BobDrye

Mazda, My 1.8L Rover K series weighs in at a svelt 187 lbs, with the bell housing! I'm sorry, but I'm from Missouri on this one. I have personally weighed a busa motor at 185. I know that has the trans on it but the trans doesn't that much.

In advertising this is what we call "vain puffery" :ack:

Whether on water or land, two wheels or four, Eddie Hill's driving skill, mechanical ingenuity, and mannered personality combined to make the Texan one of motorsports' most popular competitors. From the first time he won with a home-built Model T-framed dragster powered by an Oldsmobile V-8 in 1956 to the last time he graced the winner's circle in Top Fuel, at the 1996 Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals, Hill, now 65, won 12 national championships on land and water. From 1959 to 1996, he won 86 races in drag boats and dragsters. Sandwiched between his first 10 years of drag racing on land and the six years he raced on water was an eight-year stint racing motorcycles. Adding the more than 100 trophies he won racing motorcycles, Hill's career-win total approaches that of legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty. Since his first record-setting performance in 1959, Hill set many marks during his illustrious career. His most famous record -- which also was his last -- was set when he became the first to pilot a piston-engine dragster to a four-second e.t., a 4.990, on April 9, 1988. Hill built the chassis of his second dragster in 1958 using aluminum H-beams that he scrounged from his employer while working as a sales engineer for Lufkin Foundry and Machine Co. in Wichita Falls, Texas. With a naturally aspirated, gas-burning Pontiac engine, the Texas A&M engineering graduate set the Texas e.t. record at 9.93 in 1958 with the 1,075-pound car. In 1959, he won the state championship with a time of 9.25 at 161 mph. Hill also won his first major title that year, in Top Gas at the AHRA national championships in Great Bend, Kan. Mazda: I drove the seven for another 100 miles tonight with no problems, so it's looking good.

Mazda: I will be able to answer that question later this week. I need to be comfortable driving 10 hours without the seven breaking down. It's really harder than that, in that it's not like I just be cruising down the interstate. I think that we are talking about 6 plus hours of curves on an unproven car. Mazda's Rotus, rightfully considered one of the scariest, quickest cars in the hobby, is powered by a GM LS1 V8 and tranny. At this point I would say that my seven weighs 1400 lbs with me in it and has potentially over 550 hp. At some point we will meet on the road, but I don't want to push the envelope yet. I'm trying to figure a way to test drive the seven thru the mountains without being influenced by the pack. I will be driving the car most days this week and decide on Friday how for that I want to be from the trailer.

I spoke to Scott Lentz this morning. He said that his windshield had been released, but did not know when it would be shipped. We talked about taking the 914 instead, but he said that he had not made a decision yet. I think that a call from some other guys that are going could convince him.

I spoke with Scott Lentz today. He dropped off his Superlight with the Caterham dealer in Va a couple of weeks ago. They installed a new windshield, and it cracked in the shop the next day. They ordered a new windshield from the UK and it was shipped along with some bearings for another customer’s car. Homeland Security didn't like the bearings so the whole shipment is setting in Philadelphia. Caterham has to provide a source on the bearings before they will release the package. Scott said that he has missed 2 races to date. It doesn't look good for next weekend.

About 25 months ago I spent 10 days in Costa Rica. I left the airport with just a backpack. I took a taxi for a 45 minute drive to pickup the bike. I spent the next 10 days on the South West coast. I stayed out of the big towns and just enjoyed nature (back roads, mud, mountains, screaming back at howler monkeys, etc. The 10 days, air fair, motorcycle rental, food, lodging, food cost about $1000.00

I'm going to be in N.C. for the Earnheardt reunion (that's why you see a 3 on most of my vehicles) tomorrow. Don't half of our metaclorines come from our mothers? If continued testing works out I want to drive for at least 1000 miles in the next 2 weeks.:crazy:

I would like to meet, but I don't think that it will happen this year (too many conflicts). I’m going to try to meet with 7evin in Costa Rica early next year (I’m hoping to get him to rent a dirt bike with me). Let's put our calendars together!

I was there about 4 months ago. It was fun, but I think that we could find a more intresting place for that much of a drive.

I will work on an exact schedule of meeting points, leaving from the DC suburbs, hopefully picking up Steve T and Al Navarro (I know it's a stretch) somewhere along the way, and meeting with Bob D ( I called Scott tonight and will meet up with him around Springfield if he’s going and possible) in the mountains

After making 2 trips to the DMV Central Office in Richmond, VA, I accomplished and experienced the following. 1- I will have a title for the seven in about 6 weeks. 2- Thru my repair shop I was able to obtain Drive-Away tags. 3- I drove the seven on the "highway" for the first time today for about 200 miles. 4- The sound from inside the car is so loud that you know your going to get a ticket. 5- The sound from outside the car is not that loud. 6- I thought that I broke the land speed record today, but the gps said only 90 mph. 7- Every bug within 1/4 mile of you impacts itself on your windshield (At night I had to stop often to just clean the windshield). 8- Everything is bigger than you are. 9- The tennis balls between my legs are really just marbles. 10- It's not about the miles or hours it's about "the experience"

Kevin passed a Porsche Gt3 down the long straight at over 163 mph. You left out the part about the rear of the car getting loose above that speed. Loren, I've never meet you, but the 2 weekends that I spent with 7evin I didn't notice the tennis balls between his legs. I finally got tags for my car today and drove it on the street about 200 miles. When it's on boost I think that 3rd gear (71 mph to 103 mph) is a little more than 1 second. I did not data log so I don't know the real figure or boost level.

Arya: I'm going to Richmond in the morning to try and obtain some type of tag. The type of tag that I am able to obtain could affect the time that I can spend on the road to sort out the seven. That will effect the distance that I can drive. I'll stay touch with the group with the progress. My Service Manager's girlfriend works at the local DMV, but getting tags for a kit car is liken to going to Pluto. If anybody is interested, I have the inside requirements (inner office) documents and phone numbers to inform DMV employees about obtaining a title for a Replica Car. It's not for the "Faint of Spirit".

Arya: If your coming from Tech are you going to go via Staunton and then Rt250 and then thru Monterey? If you are I need to find a place to park my truck/car trailer for 1 night. What about gas stations, cell phone #s, and coverage, etc. I hope to put 100-200 miles on my seven in the next 2 weeks so that some of this could change if it passes certain tests.

LOTUS, Light of Truth Universal Shrine :cheers: I got to drive my BD3 for 30 minutes tonight!

Ok bro's: I need to confess that I went to Kmart and spent $45.00 for (4) cheap bathroom scales. The neat part about a seven is that if it's light enough you can just set it directly on the scales. My car weighs 1130 lbs without the radiator and intercooler. I will weight it again when it's back together next week at a friend’s shop that has an electronic set. I can A/B them at the same time. I will report the results.

Mazda: I just sat down for a few minutes after I finished welding the front control arms. I'm going to paint them tonight and start going back together tomorrow. I'm looking forward to spending some time getting to know you guys better. My preference would be anywhere that it's quiet enough to engage in a conversation.

The right front suspension is redesigned; caster and camber were dialed in when the tubing lengths were cut. I have tacked it together and will finish welding it tomorrow. Thank God for a 3 day weekend. I should be able to finish the left side by Monday. “Now let's face it, we were just a couple of bums pushing our 6k lbs SUV's to the limits trying to keep up with Steve T while he was on a "leisurely ride" Ayra: This is going to be different on this trip. Looking forward to seeing the "Ebrahimi Skunk Works". I’ll post some pictures tomorrow. I have a 15 year old Airco 400 amp tig that I found on Ebay. Looking forward to joining to Posse in Monterey.

About 3 months ago I ask my wife to go into my garage to show her the progress that I had made on my seven. When she saw the car she said I thought it was blue (my Manta Mirage). I said “that’s in the garage at home". Then she asked about "The Daytona Eliminator". I said gas is too expensive now. Then she said, I'm not going to ride in it without a top, it will blow my hair. Isn’t' it nice to have "A GREAT WIFE"?

I remember when the bathroom scales adaptors became popular 20 some years ago. Like a lot of other racers, it seemed like a great deal! I even purchased a set. However the problem was, and still is, that the readings are not repeatable. That means that they are not accurate. If you're looking for total weight they are usually close enough. To prove my point, if you weigh yourself 10 times on a set of bathroom scales, how many different reading are you going to get? Most racers don't spend more than they have to for an item, as the budget is usually tight. Most serious racers that I know use electronic scales. Before the electronic scales became available we used (4) grain scales. My offer of $200.00 for a set of scales to be used in the DC area is still open.

"If you take the tighter turns just right, you can see your own tail light". Sounds like a sevens kind of road. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1086991850_telescope.jpg

Your earlier comment about a 55 mph speed limit is a guise. When my son's age was in single digts we used to go to the railroad in Cass. We drove there in a 30' motor home. On Rt 33 outside of Harrisonburg there were a number of turns that the radius was so acuate we could not turn sharp enough. We would have to back up and make sure that we didn't back up too far, and turn as sharp as possible to get around the corner. That portion of the trip makes the TOG seem like a super highway. The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is at Greenbank close to Cass. Mazda, they put those things where you have to pipe light in! All that said I'm excited about meeting in route. I'll figure that out as the date gets closer .:grouphug: because we need to stay together.

I'm towing up on Friday to Lenox MA. Feel free to honk and wave if you see Orange on a trailer on the NY Thruway. It could happen! That we meet in Tennessee at a gas station, after a 11 hour drive with no prior planning or physical experience was serendipitous . The cognitive changes as a result of that stimulus was an expreience that I will never forget. Have fun at Lime Rock.

I'm looking for some middle ground. I can borrow a dealer's tag for the weekend. I am not comfortable enough at this point to venture 100's of miles for my first adventure. Could we come up with some more detailed plans? I would be willing to tow again to somewhere around Snowshoe and then go for a drive or two with the group. I just don't want to get that far from the mother ship yet. Most of you are not aware that on my last outing I jumped a curb and destroyed the right front suspension. When the turbo is loaded in second gear, with me setting in the left rear the seven can dart to the right before you have time to correct if you're not really on top of it.