Automoda

Wow I love that car. I wonder what it feels like to drive a 7 with power going to the front wheels. I dont get the reasoning of having 2 shift levers though. And it looks like if the suspension were set up a little differently it'd get more bite on the launch-- seems to lift the nose quite a bit, and I'm sure that wastes some of that front engine's power. Its a super tiny 7. I like that.

Here's the one I'm working on with a fellow 7 owner. Its his car, and one of the earlier ones. It was wrecked a lot in racing so it was far far from pristine. It has been modified a bit. Notice the front fenders have been widened out, and it has haunches on the back that modify the belt line. The little lights have been moved in the front, also. Its running a ZX3 and has upgraded suspension. The plan is to paint it dark blue with some silver stripes in the spring. These pictures are of the car when it had its first epoxy primer coats. http://herb.linkrealms.com/lotus/europa_epoxy_01.jpg http://herb.linkrealms.com/lotus/europa_epoxy_02.jpg

Fix wonky front wheel, fix leaking diff and axle bearings, clean and match injectors, make a new oil separator that actually fits. The wheel and injectors would have been done last winter, but it didnt snow so the car was never in a 'down state'

Get the limited slip. Its the best mod you'll ever make for your car. I love mine.

I admit that my in-car tool bag is mostly harbor freight. Why? So I wont cry if it gets stolen someday. I will say this though-- My mechanic is, like most mechanics, visited by the usual travelling tool salesmen. Snap-on, Cornwell, Mack. And I think you all know what that means. Fifty-percent of his tools are high quality (Expensive!) items that he'll never use in his life (But he used in his imagination when browsing the truck). His mechanic son will one day inherit them, wonder what the hell they were for, and stuff them in the back of his garage. Then his son will do the same.... and so on. Sometimes cheap is what you need. That being said, my friend bought a little saber saw there to cut a fiberglass hunk out of his Europa so we could make our little improvements. Well. It broke after 18 inches. Seized up-- On fiberglass. It was a prop. On the other hand, I've had some items from them here and there that have lasted better than some name brand versions. And the main reason for Harbor Freight to exist? By far the cheapest way to buy those cheap chipper brushes that I use when doing fiberglass work!

Hahaha I love it. My rear Toyo RA1s are about bald after 13,000 miles. I'm thinking of practicing some donuts soon myself! They've always been too sticky to do it well, but now that its cold I bet I could figure it out. Stand well back!

Nobody can know what is really going on with the car until you remove the cowl/windshield, the hood, and the side skin. (I refuse to call it a scuttle and bonnet-- its a left-hand car!). I can tell there's frame damage, but cant tell how severe. Its all just a bunch of steel tubing anyhow. Replacing sections is not expensive nor difficult... but more an issue of time. The thing that would scare me is if the frame were warped in an overall way. Way back when I did autobody I could pull stamped sheetmetal cars straight, but a tube frame thats so well triangulated... I'm not so sure that'd even be a good idea. So lets hope that the damage is isolated. I guess after stripping the body away from the damaged area, I would work on a way to test the frame's straightness at the 4 corners. Make a plan from there. Essentially at this point it is inventory time. The cowl/windshield has to go. Perhaps a track car that doesn't need the windshield could sell you one, but you'll need a cowl from Texas Motorworks. There's no way you'd want to fabricate that piece. The hood *might *be salvageable if you dont mind a little filler. The side skin should be saved as a pattern- you can probably flatten it out well enough to work for that. Just a guess but I bet the floor skin is gnarly. Its just a sheet, but its a big one. I dunno--its hard to tell from just a couple pictures of the car still assembled. Good luck. Keep us informed. It'll be fun to see it come together.

Man. Seeing that causes every auto-body-skills nerve in my brain to start firing. They are all scheming about how to fix that car! What a fun project.

That is a great looking car. I've always liked the black fender, bright body look. Flywheel is fine, I'm sure. I dont think you can do anything to improve the trans. I heard that Ford stopped making the close-ratio gears. You're not going to blow it up with a 4 banger in a 1200 lb car so you're good there. Birkin frames are plenty strong for what you're doing. Wide front end is a minor improvement that you probably wont notice that much on the road. There's no rush on that. I have to say it looks like a better design, though, and if I had my way I'd upgrade mine too. The best thing I ever did to my Birkin was the limited slip. Hard to come by these days!

I cant understand the price, but I'd love one. Perhaps they have the wrong motor in it. Try a high strung bullet bike engine and perhaps your complaints would go away. Honestly it looks like a simple project to make one. Easier than a locost anyhow. The pembleton is a little too low-performance for me but check it out. http://www.pembleton.co.uk/index.shtml Hey if gas is 20$ per gallon perhaps we'll all be driving stuff like this.

I'll drive down to 22F. Today I noticed I was sliding a bit more than usual. Tires are acting cold. I'm going to have to tone it down from now on (

You know its probably worth something to certain people!

I'll take an XL, no pocket.

I made this for looks: http://herb.linkrealms.com/tour_for_web/Trunk_Bag.jpg The car needs something back there. No way I'm going to carry around a big fat wheel and tire! Instead I have a styrofoam block dressed up all nice. Been thinking of making a fiberglass box out of it so I can carry stuff.

The Jesus and the Dinosaur meme started with this post on 4chan: http://djallyn.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/jesus_dinosaur.jpg It has since taken off as an internet joke http://cdn.twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/Jesus-and-dinosaur-e1299096274567-634x865.jpg http://funnycrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/jesus_on_raptor.jpg I believe the tatoo results from the "Robocop riding a unicorn" meme that predates the dinosaur meme by a few years: http://img3.visualizeus.com/thumbs/09/10/04/bizarre,tattoos,bod,mod,body,art,rad,tattoos,robocop,robocop,on,a,unicorn-397c677c67620506d8261c41705cc97f_h.jpg

And I thought the stalkers were luxuriously spacious as they were! Definitely the best direction to get more customers. Ever look at the cockpit of an AC Cobra replica? I think Stalker might start stealing some Cobra fans. As for myself, I like the tiny cockpit of my Birkin, and wouldnt prefer more space. I'm just lucky enough to be about the perfect size for it. I too would like to see some pictures. Perhaps some side by side comparisons.

Hang em like a horse thief!

Now that the entire course is paved, its not Pikes Peak anymore.

Yeah. My 2003 does that too. Only on super hot days. It doesnt matter to me though because I have a swirl tank. The low pressure pump can cavitate all it wants... within reason. Having your fiberglass 'boot insert' glued in is going to cause you a headache sooner or later. Its not like I take mine out much, but it sure makes working on the back end easier! I can see why you wouldnt want to fool with removing it though. What a headache!

Yeah when it comes to removal, good luck. My Birkin came with a cheap enamel paint that, when heated with a heat gun, came off in nice big sheets... much like the Clear Bra is supposed to come off. Now I have quality paint on it that was allowed to dry for quite a while before the film was appied, so I assume it will survive the film removal process. Regardless of paint type, allowing it to dry for a couple months (at least) is the key. (and by dry, I mean for all trapped solvents to work their way out. I know modern paints 'cure'.)

Last year's Black Hills tour with a few of the cars. This is the Tetons. http://herb.linkrealms.com/tour_for_web/Tetons_Wide.jpg Crazy Horse, of course of course http://herb.linkrealms.com/tour_for_web/Crazy_Horse.jpg

Clear Bra can not take the full firepower of the front wheels. I use it to surround the aluminum shield, and it works well. However while doing a tiny course at a British car show, I hit a cone at low speed. It scuffed the Clear Bra-- and scuffs wont buff on that stuff. (I won BTW) So here's my view: Clear Bra helps a lot to avoid 'chip outs' and reduces the sandblasting effect, but it is definately not immune to turning ugly. Its great on the leading edge of the nose cone and around the rear fender metal shield. There is no perfect solution to the rock damage to the rear fender paint. My aluminum has real dents in it and is getting so ugly I am going to replace it in spring (one more winter to beat it up). The dents are so big that Clear Bra would not have protected against those rocks and I'd have to repair and repaint without the metal shields. I may redo the clear bra when I replace the shields, and add some to the nose cone (wish I had before). I had it done by a shop and it was too expensive. I'll do it myself from now on.

Wouldnt that be nice on the wall? I have a Kirkham AC Cobra poster (they're local and spam the state's shows with posters). Or a t-shirt.

Its an AMC Pacer from a parallel dimension where the big three didnt get bail outs and AMC was the last car maker standing. A dark dimension indeed.

http://herb.linkrealms.com/auburn_8-100A.jpg Auburn or else http://herb.linkrealms.com/alpha%20romeo%208C%202900%201939.jpg This alpha