Croc

Moving onto some close ups – some lovely Lotus Cortinas. I vintage raced one of these for 3 races in Australia. Woefully underpowered today, marginal brakes and ok handling, they were amazing for their time but it is hard to remember back to those times before I was born. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LOG%2030/DSC00267_edited-1.jpg A Lotus Six and a Lotus 9 (I think I got that right?): http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LOG%2030/DSC00268_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LOG%2030/DSC00269_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LOG%2030/DSC00325_edited-1.jpg

Saturday at LOG 30 For those people unable to make LOG 30 here are some pics so you can share in the fun. The concours took place at Boyds Bears – a teddy bear maker and store. An inspired choice by the organizers as it allowed the better halves to go off and do something more fun than prowl classic cars. We were set up in a bowl shaped parking lot in a fan shape. Seemed to be arranged as oldest at the front, newest at the rear. Sevens were split into two groups – the original Lotus ones in the front row and the “modern” Sevens in the far right back row, somewhere close to Siberia. The panorama shot that was taken will look something like this: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LOG%2030/LOG30front_Panorama1.jpg Another version of it from the rear embankment is below. Again the Sevens are somewhere close to Antarctica so you probably cannot see them: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LOG%2030/LOG30rear_Panorama1.jpg

Yes - Las Vegas at the Red Rock Resort from October 14 to 16 (I think I got the weekend dates right?)

Also seen at LOG yesterday. While looking out my hotel room window before the reception there was a guy in a early series Seven briefly doing donuts in the rear parking lot. Excellent! :rofl:

I still have the floppy SPA mirrors... Further to my recent SPA mirror post, I took the mirror off to make the modification with spacer/washer find that the grub screw in the mirror mount had been loctited in using the red very strong stuff by the prevous owner. I could not shift it by hand nor could anyone else that I challenged. What is the best way to break loctite in this instance?

The weather here is perfect. After my long sunny drive I have a nice raccoon look to the left side of my face...oh well. Friday afternoon was well spent cleaning the car....cough cough...paying the Meguiars guys to give it a detail for $45! I spent the time having a short nap and then later giving Tom (yellowSS) and his cousin (Dave?)some "encouragement" as they cleaned up their car. Now my car looks fantastic - almost as good as it did when I bought it. Great turnout here - very nice just to stroll the parking lot and just chat all things car. Some unique animals are there - for example an Exige with a very large rear diffuser somehow also had a towing hitch poking through the middle of it. Some gorgeous Elans, Elites, series 1 and 2 Sevens are also lurking there. There is this white/cream Series 1 seven that looks stunning Turnout is looking good. At the reception last night there was Taber and wife, Jon (Boxologist), Tom (Yellowss) and cousin and me. Later while wandering I found Dave (Xflow7) having a late bite of food after getting in late. I know Mike (Kitcat) is here - he was briefly parked next to me while at registration. I also me Scott (orange superlight from Maryland - dont know profile name on USA7s) in the parking lot. There is also a Caterham couple who drove from Cleveland (names escaped me). We started some USA7s tables for the Saturday formal dinner so the Sevens crowd should only get better.

Mike - I sooooo wish I was as prepared as you. In reality I suspect I have problems looming. :svengo:I have not driven the car in 7 weeks (or even seen it because I have been travelling overseas). It should be interesting to see if I start it first go. I will work on it tonight to change fluids and give it a once over safety check. It will be dirty, grimy and desparately in need of a clean. I will hit the autozone place today to buy some supplies to clean it up on Friday afternoon at the LOG hotel so it looks less like Franken7 and more like your Seven. Packing should not be a major issue - I will face that one on Friday morning. I am used to travelling very light. Anyway the luggage room in my fat bastard SV model is much more than you have to work with Anyway I suspect my boot will be full of tools and spares. In order to forestall Murphy's Law I will bring a full complement of parts and tools. Naturally because of this precaution I will not need any of that which I bring! It could be worse - at least I still am still planning to bring my Seven. I understand Boxologist went to the hairdresser this week to buy a Miata and will be bringing that. Sounds like he had some rotten luck with his Seven to lead to such a desparate move. The plan is that I meet him on I-78 and we travel together after that to Gettysburg :driving:getting there early/mid afternoon. I am looking forward to meeting the USA7s group there for a few drinks, discuss Sevens/Lotus, hear some tall stories and plenty of laughter :cheers:

For those that want navigation help to get to Bill's place I have a suggestion of a meeting place off I-78. I would suggest 9.30am at exit 15 on I-78. It takes some time to get to Bill's place from there plus you will want a chance to check out the cars lined up in Bill's front lawn. When you come off I-78 at exit 15 at the traffic lights at the end of the ramp there is a Shell gas station on the right hand side at the lights. There is only 1 gas station and it is plainly visible - you really cannot miss it.

This was a great event last year with a good Seven turnout. With new Sevens now in NJ plus the (remote?) possibility of seeing Al's new restored Seven - it should be a good day. Posted From LEO Our season-ending November Spirited Drive is planned for Sunday, November 14. Once again we begin with a nourishing breakfast at William Thomas Roadsters, 269 Everittstown Rd (Rt 513), Frenchtown, NJ at 10:30 AM. We will have a 90 minute Drive planned...perhaps with a special attraction to visit. Of course we will finish up at a restaurant. Happy Lotusing, Atwell Haines '88 Esprit Succasunna, NJ Lotus Enthusiast's Organization, NJ/NYC Area

Thanks for the kind offer Dave but I have ordered the bits and they arrived today! Just have to get motivated to get to work in a cold garage tomorrow night. Look forward to seeing you at LOG!

Thanks John! Lets see if I can get this done before LOG next weekend For the record should anyone want to copy this the part number of the Delrin washer is now: 95647A112 Wear-Resistant Delrin (Acetal) Flat Washer No. 4 Screw Size, .25" OD, .02"-.04" Thick, packs of 50 The Belleville spacer remains the same: 9713K17Stainless Steel Belleville Disc Spring .220" ID, .437" OD, .016" Thick, packs of 12

I think the calendar idea is now officially out of date....

Thats it - many thanks John. Just to confirm the ascii diagram below the order of fitment is: ball stud / delrin spacer / washer / washer / locking screw Do I have this right?

Hey Steve - I went to (in order of visit) UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Germany, Denver, Jackson Hole and Denver again before getting into NJ at midnight last night. I think it was something like 20 cities in 4 weeks. I am sooooo looking forward to being lazy this weekend.

Karl - you are such a show off! I dare you to go out in todays weather!

I know it has been posted before but I could not find it with the search function (probably because I am inept) so.... What is the fix to stop the Spa mirrors flopping over on their ball mounting? The grub screw is tightened up but yet the mirrors still decide they prefer to reflect straight down. I vaguely recall a spring/washer solution with parts from McMaster Carr but could not find it. Many Thanks

Hi Steve - you may be PA but you are good fun so we will forgive you I was thinking a mini-blat of our own. The LEO groups can be a little too big to manage - at points on the last run in the Catskills I found myself leading a splinter group - not good since I was lost! Probably a good reason why I ended up having that chat with the nice officer... Also we need an opportunity for Karl and Bryce to show off their new cars. The other option is use this post as an early warning for the early (first two weeks of) November Frenchtown run and try and get a decent Seven contingent there.

Lets add my computer desktop image to the very nice collection of pics in this resurrected post: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/DSC_2767_edited-1.jpg Taken in Bear Mountain State Park last fall. Its hard to see but New York City skyline is barely in the upper right horizon.

Great suggestion! I am amazed how in just 2 years the number of Sevens around the NJ/NY/CT area has multiplied. Now that I am back in the US (but not yet at home!) after racking up another 30,000 frequent flyer miles for the last month I have been catching up on old posts. The LEO Group will have a November Spirited Drive put together by Bill Thomas and the Atwell Haines who chairs the LEO Group. I don't know what date it will be other than before thanksgiving. Kick off will be Frenchtown NJ at Bill's place and always gets a good crowd. I will put a post up in the NE region page when I know dates. The time of year is not too late - it has been very good fall weather for the last 2 years - the sidescreens help too. Otherwise LOG 30 kicks off October 10 so there goes that weekend. Wow the year is coming around pretty quick! How about something for late October? Weekend of October 23 or October 30?

The underwriter at the insurance company will be looking for an official appraisal by a registered appraiser/valuer. That likely rules out the casual approach your agent was suggesting you take - he has not done his homework on your behalf. What you want to do is ask for an agreed insurance value policy. The agreed value will be the cost. You will probably find that the insurance company you are dealing with will not want to offer this on your car. If this happens then you are off to find another insurance company/agent. My recommendation is to find a good agent who will be on your side when trying to work through the insurance issues with the underwriter at the insurance company. You agent needs to be clear exactly what the underwriter needs - maybe even ask to speak with the underwriter directly. Mainstream insurers who are generally best for our cars (depending on state of residence) are State Farm, Safeco and Chubb. Specialty insurers are a very easy option like Hagerty and Grundy - you talk with them directly.

I suspect you probably came across Bster13 (name on USA7s) as he has an Evo and recently bought a Stalker. He originated a few postings in the last 6-9 months where he was debating the merits of various cars. A lot is personal preference re styling, drivetrain preference, sizing, price. All of them are stunningly good bang for buck. I put about 8000 miles a year on my car last year however this year is only about 2000 miles since I have been spending 100,000 miles on a plane. I sometimes drive mine to work - it is practical as a comute car provided you drive defensively against the average commuter muppet driver. They are not practical when it rains as you generally will get wet in some place. They are a little more highly strung than say a Toyota Corolla although some judicious maintenance and monitoring can see it be a very reliable car. This year all I have had to do is hop in and it starts first time every time - regular servicing has seen it well. I suggest you make the effort to get out and see/feel/sit in every type of Seven to understand them better. Until you see one in the flesh then it starts to be real. Taking a first drive is an eye opener

Geez....you are worse than Hank at a Hooters Bar! :drool: When I managed to drag my eyeballs away from Miss Connecticut (no way I was missing her!) I discovered your car looks great. I like the color combination of burgundy and carbon - nice one. Where in CT are you located? I would not mind joining an event like that if it was in the south eastern corner of CT?

:jester: excellent stuff!

Well funny enough he was driving a Rover K series engine R400.... Evo article Quote: "It doesn't sound much cop when it's idling, like a kilo of bolts in a cement mixer. " So...how many pounds of bolts you got in your cement mixer Tom? Maybe its like the owner - a beer short of a six pack? :jester: Cheers

I can soooo relate to this - just hanging out desparately waiting for the new toy to arrive on the driveway so you can leave tire marks all over the road! Have fun Karl! I look forward to seeing your car in person (and drooling over it) when I get back from Europe in three weeks.