pethier

While I was doing other stuff, my computer decided to convert the file. I have no idea why this happened.

Guess my favorite sport.

Sam ting, but instead of a Miata, I have a Cayman. Used to have a Miata. Not hip to the "demoray solution", I sold Meg (short for Megagram, a metric ton of fun) when I got my first Caterham. Soon realized my mistake and tried to remedy it by selling the Caterham and buying an Elise.

I have no pictures at all of me with my father in his 1932 Auburn. My grandmother made him sell it when Roosevelt activated his Naval Reserve unit and sent them all to Hawaii in early 1941.

Happy to sell you the Zetec, computer, the whole ball of wax, but you have to take the entire Birkin.

Yeah. I love letting kids sit in my cars. It means so much to them. I remember my first ride in a real sports car. I didn't understand what it was at the time; i might have been about 7 years old. When I grew up, I thought about my memory of the event and I think it was probably a big Healey.

Nice little video clip. Of course, I did have to turn my laptop upside-down.

The MK cars look pretty-good. All the essentials of a Seven with a single Miata donor. I was seriously considering one, but it was turbocharged. Any amount of of turbo-lag is probably a bad idea for an aging autocross freak with laughable natural talent.

May I see that photo, please?

I'll try to get to that today!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72177720334335936/ This should take you to my album of snapshots from this year's Back to the Fifties. The only Seven on it is my for-sale Birkin. I was told that there was a genuine Lotus 7 there on Friday. It must have been miserable with the weather that day, I didn't see it on Saturday, but it is impossible to see all the cars at this event, as many of them move around. It is verboten to attempt to save your parking spot. I got lucky Saturday as I drove to different part of the Fairgrounds to show someone the car, I parked in a different space for a while. When I drove back to where I had been, my original spot was open. It helps to have a small car. Austin/Morris Mini is good. Also, I have seen some King Midget cars and other tiny automobiles.

The conversion of the CSR 260 back into a two-seater is almost complete. A temporary version, until the new seat shows up. Meanwhile, the Birkin abides. Iffy weather tomorrow (Friday), but Saturday looks perfect for a day at the BTTFW with several thousand of my closest friends. Sunday , back to DCTC for a Corvettes of Minnesota autocross.

The Minnesota Street Rod Association Back To The Fifties Weekend. Way back when, it was limited to cars made 1949 and earlier. It eventually became extended to 1964, where is is supposed to stay indefinitely. They grew tired of hearing about 1964-and-a-half Mustangs: The club line is now ABSOLUTELY NO MUSTANGS. Moving the eligible date forward has been deemed verboten because the show still fits in the Fairgrounds. The MSRA rents the entire Minnesota State Fairgrounds right around The Longest Day every year. This year the the weather stank on Friday. Saturday was gorgeous. Sunday too, I bet, but I was autocrossing a half-hour south of there. There are a lot of replicas mixed in and they don't get excited about that. As I say, I will feel guilty about bringing the Birkin when they throw out all the Cobra replicas. My "Big Show" statement was to differentiate it from the check-in for the show at a suburban hotel up on Lexington Avenue. You can only pick up your credentials at this hotel, not at the Fairgrounds. As I say, the show peaked at over 12,000 cars. I don't have the total for this year yet. https://msrabacktothe50s.com/

Today at the big show. I'm not going back tomorrow (going autocrossing instead), so I won't be at the giant door-prize drawing where they will announce the the car total. I didn't spend much of the day researching car numbers. The highest one I saw in my limited sample was in the 7-thousands. I signed up back in January and my number was 00653. They have exceeded 10,000 in the past, but last year was only in the 9-thousands. This is cars entered. Paying spectators is another thing. All-in-all there are fewer folks onsite than at the State Fair, and most of the food concessions are open. Lotus of car-stuff venders who do a brisk business in electric fans since the cruising loop moves slowly. I didn't shoot a lot of photos. I will get them on my BTTFW group on Flickr later. Sleep now.

"the new CSR 200 / 260 talk group"? Are you talking about the thread I started or something else?

So this thread about San Jose was started by someone who is now in Houston? Well, I have taken one of the Sevens out of the San Jose area. Somewhere along that process, I got my first ride in a Waymo.

"A picture is worth a thousand words. A picture and ten words is worth a million." I don't remember who said that.

So far, it looks pretty good. I have both bought and sold cars on BAT.

The conversion of the CSR 260 back into a two-seater is almost complete. A temporary version, until the new seat shows up. Meanwhile, the Birkin abides. Iffy weather tomorrow (Friday), but Saturday looks perfect for a day at the BTTFW with several thousand of my closest friends. Sunday , back to DCTC for a Corvettes of Minnesota autocross.

IMG_1527. you could never try to do this and succeed.HEICIMG_1527. you could never try to do this and succeed.HEIC I got out of the Birkin and felt a pull on my foot. For reasons unknown to me, my cellphone decided to make this a HEIC. I'm trying to figure out how to convert it.

Credentials for the Back to the 50s Weekend can not be picked up at the Minnesota Fairgrounds. They must be picked up a suburban hotel. This circa 10,000-car show is limited to cars 1964 and earlier. I'm bringing the Birkin. I will feel guilty about this five minutes after they throw out all the fiberglass Cobras running around. I have been sending in an entry for a "1963 Lotus Seven" every year for a long time, and never show up with a car. Last time I brought a car it was an actual 1962 TR4. By coincidence, the Birkin I bought from Dean is actually titled as a 1963 Lotus. Of course, you can show up at the hotel with any sort of vehicle, but I decided to bring the Birkin and hang for a couple of hours, buy a burger and pop.

There always seems to be a nearby garbage bin. Lately I find there does not seem be be any fuel left in the nozzle. People have been making sure they get all the fuel they can into their car.

I have the opposite problem. Short legs. My 1700 Super Sprint is OK, probably due to the "Lotus Position" of the seat. CSR has a Tillet seat with a more-upright back. With the seat all the way forward the brake is OK but the clutch and full power are a bit of a stretch. Taking out the removal device saved me 2.5 inches on the steering wheel. Momo brand steering wheels are immune to my "negative spacer" trick with the Moto-Lita in the Super Sprint. It's OK, the CSR has a longer cockpit, so when I move the seat back all the way, i can get around the steering wheel OK. Driving shoes help. I'm thinking of adding pedal blocks to clutch and gas and leaving the brake alone.