slngsht

Any of you DC area folks up for a short day drive and BBQ at Sugarloaf mountain in Maryland?? No specific date set yet. We'll have to wing it on a Saturday or Sunday based on weather. Leafs should be near peak color around that time.

Man, if you can get a historic titled car, it will probably save you so many headaches. At least in Maryland, there is no inspection of any type on my car. It is such a relief.

Well, since I don't own either one, I can't directly help with your question. I can tell you without a doubt that the drive back will be a great opportunity to enjoy the full effect of picking up a new toy - unless you break down http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif Personally I always find it difficult to turn down additional power, so that would be a big determining factor for me. I also find it a relief that I don't have to worry about the "collectability" of my Seven, so I can do whatever I want. If this is going to be driven regularly in all kinds of weather, I suggest you buy the car you would enjoy the most, and not even worry about it being collectible. Just my .02

This is what the C5 spindle looks like: http://i3.ebayimg.com/04/i/07/f9/d7/f6_1.JPG If the steering connection is connected from the bottom of the bracket as well, dimensions match the Rotus pickup points pretty close

do you have the dimensions? vertical distance between the A-Arm joints, and vertical distance between the lower A-Arm and the steering rod connection?

Al, something like this? >http://www.kabamus.com/garage/gears.html You can type in fake stuff for your gear ratios, change tire parameters and see % difference.

or to take the leftovers from my rear axle home

Hash, Dennis may be able to get some made, but it may not be worth the price. If you would consider 17" wheels, perhaps what I'm trying to do will be more cost effective, and you'll never need more braking. I measured the connection points of the Rotus front suspension against my C5 vette, and they're almost an exact match. C5 vettes come with lightweight aluminum spindles and calipers, and deliver excellent braking performance in a 3200 lb car. It SHOULD work out well in the Rotus. In terms of pricing, I'm still working on that. I think the spindles are $100 each. calipers can be bought used for about the same price, more for new. Rotors are very cheap - $26 at rockauto.com. a wide variety of wheels are available. You can pick up C5 aluminum "wagon wheels" for about $150 a set. From there, IF you ever need to upgrade, wilwood sells a six piston kit. I just can't see a 1600 lb car needing that though. You could lock up at 150 http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif

Brakes in a seven are only used when you arrive at your destination http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

this is a one sec video, so don't blink. This is the style I'm most comfortable with. It really depends on the pedal configuration on the car too. >http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF-8&p=heel+toe+shifting&b=1&oid=d99d226442336718&rurl=forums.vwvortex.com&vdone=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.yahoo.com%2Fvideo%2Fsearch%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dheel%2Btoe%2Bshifting

this vid shows the other technique, where you actually tap the gas with your heel >http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6837150333096546791&q=heel+toe

Even if you're not driving at the limit, it is just fun - and habit forming. There are a couple of methods based on pedal configuration, but for me, what works best is braking with the ball of my foot, and rolling the outside of my foot to the throttle to tap it in order to rev match before slipping in the lower gear when downshifting. There is a very good vid of a guy doing it. A video is better than a thousand words. I'll try to find it. When done right, you will not feel any deceleration due to engine braking (nor any acceleration)... just a smooth transition as you downshift

I wear regular shoes, and I have found that my go pedal can overpower my stop pedal. Was that a birthday present? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

Why do I have this sudden urge to get a head / cam package? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/confused5.gif

I've been pretty quiet on this topic for a couple of days, but work has continued. Here's an update: 1- Al and I approached several members to become "founding members". These members were approached based on their involvement in the Seven community and/or usa7s, their belief in the inclusive nature of this club, experience in running a club, and their willingness to put in time and money required for all the upfront work in forming the club and covering the first year of insurance for club activities. These individuals are as follows (in no particular order): stevet JohnCh Al Navarro powderbrake snettleship tvacc 951n914 MichaelD slngsht 2- Founding members will get 10 votes each - for the first 2 years only. Following the two year period, they will each get 1 vote, just like any other member. This plan will help launch the club and get its operations in order, while allowing pretty low membership dues for general membership. 3- The concensus on membership requirements is that LSiS ownership is NOT a requirement. 4- The current wording for the purpose of the club is: The purpose of [name] is to enhance LSiS ownership experience, promote camaraderie through regional and national activities and events, create awareness, and encourage favorable interest in LSiS and the club. We're only a couple of steps away from filing the paperwork http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Finally, thought contributions in this thread has helped guide where we are going - please keep it up.

All, the general section, and to some extent the tech section seem to be getting pretty frequent traffic. The other sections are worth a visit. Feel free to roam around the regional sections as well as off topic. Here's a thread on the Run 'n Gun event for this year... >http://www.usa7s.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=159 slngsht2006-08-28 11:49:51

Happy Birthday http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/party.gif

I love it when repairs go smoothly. From the time I went to buy a stick of brake line, to the time I bled the brakes, EVERYTHING went smoothly. How often does that happen? Walked into the parts store... no line, the guy knew exactly what I wanted (minor miracle). Got home, bent the tube exactly right on the first shot - flared, everything fit. 5 minutes later had the line bled, and back on the road. This NEVER happens to me. There is always one little thing that turns "Honey I'll be done in 20 min" to 2 hours of work.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/iagree.gif I always leave that place with more than I wanted going in.

hmmm... I bet xflow can shed some light on this for us. from build18 page on that site: There can't be that many xflows out there named Dave http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

I did a lookup on his domain name and sent an email to the contact listed. The email bounced It is a very nice site.

I only made it through the suspension design. After that, moved on over the the Natual Gas Vehicle Competition as my primary senior design project, and volunteered on the FSAE. We built a liquid natural gas powered truck... small block, single turbo, 12.5:1 compression. She put out 420 ft.lbs at 2200 RPM... Never could get enough fuel to it to find out how much power. My favorite memory from FSAE is when we completely assembled the car on the bench in the lab, then realized we couldn't get it through the lab door http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif Alot of long nights working on those project.

xflow... Your story motivated me to repeat how I came to own my Rotus (I'm sure I have posted this somewhere before). Back in '89 I was a junior at University of Maryland. At the time I had started working on the FSAE program, and like all other car nuts here, I loved the idea of the simplest, lightest possible car on the road. At the time, I saw a kit car article on Rotus. It turns out the company was 30 minutes from where I lived, so I gave them a call and went up to Hagerstown, MD to take a look. I sat in the car, touched the ground, and knew that I was in love. After I graduated, JUST LIKE YOU, I tried to finance one, and got the same answer. Years went by, got married, had 2 kids, etc... Never really gave the Rotus much thought. But magically, through all the moves, kept the brochures. At some point, I ran across Joe Worsleys (Old Yellow forum member) Yahoo! user group for Rotus and signed up. For a couple of years, I never posted, but kept receiving occasional messages. Finally, one day I saw a message from Tim Custer - I recognized the last name (Chris Custer was the founder of Rotus). I found out that Chris Custer had passed away in 2002, and Tim was about to have an estate auction. I looked up his number in the white pages, and gave him a ring, inquiring about any cars that might still be there. Amazingly enough, the same car that I sat in back in the late 80's was tucked away in the garage. A short visit later, I paid cash and got her towed away. That was last year. It's been a great purchase for me.

All, alot of good points being discussed. I'm monitoring, but tomorrow is both my sons' b-days, so I'll have limited time on until Sunday. LocostV8, we're thinking along those lines (maybe the names are not quite the same)

K. We all know what a Seven looks like - we're getting wrapped up in trying to put it down in words. I think LocostV8's "Inspired by Collin Chapman's Lotus 7" is very good, without getting into specifics of heritage, which I want to avoid. Any of us can look at a car from a block away, and tell if the criteria is met. I'll comment on the rest later... gotta make a parts run.