scannon

welcome aboard zoxygen, I have a turbo Miata engine in my Caterham SV. Judging from the pictures and text in the link in the above post, you are going to have quite a hood bulge. My Miata engine barely fits under the nose cone and bonnet and I have 3.75" ground clearance under the sump with 16" wheels. I had to make minor mods to the intake manifold to clear the bonnet. Pictures of the fit are here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/636168/12 Skip

I need to talk to Martin about custom exhaust heatshields. It will probably require a large one to cover the muffler and divider and a smaller one for the cat converter. Skip http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070407_171527_0407_039.jpg

Rob, Thanks for the info. Skip

Anyone have a direct email or website URL for Martin? Thanks, Skip

I'll consider letting the journo drive mine after I talk with him. I'll certainly offer him or anyone else a ride as I am traveling solo. '04 Caterham SV with turbo Miata motor. Should be producing between 220 - 240 RWHP and similar torque. Skip

I talked with the owner of the Serpent Express company today. They don't make the trailers, just the 'tent' part. They have several manufacturers they purchase the base trailers from and then build and install the tent. I like their concept. They are willing to make one for an existing trailer if the trailer is configured correctly - no stake pockets, removable fenders and a few other items. The company is based in Utah and I am going there in May anyway and will have him look at it and give me an estimate for adding the tent. Roughly about $1,900 plus any options you select. I sent him out on the web to have a look at the H&H aluminum trailer I am buying and he seemed to like it better than those they are already using. Problem is, their standard trailers are 12, 14 and 16 feet in length and the shortest H&H speedloader is 18'. We'll see how it pans out. If I decide to get one, I will have it on the trailer for the 7/7/7 event. Skip

The Haggerty forms I filled out asked about racing, rallying, etc. I put down that the car was used for non-competetive track events. When we talked on the phone I again explained about the track events and told them I understood that the car was not covered while on the track. They had no problem with that. I don't expect an insurance company to cover a loss on the track, BTDT. I think the reason they rejected based on the carport is the possibility of theft and valdalism. My only problem with Haggerty was getting them to agree to insure a car newer than their stated age limit of 1986. I had to move up the food chain a level or two and found someone who agreed that it fit under their replicar guidelines and it is insured as a 1950 Lotus 7 with the Caterham VIN. The forms I submitted to them clearly state that the car is a 2004 Caterham SV so I don't think that leaves them any room to weasle out should I have a claim. FWIW, they will not insure any Cobra kit car. Skip

I just put in an order for an H&H 18' MX Speedloader in aluminum. I waffled back and forth between that and their steel single axle 8.5 x 14 tilt bed. The aluminum MX is also a tilt bed and actually weighs within a few pounds of the shorter single axle trailer (1,400 lb). I was unable to find a ramp type trailer that my Miata could use, it has 2 3/4" clearance under the chassis bracing with more front overhang than the Caterham. The only trailer I have been able to get it on had to be disconnected from the tow car and allowed to lift on the front from the weight of the car. Since I will be hauling the Miata as well as the Cat I wanted brakes. I did have one close call with the borrowed single axle trailer with no brakes on a long down hill. Made a believer out of me. I didn't really need an 18' trailer but that is the shortest they make it in the aluminum version. It will give me room for a tire rack and tool box up front. Skip

Sorry to hear that. I signed up with Haggerty yesterday and I was asked several times where I would be keeping the car. Fortunately I have a locked shop as well as an attached garage. As a data point, my premium was $484 per year with a $30k agreed price, no deductables and 4k miles per year. We'll see if that is enough (s)miles per year or not. Skip

Al, I've been looking at trailers recently. I need one that is light, has brakes and will also accomodate my 13' Miata that sits much lower than the Caterham. Because of the Miata, a tilt bed seems to be the only way to go. I have narrowed it down to two so far, both from H&H. Because of cost and availability, I will likely get the H&H Solid Side (SS) single axle tilt bed in 8.5' x 14'. It weighs about 1,500 lb. http://www.hhtrailer.com/05SSTiltbedUtilityTrailer.asp It will run a little over $1,600 after the brakes are added. Note that most trailer sizes are overall width and bed length, thus this 8.5' wide trailer has an 82" bed width. Because of the solid sides I need the widest bed so I can both open the door with the Miata on the trailer and have room to make tiedown connections. I would prefer the H&H MXA Speedloader which is an aluminum tiltbed with tandem axles but cost and length (minimum 18') make it impractical for me. It actually weighs less than the steel 14' SSA but costs about $3,800. http://www.hhtrailer.com/06MXSpeedLoader.asp If you can live with a tailgate ramp, there is an aluminum version of the SS in 8.5 x 14 that costs around $2,600 and weighs about 1,100 lb without brakes. http://www.hhtrailer.com/06Aluminum.asp I keep hoping a good used trailer will become available and have looked at and rejected a number of them. Skip

Nice to see that Wikipedia reports that the SR7 has "...all round Wheels...". http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif Skip

They are not friendly chemicals. By the time I had applied it to all four tires, my blue nitrile gloves were coming apart. All kinds of warnings on the can about breathing the vapors and getting it on the skin or in the eyes. I apply it outside and leave the tires outside until I pack up for the trip to the track. I don't know of any bad effects on the tires themselves other than they stink for a few days. This is the second time I've used it on this set of Kumhos, the first time was a year earlier. I intend to use it before each track event until the tires are finished. One of the tires in this set is a 3 year old left over from the previous set and added to this set when I flatspotted a tire. I put it on the rear but didn't notice a difference in grip in either direction. Skip

A friend gave me a gallon of a chemical they use in the printing industry to soften the rubber rollers on the presses. I applied one coat two days before the track event. Softened the two year old Kumho Victoracer V100s right up. Grip seemed much better than the last time I ran them and they didn't roll off nearly as much rubber as previous track days. These tires are on my Miata but I plan to share them between the Miata and the Caterham once I get it on the road/track. Skip

Dino, Do you have any concerns about cooling with most of the radiator covered with the intercooler? Engine sounds great! Skip

There is a suspension design spreadsheet available on the Miata.net forum. I haven't used it so I don't know how good it is. http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=32121 Skip

138 mph with no eye protection!!!

If the Spax coilovers don't work out, I'm interested in buying them from you. Skip

Al, I've been working on Bill to do just that ever since he started the Westfield project. I asked again yesterday and he said they were thinking about shipping the car out to the 7-7-7 event, then flying out for the event and shipping it back as they have a busy schedule this summer. I'll keep after him although I was hoping they would trailer it out and caravan with me. Skip

Cross posted from the Miata.net forum. The Flyin Miata crew brought their new Miata powered Westfield to the Peak to Peak Miata Club's track day at Pueblo Motorsports Park. The car had previously been driven only in a parking lot, so this was to be its first session at speed. The car looks great and the fit and finish are good. During the morning, they worked out a few minor bugs and then started on dialing in the handling. By the afternoon session, things were progressing well enough that I was able to get a ride with Keith. For a car with a stock 1.6 Miata engine (except for a Link in place of the factory ECU) the car is plenty quick. It sounds great, not too loud at WOT, and pleasantly quiet and powerful sounding at less than WOT. At idle, it is almost too quiet. Keith was working on dialing out some understeer and was playing with power on oversteer in a couple of the corners, it made for a fun ride! Turn 7 is a nasty decreasing radius left hander with a patch on the inside that is slicker than the surrounding asphalt. It is very tight and one of the hardest turns on the 2.1 mile, 10 turn track. It is also the slowest, tightest turn. Keith hung the rear out almost every lap, some of them resulting in extreme sideways action, but never spun the car, thanks for the thrills Keith! For a car without any sway bars, it never seemed like the car was leaning excessively. I didn't realize there weren't any bars until after the ride. The ride was supple and not at all harsh on this old, rather bumpy track. The car didn't have the windshield fitted and with nothing to deflect the wind on the passenger side, it was difficult to keep my head upright in the faster sessions, my neck is a little sore from the effort. The passenger footwell is so deep that there is nothing to brace your feet against and with no grab handles, only the seat and the harness keep you in place against the lateral Gs. I found that by pulling my knees up I could brace them against the tunnel and side and I had to hook my right elbow over the cockpit sill and wedge my left arm against the tunnel too keep upright in the corners. This car generates good lateral Gs. The FM crew put in a lot of late night hours during the week to finish the car and get it ready for the track event and the resulting car was a smashing success. AFAIK, nothing broke, fell off or caused major problems. The fact that they got the few bugs worked out early and were able to concentrate on dialing in the handling says a lot for their workmanship. They only took the bonnet off once and I didn't have my camera handy so I didn't get a picture but it looks clean and tidy under there. That's Teri Cardell in the driver's seat and Bill in passenger's seat heading out for Teri's first drive in the car. She was still grinning when she came back in. Skip http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070311_110741_DSC02709.JPGhttp://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070311_110804_DSC02712.JPG

Amazing how close it comes to the specs I gave the real estate agent when I bought this place. My new shop is actually larger than the house that came with it.

The 2-eleven has caused the first serious case of car lust since I drove a Caterham SV for the first time. Skip

Al, Do you have to remove the door completely to get in and out or just the upper fasteners and let the door hang down? Can you install it while sitting in the car? Thanks, Skip

Please post the rest of the article when you receive it. Skip