slomove

Good point. Kind of unlikely since you built it yourself but with the old Ford Zetec ZX1 that I have many Seven installs route the serpentine belt the "wrong way" around the water pump pulley to keep the installation compact. That means you can not use the US Ford Contour water pump but need to get a Ford Escort or Fiesta pump from Europe for proper spin direction. But I have no idea if that could even happen with the MGB engine. Gert

Sorry to hear that. But before you take radical steps you might want to measure the in and out temperatures of the engine for further clues. Since you probably don't have remote lab thermometers you could try 2 remote BBQ thermometers with the sensing tips taped to the coolant hoses (and insulated with some foam). Something is not right here (doh...) did you check if the radiator may be gummed up? Also just for fun you could completely remove the thermostat and see if that makes any difference. Gert

Ah, got it.....but where the heck can they get the E85 in all the odd places they are going?

Sorry, probably has been explained before somewhere but I missed it....what does the "Alt Fuel" class mean? I guess they are running regular gas in the S2000 engine?

This is an older hi-resolution bullet cam from RF-Concepts (UK-based company) connected to a mini-DV CamCorder in the boot (I think VIO-Sport has similar bullet cams). The microphone is a simple dynamic microphone (not the one that came with the bullet camera). It is connected without preamp, just using a 10:1 audio transformer (Radio Shack) to the Camcorder audio line input. That allows for recording the infernal exhaust noise on the track without much distortion. I shoved the mic into the gap on the left side behind the driver seat, out of the wind but close to the exhaust. It does pick up some diff whine and tire/road noise in this position, though. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1613786827_VideoComponents.jpg I have the bullet cam now mounted on a remote control swivel, see this older post Gert

here NASA track day clip on one of the nicer tracks on the West Coast (70MByte download). Gert

Found that in the necessity tray of my hotel room in Switzerland last week. Considering this was a single bed room in a business hotel I was impressed. These Swiss just know what a tired business traveler needs Gert http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/855804974_BareNecessity.JPG

This guy got to a record breaking 148 mph already 80 years ago. Would make for an interesting track car although I guess the power might be a little hard to modulate with the solid fuel rockets But, in any case, you probably need big balls to ride with 250 pounds of burning gun powder in your back. :willy: Gert

Now say anybody blonds are dumb....

What's the problem with the language? I found it perfectly understandable I mean, I am always surprised to hear a style on public channels nowadays that used to be teenager slang in my times over there and laced with ample profanity (or what used to be foul language before it became commonplace). Sounds like I am getting old..... Anyway, as others observed he was indeed somewhat more excited about the Seven due to its roughness (or purity). Spending quite a bit explaining middle engine vs. front engine for dummies (e.g. that the Lotus has 62% on the rear axle) I found it a decent TV clip. I suppose he pulled off the drifting show just because it looks good. But he appears to be a pretty good driver; I could not do that with a car I drive the first time. Gert P.S.: just googled the name Tim Schrick and found he is a racer who participated a few times in the 24hr races on the 'ring. So I guess he knows what he is doing.

May be just a loose connection, hidden somewhere. I suppose you got the S2K engine? If you just can't find it maybe a Honda shop can help....I guess taking it back to the shop that sold it is not an option :jester: Gert

Whoa, this is an issue that has plagued me since I got this fuel cell (I have the same one). I think the problem is because the flap in the filler neck can shut really airtight and the sloshing fuel may sometimes surge into the vent line. I tried to fix this with a tiny check valve in the vent line which works very well to prevent fuel from dribbling out but it allows for pressure buildup in the cell when it gets warm outside. After I got sprayed all over with fuel when filling up (no fun) I removed the check valve. I finally punched a tiny hole (maybe 1 mm) into the filler flap to allow pressure equalization and added a vent line to the filler neck (connected to the left-hand-side vent line and the breather with a tee-fitting. That works pretty well so far. Unfortunately the cell has now developed a weeping leak somewhere else. I heard that pinholes are quite common. It is very little and I ignore it for now. But with 5 years the design life of the bladder is up and I should not complain. Gert

I have not done this myself but I know people have used shortened Allen wrenches to squeeze in and remove the plug (maybe with extended lever?). I am also not sure these folks just have very long fingers.... There are also recipes around for a drain plug in the tranny bottom (see Carlos pics on Birkinowners list) and somebody else I know put a filler plug in the top cover plate. Gert

Yup, I took the aluminum tube that goes across from the radiator return and tapped an 1/8" NPT thread (IIRC) into the wall at the lowest place when installed. Then I bought one of the small brass coolant drain cocks at the auto store and threaded it in. Since the aluminum wall is pretty thin I used a generous bead of metal weld epoxy outside to seal and strengthen the thread. With a short piece of tube in the outlet this make draining a snap. Takes a while with the small cock but very easy. Holding up for 5 years now so I guess it works.... Gert

Thanks for the praise I used wood for several reasons: it is lightweight, rigid, easy to repair, (relatively) cheap and easy to work with. The whole floor and shell was maybe $600 in lumber. I considered enameled aluminum paneling over thin plywood like commercially built trailers but this material is hard to get by and quite expensive in smaller quantity. Dents are also difficult to repair. So I settled on good quality exterior paint outside. Not the same smooth finish as aluminum but I think it is pretty decent. I did make the mistake of paneling the roof and front with white PVC flashing. That looked great until the different thermal expansion lifted the glue off and made it completely wavy :cuss: . That was the major rework I had to do, ripping off the PVC sheets, laminating the sticky PVC glue mess over with glass/epoxy and painting again. But 80% of the work was all the small things, hardware, aluminum trim edges, doors, windows, electrical etc. The empty trailer is now about 1400 pounds, fully loaded with car, spare wheel, winches, battery etc. it is a tad under 3000 pounds. For that reason I had to upgrade from the maxed-out 13" wheels to low profile 14" wheels. It does actually tow better and more stable than before because I can now move the car further forward and give the hitch more load. On our 900-mile test drive I never noticed any swaying tendency. Obviously the 40% increase in towed weight makes it a little slower but Highway49 in Norcal has some good grades and my Hyundai Santa Fe with a 2.7l V6 did not have any trouble with it. Fuel consumption is about 17 mpg with trailer and 21 without. Gert

A while ago I had promised to post some pics of my "new" trailer when finished. Well, took a little longer than planned (i.e. had to rework one or the other detail) but here it is..... For comparison the old trailer: this was a modified dual bike tilt bed trailer. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1776373019_Before.JPG http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/530140502_OnlyFlatbed.jpg Tear-down started: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/756595594_Teardown.jpg Frame strengthened and expanded: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1148762990_ExpandFrame.jpg New floor installed: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1035288674_PlatformFinished.jpg Starting the shell: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1034379146_ShellStarted.jpg Shell finished: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/485786647_ShellFinished.jpg Doors and windows cut, rear hatch mounted: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1650885128_DoorsWindows.jpg Painted, all done!!!! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1724850679_DoneLeft.jpg http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1060835471_DoneRight.jpg Hatch Open: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/704034389_RearOpen.jpg Inside look: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1401454760_Inside.jpg Tilted for loading: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/272358228_Tilted.jpg Going up: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1786712094_GoingUp.jpg Strapped down: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/481773533_StrappedDown.jpg Not the best camping trailer but it kind of works.... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/351727203_TrailerCamping.jpg Took me only 5 months Gert

I can't because out of the country....but there will be a few in Buttonwillow the weekend before for the NASA track day.

Actually I like the question...I just say "yes" which is invariable followed up by the question "wassa engine?" and I just say "Ford Focus" which is technically not true because my engine is from a Contour but easier to understand. Anyway, that satisfies 98% of people who are not interested in details anyway. For the remaining 2% who may ask from the beginning if it is a real Lotus 7 or Caterham I may strike up a conversation. Did I mention that I am not too much into socializing? Gert

We took the school spring break opportunity for a week long tour around Northern California, blatting about the Sierra National Parks, Hwy49, across to Santa Cruz and back to LA on HWY1. The drive on the Sequoia/King's Canyon loop was great (if a little bit chilly) and almost no traffic. Video here! Gert

17 hours is a loooong time to ratchet up the bids. Usually the action takes place in the last 15 minutes...I will watch it in the lunch break. Gert

selected sets of 1/4" and of 1/2" sockets, most common wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, sidecutter, connectors&crimper, scissor jack, most important: duct tape and cable ties. I noticed many of the prepared tool boxes mostly contain air; so all tools are just in a small 12" "bigmouth" canvas tool bag with the sockets in the side compartments and the small parts/consumables in a plastic shopping bag . That has worked well on long distance tours (USA2005, PNW2007) and many long local tours. Gert

Hello Johnny, thanks for posting the nice pics of our drive again. I hope that "still dreaming about it" is not caused by persistent ear ringing because I did not bring another set of ear plugs.....:bigears: Gert

Wow, two Se7ens for sale in a town of 1500 people. Now that is what you call a buyer's market..... Gert

I think John's car is blue ....

Birkin S3 is 1320 lbs with half tank, tall/upgraded roll bar, rather heavy Cobra Seven seats (20 lbs each!) and 18 lbs of sump armor, no driver. Wheels are ACB10 and RealWheel lightweight rims. I guess in natural state it would be closer to 1250 lbs.