scannon

The car has just over 8k miles on it with about 6 track days. Not bad for just having its 3rd anniversary of being on the road this month. Lots of :Ds in those miles.

Nothing to really skip over, you don't have to use all the power all the time but it sure is nice to have it there when you want it. My 1,800 cc engine dyno'd at 295 RWHP and 245 lb ft of torque. I'd like another hundred or so of each but until I can spend a bunch of $$s on a built engine I'll have to live with what I have. I don't consider that over kill. As I said earlier, too much horsepower is just about right.

I think you will find the LSx engines are quite inexpensive compared to a 260 HP Duratec from Cosworth. A quick Google search shows an LS3 crate engine going for $6,200. It's rated at 430 HP and 428 lb ft. The 260 HP Cosworth Duratec runs around $15k.

Last week I was doing a periodic check of bolt torques on the suspension of the Cat. For some reason I grabbed the anti-sway bar out near the end and gave it a shake. I was quite surprised to feel some slack where the end disappears into the socket on the upper A arm. There is a black bakelite ball screwed onto the end of the anti-sway bar that rides in the socket which acts as the interface between the bar and the A arm. I talked to Nathan and Ben about it and they said the balls were most likely broken, a not unusual occurrence with the Caterham. Ben mailed me up a new pair of balls and I installed them a couple of days ago. The old balls were not broken but had a wear pattern around the circumference on both sides of the grease groove, see picture below. I didn't think to take a picture of the new ones but they didn't show any wear pattern. When I next drove the car I was amazed at the difference in body lean and turn in. Far more than I expected since the measured difference in diameter between the worn and new balls was about 0.4 mm.

I'm getting close with mine and I'm looking for rear view mirrors. I'd like to see some pictures of what mirrors people are using with the Brooklands Screens.

A little over an hour to go and zero bids! Starting bid is $20k. Edit: Sale has ended with one bidder making 3 bids, all at $20k??? Reserve was not met. No Sale.

LS7 550hp version Too much horsepower is just about right.

Replace the corroded fuse and check/clean the contacts in the fuse block. It doesn't take much corrosion to break the circuit. If that doesn't fix the problem, use a 12v test light to trace the circuit to see if you have an open somewhere. Then replace the relay if the circuits check out.

I read in a magazine (either Kit Car Builder or Grassroots) that Stalker is now offering their Seven with an LSx engine. They found that the LSx engines were 40 lb lighter than the V6 they were using and their customers were starting to do their own conversions. Looked at the Stalker website and didn't see anything there. Anyone know if this is true?

I would have liked to hear the sounds of that supercharged engine with twin exhausts at full song.

The Woman Marine Pilot The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day, the kids came back and, one by one, began to tell their stories. There were all the regular types of stuff: spilled milk and pennies saved. But then the teacher realized, much to her dismay, that only Janie was left. “Janie, do you have a story to share?' ''Yes ma'am. My Daddy told me a story about my Mommy. She was a Marine pilot in Desert Storm, and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a flask of whiskey, a pistol, and a survival knife. She drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn't break, and then her parachute landed her right in the middle of 20 Iraqi troops. She shot 15 of them with the pistol, until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands." ''Good heavens," said the horrified teacher. 'What did your daddy tell you was the moral to this horrible story?" "Stay away from Mommy when she's been drinking."

I think Ross and company are planning on a week or more to get to LOG30 but check with him and see. I'll PM his email and phone number.

Al, Consider picking up the car to coincide with the LOCO folks that are driving their cars to LOG30. You could caravan with some true Lotus fanatics and the source of info and help should something go wrong would be invaluable. The club prez is driving his Lotus 7 S3 to the event. You are welcome to stay over at my home whenever you decide to pick up the car.

Would ACBC add lightness to a hoop and a stick? No way! here's a link to the Mark 1, not to be confused with the Lotus Cortina Mark 1. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=46106418079

The car looks great! Tell Hagerty it is a replica of a 1957 Lotus 7. That was the key to getting them to insure my '04 Caterham. The policy says the car is a 1950 Lotus 7 but it has the correct VIN on it so I'm not concerned. Those kids have that Sevens smile, bet they're jonesing for a ride.

There were three Mark VIs at LOG27. Here's a picture of them along with a Mark II.

Nice pictorial of the modules that came together to makeup the current ISS. http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

OK, that clears it up. I'm not sure whether to feel sorry or happy for him, getting a ride in Frankn7. I guess it depends on his adrenalin tolerance.

Does this mean you are the new owner of Old Yellow?

Dean, Thanks for the info. I'm a member of the LOCO club. Those folks are leaving early and taking a route that wouldn't be very interesting with my truck and trailer. I plan to burn across I-70 in about 2 1/2 days.

Al, What is the purpose of the orange machine? Is it a jig to prevent warping while the bracing is welded onto the differential housing? What are the square wheels for?

I've been giving some serious thought to heading East for LOG30. It's "only" 1,623 miles from here, an easy 3 day trip, almost all on the interstate which in my case is a good thing as I will be trailering the Caterham. What ranges of temperature, humidity and precipitation are likely in mid-October in the Gettysburg area? We usually get our first snow storms in October out here in Colorado. Is that likely to happen in Gettysburg? Will the trees have turned their colors and still be on the trees or will they be on the ground by then?

http://www.statesman.com/sports/f1-looking-for-second-u-s-site-besides-789035.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128170775

A father watched his young daughter playing in the garden. He smiled as he reflected on how sweet and pure his little girl was. Tears formed in his eyes as he thought about her seeing the wonders of nature through such innocent eyes. Suddenly she just stopped and stared at the ground. He went over to her to see what work of God had captured her attention. He noticed she was looking at two spiders mating. 'Daddy, what are those two spiders doing?' she asked. 'They're mating,' her father replied. 'What do you call the spider on top?' she asked. 'A Daddy Longlegs,' her father answered. 'So, the other one is a Mommy Longlegs?' the little girl asked. As his heart soared with the joy of such a cute and innocent question he replied, 'No dear. Both of them are Daddy Longlegs.' 'The little girl, looking a little puzzled, thought for a moment, then lifted her foot and stomped them flat. 'Well", she said, "that may be OK in California , but we're not having any of that shit in Texas'.