build diary

January 9, 2006: You know, I really should choose one thing and focus on it.
I seem to be suffering from vehicular ADD again. A fresh load of Mini magazines has me thinking of cool, fun things to do with the Mini. I've started to get the itch to run my Land Rover, Basil again. I want to start working on my house again. And of course there's the Seven. I have a long list of things I'd like to do. And one I don't - the hood.

I'll measure the car up again tonight to see if I can figure out how the front suspension works. I really hope my Solidworks model isn't correct. It shows a camber curve that isn't enough to compensate for body roll, putting the tires into positive camber immediately. Well, if anyone wants a set of dimensions for a suspension that has a whole bunch of bad habits, I'd be pleased to oblige.

Meanwhile, I've been considering the other laundry list of modifications. One is to move the battery up to the front of the car. Space is a little tight, so I'm considering a little Odyssey PC680 or the Hawker G16. I can get one for around $80 and it has the same long-lived construction that I'm used to seeing in Miata batteries. It's also only 15 lbs. Granted, I've had to jump the Seven a couple of times with my current Miata battery but that's because it wouldn't start for other reasons - fouled plugs. I figure a set of jumper cables are now standard issue for going to the track. There's also the matter of the fender. A tempting solution would be Coveland's aluminum fenders. There's also a good rear view mirror that would come in handy at Mirrors for Sevens. I saw one on the RMSC car at Aspen. Argh. Concentrate! Concentrate!

entry 1092 of 1439
<< | random | >>
back to entry listing