athens7

How many years, if ever, will it take to heal the damage this schism has caused to open wheel racing in this country?

Yeah, it was pretty bad (I turned it off less than halfway through). Maybe it should be renamed "American Idle". :ack:

I use a Wix 51374 oil filter, fwiw.

HB 950 passed the full House yesterday by a vote of 159 for, 0 against:hurray:. It now goes to the Senate; if approved, our right to title assembled cars and custom motorcycles will be restored. Thanks to all who supported this legislation through the House. We now need to make our Senators aware of our support for this bill. Please contact your state Senator and keep attention on HB 950. We're not far from preserving our hobby in the Peach State!

My car (and its driver) will be in Buford Monday, Feb. 11 at Balanced Performance Motorsports. I'll be available shortly after lunch time, if the tuning goes well.

:thumbs: almost too nice to drive.

The bill is in response to a policy change by the Georgia Department of Revenue, who oversees DMVS. This policy, according to my representative, is the result of fears of litigation against Revenue if someone is injured or killed in an accident involving one of our non federally compliant cars. It WILL apply to previously titled cars coming from other states as well, that is to say, you will NOT be able to get a Georgia title for a car previously titled in another state, unless this bill is passed. So, we are in FAVOR of passage of this legislation, which should also eliminate the tendency of Georgia DMVS to try to put rebuilt brands on the titles to kit cars. My last car was a 2003 Beck 550 Spyder; it was titled in California as SPCN (special construction-a Georgia DMVS story for another day), then re-titled in Georgia with a 'special construction' brand (after initally getting a 'rebuilt' brand, in spite of promises to the contrary). I had even better paperwork this time, including MCO's for the car and the engine, as well as assembly paperwork. I was told by the supervisor of the relevant DMVS section that, under the old rules, my paperwork was without flaw, but, due to the new policy, they would not issue a title for my car. In the absence of specific legislation, our hobby's continued existence in Georgia is up to the whim of non-elected bureaucrats and lawyers.

Georgia has quietly become the only state in the Union to outlaw (by refusing to issue titles for) all kit cars, custom motorcycles, and any other cars that aren't OEM, fully EPA, NHTSA, & DOT certified :banghead: . Legislation is currently making its way through the Georgia House of Representatives to address this injustice. Please email or phone your Senator or Representative and ask them to support our right to own & drive specialty automobiles and motorcycles! You can find your representatives at: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/

The only mechanical change might be a long 1st gear 5 speed. My car was built when I bought it, so it was take it or leave it, and it had all of the other 'must have' items on my list. Several months later, on the dyno, I found that the standard 1st-2nd shift drops revs 1500, with all other shifts dropping 1000; it would be nice to keep the revs up a little more on the 1-2 shift. I would definitely NOT change my ZF lsd, it is great for putting power down in curves, and, as they were no longer available from Caterham even last year, it was then or never. For probably emotional reasons only, I also wanted an Arch frame. Whether bought new or used, expect a sorting out process, and set aside some $$$ for same.

The 'quality' issues seem to come from running a top at all at 120 mph. I've driven a couple of Lotus' current offerings, and I wouldn't score them high on build quality. Of course, this was never a priority for Colin.

Wow, an $8000.00 buy it now!

My car's only got 1800 miles on it, and it is garaged and covered, and only driven in the rain once. Other than a wipe down of the body after every drive, I've not had the car cleaned since I bought it. I'm not much of a fan of pressure washing, fearing damage to the electrics, but I expect some compressed air now and then can get rid of some of the debris in the chassis.

Considering all the Sevens I see advertised with 200+ hp Zetecs (I have yet to see a dyno chart to support one of these), and the representations made by the sellers as to power, my primary goal was to ascertain whether or not my engine had a problem or problems, and to solve the cut off issue. I can certainly live with the power my car produces, especially if we can reduce the size of the torque dip. It's much more fun to drive the car than to throw money at it (I'm not a do it yourselfer like Mazda). Btw, 68 degrees and sunny yesterday and today. It sure was nice to get the top off and go for a couple of blats!:7fume: Nice smiley, too!

Besides my nice Seven watch, some trim pieces: A new, enamel/metal hood badge, in a color better suited to my carhttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1264976957_DSC00883.JPG The old badgehttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2113367222_DSC00876.JPG An SVT spark plug insert for the valve cover. Thanks to Mike Trendel at Hilbish Ford for the fabrication work!http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1322902810_DSC00889.JPG The old, bare coverhttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1787542128_engine 2.jpg Thanks, Seven Claus!

The holidays, and year end at work got me behind, but here are the results of my last runs. The VCT is restored, the original factory PCM program is restored, the cams have all been timed using factory timing tools. I left the adjustable exhaust cam gear on for future tuning, but it is set to zero. In effect, the car is as it was when I bought it. The first run is in this condition, the second with the performance tune that came from Diablosport when I bought the Predator, not a custom tune. The power output is as good as the custom tune from NC, without the driveability problems. The dip is still there, and the air/fuel ratio is still a little off at the torque peak, but my tuner feels both items can be improved with a little custom tuning. According to Ben at RMSC, limited slip diff equipped Sevens can expect about 19% drive train loss on a Dynojet dyno, so I'm making about 185 hp and 158 lb-ft of torque. This compares favorably with the factory SVT's output of 170 hp and 145 lb-ft torque (and my car's torque peak is achieved at 500 lower rpm). While this is still not 200 hp, as advertised by Caterham, it's pretty good. My choice is now to either install stock SVT cams and re-test, or leave this cam set in and tune for best results. The general consensus has been that the claimed 20 hp increase due to the Kent cams is optimistic, at best, as may be the claimed 10 hp increase from the K&N filter and the Caterham header. Most of the people with whom I've spoken believe 20 hp in total from all 3 mods is probably more realistic. If so, replaceing the stock cams will likely just be money spent to reduce power. Everyone who has looked at the motor agrees it is sound and defect free, and a body of opinion is forming that the dip is the result of the stock cam phasing not being correct for the new cams, a problem which may be addressable through PCM mapping. My guys also believe the smoother and stronger curves (as compared to the original run in NC) are due to the incorrect timing of the Kent cams when they were originally installed on my car, prior to sale. One delightful side effect of the re-installation and timing of the cams is that the engine's cutting off on clutch engagement from higher rpms appears to have stopped! As this problem was the reason this whole quest began, it was indeed an exciting moment when I tested it and the car didn't die. My mechanic indicated that camshaft timing issues could have been the cause. So, tune this set up, or go back to dead stock and start from scratch? As always opinions are welcome. I did pick up a new complete SVT cylinder head, and I have a set of stock cams. I'm playing with the idea (not right away) of porting this head, installing the stock cams, and having a complete second option to bolt on. The guy I bought the head from is an avid SVT buff, as well as a mechanic, and claims 210 hp from his similar setup. Upgraditis is a chronic disease!http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/36573913_Dec 19 2007 chart.jpg

That looks neat. You could also just bolt 'em on, and if they crack, use it as justification to the Mrs. for buying carbon fiber replacement wings (it's helpful to have justifications for upgraditis).

Gotta love thread drift! Is Carroll Shelby's continuation car a clone, or the real thing? (not the fiberglass cars, but the ali cars on serialized frames) What about the Allard J2Xs built by the founder's son? If a car qualifies for its marque's registry, is it the real thing, or a replica? While we're on the subject of simple issues, how about that whole Israel/Palestine thing? Enjoy YOUR car!

My watch arrived today. Thanks to JeanEd and Mazda. Happy new year!

Bernie- I tried to PM you, but I don't know that it took. The kit is available; please PM me for transaction details.

I wound up with 2 of these, due to a lack of time and patience. New in box, with instructions, from Ford Motorsport. $25.00, shipped anywhere in USA.

My exhaust was jet hot coated at assembly. While it only had 100 miles on it when I bought it, it was about 2 years old, so the crack might have been a while in the making. I talked with Ben at RMSC today; they have developed a front exhaust mount that doesn't require new holes in the body. I am looking forward to receiving one-I'll post when it arrives (sometime in January, along with a Soft Bits tunnel bag). As to the breaks, Al, I haven't mentioned the wiring problems, the continuing hard start problems (immobilizer, wiring from ignition to fuel pump relay?), the continuing cut off when clutch engaged, etc. Sure glad I bought a new car! I am up to 150 hp at the wheels, though (dyno chart to follow).

Mazda, it's the 280mm Momo quick release wheel that is optional on all Caterhams. I think Jeff Sloan at British Auto has a couple in stock. www.britauto.net.

At 1500 miles, I have a 4 inch crack in my exhaust, where the collector meets the catalyst. Anyone else have similar problems with the rear exiting Caterham exhaust?

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2025479462_DSC00656.JPG

That was no goat, that was a Georgia prostitute! (what a lame way to hit "advanced member" status)