Skip Cannon has passed away

[JohnCh]

I learned this morning that Skip Cannon ( @scannon ) has passed away from natural causes at the age of 80.  I knew Skip virtually since he popped up on the old California Caterham Club forum in 2005 where he causes a bit of a stir with his plans to install a turbo Miata drivetrain in his new Caterham SV.  The transmission wouldn't fit without surgery, leading many people to question his sanity, but he carried on with his plans and made it work.  In the end he created a very well-sorted beast of a car.  It's not lost on me that many years later, Caterham adopted that same transmission to replace the Type-9.  But he was the first.  

 

Skip was passionate about se7ens and Miatas, always happy to share his experiences and insights, and was not one to let circumstances get in his way.  For me, there is no better example of that than his infamous butt-extractor, built to address shoulder issues which impacted his ability to exit his car. 

 

Although I only met Skip in person once, we shared many emails over the years.  I always looked forward to those exchanges.  For those interested, there is a very nice post about Skip on Grassroots Motorsports and another thread on Miata.net.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/miata-guru-skip-cannon-has-passed-away/274255/page1/

https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=787195 (Note: this thread is in the Water Cooler forum which requires registration to view.)

 

[S1Steve]

Rest in Peace Skip, This True MotorHead was kind enough to sell me his unused header from his SV. When I told him my plan of replacing my Superformance exhaust with something nicer, he jumped into his leftover parts bin and sent it out quickly. More importantly, he was just a cool guy…

[Croc]

 

 

I met Skip in person only once when I went out to Colorado to do a shake down drive in April 2011.  Skip said he would show me a canyon drive in the front range that was really fun in a seven.  He put out the message to his friends in the local Lotus Club to turn up for a cars and coffee then migrate to his home workshop and then go for a drive.

 

I only have one photo of Skip from that day - holding court in his workshop, on his stool, nebulizer on the floor, sadly back to the camera.  Side note - far right gentleman in gray t-shirt and jeans is Tom Carlin of Birkin America

 

 

 

Well the drive, turned into something far more exciting than I ever expected.  He and a few others took off at warp speed.  I tried to keep up but triple digits, unknown road, brand new seven, plus some random guy as passenger, turned me cautious and I chickened out and ended up running in tandem with Tom Carlin who was similarly cautious. 

 

Still it was one hell of a club drive and Skip made quite the impression on me and we kept in touch over the years but sadly never having to opportunity to meet up again in person. 

 

My experience sums him up well.  He was a brilliant engineer.  Generous with his hospitality.  Keen enthusiasm for all things automotive.  He knew how to drive - sometimes well - sometimes for shit as the photo below shows.  He lived life at full throttle - literally. 

 

 

 

Skip's Caterham that he engineered with a bespoke turbo Miata drivetrain lives on.  @ottocycle is the current custodian and he is a handy driver in his own right, driving it as Skip would expect.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vale Skip.

 

 

 

 

 

[Taber10]

WOW--So SORRY to hear this news!  My wife and I got to spend time with Skip on the Grizzly Bear Blat, as we were all fans of both Caterham and Miata fans.  Skip and I cruised together as we each had exactly the same chassis--but not the same drivetrain.  He once told me in Colorado that he wouldn't take the Caterham out unless he was SURE that he could go over 100 mph!  Until GBB, I hadn't seen that kind of speed in my Cat 7SV.

We exchanged lots of emails over the years, addressing Caterhams, Miatas, Corvettes (we both bought C8s at about the same time), Colorado and cars in general.  He will definitely be missed--May he rest in Peace.

Taber

Edited October 26 by Taber10

[Vovchandr]

RIP. The butt extractor is legendary. If I recall he also had a scaled down 7 for kids

[Croc]

1 hour ago, Vovchandr said:

RIP. The butt extractor is legendary. If I recall he also had a scaled down 7 for kids

 

 

 

 

The story was here:

 

 

 

 

[bball7754]

Always enjoyed his posts and comments.

 

I thought he had a build thread here, but haven’t found it.  I remember reading of the various challenges he had getting the Miata engine!transmission into his Seven.

 

 

[11Budlite]

I too enjoyed Skip's posts and comments. I was impressed with his Caterham build with the Miata engine and gearbox. You can read more about it here: http://www.britishv8.org/Other/SkipCannon.htm

 

RIP Skip...

[Al N.]

Thanks for sharing this sad news.

I met Skip when I flew out to rendezvous with Gert and a few touring folks out West (Beartooth Pass was one of the drives, IIRC). He actually let me drive his car for a stint. He certainly had his share of stories!

 

 

Edited October 28 by Al N.

[I B Sevener]

I talked to Skip a couple of times a month just to see what he was up to and there was always something new or planned for coming soon. The last time I spoke with him, a couple of weeks ago, he told me he had been feeling bad and had a doctor's appointment the next day. He was upbeat saying that would set him right and he could get back to car stuff. He had just sold his C8 ZR1 on BaT and was looking for where to spend the proceeds, so this comes as a surprise. While he had been in poor health for a long time, his sense of humor and his spirit were always full throttle. Godspeed Skip!

 

Ross Robbins

PS: That is me in the flat cap on the right in Croc's photo.

[locost7018]

I'm shocked at this but not surprised. Skip and I were good friends. He came to the first Midwest Se7ens Gathering back in 2008 in KC. My wife and I have stayed at his house. He had one hell of a garage workshop. We had one of his infamous canyon drives with his buddies and me with my 1300cc Xflow powered Locost holding up the pack. I will miss his funny emails and sending ones back to him. He took my wife for a ride in his C8 and scared her to death a few years ago. RIP old friend, Russ

[Vovchandr]

16 hours ago, I B Sevener said:

C8 ZR1 on BaT

 

Semantics but I believe you meant Z06

[ottocycle]

Godspeed Skip. I am the current custodian of the turbo Miata Caterham SV he built. I bought it based on photos, his reputation and Croc's assessment of the car. I knew I wouldn't find another like it and have never regretted it. (I removed the butt extractor but have it stashed somewhere!) Another good guy leaves the stage.

[I B Sevener]

If you are anywhere near Denver and want to honor Skip's memory:

 

CELEBRATION OF SKIP CANNON'S LIFE

Please join us at one of Skip's favorite restaurants, to share stories and a toast to Skip. He passed away unexpectedly on 23 Oct 2024.

***Please RSVP by Friday, Nov 1 to mleatham49@gmail.com***

When: Sunday, 3 November 2-5pm
Where: Pete's Central 1 Restaurant
             300 South Pearl Street
             Denver, CO  

 

Here is a photo of my Point Seven on the back of Skip's trailer after he was kind enough to bring it back from a show we both attended so I wouldn't have to drive over and get it myself. What a neat memory for me