xflow7

And if you punch the hole in the right place the tranny heat could keep it warm. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

Sorry, no pics. From a distance anyway, she looked cute. I will withhold further comment until it's been determined that she's not somebody here's daughter. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gifxflow72006-12-31 10:28:10

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/rofl.gifxflow72006-12-31 09:53:19

A tough question to answer definitively because it depends very much on spec of the car as well as personal sensibilities about what is a fun driving experience. Pretty much no matter what type of Seven you get, driving it will be windy and noisy. If those traits are positives you'll love it. If they are negatives then try a few before you buy. Depending on the car it may also be bumpy on lousy road surfaces. If you are of larger stature, make sure you fit in your intended car. I've found my crossflow-powered Caterham to be very streetable. I drive it to work now and then (but not often due to the terms of my insurance coverage), but mostly it's blats of 1/2 - 2 hours. In addition I do the odd road-trip; usually for a weekend trip down to Mid-Ohio or to Indy for USGP. My car's very well behaved around town. Once warm it idles fine and has never tended to overheat. Sitting in traffic sucks because you're in a small space to begin with and being surrounded by other people's exhaust and with no radio to distract you can be maddening. The visibility is always a concern esp. around larger vehicles, but one you are always conscious of and sensible defensive driving alleviates much of the risk. Longer trips for 2 people are possible provided you can be economical about what to bring and are creative with in- (or on-) car storage. Acknowledged experts on 7 road tripping are Angus and Tessa from BlatChat. See >here for what's possible. It's possible to rig up intercoms with audio/cellphone in for a more civilized touring experience, but it's still a far shout from driving along top down in a Miata with Starbucks in the cupholder. If that's your ideal, a Seven probably isn't quite the right thing. Dave

With some reasonable weather today I went for a short blat (should I be able to blat on Dec. 30 in Michigan? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/crazy.gif ). I had the usual array of waves, whoops, and hellos from passersby, but one really surprised me. On the return I passed by the main UofM campus and while turning the corner past a group of 4 or 5 students, one young lady yells out, "I like your Super Seven!" http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/eek6.gif Now I'm fairly surprised when anyone in the US recognizes it, but a female college student was a definite first. Only reason I can figure she would know a Super Seven would be if a family member had one or something. So, does someone here have a daughter at UofM or something? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/confused5.gif Davexflow72006-12-30 12:18:52

I've left mine pretty much bare: http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061204_182227_CatPic7.JPG The red is the normal vinyl coating or whatever that is on Caterham interior panels. For a period of time I had the carpets in the footwells but ended up removing them because they made it too hard to swiftly maneuver my left foot in and out from under the clutch pedal while cruising (crucial given the lack of dead pedal). I have no heat insulation on the firewall/footbox but the heat isn't a problem. The tranny tunnel gets fairly warm but has never bothered me. Having said that, my engine (at 135HP) is considerably less powerful (=less waste heat) than many.

Caterham Classic (Live-Axle) with 1700 x-flow power from Marcovicci-Wenz: http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061221_194827_CatPic9_crop.jpg Edit: May as well have an interior shot too. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061204_182227_CatPic7.JPGxflow72006-12-29 07:19:36

Yeah, $3k is a lot of dosh, but doesn't strike me as that outrageous for something as complex as a nosecone in aluminum. I have to believe that kind of thin-gauge aluminum work is a bit of a lost art and I may be way off base, but I can't imagine that it would be much less than 20-40 hours labor to make one. Figure $60-$70/hour for someone skilled enough to do it (maybe more actually), plus material and maybe some tooling costs and presto-change-o you're at 2-3 grand.xflow72006-12-08 06:38:26

Hmmm...I must be missing something. I don't see any cars in those pictures at all. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gifhttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

Actually, that picture is 4.5 years ago in Cincinnati. Matter of fact, we just got our first sticking snow here this afternoon, although further West already got hammered last week as you may have seen.

Cool. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/thumbsup.gif I already have a Caterham; just need to work on getting the lovely Sabine now. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

I was backing out of my garage and it got away from me. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061204_182227_CatPic7.JPG

Very cool. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif Being a Caterham-nerd in addition to a little bit of a Linux-nerd, I've always been tempted to commission some talented soul to whip me up a cartoon-y picture of Tux the penguin blasting along in a Prisoner-style Seven. I'd love that! For those unfamiliar: >Tux and my favorite Tux picture: http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/data/500/tux-swats.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/mad5.gifhttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gifxflow72006-12-04 17:53:29

oooh...Can I play? (as if having my car in my avatar isn't enough self love...I'll probably go blind...) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061204_173415_CatPic3.JPG BusaLoco, your car looks terrific. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/thumbsup.gif You too Al, I've always thought your car looked great in all the piccies I've seen.xflow72006-12-04 17:37:32

Just to add. There is a school of thought that says if you are un-able to fully warm the car (defined as getting the oil fully up to temp and holding it there for a while) then you are best not to run it at all. The reasoning being that unless the oil is hot, water vapor from combustion remains in the engine rather than evaporating out and causes corrosion as it subsequently sits.

Nice work. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/thumbsup.gif I get pretty brave in taking the Seven out provided it is sunny and the roads haven't been salted. I took it in to work in Cincinnati on at least a couple of occasions when it was mid 30's when I left the house in the morning and have done some short blats in similar temps around here. It's cold, but not too bad provided you bundle up appropriately and it is extremely exhilarating. Tough to get the temp gauge to break 65-70 degrees though and the starter motor takes a while to forgive you. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif Dave

So does that meet our definition of a Seven? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

Wow. Good find. Thanks for posting that. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

Awesome, indeed. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gifhttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif But definitely not an R8. Looks like a Radical or similar. Coincidentally, I was going to post this excellent Manx Rally footage: >Manx Rally M3 as well as this classic footage from pikes peak. >Climb Dance Dave

I'm happy to report I don't have a story about that. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/hurray.gif I do however have a funny story in which I was driving along some road when all of a sudden the engine died and I was coasting. Having recently replaced the alternator after just such an occurrence, I was more than a little http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/mad5.gif. However as I was still coasting down, just to check I went to try the ignition and found the key was in the off position. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/eek6.gif Turns out I'd gone over a bump and my knee had knocked the ignition switch off. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif

Mmmmm.....scrapple. Man, do I have a craving all of a sudden! Great report, guys. I'm enjoying reading and watching. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

I'm mostly just worried about my car's reaction when I bring a wife home someday. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

That reminds me of another guy who's done the same for a Daytona Coupe: http://members.aol.com/COUPECHUCK/chassis.htm No updates on the page since test driving in '04, but I was always awestruck by the ambition of this project. I happened to run into Peter Brock at MidOhio a couple of years ago (he was there with his Superformance Coupe) and asked him if he was aware of this guy's project. He said he was and I guess he'd actually been in touch with him a couple of times to talk it over. He (Brock) was a really nice guy actually, and I was thrilled to have met him.

...newbie? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrinjester.gif

What...