xflow7

Fair enough. I was unaware of that. :thumbs:

This is actually kind of an interesting thread as it brings to light a little bit what we all mean by "inspired." That is, does "inspired" refer more to certain key stylistic attributes of the car, or more to the design philosophy? One look at the interior of, say, the Panoz (not to mention the presence of...horror!...doors :willy: ) and I just don't see "Lotus Seven inspired..." even though I can clearly discern the stylistic elements that make others view it as such. No right or wrong, I suppose, just different perspectives. :thumbs:

I wondered if that was a Donkervoort. I'm aware of their LSiS credentials (and performance exploits), but even the availabilty of a hard top still seems like anathema to me. Just seems like it misses the point a bit seeing as most LSiS drivers I know don't even use the soft top. Anyway, I'm being kind of tongue in cheek about all that as the Donkervoort is explicitly LSi according to the company.

Some truth in that, Mazda. IMO: - the Panoz and Prowler are out because neither follows the minimalist theme and they're both kind of portly if I remember correctly. - the Atom and X-Bow are out based on engine location. To me, it ain't LSi unless the engine's in front of you. - I don't know what the LMU3 is either, but I think I've seen it before. Anyway, I could see it as LSiS except I have a hunch it may pre-date the Seven. - the last one I'm conflicted about. I would say clearly LSiS but for the hardtop; part of me says that's a deal-breaker as far as LSiS status.

Wow. Was it that lean across the board, or only in a specific regime? Did you get any A/F measurements at part throttle? Can you give a rundown of the jetting you are currently running?

No prob. Didn't realize that was you. Hope I wasn't driving like an a-hole.

Your price sounds reasonable for what you're after. You're probably familiar with most of usual places to look, but here are a few suggestions for places where there are usually some advertised: Rocky Mountain Sportscars in CO Sevens and Elans in MA ebay Hemmings www.race-cars.com My only advice is to not necessarily limit yourself to a de Dion, at least not before driving a live axle and possibly a de Dion for comparison. Live Axle's get an un-necessarily bad rap for on-road driving IMO. I have a live-axle and to me neither the ride quality, nor the behavior over bumps is near bad enough to warrant writing one off completely. This is of course a personal thing, so the best is to drive both and make your own assessment. And at the kind of power level you're talking about, the strength benefit of the de Dion is not going to be relevant unless you're planning to upgrade power considerably in the future (>160HP). And if I'm not mistaken, the live axle cars are typically a bit lighter. Dave

Just came across this good (though brief) overview of crossflow tuning. Doesn't go into detail about the finer points (porting, blueprinting, etc), but gives a nice summary of common cam options and some other upgrade parts. Not clear where it was originally published. http://rcma.free.fr/escort/ford_kent_crossflow.pdf

I'll probably be there at least one day; not sure which one yet. I was planning to come up in the Seven, but it was turned away at State Inspection this morning because the DMV didn't tell me I had to register it specially as a homebuilt in spite of my explicitly telling them it was a homebuilt when I registered it. :banghead:

Great weekend and I had a ball. It was great to finally meet some of the crew and ogle at your cars. Al politely neglected to mention in his post the fact that my car was positively filthy and generally a pariah on the attractiveness of the Corral. I was impressed by the turnout for the Corral on Saturday. That was great to see. The Seven/DB battle was terriffic, although I am embarrassed to say I don't remember who won! Dave

Excellent! Against all odds, I managed to get my axle re-welded this week and the car back together last night, so I will be there in the Seven after all :hurray: (provided something else doesn't fall apart on the way there this afternoon ) Of course, the repairs used up all of the time I had allotted to get the car shiny and pretty, so no making fun of how dirty, neglected, and unpolished it is. :toetap: Looks like the weather will be about perfect. Looking forward to meeting everyone who's going. :thumbs: Dave

Very cool, Al. :bigears: I'm dying to get my car on a dyno. I know a Sevener in Michigan (author of http://www.thecaterhamproject.com) with the SVT Zetec installation from Caterham USA. His car was always quick, but I seem to recall he had it into a dyno shop up there (Paul's HP in Jackson, MI) and uncovered some kind of fueling and/or timing issue that once resolved noticeably improved it (though I've not ridden in it since). I've mentioned the site to him before, but he's had alot going on this year so may not have had time to swing by. I'll try to ping him again and see if my memory is right and if he has anything to add. Dave Edlt: Just now noticed that his website appears to be defunct.

After a weekend spent pulling the axle out, hopefully I'll still be able to bring the Seven. The bracket's getting re-welded tonight or tomorrow by a guy from work then hoping I can get everything buttoned back up, brakes bled, and a shakedown drive in time to drive out Friday. Where's the fingers crossed simley? Anyone else planning to go on Friday?

That's hilarious, is what it is. :d

:cry: May not be able to bring the Seven after all. This morning while getting ready to take it in for NYS State Inspection I discovered that the spacer boss for the damper and radius arm connection to the rear axle has broken loose. This was repaired following my deer incident and it looks like the repaired weld gave up. So, unless I can get the axle out, find someone to re-weld it, get the whole mess back together this weekend, and have inspection done next week it's not looking good. I'll still be there, though.

$200 shipping from UK? How flipping big is it? :eek: :eek: Presume that had to be a typo.

Man, that looks amazing. Wish I was there.

I'm confirmed for the full weekend. :hurray: Planning to tent camp if the weather cooperates (backup plan is a reservation in Danbury).

That's one of the few video clips I have saved locally on my computer so I can watch it anytime, anywhere. Stirring stuff.

I've also heard good things about the book Inside Solidworks. The author, David Murray, did the SolidWorks training session I took at work and he was very good.

I haven't measured, but I'd guess the chassis itself is 5" or so with the sump at ~4". The muffler is the lowest point at probably 3-3.5". Loads of scrapes on the muffler as it will drag in hard right hand turns if there are any bumps or if there are two passengers. A few bumps on the bottom of the sump pan, too; a dry sump is in my future. I don't believe I've ever bottomed the chassis itself, but there are some dings here and there due to occasionally poor jacking choices.

Oof. Glad he's okay. I hope the car is repairable. Mid Ohio is a really neat track, but the way China Beach falls away from the track there is pretty dicey; especially with the camber on the outside of that turn. No clearer demonstration than Pedro Lamy's flight in his Aston Martin last year (worth a search on youtube if you've never seen it).

I find recognition is very location dependant. In Ann Arbor all kinds of people knew what it was including a college-aged female; I suppose because being near Detroit it's a car-centric area; plus the presence of no fewer than 3 automotive publications. Just on Wednesday a female engineer at a test facility I'm travelling to right now recognized the picture on my laptop background and informed me that she'd driven a friend's around Laguna and Sears Point.

Since it's been built, I've had a number of people over-estimate the value signficantly. I guess it's less impressive as a garage full of parts. No one's estimated mine as being 6 digits, but from the pictures I've seen, your car is exceptionally nicely built. :thumbs:

Congratulations. :hurray: When I bought my kit, my g/f at the time's comment upon first seeing everything arrayed in the garage was, "You paid money for this?" And she had no idea how much.