Croc

I had one of these for a while as the "company" car in the UK but in the sedan form. I liked it. Did not wow me in any massive way but over time you really got to appreciate the unassuming competence in the way it went about things. I prefer the wagon look over the sedan too. Its hard to make a wagon look stylish but Merc managed to with this.

@Bruce K I am glad you said track events as I would thought you might have needed it for your OnlyFans site (I am kidding...) Everyone usually goes GoPro as it is a safe option. It is good resolution. But battery life is problematic - it always seems to drain quicker than GoPro advertise. Then they require you to use proprietary add ons for external mic cable or casings and it gets awfully expensive quickly. Not a fan of the software as they seem to think you should be able to upload a 4gb track session video to a phone for editing. A number of guys on USA7s have mentioned the Yi camera as good but half the price. I have not tested it personally but have heard a number of good reports. My preferred go to action camera is sadly no longer sold. Garmin VIRB 30. Easy touch screen to control. Came with all the cases and mounts. Software for processing was brilliantly easy to add track data overlays onto it. External mic had a clunky multi-cable adapter which required some dexterity with 3M painters tape to get everything solid. The results were excellent. Mine is about to go into the bottom drawer as I broke the last case mount that will take an external mic. The go to I have been falling back to is DJI Osmo Action Camera. Mine has been recently superseded by the latest model but it looks the same. High quality video. Its simple. Easy to use. Good battery life. Editing software is useless. Its Chinese software so my antivirus triggered when I tried to install it so that got discarded. If you use it with the Cynova 3.5mm mic adapter then you can have a power cable and the external mic running simultaneously. Example footage at 3 different settings in the following link (March 6, 2020 post 49 of that thread) Since the DJI software is security fraught and a PITA to use, I use RaceRender to edit. That is a faff which is where the Garmin was a winner since the software made the experience work. There are new cameras out there - InstaOne which looks interesting but I have not tested it. I think the latest can take an external mic which is essential for our open cars. If external microphone then the Audio-Technica Pro 24 CM microphone with some type of "dead cat" cover (furry windscreen protector). I have two of these for over 5 years and they just work. New battery each weekend. Hook it up. Tape it down or mount it firmly. I have them hanging off the back of a Caterham, under a dash, in an engine bay, etc. For mount look at a manfrotto super clamp and get a mini ball head to mount to that. They are expensive and they are heavy but they work without fail and quality products.

Thanks Carl. I have it maxed out at 5 degrees on the front - no more is available without strut tower surgery which is not permitted. Caster is one of the tricks to trying to make saloon cars handle on a race track.

There is an old video - need to find it. It was a casual track day so nothing special. mmmmm...okayyyyy. Thats a first for a car description for me. Alignment is fine. Actually my alignment is excellent compared with your eyesight. Were you posting before your afternoon nap? What I said is ... My command of Minglish says that is NOT an overly-responsive turn in. A push is tendency to understeer. Car was set up by Holman-Moody. They know plenty about setting up race cars, more than even you. This is the first time I have not had to set a race car up myself. It handled very well out of the box and I am decently competent at setting up a car's suspension for good handling. I explored putting the toe in to neutral and then to toe out to get the turn in a little crisper but I found it is nicer at the original settings because it is more controllable on the throttle. I'm old school - I like throttle steer. Nonsense, it was a gentle love bite and you have always enjoyed a bit of bloodsports despite your fake plastic fangs. The Mustang is well prepared. Its the other cars I am still working up that I admit where I am in the middle of a lengthy development program e.g. the BMW, the Holden, the Cossie, etc. These cars yet to be featured are definitely under-ready but I like development programs.

It was kept period GT350R on the front. So front brakes are Kelsey Hayes 11 inch discs which was the upgrade option available instead of the base model front drums. Rears were drum from a Ford station wagon (or was it the Galaxie?) but I have adapted for rear discs. Mind you - the car still doesn't stop great! Front suspension is basically standard 65 Mustang but with 3 deg of negative camber thanks to some camber plates. GT350R spec springs (shorter to lower ride height plus different rate). Yes the upper control arm mounting is dropped an inch. Rear has the usual GT350R traction bars and revised rear springs. Mine is original style steering box - no power steering. Yes it is heavy at low speeds. Quite vague at the straight ahead so a fair amount of wheel waggling goes on at speed to work out where the wheels are pointed. If I upgrade it using the new power rack approach then I get one step further away from keeping it FIA spec.

Thread hijack is a classic part of the USA7s experience. Thread drift is another. Modern tires are a very different construction to period era tires. You will want higher profile sidewall tires as 1) you are on 13 inch wheels but 2) you want some ground clearance for your sump. Depending on your driving experience you may be used to a stiff sidewall promoting mechanical grip. Period tires could have been older style bias ply or early radials. Both allowed sidewall flex which permitted a consistent contact patch and allowed for progressive breakaway at the limit with a level of controllable drift/slide. The Caterham of today is all about mechanical grip. I would be looking at a modern manufacture of a period style tire. They are most likely to have sizes that will match your wheel sizing. What about a Pirelli Cinturato CN36? Maybe more road style than performance style? Michelin XAS? They use them on Lotus Elans and a period seven is a good match. Probably the best choice as they are more performance focused? Not sure what else is suitable for a Lotus Elan but I would have an explore there in case they have an extra option you could adapt to a seven. Longstone tyres is a useful resource for ideas for older cars - its worth having a browse Lotus 7 Tyres - Classic Tyres (longstonetyres.co.uk)

Time for another car of mine. A 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback. This car had been a hacked up race car for many years. Found on a backroad of NC for sale with a Jericho gearbox and no engine to speak of, it was given to Holman Moody and Pathfinder to do some magic. The Jericho came out. A T-10 gearbox went in. Holman Moody did a Ford 289 HiPo engine with Nascar headers tuned for 93 octane. Like all Ford engines of this era, it leaks oil, a lot. I think of it as the corrosion protection program. Three inch stereo pipes. No muffler. Apart from having roller rockers and being tuned for 93 octane it is FIA compliant - so an easy conversion if a future owner needs it. The body was given the usual GT350 R (for racing mods) - fiberglass hood and trunk, air scoops in all the right places. Suspension follows the same period GT350R mods. It was running the Lincoln Versailles rear end (9 inch diff on live axle) as this allowed rear disk brakes but I eventually had to swap that for a Mosler diff as I was bending the axle under hard cornering and creating oil leaks from the rear end as the seals warped. Interior dash is a GT40 Mk11 dash from Abbey Panels, just turned upside down for installation in the Mustang. The exterior was intended to be a tribute to the Ford Mustang notchback race cars that did so well in the Tour De France road rally event of the period. This also played a part in the idea for a limited run Holman Moody Ford Mustang celebrating Tour de France road rally (red exterior with gold accents) which was released just after this was finished. Because the standard Gt40 race dash had so many holes drilled as standard, creativity was applied to fill in the holes with some fake switches. It is a tough car to drive. It is physical and requires a lot of finesse and more than usual brute force to rotate it properly through corners. The front tends to want to push despite the ton of negative camber on it. So the right foot and a bit of a flick is needed at turn in. A lot of wheel waggling then ensues to line it up. Being chased by @xcarguy here, with his son in the passenger seat of the Mustang. @Kitcat is coming over the crest in the background. I had vague hopes of staying ahead of both but there is a video somewhere on USA7s that shows what happens when grip finally gives up in a corner in front of two sevens - only a lap or two after this photo was taken. I lost the car laterally onto the dirt and the rear rotated around in front of Kitcat. He locked up, poo came out and then he sorted out how to get past all 2700lbs of rotating Mustang. Meanwhile Xcarguy is behind, both hands off the wheel doing thumbs up signs. Oops. On a hot day, the tires just give up and she goes sideways in the corners. This photo shows a certain level of desperation to avoid going off as the visible hand on the wheel shows opposite lock coming on and my right foot is on the floor. But for all that the car is intoxicating for its smells and the epic engine note as it bellows out of a corner. Easily rivals a v12 Lambo engine for engine note as it revs out. You feel its pistons firing through your body. Rev limit is 9K but I stop at 7K to save it. Thats still around 140mph in a straight line. With brakes that take 4 laps to warm up so you are slewing the car into a corner to scrub speed. And even when those brakes do warm up they are not the greatest, reflecting what it was like in period. In summer you are wrecked in 25 minutes. Truly an intense exhausting drive to hustle it fast. Quite easy to drive it at 7/10ths but taking it faster is massive increase in effort. A lap of Thunderbolt circuit at NJMP to illustrate:

Week Beginning January 8, 2023 Happy New Year! USA7s Classified Ads Cars For Sale - USA7s NEW Westfield 1985 Westfield Lotus Seven Oakland, California | Hemmings Locost Project LocostUSA.com • View topic - Mid-engine unfinished project Birkin Project (back again) (5) Marketplace - 1994 Lotus Super 7 | Facebook Locost Project (5) Marketplace - 1972 Lotus 7 | Facebook Lotus 7 Project 1962 Lotus Super 7 - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale (craigslist.org) REPEATS Caterham 2013 Caterham Super 7 40th Anniversary Buffalo, New York | Hemmings Westfield 1991 Westfield Se Jacksonville, Florida | Hemmings and here 1991 LOTUS Super Seven TRIBUTE ROADSTER - (COLLECTOR SERIES) | eBay Stalker 1962 Lotus Brunton Stalker Palmetto, Florida | Hemmings and here 1962 Lotus Seven Brunton Stalker for Sale in Palmetto, FL | RacingJunk and here 1962 Lotus Seven Brunton Stalker | eBay Lotus 7 S4 1971 Lotus Seven for Sale in LAKE LEELANAU, | RacingJunk Westfield 1995 Other Makes SE | eBay Stalker 1959 Lotus Super Seven | eBay Locost Project LocostUSA.com • View topic - For Sale - Unfinished V8 Locost Project Lotus 7 S1 (5) Marketplace - 1959 Lotus - Gold Medalion Certified Vintage Race Car Super Seven - Series One | Facebook Birkin (5) Marketplace - 1994 Birkin (Lotus) Seven | Facebook Diva 7 1962 LOTUS SUPER 7 LS1 4L60 TRANS BRITISH ROCKETSHIP - cars & trucks... (craigslist.org) Replica (5) Marketplace - 1957 Lotus Elise | Facebook Lotus 7 S2 (5) Marketplace - 1962 Lotus Super 7 S2 | Facebook Lotus 7 S2 (5) Marketplace - 1967 Lotus Super 7 | Facebook Caterham (5) Marketplace - 1980 Caterham Super 7 | Facebook WCM Ultralite (5) Marketplace - WCM ultralight s2k, caterham 7, Honda f20 motor | Facebook Caterham (5) Marketplace - 2001 Lotus Super 7 | Facebook CANADA Locost Project Lotus Super 7 Home Build | Classic Cars | Victoria | Kijiji and here Lotus Super 7 Home Build - cars & trucks - by owner (craigslist.org) Deman SR7 Deman sr7 ( lotus 7 Caterham seven kit car ) | Cars & Trucks | Hamilton | Kijiji

Strangely enough I find the drivers around your town really good but then I am comparing to NYC driving standards! Oh I feel the pain. I destroyed saw blade after saw blade trying to do a straight cut on my first time. Infuriating material to work with.

This is going on the S2 Seven? What wheel size are you using - diameter and width? That will dictate the answer to a large amount.

If you have a flat battery then yes it would boost the performance of a currently dead engine. Captain Obvious here!

They are identical manufacture.

Another happy customer of Thundersports/Oxted Trimming here. Jo was excellent with my various orders over the years.

Congratulations! Glad you could find something that fit your desired spec! The even better news is you are in Florida so have a year round driving environment.

I did that years ago but the data was not there then. I started by using ask prices off for sale ads found. Data is still not really there as the dollar standard deviation off a curvilinear regression remains too high to be predictable for a lay audience on USA7s. Another way of saying that - the dollar variation is similar value to the dollar seasonality range. If the data does not have enough bulk in a given year then it needs to be sufficient over a longer period. I knew an actuarial degree would come in handy one day!

Do you have enough room between wheel and dash for fingers?

What about a professional doing some layers of clear coat and then a buff to bring out the shine?

Simplest answer for me after trying all nature of solutions and products which never lasted that long was to replace them on my old yellow 2004. Car Builder Solutions sells the replacement switches - this is just one of the full collection plus they have a blank switch if you have something unusual IVA Rocker Switch Fan Green | Car Builder - Kit & Classic Car Parts Specialist They ship to the USA - I have always had good service from them.

Its not just sevens. Other marques have shown signs of slowing - I track a few cars on my wish list. However, buyers slow much quicker than sellers so the prices are trending down but there are so few sales to really understand exactly how much. Definitely right car and right buyer will produce a top sale result. The winter effect is real but its more from sellers not bothering to sell as they cannot get the car out for a test drive.

Is it an original chassis? I'm not sure it is - a few things don't look right? Needs something to give it a price premium but the chassis looks too far gone?

My first thought was a second track day muffler like I run on my 420R for UK track days. It gets me down to 92db noise restrictions.

Hi Charles - Welcome to USA7s! Hopefully you will find us a good bunch of enthusiasts. The good thing for you is there are a couple of owners in your area. Small race boots are essential in a se7en but even so I struggle with size 11 extra wides so I know the pain.

@TurboWood I tried what you did once, before and after the underfairing removal. My CSR came with a smooth ali sheet fairing on the underside. Only exposed underside was at the diff. It went forward as far as the front end of the gear box. Downside in that configuration was it pumped heat under air pressure into the center tunnel. One of my experiments was venting heat from the center tunnel and I noticed the cockpit air pressure change exactly like you did. However, the heat was a bad thing so I discarded that approach and tried a mesh screen around the roll bar. It was a bigger coverage variation of @Dave W idea. A commercial product offered is here: The Draught Reducer (softbitsshop.co.uk) With my half hood on in summer, mesh screen across the roll bar at the back, my cockpit became a very pleasant place to be.

Looking at North America, here is what I am tracking for Lotus 7s for sale - there are a fair few out there: S1 race car (so not really meeting your description) (1) Marketplace - 1959 Lotus - Gold Medalion Certified Vintage Race Car Super Seven - Series One | Facebook S2 - A USA7s member (Mario - sadly he passed away in 2022) got it as a race car and brought it back to road through a refreshment. Sold it 3+ years ago and it is back on the market. Never verified by Mario - not sure it is the case still. (1) Marketplace - 1962 Lotus Super 7 S2 | Facebook S2 in CA - been for sale for over a year, maybe due to pricing (1) Marketplace - 1967 Lotus Super 7 | Facebook S2 in FL 1962 Lotus 7 America for sale| Wire Wheel of Vero Beach, FL S2 on Bringatrailer 1967 Lotus Super Seven for sale on BaT Auctions - ending December 29 (Lot #94,578) | Bring a Trailer S2 in NC SimpleSevens: Jeff Lehmann's Lotus Seven Are you open to looking at UK right hand drive cars?