Karl's orange rocket, I realized I needed to order helmet aero mods and stuff the chin area with foam to keep the road grit out and regularize my breathing. Fortunately, my hp level seems to have resolved that "problem" for the time being. Kitcat, right now even more speed can be had by driver improvement, though I appreciate the advice and Tom was already suggesting that the car would look better with tootsie rolls. subtlez28, not much, but here are shots of car and driver, complete with the ineluctable 7 Silly grin. http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/1stTrackDay.jpg On the way to Tech Inspection http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/OnthewaytoTechInspection.jpg I forgot to mention earlier how much more fun it was to be at -or near- speed with DaveD and jeffs' sevens instead of the armored vehicles that some other people were running that day. Another reason to be wanting the June meet. Pete

Transmission issues: attempted to resolve by double clutching on 2-3 and 3-4 upshifts, roughly 20% successful due primarily to wild-eyed euphoria. Seat issues: temporary fix using R. Pare method from ApexSpeed forum (glued and shaped bead board). Sub-optimal, but a low investment prototype. Now I can take it to Stable Energies (nearest race dealer) and compare to see if an aluminum seat will work for me. Creative repair issues: some resolved, some, take a deep breath and ignore for the day. The previous mech and I have different concepts of either craftsmanship or urgency. I was very anxious that some of my discoveries indicated a car that was going to let me down (and a $175 barn-find TR-3 as a first car, lo those many years ago, had conditioned me to expect "adventures".) but really, it performed flawlessly. Ooo, ooo, I forgot to show off my first upgrade, the sweet little Ballistic EVO2 16 Cell. This was motivated by the desire to fit an instructor in the passenger area; he would have needed to lack a left thigh to fit with the old battery in place. The 4 1/2 inch (112mm) cube of the new battery is tucked into the right front footwell. Next: work on the growing punch-list (fun) and learn to drive (fun++) Pete

Both, of course. You have pm.

I'm still grinning and occasionally laughing out loud about my first track day experience. :D:D It is what the car was designed for! (No news, I know.) Man oh man, the sights, sounds, smells, wind and g forces of one lap were sublime! I find myself replaying certain corners in my mind. Croc and Yellowss7 were superb hosts/enablers. "So, uh Pete, how'd you like it? Think you've been bitten?" It was kind of touching, really. As if I hadn't come to NJMP to satisfy a pre-existing addiction. :drool: The paddock camaraderie, as so many have already noted, was just as big a part of the day as the driving. Tom, Mike, Jeff S, Dave D, Jeff, and yes, even some other car drivers all helped to make it a day I'll be thankful for for many days to come. My son, who only got to ride in the pace car due to new rules, told me repeatedly how much fun he was having and how glad he was to be there and said that it was great to be with a group of guys who were enthusiatic about 7s. As a total newbie, I had carefully read-up Blatchat on track day checklists and adhered to the "check tire pressure after every run" rule. After session one, LF had gone from 18 cold to 8 psi hot. (Hoosier slicks, it still looked okay.) I had spares -thanks to you guys, who recommended this to me awhile back- and put a good one on. Trackday saved. When I mentioned the issue to Tom, he said he'd experienced something like it some time ago and it was the valve stem. I touched the stem and: sssssss! Metal stems, here we come. A huge thank you to my buddy, Ed Smizer. The day would not have happened without him. 5:00 p.m., the day before, "Uh, Ed, I'm a little behind in the car prep, do you think you could stop by and help out for an hour or so?" 2:30 a.m., we're pushing the car onto the trailer to avoid waking the neighbors, Ed is still smiling. Priceless. Thanks, buddy. That's all for now, Pete

Thanks, Tom (The Smiley Meister ) ! Just the kind of sound advice I needed. Pete

Thanks, guys! Pete

If this quaint detail at the right rear of the valve cover employed hose clamps / jubilee clips, would it be a stock set-up or is this even more custom than it appears? I'm concerned that exploratory surgery may create the need for a "project". http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/IMG_0292.jpg Pete

If this quaint detail at the right rear of the valve cover employed hose clamps / jubilee clips, would it be a stock set-up or is this even more custom than it appears? I'm concerned that exploratory surgery may create the need for a "project". http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/IMG_0292.jpg Pete

As I alternate between quiet cackles of delight at actually owning a 7 (2000 Caterham Zetec track car) and an oppressive sense of the vastness of my ignorance, I thought I'd post the first of many newbie questions. Based on previous posts here, I'm assuming that when the nice gentleman at the local parts counter asks, "What vehicle?", I should say, "'98 Ford ZX2, please." when I'm in need of engine parts. Is this photo enough to confirm this? Also, is there any way to spec/order a complete set of cooling hoses for this engine, or do I just need to try to replace like with like? http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q554/Pe7ey/IMG_0293.jpg Pete

Heh, heh, heh. Thanks, Tom. Actually, I've begun a regimen of point-by exercises, so I'll be in shape for the first events. :seeya: Pete