TheDingo8MyBaby

Hyundai has been pumping out some good looking cars with an excellent warranty. Not to mention they listened to car enthusiasts in producing a small rear wheel drive sports coupe. I also agree, this was a brilliant idea by their marketing department. I subject that they're one of the most forward thinking auto companies in the US today. One morning when I had my caterham at a car gathering here in southern california, I met a gentleman and his son in a BRG caterham classic. He hads me a card that says "John Krafcik - President and CEO of Hyundai America"

I dragged that image into a CAD program here at work. I get approx 5 degrees.

As much as I dislike driving with the doors, I always find that I'm much less beaten after using them. Less wind, less sound...etc. I try to use them if I'll be on the freeway. I also dislike driving with the top up, but I have heard pretty good things about the half hood to give you a bit of protection from the sun. If it's a motion sickness thing, my girlfriend loves these anti nausea wrist bands. http://www.amazon.com/BioBands-Acupressure-Band-Nausea-Relief/dp/B001KN5790/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_2

The 1.6duratec is 110ps or 108 hp. A fresh kent will turn out 114 hp or so. torque is about 150Nm or 110 ft-lbs for both motors.

There is A LOT more to this story than you can see on this website. Formula ford is no longer a SCCA class. It's been renamed Formula F. Over the past few years, ford kent blocks, and other parts have become increasingly hard to find. People looked into having ford remanufacturing the blocks, but Ford seemed uninterested. Until Honda showed up this year with a proposal, a fit powered car and 2 engineers ready to answer any questions. Ford wrote a letter promising that they would get their act together, but SCCA voted and approved the fit motor and changed the name to Formula F after Ford threatened suit. It's unclear as to wheter the US formula ford series will be getting the duratec and it's also uncertain that there will be much interest as it appears that it may be a bit underpowered. It sounds like we're still likely to get the new kent block though - so good news there. This has been a bit of a soap opera and has really divided the Formula Ford class here in the states, but I think it's a good thing in the long run. Ford stopped sitting on their hands, it will be easier for club ford to find motors at reasonable prices, and the $10k+ engine builds are no longer necessary. I may be a bit biased though, as I wanted to see the fit engine so I could pick one up in a few years.

BAT has been around the formula ford scene for a while and have a decent reputation there. Usually companies like this will not make springs but will buy them from one of the bigger companies and simply rename them. Eibach makes all sorts of springs for other companies. Anyway, a spring is a spring. As long as it's designed to exceed the materials fatigue limit and the rates are reasonably consistent, it's a good product. If they're good enough for a formula ford, I see no reason they shouldn't work on a 7 if you have all your measurements corret.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/TheDingo8MyBaby/Lotusuruguay008.jpg I just shot off an e-mail to richard and he sent me this picture back. He seems to be a very friendly guy. His e-mail is richard@snagroup.com in case you be interested. It sounds like he makes frequent trips to Uruguay and will be there this Saturday as a matter of fact.

Beautiful looking 7! I met Richard Vignoles at cars and coffee down here in LA. I wish I had his contact info as I'm sure he'd love to see your car. Here's some more info on Lotus Argentina S.A.I.C&F http://www.lotus7register.co.uk/salot7.htm EDIT: I think I found Richard's e-mail. I'll forward him here.

Great point Tom. I reccomend checking out the book nuts bolts and fasteners by carroll smith. It has some great information in there. With the vibration our cars produce, it's lucky that we don't have more problems with fasteners coming loose. Above all, don't use the garbage fasteners you find in the hardware stores - including washers. Use quality stuff. Buy a bolt drilling jig and safety wire anything that can come loose and ruin your day. As for me, I plan to add miles to the odometer. Winter is when southern california blatting is at its best!

Are you looking for a tire pressure gauge for the 7 only or do you have any other applications? Do you do any racing? If you're looking for a 7 guage, I'd look for something that reads from 0-30psi and has an accuracy of at least .5 psi. I really like digial gauges because there's no fudging the numbers. If you do any racing, I'd look for something that's accurate to closer to .1psi. When comparing accuracy, it is important to read the fine print. Many gauges on the market advertise accuracy to a certain percentage of full scale or capacity. This means that a 100 psi gauge accurate to 1% of full scale can be off by one full pound (1% of 100) anywhere on the scale. At 14 psi, the gauge could display anywhere from 13 to 15 psi. In gauges you can choose 2 of these 3: Large Operating Range Cheap Accurate

What type of tires does it run? 7s are so light and easy on tires that a lot of us use race tires on the street... As long as they say DOT approved (most non DOT approved tires will say "not for highway use") You're good to use them.

I did find this through a google search.. it appears to be the last newsletter that they put out... http://www.rmsci.com/5287/0208.pdf Congrats on your purchase! I also have a question. I'd like to chip in to help pay for the forum, but I don't need any fancy membership card, stickers or anything. Is there an option for this?

I know this is off topic but this is worth taking a look at... http://www.joeharmondesign.com/

The 3sge is a decent engine, but it is relatively cumbersome and heavy which are two major disadvantages for a 7 application. 210 HP isn't a ton for it's size and while you can easily get a lot more, there's only so much power that is useable in a 7. It isn't a screamer but has decent torque. Personally I would choose something higher strung, smaller and lighter for a 7, but that's just me. I also wouldn't count on getting much for the suspension bits. Even though it's lexus, there's just not a huge market for old, used OEM suspension parts. Wiring is not bad and there are wiring diagrams available for free on the internet. It's just time consuming - especially to do it right. You shouldn't have to trouble shoot the ECU should you decide to use it, but going standalone outright will save you some time if you realize you want more power down the road. If I were to chose a toyota power plant, I'd look into the 4age. It's small, light and high strung. The 20 valve versions have individual throttle bodies standard which sound very nice. You will only be able to get 180 hp out of it reliably without spending a lot of money. You can use the t50 or a better option would be to use the miata transmission. Overall, I feel the miata is a great choice for a 7 donor. The transmission is wonderful and the motor is bullet proof. The only downside is the exhaust note. Another noteable alternative would be the s2000 motor.

I'll just save everyone the trouble: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_rdc=1&item=220483591748 I saw the car at Monterey for the historics (as did Stan and Gert I believe), and it's definitely a well built car. I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the bonnet and windscreen, but it's probably as comfy and fun to drive as an elan with the beauty of the 11.

It does need to be wound back in. You could try needle nose pliers, but to keep from damaging the face, I'd reccomend a caliper cube. They're about $10-15 at your local auto parts stores. Here's what they look like: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-52334-rear-caliper-wind/dp/B0001K9V0E EDIT: Found a link for you... I would imagine the caliper cube should suffice... http://alcester-racing-sevens.com/rear_brake_pads.htm

Other than being able to read road signs and being legal, is there a reason you didn't opt for the ECE?

They turned into Red Bull Racing.

Maybe we can get a group deal going and package all of our distributors together. Or perhaps I could just pick up the 3D ignition I've been dreaming about installing.

I like how you've labeled your cone catcher...everyone always asks what mine is...

Ian, Do you have the Super sprint motor? 12-14 degrees is good for idle. The timing should be somewhere around 34-36 at 4000-6000 RPM and seems to vary with the Aldon from what I've read. When does it start advancing the idle? I reccomend advancing from 1000 rpm as opposed to the 1500-2000rpm caterham spec'd. I would reccomend sending it in to Rob at Aldon. He should be able to determine what would be best.

It's likely the one I've listed refers to clams and the .62 refers to cycle fenders. I agree though..not a ton of area there, but as wheels rotate in the airflow, their motion generates a separation of the adjacent airflow (disruption of the laminar flow) and creates a huge amount of drag. One thing to consider when going to bigger/wider tires. It also doesn't help that most of us have our coils and dampers out in the wind either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coefficient You probably aren't suprised what's at the top of the list...

If you have a live axle, I would look into getting rose joints for where the shock mounts to the axle. It allows the shock to pivot and prevents it from binding.

Gert, I actually just replaced one of the plugs on my tundra's tires on tuesday. It lasted for over a year, but began to leak about a month ago. i kept refilling and finally decided to replace it with another one. This one seems to be holding just fine too. Just bring extra plugs with you. Worse case is that we have to re plug it and fill it with air. Most likely it'll be fine or just leak a small amount. I wouldn't take it to the track with a plug though. Any decent tire shop will pull off your tire, take an abrasive wheel to the area surrounding the hole and put on a patch from the inside. These tend to do a bit better over time.