scannon

Chaz, You said "I indulge myself and arrange for a test drive of a sportscar, which is just about anything save for a '92 Miatta". That says to me you don't consider the Miata a sports car. I currently have three Miatas. If you want an NB model, I have for sale a low mileage 2002 in the very rare Vivid Yellow color, same as the '92 Sunburst.

I find that taking some macho/redneck/drunk/a$$hole, who is giving me crap about my Miata being a chick/gay car, for a quick ride through some curves makes a Miata believer out of him. I think a few of them had to clean out their shorts. One even asked me to stop the car and walked back. It bothers me not what others think of my Miata or Miatas in general, it's my car, built the way I want it and driven the way I like to drive. It is fun to hear grown men scream the first time I late brake into a corner with them in the passenger seat. I have had the passenger grab handle pulled out of the door frame 4 times now by non-believers.

Ben did an internship at Caterham a few years ago and he worked with Nathan Down at RMSC. Nathan worked for Caterham and was the designer of the SV. Between them they have a lot of Caterham knowledge. Them's fighting words. I own a '92 Miata and it is very much a sports car. It has left many an Elise, Porsche, Vette, etc in the dust on the track.

The local drag strip here has test and tune days. I suspect with a roll bar you could get in a run or two with no problem. If you don't get a good launch, sandbag the rest of it and try again. If you get a good run and exceed their set limits they will not let you run again, but one good run is all you need. I plan on doing this sometime in the future.

Not quite true here in Colorado at least. You only have to prove you didn't buy the motor, trans and chassis from the same company. You can buy a junkyard motor, a complete salvage vehicle or a private sale motor. You just need bills of sale from two different companies. I bought my chassis from a dealer in Arizona and bought a salvage auction Miata to get the motor and transmission. A benefit of that is you can strip out the other parts and sell them to recoup some or all of the cost of the wrecked car. That worked so well for me I bought a second salvage Miata to have a spare engine and transmission and made enough on the parts sales to recoup all my costs, have two free engines/transmissions and cash to put into the build budget. Ben at Caterham USA will be happy to answer your questions.

What a buy, even at the BIN price of $25k. Sweet looking car except for the position of the yellow nose band. If I had the spare cash...

Chaz, I live in Erie, about 20 minutes from downtown Denver and you are welcome to come up and have a look at my SV most any time. I can't offer you a ride until my shoulder heals which may be 6 months or more. It's killing me to have the good weather coming on and not be able to drive it. My SV came with the optional 205/45-16 tires on wagon wheels. It also has the spare which is a full size wheel & tire, the same as is on the car. Plenty of room under the front fenders. I also run 205/50-15 R888s on 7 x 15 Kosai wheels for track events. The 205 R888s are a bit wider than the 205 Avons but still clear the fenders. I think it is still possible to order bare ali but I don't think it will come polished from the factory. Caterham USA can tell you for sure. BTW, RMSC no longer exists, it has been combined with Caterham USA. There is no engine that will drop in without some modifications. The current "bare block" the Caterham is designed for is far more than an empty block, it is the complete engine minus the oil pan and other items you would have had to remove and replace with Caterham parts. These Caterham specific parts now come as part of the chassis kit so you pay less for the engine and don't have parts left over to sell or dispose of. It is a relatively easy bit of work to do this. There are other engine options such as my Miata powered SV and on up through V8s like slngsht's and even into the custom V8s with motorcycle heads. Send me a PM or EM and we can arrange a visit. Skip

Too bad that suspension didn't get put into production until the SCR series came out. My SV has the same deDion rear and outboard spring/shock front setup as the classic Caterhams. The SV was already in production by 2003 when the development of this suspension for the SCR took place. 1,344 lb is about right for an SV. This is a wider and longer chassis than the classic Super Seven Caterham. My SV weighed in at 1,350 lb including the additional weight of a cast iron block engine, turbo exhaust manifold, turbo, intercooler & plumbing, a half tank of fuel and a few other things I added. The only other type of Se7en I've driven is the FM Westfield which had a normally aspirated Miata engine at the time. I was very impressed with that car, especially the steering which required less effort and had better feedback than my car. It was also easier to heel/toe but some judicious bending of the pedals on my car fixed that.

Once she gets out of jail, that is. Orange County Police Chase

I'll have to admit, I've been a bit tardy about getting reservations but this afternoon I was able to get reservations in Saratoga, Cody & Chico Hot Springs. I am planning on splitting off at Jackson Lake Lodge and heading SE towards home rather than to Jackson. I will probably break the trip home in Sheridan or somewhere in that area. I have rooms with two beds in the above places so if anyone wants to share a room, let me know. If anyone wants to save a day in a motel, I have room in my home for more than Gert and his wife. I can accommodate another couple on a very comfortable hide a bed and another couple on an air bed. I can also accommodate a large number of people in sleeping bags in the shop which has a bathroom. I'm also planning on hosting a BBQ the evening of July 9th at my home. I'll provide some of the local craft beers for your pleasure and we can socialize until whenever it feels like we should get to sleep for the next day's drive. Everyone on the drive is welcome as well as any local Se7en fans in the area not planning on the drive. Concerning the Bear Tooth Highway loop, I think it would be more fun to turn around at the North end and come back the same way. The rest of the loop doesn't look all that interesting. That way we will be able to drive the Chief Joseph highway 3 times giving us a chance to drive the best part from North to South going uphill. If there ever was a great sports car road, this is it.

You Only Live Once

If you have an SV model, the tank holds 10 gallons but starts to suck air on hard cornering at 1/4 tank. Skip

And you replied.....

I went through your member's ride thread twice and couldn't spot the grab handle. Please post a picture here. Thanks, Skip

Caterham sells a kit for lowering the floors on either or both sides or you can DIY. The Caterham seats bolt to the floor but there is an ali channel that runs between the front and rear bolts. The butt pocket on a Caterham seat is only about 1.5" thick and it is essentially sitting on the floor although there are seat tracks on the side to allow the seat to move fore and aft. Skip

The doc sez no Caterham for six more months, maybe longer so I won't be needing grab handles any time soon. I will not be making it to LOG29 either.:mad::mad:

I think the healthy (left) shoulder can more efficiently help raise me pushing down on the door sill. I don't think the leverages are such that it would be of much use pulling up on the roll bar. I need to get that crucial first 4 - 6" of lift so I can get my feet on the chassis tube in front of the seat so my right leg can support my weight while the left exits the cockpit. I'm hoping the grab handle will help with that.

But if they're grabbing their ankles, they won't be able to see what is going on. How are you going to terrify them if they can's see?? I'm also interested in a grab handle for the driver's side to aid in exiting the car. My shoulder is still not back to normal and with the removable steering wheel I think I may be able to manage it with a grab handle on the left side of the dash. I need to levitate my butt just enough to get my left leg out of the cockpit. I think the grab handle just might make it possible. I had a setback with the shoulder last week and I might not be able to drive the car in time for LOG29. It was going so well the PT was about to release me next week but we'll see what the doc has to say tomorrow.

I've had many passengers ask what they can hang on to. Several have specifically requested a grab handle. I thought a handle would give them a (perhaps false?) feeling of security. I think they really want something to keep their right arm from flailing about in the corners. I've experienced this a bit when riding in the passenger seat. I am also looking to make my exit from the driver side easier on my right shoulder which is still not strong enough to allow me to push myself up to get the left leg out of the car. Getting in is easy, I can essentially just fall into the seat without using my right arm.

Has anyone installed some kind of grab handle or bar on the dash of their Se7en to give passengers something to hold on to? Pictures and sources would be appreciated. Thanks, Skip

1991 Miata Special Edition, BRG with tan interior. I have heard someone who should know say that John Deere green and yellow are also perfect matches. There are many shades of BRG out there, who knows which might be the correct one.

Rob, You are a brave man for adding Lucas, Prince of Darkness electrical and mechanical parts into your car. Skip

Power to weight ratio is everything. Too much horsepower is just about right. Lower weight generally makes for better handling & braking. It would also be interesting to know what the corner weights are.

Sweet car at a great price. Do you know how much it weighs?

Do you have to remove the license plate and bracket to get the nosecone off the car?