jimrankin

Didn't want to highjack the Caterham thread but used cars are used cars and it's not about what you paid, or what it's "worth", it's all about finding the person who wants yours and picking the right time to sell. Bad time right now for a quick sale, cold, wet, dark and Christmas all keep specialty "good weather" cars low on the list. I was just watching a Mekums auction and although there were no "7" type cars on the block there was a beautiful low milage late model Panoz roadster that went for I think about $18K. Not much return on the dollar there and mostly a case of not the right time/customers in the room. When you walk into the auction from a frozen parking lot facing several months of winter still to come I'm not thinking your feeling a lot of love for an open car unless you have been waiting for that particular one to pop up. LOL. That being said, the "7's" crowd does seem to be a bit different and if your going to sell quickly I think this is where it will happen. Either by someone who is lurking, just waiting for the right car to pop up, or by a member contacting someone he knows is likely to have the desire and the cash. Good luck and I hope it finds a nice new home.

Not only a gentleman and a scolar, but also I'm sure, a judge of fine women and liquor. Well, at least the one in the photo he posted if fine! LOL. Thanks, that made my day.

I have a complete "clear" wrap and it has the following problems. Where it gets hit by small stones etc. it turns from clear to a semi-tranlucent/white at the edges and looks a bit damaged/strange (no worse than a chip I guess) with no way to fix these. If it gets rubbed hard by anything (think cone at autocross) it gets a discolored haze and you can not rub it out, tried every product possible. It has as many good points as bad as a clear but may not work that well as a color change wrap and your small dings won't be easily patched. Not sure it's all that much cheaper than a paint job if you strip the car down and do all the non-removable parts masking yourself.

I just thought there was one in place and the photo was unclear. Once I opend up the ECU it was apparent it was the empty space you were pointing to, not a chip. I'm really suprised that Honda didn't set it up "fail secure" instead of "fail safe". They make it pretty easy to defeat their "anti-theft" system.

I couldn't get a really clear look at the photo Loren sent and thought it was a photo of the chip, not the area it used to be in. I removed the chip from my replacement ECU and took this photo before I reinstalled it. If you blow it up you will see the red outline around the pin set the chip was soldered into. Just a FYI for anyone replacing their ECU in the future.

Looks like F1 is going to axe the race for this coming year but is open to scheduling it in the 2013 season. Texas group has been hinting that that would be "OK" with them. It had really seemed "doable" in the original time frame but in construction, just like in cars, "speed cost, how fast do you want to spend" might have showed up in the rear view mirror. Lets hope they get it done "early" for the 2013 season and have it open before that for other events as "shake downs" for the big F1 race. I might even truck my 7 out there for a shot at running on that brand new venue.

I had planed to install an AEM and rewire the rats nest of honda wiring this winter. I only tried to fix the stock ECU to get in a few more track days before winter and because the local AEM dealer thought it was best to have the car running properly before they started dyno time on seting up the changed out AEM. Just in case there were problems other than the stock ECU making the car run so poorly. They were not sure how much the AEM would show which input was a problem.

I purchased a replacement S20000 ECU and have the VIN from the donor car, but no keys. Tried getting to the Honda dealer to see if i could get my curent key duplicated with the code from the replacement ECU but just ran out of time. I know a lot of the S2K 7's with the S2000 motor don't use the immobilizer function and I don't really need it either but don't have a clue how to get by it. If it's a big deal I'll just wait and go through Honda for a replacement. Any Ideas?

I see the car on a fairly regular basis but have cruised the streets around my house trying to see where it resides. He must keep it garaged unless he's actually in it because no luck on finding him so far. I would think that as nice as the car is, and as rare, that he might be a Golden Gate Lotus Club member but have not seen it at a track day or autocross. It's the closest thing to a very early "E" type on my favorite car shape list.

I'm not sure which car is which but there is someone a couple of blocks from me who quite often drive around in his classsic Lotus. It looks identical to the white one with the full stripe down the middle. Beautiful car but he always seems to be out when I'm not in the seven so have not had a chance to catch him for a chat.

Got the ECU pins from Loren and wired in the tester. Says a lot of Ok's, incomplete/inconclusive (only shows four letters?) missing etc. but did show four fault codes. They are P0450; evaporative emmision system pressure switch/ P0607; control module performance/P1298; electrical load detector high/ P1415; current sensor voltage low. Running through the service manual but it's mostly "check pin #X at connector #X (connectors I don't seem to have) and always seems to end with, as noted before, substitute a "known good ECU". Ultra busy at work and now I have a cold so the car will just have to wait it's turn I guess. Good thing for it that I love it so much or it would be developing some "kick dents" LOL.

It was only a bit over 250 miles but nothing spells comfort like near freezing rain blowing in between the windshield and the top and throught the 2" gap above the sliding plastic side curtains of an MGA! When I hit the mountains and it turned to snow it actually got "better", no more waterfall onto my lap. LOL. Funny how the mind works, I can look back and smile but at the time I was seriuosly thinking about just stopping and burning the car for warmth. The few times I've driven the "7" in the cold (I know, "50" isn't "really" cold but then thats why I live here) I compare it to New England winters and smile through the chill. Bravo to you hearty souls who brave the elements just for the thrill of driving a "7" on some twisty back roads.

As if the typical "7" isn't quite loud enough already... lets add a buzz bomb ram jet!!! At least we could be the envy of the local Harley and sport bike riders who all seem to be putting out sound at just above the threshold of pain level....Plus we would get the added benefit of having MORE places to burn ourselves. LOL. If having a "7" for a car didn't make it a bit like throwing stones in a glass house I'd say that anyone riding a big hot stove pipe powered bike was a whack-o. LOL

Just a better idea of what I have, does it look like something that would fit?

I can send you the measurements for the cell in my S2K but do not know if it is the same 8 gallon used in your car. Photos are too large to upload, keep kicking back. If you would like to see the sizes and what it looks like PM me your email and I'll send them.

See Klasic 69's note above about coverage; "uninsured/underinsured" motorist is too often overlooked, and it's the "cheap" part of your policy to bump up. I was always worried about covering "everyone else" so have really high liability and umbrella coverage but didn't realize I was leaving myself "uncovered" until someone elses state minimum policy didn't come close to covering my wife being hit in a crosswalk by a stop sign runner. I had enough to cover it but in the meantime have added to it seriously. Kind of closing the coup door after the chickens got out and don't know how it didn't get brought up by my agent in a state full of illegals/local idiots without coverage, especially since it's really cheap to bump way up.

PB's shifter looks to be about the right height for as "short" as you want to go. Mine is about an inch and a half shorter than his and I'm figuring I'll go about 2" more when I change up. All six gears are in about a 2" square at the top of the shifter right now. No problem for just "driving" but shifting on track when your being tossed around on the belts short shifting in a "S" can be a real heart stopper. LOL

I've had the solid metal shifter knob get so hot from both the sun on hot days and heat rising up through the shaft that it was too hot to hold between even quick shifts. I'm going to replace it with wood or delrin and also make it a little longer. Super short looks neat but it makes for a bit of guess work in fast up's from 2nd to 3rd, get a 5th in there now and then if you get even a tiny bit more right pressure than you think.

Your record is probably going to be the big problem dollar wise. My S2K was added to a mulit car/multi house poilcy at State Farm as a "limited use" 1959 Lotus Replica, full coverage on car and trailer for a little over $350 a year. It does specifically note that coverage is suspended any time that the vehicle is "on a property where speed contest are held" so track days are not covered even if they are disguised as driver training or whatever.

With all of the older BMW I-4 motors/5 speed trans units available I haven't seen them pop up on this forum as project power plants. Some of those older fours would really haul without too much work and plenty of parts available. Are they too expensive to work on? With some of the pricing I see here for the Ford four mods it wouldn't seem that BMW was out of the range. Not really sure about the motor dimensions but from what I've seen of then in use they don't look any taller tham my S2000 motor. Just checking....

Boy! You jumped on that one Rahul!! Should have held out for a spoiler too. LOL

Thanks for the heads up on the software. I've never had the time to play with the "fun" side of computers, just word/spread sheets for work etc. but I'm starting to get a bit more into it now. I would like to actually put together something worth watching. I had/have some great track footage from the HD Hero but other than wind noise the only thing it seemed to pick up was metalic clicks from suspension or seat belt mounts. Even with overlaying some hard driving rock&roll a track video is lame without tire and motor sound. When I say I may have to hire some 15 year old geek to show me how to use the software I'm not kidding! Actually, RNR lives pretty close by and seems to have it all wired, maybe I'll fabricate an intake silencer box for him and trade it for software lessons. LOL.

After 10,0000 emails to them (at least half from me) about their shit sound they finally listened. LOL. When they came out with the 3D unit and still no decent sound I almost drove over the hill (their headquaters is only a few miles away from my house) and pitched my HD unit through their front door. Luckily for then it was foggy (alway foggy there, maybe it's why they are so slow to catch on) so I didn't fire up the 7 and do a drive by. They should develop some software to let you synchronize your existing "going to be second" camera video to the sound in your "my next buy" one so you can mount them both and share the soundtrack. Editing back and fourth two camera views with the "new" decent sound to the totally crap sound of the "old" unit would probably turn out a video from hell. LOL.

That car takes real heart to Collin's "simplify" motto. Love the "bare bones" look of the original 7's. Except for the areo drag I'd have that mirror set up on my 7. I'm a bit sick of the blind spots on mine but would hate to hear what the wind through the two he is running sounds like at anything over 80.

Did you happen to see the episode of "6 Feet Under" where the blond gets her head wacked by a low light when she is standing up out the top of a Limo sunroof? DUCK JAY!!!! LOL.