Al N.

I could go and be off course for all of my runs...that would be representing the Se7en community just right! :jester:

Jerry, I agree wholeheartedly that the national meet is primarily for LSIS cars/owners of all sorts. That's what the club was founded around and exists to support. That said, it might be fun to have a joint track day or even a "charge of the light brigade" joint meet some day with Atoms, Se7ens, and Furies in attendance... John M. ran in the 1:37s at the GRM UTCC event at VIR.

I take it there was a variety in normal pace between drivers and that the group may have gotten split up once in a while? Sounds normal, but establishing a protoccol may be wise.

What i like about teh centralized is that one has the option of trailering or driving depending on the circumstances...I could see my family truckster acting as support vehicle for a NE Tour to [iNSERT NAME OF CENTRAL LOCATION HERE]....then me trailering the Seven back.

I don't know how these things work, does that mean Jack is going to Nationals?

Mazda has the final policy language, best to send him a PM. The insurance is currently through Hagerty.

How did Jack Banha do?

Keep it up and don't forget to post pix. Also, keep in mind that it it's an official USA7.org meet, all participants who are not club members need to pay $20 for annual membership...mostly goes to insurance. PM or email Mazda or I if you have questions....we'll also send you some club swag (yes, I know I still owe some folks swag). The point of the club insurance is to protect the event organizers (for example, Gert) from liability should anything happen. When we were organizing 7-7-7, we realized that beyond a certain scale of things, some kind of coverage was necessary and just smart to have. CYA and all that. --- On another note, I wanted to encourage everyone who is in the general vicinity of any meet announced here to take the initiative and meet up with a few of your fellow Se7eners and other "light brigade" fans. Keep in mind that a 5 car blat last June is essentially what set the Club and the 7-7-7 national meet in motion. Brent looks like he is putting together something nice out there in Minnesota, so perhaps some folks from neighboring states can drop by to join he and Drew. And Mike R is going to be at Watkins. Even though we didn't go for any blats together, it was great meeting old friends and making new ones at Lime Rock this past weekend. And I think there is enough interest to make LRP a NE regional meet next year...or we can flip a coin between that and Watkins Vintage

Alas, I am a big fat loser and staying close to home that weekend...:cry: Too many blats and meets, not enough time....

Gert, I'd have to say that I am up for a central meet in 2009. We should look at the Sturgis calendar so we don't have too much overlap with a bike meet. Thanks again for the initiative in setting up PNW 2007!

I said I wouldn't comment on this thread, but I lied. :jester: Randy, thanks for your thoughtful and well-written post. Seriously. Are you guys eligible for Run-and-Gun? That would be a good "neutral ground" to try a few head to heads and settle this all Jets vs. Sharks style...

Having just removed the sender and fuel pump from a caterham injection tank (so I can really dry it out/clean it out before shipping to the buyer), I can say that there is at least one baffle in the tank...on the right side about 7 to 9 inches in from the right tank wall. I will check to see if there are any others...

I actually don't mind going through the gears hard from a stoplight in front of, behind, or next to another car. It's happened once in the Caterham, when I pulled up behind an adult driven S2000 at a light and he lit it up when the light turned green. So I stayed with him and eventually pulled over and alongside. We were at this point not much over the posted and he gave me the nod and we slowed things down. We were well ahead of other traffic by then, with a straight, clear road ahead of us. I don't think this sort of "racing" is all that dangerous or even stupid. That said, tailgating and weaving in and out of traffic/lpassing on double yellows at even legal speeds is stupid and very dangerous. Here's how I feel about "street racing": True outlaw street racing for money or cars/car parts is crazy and and I think increasingly rare. I will say that I bet not that many people are endangered by this behavior beyond the participants and spectators. What some people might consider "racing", the tailgating and weaving and passing is really really dangerous, especially to the people who are just minding their business trying to get to work or wherever.

Rob-The cars near the end of the photo dump are racers, so I didn't count them as they were not up in the Lotus car corral, but rather down in the paddock. I actually didn't talk to any of the racers. I assume the lights thing is for aero reasons...Bart Lami doesn't run lights at all o his track only Caterham.-Al

A boat load of pix now posted in the events section: Se7ens at 2007 Lime Rock Vintage

David, welcome...did you buy that Black one from Jeff Sloan?

This will be my last post on this thread so it does not turn into "the lady who dost protest too much", but I wanted to comment on a few things Maverick1 has written: "You should really embrace the Atom because what it truly represents is the modern day Lotus 7, taken into the 21st century" Funny, I thought the CSR was the Lotus 7, taken into the 21st Century. "The great thing about the 7 today is that you can get it in a kit and build it up very cheaply and I think that's great for people who don't have a high amount of disposable income." You know, I've met many of the guys who own Se7ens, and I'm pretty confident a few of them have extremely high amounts of disposable income. We generally don't talk about money when we get together, how impolite would that be? "There is one drawback to owning an Atom.....everywhere you go people crowd around the car and ask all sorts of questions....the same questions....all the time...never ends." Oh, that never happens to Seven owners. Ever!

SE7ENS AT LRP VINTAGE PHOTO DUMP...too many and too little time to caption, sorry! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/95349854_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 03.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1512982540_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 04.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1570817832_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 05.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/579561453_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 06.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/112934966_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 07.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1135660873_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 09.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1125712019_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 10.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/518493238_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 11.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1791182080_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 12.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1003782478_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 13.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1317009896_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 14.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1576298808_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 15.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2060549183_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 16.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1226133895_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 17.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1696163628_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 19.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/594004203_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 21.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/576964416_Se7ens at LRP Vintage - 23.jpg

John H...did you have the camera on the ground when you took that low shot? Wow! You guys should try the Navarro Vineyards stuff (Pinot and Gewurz mostly) if you haven't...really good. For those that don't know, the vineyard is named for the region, not the family.

Dermot- For mirrors, check out the SPA mirrors here: Pegasus Auto Racing The Spa center mirror seems like a must for you. Then yuour choice of sides...those Vitaloni Sebring Mach 1 mirrors look cool. For fuel gauges...I don't know if you have a float type or one of those ones that puts a metal rod down the tank and measures by capacitance or resistance or whatever (can you tell I'm not an engineer?)...but my point is that I don't think it matters, they are all terrible. I thought I had my ATL calibrated correctly (did the thing where you stick it in a full and nearly empty bucket of fuel to calibrate) and I've still run out of gas...guage said 1/2 when I ran out on the Dragon. So, get to know the sound of your fuel pump when it's low (my labors noticeably) and also try driving around with a 2 gallon in your passenger footwell until you run out...note mileage then fill up with the spare tank. This is the best way to go about things so you you know your car's range...of course, I still haven't gotten around to doing this myself... I just keep it topped off at any natural stopping point.

Dave-I heard from someone that the Seven won!-:hurray:

Dermot, I love your car too! I like the config you have (low shield with more aero headlights), though I am a CEC guy... I had a great blat today...driving my buddy's Turbo Esprit back from Lime Rock chasing him in my Se7en...in his words "It's definitely the fastest most powerful feeling thing I've ever driven." The Esprit felt like a Cadillac compared to the Se7en, and I didn't like waiting for the boost to come on. Here's to impromptu blats, new and old friends, and "all-motor" powered lightweights and semi-lightweights :jester:

Guys-THanks so much for keeping us all in the loop. Next year is a little tight for me in terms of having time (think we're going to the Philippines with the fam), but for 2009....who knows? I really think we should think about a centralish location, even if central means Colorado. It would attract folks from the middle of the country and then some die hards from the coasts. Well done Gert and company. I hope to meet you all someday in the future...

A beautiful day at Lime Rock. I think 8 Se7ens made it out today, including some folks I'd never met before who seem interested in the club. Great to meet xflow7 and see his lovely live axle. And Karl D., from my neck of the woods, I finally got to give him the bottle of wine I owed him from a few falls ago - when he saved my bacon when I blew a hose on a local blat with him. Ken G. was there too, with his "farthest driven to 7-7-7" S4. Ken and his group of friends are a fun group. Where was Bruce W? I wonder if he got his car together in time? And if not, I'm sure he would have come in Nancy's Mini anyway....hmmm, I hope he's alright. Mostly Caterhams, with 2 Birkins, including one from NJ that showed up after the "parade" lap. I use quotes because the pace wasn't all that slow. I will refrain from further detail on the grounds that it may incriminate many...let's just say certain gaps opened up in the formation that had to be closed, quickly I'm going to be at the car show tomorrow from 10 to noon, leaving Orange in the corral. Then an afternoon doing something the women want to do. Oh, I forgot to mention there was a photo finish between a Seven and an Aston Martin DB in the 6th race of the day...they traded leads a bunch and it literally came down to the wire. We left before the final result were announced. FWIW, I could see a regional next fall based around the LRP Vintage. Some great country roads up here. No SUPER SCENIC vistas or major elevation changes like PNW, but fun nonetheless.

I'm a bonehead. Nearly forgot my steering wheel in the garage AND did forget my FRS radio. So don't try to reach me via radio. I'll be at the park between 9 and 9:30. Y'all know what my car looks like. -Al