pethier

Pix so far are at [flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72177720326088078]

in Minnesota, you can do that if the car is eligible for Collector plates. It can't be your only car; you need to cite a regular car. I believe I have recounted on USA7s how I registered my current Seven from Illinois for like 218 dollars while it cost thousands to register the Cayman from Iowa.

Been to several places in Montana. Cut Bank. West Yellowstone. Had Chinese food in Bozeman. Camped in Livingston. My dad used to hunt near Judith Gap. I've never been there. They tell me it's nice. Dunno if they still do this, but back in the day a Montana resident could get a big game license with one deer tag and legally sell the deer tag to a non-resident with a Montana big game license. Dad and three of his buddies would tow a trailer to Judith Gap where they knew the locals and buy extra tags. They never got skunked; always came back with 8 mule deer. I ate a lot of that meat as a kid. The memories of Dad's stories from that time... I do know that over my lifetime I have met a lot of people in Montana who came from Minnesota.

Heading to the shop in the rain today. Just about have my waterfowl aligned to show you all what's happening. How did I ever have time to go to a job?

They make you pay for a new housing? What benefit does that give the customer? Maybe right around the boiling point of plain water is a proper temperature for the operation of the engine? I expect you will run it with 50/50 coolant and a pressure cap, so boiling over does not seem to be an issue. I am clearly open to education from all here.

Couple of blank photos there...

Sorry, still sinking. And a sudden contact in genealogy popped up. How did I ever have time to work at a regular job? There are some pictures coming. Honest. It's 2:20 AM again. Good night.

Yeah, I've just been doing nothing for those 14 hours. /s I've staked out the turf: Now I'm off to pay my first-half property tax. Thanks to all for what I have learned in this thread and for your patience with my tangental thinking out loud.

I'm kind of new to the build-thread process. This is going to be somewhat scattergun, to match my ADD brain wiring. I will probably start by collecting comments I have scattered around the net already, and then get down to business with the 1700-Zetec swap that I have long-contemplated and has now suddenly commenced. First, this post is to stake out the turf after a prod by one of our most-helpful (no sarcasm intended) members. I have a lot of irons in the fire just now, separate from the Seven. Much of my house is in a cluttered uproar as I attempt to install a new kitchen sink into a place created by the iconoclast who self-built this domicile in 1950. Some tricky surgery is required. I may document that on shop-talk@autox.team.net. Meanwhile, you can imagine a 75-year-old ADD widower without a working dishwasher. Come back later, there will be Seven words and pictures.

Parts and car are together. Good news, the bell housing is aluminum. The sorting-out process will begin. The heater is out. The front fenders are tucked away in a safe place to give us some fettling room. I know, I need to start my own build thread.

Yeah. I read your April 23 post too-quickly. I see what you mean now. I'd like to have a Duratec, but this Zetec opportunity was too good to pass up. Realistically, I'm building a fun autocross car, not a Nationals winner. I have no intention of putting on very wide wheels and running hillclimb tyres. So a normally-aspirated Zetec on Mikuni* fuel injection may be all I need. Steven DID have wide wheels with hillclimb tyres on the "donor" Birkin. I assume he will still use them when he gets all the electrons working. I might someday consider wider wheels, but I think Yokohama A052 tires will still be the best bet for me. I can run those in XU class. My Cayman is also legal in XU (and not in DM) so I can run in the same class. Good thing, since the Cayman will have to step up during the Zetec-swap on the Seven. If things go well, the Zetec and the Seven should be sleeping under the same roof by this time tomorrow night. * Actually Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection.

I have a RHD car and am about to put in a Zetec sourced from a Birkin. Not thinking about a supercharger at this time but who knows? If I do go boost, I would not go turbo. I like to autocross, and turbo lag is unlikely to be a friend to me with my natural driving talent. My friend Steve sold off the Webers and put on Mikuni* ITBs with adaptors. Ran it on Megasquirt. * Actually Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection.

From other discussions I have read that Caterham is mounting the Duratec engine two inches aft of where they used to mount Ford engines.

After recent discussions and revelations about "eXtreme street Unlimited" (hereafter XU), I decided to enter my Caterham 1700 Super Sprint in XU at my club's first timed autocross of the season on Sunday. The chilly morning was forecasted to turn into a warm sunny day. XU ran in the first heat. The class made with three entrants; me, a Honda Beat, and a Camaro with gutted interior. First run went OK; I didn't get lost. That has been a problem for me because not since 2010 have I had a car this low. Second run was faster, but I clicked a slalom cone with the right rear. Third run was faster still, and clean. A check of live timing showed that I had a good lead on the Beat, which was in turn ahead of the Camaro. I was looking forward to turning up the wick in Heat Three, where we expected to get 3 more runs. In my club, being on this planet for 70 or more years earns you a "get out of work free" card. I was tired of sitting in the car in the sun, so while they started up Heat Two, I unfurled the awning that I had put on my trailer last September and enjoyed the shade whilst I erected the hood, unzipping the rear window. I figured I would go put the car in my grid space and maybe see if I could get any reasonable pix with my new iPhone, since I had left my real camera at home. To get to my grid slot without interfering with the operation of the 2/4 grid, I had to drive all the way around that grid. While doing so, I stepped on the clutch pedal. With no resistance whatsoever, the pedal went directly the firewall and stayed there. A friendly passer-by helped me push the car mostly out of the traffic pattern. I briefly considered starter-launching the car for my remaining runs. After all, it seemed to be a 2nd-gear course. This would only require me to make one shift whilst on the clock. Then I suddenly remembered that I am not Rick Mears. I went and got my rig and winched the car into the trailer. This was a lot of fun since the remote had packed up the previous day so I had to keep running back and forth between the button in the front of the trailer and the steering wheel on the car. First-world problems. Canterbury Park is far enough from my house that I really couldn't come back to run my Cayman. Went home and watched recorded footie (Not F1 or IndyCar yet, SO DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING). Checked the live timing. They did get 6 runs. Hurray for Minnesota Autosports Club with 162 entrants. The Beat did not improve, but the Camaro did, climbing into 2nd place. My 3 runs held up against their six and I won the class by just over 2 seconds. Trophy time. My overall standing was not that impressive. Mid-pack. We have some good drivers here, including some SCCA National Champions. Went to bed at 9:15 which is so not like me. While I was troubleshooting the car (still in my trailer) Monday morning, I decided to call my friend Brian to see how long he thought it would be before he could start on the 1700-to-Zetec swap I planned. He answered the phone, "Are your ears ringing?" Why? "I was just talking to my crew and we are ready to take your Seven. I was just about to call you." OK. It's in my trailer. I will be there shortly. I knew by that time that the problem was not up top, and that the cable did not break. The problem thus had to be in the area around the bellhousing. But I no-longer cared. Phoned my friend Steve, who is taking his Birkin electric. A year and a half ago, I paid him cash for all of the gasoline bits from the Birkin. He has been very patient with me taking up space in his loft. He has a full-coverage winch setup. Soon we will winch the Zetec engine, 5-speed gearbox, Mikuni* fuel injection, plus all associated bits and pieces, into the bed of my F-150 for a trip to Isanti. I'll be running XU in the Cayman for a while. * Actually Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection.

Fantastic!

If you decide to autocross, get some 15" wheels and Yokohama 052 tires. The new XU class looks like fun for these cars. Sidebar: Does your 2006 Elise have the factory LSD?

>non-starting applications How about coach batteries in an RV that does not have a gasoline or LP generator for 120V? Maybe the 12v control-and-accessories battery in an Electric Vehicle More-controversial perhaps, the battery used to run the trolling motor on a fishing boat?

Mixing Sevens with formula cars spooks me a bit.

Perhaps you could flip the sun visors UP to shade you from sun coming over the windscreen. I have been known to do that. Impossible on an Elise of course, but I only once ever drove mine without the hardtop on.

Most cars I have owned had Climate Control drove me nuts. I was always having to figure out how to lie to them to get them to do what I wanted. My Suburban was terrible that way. My Fusion was a little better. My Cayman is pretty-damned good. My newish F-150 is pretty good also. Both the Cayman and the F-150 are nice freeway cruisers. The truck tows my trailer well regardless if the Cayman or the Seven is in it. I'm still undecided whether to drive or tow the Porker to the Parade in OK, but for the LOG in Pittsburgh, it's a no-brainer: The Seven is going in the trailer.

Fortunately, I had no complications with the authorities in Minnesota. I presented the Illinois title from the seller. I asked if I could reuse the Personalized/Collector license plate from my former car. Yes. I paid my $218 to transfer the car and will never have to pay them another dime. No inspection required. Buying a Cayman from Iowa was not very-complicated either, but it was a whole-lot more-expensive, plus I will have to pay for new tabs every year, and pay for a new pair of plates and the personalization-fee every seven years.

I have been online with Brian Garfield, the admin of the facebook group https://facebook.com/groups/392020123979507/ Brian and I have a mutual friend who is a Solo national champion and a professional autocross instructor (but not a Sevens guy). I'm looking forward to being in Brian's group.

Yes, they are. At a nationals level, though, these cars are not streetable. Your 420R would do well in DM at local events. I suggest hillclimb tires or the softest race slicks if you are serious. Now that I know about the XU class, though? If I had a 420R, I'd go XU with the Yokohama 052 tires. You are not going to wear them out in street driving, and I think they are the only DOT200 tires that are going to stick well in the no-warmup environment of autocross. I just went to motorsport.reg and changed my class to XU for the two local events I had booked. My Yokos are on the stock Prisoner wheels which are only 15 x 6.5. I had 15 x 7 Pannasports on my previous Caterham. I know who has my old car now, and someone along the way kept the Panasports out of the sale, so he only has the small (13"?) Caterham wheels.

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