southwind25

When we were racing, we called this a "nut and bolt" check, and is an exxcellent idea. We actually did it between EVERY session on the track and it became a habit. it was also a great way to find those little things that could get nasty quick. it also included checking all fluids, tire pressures (as well as lug nuts) belt tension etc..it makes you real aware and intimate with the car after a while, but we never DNF'd from something stupid. We made a checklist not unlike the preflight walkaround list i used as a pilot.

"I'd take the R400 Superlight and keep the $175,000 for 'other projects'..." EXACTAMUNDO!:7fume:

Thats nothing..our 7 even has carbon on the spark plugs..... oh wait.. :rofl: sure it's nice...but the carbon steering wheel looks itchy! better wear gloves! and would i have one? NO, but i would have 4 more of mine with zetec's PLUS a new ginetta g4 and a new work car thank you very much..:thumbs:

i/we distinctly remember the HUGE diffrence it made when we went from a normal open rear end to a clutch type LSD in the vintage sprite racecar. And that was only making about 110 hp and was live axle as well. And with this 7 being lighter we anticipate it being worse.maybe not? Yes we do plan on auto-xing it a bit. how to spend the limited budget?? well indeed...this IS the quandry... what do i spend money on?..OH i could so open a can of worms here!better Tires? better seats? a cam for the 1600...an aluminium head? lighter flywheel? oh..a person could go nuts. We dont want to do any "major" changes,,at least not until we just start having some fun in it come better weather.

Box,: "I just talked to my tire supplier and he has the 225/50-15 R-888s in house." i just tried calling around from the dealer locater on the Toyo website (25 miles from akron oh)..nobody seems to have a listing for them. sheesh..rubber capitol of the world not that i can afford them, but how much? Mary probably wont let me buy new treads till i wear out the snowtire falkens that came on this thing.. hey gary if you have any tread left on yours roll them my way...might be fun to try

Ok so i have been looking for a domestic source for a limited slip rear end i might be able to "afford" for the toyota rear end in the Birkin.:_deadhorse: the keyword being "AFFORD"...anyways i came across something called the phantom grip limited slip. Does anyone have any experience with this? We DO NOT want some kind of locked rear end..i have old bent fenders to prove what a terrible choice that is. The phantom grip looks way over simplified with a couple thick plates and 4 springs, is this more like snake oil in the rear end?

while i realize there's a disorganized way of searching for cross reference parts for Birkin's on the birkin yahoo group... this would be a nice addition here. One place somehow split up into a nice set of folders...so i dont have to spend 2 hrs finally figuring out what kind of rear end i can put in that obscure toyota rear end....etc etc etc. I am sure that theres a whole bunch of caterham-birkin-locost-westfeild parts...that can be interchanged if and how needed. if anything just some of the most basic info and 1 line descripotion so at least it's a good starting point for research. :7frog:

actually...i dont think they use reverse...they just use the momentum of the car through the drift-spin to get it going backwards, and perhaps push in or release the clutch.

The problem is..where does one practice this without getting the local law enforcement called on you? i would love to try a little of this..but i would probably end up having my car impounded...:toetap:

I would LOVE to do this in a "7"... maybe not OUR "7"....but one set up properly and i dont have to pay for what i might inevitably break?..oh heck yes!! what a hoot this would be!

whats with the pimpjuice energy drink?? :bs: :crazy:

Uhhhh,,,,ok Is this where the new 2008 nascar rules originated from? the cars look about the same... :yawn: What i really want to know..is where do i find the ultra rich hot dumb blond wife like he has? I could imagine Mary's reaction if i said; "yes dear we can put a rocket engine on the new se7en and:7fume:...." :smash:

Actually, a few gearhead freinds and us sat down over the weekend and dealt with this arctic blast by laying down a few routes for day and weekend (0vernight?) road trips. These are mostly on the east and southeast parts of Ohio . While the routes are starting in our hometown of Akron they cover several of the more interesting 2 lane Ohio backroads. the attendee's besides our se7en will even include a couple motorcycles, as well as Mini coopers a miata and who knows. no minivans-suv's allowed. :ack: Anyone of course is welcome to join! The trips will be spontanious weatherwise and we will give a few days notice here for a starting point-starting time and route basics if anyone wants to meet up with us along the way.

Now actually, i have been spending the last few weeks since we bought ours polishing and waxing up all the bits...but thats just so it will be easier to clean the dirt and road dust off it! people used to make fun of us for keeping our race cars so spotless, but it was always easier to find the problems and fix the bits we beat up when they were clean. However we doubt weather this aluminum sculpture car will ever see a ralley auto-x or track. This is something to hang on the wall like a painting. Nice if you have the money and if your into nothing but car shows. would make a nice centerpiece for a museum.

Stevet.....uhh..is it the camera angle,,uhh or...ummm..was this picture taken at a nudist camp? :lol: :rofl:

We will be exploring this a bit this year..:7fume: http://www.motorcycleroads.us/oh.html

I played first chair trumpet thru high school,(jazz-concert etc) and into college, still have my mellow silver yamaha. (mary played alto sax) Wow this thing though looks simply exquisite! i would love to hear it..i guess i am behind the times but the echo bell simply looks bizarre..wow..it must have a cool sound. i wonder if that aluminum polish i am using might get the finish on the old yamaha all nice again? lol

beautiful car...absolutly gorgeous.. but who would want to drive it? How much fun would it be? would you truly enjoy the "se7en" experience? one trip in the rain or a dusty road one bug or stone scratch and your finished! it would make an awesome museum piece.

The factory stock seats in the Birkin are terrible! the slide mounts work well, and they have a good headrest but it's like sitting on an old wooden church bench! OUCH, about 10 miles and your Bum is bumming. We want to keep the tonneau which means removable headrests. we started looking for an alternative but :eek: YIKES..the cost of seats are nuts! I have bought cars for less than the cost of most of the seats we have seen! besides, most are too wide or have the funky high back to them. So our answer is..we are going to Make a pair! I got some new "scrap" sheet .100 aluminum from where i work and i have an old sheet metal brake and luckily i can TIG a bit..Mary is good with her sewing machine.. We are going to try and make a set not unlike the Kirkey vintage aluminum seat but weld in a couple tubes to put the existing headrest into. We will use the existing slides as well ((unless i can make up a nice set from some reject slides from work as well.)) I figure i cant possibly make something less comfortable than what i have.

Question: Has anyone ever made up some small "USA7s.com" decals? I dont mind a few discrete decals,,,dont want to look like a nascar or anything..

I couldn’t resist The Ohio temps are warm enough and the salt is washed off the roads…so we buttoned her up (literally) and took her out into the wet fury for this morning’s commute. Where does one buy the se7en wetsuit? Sadly the heated windshield didn’t work, but otherwise it was a great morning. This car really comes alive in your hands..the miniscule wipers do an excellent job really. The Top wasn’t really meant for this though and your right at the worst height behind truck tire spray. She got through the downpour just fine however and non of the sparky bits went awry. I should be dry in a couple hours, what a fun little ride. :7rain:

The brit car show Info is here http://www.northeastohioaustinhealey.com/ it's between cleveland and akron. I am still waiting for the stan hywet info but that is just west of downtown akron proper. about 10 minutes from my house. have you been to the PITT PA. Schenley park vintage races? they have a great show there as well. We raced there once in the old big healey. Dont know when that one is.

what were his parents thinking? they were NOT thinking... I had my share of stupid stunts, but they were all in the 100$-50 hp cars i could afford and had to work for...i learned respect pretty quick. I luckily put myself in an SCCA drivers school when i was younger..but it took several years and witnessing a few nasty crashes to to understand how this all works. Do i drive fast??..heck yes!!...but thats what track days are for,,,with safety equipment, sand pits, tire walls and run off room and paramedics and track workers. This kid was playing golf in a china shop...not a driving range. Now my oldest (18years old) desperatly wants to try out our new "7"... sure.. he can drive it to the end of the driveway...beyond that without me in the car and I will have his _____ on a platter. :smash: we hope a se7en "blat" never turns into a "Splat" for anyone here. Matter of fact...if any of us see some 18 year old kid asking this forum about driving a Se7en here. Lets get involved so we dont see a it all bent up on some news story.

The S1 on wirewheel, sounds like a good deal actually, if you enjoy a non traditional "7". gee mine was more than that and all i got was a x-flow powerplant! :yawn: Matter of fact the early birkin they have might have some potential, but i would take a real close look at that first. The series 1 had a few teething problems from what i have heard.

Is this one of the aluminum ones? or simple stock?