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Hi Dallas and thanks! ya the first lap I was taking it easy mainly so that I wouldn't catch up too fast to the back of the field, and also warm up my tires and oil (there were about 15 other cars lined up behind me and they sent them out at 10 sec intervals). at the start of the second lap is when I really dropped the hammer and let 'er eat! I do have safety gear on board (old style FIA cage, which is vintage legal, plus a fire bottle and 6 pt belts and full suit. I always wear a HANS whenever I'm vintage racing but at this venue with the extreme 90 deg turns, I need to be able to turn my head more than 30 degs comfortably, so I didn't wear the HANS). I'm glad you enjoyed watching! here's a pic of me going thru one of the chicanes (no it wasn't me that knocked it down haha): PS this car and I are like old time friends/dance partners -- i've owned her and raced her since 1994, so I'm extremely comfy driving it fairly close to the limit (although at this venue I'd say I was driving her at 85-90% max. there was more left pretty much everywhere on the course, but as you mentioned there is very little room for error without major consequences)

haha! i don't know who kept hitting the bales in the chicane; all i can promise is that it wasn't me!

wow what a day yesterday at the Coatesville Vintage Grand Prix! this was the third time they've held the event and it's getting bigger and bigger. they put in some tighter chicanes this year and they put in a Safety Zone between Harmony St and the final turn and start finish line (had to slow to 15 mph going through that section for safety due to the crowds etc, so you'll see that every lap I go past that section). there were more cars there than the previous years, but it was better organized also which was really encouraging to see. here's the incar footage from the last session; I started first in line, and then took a fairly easy first lap so as not to catch up too fast to the back of the pack. then I dropped the hammer and let 'er eat!! as always, the Seven did what it does best, and ran and ran fast enjoy the footage: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAq3xhd_D4bmbY7HlP at the end of the day, they awarded me the First Place trophy for 4 cyl class (I was the fastest car overall too) and presented the big silver cup for the Spirit of the event to me also (beautiful trophy which resides I think at City Hall and will have my name engraved. I started to walk off the stage with it and they said 'hey we need that back haha!')

thanks guys - glad you enjoyed my writing (believe me I'm no writer; I'm an engineer! lol). the main reason that the BDR is still sitting in my den (yes! my den! not even in the basement haha. it lives a life of air conditioned luxury) is that I asked around and if I put in the BDR, I'll be relegated to Big Bore pretty much exclusively, because that engine never really 'belonged' in the early Sevens; I like the idea of being able to run in the 'proper' group for me (mid bore) if there is competition there (such as was this weekend with the TR4). if there isn't, then I can choose to go to Big Bore. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do with the BDR yet (I still might someday put it into the Seven!) or maybe I've been looking for a Cortina / Capri / Escort to put it in too.... one sorta top secret that I have been holding in is that I have a full race crossflow being built at my engine builder for the last year or so (all steel, high compression, race cam, dry sump, DCOE 45s etc) and that should be done and in by next year. with that motor I'll be able to run in Mid Bore if I want to, and the additional power should even the playing field substantially (should be in the neighborhood of 190-195 hp or so)

thanks! ya the two of us were quite a bit faster than the other 33 cars (I think 3rd place was about 3-1/2 secs slower and then there were a bunch of cars in the 1:39 to 1:42 range and then a bunch a few secs slower than that. after the first few laps it was traffic like rush hour on the beltway for us haha! I think I had the TR4 covered in the corners (especially the faster ones) and had him in the brake zones but I just couldn't figure a way around him to make it stick (safely)

thanks guys! on sun i'm positive that there was a high 1:33.x in the car if I hadn't been fighting with the TR4 and lapped traffic and yellow flags etc. the Seven with it's little xflow was running it's heart out for me! really had a good time hanging out with you fellas at NJMP a few weeks ago (damn wish I'd been able to have the Seven running that weekend!). next event looks like it will be the Coatesville Vintage Grand Prix in Sept and then Watkins Glen rematch of the TR4 in Oct. I might have to ditch these 3 yr old used tires and buy some for WGI

whew! where to start? well, here goes: arrive friday at 1pm right after a microburst had decimated the paddock at NJMP. (it turned out fortunate that I wasn't able to race friday due to commitments after all haha). unloaded the Lotus and teched it and then locked safely back in the trailer. hung out with Greg Amy and Ed (great to see you guys !!! that 914 of Greg's looks fantastic and was running well too). time to go now and off to Philly. returned back at 1am and found out there had been a second microburst and the paddock got wrecked AGAIN. yikes! sat dawned cloudy but then sunny and HOT and humid! steamy, really. the track had drained somewhat but it was very sketchy in multiple places (esp entering T1 and before T3 and exiting Octopus and exiting T12). the Lotus has a welded diff (NOT friendly in the rain or damp!). it's diabolical if you don't stay on top of it and know the conditions. I went out at 9am to qualify for Group 1 (mid bore class) and did about 8 laps (last 3 or 4 white knuckling around with understeer transitioning to snap oversteer entering/exiting the dry-then-wet spots at speed. I came back into the pits figuring 'i hope I'm somewhere in the middle of the pack and not too far back'. I was bummed enough I didn't even go up to look at the grid sheet. went up to meet Bob and Kyle and Dick et al (Triumph TR4 built and raced by Dick Stockton (driven by Kyle Disque this weekend) and I believe Bob Tullius drove it back in the day too), and first thing i hear is 'great job you're on pole by 0.6 sec!'. i was stunned. I guess the Seven and I did ok in those dicey conditions after all! race was at 1:30 pm. bright sunny very very hot. get gridded up and I set the pace at about 55-60 mph in 3rd gear. green flag drops and both the TR4 (Kyle) and I were right on the flag. and then vroooooooom! bye bye there goes Kyle to the first turn and puts about 5-6 lengths on me! now the chase was ON brother! track was dry and fast except for wet entering T1, wet just before T3, and damp coming out of Octopus. our cars are fast on Thunderbolt in different places thats for sure! I got up to his rear bumper and lap after lap trying to find a way around (man this guy Kyle is GOOD! he won't crack and I was trying my best to pressure/distract him every chance I got). pretty soon we are into backmarkers and Kyle is slicing and dicing them lol. I'm staying with him pretty much lock-step, but now I'm watching the water temp gauge climb past 230 and oil is 250 and climbing. not good. (don't look at the gauge Todd lol!). another swarm of laps goes by and there's maybe 5-6 mins to go and I'm still in the same scenario (I can get up to his bumper but can't make anything happen and stick!). traffic is wild by now (watch the vid; we were splitting them everywhere and some of them weren't paying very good attention; I know I was trying to be careful but trying to get through them too to stay with the TR4). water temp gauge went past 240 (YIKES) (oil gauge pretty stablized at 260 which was borderline still OK); I decide that I don't want to pop it and start short shifting at 5500 and drop off Kyle's tail. a couple of laps later it's over and Kyle wins and I'm second. back to paddock to try to cool down me (and the car!). from memory I think I turned a 1:35.6 and Kyle a 1:36.5. here's the vid from sat's race: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAq2zpqrxjostLd5Op go hang out with Kyle and Bob and Dick and slaps on the back and riding the after-race high for a while! it was all good man! then back to my trailer and take off the nose cone and bonnet and look around; everything looks ok. it's only down about 8 oz of water. and then I see that a piece of the lower rad shrouding (home brew foam tubing that is duct taped on for the last 5 yrs or so lol) is missing. must have ripped off/blown off during the race. make another piece, tape it on, top off with water, add 1/4 qt oil, close it up. Visit with my friend Bob Ball (BMW 2002 driver who is a REAL wheelman) til about 11pm and then hit the sack! sun dawns dry and clear and cooler (maybe 80ish). our race is on at 10:30. since I still have fastest lap, i'm on pole again. but I have a plan this time; I'm gonna pace it slower like 40 mph in 2nd gear. hopefully I can accelerate better and lose less ground to T1, outbrake Kyle and if I can hold the lead for one lap maybe very gently start gapping out..... (nice plan eh? LOL!). green flag flies; the little Lotus pulls strong in second and third and it's working! Kyle is ahead but by like 2 lengths not 6! and then ZOOOOOOOOOOM a Datsun 510 from hell at about 9k rpm blazes by on the far far inside and jams in between Kyle and me and instead of being able to brake super late and inside (what the Seven is bred to do!) I have to brake early and wait for the Datsun. which then parks it and proceeds to hold me up every corner for a full lap and blaze away in the straights (this bad bitch was even faster than the TR4 in the straights! but zero rear suspension (it was bouncing and jinking everywhere like a low rider haha)). I finally got a huge run on him and put him away going into T4 (and never saw him again. he was like 3+ sec slower than us) and now the chase is on again and I have to make distance to catch Kyle. I finally get back to his rear bumper and it's sat all over again; I can't figure a way around this Iceman driver. a few more laps goes by and there is a local yellow at T6 due to a broken Pinto; Kyle gets by a 240Z lapper and I allllmost can get it done before breaking the plane of the yellow but not quite so I slide back and wait behind the 240z. and wait and wait (he was crawling!) til the next clear corner station and I pass but by then Kyle is about 30 lengths ahead. I give chase and close some distance but then there is ANOTHER local yellow at T2 and I get held up waiting there too; it's too late now to make up all those lengths and the race ends. Kyle in 1st and me in 2nd. but I did have a small consolation; I turned a 1:34.1 (was pumped I was that close to a 1:33 in a vintage car!!!!!!). Kyle at a 1:34.3 (smoking fast too!). Turns out that my 1:34.1 was the fastest laptime of the weekend that wasn't a Formula or S2 car (take that Big Bore! Kyle and I would have been 1-2 in Big Bore haha) oh and the hottest the car got was 210 water 230 oil here's the link to sun's race (that damn Datsun 510 man!!!) https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAq22d7LBxsgZDnoFw had an awesome time hanging out and running so hard and clean; that's what racing (vintage in particular) is all about! Can't wait for a rematch with the TR4 at Watkins Glen in a few months!

hi Bill! another vote for 1000-1100 rpm and I also use VR1 20w-50 non synthetic racing oil in mine. enjoy!

hey Jon and Tom! one thing I'm always concerned with is 'do the big cars even see me?' often I'll abort a late brake into a corner if i'm not 100% sure that the big boys can see me coming. I don't think my Seven would fare well by being turned into by a 3000 lb Mustang!! I worked long and hard to get the brake balance near perfect on the Seven; I didn't even squeak a wheel all weekend under braking, so there was probably still a tiny bit more left before lockup. our Sevens are absolutely invincible when it comes to brakes vs just about anything else out there (even those 911s got crushed in the brake zone and they are known for their excellent braking ablility, due to their large brakes and rear weight bias). don't forget that my Seven still has it's stock, tiny, non ventilated disks, with street pads! (race pads don't get up to temp on my Seven, so I run Hawk HP+ high performance street pads). our Sevens really are engineering marvels (especially considering how long ago the basic design was penned!!!) here's the very last race of the weekend for me; it too was cut short by a black flag (someone scattered an engine on the front straight). this is a short vid but fun one full of action (and out braking maneuvers!) https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAqXmd0RSMQeCwz9zx

Just got back from the track late last night; had a fantastic time! I've got 4 race videos in the can but have only finished processing this one (which I think is one of the best): video of Sunday’s Watkins Glen VRG morning race. Groups 3 and 4 were combined (Mid Bore and Big Bore). We were gridded by best lap time and I was fairly close to the front and surrounded by the big boys! My puny 150 hp isn’t much of a match for the 400-600+ of the others so I got swallowed up at the start and then the race was on. When the Camaro crashed (right in front of me! He wasn’t hurt thank goodness) they black-flagged all of us and brought us in to clear the track and then they sent us back out (I edited most of that out). The pack of front runners apparently didn’t see or observe the black flag, so they were penalized and had to start from the back of the pack and I lead the restart and the race was on til the finish! Enjoy the vid and ride along with me in the Super Seven (after all, she did most of the work!!) https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAqXdgXbqBX1clNSob

hey guys. question for you all - mine is a 92 DeDion rear suspension. anyone know what car they use the rear bearing out of? (I'd like to order a one from RockAuto or from a local parts store as a spare)

thanks Tom! there was a very early Series I there with a coventry climax powerplant that was all aluminum body and really cool!

Hey guys! Just back from the Coatesville Vintage Grand Prix; the Super Seven and I had a GREAT result - I am classified in the 4 cyl class (1600 cc Ford crossflow powered) and ran the morning heat with all the other 4 cyl race cars (this was the biggest class by far). The issue was, even though I started first in line, within 2 laps I was already in the back markers and heavy traffic and couldn’t turn a fast lap (this event is scored like a Time Attack Race; single fastest lap wins the day). I asked the organizers if I could do the afternoon heat with the 6 cyl cars (only 3 cars in that heat, all three early 911 vintage race cars) and they said ‘OK I guess..’. My friend Nick Betegh was running his FAST early 911 (a 1970 with a twin plug 3.2 and a host of suspension goodies) and at that time he was the fastest car so far that day (even the V8 guys couldn't catch him); he lined up first and I was right behind him, and they spaced us out and released me exactly 10 secs later and the chase was on!! The Lotus and I slowly crept up on him til they threw the checkered flag; final result was his 2:21.0 to my 2:17.9. I ended up winning 4 cyl class plus winning overall FTD. The course this year had much tighter hay bale chicanes (and many more of them) which made it much more difficult to carry speed, but was a VERY fun event and an awesome day overall! Congrats to Nick for being a tough competitor and a good friend to boot; Can’t wait for next year!! enjoy the vid: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAqXFofSWYjVFQt8N-

hi. if it came off a Sierra, you can have your american parts guy (or rockauto) look up a late 80s Merkur Scorpio or Merkur XR4ti

Hello! do you have any pics of the wheels? what make are the wheels? what size are the slicks? what brand are they?

darn! I finally had time to go out to the trailer and crawl under the Seven. mine is also the type that has stubs that go into the diff (not the flanges). does anyone know if the flanges can be removed (easily) and if that reveals the standard stub axle female splines to accept my axles? thanks guys!

hi guys! quick (hopefully easy) question. I'd like to buy the diff for sale here: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11586-For-sale-Ford-Sierra-7-quot-differential-with-Quaife-lmitied-slip what I want to confirm first is --- will this 7" Sierra diff out of a Westfield bolt directly into my 1991 Caterham xflow powered T9 5 speed DeDion car? I'm hoping that it is exactly the same diff that I currently have in the car right now. Thanks for the input! Todd

thanks! ya my lil Honda Civic is pretty highly tuned and can get through the corners and down the straights in fairly short order too!

nice car! and nice writeup too. I'd like to drive Barber someday! I'm a driver coach and have students from Novices all the way up to guys who hold racing licenses and are looking for that last 1 sec to put them at the pointy end of the field. when I train Novices and Intermediates, I teach the 'slow in fast out' method for most corners; get all the braking done in a straight line, finishing the braking at the turn in point, aiming for a nice clean precise apex, while gently rolling on throttle progressively more and more til the track out point is met. typically, there is some amount of 'drive to the track out point' involved. when I've got a sufficiently skilled student (high Intermediate leaning towards Advanced) I start to teach the 'fast in fast out' method (but in tiny steps; a little bit at a time!). this entails feathering up off the brakes before the turn in point is reached, and carrying in more speed entering the turn (while being sure to still hit the apex very precisely!); then rolling into the throttle even earlier and carrying much more mid corner speed and out to the trackout point. often it means turning in a touch earlier than the traditional DE late apex method. when carried out properly, the car WILL drive to the trackout point on it's own; it has no choice; physics and geometry insist that it does haha! the issue here is that if one carries too much speed, or misjudges the turn in point, or especially if he/she misses the apex by a bit, then the result is - running out of track and driving off at the exit of the turn. to illustrate, here is a short clip of me from a longgg time ago up at Watkins Glen. I was volunteering with the RTR PCA and was instructing, plus was shaking down my 1995 Honda Civic and getting it ready for that years racing. the RTR PCA Red Instructor Group is one of the faster PCA groups, filled with lots of nice go-fast track oriented cars. that day, I was shaking down a new engine build and a different gear ratio for my transmisson. I was running some garbage toss-away test tires (you can hear them screaming for mercy haha; they were way past their prime!). most/many of the cars in that rungroup should have been able to out corner/handle me that day, but very few were driving anything but the 'slow in fast out' line and most were not using all the trackout room at their disposal (thus the total domination from the back of the pack by a little Honda Civic. must have been a bit embarrassing for all those poor P cars!). I was running the 'fast in fast out slightly early turn in' lines that I use when racing; since it was a DE I was waiting for signals, and probably driving around 95% capability with a little bit in reserve. please forgive the noises and video breaking up slightly when running over the curbing; this was from the days of VHS-C minicams! your 620R on slicks driven in such a manner would probably be 15 secs a lap faster than I was circulating in my lil Civic. Todd PS Watkins Glen is NOT a good track to start practicing that line! you want a track with plenty of run off room, in case you make a mistake in judgement. NJMP would be an excellent such track!

hey kitkat! I run 100LL in my xflow powered Super Seven racecar (11.5:1 compression). it's currently priced at $4.30 gal at New Garden Airport where I buy it in 5 gal portable gas tanks (usually about 30 gal at a time). I've been extremely happy with the 100LL -- it's always clean, and fresh, and has the ability to be very stable when left in a tank for a long time (some sort of preservatives in it for airplanes that sit). color of the plugs is great and easy starting and makes good power (160 hp at the flywheel on a good air day). my xflow is total old school; no oxy sensors; dual dcoe weber 40 carbs. 100LL will ruin a cat converter in fast order. its a bit hard on oxy sensors too (I have a wide band hand held tuner that I use occasionally; I used to use it on my honda civic racecar (b18b powered 11:1 comp fuel injected racecar that I ran 100LL in with the oem O2 disabled). if I left the wideband hooked up to it and raced it with the 100LL, the O2 sensor would start getting slow and lazy after about 20 hrs of use. time for a new O2 sensor (about $100). i also use the 100LL in every small engine on my property (lawn mowers, chain saw, weed eater, snow blower). gone are all my issues with E10 wrecking the seals and carbs and gumming everything up. my snowblower can sit for a year and then starts right up on the first or second pull.

hi! oil control concerns in a Seven on track are a BIG DEAL; even with a race baffled pan and a big Accusump I can barely keep oil pressure in my xflow powered Super Seven. honestly going to dry sump is the only for-sure method of proper control (and quite expensive; that's why i've not done it either!). first thing for you to do is install a proper 'race' style breather system; I use a big Peterson catch can with filtered vent on top, mounted to the firewall. routing of the hose(s) is important; I have a fitting in my lower block which routs to the back of the valve cover. then another fitting in the front of the valve cover attaches to another hose and loops up til it touches the bonnet, and then is run all the way back along the frame rail to the big Peterson catch can on the firewall. I have it mounted so that I can easily reach under it and drain it into a small pan with no tools (it's a thumbscrew). oil level in the engine is critical in my xflow to have it just so; just a touch under the Full mark is just right; any more than that and it blows right into the catch tank within 15 mins. much under Full mark and the engine will starve for oil (the accusump will have to take over to supply at least SOME oil pressure when this happens). when the oil level is just below Full on the stick (it's happy place) I get the best combination of good oil pressure and not to bad blowby into the catch can. after you install this type system, be sure to plug up any of the factory breather hoses going into the intake manifold; you don't want any vacuum leaks or any way for oil to get into the intake. oh, and part of your 'looking the car over after each run group' should be to drain the catch can and see what's in there. typically I get a few ounces after every run group. more or less depending on the track (certain tracks are better or worse for oil starve/slosh than others). good luck! and I'd def try the proper breather system before I tore into the head or any other internal engine mods!

he was still running drums on the back (the crew chief guy was readjusting them every session!). he told me he was shifting at 7800-8000 every shift but that the motor could take 8500 (but that he preferred not going there due to accelerated wear). he told me motor was very fresh (two races) and had been a $20k proposition (thus him trying not to go over 8k rpm to extend life). BTW I was shifting at 6500-6600 haha

thanks guys! I appreciate all the nice remarks! Croc -- I talked to the guy extensively (his name was Robert). he was super nice, and he was similar to me, in that he was a serious 'modern car' racer too (his modern car was a 2013 Boss 302S which he raced in TA4 I believe. he was a very very good driver, and that's by far the best handling vintage Mustang that I've ever come up against. he had a nice Toter and a really fantastic crew that made adjustments on the car all thru Friday til it was handling like that. the motor was a 289 (he promised me it was legit and not a 302) and it was def a wet sump; no dry sump. he did have a Jerico 4 speed in it. brakes were the proper old school (Kelsey Hayes I think?). his crew chief claimed 460 hp at the wheels (which I believed too). he was running vintage legal Hoosiers. the trick to winning against him was being able to enter T1 ahead of him. our laptimes were very close, with me turning very slightly faster times (when I wasn't behind him fighting to get around). I was 2-3 tenths faster. that sunday race when we both started in the back -- I was very careful to make sure on the start that I moved up but always tried to keep it two abreast on the front straight after the green flag flew so that there wasn't room for him to squeeze by. after that I picked my way through traffic and completed the first full lap still slightly ahead of him into T1, and that was all the cushion I needed to be able to start pulling away ever so slightly lap after lap. and yes I def find that 'sawing at the wheel' and fighting the car with big slides etc might look and feel fast, but the clock usually disagrees! lol! the Seven likes to dance and move a bit, but not overly so. little gentle movements of the rear countered by staying ahead of it with the corrections/steering make for a nice fluid line around the track. I even concentrate on trying to make nice smooth swift shifts (without banging gears!). people laugh, but that transmission has never been apart in 23 years of track/racing. and it's still on the original clutch!!! oh and Dave -- thanks! I like the old girl too!

hey fellas! just returned -- had a GREAT three days!! ended up racing in Big Bore Vintage against some really cool cars (bunch of V8 Mustangs (one very fast one) a real GT40, and a whole slew of others. the fast Mustang and I went back and forth all weekend, with him besting me every time, up til Sunday's last race, when we both decided to start off in the back of the grid, side by side (I was on the inside and he was on the outside). this negated his 20+ car length advantage from the start of the green flag to T1, and made for a really cool vid (you get to see a LOT of the other cars we pick our way up through them all. the GT40 was my absolute favorite!!). enjoy! https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmApj6nsqXiE96n4T-C and this is a short one -- it's the Relay Race from Saturday. it's a team race with 4 different legs. I was running in the Big Bore leg. my main competition was going to be the fast Mustang (of course!). I was surprised at the start -- the starter usually gives a 5 sec warning and then points to you to go (everyone takes off when pointed to, dependant on the previous teamate's performance in the previous leg); this time he didn't give warning and just pointed and said GO! I fumbled for a sec and then left, just a touch behind the Mustang. didn't really matter tho because the Mustang drug me all the way down to T1 lol. then the battle ensued in earnest -- I think we gave it a good shot (multiple passes for the lead)!!! https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmApj1q_24YVatoGbBd enjoy! Todd

hi! I've raced against Mallocks often! they are fast fast fast when the driver is good. much better aero, more rubber, more power (much more than my current xflow) and a totally purpose built race car. the two that I typically come up against are powered by very hot 1800 cc (custom cranks) dry sumped xflows (about 210 hp), and have more aero tricks especially on the front wing/fender area than yours does. I'm betting that they are slightly later models. what's in your Mallock for a powerplant? you should bring it out here and race with VRG at Summit Point (I'll be there this weekend for the last race of the season, the Turkey Bowl) and Watkins Glen. NJMP, Limerock, and a few other eastern tracks.