#94 Brunton Stalker is in the house

[Anaximander]

A few weeks ago, I travelled from North Florida just 50 miles shy of Dallas, TX to pick up Jim Wallace's 2007 Classic Brunton Stalker. The car came equipped with a naturally aspirated 3.8L GM engine from a 1998 Olds 88 with 44k miles. The Stalker now has 14k miles so the engine is pretty fresh with only 58k total miles.

 

During this past week, I had taken the Stalker down to their headquarters in Clearwater, FL and had Scott Minehart, the owner do a bunch of upgrade mods and he was also kind enough to replace a worn front differential seal that was weeping. I got the car back home a couple of days ago after having spent a marathon day/night taking the Stalker down, having Scott work on it for about 9 hours and then trailered it back home.

 

This morning, I changed the oil and put in Mobil 1 synthetic with a Mobile 1 oil filter and then took it out for about an 80 mile test hop along quiet country roads in North Florida/South Georgia. The car acts as if it is on rails and the steering is very responsive. In a desolate area, I was using the broken yellow lane stripes as if they were cones on a slalom to get a better feel for how the steering works at certain speeds. I had previously owned the original prototype M-Spec Stalker with an LS1 engine that had much more power and better suspension but did not fully appreciate at the time what I really had. Fast forward 2 years later and I am in an older style but more "Sevenish" Classic Stalker that rides more like its minimalist brethren (Lotus, Birkin, Caterham, etc.) and am having a ball. Certainly not as plush or powerful as the LS1-LS3 M-Spec Stalkers.

 

I plan to rejoin the local SCCA Solo Chapter and autocross the Stalker to improve my driving skills. Being that it is a street legal car, it will provide me with ample opportunities to get a good feel for the car's performance before I track it and during the non-track operational times which are much greater than the few minutes spent on an x-cross track each Sunday.

 

As many of you know and I realized, it is hard to be without a 7 type car! Bob

[xcarguy]

Yeah...just couldn't stay away could ya? Welcome back, Bob.

[Anaximander]

Yeah...just couldn't stay away could ya? Welcome back, Bob.

 

Thanks Shane. As you very well know, these cars are ADDICTIVE!

[Alfonse]

Looks great! Saying enjoy would be redundant at this point.

[Anaximander]

I woke up in the middle of the night this morning and found myself reflecting on a 220 mile ride I took in the Classic Stalker yesterday which consisted of mostly country North Florida/South Georgia roads and about 35 miles on I-75. I had at least a half a dozen people want to take a picture of the Stalker. On the Interstate, I had two sets of people that were taking pics while travelling along at 75 mph. Kind of funny but this little car really makes myself and other people smile. After 3 weeks of work and support from the Mineharts and the previous owner/builder Jim Wallace, I currently have the car pretty well sorted for the present time. It does not currently leak a drop of any kind of fluid and ran flawlessly with the N.A. 3.8L engine. Kudos to Jim for building a nice car. I had placed a 3/4" gel pad on the seat with a lumbar roll behind my back and was amazingly comfortable for the entire ride. The weather was beautiful and a light sweatshirt made the trip absolutely delightful. What is really fun is that I am getting more dialed in to the steering inputs and how to precisely guide the car. It is amazing how little input these 7 type cars require to plant them where you want them. What fun!

[Anaximander]

Oh boy! I just ordered some slightly used Avon biased slicks with the A11 compound from John Berget Racing Tires and I will be able to autox the Stalker in December near my home. The fun just keeps on getting funner!