Al N.

Tx. I get updates from the Se7ens.net list on a daily basis, not per message (I'd get even less work done if I didn't get them batched!). I'll see it tomorrow AM, I'm sure. I think Niagara area would be great, but for a Northeast meet, not National. I'd also love a Lake George area meet. And if we were to do a larger East Coast meet again, I'd go for Tail of the Dragon again...I dream of that road and didn't drive half as much as I should have last July.

Thanks Scott, that's awesome... BTW, did I miss the Buffalo suggestion somewhere? (As an aside, Buffalo would be great for me, but I think part of the goal for the next meet is to make it more accessible to more people from all over the country.) We'll keep this going for a bit, then set to work on the "white papers" for the top 2.

Okay, I'll be the first to say I'd do things differently (besides buying one sooner)... While I love my Superlight R and dig the fact that it was Caterham's top dawg when I bought the car (loads of carbon, 6 speed, and pretty hot motor)...if I had to do it over, I'd probably buy a previously-loved original Lotus Series 2 or other Se7enesque car that was registered as a emissions/inspection exempt model year. In my state (NJ), I had to register my car as a Collector Car, which limits my miles and usage. I have a 6000 mile limit that is checked every 2 years. Not that I have ever been at risk of even approaching that limit.... The other nice things about getting a car that isn't fresh out the wrapper new is that A) you won't feel so bad driving the heck out of it, B) it will hopefully be fully or close to fully sorted. While I think that the build quality of my car (Speed Classics in AZ- no hesitation in recommending Rex M.!) is among the best that I have seen, little things went wrong in the first year or so that were a pain to sort. And not so easy to explain to my very tolerant wife. And finally, I'll say that I do regret dumping a lot of money (like, I could have built a Locost with it) into the car in the first year upgrading various and sundry things that perhaps did not need upgrading at that moment. For example, while I appreciate the peace of mind of having a fuel cell (I take my kids in the car once in a while), when all was said and done, that was a multi-thousand dollar process that perhaps I should have held off on doing (and spent that money on a hotter head and cams!!!!) So my advice is buy used and live with the car for at least a year before touching it (unless, of course, it requires repair to be roadworthy). --- Oh wait, one more thing...I bought right around the time the Duratec was coming into the market here...that motor would have been nice. But the car was already built, and the price was right.

I think that we could count on more people than those voting to show once we officially announce. I'll post over on Se7ens.net again...and if the various members of the marque forums would remind their members to chime in, that would be great. -Al

I think I have my original one (I switched to Birkinsport one) as supplied on my dealer-built car, free if you can pick up shipping Harold. Send me a PM with UPS, Fedex account #, or other shipping scenario. Oh, and BTW, you might want to consider installing some Hella Supertones to replace or augment your horns while the car is still not 100% together. Enjoying your build blog, btw.

Mike...I'll look the next time I'm out with the car (it's in hibernation here in NJ)...I do have the non-SVT engine, and also the "Birkinsport" Alternator, which I think reroutes the belt anyhoo....

I've corresponded with Richard (the Jackal) before....he's actually sold the Duranail (I think to an overseas person who sometimes pops in on this forum), but I have so much respect for how well put together that car was....he really did sweat every little detail building it up and rebuilding it.

Yes...I had a similar concern when I got my car (Zetec with Cat 6 speed). Though the guys at Cat-USA were very laissez-faire about the likelihood of anything bad falling in, I had my shop work up a solution. I don't exactly know how they did it, but you can see the little metal flap in the right hand side of the attached photo. It's metal, but there is some rubber there...maybe a plug that secures the flap to the hole? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1798393164_Bellhousing Plug.jpg

This is the car I was considering a few years back... Series II Lotus 7 that Al didn't buy...

I did...but I just think about John G's white machine or even Karl D's car and those cars aren't quite it. FWIW, John D. doesn't seem to have a very high opinion of that one British Car dealer in CT. Which is good news for me, considering i nearly bought a car from him back when I was looking.

I read somewhere that the actual output of the ASC/McLaren GNX motors was more like 350 hp/400 ft-lbs, but they downplayed the numbers so that it wouldn't overshadow the 'Vette. Though I'm sure wrecked GNXs are rare (or perhaps not rare, but immediately snatched up by the faithful).

You know, I was just wondering if anybody has taken a wrecked GNX motor and put it in a Stalker....those are supposedly even more massaged than the normal ones. That said, those SuperStalkers are crazy fast. As in, I have have a pretty fast Caterham all things considered, and I was frightened by the way Paul W. was able to pull away from me down in Deal's Gap... Also, there are the narrow, bike-engine based V-8s like the RST or Hartley that sort of fit into narrow bodied Cats/Westies....but they cost about as much as a Zetec-powered Cat all-in. Mazda, I know when you win the lottery you're going to do a LS9 engine in the Rotus, right?

Bump. I needed to take a break between writing assignments today and looked at the oodles of pix I have on my laptop. Man, that was a blast. So many good memories, people, and cars...Good incentive to get 2009 planning going....also great thread for noobs/people who joined the forum since the Dragon meet.

The first time I met Steve T, he camped out at Shenandoah...with his Seven .

You know it's just a matter of time until one of the USA Se7eners does an RST or Hartley V-8 upgrade (besides John Hartley, that is). FWIW, I'd only go this route if A) I won the lotto; and B) mated it to a Quaife sequential....just so I could feel more boy racer when trying to keep up with Mazda and company.

I went for the first time last year and found it slightly overwhelming. Great to meet the other Se7eners though...

I loved the part where you can see her door flapping...this is why I do not run doors. BTW, Harold O. should be able to recreate this head to head soon....

Rich- My only hesitation is that the USA7s Club represents the wide world of Se7ens, regardless of marque. While the Elise and the Se7en have a lot in common, if the tent is going to be semi-sponsored by USA7s — with the intent of sharing the Se7en with newbies/future owners — then I think we should try and make it exclusively Se7ens. Just my POV, however Se However, I'll run the idea by the other Club officers again. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is still plenty of time before Carlisle. If any USA7s clubbers have thoughts, please chime in. ---- On another note, I have thought it would be fun to get together with Elises, Atoms, and Furys in a "Charge of the Light Brigade" type of themed meet. Let me know what you think. -Al Navarro USA7s Club Secretary

John- I think there is plenty of time for people to sign up. I think Mike D. had chimed in over on the Se7ens.net list that he would come. And probs Scott L. if he's around. I don't know when the deadline for ordering a tent is, but perhaps we just take the plunge and then split the costs among the attendees and the club? Just a thought. Again, I still think there is plenty of time. I personally don't look too far past 2 months ahead when scheduling things on my own calendar.. -Al

John V...that's what I gathered from visiting his site. As you may know, we had been considering having an official liaison to the UK L7 Club, but I guess they felt John D. may have been a better fit for their decidedly more marque-exclusive club. Oh well, you snooze you lose, I guess.

Bruce- Thanks for linking. I don't get to the Simple Sevens site much...though I noticed that John D. is the new US "area rep" for the UK L7 Club. If anyone knows John and thinks he'd be interested in our mixed marque forum/club, please give him a shout. Also, if anyone knows of any other Series 2 or 2 1/2 cars for sale, please post them up here. I have a friend who may be interested. -Al

The other day, I was topping of the Caterham's fuel cell for the winter (trying to keep that foam wet) with some fresh gas and Stabil...but I had to run out to fill up the jerry can again. But then I got distracted with the life that comes with being the father of young children, and didn't get back to the tank until a few days later. The fuel level in the tank was pretty much where I had left it...despite the cap having been off for a few days. My question is regarding the little cork gasket/liner of the gas cap. When I finally topped the tank off, I went to screw the cap on and the little liner popped out. It had dried and shrank just enough to no longer fit in the cap securely. It covers the hole in the filler neck, but just barely. I let the cork soak in some gas for a little bit hoping that would do it, but didn't seem to affect it that much. I was worried about using water for obvious reasons. Any help would be welcome. If your recco is for me to cut a new gasket, is normal hobby store cork fine?

ITB= individual throttle bodies These are used in some FI setups, and sport intake trumpets much like good old carbs. Tim W. runs mesh filters on his Datsun powered Birkin. I recall that he had these little plastic "booties" he threw on them when the car was sitting.

Many of us with ITBs run the ITG foam filters. I'm sure some Birkin folks will chime in here.

Dude, would you swing down that way on your way West? If so, bring some water from the Cheoah to the meet.