slomove

If anybody is still on the fence, here are some other things (than Se7en driving) that are available in the Black Hills area. May be sufficient to get the family interested :bigear: More advertising here:

Interesting driving shoes.

Had a similar experience last week. I was also checking why the right front wing was so wobbly when jacked up and found the entire right wheel having some slack. Turned out when I installed the wide track suspension last Summer I installed the front steering rack-to-upright bolts finger tight for a test fit and apparently never went back to properly tighten them. At the time I would have sworn that I double checked everything. Fortunately the nylocs prevented them from falling off. But it is a lesson for me to not take anything for granted that I assume is correct. Maybe a separate nut and bolt audit after a major project by my wife would be a good idea.

The sale fell through and the engine is still available . Would be nice for the Wirewheel Caterham

Did anybody ever ride the 1880 train from Hill City? I am considering to add this to one of the Black Hills loops. Roundtrip 2 hours 15 minutes and $24 per ticket sounds reasonable but maybe somebody here knows if that is worthwhile. http://www.1880train.com/images/img_home.jpg

Where is Al, anyway? I think his last post was in November?

There is Keith with his Locost in Grand Junction. I believe he is on this list but not sure if active. I guess with your location you just got to buy a Seven. You have all the most glorious roads right at your door. But you should indeed drive or at least ride with a few. Most people really like and keep their Seven but I know a few who sold the car after only a few months. Maybe wrong expectations and good for the used Sevens market ;-)

Happy to comply ;-) And yes, it has been as expected so far and got me into new things....it is my toy and a hobby that I don't take totally serious. I lost sight of Sevens that I liked back when they were still made by Lotus and when I rediscovered that there were still people building them I happened to get some unexpected workers comp money. I bought one that was technically used but practically new (600 miles). Spent the first few years driving, upgrading, tinkering and just enjoying it. Until I got the Seven I was not really a gearhead or much into sports cars anyway but can now competently dis- and reassemble the car and rebuild the engine. I also use it a lot for weekend trips and long distance touring (buy one until summer and join our Black Hills trip). So after all, highly recommended. But be careful, some of the upgrades will cost you a bundle

I suppose you mean ground squirrels or chipmunks or something? So you ran over Chip and the Rescue Rangers? I drove up to Parkfield a while ago and probably hit 5 of them within a few miles because they were just everywhere.

Well, what can I say....I have seen other video with Sabine before and, while she is surely an excellent driver, the comment style is more for the boy racer crowd. Probably not her fault but just what the DMAX producer prescribes. Anyway, not much about the cars except a GT2 with some 560 hp (if I heard that right) for the Porsche and half of that for the Seven so not much surprise. In any case I would suspect the result is staged for best TV effect.

Thanks Skip, I think this looks very nice and is a great find. And better adding 35 mile on the planned route than wasting 2 times 15 miles on the freeway. Given that the roads for that day are rather straight and level, the distance of 290 miles should still be O.K. On the USA2005 tour we did 395 miles one day with 3 passes over 10.000 ft and even that was fun. I think we should go for it. I will change my reservation tonight and change the tour table again.

I am beginning to wonder why the tour organizer did such a sloppy job.:rant: Well I guess he mistyped the number and it is (307) 655-2511 Anyway, there is good news and bad news: The good news is that I could reach the hotel under the number mentioned above. The bad news is they do not have any more rooms available for July 19 and there are no other hotels in Ranchester. Bummer. I suppose we will have to keep going the 15 miles to Sheridan and look for hotels there. I will check tonight.

I carry that small 12V Slime 40001 pocket compressor in the Seven (or the motorcycle bag). Works pretty good for the size and may do the job for your project when you strip the plastic shell. Actually I helped a guy filling the flat tire of his Tacoma truck with that thing but it took a while. 28 bucks at Amazon.

Oops....my bad. I believe I tried the Hulett Motel first without getting good response and the Devil's Tower Inn was anyway better rated. So, I did make reservation at the Best Western Devil's Tower Inn and the correct number is: 307-467-5747 I also edited the earlier posted lists.

You don't Morgan? This is only a few miles from your home: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_242PlvPtVpE/SxHSR75CNeI/AAAAAAAAAz0/xkQQY1pBSvo/s800/MilPotrero1.JPG

For all who have voiced interest in this trip: Please let me know by private message if your status changes. While not officially an organized tour I would still like to know who may be there and how to reach everybody. So, if you don't mind please write me your cell phone number and email (credit card and social security numbers not needed ). Gert B. SoCal, Birkin (hotels reserved) Dion D. SoCal, Locost (hotels reserved) Lancylad Alberta, Westfield (hotels reserved, Black Hills only) Randall Z. SoCal, Birkin (hotels reserved) Chuck Sp. Michigan, Ultralite (pretty sure) Bill G. NorCal, Stalker (highly likely) Herb Utah, Birkin (highly likely, part only) Lee Utah, Birkin (highly likely, part only) Dick B. Texas, Birkin (likely) Skip C. / Tom M. / Jeff B. Colorado, sharing a Caterham and a truck (likely, Black Hills only) Bob S. Colorado, Caterham (likely, Black Hills only) Tom C. Colorado, Birkin (likely, Black Hills only) Derek W. Colorado, Lotus (likely, Black Hills only) Stewart G. Alberta, Stalker (maybe, Black Hills only) Al N. New Jersey, Lotus (will Bessie be ready?) Ed H. So. Carolina, Caterham (thinking about it) SolderGuy Georgia, Rotus (possibly)

I may be wrong, but I doubt it. Obvious difference is the solid vs. hydraulic followers but I suspect there are other dimensional differences, too. I know you can not use the ZX3 cams for the ZX1 so I guess it wont' be possible the other way round. You may be able to sell the Kent cams (or the head) to a ZX1 owner and buy ZX3 performance cams (cheaper and more choices) for that money. Do you know if that is the FZ2001, FZ2002 or FZ2003 cam?

Since these preferences are extremely subjective and often tilted towards what people own, you may be better off meeting other drivers and hitch a ride or drive. I personally can vouch for the Birkin but you will find other folks preferring the Stalker or S2K or whatever. I guess they all can be made excellent track cars or they can be ruined by a shoddy build. A pre-loved car will usually save you serious money and give immediate satisfaction but that puts you at the mercy of the (small) used market. It may take a while until something pops up that fits your bill.

They are one of several technology companies trying to establish microorganism-based fuel generation. Surely legit, but probably still way off achieving $30/barrel, not to mention the scale needed for serious production. But I hope they will get there, not the least because the company I work for supplies some of the piping and instrumentation they need

On the few pics that I have seen the front joint broke but I am not sure if that is just coincidence. One thing to also consider is that in many Sevens the fuel lines run through the tunnel. Even if a broken shaft stays inside I would hate for it to rip up the high pressure fuel tubing next to my butt since I guess there will be sparks flying, too. When I built the propshaft cage for my Birkin I considered re-routing the fuel lines to the side but ended up with several steel strips between the propshaft and the fuel lines for simplicity.

May or June some folks are planning a Southwest Sevens festival at the Motorsports Ranch in Cresson near Fort Worth. You can contact Dick Brink for more info. http://www.texasmotorworks7.com/

Almost 50 years old. I think that qualifies as a cougar :rofl:

I just installed the brand new integrated MTX-L wideband air-fuel gage from Innovate (the old LM1 system that I used for 6 years was finally broken). Quite nice with the whole electronics in one standard 52 mm gage package (black and silver dials and bezels included). And for $199 including sensor, bung and PC cable very reasonable. Works excellent and easy to install, only niggles is the 1/2" thick protruding face but I can live with that. Programmable output for feed into the ECU is also available. Anyway, if you need to know how your carbs or injection maps are actually performing, highly recommended. http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/images/MTXL_All_Web.jpg Edited to say: I don't own stock in Innovate, just impressed with the new gadget.

For road trips I am always driving with a full complement of the essential tools. "Essential" means it has proven to be necessary or very useful over the last few years. Actually I rarely take them out of the boot except when working on the car. I tossed the supplied cases for the sockets and other tools and just keep them in a "large mouth" canvas tool bag. Also a shopping plastic bag with electrical and duct tape, assorted hose clamps, cable ties, assorted bolts and nuts, multimeter, pressure gage, fuses, connectors, velcro, fix-a-flat and the like. On week-long vacation trips I also pack some spares like timing or alternator belts, quart of oil and ECU computer hookup. All that stuff is probably some 5-10 pounds but on the road I don't really care and on the track I got to take it out anyway. Practically I can take anything off the car expect maybe the engine and tranny at the side of the road. It has saved my butt a few times and even more often I used it to help out the poor souls who were driving without.

Wow, it looks like we are getting quite a group! So far I have (some sure, some tentative, some maybe, some part of the trip) Randall Z. Bill G. Dion D. Gert B. Dick B. Skip C. / Tom M. / Jeff B. (1 Seven and a truck) (Black Hills only) Bob S. (Black Hills only) Tom C. (Black Hills only) Derek W. (Black Hills only) Lancylad (Black Hills only) Z3_Stalker (maybe, Black Hills only) SolderGuy (maybe) Ed H. (maybe) Automoda (maybe) Chuck Sp. (no update lately) Al N. (will Bessie be ready?) Whatever it is at the end, I am sure it will be a great trip.