build diary

July 4, 2004:
It moves!
Yes, after a fair bit of work the Seven went out for an inagural cruise. No fireworks either.

First, the radiator had to be modifed to take a fan and to be fit to the frame. The end caps were a challenge to weld but Brian managed to get everything together. The water pump inlet was also rewelded in a new configuration. Then it was back to my garage where the radiator was installed, the reinforcing plate was installed under the nose and the car was prepared for an intial drive.

We lowered the Seven to the ground and weighed it. Much to my excitement, it came in at well under 1200 lbs. My estimate for a complete wet weight is around 1200 exactly. Not bad at all - I was anticipating 1400. The car also has a slight rear weight bias. I did a little happy dance.

Next came a rough alignment. Lacking any other numbers, I decided to use my typical Miata numbers only with less caster. The front came into line easily enough but the rear gave us some trouble. Due to the geometry of the rear, the upper arms are basically not adjustable at all. The lower ones are awkward to reach. We decided to leave the right rear wheel with 0 camber just so we could drive the car. The original control arm from the left side can be flipped upside down and used on the right - tellingly, the holes in the bracket are further inboard than the replacement one that was shipped to me. There's our camber.

With the wheels all bolted on, it was time to fire everything up. The ignition relay crapped out almost immediately and the battery was not equal to the task. So we threw an extra battery from the Land Rover in and hooked up some jumper cables. The charge light never went out so something's not right there. But it was driveable.

I had no oxygen sensor, no exhaust system and the timing wasn't set. The engine was not happy and had a hard time even idling. Some educated guessing on fuel setup helped, but it's still not quite right. It's obvious that one of my radiator modifications isn't quite sealing as well. The fan didn't want to start up properly either. All par for the course for a first drive really. What was it like to drive? The steering is nicely weighted and much lighter than I expected. The brakes take a good firm push. And the one time I managed to clear the engine and make a part-throttle run into second, I felt as if I'd hit light speed. This little beastie is going to be very, VERY fast. I felt comfortable with the controls (what ones there where) immediately.
entry 404

The mounting points for the fan.
entry 405
The modified water fitting compared to stock.
entry 406
With the modification to the water line, a stock rubber hose can be used (or a gaudy red one in the same shape).
Very convenient.
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A plate that I mounted under the nose.
It'll stiffen the front end and help cooling at the expense of about 1.5 lb of weight.
entry 408
The stock exhaust manifold.
I'll simply modify this for my exhaust.
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With a borrowed steering wheel from the Miata, the Seven is ready for a test drive! It's getting the initial weighing here.
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No radiator or body panels, but here are the results from the scales.
Less than I'd expected!
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Before driving, a rough alignment.
This is not a quick job as the suspension needs to be disassembled. In the rear this is difficult. The front was much easier.
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Out of the garage! The battery was tired so we had to jump the Seven with Brian's S-10.
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Miata meets the Seven!
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I expected the Seven to look smaller, but it's big for this type of car.
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No, we didn't bother aligning the steering wheel.
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Not a big car.
Brian checks out a leaking coolant line.
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The Land Rover and the Seven.
Somehow I don't think it's going to be difficult to decide which one to take for a given trip.
entry 418

July 6, 2004:
After all the excitement of the first drive on the 4th, I took the day off to do other things.
Well, mostly. I did find the time to change the upper control arm on the right rear wheel. I had to replace the right rear upper arm when the original was found to have a misaligned bracket. Well, the bracket that was used for the replacement was drilled further out than the original arm for the left side. Luckily the left side part will fit the right if it's flipped upside down. Installing it gave me an extra 1.5 degrees of negative camber, putting the alignment right where I wanted it.
entry 419

Building the steering wheel adaptor.
entry 420
The steering wheel adaptor installed.
It's fairly minimalist!
entry 421
Here's why there was no negative camber in one wheel.
These are two upper control arms compared. The one with rod ends in it is too long.
entry 422
The original left side upper control is flipped upside down and mounted on the right wheel.
This gave an extra 1.5 degrees of negative camber, putting the car right where I wanted it.
entry 423
Test fitting a front fender.
entry 424
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