scannon

Looks like my announcement was a bit premature. I was in the process of bolting the plates on the car for my first blat when the phone rang. It was the nice lady at the DMV telling me I had to return the plates and wait until the state has assigned me a conforming VIN and affix their VIN plate to my car. She was very apologetic and said it was their mistake. I thought it was too easy. :banghead: The registration had the Caterham VIN on it and I assumed they would issue a new registration once the new VIN was issued but in the meantime the car was legal for the street. She will try to get the state to expedite it, but the county and state don't always work well together. It could be two weeks to two months before I get the plates back. Skip

Went to the DMV this morning with paperwork in hand expecting to start the long process. To my amazement I walked out with plates for the Caterham! It's now LEGAL for the road. :hurray: I really expected this to be a weeks/months long ordeal. On Monday I trailered the car to the highway patrol for the VIN/roadability inspection which it passed with no problems. The inspector did make me start the engine to see if the exhaust was too loud. He thought it was very reasonable for the type of exhaust. He said that the last Caterham he had inspected had a Ford engine and while looking over the Miata engine and turbocharger he said this one ought to outrun the Ford. Now I can do the fine tuning of the Link ECU which requires time on the road or a dyno. Skip

My name is Skip and I put a Mazda in a Seven.

As another data point, I weighed my '04 SV with the Miata turbo engine and transmission today. Came in at 1371 lb with spare wheel and tire, jack and tire iron, full weather equipment and 4 gallons of fuel. About what I expected, more than I would have wanted.

I paid $6.40 last Fall for 100 octane at a gas station. Over $65 to fill up a Miata that got 11 mpg at the track! I hope it doesn't get much higher than that. Skip

One of those made an emergency landing in a friend's back yard a few years ago. She loaned them some tools and they got it fixed. Took her along for the rest of the ride in her bathrobe and her hair in curlers! Her husband slept through the whole thing and was quite suprised when she came in the front door slightly tipsy from the champagne customary for first flights. He hadn't even noticed she was missing.

Somebody better call up Guiness, that has got to be a world record for stuffing a Seven!:cheers:

I will be at the Pueblo event to cheer you on and support any way I can. I sent an email with contact info.

My vote is in for both.

We took the first, short drive today in the Caterham. No plates so we didn't go far. Its off to the highway patrol on Monday for the VIN/roadability inspection. No problems so far, but the drive was less than a mile.

Donuts??? Where? Good job Mazda, thanks for your efforts. Have a donut on me.

I love a yellow Se7en!!! My Miata is Sunburst Yellow and when my Caterham needs a paint job, it will also be yellow. I really like the overhead shot, it shows a perspective you seldom get to see. Skip

Bob, I had a call into Ben but they were closed. I was hoping someone would know of an alternative to the Caterham parts. I will probably end up getting them from either Ben or Cody. I'd love to do a blat with other Caterhams and/or other LSIS's. I will post here when I am ready and maybe we can do an impromtu blat. Skip

As I am about to have my car inspected by the highway patrol, I find that I am missing my wipers. Does anyone know of a locally available arm and blade that will work on the Caterham? It's an '04 SV. Thanks, Skip

Take one of yours to a NAPA store, they have a catalog of replacement studs that shows the sizes including knurl size along with pictures. They should be able to match you up with something. I managed to get some longer ones for my Miata which turned out to be from an MPV minivan. Skip

Might be a problem if Dr. Holloway shows up, I'll be the one without the suit. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif

I see the resemblance, however, I'm a lot less shiny on top and I only wear suits to weddings and burials. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif

Youtube may be stalled, but the motor definately started up. It has a sweet sound to the exhaust that doesn't really come across in the video. Skip

Apparently it is still being processed by Youtube. I don't know how long it takes before it becomes available. A lot of firsts today, first start, first video camera, first upload to youtube. Skip

After 18 months on the project, the engine was started for the first time to day. It fired up instantly on the first attempt.

WestTexasS2K You have PM. Skip

Damn lucky to have survived. I saw a Jensen Healey that was torn in two in a wreck. I don't think anyone survived as what ever it hit went right through the passenger compartment.

Yeah but we wouldn't hold that against them. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/rofl.gif Way back I had a 63 FI split window. I've owned three Corvettes, '57, '58 and '63 Split Window. Skip

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070409_212527_DSC02778.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070409_212547_DSC02779.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070409_212859_0407_039.jpg It's getting so close I can almost smell the exhaust fumes. Skipscannon2007-04-09 21:32:07

This is the fellow who did a Lotus 7 from scratch using BMW drive train. He made an English wheel, taught himself to use it and formed all the aluminum body panels including the nose cone. Now he is creating an Atom clone from scratch! As is another fellow in S. Africa. >Click here