escondidoron

I spent the afternoon today at a track day at Zolder, in Belgium. You would have thought that it was a Club Lotus event. A few Elans (M100s), an Evora, some 211s, a bunch of Exiges / Elises and too many Seven types to count: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/5001808839_daed85e85d_b.jpg I got to do about 15 laps with my friend Mark in his Luego based clone. It has a 2.0L turbo 5-cyl Fiat engine with Motronic engine management, a Cosworth Sierra 5-speed and limited slip IRS rear end. GAZ shocks all around and Baer brakes at all 4 corners. It makes about 250Hp. The only car that was quicker today was a full on race 911 RSR. It is waaaay quicker than my '62 S2. LOL. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5001775267_b8b2155a40_b.jpg This German made RSB is powered by a 2.4L Honda. It was pretty quick too. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5002421560_932198f6d5_b.jpg A pretty neat event.

twobone said: I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but isn't this the definition for a mid-life crisis? Believe me, I can appreciate where you're coming from. It seems to me that there are 2 ways to look at this: We can have a job or we can have a career. In my view, if you have a job, the job provides an income. We then use that income to fund our life. As you stated, the job becomes a means to an end. On the other hand, in my view of things, a career is an avocation where you derive some income from your passion. Basically you get paid to do what you might do for free, or would maybe even pay someone to let you do. Race car drivers and fighter pilots come immediately to mind for me. If you are lucky enough to be good at something that you love and people will pay you to do it life can be pretty good. The price of admission is making a major commitment and realizing that the rewards may not be financial. Ultimately then, doesn't our work become a question of balance between commitment, satisfaction and reward? When I was a kid I built model planes and cars, raced slot cars. I mowed lawns, shoveled snow, picked berries, caddied golf, washed cars, pumped gas, worked in a bicycle shop, worked in a body shop, whatever I could to fund kart racing and then motorcycles. I wanted to be a racer like Jimmy Clark. When I was 19 I quit college to take a job with a TransAm / IMSA team as a fabricator / crew member. My mother was not amused! In that period I decided that I didn't have the talent to drive at the level of my dreams. I also figured out, eventually, from working side by side with some excellent race engineers, that while I wasn't a great driver, I could be a pretty good engineer. So I went back and finished my degree on my own nickel (my mom cut me off when I quit college). During college I met a girl with the shared belief that family is primary, that the happiness of children stems from the shared happiness of their parents for their lives together and their work. We committed to each other, to our careers. And we had 3 sons. When I graduated I had to decide whether or not to go back to Michigan (my family home) to work in the auto industry or stay out west (where I finished my university studies) and work in aerospace. I was offered a position at Boeing to work on the then upcoming 737, to work on flap design. I turned it down because I thought that if I stayed there, after 30 years, I would be, at best, a 737 flap expert. Instead I accepted a position at a smaller aerospace subcontractor where we built engine nacelles and thrust reversers. I took the job because most of the senior managers had callouses on their hands and dirt under their finger nails. They built things. I lasted about 5 years before I grew tired of the work and lack of new technical challenges. This pattern repeated itself until the late 80s. I was climbing the corporate ladder but at each rung, after 4 or 5 years I would burn out or grow tired of the work and move on to a new challenge. I quit and started consulting after deciding that having a staff of 60 wasn't why I became an engineer in the first place. I was about your age at that time. After consulting for about 5 years I was offered a direct position with one of my clients that looked very attractive financially and technically challenging. I've been there for 15 years now. What has kept me is not money or technical challenge. It has come down to respect. I have lucked into being part of an organization that I respect and that respects me in return. That respect combined with technical challenge and financial reward has made all the difference. I'm very fortunate. For the most part I love my work: Mechanical engineer - design/build composite aircraft. Specialty is propulsion, Gasoline, Diesel and turbine. I have a large staff. After racing driver, all I have ever wanted to do is design / build aircraft and / or cars. Its really all that I have done for almost 50 years. The work has its ups and downs but for the great majority of the time I enjoy it. The upside: Maximum job satisfaction (for me), good income and some great fringe benefits. Saturday (day after tomorrow as I write this) takes me to Zolder to drive a Seven and on Sunday I will be at the 'Ring for some touristenfahrten in our Alfa 75 and a friend's GT3. The following week will take me to Charlotte and some NASCAR shops. And then back home for a couple of weeks in SoCal to enjoy the Loti at home after work. The downside: My commitment to my work has meant that I've been on the road >50% of the time for the past 15 years. While I have taken each of my 3 sons along to some fantastic places and experiences over the years I also missed a lot of their growing up. I have had to work very hard to try to make up for that while at home. But ultimately it hasn't been work that has proven to be most rewarding for us; our sons are our greatest achievement and source of satisfaction. Over time we figured out that we weren't raising children, we were raising adults. My wife of nearly 40 years is an artist. She's just as crazy in her work as I am. We often wonder what other people's lives are like. How do they do it? Social life? Work / life balance, what is that? This is the "be careful what you ask for" part of having a passionate career. In our case our careers are really our obsessions. After the boys were in college my wife went back to school to get a degree. In fine art. At my age, most men are considering retirement. Retirement, what is that? When I get tired or burned out I think about it. And then I go out in the shop and work on the Loti! Then I remember that this is all that I know. While my income is very good, unless I won a mega lottery jackpot, I couldn't afford to jump off the wagon and play in the manner that I have become accustomed to in my career on my own nickel. Some time back in the mid 90s I saw a coffee table book about lottery winners. It was based on someone's graduate thesis. The author traced several people who had won big money (>$10 million) in a lottery. He wanted to see how it had changed their lives. In this sample the author found that most people did pretty much similar things: 1) Quit their jobs 2) Buy a car 3) Buy/build a home 4) Go on a trip 5) Get their old job (or a very similar one) back after about 5 years So in spite of my previous comments about retirement, I will retire from regular employment in a few more years. After this year's visit to the Historics at Monterey I'm actually beginning to look forward to it. We have a plan. I will shift my focus from aircraft back to cars. I will make up for my lack of budget by throwing a lot of time at my new project. I'm going vintage racing with the Seven.

Automoda said: Yeah. My wife has given the car a name, "Mrs. Jones." As in the '70's song by Gamble & Huff, Me and Mrs. Jones. But she also says that after >35 years of marriage she can handle this kind of mistress. :hurray: Ruadhd2 asked? The lights are not even close to anything ever used by the factory...Well maybe the bulbs. The goal was to try to get the car back on the road using whatever I had laying around and not do any damage to the Seven at the same time. While I have a nice set of the original Wingard tail lights installing them would have required making some holes in the fenders. Since I have pictures of the car as raced in the '60's and '70's with the rear fenders that are on the car and since I am planning to install the correct 9" fenders that fit with the wheels I didn't want to cut the wide fenders. So with that in mind and to make do with pieces that I had on hand I proceeded as follows: The OEM spare tire support and license plate mount uprights were still in place, if slightly bent. I carefully straightened the bent tubes and then went to the shelves in the garage. I found I had an old pair of trailer lights (with bulbs) and also an old trailer light wiring harness. I had used these pieces for towing a car I had built (back while I was in high school) from Michigan to California back in the '70s. It seemed like if I was ever going to use them again this was the time. I fab'd a bracket out a piece of 1" x 1/4" steel bar that mounts the 2 lights and the license plate to the 2 license plate mount tabs on the OEM spare tire mount. I used the old trailer wiring harness as a basis for the tail light re-wire and fitted the flat 4-wire trailer light connector, using zip-ties to the chassis tubes, just inside the boot so that the tail lights are easily removable for track days. The "new" brake light wire goes directly to the brake pressure switch and the running light wire goes to the light switch. Power is supplied via a new-from-Pep Boys 4-circuit blade type fuse block. One circuit is for the brakes and a second is for the head and tail lights. I used the remainder of the trailer wire harness to run cable to the head lights. DeanG said: Yeah, I thought so too when I was looking at her while at the gas station. So when I got back home I rinsed her off one more time and then spent about 1/2 hour with a bottle of Maguiar's #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax. It cut through most of the many years worth of spots and stains on the surface without actually cutting the paint. The pic below was taken at dusk with my iphone (so its not the greatest quality) just after waxing. But you can see that there is some light reflection on the fenders. She actually shines OK, not great, but OK, considering that the paint was applied in about 1967! http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4965900019_7ee6995998_b.jpg

We did a bunch of little projects around the house this weekend. In between tasks I found time to work on the Seven and get it back on the road. While it is no where near finished it is now drivable. This afternoon I went in to town and filled up the tank. It was the 1st time the car was driven since it went into storage in the mid '70s. A great thrill. What a fun end to the weekend! http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4966008623_107a84abc0_b.jpg

Boxologist said: Boxologist's comment got me to thinking about the relationship between productivity, alcohol and coffee. Here's an interesting thought to ponder: Did coffee make the industrial revolution possible in western society at the expense of alcohol? Coffee was introduced on the European continent in the 1640s in Venice, with coffee houses appearing in Paris in the 1660s. Prior to that time alcohol was the staple beverage in European society for the reasons mentioned by Boxologist. At that time coffee's availability was limited to the rich who could afford the time and expense of drinking at the coffeehouses. At the same time the European colonialists were starting coffee plantations in their various colonies to exploit the crop. Prior to this time it had only been grown in significant quantities in Ethiopia. As coffee became more readily available its cost went down. As its cost went down its availability to the masses went up. As the masses began to consume more coffee they consumed less alcohol and productivity went up dramatically. Fast forward to the 1700s (the age of the industrial revolution). With the increase in societal productivity there was an increase in consumerism and the eventual emergence of a large middle class. Hey, I don't know if there is a direct corollary between alcohol, coffee and western society as we know it but it seems reasonable to me. Just a thought.

I have visited the Miniatur Wunderland a couple of times. It is even more impressive in person. The video just can't do it justice. It covers at least 2 floors. As you climb and descend the stairs some of the trains run along side you. Some of the town have operational model cars. Not slot cars. There are radio controlled ships in the port model zone. The workshops are really cool. It would be a fun place to work. Think of SimCity in 3D.

Pics of a couple of transporters I've seen recently. This was at the Classic Team Lotus Festival on Father's day at Snetterton: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1381/4723379935_9ab3533d68_b.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1123/4723597962_bf369a786c_b.jpg And these were taken this past Sunday morning at the Rolex Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4899397975_a3b8ca4821_b.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4899989914_cfdebde556_b.jpg It was used by BMC for factory high performance training in Australia. It looked like it would hold 2 or 3 Formula cars or Minis inside.

My friend Kurt's "2-car" garage is one of the nicer ones that I've come across: http://www.midlana.com/Diaries/Current/right_rear_wheel_on.JPG His wife's car goes inside at night.

Here is a pic of Craig's wheels F/S as requested: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4863828836_480c550694_b.jpg

Hi Craig; Email me the pics and I will gladly post them for you. Regards, Ron

In the medical center parking area at Snetterton: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1049/4723051075_bed2987531_b.jpg in the parking lot at La Costa Beach & Tennis Resort: 10SNE1 on a Toyota MR2: RU MRS2 on a black '80's Trans Am" N2SNM and my personal favorite on a puke greek 70's VW Rabbit: HARVEY

slngsht said: The correct name for the physical property being discussed here is polar moment of inertia and you described it correctly. It is the resistance to change in direction. High polar moment means a high resistance to directional change. If an object is going straingt it wants to continue going straight. If it is turning it wants to continue turning. On F/R weight distribution, the idea that 50/50 is ideal is possibly not correct. I am basing this assumption on a quick survey of high performance road & racing cars. At the highest level, most purpose built racing cars and high end street cars are mid-engined (to reduce 1, weight -- i.e. minimal driveline mass, and 2, to minimize polar moment. Most of these cars are closer to a F/R weight bias of 40/60. A case in point are Lotus Esprits. A pretty decent handling car. My '84s weigh in at about 2650 lbs with about 1075lbs on the front wheels and about 1550lbs on the rear. That is 41/59 F/R. I suspect that these figures are pretty typical for weight bias for mid-engined racing cars. My '77 S1 Esprit is about 150 lbs lighter but the F/R weight bias is almost identical. As for how polar moment would be affected by placing high mass components at opposite ends of the vehicle, you could do the math, or you could just consider a quick example: Imagine holding up a 16lb bowling ball, with your hand raised up above your arm, and rotating it clockwise and then quickly reversing direction to counterclockwise. Now imagine performing the same activity, but with the same 16lbs in the form of a barbell with two 8lbs weights, each 8lb mass at opposite ends of a weightless pipe. In this imaginary experiment it is easier to reverse rotational direction with the bowling ball because of its lower polar moment of inertia. A number of valid points have been raised in different responses in this thread. However, out in the real world, while polar moment is a real design concern, factors such as suspension design, steering geometry, tire compound, physical packaging constraints and weight distribution all play significant parts in how the car will respond to a driver's inputs (i.e., how it will handle). With careful selection of components and thoughtful design it is possible that the polar moment of a transaxle Seven type vehicle would not change significantly from a conventional in-line transmission equipped car of otherwise identical design. For instance, if you built a "conventional" layout Seven car using live axle rear suspension with a cast iron differential and a cast iron transmission housing, or an IRS system, again with a cast iron differential and compared either of those designs polar moment and overall mass to that of a car designed with an aluminum transaxle you might find very little difference in polar moment but a large difference in overall weight and / or weight distribution. At the end of the day, how you deal with all of these other issues (suspension design, steering geometry, tire compound and physical packaging constraints) will likely have a greater influence on handling than pure polar moment of inertia and (within reasonable limits) weight distribution. Just my $0.02.

Here's a few thoughts to consider: 1) The hip room issue can be resolved with a gearbox that is behind the differential and not in front of it. The Porsche gearbox is such a design. 1973 and later 914s have the shift linkage interface facing towards the front of the car too. 2) You also could look at the Audi transaxles. Unlike most front wheel drive vehicles, which have transverse engine/gearbox assemblies, many of the Audis have north / south engine configurations. They also have some that are 6-speed units. 3) Make sure that you take into account the direction of rotation of the engine relative to the differential assy in the transaxle that you use. 4) Corvair gearboxes were based on standard Chevy units for cost reasons. Corvair engines were reverse rotation as a result.

Is that a TR-10 housing or something a littler newer, like maybe a Spridget?

I'm interested in installing a 5-speed behind my old pre-crossflow in my '62 Seven and have lots of questions regarding this upgrade. I should note that I don't want to make any serious chassis mod's if I don't have to as I would like to be able to put everything back to original if I ever decide to sell the car. I have good fab skills and a decently equipped home shop. Making mounts, revising the hydraulic system for a different clutch, some new aluminum panels and a new drive shaft doesn't scare me. I am thinking that a T-9 is probably the easiest path forward. So here goes with the questions: 1) Has anybody here upgraded from the Ford 4-speed to a 5-speed behind either a pre-X-flow or an X-flow? 2) Is it true that the pre-X-flow has the same bolt pattern on the block as the later X-flow / Pinto / Zetec? 3) Knowing that the current Miata uses the Duratec I started wondering if a Miata box is a possibility? I'm guessing that it is not, but I thought it to be worth checking out due to the relatively easy availability of Miata parts here. 4) Is the T-9 the best / only cost-effective option to pursue? 5) Are there different T-9 housings or are they all the same regarding; a) overall length b) transmission mounting c) shifter location 6) What bellhousing is the one to use to mate the T-9 to an X-flow? 7) Is a different flywheel / starter required when swapping the transmission? 8) Is the only T-9 donor (here in the States) the XR4-Ti? or will a box out of a 4-cyl Mustang or T-Bird work (MT75?)? Any / all help is appreciated.

Saw an interesting 2 car hauler today: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4509115359_3aa2b1caff_b.jpg It seems like it would be pretty top heavy with that pick up on top. The bottom floor slides out aft and the top floor hinges down in the rear to load the top car. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4509119781_9af2f2082e_b.jpg The hydraulic rams lift the back end up to level out the top car. Then you can load a car on the bottom floor and slide it back into place.

Yeah, I meant Edwards.

If you ever had the opportunity to visit EAFB, Dryden and Heritage Park at Plant 42 (home of the Blackbird) before the end of 2003 you had the opportunity to have seen 4 of the 20 or so remaining aircraft, one of the Mach 4+ D-21 drones and a couple of U-2s in one day. One of the planes at Dryden was the only remaining SR-71B, the trainer version. It has since been moved to the Gilmore Kalamazoo Aviation Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. BTW: It's a pretty cool museum with a couple of very good flight simulators that are free with admission.

My personal favorite is "Riding on a Wing and a Prayer" bar & grille. It's about 10 miles south of the south entrance to EAFB in Lancaster, CA. Corner of 90th St East and Avenuie J. The empanage sticking out of the front south east corner of the building is a very nice touch. They have a lot of memorabilia, photos and autograpohs inside. Grub is decent and beer is ice cold in the summer. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3313607896_f76f715356.jpg

Well, I like this thing. It's right up there with this early 80's German transplant effort: http://www.vw-one.co.uk/volkswagen_golf_928.htm But both the above Golf / Porsche and the Tractorri (this thing is cool just because of the name) efforts were built by professional shops. Just like with a Seven, I have a greater appreciation for the efforts of home builders. So I offer up for your consideration, my personal favorite "Who could have ever thought of this" engine swap goes to a guy named Jay Eitel. I came across it in a one page Escape Roads article in the back of Autoweek several years ago. IIRC in the Autoweek article it said that Jay did most of the design and build himself. Just as a quiz, see if you can guess the engine donor (not too hard) and the subject car (a little tougher) before you go to the link to check out some further details. Here's a teaser pic of the engine bay: http://www.corvaircorsa.com/V-12/jejagv12.JPG So while the Golf and Tractorri transplants involved a lot of cutting and fitting, in the end they are mostly about transplanting an existing drivetrain / propulsion system into a different body (and I fully appreciate how little of the Golf was left after widening it to fit over the 928 mechanicals). This project made very few body modifications (by comparison to the Golf). But it required extensive engineering effort to develop the drivetrain as a system (as far as I am concerned, just building your own 4 speed automatic transaxle out of a pair of Powerglide / Pontiac Tempest units is much more involved than either the Golf or Tractorri projects). Here's a link to a nice description of this transplant: http://www.corvaircorsa.com/V-12/jejagv12.JPG So while we are pretty involved with our Seven projects, you gotta appreciate the level of effort put in by of all of these guys. Even if they aren't owner designed or built.

......and I thought I was happy with the Dynolicious app with data logger, Rev and the OBDII code reader......

Morgan said: If the fenders were made with pre-preg cloth then it is very likely that they are not sealed. The pre-preg resin does not flow out like you would expect with a wet layup process. If you look at the underside of the fenders and they look porous, then they are likely pre-preg. If you determine that they are not sealed on the underside it would be a good idea to seal them as a part of your attempt at refinishing. This would be pretty easy to do with some epoxy resin (not polyester). Just clean the fenders thoroughly, give the back side a light scuff with a reasonable grit sandpaper, say 220 (you don't want to dig very far into the carbon as you could damage the fibre's integrity if you go to far), and then mix up the resin and brush a couple of coats on the back side. Or you could just paint the back side to seal it up too. Same preparation requirements / issues apply for paint. Contact me off-list if you have any questions.

1) Drive one or more of the Loti at least twice a week. 2) Keep at least 3 out of 4 Loti operational at all times. I will have 3 running tomorrow. Just finished the annual valve adjustment and new timing belt on Turbo #2 this afternoon. Might as well go big on the resolution thing.:rofl:

On a somewhat related topic, here is my wife's favorite engineer joke: 2 engineer's wive's are talking with each other. Wife 1: So do you know what engineers use for birth control? Wife 2: No, not really. Wife 1: Personality.

the BRATs (Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter IIRC) had seat belts for those rear facing seats.