Mike Rohaley

We will not be able to attend the Kick-off Cookout (my wife couldn't get out of work on Thursday) but we will be in town Friday morning with ours. See you there. Is anyone else out there going to attend the track day? And is there anything we should know about the track layout (tricky corners, what to-do or not-to-do)? Can't wait!

The following photos are courtesy of Dick & Sally Lott. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/710612455_boh Cars@Airport1.jpg Parked at the Slutz family airport. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/218439171_boh MikeAfterRide.jpg After landing, that smile still hasn't left my face. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1366120653_boh SteermanLanding.jpg One of Gary's neighbors on their way out for a ride. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/577266198_boh </p><p> GeneralStore.jpg A general store along Rt.89 in WV (I think). http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1494595802_boh Route666.jpg Our Rt.666 stop. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1407239375_boh WelcomeLotus.jpg http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1346287488_boh Dinner@QS&L.jpg

http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1326414335_P7130215.JPG The Quaker Steak & Lube welcomed us and even provided VIP parking, cones and all! http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/442657756_P7130219.JPG Jen on her way to finishing off "The Tanker". http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1242448145_P7130221.JPG Robert at his best. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/510103466_P7130224.JPG http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1017732347_P7130222.JPG http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/963209740_P7130227.JPG http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/439735041_P7130231.JPG Heading for home, 600ish miles and 18 hours later. If you didn't make it out this time, join us for the next. You really won't want to miss where we end up next.

http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/594317782_P7120206.JPG The view from one of the finest cars ever to tackle a twisty road. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1415667621_P7120208.JPG The gang before leaving our hotel Sunday morning (New Martinsville,WV). http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/586888413_P7130211.JPG Before crossing onto Wheeling Island http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1973986866_P7130213.JPG One of the beautiful suspension bridges over the Ohio river leading back into WV. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/921194499_P7130214.JPG Another view.

http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/773927762_P7120167.JPG A photo op along our "highway to hell". Note the route number and the dark, menacing cloud bank slowly decending upon us. The rain found us shortly after this stop. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1404563825_P7120172.JPG Kyle stretching his legs between one backroad burst. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1926206459_P7120177.JPG An interesting railroad crossing we encountered, just beep your horn and pray nobody is entering the single lane tunnel from the other way. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1157665700_P7120185.JPG The world famous Rusty Rooster bar (our safe haven lunch spot as the rains fell......and fell......and fell). It sure did dry out fast though, only a few small lakes remained when we poked our heads out the door to the light of day after we finished our meals. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/43063703_P7120196.JPG A couple of the 1800ish twists and turns we encountered.

Oh yes! I think we can safely say that we had a great time. A big thanks from all of us to Robert & Mary for making such a great weekend possible. Now that we have had about 24 hours to recharge our batteries, here are a select few of the photos that were taken. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1986315822_P7110106.JPG Some of the rolling scenery we encountered. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1013574426_P7120153.JPG A rear view of maybe the best sounding Mini ever to hit the road. Oh yeah....he knows how to hustle around a corner with it too, it's far quicker than any vintage car should be expected to go. It suprised me more than once with it's fine handling. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/318601663_P7110123.JPG Gary supplied us with an awsome personal airshow (and in case I didn't say it enough, thanks! That was an amazing experience I will never forget). http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1313338840_P7110128.JPG One of our many interesting stops, this one was just outside a busy Amish community.

Sure, we were bringing it along anyway. Be aware though, we have a kitchen too but that doesn't make us chefs. I hope you don't mind a thumb or two in the photos. Typically we try to take too many shots with the hope that a few come out presentable.

tnttim, Our RSVP date has past and unfortunately there are no spare seats (at least from the local car club members). Maybe one of the other attendees will chime in.

John and Skip: Thanks, I have sent you e-mails.

Just wondering, If anyone has one, two or a set of these wheels collecting dust in the back of their garage, I would be interested in buying them from you. They are the same wheels as used on the Caterham 21 (5 spoke, 4x108mm). We walloped over a poor bridge transition in a construction zone last fall and would like to replace the damaged ones with something properly round (thank you state of Ohio). thanks, Mike Rohaley

Robert, I will ask those who RSVPed if they have an open seat available and will post here as soon as I get a response. It's always fun to swap passengers (and drivers sometimes) to mix things up a bit too. Last year I switched keys with Rod and his vintage 911 with Frank's wife Pat as my passenger and it was really fun.

Hey Robert, I nearly bid against you on this. It would have sucked to get into a bidding war and pay much more only to find I was duking it out with you. I was going to pick it up as an emergency spare but got lazy about the 8 hour round trip to Michigan with nothing to get it home in (trunk of the MX-5 maybe?). Anyway, congrats. We can get together and go over exactly what you are going to need to complete the conversion. Start checking out Raceline sumps and Caterham bellhousings, or more importantly, alternatives for them (there are some pricey items out there). If you do go to fuel injection with a stock ECU and intake system, you can increase your mileage for all of those thousands of miles you will be putting on (very high 20's versus very low 20's).

Your right, we tend to lean on the throttle a bit more than the average driver in general. One big reason for the less than stellar mileage is that the Seven has a drag coefficient of .65ish (a slippery modern car has between .29 and .34). Therefore, while physically small and light weight, the drag is equivelent to about two standard modern cars. So, we lose out on the low end because the car is always begging for the jackrabbit starts and once up to speed we punch such a disproportionately large hole in the air. Problem is, to make the car more aerodynamically efficient, you would end up changing the car so much that you wouldn't recognise it as a Seven at all (actually, you would have a Lotus Eleven).

How long until the states figure out that this is a great way to generate much more revenue without the need to hide behind bridges with radar guns?

Robert, Summit has straight 50, 60 and 70(!) weight synthetic oil available. 50 weight is part # RED-10504, $8.95 per quart. I can ask around the club and see what kind of crossflows some of the racers may have lying aroung the shop if you want. Dropping in a fresh engine may be less painfull than waiting for the present one to get spruced up. Count me in as an extra set of hands whichever way you decide.

Go for it Al.

Here is a poem: Road maps are read, skidmarks are black, The proper view of the road is a louvered bonnet out front and a happy driver out back.

Jeez Robert.....you may want to grab a condom next time you reach for the car keys! Kidding.

I must admit, it does look quite a bit more aerodynamic that way. Hey! Isn't this is what a Seven would look like if NASCAR ran them? Nice work Robert, you must have too much time on your hands today.

I will see you there, Jen will be at home getting some studying done though. It really could use a wash first to remove all of that talcum powder and bugs from Sundays run with the gang. Talcum powder you ask? For those not there it was used to quiet up the serpentine belt. One liberal application is appartently good for about 250 miles......who knew! It is properly fixed now by roughing up the once glass-smooth water pump pulley.

Ron and Don. Ron with the Europa and Don with the MX-5. I must say that it is nice to see Ron using his Europa as Jeebus and Colin intended 34 years after he bought it, I hope I am physically up for it let alone the car. It sure is easier to stomach the cold, wet weather we woke up to this morning when we all made the most of the bright and warm weekend. :7rain:

Bravo to R&M for making such a great day happen! In all twelve people and seven cars (ironic...yes) got together for some back road fun. It was a great way to kick off the driving season. Thanks for the invite and thanks also to Frank for the twine (no driver should be without a few feet as I found out today). http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1204901560_P4270034.JPG http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/72753227_P4270032.JPG http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/901025886_P4270094.JPG http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/526885357_P4260006.JPG

I really like the way that you incorporated the intake into the design. Instead of the typical appendage, it is gracefully sliced in. Very off topic and just for the record: In reference to: Gwar----you have to be aggressive and send it to: Caterham-Locost-Robin hood-Westfield and the rest of the clones. While I hold nothing against any of the other manufacturers out there, the Caterham is not a clone and should be recognized appropriately considering the history of the marque. If not for the patron saint of the Seven (Graham Nearn of Caterham Cars) there is little chance that this car wouldn't have become a footnote in automotive history and not the icon that it is today (and to us especially). From the book The magnificent 7: "The 7 virtually died in 1966 when Lotus switched premises, or would have done, had Graham Nearn of Caterham Cars not come up with an order for 20 cars which Lotus could not refuse to honor." Instances such as this and the time when Colin called Graham to see if he would order some cars so that he could afford to go racing. Grahams response to Colin was "tell me how many I need". Based on this relationship, when the time came and Colin was ready to pull the plug, he handed over the production rights of the 7 to Caterham. This event clearly connects these two makers in a way no other can claim (much in the same way that the Lancia D50's are inseperable from Ferrrai's history). Discounting this history and diluting the significance of this manufacturer does not sit well in my mind, not just as an owner, but as a member of this community. Mind you, I would never kick any of the cars that were at 07-07-07 out of my garage. They are all great and a reflection of each owner and their vision of the perfect Seven, that is not to say that there should be no sense of history. With this being a marque inclusive forum, I hope that I have not alienated myself by willingly trying to make a clarification.

My main worry is to protect the parts that are currently in use out in the elements and the product you have will only apply to my few spare parts. The spares such as wheel bearings are sealed from the manufacturer, does your product add some level of protection over and above that? For me personally the need seems rather limited but there are probably a few other people who could use what you have. Please post some further information, maybe it's a product I didn't even know I needed.

I thought that the following product may be of interest to the whole group considering that many / most of our cars use a steel space frame with riveted aluminum sheet. As you most likely know, this arrangement has one major downside which is the electrolytic action between the two metals ultimately reducing the aluminum to a crusty white powder. I have been conscious of this issue since I purchased my car and have used WD-40 liberally each winter to diplace the moisture between the panels and frame to at least slow down the eventual corrosion. But I knew that once corrosion started there would be only one solution (reskin the car). Apparently, the proper solution to this has been available from the aviation industry to prevent (and stop existing) corrosion in airframes, it is called ACF-50. This link has a good description of the product: http://www.learchem.com/images/Tech%20Spec.pdf This is an independent test report on the performance of the product: http://www.corrosion-control.com/CorrosionAbatementReport.pdf The best pricing that I have found so far is from www.aircraftspruce.com . I have done some further research to find similar products but this one clearly looks like the best of them. If you are like me in that you want your car to exist 50 or 100 years from now, applying this product every 24 months might actually make that possible. I just wish I learned of it 5 years ago.