scannon

Since you still have the steering column lock, you are removing the upper bushing along with the steering shaft. I did it by sitting in the driver seat with the steering wheel still attached and just using the steering column locking lug as a slide hammer against the bushing. Be very careful with the bolts on the steering lock, they are designed to break off at a fairly low torque. This would be a great time to relocate the ignition switch to the dash board. I used a new Chevrolet truck ignition switch from the 70's and mounted it out on the dash. If your new steering shaft has the lug on it for the steering lock, cut it off and smooth up the area for future ease of removal. The wiring was long enough that I didn't have to cut or splice any of them. I did have to add a small jumper on the back of the switch to provide power to the ignition system while in the Start position as the old switches used a separate circuit in Start to bypass the ballast resistor. Skip

From the Miata.net forum: WRC on HD Theater Television coverage of the FIA World Rally Championship will be available to millions of households in the USA later this year thanks to a new partnership between series promoters, ISC, and the Discovery Channel's HD Theater network. WRC programming will be shown weekly on HD Theater starting in October. As well as coverage from every round of the championship, a range of other features and news bulletins will be shown.

Here's a few of my photos from the Wyoming tour. 1. Gert & Rosie, all packed up and ready to leave my place. Rosie is driving this segment. 2. Big Bear motel parking lot. Al Navarro and Bill Gemini perusing the Se7ens. 3. Scenic overlook on the top of the Chief Joseph Highway 4.. Altitude is 10,847'. 5. Chris leading the Se7ens in a song. 6. One of many mountain views 7. Nice rack, eh? Big elk having a snack. 8. Lower falls on the Yellowstone river. 9. Inside the Old Faithful Lodge. I remember climbing to the top of that when about 10 years old. 10. We were joking about Old Faithful geyser producing a 7 for us and if you look close, you can see it!

Steve, I will check next week and see if they are still saving the scraps for me. MoPho, The heat shield in the Lotus Talk link is very similar to the one I made for my SV. I think it is very effective in keeping the radiant heat from the turbo, manifold and downpipe off the front of the footwell. It is powder coated black so its a little hard to see in the photos. You can see where the missing stud should be on the exhaust manifold. Its the one that sheared off on the Wyoming tour.

It was non-consensual automotive intercourse

Think you could do this in a Se7en? That's a lot of miles

I have insulation on the inside of the foot boxes, tunnel and floors and foam with foil on the outside of the foot boxes and tunnels. The foil on the exhaust side delaminated and fell off and the foam looks like it has melted a bit on the surface but it is still sticking well. I also built a stand off heat shield between the turbo/downpipe and the front of the driver side foot box. My feet get warm but nothing like before I added the interior insulation. They are comfortable in sneakers and driving shoes as well as sandals. The interior insulation is actual spacecraft Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) scraps from the aerospace company I used to work at. I've talked about it in other threads in the past. It wasn't until I installed the MLI that I noticed a big difference in foot temperatures. As a test prior to installing the MLI, I taped a 4" x 6" piece to the bare ali on the passenger side of the tunnel, just forward of the seat. After driving the car a bit, I could not put my hand on bare ali for more than an instant but the MLI felt barely warm. I have given several people on this forum enough scraps to cover the foot wells, tunnel and floors but AFAIK none have installed it so I don't know how well it worked for them. If there is anyone else interested, let me know and I will see if I can get some more scraps. You have to piece them together like a quilt but it was well worth the effort for my car.

The only problem I have with the Mirrors for Sevens is backing up. I cannot tell where my rear fenders are in relation to the shop door. Yeah, I know, don't back into the shop.

After following my Caterham & Gert's Birkin (with a 3rd very bright brake light) on the Wyoming trip I am convinced that I need a third brake light. I was amazed how wimpy the stock Caterham brake lights are. Skip

Caterham USA contact info: http://www.uscaterham.com/ Tel: 303.765.0247 RMSC no longer exists, as Al mentioned it was combined with Caterham USA. Ben is still the main man to talk to. Skip

It was, if you don't count a suicidal Dodge Charger driver, crazy bikers and no room at the hotel when I tried to check in that evening in spite of having a confirmation number. :banghead: Skip

Dave, Thanks for bringing the exhaust isolator and bolts. It would have saved the day had not I popped the bonnet to show you the engine and noticed the nut and stud missing from the turbo mount. I did confirm today that it is twisted off, not just fallen out so the turbo and manifold have to come off for repairs. There goes my scheduled lapping day at HPR on Friday. :ack: To explain to those not on the trip, somewhere on the Bear Tooth highway I heard the exhaust scrape the road. I had the exhaust reworked last winter to prevent that so I was a bit alarmed. I grabbed the heat shield on the muffler with my left hand and discovered that the bolt and silicone isolator were missing and the whole exhaust system was being supported soley by the turbo. I drove the rest of the way to Red Lodge holding the muffler up. A visit to a feed store near where we had lunch produced a chunk of heavy coat hanger wire which I used to attach the muffler to the bracket. Then Al and Laura drove the car on to Chico Springs. A phone call to David before we left Red Lodge gave him a description of what it looked like and he went to his hot rod shop and found exactly the part I needed. We installed it in the parking lot at the hot springs and then I took David for a quick ride. As I said above, popping the bonnet revealed a problem that could not be fixed on the road so the car went into the trailer for the rest of the trip. This is one more example of the great people on this forum. Thanks David. :cheers:

I've had similar thoughts about my shop. If times get really tough I will rent out my house and move into the shop. It already has a microwave, fridge, shower, toilet, sink, heat and a swamp cooler. There would still be room for 3 or 4 cars once I got a bed and closet in there. I could be perfectly happy in there. My shop is actually bigger than my house. Seems about right to me. Skip

Much better picture, thanks Tom.

Tom. Glad you enjoyed both the party and the ride. I'm looking forward to checking out your new car and seeing you at the track with it. If you got better pictures than I did last night, please post them here. Skip

Some video from Jay's appearance on Top Gear. Top Gear

Gert & Rosie and Bill & Chris showed up at my home this afternoon after a great trip through Rocky Mountain National Park. We had a BBQ in my shop and a total of 5 Se7ens were there. Gert's Birkin, Bill's Super Stalker, Bob Walker's Caterham Super Seven, Bob Simon's Caterham Super Seven and my Caterham SV. Other Se7en people showed up for a total of about 17 people. There was much looking under the bonnets, general checking out of the cars and discussions about all things Se7en. A few rides were given as well. Unfortunately, we didn't think to line up the cars and take pictures until it was nearly dark so those below are not of the best quality. Tomorrow the Californians head to Saratoga Springs, Wyoming. I will trailer my car and meet them in Cody on Saturday as will Al Navarro and his wife. From then on, Al and I will share driving between the Caterham and the truck and trailer. Skip

From his original post, it appears the swap will cost him nothing and he won't have to do the work either. It also sounds like the local Seven builders have a lot of experience doing this so it should be a trouble free car as far as the engine and transmission are concerned. If it were me, it would be a no brainer - here's the keys, have at it. Skip

He is already planning on attending the BBQ tonight and will bring the car if he gets it licensed and insured. Congratulations, hope to see the new car soon. Skip

That's why some call them Stealerships.

The engine clears the bonnet and nose cone nicely. I do have only 2.5" of clearance under the sump. The transmission is a tight fit, Miata transmissions have a large boss on the tail shaft for the power plant frame (PPF). The PPF is a large ali channel that connects the transmission to the diff. It also serves as the 3rd mount for the engine and transmission. I had to cut this off and make a mount to match the Caterham cross member. This page shows three tail shaft housings, the one I butchered to see if I could make it fit, a stock one and the finished product. There are also pictures of the motor mounts, fit of the engine under the bonnet and a top view showing how much of the trans goes into the tunnel on the same page. Skip

I may be a bit biased but I say go for it. You may lose the sound but you gain modern fuel injection, some hp, a really sweet transmission (go for the 5 speed, its a better transmission and you don't need the close ratio 6 speeds or you will be too busy shifting to enjoy the car). Parts are easy to find and it will be many years before parts become scarce. You also get an engine that doesn't leak, doesn't need valve adjustments and has a large aftermarket of speed equipment. I f you can talk them into it, get a model year 2000 engine. There was a major change to the intake manifold and inlet passages that lets it make around 140 hp. The 2000 engine does have solid lifters so you have to check them every 50,000 miles. I'm running that engine in my Caterham and with a turbo, big injectors, a stand alone ecu and no internal mods it is putting out 301 wrhp and 260 lb ft torque. Skip

What is more amazing than the MS as the Stig scam is the fact that the Ferrari FXX took around 7 seconds off the lap record previously held by the Gumpert Apollo. I have to wonder if MS was driving the Ferrari for that one time. The whole episode 13-1 is available here on Streetfire. Top Gear Season 13 - Episode 1 Part 1 - Car Videos on StreetFire.

A radar detector is the only reason I have been able to keep a driver's license over the years. Instant on radar can get you but if there is any traffic you will pick up on it painting them before you get there for your turn. Good detectors can pick up radar long before the signal is strong enough for them to get a lock on you. I would guess it saves me 4 - 5 tickets a month. Like the American Express card people say, I don't leave home without it. Do they use radar on Bonaire? Last time I was there the roads were so bad you couldn't speed if you wanted to. Great place to dive but a horrible place for a gearhead. Skip

That was not the car's best run, THIS RUN broke into the 8s. Scroll down below the pictures to see the video of the run. There is another Miata turning in the high 9s with 1.8 liter junkyard engines. I guess picking up a junkyard engine every month or so was cheaper than building one to handle the hp. The 1.6 and 1.8 Miata engines were originally designed for turbocharging in the 323 GTX and GTR. They have oil squirters aimed at the bottom of the pistons, stronger crankshafts and rods and are generally overbuilt from the factory.