Al N.

JONSMK...a few questions... How is car registered? Are you the original owner and if not, how many owners have there been...what is provenance of car? Thanks for relisting, btw.

I'm pretty sure that John works in basement you mention....and has, as part of his job, "exercising" the cool Loti on the nearby race track.

Ian, I hope you know that current USA7s Club Prez John V. is one of the restorers in residence at said museum. I'm sure he could arrange for a special "Se7eners-only" tour....(at least I'm hoping he can!!!) BTW, I think I will make this pilgrimage, even if I have to fly in without the family. -Al

John...you're on to me!

CJ- Scott L. is one of the charter members of the USA7s club....though he's not on the forum much. BTW, here's a link to a 914-6 for sale (plus an eclat) if any Porschephiles are interested...place is in long island. Scroll down the inventory list to find the 914-6: cannillomotorsports.com

BTW, Scott Lentz also has a 944 Turbo....don't know if he was in the count.

FYI, the frame of the Series 2 should be grey. Mazda, for the right price, i would buy your car if even the body was painted pink. I sent the seller some questions. No, "Why the hell did you paint the frame red?!?" was not among them.

Thanks for the update and pix, Bruce. I will say that certain individuals on last years "parade" laps allowed a large gap to form in traffic, and those gaps had to be made up, goshdarnit. Truthfully, I was just trying to keep up with the guy in front of me and we probably got into the 80s. I heard one Exige hit triple digits. Maybe they got some sense after those laps....though I later saw a Corvette do a donut in the Esses as part of their parade.... If anyone went on Sunday, did James Giickenhaus bring his rebodied Enzo (the P4/5)? EDIT: I JUST CORRESPONDED WITH JG AND HE DID NOT BRING HIS CAR OT LRP.

Russ- On behalf of the club officers, thanks for putting this event on. I know just how much work they can be to organize and run. Please post more pix when you can. --- On a related note, I wanted to say how cool it is to that this forum, the club, and its members have helped forward the hobby and practiced "Sevangelism" (preaching the gospel of Colin Chapman) over the past few years. The fact that this year, we had an East Coast (Carlisle), a Central (Kansas), and soon, a Western (NoCal) meet are just great, and totally on track for growing the club and hobby/supporting the membership. And Russ' feelings of camaraderie are something I can definitely relate to...it's like that Harley ad from the 1990s..."Ever meet a perfect stranger and know he was a brother"....keep up the great works folks. See you all in Branson. -Al

You know, I've been hanging around John Donohoe's site (and John Watson's too!) for too long. While there is a lot to like about this car, there are some bits that are wrong. Rear fenders, for a start. And then, while he had the frame down to bare metal...to paint an incorrect color is a bit baffling. --- I know, it doesn't even sound like the Al Navarro most of you know....but if I'm getting back into a car, I'm getting back in DEEP. :ack: I'll still vet the car with JWW though...and perhaps correspond with the current owner.

You know you're on an enthusiast site when you see a thread topic like "Wonderful A-Arm Bushings found" — and you click on it yourself even though you don't even have a car or are in the middle of build!

For those of you who weren't at 7-7-7, Bill is the guy who made the Tamiya JPE model raffle a possibility. He's an expert model builder...like the kinds of models you see in cases at museums and hobby stores. Here's a shot of Bill and Jen Rohaley (Mike's wife), with the built JPE safely loaded back into the box. Jen was the winner of the raffle. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1437805025_BillJenCar.jpg

We haven't made a final decision on the track...it's between two.

You can put the dates in pen now. John, Mazda, and I had a call last night and picked a host hotel from a tight grouping we had gotten quotes from. I will write a longer, more detailed post next week, but here are some deets: Meet will be held June 29-July 2, 2009. Again, here is a tentative schedule: Monday Noon - 6 PM - open registration/meet check-in 7 PM - Group Dinner Tuesday Group Breakfast Long Drive/Tour...Lunch on Road Evening free to visit Branson/See Show Wednesday Group Breakfast Short Drive (Thorncrown Chapel visit?) Free time in afternoon Group Dinner Thursday Early Bird Group Breakfast Optional Track Day Excursion (participate or spectate) Dinner on the road or at host hotel Movie Night? It is our hope that many people will attend the trackday...which is about 2.5 hours away...a long day there and back, and we understand if people want to start heading home from the track or sleep at a hotel near the track. However, we feel that attendees should plan on staying in Branson Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. We moved the track day to the end, based on discussions with some track-centric people. The host hotel accommodations start at $114, a 15% discount off rack rates. We will have camping and secondary hotel reccos for people who want to pay less (or more!) We will continue our tradition of putting responsibility for making room reservations in the hands of each attendee. We are still putting together various odds and ends of the meet, and will post registration fees (covering selected meals, swag, etc.) as soon as we have that total. We recommend making reservations as soon as we have post the hotel info....perhaps we'll start a thread so we can keep track of who's booked already.

The fact that you didn't break any bones is what truly amazes me.

Definitely try to make the Saturday "parade" laps!

DB- Great post...you've been a great addition to the forum/club. Maybe we use your post for the next newsletter? Or even have a regular column "Only in a Se7en"? As you can see by the comments here, you are not alone in your sentiments/irrational affection for these simple little cars. -Al

I can't go (helping Laura shoot a wedding), but they are still having a Lotus Club Corral...just got this info today. NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A USA7s EVENT...you do not have to be a member of the USA7s Club to participate. Anyone who participated last year can tell you that the parade laps were taken at a fairly brisk rate of speed....fun. Here's the info: SECOND ANNUAL LOTUS EAST GATHERING LIME ROCK PARK VINTAGE FALL FESTIVAL AUGUST 30 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 The Vintage Fall Festival at LRP is the second most important vintage race and gathering second only to Monterey. There will be a Lotus Corral (our own space) and a parade laps on Saturday. Sunday is an automobile extravaganza 10-5. If you wish to put your car in the on track display contact me by August 15th for entry into the show. We would like to have at least one of each Lotus model in the show. Tickets MUST be purchased under the group at www.limerock.com. The procedure is: Go to www.limerock.com Then go to: affiliate ticket sales Enter 258 in the ID box Enter LO2008 as password (CAPS) This puts you in the Lotus group and makes you eligible for the corral, a free Vintage Festival program, parade laps and a gift package. You will also get 10% off tickets. It looks like we will have a canopy and other amenities. There will be dealer and Lotus Cars presence. We need a minimum of 50 cars so make sure everyone gets their tickets through this group. Please let me know if you are coming and what days you plan to be there. If there are any questions you may contact me at 860-824-4824, or email ereagan1@comcast.net. Ed Reagan Co-ordinator

Mazda, can you lock this post...it looks like a dupe of the one in general....or perhaps DB can delete? Just trying to keep the forum tidy (unlike my garage). -A

I know that Graeme G. did the conversion on his white Cat...pretty sure he's got brooklands and carbon front cycles....it looked very sweet. You could see the mounting holes, but I think Graeme did put fasteners of some kind in them, and it looked fine IMHO. He's not on here alot, but you might send an email to the usa@se7ens.net listserv (which you should join, if you haven't already...this forum has taken alot of the volume away from that resource, but it's still a good source of info/connections) -A

BTW, on a recon run for the Dragon meet, I walked into a Robbinsville restaurant with a trick s2000 in front. It was easy to spot the owner....I just looked for the speedcats! Had a good conversation with him, too — and the shoes were the ice breaker, "Excuse me, is that your [iNSERT VEHICLE] out front?" So, never fear wearing the Speedcats or Pilotis out of the house. To me, it's the sign of at least some passion for driving (unless of course, they are worn by those legions of people for whom they are a merely a passing fad). -A

My old came with some insulation on on the wirewall...standard optional Caterham stuff, I think. I had the Jet hot done on the headers, but can't say that it worked/didn't work. I never really felt the heat in the pedalbox area was an issue. Though once or twice I felt the heat off the tranny tunnel.

I wear size 8 shoes, and never had a an issue in the Seven with anything but wide soled running shoes...even redwings workboots fit okay. I had the addidas drivers and currently have pilotis. Either looks fine with jeans or casual wear.

So that's how it is, Morgan? Damn bro, don't go besmirching my [and my old car's] good name! :jester:

Morgan, did I tell you your car was sorted? I wasn't lying. --- The Spa mirrors have a tensioner that is only accessible when the mirror is off the car (there is a bolt that presses against the ball of the mirror stem). The bolt has to be tight enough to keep the ball in place, but loose enough that you can adjust the mirror. Adjusting the mirror can lead to the bolt loosening enough to not give enough tension to keep the mirror in place...meaning you have to take the mirror off the windshield stanchion. It can be a bitch, but when sorted (like it is on Orange), it works and you don't mess with it. The single axis pivot where the mirror meets the stem is simple compared to that ball nut, but it can also loosen up over time/with fiddling.