powderbrake

Do you think the pilot is thinking about a driveshaft hoop?:ack:

Here in St.Louis, it was 75 degrees. I have had the seven on a battery tender, and had not run it since October. It started right up, so my wife and I took it out for a blat. It clouded up a lot in about an hour, and with the forecast for freezing rain, we headed home. I feel like I stole a ride from the weather gods. :7fume:

Nope, never heard of Spirit Island either, but that pic and the others show that it is a beautiful location. I hope to see it in person one day.

Doing my best Steve Martin impersonation: WELL....... EXCUUUUUUUUSE ME ! I do know where New York City is, ( population 8 million), but everyone in the US doesn't know the location of every little town in the US, particularly if the state (province) is not mentioned. Everyone in Canada may be familiar with Kelowa, But I had simply had never heard of Kelowa, and the newsletter gave no hint to the location, so I looked it up, thinking it might be an interesting trip if it were closer to my home. :_deadhorse:

The story implies that wood is better than carbon fiber, and that F1 will be using it. In your dreams fella!

a listing for US bolts is here: US bolt torques This lists both dry and oiled. I would stick to the dry ratings. Even those have a disclaimer that they are for unplated bolts only. disclaimer. I have not personally used this listing. I use the factory manuals on the critical items on my cars. I found this on a google search.

Interesting. I looked at the pdf, supplied by the used Caterham dealer. The article assumes you know where Kelowna is. I had to look it up in Streets & Trips. It's about 200 miles NE of Vancouver, BC, so a little to far from St. Louis to check it out. The dealers website lists caterhams from $58,000 to $90,000. He is REALLY proud of them. Of course the real deal costs a bit more, but I can think of lots of things I might want for $90,000. That's $71,250 and $91,600 USD now that the Loonie is worth more than the dollar.

Gary: I believe the Falken RT615's have sufficient "feel". While at Run & Gun at Gateway, on the banked oval turn, I could modulate the throttle and steering wheel to keep the rear end at the "almost ready to spin out" point. I was running about 15 psi. I run 20 to 22 on the street, where I may encounter potholes and such. Jerry

Check out Ultrashield seats, prices are reasonable. They are what I have in my Ultralite, but the headrest portion has been cut down about 6". Ultrashield Here is a pic of the tonneau that I have. Yours could be simpler, without the windshield pockets. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1997433235_tonneau.jpg

I knew a guy whose kid was injured one night by driving off the end of the runway on a local airport. The guy tried to sue the city, because the runway at night was an "attractive nuisance" He never taught his kids anything remotely close to responsibility. A few years later, he died of a heart attack while trying to keep this same kid from stealing his car.

That is absolutely hilarious.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Andy: Everyone goes through the same questions when they start to think about an LSIS, and rightfully so. Get as many rides as you can. See how you fit in the cars. See the build quality. Experience the performance. Question the owner on his experiences. Think about the provenance of the car. Will you have to have a Lotus or Caterham, or will some of the other LSIS's which are not as true to the exact body shape of the Lotus or Cat keep you happy? A BEC is quite an experience, as the sound they make as the engine winds up is more F1-like than the 4 & 6 cylinder cars, but do not discount the 4's and 6's. On a track day, the lap times are more closely tied to the tires and the driver's abilities, and even more so at an autocross. The same goes for a live axle car vs an IRS. The Ultralites and the Stalkers have been the cars to beat at Run &Gun, one is an IRS and one is a live axle. Cats, birkins, locosts and the such have been highly competitive with crossflows, zetecs and duratecs at events all over the world. All the marques discussed are great cars, and you really can't go wrong with any of them. Your comment on the Ultralite not being affordable may take some more research on your part. They are susbstantially cheaper than a newer Caterham ( of course all the other marques are as well) and in the same general price range as a Stalker, Westfield , Birkin or Deman. Do some shopping, compare the prices. You may well find something in your $20k price range. I believe the Superformance is out of production, as they concentrate on building Cobras. (If this is not correct someone please set me straight) There are some advantages to driveability and reliability that go with the more "stock" engines. The Honda S2000, the Buick/pontiac/chevrolet V6 , and the Zetec are all reliable solid engines, and offer plenty of HP in their"stock" form. ( Yes I know that too much HP is barely enough) If you get near St.Louis, contact me, I will be happy to let you enjoy the Ultralite experience.

Living in Southern California has some real advantages for car guys.

You stole my line !! :boxing:

Guys with expensive toys, utilizing them for no good use, but simply fun. This is what makes America a great country.

Great story, magnificent car!! Everyone should take the time to go through all the posts. A perfect example of how every step you take has unintended consequences, with their associated additional costs.

Great idea. I started my son at about 14, rebuilding the engine of a beater that I had bought for his older sister. After that build, he did the minor engine work and oil changes whenever I needed them on the cars. We also built a dune buggy together when he was 17, so he had a car to drive to high school.( he drove it every day for 3 years, in all weather, rain, snow or shine, he would make a real sevener) It turned out to be a great experience for both of us. He is now 43 and still has the buggy. (we are also ME's) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1803887102_dunebuggy.jpg

Bob: Just put a bow tie on the valve cover and pretend you are Mazda

As to the Black Hills: No bears, but here is a pic of what to expect on the road to Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, wild donkeys that will stick their head in your window to get treats. ( alt 16 through Custer State Park.) Note there is some rain, but as you can see in the rear view mirror, the top is down, as it was for over 5400 miles on that trip. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/240130578_DSC_0496 (Small).JPG Another pic of the road to Rushmore which goes through tunnels that present a view of Rushmore. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/977579021_DSC_0508 (Small).JPG Here are some shots of downtown Deadwood http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/512074375_DSC_0521 (Small).JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1306526134_DSC_0539 (Small).JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1366023168_DSC_0540 (Small).JPG As to Montana, it is an absolutely gorgeous state. We were about 200 miles northwest of the Beartooth Highway 3 years ago on a "no interstate highway" trip from St. Louis to Seattle, to LA down the coast highway, back to St.Louis. I admit to the interstate from Oklahoma City to St.Louis) Here is one of my wife & the vette at McDonald Pass, on the Continental Divide,( elevation 6325 feet) on route 12 about 10 miles west of Helena MT. ( I would not have made it off the gravel parking lot, and up the dirt path to the actual top in my seven, the vette has more ground clearance) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1465325915_DSC_0600 (Small).JPG Her is a road that we were traversing at an extremely high rate, look at the dot on the left, it's actually a house. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/703020807_DSC_0585 (Small).JPG now you can see it http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/682954986_DSC_0586 (Small).JPG then the hills in front took us to this view http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/737477593_DSC_0588 (Small).JPG

The first half is scouting and planning, the second half is ordering, the third half is building, and the fourth half is driving. Thus proving se7ens are twice the fun

p71sohc: Welcome to the uSA7s. I like your ideas for the Deman. Half the fun of a kit is the scouting and planning. With that color scheme, it would be a "stealth" seven. I also like the low headlights. The headlights sticking way up above the hood is the least attractive feature of a seven. The lowest set of headlights may not last too long, watch out for those parking lot wheel stops, thsy are nosecone stops for a seven.

I also am concerned about what to do with the trailer and tow vehicle if we move to a different hotel each night. Perhaps there can be a safe storage location for the trailer and tow vehicle, and set up a loop to return to the storage location. This is what we did on our Ozarks tour in 2006. I realize that it may be too early to worry about this, but are the gas stations close enough together in the Wyoming and Montana areas? On the Ozark tour, we all traveled together and stopped together, on a pre planned mapped-out route. I tried to keep the mileage between gas stations to about 80 to 90 miles for those smaller tanked sevens, and we did about 200-220 miles per day for 3 days. Gas mileage is not too good with "spirited"driving, and some of the really small towns didn't have premium gas. Perhaps we shoud take a poll of the range that each driver feels "safe" in attempting on a full tank of fuel with spirited driving. I imagine this trip would involve "cruising" to see the terrain , rather than the more racy roads like the TOTD or the previous southcentral Missouri Ozark tour. This ( the Midwest or the Montana-Wyoming) being a pretty long trip for most people, it should probably have the ability to be a vacation spot for the non seven riders and kids. St.Louis has a lot of attractions besides the baseball team, and can be a good vacation spot, but it is 40 miles out to the beginning of the more "scenic" roads. Perhaps Branson in southwest Missouri would be a spot we could base from, and return to each night. It is on a big lake ( Table Rock Lake)with fishing and watersports and is family friendly, and of course it's hundreds of hotels and 86 musical shows and a theme park. There could be some good road cruises to the northeast and southeast out of Branson. I looked at Microsoft's Streets and Trips , and it showed 167 hotels, 15 landmarks and 20 restaurants in a 5 mile diameter centered on Branson. Actually there are likely more restaurants than that, I haven't been there myself in quite a while. Branson activities Branson's website slomove's idea of a white paper on the area, with proposed routes and locations and features that would help people choose woud be in order. I'm voting for the Ozarks, but I am willing to go to Montana ( 1400 miles) or the Black hills (1000 miles even though I've been to the black hills & rushmore 5 times in the last 6 years, because I prairie dog hunt in South Dakota)

I like all the variations that qwar1000 has developed, and I have a couple suggestions/comments. 1) The side vents on the blue model will put the heat at the shoulder/arm of the driver and passenger. 2) The top hood vents may put the heat on the faces on the green model 3) The orange model does both. Vents are critical on a seven, and require a lot of forethought. There is a lot of underhood heat to be released. Without a tall windshield, the hood vents may let the heat hit the faces. Deman has a clever side vent but it is low and forward, and likely lets the heat dissipate before hitting the drivers elbow. Summer driving can be tiring if the heat from the footwells and from the exhaust, and possible side vents, all hit the driver or passenger. ( Edit) I also suggest the front fenders end at about 4" from the ground at the rear, unless you enjoy being pelted by 60mph pebbles. I love the modern aspect, but when it come to the useage of the car, track days or competition will dictate a roll bar or cage that may be difficult to "style". So it is important to identify the customer base. The intended useage may drastically affect the design. The Superformance S1 has some modern aspects to it, such as the dual roll bars, side vent ( just pasted on) the flare under the trunk ala Doonkervoot, the rounded windshield pillars, the rounded nose. Superformance S1 Which leads me to Rouge Se7ens question of "will they buy it?" It appears that you presently have a basic frame, the nose and fenders of a traditional seven. I believe this will appeal only to the current 'Locost" builder, who is willing to search out his own parts, figure out what will work and won't work, and in general is interested in lots of fabrication and low cost. I believe the typical kit builder would prefer to have all the details worked out by the car supplier, and find himself an engine and transmission, and drop it in. If you build a "modern seven" body, it depends so much on the chassis and the engine size and mounting locations, that it would appear to be very difficult to not supply a complete kit. I believe you have to choose between a complete kit/car supplier, and being a component supplier for the do-it-yourselfer. While Westfield, Deman, WCM, and Stalker (did I miss any?) have complete kits and/or complete cars, they are not at the quantity level of Caterham, and are all small businesses. These guys have also found it is a tough market to break into, and that customers all want something a little different. They also find there are chassis and body changes necessary for different engines. The real advantage you have these days is the USA7s forum, which brings together the multitude of cars and the uses thay are put to, and a willingness to discuss the LSIS , no matter it's lineage.:cheers:

I regularly shoot my 44 mag with reduced loads, and I would love to try one of the S&W 500's for a few rounds, but lots of full house rounds with a 440 gr or 700gr bullets is masochistic.:willy: If you are shooting just a few rounds with factory ammo, recoil from big bore handguns is not objectionable, but for lots of shooting reduced loads are beneficial. Night shooting is fun, and I have noted the same thing, the shooter doesn't experience the full effect of the flash.

A drive like that with a brand new car should qualify you for the "Most Massive Brass Cojones" title. It's 1500 miles from Lancaster to Princeton.... in March....through the Smokies...no weather protection...maybe you should get the "masochist of the year" award. In any event, congrats on the New XR7. I am sure you will love it.