jimrankin

Really cheap SEA and Metric thread pitch gauges available in auto stores or on line. Usually come in tap and die sets also and best way to check all sorts of different bolts down the line. With the mix of SEA and Metrics used on most 7's it's a god investment.

But the bus tickets are free and it's usually an entertaining ride ;-).

I like them all......but it's hard to take the Chevy out of this old guy.

About the added cost of the current systems not figuring in the cost increase. We didn't get air bags, energy absorbing bodywork, driver assistance, electronic fuel injection and engine management systems and materials in the motors/driveline that have them lasting five times the old "performance" curve. That said, cars we actually want have become quite expensive while the cannon fodder grocery getter has actually become quite a bargain to buy and drive. Henry Ford had it right, build the same thing over and over on a production line with very limited number of parts shared by several types of vehicle and you can get the cost per unit down to minimum. Throw in robotics and CNC machining with todays mass produced cars and you can see why they are "affordable" for what you actually get. The problem with pricing on limited production cars becomes apparent, PEOPLE and PARTS, and in some cases as noted, gouging when they can. Even with robots and CNC you still get to amortize the cost over how many parts the program/robot makes so more is (cheaper) better. And when you get down to making something in limited number, and in some cases "by hand" the cost per unit skyrockets. But, if it was just about the money as compared to what you actually get anyone buying a Caterham over a new Stingray would be instantly committed. Actually, anyone buying a Caterham over an LS Stalker should probably be held for observation :-). I guess it just comes down to how crazy you are about "7's" (or anything for that matter) as opposed to what it is actually "worth" that makes them "worth" what we'll pay. As noted at the bottom of all RNR's post, "crazy people drive 7's".

I have a Honda Logo "H" on the center of my bonnet right above the S2000 motor. Several people have asked me if its a Honda and I just tell them "a big part of it is" unless they seem really interested and I have the time to start answering the long train of questions that will usually follow.

I thought it was my advancing age making me so confused but it's obviously a multiple personality disorder brought about by the cars I've owned through the years, and a bit by where I've lived. Hot Rod drag racer (California) Sports car enthusiast (New England) Big "merican" iron (south and mid-west) "7" (so confused by the telephone poles flyin' by like a picket fence I don't remember or care where home is) Just a few of the favorite cars I've owned... and wished I'd never sold: '55 Bel Air convertible; '57 Bel Air hardtop w/factory dual quads; '57 olds 98 hardtop with a transplanted 394 Starfire engine;'66 Nova (bracket racer) 3 MGA's; '59 Morgan, and of course the ones I still have now. But, to my credit, unlike the typical Porsche, BMW, Jaguar or Corvette owner I HAVE NEVER OWNED A JACKET WITH A CAR NAME ON IT ;-). If your going to have an addiction, it mighty as well be cars.

Did you just use the stock hood/fenders as a mold and overlay? Making a female mold and vacuum bagging would be a lot of work but its going to allow continual reuse if you intend to make more or want to do any modifications to the shape of the final product like formed in strengthening ridges, louvers etc. Really nice work.

Me an Zebba nabor same way...

If someone shortened the pan (probably because of damage) and didn't add a boss for the plug you can probably get the oil out by modifying a "dip stick" type oil removal tool. The S2000 motor only has a very small dip stick hole so it's going to be slow going. Better have the motor hot so the oil flows easier and find the thinnest wall metal tube that will fit down the hole. Sounds more like you need to drop the pan and have a boss installed as a more permanent solution and also to check how the oil pick up was modified and how well it was engineered. After track crashes the second most expensive item is oil starvation.

Porsches should come with bottle openers on the sides so we can pop a cap off our favorite brew as we pass them...Have to be quick though because they are usually swapping ends ;-). Well, to be fair, that's only 911's. That's why Porsche puts the 911 on the back, to remind you who to call when your looking at the damage. I actually like Porsches, but that was too hard to resist.

I have several floaters, including one in my left eye that looks like a big glass snake if I concentrate on it. That one sits just off the center of the eyes vision point so if I look straight ahead too long its a bother but blinking and eye movement seem to make it less obvious. I was asked why (by a younger guy) I put such a big mirror on my car. He didn't understand when I said that it gives my eyes a bigger view to move around on so the brain can make up what it doesn't actually see. I do a lot of track days and have learned the trick mentioned previously, just keep your eyes moving around and the floaters don't bother you much and your safe enough on track. I don't know if the floaters or my age has decreased my depth perception though, because keep missing apexes...Oh wait, I did that when I could see too...

Even way before I got my drivers permit in, oh s--t, 1962, I've been into cars and motorcycles. Being an average American youth at that time it was picking a mark, Chevrolet, and making mine go faster than my friends, especially if they were "dumb" enough to pick Ford or Dodge. I did have one thing different than most of my drag race buddies and that was that I liked my cars to actually stop and even turn. Lots of unpatrolled back roads in Connecticut at that time and I tried to push whatever Chevy I had to the limit. Installed seat belts in both my '55 and '57 Chevys so I wouldn't slide across the bench seats! This was in '63 and '65 when my friends would look in and say "what the hell are they for"? Then I'd tell them to hop in and I'd show them ;-). Then in '65 I got a chance to drive a '59 Morgan. Even beat to hell and needing a complete engine rebuild it still thrilled me to the bone and started a passion for English steel. My 7 is a WCM S2K so I can't really say it's "English Steel" like the three MGA's I went through over the years or the Jaguar I still have but it does thrill me to the bone every time I drive it, just like that first drive in '65. We "older" guys still remember when cars didn't handle like they do now, or run as fast without having to work on them constantly. That said, we also remember how simple they were. I think a lot of what we get from our 7's is that feeling of being able to build, modify or repair then without twenty patch cords, a laptop and a room full of "special tools".

Since the power is always at the component, through "ground", all the power is carried through the frame and body, so you, in theory, don't need as heavy gauge a wiring harness. Of course with George Lucas components involved it probably just means the frame will heat up and turn red hot while your driving ;-).

As a past owner of three MGA's, a Morgan and still own a Jag I can attest that all of the credit to George for being "the Man who invented darkness" is well founded. As if Lucas electric's weren't enough of a problem the Jag decided that positive ground would be even more fun. Try finding someone to sell you a positive ground fuel pump that bolts to the frame so you can get home. Yeah, missed dinner, and breakfast and lunch.....

I have an enclosed 20' X 8'6" with a beavertail. It fits the 7 with so much extra room that even all the track related stuff noted above and a spare set of tires doesn't crowd it. Could use a V front at the same length, everything would still fit but it would get a little tighter, especially for one of my larger cars. "Legal" width limit without wide load signs is 8'6" on DOT stuff so the factory "extendable power mirrors" on my 2500HD Sierra do not see close in "around" the trailer, but do show the lane next to it well. Some of the extendable aftermarket mirrors actually go out past the 8'6" DOT width so you actually can see the sides of the trailer while towing, or more important, while backing. I have to wait for one side or the other to get to about 10 degrees from center to come into view so backup tracks look like a snake made them :-). I would go with a V front before I would go "low" to save on gas. The added height is a real bonus when it comes to just plain "usability" like doing something on the car without backing it out or just hanging in the shade at a hot track. If your going with an enclosed trailer remember that the towing mileage doesn't really change as you add length, it's all about frontal area, so longer wont matter much and a longer trailer with a V nose will outdo shorter blunt noses. Always double axles and always adjustable electric brakes if you want to avoid white knuckle driving, leave that for the track!!!

Ditto on the can't get heat into the tires on the street. That's five hard miles on a track to get warm into my 235-275 set up, never get much above the ambient temp on the street. I could get the tires on my MINI hot in about 5-6 corners, but they were 205's and about twice the car weight. I pray for hot track days ;-).

I'll look up my order to confirm but I think they are 38 off set front. I run 235 fronts and they are tight to the fender brackets I made when I had smaller tires on the car. Plenty of stud for a 5MM spacer if you have a problem. I run 275's (E45)on the back and you JUST make it inside the fender lip. Thinking about having mine rolled a bit as under hard track days with a friend aboard I have had them rub a little. You might even think about going with a 255 rear, hard to get heat into the 275's. I think the distributor knows about WCM's using the Wilwood front hubs and the larger bore required. Had to have mine machined out after delivery. Nice wheels and strong for the weight. RNR dropped to, I think, 225 fronts and 255 rears and likes them better than the wider set up. He might be right as it takes me about 5 miles of hard driving to get heat into my wider set, and that's on a really warm day. Won't heat up period on a cold day, makes for some serious skating fun.

I wouldn't want to be there when they all pop!

A friend of mines brother owned a large shop that built mostly trailers for rental fleets but would also do custom built one offs for the right price. They installed nothing but surge brakes on the rentals and nothing but electrics on the one offs even though they were buying the surge units and complete axel assemblies in bulk direct. His comment was that they had to use surge on the rentals because most tow vehicles were not set up with an electric controller. They did only electrics on the one offs because they were a better design and the customer would be happier with their product in the long run. He did comment that the fleet trailers brakes were adequate and got enough use and maintenance that some of the usual surge problems like drying out seals, rust from lack of use/moisture in the system from sitting unused for long periods and no automatic shoe adjustment (from braking while reversing) didn't happen as often. I have four wheel electric brakes on my 24' enclosed car trailer and have pulled it with no problem with a 1500 Silverado (although I do feel more secure pulling with my 2500HD). My boat trailer came with surge brakes that were a problem within a couple of years (moisture in the brake fluid leading to rust in the master cylinder while stored for the winter). I also didn't like the "non adjustable" amount of braking and the "bumps" as the brakes applied and released so rewired the trailer and replaced the brakes with electric and have been happier ever since. It is a fairly heavy boat, 22' with a cast iron 350 and Volvo DuoProp outdrive so that may have been part of the surge problem, they are probably made to cover a wide series of weights and might have been much better with a lighter load.

It might be possible that the difference in towing capacity between sedans and SUVs constructed from similar base vehicles could be the upgraded spring rates and anti roll bars for SUVs. This is evident in older pickup trucks where tow packages mostly just beef up those two areas and add transmission/oil coolers. Actual weight of the truck stayed about the same {and unless you were jumping series (ie 2500 to 3500 for GM)} the brakes don't get bigger with just the tow package but the ratings can go up. Just a guess. Also, after a lifetime of towing without a serious incident I still wouldn't tow anything but the smallest trailer without electric brakes, just too many other drivers who have no idea that cutting off someone towing a trailer so they can make the exit they almost missed is not a good idea.

Tempering process does bring all of the stress into a "straight line" of sorts, with all edges being the end of the lines. This makes the glass very strong when being hit straight on. It can not be snapped along a "scratch" like from a glass cutter but it is VERY subject to fail if any pressure is put on an edge. It's safer than non-tempered plate glass because when it breaks it shatters along all of the imparted stress lines leaving only small pieces. The edges of the broken pieces are very sharp so they do cut you, just not deep like the edge of a broken, and usually large, plate glass shard. MINI does use a thinner glass to save weight but so do most of the smaller lighter cars that are looking for performance or better mileage and not trying to keep the cabin luxury quiet. I have so many rock pits in my MINI's windshield you almost can't see through it any more, but it has never broken. I've also got several rock hits on the side windows without a failure so shattering isn't something more inherent in MINI's than in other small cars. I dealt with tempered glass for most of my working life and never saw anyone seriously hurt (scared s---less yes) by it exploding.

I recently became retarded, whoops, I mean retired, but have all kinds of stuff going on I never had time for when I ran my business. I'll look at what stock I have and see if there is enough for another set. Duplicating what I'm running now is probably the best bet as any lower is both well out of "legal" headlight height and probably too far down into the bouncing gravel zone for any long term life on the lights. I took my 7 & trailer up to a cheap storage yard near my houseboat, unfortunately that's 125 miles away so it's going to be duplicating from "memory". Note the previous comment about "retired" and hope the other definition doesn't kick in when I'm trying to remember what I did before ;-). I'll post an update when I get closer to fab.

I actually have a spare set that has even less rise than the ones shown. Made them first but was afraid they would be so low any kicked up trash from road or track days would take the glass lights out. If I get some time I can duplicate what I have or make a set out of some "[" shaped aluminum. That is easier but would not taper down like the ones I have on the car now. If your willing to come up the peninsula to SM and help it might get done faster ;-). Alan Metals in RC or Metal Warehouse in Santa Clara stock a lot of different aluminum shapes.

These mount to the front upper suspension attachment point so they don't require any other holes or brackets to be added to the car.

I made these mounts for my headlights and they worked great for two years. I then added a front plate holder after a fix-it ticket. It survived a bird strike at Thunder Hill at about 90MPH (plate bent and the bird turned to a puff of feathers to the horror of my passenger) but berming in the corkscrew at Laguna Seca proved too much for it and it snapped at the plate/light mount and I ran over it. Never did find the plate or light as they went airborne into the trees. The "error adjustment add" part has been in place for two years and even survived a strike from a heavy lane divider on the Golden Gate Bridge that I was struck by after RNR ran over it ( he didn't take it out, it just got tossed into his path and I was right behind him). Broke the light but not the mount. These keep the lights "down" somewhat so they really keep the road ahead view open. I'm using the 7" headlights with a ring of LEDs around the perimeter as my turn signals as the original "bullets" are not to easy to see and every bit helps keep the distracted drivers aware of what your doing. Probably do the photos as two submittals as I'm not sure of how to lower the resolution.