Croc

Climb Dance is one of the all time great motoring videos. I just love the way he looks so comfortable and at one with the car. John - I gather you had a little "oops moment" in 1994? What were you driving with Mitsu? Evos?

I think I am breathing again. He just bitchslapped that car up the mountain. I dont think I have ever seen that much arm movement wrestling a car around before. MichaelD is right - go big screen and loud sound. Stunning video.

Oh pleeaaasee....the only semi I have is when I see a pretty lady on the street. In my first and only international level race (touring cars) I came last and in my very last race I crashed at 160mph and ended up in a coma and on life support. Some people would even say I am brain damaged.....

That is looking great. What gearbox are you using for this car? It looks like a Quaife 6 speed but not sure....

Getting away from the unhealthy obsession with VAG.. Robert (Wallabyguy is his Britishspeed profile name) is the president of British Racing Group and is active within the LEO and PALS Lotus groups on the east coast. I have been pushing him to bring a Toniq along to one of the gatherings. He can also bring an xbow along now. It has taken them a very long time to get both of these cars up and selling here. I think they announced them as far back as 2007/2008? The first question - How does the xbow compare to the ariel atom? I think it has less performance and costs more money? The second question I have - Is an Xbow (or a Toniq) a seven or not?

Too harsh. Al and Mazda (slingsht), amongst a select small group of others, got this club off the ground in 2006 and 2007. The effort of those early years may not been seen in 2010 from Al but he did man up and at least try to explain. He could have slunk away without saying anything. There are no bonus points for taking shots at the guy now. At least he did not start a war on false pretext. I think you started the right debate and deserve a lot of credit for that. Let's not distract ourselves from the important issue of discussing where people want the club to go. If you think you have a better solution then lay it out there - you now have a large audience all focused in on this post ready to hear your views. I for one will be interested in seeing if you can step up and lay out a well reasoned view or just call people names childishly or just slink off and be silent. oh and by the way, in my humble experience, referring to people as 'cocksmokers' generally turns people off listening to you It does not matter whether or not it is your comment or you are relaying it from some knuckledragger who is happy to follow instead of lead. Luckily I am fairly laid back so do not get offended easily.

Its sort of being dammed either way. When I am in winter I want CA summer weather. When I am in the peak dog days of summer with no breeze, muggy humidity and just sweltering in the car, I want a nice cold day. Call me fussy. I know CA traffic is pretty ugly but I think NYC is just as bad. The other thing I found out there yesterday is the potholes - they are just MASSIVE this year. I know it was a bad year because of the weather but these are the type to swallow a seven whole. I thought I destroyed a alloy rim on the audi the other day, the car just crashed into it. In a seven you just do not see them coming at you until the last second as you are so low to the ground. I need to find a place that is seven friendly - is there such a heaven out there?

I had to take the Seven out today for its second trip this year - my second attempt to get emissions tested in 7 days. The car fired right up after its 2.5 month winter sojourn - no leaks or obvious issues, needles hanging in the right spots, all looked and sounded good. Only one problem - it was 18 degrees F out there this morning - cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. So looking like an eskimo I made the 100 mile round trip from work. Wow...talk about feeling alive. The car sounds fantastic in the cold air, under bridges and tunnels. It is just so immediate and instinctive compared to the daily driver - it is like being in a Seven for the first time again. It was still pretty icy on the roads from yesterday. Coming onto the Holland Tunnel plaza I got on the throttle a leeeetle too early and discovered that the Seven had all the traction of a kitten in a wet bathtub....oops.....progressed rather gingerly after that. The advantage of going early is that the roads were dry - none of the 2 inches snow we got yesterday that had been plowed to the side of the road had melted yet. The best news of the trip was that I passed emissions inspection. It took a while to test as its idle is above the NJ regulated idle speed - so there were some gymnastics there - I think there were 6 inspectors hovering around. Really cool car guys too. For the cruise test it was difficult to hold the car within its test rev band of 3300 to 3500 (I think that was it) but we eventually got there without a problem. :hurray: I get back to the office and discover that the reversing light lens has popped out and been lost on the road somewhere....oh well. At least I am driving this season. The other good news is that the new CSR started last week for the first time - solid oil pressure - looking good - maybe get that in March? Come on where are the rest of the hardy New Englanders? Why are you not driving yet? Or are you all a bunch of _____________? [insert naughty word as applicable] `

I have been checking in with my family/friends in Christchurch - all safe although in one case the house looks like it will be a write-off. It is good hear you are all safe Kiwi - unfortunately it is a long road ahead for the city to recover and rebuild.

Speaking of unburned fuel and flames, where is Roman? He is a another one that we should target for this. And I do not think Bster has committed yet.

Somehow I don't think you will have a problem passing. With your car the ability to get past on the straights is guaranteed. And as for the thread being 9 pages long - we are just having fun during the long cold winter months - join in!

Did we send a message to Mazda? I know he is still here and checking in. He might just be afraid of putting his big girl up against yours!

Putting aside all the Tomfoolery :rofl: in this post, I think Gert has hit the issue square....where is Al?

I think he is throttle steering by using the pulsed throttle to unsettle the car just enough with a corrdinated steering input to get the attitude of the car pointing right as he progresses through the corner. You could back off and have the rear inertia bring the back around but that is slower than continue to being on the throttle and continuing to accelerate.

Brilliant find Twobone! When I finished laughing at some of the stupidity...I am humble enough to remember that I do recall achieving a massive fail something like these guys as a pimply 17yo in my first car (ok maybe second and third cars too) .... Luckily I matured with no lasting damage from the broken legs, collarbone, arm, concussion.... Also these videos kept calling out a name for me...Boxologist, Boxologist, Boxologist.... :jester:

Sabine was my instructor for my first time at Nurburgring. This was well before I had seen her on TV. She was very funny and used humor to great effect during her laps around the track. It was the only time where I have been sick in a car - the circuit was that amazing. As TwoBone pointed out she is blessed genetically with good looks and driving talent. I imagine she would now be unaffordable to do the same instruction laps again. As for the staged laps? There were points when either the Porsche or the CSR looked suspiciously slow...

Thats only for those guys who are a little light in the loafers and have trouble putting the foot down. :jester:

They were trying to emulate the looks of the Series 4 Seven. I think they well exceeded their task.

From Dick Brink's Texas Motorworks: Dutton Details http://image9.autorevo.com/1281/pics/3080191_4f8624e6-534c-4f9a-a37e-b65ecff4a9e8.jpg We are selling this Dutton Phaeton 3! The car was built in England thus the steering wheel is on the right hand side. It was built using mostly Escort MK1 and MK2 components. It is powered by the awesome Ford 1600cc Crossflow engine coupled with a Ford T-9 five speed transmission. The Phaeton 3 was introduced in 1982 and this one was probably built in 1983-1984. In the time we have owned this vehicle it was used primarily as part of a trade show display. It has been stored indoors exclusively and has rarely been outdoors since being repainted in the summer of 2009. Decals that are shown on the car will be removed and will not tarnish the exterior in any way. New Birkin seats were installed in the fall of 2009. The engine features a ported steel crossflow head with a 3 angle blended valve job, alloy springs caps, dual springs, alloy pushrods, a Crane 500 lift camshaft, new +.020 Pistons and rings. Engine has been balanced both statically and dynamically. It has a Cosworth lightened steel flywheel with a 7 ¼” Tilton Rally Clutch. It has a Weber 32/36 carburetor and a K&N filter mounted on a ported intake manifold. Engine was completely tuned in the fall of 2009. This car is a gas to drive. It has awesome acceleration and corners on a dime. All electricals including the wipers and all gauges are fully operational. This car is licensed and titled in the state of Missouri so it is street legal. With a few upgrades this would make a great autocross car. http://image9.autorevo.com/1281/pics/3080191_d108a86d-f173-4d62-8907-fae2a9bc3c5c.jpg http://image9.autorevo.com/1281/pics/3080191_f3ac67d8-15bb-42ea-b7e0-f6e506738a6d.jpg More images at: http://www.texasmotorworks7.com/

Mike - I think your moustache would need the "Just for men" treatment to match the track god guy! Yep - I can relate to Tim in the R8 video at VIR. Done that myself more than a few times at various facilities....you would think I would have learned by now.... I think I will sign up for the beginner session at NJMP....I dont want to be "that" guy!

Ok...so we should get back on track away from the question of using a Seven to outrun bears or just put noisy bells on them. The website marketing blurb says this: A bright future For over 30 years, Caterham chassis have been handmade by highly skilled craftsmen at Arch Motors, who have bronze welded the chassis tubes together and panelled the cars in their distinctive, lightweight, aluminium skin. In 2005 Caterham realised that, despite the craftsmanship of Arch, to further improve chassis tolerances and overall rigidity a new high technology construction method would be required. This also provided an opportunity to switch to all-metric dimensions for the first time! In 2006 Caterham announced a partnership with Steel Fabrications*, already responsible for manufacturing the Seven’s F.I.A. approved roll cages and road-going roll-over bars since 2002. Steel Fabrications undertook the metric based development of the Seven chassis and invested over £500,000 in sophisticated new equipment. Technology Steel Fabrications purchased both the latest CAD modelling with finite element analysis (FEA) and state of the art computer controlled tube and sheet laser cutters and robotic welding cells. These advanced processes give tighter tolerances and improved quality control, resulting in more accurate components and ultimately a better chassis. The goal of the program was a 10% increase in chassis rigidity, although final testing has confirmed a 12% gain over handmade chassis. This is a remarkable improvement for a chassis that has already been honed and developed over more than 30 years. Crash Tested As part of Caterham Cars continuing commitment to meet European type approval standards, the chassis successfully completed an extensive crash test programme that complies with Low Volume Approval. Compliance means that Caterham Cars is one of the very few low volume manufacturers that can register product in EU markets, in particular France, Germany and Italy. This crash test represents a huge achievement for a car manufacturer of its size and highlights the technical integrity of the chassis. Passing these crash test requirements will guarantee that Caterham remains ahead of the competition and any forthcoming regulations in future years. The best gets better Chassis rigidity is a key component in the handling of all cars, because chassis flex is the enemy of suspension geometry. So, all this technology means that your new Sigma engined Caterham 7 will handle, ride and fit together better than ever before! To put some more meat behind the blurb, there is this study which was originally on the Caterham UK website but now seems to have disappeared - click the "O'Connell" attachment to this linked post: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=29481&postcount=1 I know it talks about Roadsport SV however in marketing terms it became the CSR. So that is the theory and statistical element covered, now the other aspect of your question is whether there is truly a seat of the pants difference in feel? No idea - have not driven a CSR back to back with a regular de dion or other Seven for that matter. I have driven a Birkin IRS car at some length and was thoroughly impressed with it over the regular Birkin live axle on same real world crappy roads.

Tom's ideas have possibilities. However, if you prefer to consider other alternatives, how about this little special: http://www.scrutonmarine.com/A2047.htm A couple of lengths of chain around either Karl's or Ron's axles and job is done. Cheaper than a crossflow too!

Oh yeah! I love those :drool: They match the faded yellow of your car quite nicely!:jester:

Busa - :rofl: My commute this week has been about normal despite waking up one morning with 16 inches outside the window. I come downstairs, my car is waiting for me, running, cabin up to a nice 70 degrees, heated seats nice and warm, no snow on it because it has been under cover all night, positioned by the valet guys to be right outside the front door...of the condo complex! Driveway is always plowed and shoveled. Once on the road it is a different story - I am in a city that does not plow snow out the way properly. End result is many streets are impassable as a plow runs one lane down the road. The cars on each side are now plowed in and so to they dig themselves out by shoveling snow back onto the road....making the road a sometimes blocked or best case an obstacle course until enough cars tamp the snow down to make it sort of driveable. Still it is fun to take the tin top all wheel drive around these back streets and play low speed rally driver. I have been looking for a moment to get the Seven out for its midwinter run. No chance - I need the snow to melt and the salt to be washed off the road. It is time for its NJ road safety inspection in the next 30 days.

Sounds a perfectly good idea....can I suggest your dark blue with red noseband would go very well paired with Kryptonite green or Aztec Orange? That way I have a chance to keep up as Ron is a blazing fast driver and Karl is no slouch either.