Al N.

http://jalopnik.com/cars/al-strikes-back/all-your-kit-cars-are-belong-to-carlisle-262724.php I am, of course, only half joking.

I'm so busted! http://jalopnik.com/cars/al-strikes-back/all-your-kit-cars-are-belong-to-carlisle-262724.php

Roll a 7 - Any thoughts on the Ford Racing head vs. the Focus Sport Cosworth tuned head? Not that I am going to do anything to my ZX-3 anytime soon. - Al P.S. Is it time to re-address a merger of the CCC and USA7 forums?

Hey, that looks awfully familiar!

Bruce- I'm going to send you an email with the deets. I put in my order today, just to get the ball rolling so I get a trailer by the end of June. I'm sure you can add to the mix if you want to within the next week or so. -Al

Mike- I send Chas an email. Maybe yours got bounced to spam because it's an unknown name? I provided your email addess. -Al

Thanks for sharing Bruce. If that thing's together in 45 or so days, I hope we see you down at Deal's Gap!

Final question...should the ramps pull out of the left side or right? I'm thinking right, so I'm not standing in the middle of the road.

Okay folks, I'm about to pull the trigger on option A). Anyone else in? Option A) Custom Made "Michael D" style trailer in Aluminum. 6 or 6.5 x 12 Wood deck Beavertail Single Axle Upgraded frame and tongue ( larger box tube) a beavertail at the back Approx 500-600 lbs unloaded Electric brakes, slide in ramps $3350.00 (still waiting for break down of everything, which I'll forward to all interested parties.

No worries, just trying to keep things tidy.

Kitcat-I've said it before and will say it again that if you ask enough people, you can generally find someone to say something bad about just about anybody. So get as much input as possible and consider your sources before coming to a conclusion. I actually just met Hayes Harris, the guy behind Wirewheel, at Carlisle. Seemed nice enough. Doesn't do a whole lot of setup/post sales service of the cars, from what I gather. Has some very nice Loti for sale (the 340r!). I would see what one of the Birkin guys from the forum say.

I thought John Hartley was more interesting, but here it is, fodder for the July 7th elections... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1438807957_ElevenAl.jpg

No worries Bruce. I forgot to mention that when I sat in the Orange Westfield (I won't call it a Seven to avoid the wrath of the Caterham factory ), I could barely see over the scuttle. They told me that the car had the lowered floors. Also, note that Dino and the Deman USA folks changed plans and did not attend the show. They were invited to participate in some drift competition that was allegedly going to get all sorts of media coverage. As if a few photos on USA7s.com does not constitute "all sorts of media coverage"! See you in July Dino.

And now, something not Se7en related, but very cool...rumor has it that this very car be making a guest appearance at 7-7-7... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/119367527_Eleven1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1073270423_Eleven2.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/167292741_Eleven3.jpg Engine builder John Hartley in the Eleven: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/71390528_ElevenJH.jpg

Okay, so I probably spent an inordinate amount of time at the Westfield booth while at Carlisle. Especially for a Caterham owner. But after all, it was our rendezvous point (albeit a failed one!) and the spot provided some welcome shade after walking around rows and rows of Fieros and other oddities. Without the crowds of the building in which Noble, Factory Five, and many of the other makers were housed. What’s more, Tom M. of Manik (US Distributor), Doug B. of Autopro (the East Coast dealer/builder), and Julian T. of Westfield UK were all on hand to speak with/get teased by. I think they got a kick out of a Caterham guy who was so into Westfield products. All very nice and obviously passionate fellows. I LOVE the padded buckets in the Westfield 1600 (the Miata-engined car) and would consider swapping at least one of the Tilletts in my car for one (the passenger seat, naturally). At under $30k built!, I think they are going to sell loads of these. And in addition to their Se7en, they had their Eleven. I joked that I might get impeached as acting USA7s Club president for sitting in the Eleven. But really, that thing is cool, man. As in, I’d definitely get one of those if I didn’t have a Se7en already. Later in the day, right before we left, we caught fellow Caterham owner John Hartley sitting in the Eleven. He seemed to dig it too. I think Mazda was trying to broker some engine for chassis trade… Doug B. of Auto-Pro (he'll be at the Dragon with the orange car pictured) and Julian T. of Westfield UK http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1351976512_WestDougJulian.jpg Initiate Wesfield sequence now: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/788786159_Westy1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1314038928_Westy2.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/66351558_Westy3.jpg Nice Caterham hat, there Benedict Arnold. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/542472135_Westy4Al.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1036710140_Westy5.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1349066806_Westy6.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1993470957_Westy7.jpg

Very cool. Thanks for the updates. Mazda, when you get a chance, can you transfer this into AutoX section...

John Hartley, Caterham owner and mechanical engineer extraordinaire, was there with his 2.8 liter V-8 based on Suzuki Hayabusa heads. He was supposed to be showing with Chet Galek, who imports the Fisher Fury, but the Galeks had a family emergency and so John was there by himself. Compared to some of the other displays, John's was a real down home production, but that didn't stop people from swamping him with questions. Here's the answer to one of the most common questions...between $28 and $30k. Still cheaper than bringing in one of the similar UK V-8s. He was obviously selling the steak and not the sizzle. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/844598469_HartleySignage.jpg John was in this mode for much of the time we spent there. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/806206121_Hartley2-Spiel.jpg Begin Hartley sequence: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/784230683_Hartley5.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1150980619_Hartley4.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/807154425_Hartley1.jpg

We stopped by the Stalker booth and Mazda chatted up Justin S. for a while. I've never seen a Stalker up close and was very very impressed with the fit and finish of the silver and black car they had on display. Justin and Dennis are planning to be up at the 7-7-7 meet for all of the Saturday activities...since the Stalker Ambush is dovetailing with the USA7s at the Dragon event they have a lot of stuff to manage that weekend. It will be great to have them and their loyal Stalker owners on hand. Mazda E. on the left, Justin S. on the right. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/402821313_MazdaJustin.jpg Begin Stalker sequence (to borrow a killboy phrase). http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1589388683_Stalker1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1880808776_Stalker2.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/349869887_Stalker3.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/458369776_Stalker4.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2091172385_Stalker5.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1740423371_Stalker6.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/584196103_Stalker7.jpg

I nearly captioned that "Dude, you ain't going to fit." More pix shortly...

Pix. Hayes Harris was there from wirewheel.com with a Birkin and Panoz AIV (squint real hard and you'll see the Se7en in there somewhere. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/995951501_Birkin.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1944750633_PanozAiV.jpg Jim from Coveland was there too, with a Miata-motored Locost. Note that is neither Jim nor Mazda nor I in the photo. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/190550799_Coveland.jpg The nitrous equipped 'Busa Dax. David W. is the owner...had never heard of the Dragon meet (what rock are these guys hiding under?), will try to make it. FWIW, the shape of the Dax may be my favorite, even besting my own Caterham. Very mean and wide looking. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1386118719_Dax1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1889434826_Dax2.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/618239613_Dax3.jpg Daniel M. from Maryland was also there with his "work in progress" Volvo p1800 based Locost. I was looking around for Se7ens and spotted his, in what I thought was the wrong section, until I saw what motor he had in it. Good guy and I think he's going to try and make it to 7-7-7 too. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1849003524_VolvoSeven1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1940918390_VolvoSeven2.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1524620274_VolvoSeven3.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1705592085_VolvoSeven4.jpg If you have the book "Lotus Seven & the Independents", you may have come across this car, the R Motorsport "Diva". Visually, it's a combination between a Se7en and a Cobra. The creator, Jamie Dunst was there. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/954610420_RM Diva.jpg John V. was there with his nice Twin Cam. I think one of the great things about the Dragon meet will be seeing how different even two cars from the same maker can be. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/135780066_JohnsCar1.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/445565462_JohnsCar2.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2053366599_JohnsCar3.jpg

Andrew7-My apologies. Just got home (same 3 hour one way drive that you had) I did have the radio on, but perhaps not loudly enough.:nonod: We were hanging around the Westfield booth from like 11:15 to at least noon, before walking around and grabbing lunch. Then circling back to Westfield and Brunton. At least you know we were there! Regarding the Volvette, my older daughter mentioned that car as we were leaving. I had no idea what she was talking about. My favorite non-Se7en there...the blue Renault R5 Turbo. Again, my apologies for passing you like ships in the night. Hope you had a good time despite it all. The good news is that, as Mazda reminded me, our little car meet is only 6 weeks away. I'll post pix from Carlisle Monday morning when I have a connection remotely resembling high-speed.

I didn't seem able to upload pix from my brother's house. Will do it when I get home. Damn, I'm tired.

Damn am I out of shape. I just got to my brother's place in Carlisle after walking around the show for about 3.5 hours. Got to meet Justin of Brunton, Jim of Coveland, Jamie of RM Motorsport (they make the Diva) and the triumvirate of Westfield: Tom, Doug, and Julian - the Managing director from the UK. Doug is definitely going to be at 7-7-7 with his Miata-engined Westfield. Also met John Hartley, the maker of the rad, Busa-based compact V-8. Mazda was there, and John V., and Allen B. (Elise owner, but we won't hold that against him), and apparently Michael D. and his wife too (sorry I missed you, Michael). Missed Andrew7. and his Dad...wonder if they made it in from Pittburgh. One of the nicest things about the show was meeting some new folks, who didn't even know about the 7-7-7 meet. One guy was there with a nitrous-Busa milled Dax, and another guy brought his Volvo p1800 powered Locost. I'm going to try and post some pix now.

Oi - happy that you ended up with a Se7en. Those Corbins are odd looking IMHO.

I honestly have no idea what kind of mileage I get. I have the 55 liter ATL fuel cell, and have never done the calculations. Though I did run out of gas once! I don't drive my car close to daily...more like twice a month if I average things out. So I don't really care what the MPG is. I will say that I've eaten up as much as a half a tank of gas in one morning of driving, and when really hammering it, can almost watch the fuel gauge drop as the RPMs climb! I think some of the other guys have chimed or can chime in on Zetec gas mileage, but again, it's something I've never really calculated. Regarding TBs, I think the FocusSport TBs are one consolidated TB as opposed to the Jenveys or Webcons which have individual trumpets. It would be a step backwards from my Jenveys...I think. There may be some issue with the standard Ford Intake Manifold/TB fitting under the bonnet of a Seven. As for seat of the pants feel, I have the 200 HP "Supersport" Non SVT Zetec with Cat 6 speed gearbox and the car feels about 5 times as fast as my 225 HP Audi TT. As the TT is in comparison to our Honda Pilot (in terms of quickness/rawness) so is the Seven to the TT. My advice is to get your car back on the road as soon as possible and start enjoying instead of fretting about what to do — and I mean that in the best possible way.:hurray: