rnr

That will likely make it more difficult to register in CA. Good luck with sale - it certainly is a unique car.

What classification was the car registered under in MA? It appears that cars can be registered in a variety of ways such as model year, replica car, speciality construction, etc... Or was it just titled as a regular car?

https://www.semasan.com/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_MA.pdf

I wonder if it would be possible to register this car in CA. Do you have any pictures of the original build? Or history of how it was registered from 1978 onwards

California DMV will ask for proof of it being assembled as a kit car.

I'll be there in my X180R

21 hours ago, reid.duff said:

 

- Pulled the highly questionable NOS bottle and disabled the wide-open-throttle sensor that triggered the wet shot (gas/NOS) into the intake. (seems like the last thing a lightweight VTEC enabled car needs is an instant extra 50hp?)

I definitely need to find an exhaust. Any insight if someone produced exhaust for these (i.e. commercially available) or an exhaust / fab shop is the best bet?

Congrats - you will have a fun time with the car when its done. 

Its amazing how quickly you get used to the power. When I first drove it I got wheelspin in 3rd and felt that was more power than it would ever need. But a year later I was plotting how to add more power. :-)

For the exhaust I just had a off-the shelf Hushpower welded to the collector and it worked fine. It would not pass the 92 dB at Laguna Seca but was under a 100 dB. 

Main thing for me would be the engine as new blocks are NLA and junkyard ones are pretty pricey. I'd also verify that the tuning system is something you can actually use/understand.

Mechanically the WCM is pretty simple to work on and at that price I wouldnt worry about things like the brake bias and diff bracing as they are easy enough to add on later. When looking at the car I would make sure that the footbox is large enough for you to use as it becomes smaller as the pedals go deeper in and can be a problem for folks with large feet. I wear size 14s and could only drive with driving shoes.

I had mine for several years (as you found on my blog) and had a great time.  The Ultralite has the right level of power for me and is very accommodating of taller/larger drivers. All the best with your search.

My SB-100 Stalker MSO said "Replica/ Facsimile of circa 1962 Lotus 7"

On 7/10/2021 at 3:27 PM, KnifeySpoony said:

The talk on the facebook group is that people are recommending registering their 7s out of state, as CA is just a dead end...

I registered my CO-built and registered Stalker in CA in Dec 2019 with zero issues. The OP here is specifically having trouble with Caterham registration.

On 7/10/2021 at 3:41 PM, awatkins said:

“You still have too go through sb100 if you are registering a kit car from out of state.”

 

There are at least three different cases: out of state but never registered, registered out of state as special construction, or registered out of state as ordinary vehicle.  To which one(s) are you referring?

For cars that were built out of state you should be using SB1578 which is the companion law to SB-100 that uses SB-100 sequence numbers but covers cars from out of state. You can try to register a car from out of state as an ordinary vehicle but I imagine you would get in trouble if CA ever figured it out. An SB-100 registered car will likely also have better resale value as it can be bought and sold as a regular car in CA with zero risk.

You still have too go through sb100 if you are registering a kit car from out of state. It's pretty much the same process as if you had built it yourself except that you list someone else as the builder. Will still need photoos and receipts for chassis, engine, etc...

Hi Folks, it is indeed MightyMike's Stalker. I originally bought the car with the intention of making it a track car but realised it was just too nice a car to make the changes I was thinking of. In just 18 months road legal in CA I put on about half the miles that I did in 6+ years in my old WCM Ultralite but I just cant justify it as a pure street car since my wife cant drive it. In the end I decided to let the next person enjoy the Stalker as a truly spectacular street car instead.

Current plan is to keep fixing up the Lotus X180R that I bought last year. I do imagine another Seven in my future - perhaps a bike engined lightweight edition to try something completely different from the Stalker.

Have you considered a V8 Stalker? Truly ridiculous power without too much of a weight penalty

Thanks xcarguy

Hi Folks, I have discovered a fair bit of play between the steering arm and the knuckle on my stalker. It looks like are only attached on the ball joint knuckle so I cant just tighten the nut. The play is on both sides and is greatest on the left side.

Is this a known issue and are there any suggested fixes?

Looking forward to seeing it running. Out of curiosity did you consider the RST or Hartley V8s as engine options?

What's the issue with your rear suspension? If you have a rear roll bar and it is lifting a wheel on turns disconnect the roll bar or move the connection further out to make it weaker!

Rear is just too stiff and bounces around. Need to play with spring rates and shocks.

Great seeing you yesterday. Some video from my stalker. Needs a faster steering rack and better rear suspension.

Schroth enduros are my fav harnesses. Much faster to put on and take off than any other set o have used. Fia and sfi rated

I’d be happy to volunteer my V8 stalker up in NorCal. Just waiting on the final BAR sticker to get it street legal

New T-shirt from blipshift that is perfect for V8 Stalker owners

https://www.blipshift.com/products/simplify-and-add-ls

My 65 Holman Moody Mustang has been tested at 115db at full stretch down a straight. Could you imagine the look on the noise tester's face? :rofl:

My old seven was clocked at 107db on a 92 db day which led to a lot of waving and signs to stop from the corner workers as soon as I passed the sound station. I knew it wouldn't pass sound and was only there for a sound check but 107 was quite a bit higher than what I was expecting to get

I was at Laguna Seca yesterday so know the drill with noise.

How did you like it and what were you driving? I always felt like the Corkscrew is kind of a letdown compared to Eau Rouge and other famous corners. :-)

Apart from you and Senna223, is there any group of "seven" enthusiasts that get together for fun time on track? I know Darren with his CSR is active at Thunderhill so he would be a good addition to any group.

The previous group events I went to were all organized via the California Caterham Club but it looks like their forum is now down. There were a decent number of SoCal owners that used to meet up via that including a few track days.

Jim Rankin and I used to make a bunch of track days in our Ultralites but have since sold our cars. Mike Murphy did a bunch of SCCA racing and came with us to COTA a few years ago. Basically there are several owners in NorCal and they randomly show up at events but we havent really planned any track events. Golden Gate Lotus Club events are the most likely to get Sevens but I havent made one of theirs in a while. Time permitting, I'd swing by for any events you are attending. The groups I usually run with are HOD, SpeedSF, GGLC and Trackmasters.

So continuing my thinking....what is a complete list of what is worth driving there?

 

Laguna Seca

Thunderhill, north of Sacramento

Sonoma, north of SF

Buttonwillow, north of Los Angeles

 

I have visiting rights to Thermal but its a so so circuit.

 

What other tracks are worth driving in CA? Altamont? Ventura? Willow Springs? What else?

Those 4 are the main ones in north and central california. Altamont has shut down and was a 1/4 mile oval anyway so not very Seven friendly. For Laguna in particular you will need to be very careful on sound as most events are limited to 90db. Infineon has a 105dB limit though that generally should not be a problem. Thunderhill has 3 different configs (east, west and combined) and they are all fun to drive with west in particular being very seven friendly. Buttonwillow has several configs as well though 13 CW is likely the most common.

In SoCal the ones are Willow Springs, Streets of Willow, Autoclub Speedway, Chuckwalla and Thermal though I havent been to any of them.

If you want to go a little further out there is Pacific Raceway and Ridge Motorsports Park in WA and Spring Mountain in NV which are all fun tracks. Reno Fernley was another great track in NV but unfortunately closed a few years ago due to financial issues.

Good to hear from you Rahul. Hope you are enjoying the Stalker?

Hi Mike, I'm still waiting to get the CHP inspection for registration but hope to get it done sometime this year. Also just moved to a new house which has delayed pretty much everything in my life..

If I ship one of my Caterhams out to CA, I would want to keep it there a year to maxmise my ability to cover all the tracks. Who can store it/support it?

In NorCal the more traditional option would be Rich Kamp (http://www.kampena.com) who used to be a Caterham dealer and still builds them for customers. He is located right at the Sonoma track and does store cars for some customers as well. We have at least one USA7s member(Aardappel) who is having him build a car right now.

I personally take all my cars including both Sevens to Jon at TrackSpec (https://www.trackspecauto.com). He deals with a variety of cars and supports multiple customers in various racing series. My favourite part is that he actually responds via email/phone which makes it much more direct to deal with. He doesnt usually store cars but would be the first person I would talk to.

The other option would be DietschWerks (https://dietschmotorsports.com) in Livermore. Rob Dietsch has left the business but it is now being run by Turbohoses which is the main west coast Noble tuning shop.

I will be doing track days in NorCal once I get the Stalker through SB100. I usually go with GGLC, HOD and SpeedSF. Doug Gale from track masters is also building a Stalker. This is a pic from an event at buttonwoods where we had seven sevens show up

Glen recommended that your car would do best with 13" wheels front and back with the front tires being about 9" wide and 20-22" in diameter. For the rears, he suggested 13" wheels that are 10" wide with the diameter no greater than 22" lest the tires hit the fenders. He suggested considering altering the ride height if necessary. He mentioned Avons or Hoosiers work well with the Stalkers and John Berget is a great source for gently used race tires. You can see John's website at:

https://www.jbracingtires.net/ Hope that helps get you started in the right direction so to speak.

Thanks for the info Bob. Right now I am still working through the California registration process but I will hopefully get to figure out the tire situation early next year once all the paperwork is done.