Davemk1 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 The weather has been perfect over the past few weeks. It's afternoon thunderstorm season so plan on it getting windy and wet in the afternoon. See you all at Chico. dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) Nice day in Steamboat Springs and no Thunderstorm for 2 days! Otherwise just fantastic scenery and nice roads. Not crowded at all (except around Steamboat Springs) and a good mix of curves and straights. There is no real motivation to drive fast, though. It would be a shame to buzz through and not soak it up. Cars are running just fine (knock on wood). I had to adjust the ECU baro compensation (was running quite rich at 7000-9000 ft) and going up to 12,000 ft tomorrow it better be right. Bill's Superstalker had some coolant constipation but so far not serious. Some more pics. Gert Edited July 9, 2009 by slomove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 looks like an awesome time so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Gert & Rosie and Bill & Chris showed up at my home this afternoon after a great trip through Rocky Mountain National Park. We had a BBQ in my shop and a total of 5 Se7ens were there. Gert's Birkin, Bill's Super Stalker, Bob Walker's Caterham Super Seven, Bob Simon's Caterham Super Seven and my Caterham SV. Other Se7en people showed up for a total of about 17 people. There was much looking under the bonnets, general checking out of the cars and discussions about all things Se7en. A few rides were given as well. Unfortunately, we didn't think to line up the cars and take pictures until it was nearly dark so those below are not of the best quality. Tomorrow the Californians head to Saratoga Springs, Wyoming. I will trailer my car and meet them in Cody on Saturday as will Al Navarro and his wife. From then on, Al and I will share driving between the Caterham and the truck and trailer. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7veloce Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Skip, It was a fun party at your place with all the 7s last night. The ride in your 300 hp SV was super fun and fast. Many thanks. Have a safe and fun trip tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Tom. Glad you enjoyed both the party and the ride. I'm looking forward to checking out your new car and seeing you at the track with it. If you got better pictures than I did last night, please post them here. Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7veloce Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Skip, Here is another nice pic form the party last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Much better picture, thanks Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75TwinCam Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Alright, y'all got me to join up . . . it was a great time at your shop the other night! Great to meet everyone, and fantastic to see a group of Sevens hanging together. I believe that our car always likes to see some younger siblings and cousins! Maybe when Tom's car is done we can do it again? I know there's some other Sevens in the neighborhood, there should be a meet to welcome the Duratec to the road and give Tom a sendoff to the great north! A few pics of mine will be forthcoming when I figure out how to do it! Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75TwinCam Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 (edited) Ok, with the help of the FAQ I think I have this pic posting thing figured out! Edited July 15, 2009 by 75TwinCam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Just arrived in Cody via Jackson Hole. Tired. I'll give you guys a ring in the AM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Met up with the gang yesterday. Explored Cody, which tuckered me out, but a nap and Mexican dinner later, Laura and I caught the local rodeo. Pretty amazing in person. Today is our big day - Chief Joseph and Beartooth. It rained very hard this AM...enough to wake me up. Hopefully it will stay clear for us today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemk1 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hello Gentlemen, Please keep and eye on the weather. It's bad here in Bozeman and the forecasts calls for bad weather all day and severe thunderstorms with large hail possible this afternoon. If that happens in the valleys it's possible that that it will snow up on the plateau. If the weather isn't too bad I'll see you at Chico. If the forecast comes true I might not brave the drive over the pass. We'll see this afternoon what it looks like. All the best, dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Snow? Did he say snow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemk1 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Snow? Did he say snow? It very rarely rains at 10,500 feet. dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 We are alive. Monday, our day to drive from Cody, WY to Pray, MT via the Chief Joseph Highway, Beartooth Highway, MT Route 78, I90, and MT Route 89 and MT Route 540 was pretty amazing — though Skip lost an exhaust mount bushing on the Beartooth (and eventually a mounting bolt for his turbo manifold). I'll post pix and some vid when I get home (in the SLC airport right now). Davemk1 was kind enough to try to find a replacement part before he came down to have a drink with us down at Chico Lodge. Great to meet Gert, his wife Rosie, Skip C., and triple-seven owner Bill G. and his girlfriend Chris/Kris? Special thanks to Skip for letting Laura and I helm his blue SV with Miata-power for a few hours. I know that some of you might be interested in what it was like to drive Skip's car vs. my old Orange Superlight R. So here it is in a nutshell: whereas my old car was a great 0-50 car, Skip's (like Mazda's) is a great 50-100 car. I won't kid you that it didn't take some getting used to initially...it's sprung more softly than Orange is, and much to Laura's delight, has padded seats. The brakes too, took a bit more pressure to slough speed off....not as grabby as Orange's. And the sounds of the turbo and wastegate were so different than Orange's "ripping silk" ITBs. Eventually I was able to get the hang of it and managed to keep tempo with Gert and Bill on the backroads. On the highway, the buffeting over 70 kept my pace down, and Skip was able to hang with me in his truck/trailer rig until I felt the urge to tickle the loud pedal to keep up with other vehicles passing me. As I said to Skip, although I know he tracks the car, it made for a very comfortable tourer. And at highway speed it has amazing passing power in reserve. We should really rent a dragstrip sometime to see what would win out for "fastest se7en" between Skip's SV, Frankense7en, Kevin & Loren's car, and anything Dennis Brunton and company want to bring. Through in a couple of older, sub liter cars in there and it would certainly be entertaining. Great roads out there, too. In a way, because of the scale and scenery, that east coast roads are hard pressed to match. I could easily see a national at Jackson Hole. Alas, Ed, we did not go to the restaurant you recommended but tried a very nice Thai place. Next time. Thanks to Gert for planning another great tour, and for letting us tag along. I highly advise everyone with a Se7en who can spare the time and $$ to join Gert the next time he organizes a tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemk1 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 It was really fun meeting you all and seeing the Navarros again. I drove from Bozeman to Chico Hot Springs to meet the group and it's about an hour door to door. When I left Bozeman there were severe weather warnings and the sky was very dark in one direction. I reluctantly decided to not drive my Seven, for fear that the weather would get as bad as they said it would, and I drove my Mini. By the time I left the rain was falling very hard and there was standing water in the road and the temperature had dropped to 45*. Call me a wimp but I'm glad I opted for the Mini. Aside from meeting some cool people I got a quick spin in Skip's Caterham. The acceleration is hard to believe and it made it feel like I left the emergency brake in the Mini on during the drive home. I've never been in a car that needed to be shifted so quickly. Skip's got fast hands! Thanks for the ride Skip. I hope to come down to Denver sometime and do a bit of driving with you. If anyone else is coming through Montana let me know. It would be fun to meet up. Stay well, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Thanks for the reports guys. I'm so wishing I had Frankn7 out there, instead of in traffic everyday around DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Dave, Thanks for bringing the exhaust isolator and bolts. It would have saved the day had not I popped the bonnet to show you the engine and noticed the nut and stud missing from the turbo mount. I did confirm today that it is twisted off, not just fallen out so the turbo and manifold have to come off for repairs. There goes my scheduled lapping day at HPR on Friday. :ack: To explain to those not on the trip, somewhere on the Bear Tooth highway I heard the exhaust scrape the road. I had the exhaust reworked last winter to prevent that so I was a bit alarmed. I grabbed the heat shield on the muffler with my left hand and discovered that the bolt and silicone isolator were missing and the whole exhaust system was being supported soley by the turbo. I drove the rest of the way to Red Lodge holding the muffler up. A visit to a feed store near where we had lunch produced a chunk of heavy coat hanger wire which I used to attach the muffler to the bracket. Then Al and Laura drove the car on to Chico Springs. A phone call to David before we left Red Lodge gave him a description of what it looked like and he went to his hot rod shop and found exactly the part I needed. We installed it in the parking lot at the hot springs and then I took David for a quick ride. As I said above, popping the bonnet revealed a problem that could not be fixed on the road so the car went into the trailer for the rest of the trip. This is one more example of the great people on this forum. Thanks David. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemk1 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 .............. Thanks David. :cheers: It was my pleasure. I hope the trip home was uneventful. Stay well, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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