slomove

Well...probably got to take it for what is is. Not reasonable, not serious but eccentric and some people may find it cool or funny. Hey, why not. I like the bathtub....can't do that in a Seven ;-) Can someone imagine Seven limo?

Hello John, thanks for the praise The taillights are Birkin stock (not Birkenstock). That is, as far as I know, from a Toyota Hi-Lux pickup (or van?) that has been sold in South Africa in the 80's. So I guess that is not much help for you. However you may contact Dick Brink (http://www.texasmotorworks7.com) who occasionally imports Birkin parts and cars. He may have some sitting on his shelf. If mine should ever break I was considering fabricating some bright LED taillights that are flush with the wing surface, I e. invisible when not turned on. Might be a fun little project. Gert

This is the front end of my well-worn sump guard (after 3 years). And yes, I do have occasional ground contact.....it is a tad on the heavy side (steel) but except for the front impact armor thinner than most aluminum skid plates (only 1/16"). It has saved my butt (i.e. the sump) a few times. Not exactly elegant (I am a lousy welder) but very functional. The local mountain roads are strewn with crumbly rocks, especially in Winter. http://www.usa7s.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=21&stc=1&d=1236134002 Gert

I can break loose the rear tires in any gear including 5th. Just takes some hard cornering or braking..... But seriously. With some 170 RWHP it needs creative clutch work in second gear and probably serious abuse in 3rd (have not tried it) to make it happen. I am pretty sure it is possible at high revs and dumping the clutch, but what is the point??

Hey, you are pretty close. I live off Huntington Drive and El Campo. Let me know if you want to come along sometimes but this weekend I am at the Willow Springs Race Track. The car looks still great (IMHO) but not as super spiffy anymore like on the pics. I just use it too much. Gert

I had to do the same thing with the skid plate and got annoyed with that after a while. It is O.K. when new but a mess when the bolts get dirty and full of oily goop. Therefore I tapped the drain plug with a hose barb nipple and extended that with maybe 9" long piece of 1/2" dia. hose. For an oil change I just need to drop the hose into the catch pan and open the (secured) end stopper cap. However, the oil needs to be warm or the draining takes very long. I also jack up the car on the opposite side to make sure everything comes out. Gert

That would indeed be a bit late to meet at 9 pm in the middle of nowhere and still have another 3 hours to go.... I could do that but there seems to be a whole bit of uncertainty. Some of the folks who spoke up so far: Skip (if his health allows for it) Tom (if he gets his car finished) Bob (seems probable if he gets his car back together) Dave (not sure what his constraints are) Bill (have to check with him again if still interested) Lee (maybe a short piece close to Salt Lake City) Gert (barring any crazy emergency) Al (suppose pretty sure?) I am not aware of others who might come along. I could start a new thread just for the purpose of collecting names? Well, that is the current plan. Can be changed of course but I thought the shorter route along Yellowstone Lake is not as interesting. Gert

You can do it! 4 1/2 months to go! That is great! I am looking forward to meeting you there! When do you arrive in Jackson? Would you still be able to meet us in Riverton en route on the 11th to drive together the Wind River Canyon? Should be something like a 3-hour drive from Jackson. Gert

AFAIK any incoming call will cost you only the airtime, even coming from Timbuktu. Not sure if collect calls on cell phone are possible but I don't think so. Gert

Commiserations....and, no I would not have a job to offer. We are trying to hang on the the staff we got. But, on a positive note, there is a pretty active Se7ens community in the Ft Worth/Arlington area, Motorsports Ranch etc. Gert

I would second the 2 1/2" recommendation. For a stock engine the exhaust won't be the bottleneck and I guess it will not matter then. If you ever upgrade you will be happy to have it a bit more free exhaling. Not very scientific but necking it down to 2" is counterintuitive.

My Birkin came with these GTAs and I still have one on the (not mounted) spare tire. I found them pretty horrible, no matter what they were supposed to be used for. They may even have been stock issue from Birkin. Assuming your's are, too and now 13 years old a set of new ones may be in the cards.... Gert

Ah, interesting....with the price difference and the tax it is almost awash. But it is pretty close to where I live. I will check with them. Thanks, Gert

Now that you say it, I believe I remember you mentioning it. Anyway, another positive vote on the T1R and the price is right (although I noticed I have to add another $60 shipping for the set). The Dunlops look also quite interesting but a little heavier and not available in my preferred dimensions. I will go ahead and just order a set of the Toyos. Thanks for the feedback! Gert

Wow, just found this is the equivalent of US$ 7000 or so.....now that is a steal.

I am looking for a low-cost decent quality road tire that will give me a good compromise between grip and durability. I have separate track tires but need something to scrub quite a few touring miles. My last set of Yokohama ES-100 fulfilled the low-cost requirement and was kind of so-so in grip for road driving but had a strange unsymmetrical wear behavior. I found a good price on Toyo T1R ($77 for 195/50-15 and $99 for 225/50/15). They are relatively light for a radial tire (lighter and cheaper than the TOYO competition tire R888) and with an UTQG rating of 280 AA A they should not be really bad and hopefully last a few miles. Somebody has an opinion or experience on this piece of rubber? Thanks guys! Gert

Depending on your plan the international call can be rather expensive, say a buck or two per minute. If you need to do this more often get an international phone card with an 800- number. Then it will cost you only the cell phone air time minutes and the phone card charge. I am using one that is called Champion Phone Card. Calls to Europe are just 2 cent per minute just as much as a call to Northern California. You can buy and recharge this virtual "card" on the Internet by Credit Card and link several phone numbers to it (including your cell phone or home phone) so that you don't have to enter an annoying PIN number for every call. For that matter, we don't even have a long distance provider anymore at home. All long distance calls go through this card or by 1019898 pre-dial number, also for 2 cents/minute to Europe. Unfortunately the 101xxxx numbers won't work on the cell phone. Gert

Who cares if it is ugly.... How many garages? Gert P.S.: There are many mansions here in the Pasadena/San Marino area who might well compete with that one. Maybe not just in ugliness but at least price wise. There are still enough wealthy folks, mainly from Asia who can afford it.

Well, that did cross my mind Maybe you can team up with Skip if his shoulder is still giving him trouble? Or you can fly to Vegas and rent this one to come along. Almost as good as a Seven...... http://www.dreamcarrentals.com/images/L-Ferrari-360.jpg

Me too!!! I'll buy another one. :hurray:

Good point. I slide in and out of the driver's seat in no time and don't even remove the steering wheel anymore. On the few occasions when I am in the passenger seat the whole exercise becomes a bit awkward, takes much longer and feels less comfortable to sit in. Same with the feet, when I got the car the footwell space felt extremely tight even with narrow driving shoes. Nowadays I have the dance motions figured out that I can even drive with regular sneakers if need be. So I guess it is indeed a matter of practice and getting used to. Gert

Heretic :jester:

Cool.

Well, maybe I should be more specific...... So far I appreciated this forum because unlike some other typical Porsche, Atom, BMW you name it this was very civilized (and mostly it still is). That means for me you can voice your opinion, have controversies etc but all about subject matter. Very rarely it got personal. Occasionally the brand issue reared its ugly head but quickly put down or maybe the orthodox brand fanatics just left. Lately I see some posts that challenge people (about their profession or how they run this web site). I suggest for such posters just to leave and find another playground. But then, maybe I am just to old to cope with such typical modern Internet crap behavior. Hope I did not start another flaming competition and I guess I just fell victim to the troll :jester: . Gert

pfffft http://pics.bikerag.com/Uploads/data/500/258Troll_spray.jpg