midgetracr

Check out the following on E Bay Peter. Or just search for "windshield wiper" on E Bay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/UNIVERSAL-WINDSHIELD-WIPER-MOTOR-KIT-12V-STAINLESS-NEW-/390147022045?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ad6931cdd This looks like the one I have on my car although I think mine was purchased from Speedway Motors. Cannot find it at Speedway now. It is inexpensive, light, clamps to my windshield frame when needed and easily removed. I've had it for several years and used it many times. Good luck John Meyers

The calculation used the following data: 6791 RPM from datalogger, 3.23 rear axle ratio, 0.82 5th gear ratio in the TREMEC TKO 600 5 speed trans, 71.3" actual measured tire circumference from Goodyear 22.5x10.0x13 slicks, 60 minutes per hour and 5280 feet per mile. This yields 6791/(.82*3.23)*(71.3" /12) *(60 /5280) = 173.12 MPH The RPM data was from my AIM EVO3 data logger on the quickest lap during timed session #1, measuring the tire with a tape measure, specs from TREMEC on the trans and counting teeth when I installed the differential gears. The above neglects both tire slip (which I think is minimal because of the downforce at that speed) and tire growth because of centrifical force which I have no way of estimating. Using the above formula it would require 7060 RPM or a larger tire to go 180 MPH if my math is correct. Because the soft rev limiter begins to retard timing at 7000 the engine will actually rev that high even if the limiter was not changed. I think the valve train would be OK to around 7500 but have never tried it. 200 MPH would require a narrower 80" tire to fit inside the fenders.

Thanks Guys. The video link still works from my computer. ?? Speed in the area of the uphill esses was about 140 at max. I know this because the engine was just touching its 7000 RPM rev limiter on the best laps. The video does not show this because I was sometimes lagging back to avoid traffic. I've temporarily lost the datalogger files because my office PC died. We do have proper backups but are still struggling with getting business stuff reloaded on the new system. The car has over 500 lbs. of downforce because of the wing, belly pan and extended rear diffuser. It is actually quite stable when going fast. The camera was mounted on the roll cage above my eye level. From where I was sitting, the hill at the end of the fast straight was plenty big. I could not see the braking zone placards or approaching corner until cresting the hill. I admit it took more than a couple of laps to avoid lifting until over the blind hill. The location of the camera makes that hill look much smaller that it appeared from the cockpit. My tire compound selection was way soft for the ambient temps. After about 1/2 lap they got very greasy. Think I'd have been quite a bit quicker with a harder tire compound. That was the first time I had raced with Goodyear Radial slicks. Liked them a lot (for the first 1/2 lap) but the R430 rubber was not up to the 100*+ air temps and sunny heat soaked track temps. Top speed with current tires and gear is about 180 and limited by the 7000 RPM rev limiter. I could probably safely increase the electronic rev limiter without hurting the engine but max HP is at around 6000 to 6200. Shifting at higher revs would hurt acceleration and I've not found a long enough straight to use it. I've actually thought about trying Bonneville or the Texas Mile without the wing and much larger rear tires. Don't know if 200 MPH is possible but it would be fun to try. This car is now For Sale. I've done about everything I can think of to improve it and it is time for a new challenge. Please check out the For Sale section of this forum and http://www.photobucket.com/stalkerV8 John

Snookwheel: My Stalker (meekly) says to tell your Stalker "Come on out and play. I'll be nice".

Tom: Yes I am serious about selling this car. The price is mentioned several times in the attachments that are linked. That is why I spent many hours loading 50+ pictures, (each with a description) into the http://www.photobucket.com/stalkerV8 site. That site along with the utube video are mentioned in several different forums. The asking price is $52,500 OBO. Actual selling price will be dependent upon what race wheels, tires, computers, loggers, aero aids, etc., etc. are included with the car. Thanks for asking. If there are any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thanks John PS: Thanks Graeme

Haggerty has been terrific to deal with for me. Are you talking direct with them or thru a broker?

Photobucket pix of the Stalker V8 are at: http://www.photobucket.com/StalkerV8 Note that there are many descriptive comments under the pix. You many have to scroll down to see them. For some reason the original post would not accept a second URL. John

Stalker with LS3 V8 engine and 530 HP! Extensive enhancements to the chassis for improved safety, handling, comfort and performance. Comfortable and reliable street car plus very fast and reliable track car. A video from the cockpit at over 170 MPH at VIR is at: Faster plus more reliable and streetable than a race Caterham at half the price! Pictures at photobucket dot com Titled and emissions tested in Illinois. Serious inquiries welcome at midgetracr@sbcglobal.net Thanks John Meyers

Just heard about this. Denise and I are very interested. Love that part of the world and would like to attend. If we have not sold our LS3 V8 powered Stalker and/or have a new project running we will probably be able to participate. Please include us in your communications. Thanks John and Denise Meyers midgetracr at sbcglobal.net

Denise and I will be there with our overweight, underpowered, over tired, poorly handling, 500 HP LS3 V8 Stalker . Who else is coming? It will be a good time. John Meyers

My complete 6.2L/376 cubic inch (all aluminum) LS3 engine weighs 357 lbs. This does not include bellhousing, aluminum flywheel, clutch, headers, oil or water. This also does not include the dry sump pumps which I estimate to be less than 15 lbs. Don't have the trans, bellhousing, flywheel or clutch weights available where I am at now. The engine is lighter than the cast iron supercharged V6 that it replaced. Now that it is properly tuned, the engine makes over 500 HP and 480 ft lbs of torque at the crankshaft. It is stock inside except for the valve springs and rod bolts that have been replaced in the interests of long term reliability. RPM is limited electronically to 7000. The engine came from GM new with a 50,000 mile or 24 month warranty.

Just curious. How much do the good, hi power 4 cylinder engines weigh and cost? Also what is the engine of choice?

In the absense of an official reply from Brunton Auto, I will attempt to answer the question about LS engine oiling. As far as I know, I was the first to install an LS engine in a Seven AND seriously race it. I know I was the first with a Stalker. My LS3 now has a full dry sump system. The history follows: Note that all my racing is done with full race slicks. I do not race with street tires. I doubt it but your results might differ. The initial install was with the stock oiling system. This resulted in no oil pressure on hard turns due to starvation of the oil pickup. A 3 quart Accusump was then installed. This helped, but prolonged turns still resulted in very low oil pressure. The 3 quart Accusump is probably a good answer in an Autocross environment with quick turns but IMO is not the answer in a full road race application. A full dry sump system was installed with a remote oil filter and the engine now enjoys perfect oil pressure at all times. It also gained a few HP because of lower windage in the crankcase. I did not spend the time and money to install the dry sump system so that the car would be cute. I think it is needed and does its job very well. There is a reason all serious race cars have dry sumps. John Meyers

Agreed that the 7-7-07 event was a great time. There is a similar event open to all Sevens on September 18/22. It will be centered around Helen Ga and feature similar great roads. Check out http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?t=6631

Private message sent to 86 Sebring.

The LS3 powered Stalker that is shown in that video is for sale. Note that the first 1 lap+ was driven slowly to warm the tires and find the slick spots on the track before trying to go fast. Also note that the only times the camera car closed in was when I was held up by traffic or slowed on purpose. This was to time my arrival behind a slower car for one of the few places on track where passing was allowed. John Meyers

Not sure where this should be posted on this forum. If it should be moved please tell me where and how. The Smokie Mountains of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina have some of the best driver's roads in the world. Paul Whittle has run a loosely organized event for Stalker owners for the past several years called the Ambush. He has agreed to open it up to Sevens in general. The Ambush will be held from September 18 thru the 22nd 2011 and centered around Helen Ga. The Ambush is several loosely organized drives thru the best hilly, curvy and picturesque roads I know of. In the evenings we tend to gather at a local restaurant or have a cookout at the friendly campground many of us stay at. We will probably split into a couple of groups for the drives. There will be a group that drives very "briskly" and other group(s) that are more leisurely. We also tend to gather at an interesting place each day for lunch. We usually avoid the Tail of the Dragon because it tends to have lots of traffic. Paul knows local roads that are less traveled and even better than the Dragon! There is no organized track day or entry fee. Just pay your own expenses. The suggested hotel is: Riverbend Motel & Cabins 134 River St Helen, GA 30545 Ph: 706-878-2155 http://www.riverbendmotelandcabins.com/ The suggested campground is: Creekwood Resort 5730 Highway 356 Sautee, GA 30571 Ph: 706-878-2164 http://www.creekwoodresort.com/ Creekwood has a few cabins available also There is also a nearby luxury cabin available that sleeps 8. I one wanted to stay elsewhere that is perfectly OK. If anyone has questions, please feel free to call or email me. John Meyers midgetracr "at" sbcglobal.net

I just noticed this thread. AFAIK I built the first V8 Stalker. It has a 376 cubic inch LS3 that makes over 500 HP. The car has almost 20K miles (11K with the V8) on it and is extremely drivable on both the street and race track. For those who think it cannot "hook up" or is not driveable on public roads, I offer a free but interesting ride on the streets of Chicagoland. I will prove them wrong. For those that think that my car does not handle, if they will pay for the track time at a track near Chicagoland, I will prove them wrong. I have no quarrel with those who prefer a lower performing car. That is just not my cup of tea. There is a reason that real race cars are light weight and high powered. They may be more difficult to drive well but whoever said easy to do is more rewarding? If you want easy to drive, buy a big American slush bucket and lull your self to sleep while driving it to the local WalMart. I have enjoyed almost every minute that I've spent modifying my Stalker to produce and handle the extra power. Many things have been changed from suspension geometry, to LS3 engine computer tune, shocks, springs, trans, differential, roll cage, electric power steering, seat, tires, wheels, brakes, clutch, aero aids, etc., etc. Ultralights, Caterhams, Birkens, LoCosts, Stalkers and all Sevens are neat cars. None of them are aerodynamicly efficient. My answer is to bolt on a wing and use 500+ HP to go over 170 MPH. Who needs aerodynamic efficiency? My Stalker is the cheapest supercar in the world. What other car can be purchased for about $50K that can come close to doing a 9 second 1/4 mile, run over 170 MPH, win lots of events and is still suitable for driving my wife to the ice cream store thru stop and go traffic on a 95+* Sunday afternoon? John Meyers

I agree that Saldana makes a quality product at fair prices. John Meyers

Interesting. There was an effort years ago to make a 4 valve overhead cam 4 cylinder engine out of composites for Midget Race Engines. It never got going. Sooner or later someone will make it work.

If the dry sump pump is belt driven, simply remove the belt and turn the pump by hand or better yet connect a pulley to a drill and use that to turn the pump until you get oil pressure. Make sure you are turning the pump the "right" direction.

Michael, The body of my Hushpowers is about 17" long. They are about 5" high and 4" wide. This does not include the inlet and outlet pipes. I think those were 2 1/2" but I cut them off and welded the body to my 3" collector and tail pipe. Don't recall the Hushpower part # but I would do the same thing again if/when I build another car. John

I used the Burns muffler on my USAC midget. It did help the noise but blew the packing out rather quickly. For what it is worth, I've used the Hushpowers on both my V6 and V8 Stalkers. They use internal louvered baffles without packing and do not get noiser with time. Hushpowers also have the benefit of the outer case not getting as hot as normal mufflers. This is appreciated when getting into or out of my Stalker. Just my opinion. John Meyers

Brazil doesn't hold an early Presidential Primary. Iowa does. Wonder if this might have something to do with the Ethanol Subsidies.