Silk

Loren, Thanks for the news flash on the Fireball. Good to hear Kevin and Michelle are enjoying themselves. Must be odd for them to be in one of these events driving something with a top and a radio. Reminds me of the year Robert Dubler showed up for One Lap in a Tahoe and finished mid-pack. Gary

Just to add an interesting note to this discussion, John Meyers recently finished near the top of the heap at the '10 GRM Ultimate Track Car Challenge in his V8 Stalker. This from John: "I just finished unloading the car and putting it away in my garage. The rear slicks measure about 71.5 inches in circumference. Review of the data logger showed max RPM at the end of the back straight on my quickest lap of 6469 RPM. This calculates to about 169.5 MPH. Now I know why I was not watching the tach more closely . John PS: If I could prove that the tire circumference grew 1/4" at speed and there was no slippage, the speed would equal the magic 170 MPH." http://finishlineprod.net/nasa/index.htm

I autocrossed my S Stalker this past weekend in 100 degree heat. Footwells were not uncomfortably hot. Never been a problem for me.

Here's a pic of Jack Banker's Stalker with Brooklands. One of these days I plan to do the same. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1024&g2_serialNumber=5

John Meyers LS1(?)-powered Stalker. Second overall (I think) at the last Run N Gun. http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/GatewayCobraClub/RNG%20Pics/8-15-09621.jpg

Jeff Duncan (Ultralite) and I (Super Stalker) go at it regularly at a highly competitive autocross at the Cumberland MD airport. This event regularly attracts people that are only interested in FTD rather than class wins. Last weekend’s event was fairly typical – Jeff beat me on Saturday and I edged him on Sunday. And we were both among the fastest in a very fast field of cars. Driven well, either of these cars is extremely capable, though the characteristics are different as noted in earlier posts. Here are links to the Sat. & Sun. results: http://www.nationalroadrally.com/pdf/2010/historics/Historics_6_5_10_raw.pdf http://www.nationalroadrally.com/pdf/2010/historics/historics_6_6_10_raw.pdf PS - And Mazda, how come we haven't seen you up in Cumberland with your spanky new hood?????

Michael, Have you decided which FIA you're going with? ERA, Unique, Kirkham? If you swing by the Vienna Inn on a sunny Saturday you can usually catch an ERA. If not autoxing the Stalker, I'll be there with my Unique. Gary

Busy this weekend, but the next two are fairly open. Just let me know. Gary

Reason, Brunton Super Stalker in Fairfax Station if interested. Gary

I have the same unit - tach out goes directly to the tach.

Clever, Mazda, very clever.

Our local Cobra replica group has a tradition of a New Years Day cruise down into DC, through Georgetown, around the mall, and then on to some local watering hole for libations. Since the roads were wet and salty on New Years Day, we cleverly rescheduled the event for Sunday. Brilliant! Temp was 14 degrees when I left the house and never got above the low 20s. The wind chill at 70mph was truly inspiring! When I got home, I had one errand I needed to run. Since I was already "acclimatized," and since the Stalker needed some exercise, out it went. My wife said nothing, but the look I got suggested she'd already made several call inquiring about psychiatric help. All in all, an enjoyable if somewhat chilly day.

Geran, Where in Northern VA are you located? I'm in Fairfax Station & have a Super Stalker. Gary

Ian, If it were me, and assuming you don't have tire pressure monitors, I'd hit the offending tire with a little tire sealant. That should take care of porous rims or side walls, bead leaks, etc. Not much $$$ and no downside. Gary

I agree with Brad. Cast wheels can have pin hole leaks in them. Many people coat the inner surface of the wheel with a sealer before mounting the tire. Not all that uncommon. I had one new set of wheels two of which leaked badly. Sealed them, and no problems since.

May depend on the law in your state. Virginia passed the SEMA-backed replica legislation in 2007 allowing replica vehicles to be registered with the model year for which they replicate...with inspections based on the requirements for that model year. I know of a couple people who converted build-year titles to the year the car replicates. They couldn't run antique tags, but the change did give them a break in terms of inspections & insurance.

One question immediately comes to mind - - - why?

Jack, I have to admit the Cobra has spoiled me a bit on how the Stalker sounds. And I completely agree with you on the Miata. A fellow Cobra owner and I did the 2007 One Lap in his bone stock '95 Miata, and we had a blast. Over 5000 miles without a hicup, and the car was great on the track. Second lowest HP of all the entrants (a Geo Metro kept us out of the HP basement), but we still finished 65th out of about 90 cars. We affectionatley called ourselves SLO~MO~FO Racing. If I were to buy a track-day ride, that would be it! Gary

Dermot, Interesting question you pose. I drive three cars competitively – mostly autocross: a C6 Vette, a Cobra replica and a Super Stalker. All three fall under the general rubric of “high performance,” but all three have very discrete fun factors and performance characteristics. From my perspective, the Cobra is the most fun to drive competitively. It’s a small, uncivilized car that you really have to muscle around the track, and it can step out without much warning. Lift-off oversteer is always deadly. Braking is tolerable, but my car has power nothing – not brakes, not steering – and I like it that way. Kind of like a trip down nostalgia lane. The overall sensory experience with a V8 and limited baffles in the side pipes is quite inspiring. Pretty enjoyable as a road car, even for long trips. With top and side curtains, it’s even tolerable in the rain – as long as remaining largely dry is not an important objective. The Corvette is the least fun to drive, even though its-lap time performance is on par with, and in some circumstances better than, the Cobra. Brakes are superb, acceleration is awesome and the suspension/handling is excellent and very predictable. But it’s a big car and doesn’t give me quite the same level of confidence as the others that I can toss it around with impunity. I enjoy it tremendously, but it’s my rainy day competition car (and my daily driver). The Super Stalker is in a class by itself in terms of performance. On a 50 second autocross course, I’m easily 3-4 seconds quicker in the Stalker than I am in either the Vette or the Cobra. And the Stalker is, for me, a very easy car to drive right at its limits. Flat handling, sticks like glue (I run non-DOT slicks), very predictable. It certainly inspires confidence in me as a driver and gives me lots of room for driver improvement. I think it handles more like a formula car than anything else. Looks wise – well, I suppose it’s an acquired taste. It seems a bit homely sitting between the other two cars. And when I’m running it hard, I think it sounds more like angry yard equipment than anything else. But when I’m focused on lap times, it always puts a huge grin on my face. Also fun on the road, especially in the twisties, even though it’s set up primarily as a track car. In terms of head-turning quotient, the Vette is right about 0. The Cobra gets lots of thumbs up and waves. The Stalker gets a lot of “WTF is that” looks – except for the enlightened among us who recognize it for what it is and honk and wave enthusiastically. All in all, I feel very fortunate to have these three cars. They all deliver a different driving experience and I thoroughly enjoy each of them. Gary

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/classifieds/442/

Al, Got my packet as well - sorry not to have acknowledged it before this. Gary

I'm going to try to make it up this year with either the Stalker or the Cobra. Gary

Other than fiddling with spring rates and a couple of other minor things, the car is pretty much where I want it. So as long as it's dry, I'll drive it all winter. Some days are a bit more "refreshing" than others.

I got a call from an individual that had planned to buy a Brunton Stalker kit and had begun assembling the drive train to build a Super Stalker (supercharged GM V6). He's decided not to go forward with the project and is selling what he has. I told him I'd post his information here. If you have any interest, please contact him directly. * * * * * 2006 Pontiac grand prix S/C motor with 3,759 miles. bell-housing flywheel and bolts - factory pressure plate clutch throw out bearing " " " hydraulic clutch line - factory motor and transmission mounts - factory new alternator alternator bracket - factory two fan belts altinator/supercharger Energy suspension motor mounts - RED belt tensioner/ oil filter housing assembly WRONG Oil filter housing - factory CORRECT 2 Buick " supercharged " emblems Machine shop costs and miscellaneous nuts and bolts I also have all the original parts off the engine including a full wiring harness. I have original bills of sale for all the parts, and a 4 column journal as a history of all my direct expenses associated with the project. All this comes to $ 2,766.27 which does not factor in all the phone calls, trips to the factory, time on the computer, and travel costs to pickup various parts. I live in Cape Charles VA. about 10 miles North of the Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel, at the end of the Delmarva peninsula. The price for every thing is $ 2,750.00 FIRM. Any questions please call me, if no answer please leave a message. Roger L. Munz roger_munz@yahoo.com

Big improvement! Thanks. Gary