Croc

Yes, the garage became a boat shed with sail in access from the Hudson River. It happens usually once a year with a big storm and high astronomical tides so I always am prepared since I generally can see it coming 3 days away based on the weather channel and tide charts I have. The garage drained out yesterday and is drying out now. No damage - its all concrete - just needs a good airing. The seven spent the weekend at a workshop which also can store classic or other valuable cars. The Audi went across the road into an elevated parking garage that has previously also stored the seven in an emergency. The back of my building is a former warehouse on the Morris Canal so it is designed to load barges at water level and flood during big storms.

But it is more fun spending money on go faster engine pieces, carbon fiber and other goodies which generally do not improve performance much.

I think it is over here too. Garage is draining out to the river now - it hit a height of 6 foot of water. A couple of leaks in the living room and bedroom from the glass roof I have in both rooms plus water was being driven in to the air conditioning units and sprayed around the place. Cleaned up now. Never lost power, cable, or water. It was unnerving to feel the building shudder with the big wind gusts early this morning. I imagine being way up high in Manhattan would have been worse. This was at 8am at high tide looking towards Manhattan about 0.75 mile away across the Hudson. The building in the foreground had some flooding of the ground floor units from what I could see. The old Colgate clock came through well (its the octagon scaffolding faintly seen). http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/DSC_0902.jpg This is looking towards NY Harbor. The building in the distance is the old Central NJ Railroad Terminal in Liberty State Park which is now a ticket office for the Statue of Liberty ferries. Ellis Island is out there somewhere, as is Governers Island and Brooklyn. The foreground shows a vague outline which is actually a park (now underwater) that is the former pier for the old Morris Canal. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/DSC_0903.jpg Bizarre experience, in the middle of the storm at about 8.30am, I could see one of the statue of liberty ferries running around in the middle of the river. Not quite sure what his plan was? Pick up a few tourists?

Rather entertainingly I just lost (it blew away) my outside temp sensor and wind speed sensor. Last recorded windspeed gust was 68mph. Still, the NYC police have a patrol launch on the Hudson River just now...I could think of better places those guys would want to be

Sounds like Irene fooked you over really well.... On second thoughts, it is not the time for humor sorry. I think your saving will be that the storm is losing strength as it comes north and should be a tropical storm once it gets past NYC.

No I am onto Samuel Adams now....ran out of Stella beer unfortunately. Pretty wet here but no wind. Will be interested to see how the apartments survive next door. Ground floor luxury is 2 feet above high tide for 2 bedrooms at $1m.....hmmmm.

I rang them in the UK. Really good guys to chat with. They do it as a special order. No point providing my quoted price to you as I have a fat bastard car whereas your Birkin is svelte!

Nah....mine is special...it has a dust magnet feature! :jester:

Well I just got the latest weather updates and it looks like Irene has decided to glance past Manhattan and give Long Island a bit of a blow job. Actually, it looks like Irene is aiming at you Boxologist! About time you get some action! I am mostly done preparing. The balcony will be cleaned off shortly - just sitting outside here enjoying the morning coffee, watching the boats stream out of the marina next door and head north up the Hudson to shelter. Garage was done last night - the Audi is now 80 feet above sea level in the garage next door. Looking over the river to Manhattan I was interested to see they took down the Freedom Tower cranes in advance of the storm. Sort of a surreal relaxed experience this morning. I have been through enough typhoon direct hits in Tokyo and Hong Kong when I lived there so I know what the game is about. I just find the waiting for it to hit the worst. I have plenty of chilled beer and when that gets warm I have a case of red wine and a 18 year old single malt to sustain me. Bring the bitch on!

Mike - I am glad you have reconsidered so that you can keep your car dreams alive. Excellent suggestion. I suspect a bunch of us old farts would love to know the right answer for Mike so that they can solve their own back problems.

You were very lucky. It looks like you hit the legs bringing the horse's body down on top of you. I have never hit a deer but have hit 2 kangaroos. I collected one through the windscreen of my pickup (or "ute" in Australian) when he decided to hop across the road as I was passing. He came through the windscreen on the passenger side of the car and immediately began to kick and thrash around in the cabin. I think I got out of there while the vehicle was still moving. As for my other kangaroo incident, he became burger meat when he hopped in front of my road train in outback Australia (I was a truck driver) while I was doing 60 mph. A road train is a tractor trailer unit with, in my case, 4 x 50 foot trailers and it does not stop for anything.

So am I the only one getting ready? The seven has gone inland to where it will be safe. The garage contents (tools, parts, crap, etc) was packed yesterday and will be loaded into the car on Sat as that garage was 20 foot underwater in the last hurricane in 1990 (or 91?). The rally jacks I use in minor flooding were steel wired to a concrete column yesterday (too big to take away with everything else). I was trying to buy tape for the windows but Home Despot had run out from panic buying. I did get my emergency supplies of water, batteries, ice cooler packs for beer, etc. Still not sure how I protect my window wall and green house roof of 16x12 which is 8 floors up and inaccesible without abseiling equipment? I think I just write it off as a certain insurance claim. Latest track shows a dead hit on Sunday. I was planning to ride it out at home given I am in a concrete box except for the window face, 8 floors above the Hudson River, so should be reasonably safe. The place came through Hurricane Bob before so I feel reasonably confident. And no, none of you are in my will to inherit the seven!

+1 on wiring. I know nothing about electrical other than it is those little electrons pedalling away give me electricity. I do know all about loose wiring connections having spent 3 days redoing each connection around the cockpit of my last seven so they would not shake loose in the harsh operating environment of a seven.

The 20,000 miles refresh on the R500 K engine was for road. Track miles was much less. Either way it was still a screamer of an engine to rev up to 8800. Almost like the more reliable Honda S2000 engine that makes more power for less hassle.... My car is not called Fat Bastard. I call it Toe Cutter - it rolls over your toes and and cuts them off! :jester: Did that to myself last weekend.... :ack:

Yes and you had to "refresh" (aka rebuild) the engine every 20,000 miles. That sounds a little too highly strung for me.... Well, Caterham call it that, its what was on the Manufacturer Certificate of Origin, and it is only slightly short of the 500hp per ton. And it is a definitely a superlight now that it is undergoing some weight shedding and a carbon beauty treatment and dust control measures.

I recommend a preventative session with Stabilant 22. It improves the electrical connections in environments like sevens which are fully of vibration. I used it on the previous car to minimize electrical connection silliness and I am part way through the new seven and hope to finish it off this weekend while I have the scuttle off.

This was for sale on the Lotus Owners of NY (LOONY) site for a while. Looks nicely presented.

Wasn't the Rover K engine the one that came with plastic locating dowels for the head as standard? 82kgs is before the driver comes along with his fat wallet for the inevitable head gasket replacements.... unless you do not rev it past 6000rpm.... Oh..hi Tom...fancy meeting you here...:seeya:

The driver does not look to have an eight iron embedded in the skull either.

Loren - you wouldn't be at DFW would you? I know one of the guys on the airport fire team there.

Yes but the Kiwi's are much more fun than the Swiss!

Sorry to hear about this - sounds like you made a right old mess of yourself. Best wishes for recovery.

Actually I dont feel better - more . There is not much room for error at Watkins Glen unlike NJMP where there is a huge dustbowl to spin around in . And yes any cold tires are good for not gripping - welcome to the club! Apart from your cardio heart starter from going off track, was it a good day?

Hi Kiwi - brilliant pics. Its been a long time but I can remember the roads you were driving, particularly that stretch around Porters Pass and the ski field. The scenery is still spectacular. One day I must get back there...

Are you sure it is electrical? Have you thought about fuel pump or other element of fuel delivery?