speedwagon

My Superformance has a cut down c Camero rear end. There are only two downsides that i notice. The near 5k paid for it, and the "posi" is ill suited on such a small car. Neither bother me, as a previous owner stood the cost, and a light tap of the foot-feed solves the sharp corners. But now it is embarrassing to own a car manufactured in eldoinio musk's parent country.

A "7" is a center balanced car with very little "polar inertia". Where you set on the pendulum is what gives you the driver "the feel". The two extremes would be a short WB pickup and a corvair/ early vw where the tail wags the dog. Any configuration will work with the weight and center of gravity just slightly to the rear and the lower the better. From there on it can get complicated. I have gone fast with a rear engine "sand rail" but much faster with a 55%/45% rear to front "mid engine" both because of the balance and lack of polar inertia. Ps- the "7" is easy to adapt to because you the driver are just to the rear of the center of gravity. just imagine what it would be like to "road race" a top fuel dragster even with less power. john

Think it was back in the 50s that we used a lot of semi-clear zipper tube. Haven't seen it in a long time, but it and color coded wire made modifications and trouble-shooting easier, and provided good chaff protection. lacing is more permanent but does give a lot of rigidity to the loom. (but is difficult with 83 year old fingers). so now it is-- bundle with black tape and either spiral wrap or split loom. or both.

A VW or dune buggy with an SU carb. ultra simple, parts are available and the SU does nearly everything that FI would. I have a crappy Manx clone with top, doors and heat. One of the engines is vnt-turbo-draw thru SU. (no controls except the foot-feed) AND fun to drive, will go places a jeep can't, plus handles well enough to be competitive at Pikes peak back when it was dirt. (will amaze one on asphalt too). BUT WAIT no anti-loc brakes, no GPS, and no AC. I hate modern because it IS NOT "reliable" But would really love a new auto to finish out my remaining years-- that could be trusted to get me "there". My research has shown me that-- "if" I bought a new truck and got a 99k mile warranty it would stand a 25% chance of not leaving me stranded. dare anyone to show the exception. Perhaps my 2007 yota highlander will be the exception. (but it could be in the beloved 25%) Perhaps I will pull "butt-ugly" into the shop for a fresh engine, disk rear brakes and an added AC. BTW it does have electronic "points" but there is always a couple sets of points and condensers in the tool kit. I "like" but do not "like" a "please take me to a dealer". john

I have looked at my ford 5.8 throttle bodies and glanced at my 48 weber side draft and it is easy to decide which to use. (bigger, cheaper, and readily available TPS. My experience with webbers isn't all that good That the "look" is valuable. john

I live in golden valley az (about 300 miles from LA) have 30 acres and room in my shop for emergencies. It is a long miserable trip from LA but is on the way for those escaping. john

I am following this topic as I have an old haltech (e6ex i think) that uses ms dos, and I haven't established the windows 10 will get the job done. Thanks to all here as for me every day is a learning experience.

The major advantage of the SUs is that they tend to mix air and fuel by weight allowing a sea level tune to function well at 14000 feet. This makes the simpler alternative to FI. They can also be sealed and used on "blow thru" applications harder to synchronise but that is not that hard to learn. my carbs of choice john PS the bowl and float make them ideal for hard cornering and off road use.

john b A little high for a beater but if you can justify a possible 50% loss in two years it could well be worth it for the experience, if not run. " I ain't never lost money on something I didn't buy".

my daily go to for the last 3 years is a 2007 Toyota highlander hybrid. Not simple and came with a climate control module that didn't control (an independent electronics shop in misery fixed it for less than $200. since then just oil, filters and tires. Complex is OK if it don't break . And the expectations of 300k are realistic. Front wheel, so not a lot of fun to drive, but it does get out and scoot quite well when asked. My daughter and I call it "perfectly adequate" mpg in the mid 20s. At 83 it could easily be my last. But I do have a 94 f150 that is in process of getting the 500hp ? "lightning Clone" ( and no ford is what I consider reliable especially post jaguar ownership. Current policy is for dealers to make their profit by repairing what the accountants masquerading as engineers give you "the service" (farmers definition). Bottom line is that I would buy another toyota/lexus hybrid, but of an older year where they still used the v6 engines rather than the overworked 4s with the more complex turbos. OR if it is absolute economy you want a Prius. john PS the Miata was hard on my back but the most fun for very small bucks.

I live in the desert AND have a heater and to be honest consider AC some days. Going fast is fun, doing it in comfort is living a dream.

As a person with size 13 feet that actually need a ee width, I don't do heel/toe even in my f150. But a bubble in the foot well is not that hard to construct. Fortunately my Superformance S1 accommodates my feet adequately. But if it didn't there would be a "dogleg" in my side bars. The customer is always right. And most of us are not "jockeys". john

All this from somewhere near Humbolt county.

ditto what he said

a total should sell for 30% of retail value (at best).

My 86 rx-7 was the most pleasant car to work on. Sold my Miata NA (cause it was hurting my back) and bought a Jag xj8, what an owners delight! sic. Like the Superformance and the Rotus based car. john

this is also true (but even more so because of the vast amount of electronics) in virtually all makes after the year 2000. we are buying autos comprised of an assembly of blocks just like the old Japanese transistor radios in the 60s, just much more expensive. we are not only not allowed to work on our cars- but we who know how cannot afford the time to do a postmortem and reverse engineer the parts in order to keep them still going. it actually started in the 60s. I have a 2007 highlander hybrid that is not that complex, and a full set of factory Toyota manuals (26 lbs of them) that show very little electrical documentation, but do instruct the mechanics how to remove the box and replace it at the cost of several hundred dollars, when the actual problem is a poorly designed multi conductor cable deep inside the "box or unit". We the people are getting hosed!!

like I said "run like hel" and don't look back. and don't forget that there has been a lot of flooding in the past year. and snow.

I think today it will get weighed, not as finished, but worth only 1/10th as much.

Never used professional equipment, and have never had the steering wheel centered after a so called professional aligned a car for me. So i have 2 4' long hollow steel shelves hanging on mu wall and a level/protractor. set caster by eye. I personally like a lot of caster (added 3 deg to my motor-home and ran 20+ deg in the off road car. And my steering wheel is always centered in the car and in the box or rack. I care others don't. john

There are many good reasons why "flood " cares are totaled and unless this is unusual the car would have to be striped down to the frame and the rust inside neutralized or a new frame built or purchased. An then every other part not hermetically sealed opened and washed. I just recently looked at a 2016 Silverado and ran home fast because it had been in Florida. I took a s-10 two years old to the beach in Mexico with me and started home with a truck that needed a new top panel because I had just primed it, and not painted it. And fresh water is almost as bad. john PS it is worth 1/2 of what you can buy a slightly abused equivalent.

Possibly heat distortion from dragging, either pad backing or caliper.

JB, I printed off your tuning guide. It made good sense to me and I shall profit from your experience. Got a wide-band when I first started messing with rotaries and discovered how easy it was to tune a carburetor with one! Still have some webers and dellortos and still hate them far to complicated especially the 48. But thanks a lot for the info. john Ironically my favorite for draw thru is a 2" SU.

Paul (ptegler) as usual I am behind the 8 ball. But since I am planning to sell the car soon it is time for me to sort through my file on it. may be a while. john

"If it feels good, do it" . Age is of little consequence, stay within your budget. Anyone can learn all they need to take care of a car in 3 years max if they are willing to work. As far as carbs, vs FI- the only thing fi can do better is adjust mixture for air density change ( I ran a single 2'' su on a draw through turbo at pike's peak and it ran clean from 5k to 14k and gave 300hp from 164ci for a very short time. Personally I find computer controlled fi to be easier to work on and more reliable (try to tune a weber 48). As for 2 vs 4 stroke, the 2 stroke hits twice as often and is simpler, more fowl smelling and harder on plugs, but produces about 1 1/2 the power for size and weight, while lasting half as long. I have 2ea 7ish cars with 2 stroke turbocharged rotaries and love them but the day is coming when they will be obsolete. The previous is opinion only. and lastly-- if you have or can get lots of sheckles just find a good maintenance shop and pretend your name is penske. john canning 82 and still partly functional.