Al N.

Bob-How true! I remember stopping there and saying to my wife, "That's got to be Bob Drye...he's got some massively powerful Nissan Motor." Then we left and my trailer threw a rock into Scott L's windshield and the rest of you proceeded to run away from me despite the fact that you many of you were towing too.

FRS 7 Subchannel 7? I'll try to remember to keep my radios turned up this time...unlike at Carlisle...:banghead: Also we should feel free to write a note and tuck it under the wipers since there's no cel service up there. I know of at least one other Sevener from my neck of the woods who is coming, Karl D in his blue and ali S2. Great guy. 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. Planning on getting to the track early on Sat and staying for just about the whole day. I'll find out when most of the Lotus Club guys are going to be there and what's up with the parade lap (timing wise). So far weather looks good...but then again, it looked good for my auto-x debut!:cry:

Cherik-Thanks for the tips...I think we did these in 4th (I had told them 6th was 1:1...didn't know it was literally direct). I think that as long as we do future runs in the same gear we did the baseline (or redo the baseline in 6th), we should be good, right? As long as you are comparing before apples to after apples...

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT STUFF! It helped offset the cost of a new FIA bar and of course cleaned up the garage...the gas tank is sitting in my driveway drying out before getting shipped out (we had bad weather until this week). -Al

Anyone from 777 or the forum out there with you Skip?

I find that saying "it's based on the old Lotus Seven...remember that from the Prisoner?" helps...most folks don't know Caterham from Beckingham. Sometimes you don't have time to get into it with everyone who stops you...but when time allows, the full story is always warranted.

JBH- Glad you had fun and only had minor wing damage... Regarding the hoses...GET A RACELINE WATER RAIL ASAP. It will eliminate many of your hoses coming off the back of the motor. I don't have a heater, so it really was the perfect solution...keep in mind that it does have a provision for a heater. Not everyone is a fan of the Raceline, but I am and so are many others...some choose to do the little bypass line (See Bruce W.'s pix) , although I've made do with Raceline's suggestion of drilling a few holes in the thermostat to let coolant circ. Some of the guys who race/auto-x have an alterate way of attaching the rear wings that doesn't pull rivets out every time you have an incident...you should find that thread or maybe one will chime in... As for power/torque curves, you're in luck...find my dyno chart in the Tech section. -Al

Like I said, start really adding up the numbers and researching registration and the appeal dwindles significantly...I will stop now before someone claims I'm Atom-bashing. It's one of those deals that sounds so good in the magazines and when Jeremy Clarkson or Tiff Nedel drives one, but the reality — at least for us over here in the US is quite different.

Tom-I was using a 7500 redline...which is probably a few hundred conservative...but it was the first time on the dyno and all...

Vid of the 3rd Dyno Run. I could listen to this many many times and still not tire of it...

And I thought us 7-7-7ers were bad by posting all the pix...you guys are bastards of the luckiest sort! Thanks and keep 'em coming.

I got Lime Rock this weekend...then school starts (and I'm doing the morning drop off) on Wed. We'll see how it goes, but you know I am weak when it comes to these things...

Man, if Lentz is in, that's most of the original Skyline posse....I'll put in a plug for anyone who is on the fence: good group of guys and very responsible if somewheat spirited drivers:crazy: We're sending the girls to a new (private and not inexpensive :cry: ) private school in Sept....so we'll see if schedule/budget permits yet another Se7en-centric weekend for 2007. Would love to see all of you again.

Since my bro has lived there for a while, I've fished all the streams in that area with him. I wanted to stay Sat night to see/fish the infamous Yellow Breeches white fly hatch, but had to get back home. Norm's (my brother) is a local now, and most of the people on the Breeches would know him as "Doc". While the run and the Breeches are a little overfished/get a lot of anglers, what I like is that you know there are fish in the water...and some of them quite large. I could really see the Kit Car show as a good USA7s Northeast meet up for 2008 (though NOT to replace the VIR meet already in the works)...I'm pretty sure they have an Auto-x in conjunction with the show...

Thanks Dave! Do you know what your set up is rated at in terms of crank HP? It would be interesting to see how various Zetecs measure up in terms of claimed vs. actual. And no, I'm not trying to start a "he said-he said" thing here...just wanted to post what my baseline dyno results were....for $75, it was definitely good to see where the car stands as is. BTW, Ray & Bobby McNew were great to work with and were very accomodating/understanding. Although they are not Se7eners (yet!), they are very well versed in Zetec tuning and are Ford Racing parts distributors. Ray has thought of building a Se7en and of course I did nothing but encourage him! McNew's Automotive (Dyno & Zetec Tuners)

I was there on Sat saw a bunch of Vettes...just missed the storm in Carlisle...but ran into bad weather on 78 headed East between 5 and 7 pm...had dinner with my Mom and made it home just in time to throw the cover on before the sky opened up.

They claim 200 or so HP...how much of a factor is the heat/humidity... FWIW, I could see having a "north-mid-atlantic" meet revolving around something at Carlisle, staying at Allenberry (a rustic, somewhat musty resort that I happen to love for all its unrestored antiquity...not unlike Tapoco Lodge), and doing a dyno day at this place about 15 minutes away. Good fishing, and probably some good country roads if I look hard enough. Maybe for the 2008 kit car show...

That is the baseline, yes...a little underwhelming given all the sound and fury, no? I did a quick search online and couldn't find too many dyno charts for Zetecs in the config most Se7ens run.

Ambient Temp that day was 90 deg F, very humid. More when I have time... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1336934375_Al Navarro SS.jpg

To clarify my bias against Atoms...given all the press hype, I considered them when I was looking into buying a fun car back in 2005. But as I've said before here and elsewhere..,go price one out — with all the doo-dads and built up. I'm pretty sure it's north of $80k. And yes, the CSR 260 with the current exchange rates is probably close to that....but the Superlight I bought was considerably less out the door — though don't ask what I've got in it by now :cry: The other thing is that given what I went through with titling and registering my Caterham here in NJ, I'd imagine that an Atom would be impossible to get street legal in my home state. And besides, I'd probably just go for a Lotus 340R if I was going to go through all that trouble...

Greg-I'm glad that you found the PNW 2007 Touristas to be marque-inclusive...that is certainly the spirit behind the USA7s organization. I'm so jealous of you all...scenery looks great and I'm sure the company isn't bad either.

Oops..that should have said "biennial"...once every 2 years. But no emissions or safety inspections...and it's not like I'm anywhere close to the limit.

gslutz...I would touch base with some of the Ohio crowd...Mike R., Mark B., and Frank F....they are all Caterham people and Frank is currently building a CSR 260...that's pretty much the hottest Cat available out the door...if you are somewhere in between $20k and a Caparo, maybe ask about getting an X330 replica built up - that's the one off special the Caterham factory made for the 50th. From what I know (which is admittedly less than many others here), Caterham would probably have the best "weather" gear available off the shelf.

That's Tom of "pierats" right? Didn't know he went the Dura route.