slngsht

I finally got to watch the Caterham run. Very nice. He lost a few seconds getting held up by traffic. I think the big guys (GM,Porsche, etc...) somehow make their runs on clear tracks - can they rent the track for exclusive use??

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/rofl.gif I had definitely noticed that.

I'm definitely open to usa7s being used. Al, what are your thoughts on that? I'm sure we talked about this before, but I don't remember why we didn't go with it. I think Caterham was OK with a non-profit fan site??

Well, my plan for the next few months is to redo the hood / cawl area, upgrade brakes, and replace the rear suspension links. This work was planned to start next week. As it turns out, the C5 Vette uprights have almost identical pickup points as the current uprights, so I can get some excellent brakes for the car by upgrading. After I drove home last night, I noticed the right side of the rear axle was wet - with brake fluid. So I have to add replacing the brake lines to my list. Overall, considering the car had sat for so many years, it was a pretty good first season. The fuel tank developed a leak and had to be replaced, but other than that the car ran pretty strong through many commutes and about 50-60 autox runs, and a couple of long trips without any major problems, so I'm pretty happy. Now, onto turning wrenches.

couple more ideas... focusing on the people rather than the car: Seven Enthusiasts Club Hard Core Seveners' Club I will put up a poll tomorrow night based on what has been put forth, so we can pick something. Things are moving along with other prep work, and club name is the very first question on the forms.

Scott, I like the "Seven Inspired" concept alot. It is inline with what we're about.

Jim, welcome to the forum and thanks for the info.

I've seen the Porsche vid. The new Corvette Z06 ran the ring at 7:42.9 in full production trim, driven by Jan Magnussen. At the end of one of the straights, the car actually went airborne and landed hard enough to go airborne again on the rebound. Pics: http://www.z06vette.com/gallery/data/500/887014439CorvetteNBRMagScan1.jpg

Read this and then watch the video Strongest Dad in the World FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, By Rick Reilly I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life. This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. ``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.'' But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.'' "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.'' That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?'' How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think? Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time. ``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.'' And Dick got something else o

Missed it this year, but something to keep in mind for next year. >http://www.snowshoehillclimb.com/

I'm looking forward to putting the little beast on the dyno http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif hopefully the rear will hold - if I haven't upgraded by then.

if the results of their load test (with appropriate safety factors to give adequate fatigue life) are good, they should have no trouble with challenging the findings of the inspection.

The manufacturer is in a really tough place. Their only course of action is to challenge the inspector's findings. The problem is how does the inspector arrive at the conclusion that the chassis is weak? Chances are that neither side has data to disprove the other. I think a crash test is in order. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif

I think none of this was in the US. If the inspector says the basic design is unsafe, that'll be hard to correct by the distributor. This should involve the manufacturer, based on the little I know about it.

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/redneckharley.jpg

Where's the car? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/confused5.gif

I read the thread on the RH forum as well. I'd be pretty PO'ed if I had just finished a brand new car and had that as a the inspection result.

Steve, deleted the double post http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif ... I'm a totally non-creative person, so if you have other name and any logo ideas, fire away.

I'm not familiar with Robin hoods - certainly no first hand experience, nor have I ever seen one... What's the material thickness used? Images: http://www.robinhoodengineering.co.uk/images/LW5B.jpg http://www.robinhoodengineering.co.uk/images/LW6B.jpg

Al and I met on Saturday, at the Baltimore Aquarium. Between looking after the kids, getting splashed by dolphins, beer and dinner, we managed to discuss the club and the 7/7/7 event. Al will post up regarding our event discussions in that thread. For the club, we will incorporate shortly. We still need a name ("United Sevens of America???"), need to have a mission, logo, etc... We will need at least a President and a Sec/Treasurer. Our thoughts (some of which Tony V and I discussed as well) is that the members should own the club. Therefore, what we would like to setup is that each member who joins, gets one share (and one vote) in the club. We propose a class of founding members who for a higher fee, get 10 shares - this is needed to get the upfront incorporation and setup costs taken care of. Officers will be nominated and voted for annually by the club "shareholders". I don't have a total line item of all related costs for the first year yet, but I figure it will take We also think the club should have regional event coordinators to get the members out on drives, etc... That's what the club is there for http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Related to that, and according to our coverage, we need to come up with some guidelines for what types of events can be done by the club. We talked about a number of secondary topics, such as using the club for vendor discounts, group purchases, etc, as well as providing members with some forum bonuses, such as a home page, file upload capability, etc... The club newsletter will be electronic - at least in the beginning. In all the above text, I say "we dicided" or "we will", but that's just so the text is not so passive. These are all things that we discussed in our brainstorming, and we would like to get everyone's feedback. As I hope JohnCh and TonyV can testify, we are totally open to other ideas on how to proceed.

Are you still planning on picking it up? Give me some advanced notice if you come up.

Forum member LocostV8 sent me a few interesting discussion links on solid axle rear suspension. I'll be doing my own searches as well. I'm on a quest to solve my axle hop problem, and the first step I'm taking is stiffer links and joints. But while waiting for parts to arrive, a little research doesn't hurt. If you have your own thoughts, links, or whatever on the subject, share them here... These provided by LocostV8 (I have partially read through the first and second - these have to do with 3 link designs mostly, but alot of useful info) >http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=2474 >http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=29787 >http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=29842 another informative link >http://www.afcoracing.com/tech_pages/4link.shtmlslngsht2006-08-19 07:18:39

our first member joined http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/hurray.gif for the first part of the year, it was hosted on my PC at home, and until the last couple of months things were pretty slow. It looks like we're finally getting some traction, and the idea of this board becoming a hang out for LSiS addicts is closer to reality. As always, if you have ideas for things I could do to improve the place, let me know, and I'll do what I can. Looks like alot of us will meet in person next year. I'm pretty excited about the progress we have made on the 7/7/7 event as well as forming the club. I'm gonna go enjoy a beer now http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/cheers2.gif

Chet, I guess you and Mark (mr2dux) are in the same field...

I guess you haven't made it home yet. That has to be a good thing http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif