scannon

Flyin Miata is building an Exocet with a supercharged LSA engine rated at 556 HP and 551 torque that will weigh an estimated 1,800 lb. http://www.flyinmiata.com/projects/XXXocet/index.php?UID=1 http://www.flyinmiata.com/projects/XXXocet/images/img_0382.jpg

The GBB made a stop at that dealer last summer and David treated us to a BBQ. He took me for a ride in his supercharged Hayabusa powered Caterham I won't soon forget. He holds some kind of world record for fastest speed going backwards in that car, well over 100 mph IIRC. There were a number of Sevens, new and used for sale at the time.

Gert, That sounds like a good idea, how about a picture to show the location. Does your heel ever catch on it when operating the pedals?

I pull my left foot back a bit and slide it under the clutch once I am up to cruise speed. Its pretty comfortable under there. I also installed cruise control so I can pull the right foot back and over to the left a bit for those long interstate cruises. Both feet are now free to move about the cabin, er foot box.

I put some Rislone in the cylinders a week or two ago. Today I checked it and I can move the crankshaft (by pressing on the fan belt and using the fan) about 5 degrees where before it was frozen solid in place. I put a new batch in and will let it sit for a couple more weeks and see if it helps provide some more movement. I have other projects to finish before I can bring the Saab into the shop, its still in the trailer. I'm concerned about taking it into the mountains once I get it running. If I can't use compression braking I will be relying on four drum brakes. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

His name is John and IIRC he lives in Arizona. He had made several cross country trips in the car when I talked to him at the FM Summer Camp last August. You should consider bringing your Westfield to the next Summer Camp 1st week in August. http://www.flyinmiata.com/news/summercamp/index.php There are at least 3 Seven owners working at FM and you and your car would be welcome.

A diffuser under a trailer? That's got to be a first! An epic trip for sure.

Tom, That speedometer I got from you has a round cross section gasket and is still in good shape after 7 years and 24k miles. You could replace your gaskets with O-rings and get the cushioning effect and seal.

The signal comes from a Hall effect sensor on the LF wheel. The speedo doesn't need a signal to turn on. As soon as the key is turned on you can see the needle do a little jump, then the digital odometer lights up and displays the miles traveled. None of this is currently happening.

I don't have a smartphone, just a dumb phone but a friend has a Garmin GPS that has a speedometer and an odometer. Unfortunately the odometer only displays full miles, no tenths. Not sure about the rules but at least I will know how fast I am going. The speedometer is getting power from the car, I could not find any way to open the speedometer's case to check for interior fuses. The Hall sensor is in position, no broken wires. Since the speedometer doesn't display the odometer nor does the needle do its little jump at power on I assume that something is amiss inside the speedometer itself.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26969150

Nick, Do you have a video of that car with sound? I'd like to hear what it sounds like with an expansion chamber exhaust. How much HP does it put out? Is it a mixer or pumper engine? Thanks for the contact info.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/06/10/adrian-newey-f1-new-red-bull-technology-projects-official/

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=30141&utm_source=2014-6-10&utm_medium=email&utm_content=html&utm_campaign=newsletter

Sylvester goes along to car shows and C & C to keep kids from climbing into the Baby 7 without permission. Driving down the highway he and the Baby 7 get lots of people slowing down along side for cell phone pictures.

Last week while on a drive with the LOCO club my electronic Caerbont speedometer quit working in Canyon Lands National Park between one drive segment and the next. The Caerbont is the OEM speedometer for Caterhams. There is power to the speedometer when the key is turned on and the ground wire checks out OK as well. I removed the rubber plug on the back and sniffed for burnt electronics but none detected. When plugged in and the key turned on, the typical needle jump and lighting up of the digital odometer doesn't happen and neither the speedometer nor odometer work. Any suggestions? The hole in the dash is 3.5" and a search online for a different replacement did not yield any replacements that fit the existing hole in the dash. I have a TSD rally next weekend with the MG car club in Glenwood Springs so I really need a working speedometer and odometer.

The gravel trap in the runoff area on the far side looks to be a little bit much for a Lotus but OK for a Wrangler.

After 2 1/2 years, the Baby 7 is finally out of the paint shop and pretty much finished. It has to go back next week to complete the color sanding and polishing but the paint job looks great and is a close match to my Caterham. <a href=http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/ii584/scannon929/Baby%207/Painted/DSCN5889_zps49756c87.jpg' alt='DSCN5889_zps49756c87.jpg'> All prettied up and loaded up for Cars & Coffee Saturday AM and then the Sports and Exotic car show on Sunday. I will be towing it to the shows with the Miata, the only vehicle I own with a 1 1/2" hitch. Someone else will be driving the Caterham so I can have both Sevens at the big show on Sunday.

I used a 3M spray adhesive. Still sticking after 7 years.

My weekend was spent on a four day blat with Lotus Colorado (LOCO). I covered 458 miles on the first day, second longest blat in the Caterham in a single day. My car had a few problems along the way. The electric speedometer died on the second day in Canyon Lands National Park. The last day, as I was driving from Grand Junction to home the engine missed a few beats several times and the cruise control dropped out roughly every 10 minutes. The radar detector put itself into test mode a few times as well. I stopped for coffee in Edwards and when I went to start the car, nothing. No click, no gauges, no fuel pump sound. However the Caterham butt extractor worked fine so it was not the battery which had been replace a few months ago. When I was preparing for the trip and filling a tool bag I looked at the 12 volt test light and thought, nah, I won't need that! Wrong. I managed to borrow one from the lube shop next door to the gas station. After an hour and a half I manged to trace the problem to the crimp on terminal on the starter motor that supplies electricity to the rest of the car. It felt solid and I bent the ring terminal a bit and power came back on. All problems solved except for the dead speedometer. When I got home I removed the terminal from the starter and inspected it. No sign of corrosion or looseness so I used a heavy duty crimper and gave it another crimp. No problems so far. Pictures and the "official" club trip report are at: http://s1261.photobucket.com/user/scannon929/library/LOCO%20Red%20Rocks%20Ramblin%202014

I pulled the spark plugs yesterday to put some Rislone in the cylinders in the faint hope it might un-seize the engine. Two of them looked normal but one is crusted with aluminum slag as was the top of the piston visible through the spark plug hole. The engine is toast but I assumed that when I bought the car.

Flyin Miata has two LS3 oil pans made by Moroso (aluminum and steel) for their V8 conversions. They have sumps with trap doors to prevent oil starvation and are a little shallower than the stock ones to give a little more ground clearance. I suspect they would work well on the Stalker V8s without the cost of dry sumping the system as well as save some space. Many of their V8 conversions are track and race cars and I have not heard of any of them having problems with oil starvation. http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5675&parentid=0&stocknumber=26-04115%20%20ALUMINUM http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=5675&parentid=0&stocknumber=26-04115%20%20STEEL

http://jalopnik.com/automobile-magazine-cuts-90-of-staff-and-fires-editor-1583277569

Caterham not for sale: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=30063&utm_source=2014-5-28&utm_medium=email&utm_content=html&utm_campaign=newsletter

Power steering and power brakes in a Seven! Can A/C be far behind? Great looking build.