build diary

June 5, 2006:
Race action!
After a lot of goading and insults to my manhood, I was convinced to go to the drag strip on Friday night. For a bit of fun, I decided to take the Mini instead of the Seven. Why? Because I'd only go slower in the Seven than the testing in Texas, and the sheer ludicrousness of it appealed to me. I'm probably going to take the Mini to the autocross this upcoming weekend as well, just because it's fun.

The real question is - why is the Mini only 150 lbs heavier than the Seven, despite being fitted with four seats, wind-up windows, a trunk, etc? My Seven is typical for a car of its type, weighing in right about the same as the non-Superlight Caterhams. It's not exactly porky. It's certainly something I ponder as I look at the two parked together in the garage. Perhaps the secret is the 10" wheels and 7.9" brakes on the little car...
entry 1248

June 15, 2006:
The Seven hasn't seen a lot of use in the past few weeks.
I'll take it out this weekend to play with it. There is a track day in mid-July, but I think it's time just for some nice roads. I need to travel about an hour out of town to check out a possible autocross facility and that just happens to be near some great roads. Sigh, it's tough.

There's a new project taking shape in the garage as well. My friend Eric and I have decided to take on the Targa Newfoundland. It's a major race and we're building a special car. You can see more at the team website: TargaMiata.com. By request, I've also added a list of my other projects on the other resources.
entry 1249

June 16, 2006:
After cleaning out the garage, I parked the Seven and the Mini side by side for the first time.
I didn't expect them to be so close in size! Here's how they match up.
Seven:
Wheelbase, 92"
Length, 128"
Height, 42.5"
Width, 65.5"

Mini:
Wheelbase, 80"
Length, 120"
Height, 53"
Width, 56.7"

Okay, so they're not THAT close. Never mind. But the Seven looks quite a bit bigger when viewed solo, and parked side by side they appear identical in length.
entry 1250

June 17, 2006:
The Mini and the Seven parked side by side.
This was the decision that I faced this morning when I had to drive to work.
entry 1251

June 21, 2006:
Okay, we know the two cars in front.
But what's that one lurking in the background? It's the Targa Miata.
entry 1252

June 26, 2006:
Car and Driver time.
The August issue of Car and Driver is starting to appear. Yes, in late June. Someone needs to buy those guys a calendar. Why do I mention this? Because it has a 6-page article in it on a certain sports car! Not just about mine of course, but about the Locost movement in general and four cars in detail. I'm pretty happy with how the writeup looks and I'm very happy with the photography. The best is the last one - the car in a full, tire-smoking slide right across the bottom of the page. Ahhh, my poor tires.

On a completely unrelated note, I calculated that if my Cadillac had the same specific output as the engine in the Seven, it would make about 750 hp.
entry 1253

June 27, 2006:
More thoughts on Car and Driver.
I've been thumbing through the article over and over again. There's been a big goofy smile on my face since I got it. Of course I'm happy! I remember being worried that Larry didn't understand my car on his brief time behind the wheel but when you read the article, it's obvious he did.

For those wondering about the price, that is the cost of the car as it sat in Texas at full retail and including a purchase price for the engine. My own costs were less. For example, the pedal assembly quoted at $350 included the pedals, master cylinders, residual pressure valves - and actually only cost $287 at retail instead of $350. When I think about it, I have no idea where I came up with the $350 number. It must have made sense at the time. I also assigned a cost to random parts that were sitting around my garage. I did not include the cost for parts I did not use, such as my original tie rods or fuel tank. It's tough coming up with an accounting for a project like this but I think the cost shown in the article is fair. I've said many times that it would cost about $7500 to duplicate my car with a few changes. Those changes get rid of expensive items such as the high-performance engine (listed as $1500 for C&D, because that's what I paid for it), the ECU (listed at $1400 or so) and paint (I paid $385 for the beautiful Lotus Chrome Orange). I've added a cost spreadsheet to my site to show how it all broke down for C&D.

I must admit I've never been called a "crafty ringer" before though.
entry 1254

June 28, 2006:
If you see this magazine, buy it.
It has the story on Locosts that includes yours truly. There are also some great photos of the car in action.
entry 1255

June 29, 2006:
I've been hearing from a lot of people about the magazine article.
Thanks everyone! It's always good to see a note in the guestbook or get an email.

There's a comment in the article about how my car feels tighter than the others, and it's hypothesised that this is due to the frame. I think that does a disservice to Mark, Chris and Jon. All the frames are built to much the same design, with only slight variations for packaging reasons. I think the real difference is the result of the amount of time spent on the car dynamics. Chris and Mark's cars had only been running for an extremely short time before the test. It's not shown in the published pictures, but Mark's didn't even have any rear bodywork! Give them two years to work on their car setup and I expect those cars will feel pretty darn good as well. For example, I've changed brake pads, rotors, master cylinder sizes and brake bias since the first time my car turned a wheel. Had the test been done that first August weekend two years ago when it hit the track, the comments about the brakes would have been quite different. The same goes for other aspects of the car. The purchased frame gave me a head start on my build, but I don't think it necessarily made the final product any more effective.

So what's next for the little orange car? Well, there's a track day coming up on July 9th. Since the very first drive was on July 4th, 2004 I think it will be a good opportunity for celebration. Will I be able to take a bit of time off the track record again? Hard to say. It's going to be hot. I'll definitely enjoy myself, though. It's been too long since the car was used for anything more than driving around local roads.
entry 1256

June 30, 2006:
The guys at the magazine were kind enough to send along some digital photos.
The pictures are interesting on a few fronts. First, to see how a pro takes these shots. Second, to see the amount of tweakery used in order to turn an overcast Texas day into brilliant sunshine. And third, to see what someone else finds interesting about the car. I'm going to make high-quality prints of a couple of these, they're great shots. And of course, the big slide is my favourite. Hey, I paid for the tires, I might as well get some joy out of it.
entry 1257

July 1, 2006:
A track shot of the car.
The car's in a really weird stance here. I'm just going to ignore it. Looking through these pictures, it's obvious that I have the ability to make a goofy face any time I'm behind the wheel.
entry 1258
A naked Seven in Texas.
entry 1259
Larry driving, me riding shotgun during the Texas photoshoot.
This is why I'll never make it as an extra - check out the doofus looking right at the camera.
entry 1260
Wheeeee!
The big slide. This is Larry Webster driving, although I did manage to get the car this crossed up a couple of times for the camera. His consistency was a lot better than mine - good thing, if he's being asked to do this sort of stuff on a regular basis!

There's also a large version of this picture available to download.
entry 1261

July 7, 2006:
Two years since the first drive, and it's time to hit the track again.
I'll spend some time tomorrow making sure the car is in good shape, but mostly it'll just be a matter of doing a quick nut-and-bolt. The temperatures are looking fairly reasonable and as long as the thunderstorms stay away it might be a good day for times.

Someone commented that I needed a faster steering rack. It certainly wouldn't hurt, although it's not going to be cheap unless I simply install a steering quickener. It's only on the autocross course that it seems necessary, and even then it's primarily in the slaloms. Something to think about, anyhow. It's always good to have a project!
entry 1262

July 9, 2006:
The Seven is a great track car, but it's not a good wet weather car.
With absolutely no weather protection, I certainly think twice about heading for the track when the weather is poor. After looking at the forecast, I prepared both the Seven and the Mini just in case. This morning, that proved to be a pretty good plan. The skies were nasty looking. I headed for the track with the Mini and about a half hour before we started, it started pouring. It was my first experience on the track with a front wheel drive, and I have to admit it was my first adventure on track in the wet. So it was a learning experience as you might imagine. You can read about the Mini adventures on its own web site. Given the constant precipitation, I didn't really regret bringing the car with a roof! Well, maybe a little as I watched my friends slide their rear-wheel-drive cars around.

After lunch, it looked as if the skies were clearing. The sun came out and it got truly hot. So I scooted home between run groups to grab a more orange car. It might only be a large kart track, but it's also only 10 minutes from my house! When I lined up for my first session, we'd decided to run the track backwards to give it a try. So no new lap records (much to the chagrin of a certain high-horsepower Evo 8 who had plans but never got within 3 seconds of my time) but a new challenge.

First off, the Seven shocked me after driving the Mini. That car is pretty quick, responsive and full of character. But it's nowhere near as aggressive as the Seven is. It's apparently been too long since I've had the chance to really stretch its legs. By the time I was going in to the second turn, I was starting to recalibrate myself for the acceleration, braking and grip of the orange car. Holy cow, it's a ferocious thing.

The track is huge fun in the opposite direction. The back "straight" is normally uphill and has a couple of little kinks in it. Going backwards, a faster entry and the assistance of gravity turns it into a very fast sweeper that keeps changing radius. It was all I could do to keep my foot flat to the floor until my braking point, and I don't know if I ever actually managed. There's one short straight section at the end which was just long enough for the Seven to brake hard and get slowed for the tight corner at the end, and the brakes were very reassuring and effective through here. I suspect it would be a lot less comfortable in a heavier car and I was taking full advantage of this ability. I had a hard time getting a clean lap going because the Seven was going drastically faster than everyone else, but I ended up with a 1:04.432 on my first fast lap. Technically that's a lap record because it's the first time cars have been timed this direction. Since the karts usually go a second slower in this direction, that puts my right on my usual pace. Nobody else broke 1:10. I hope we get to run the track this way more often. It's more entertaining and more challenging.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the day in the Seven was the last lap. My girlfriend Janel was driving her supercharged Miata out in front of me and I ran right up on her in the Seven. Now, usually I try to be nice to others on the track, but I was feeling mischievious. I locked on to her back bumper and hassled her for the whole lap. A year ago, she would have been flustered, distracted and nervous from having such a fast car so close behind her. Instead, she responded by driving harder and really working her car around the corners. When we pulled into the pits, we were both laughing. It's good to see her having fun on the track!

As soon as we were done that session, we threw everything in the cars and bolted - there was a massive rainstorm coming in across the desert. I made it into the garage just as the first drops started to fall. Phew.
entry 1263

July 10, 2006:
Chasing (and catching in a big hurry) a Starion on the track.
This is as we go backwards, so there's still a pretty big variance in line. I'm braking as hard as I can to shed 50 mph or so for this corner. You can see the looming clouds that chased us away just a few minutes later.
entry 1264

July 18, 2006:
There's a track day in Pueblo this weekend.
I'm combining it with a night out at a musical as well as a friend's wedding, so towing the Seven around isn't really going to work well. Luckily, Bill from Flyin' Miata is willing to drag the little orange car over the mountains for me and back. We'll share the car on track. Every time he's driven the car, something has gone wrong. So let's hope I break his streak! There should be a couple of other Sevens in attendance. Ben at RMSCI might bring his SV again, and it'll be interesting to see what my modifications have done to the relative speed of the two cars. When we shared the track at Aspen last year, I was still on my soft springs. This should be fun but there's the usual chaos of fixing the trailer (new tires and it needs a bit of wiring), making sure I have all the bits and pieces (tires for a couple of cars, gas tanks, tools...) and also trying to get some work done. You'd think I would have more of a procedure by now.

Westfield has announced a single donor kit for their Miata-based SEi. It should run $13,995 at the port in NJ and theoretically needs nothing more than a ratty Miata to complete. I wonder what would be involved in fitting a 1.8 with the longer engine and larger differential? Who knows, I may get the chance to find out someday.
entry 1265

July 21, 2006:
Track day tomorrow!
This has been fun. It started when I went to pick up the trailer from where it lives at a friends house. All the wiring to the lights had been cut. Oh well, that needed some attention anyhow.

I had some new tires waiting, so I jacked up the trailer to pull off the wheels. That's when the axle broke loose of the frame! That's not good. At least it happened when the trailer was parked in front of a shop with full welding gear and not on top of a pass in the middle of the night with the Seven on board! I flipped the trailer up on its side, pulled off the wheels, took them in for the new tires, welded the axle to the frame (it had not been a stellar job last time), welded up a couple of other small cracks, rewired the whole lighting system from scratch, reinstalled the wheels and then went home to pack. Hey, we do this because it's fun, right? Sometimes it's hard to remember. The trailer is going to need some fundamental attention in the next year or so as it's about 30 years old.

Car and Driver has aired the radio show with a segment on "the homebuilts". It's not a high point in broadcast journalism and the hosts really don't say a whole lot worth listening to. Their research seems to consist of looking at pictures in the magazine after the segment has already started and making disparaging comments about the looks of Jon's amazing homebuilt nose cone. Larry Webster does have a number of good things to say about my car though, identified as "the expensive one". You can listen to it here. Things really get rolling around the 9 minute mark. Don't take the opinions of the hosts as being representative of Car and Driver, they're just typical guys who are hired for their ability to talk on demand as far as I can tell. One note - I'm not under 30. C&D just decided I was for some reason.
entry 1266

The day before a track day and my trailer is undergoing fairly major surgery.
Of course.
entry 1267

July 24, 2006:
A perfect Seven day at the track.
I was at Pueblo Motorsports Park again. It's the closest "big track" even though it's 5 hours and a couple of 10,000' passes away. I haven't been there with the Seven for a long time. Three other Se7ens showed up: Ben and Nathan from Rocky Mountain Sports Cars with a familiar SV, a Superlight R with a fresh Zetec engine and a pukka Lotus Seven Series 3 with a Ford crossflow. A couple of Porsche 911s came out to play and of course there was a large selection of Miatas because it was a Miata club day.

I went out with my girlfriend Janel to help her get comfortable in her little supercharged Miata. Bill and I were sharing the Seven in exchange for towing duties, so he jumped in the Seven. It was a long time before I saw him come back in! When he got out, I asked how he liked it. He was grinning so hard he couldn't answer. Okay, that's a good sign.

I went out in the Seven and found myself chasing my friend Josh in his modified WRX. He's the closest car to me on the kart track but we figured that the long straight at Pueblo would give him a good advantage. I tucked in behind him on the tighter section of the track, got a good drive off the last corner on to the straight and then drafted him all the way down. All he could see was my visor and all I could see was a huge black car. It was a good tow, I went in to the first corner pretty quickly! I stayed glued to his tail for several laps until he waved me by. He had to lift to let me past on the straight, but as soon as we hit the corners I started to put a fair bit of distance on him. It surprised both of us, actually. By the time we got back to the front straight he was pretty much gone from my mirrors. I can report that it's a lot of fun following a WRX on the track. The car heels over, sets into a drift and then sits there all the way through the corner. Meanwhile, he could hear me on the gas behind him out of the tight corners even before he'd started to accelerate. I took Josh for a ride in the Seven and he was quite impressed with the immediacy of the little critter.

As soon as I got away from the WRX, I caught sight of the SV and the Superlight up ahead. Thanks to some well-placed Miatas slowing them down, I was soon right on their tails. The next few laps were a riot. The SV waved me by on the next lap and I went to work chasing the Superlight. He wasn't hanging around. It was piloted by a good clean driver and running some good tires. I was able to hang with him down the straight (to everybody's surprise) and through most of the course. His speed on turn 1, a very fast sweeper, proved to be too much for me and he'd take some distance. Turn 2 is my weak point on the track so he'd gain a little more room as well as on the exit from the hairpin at turn 7. But overall, the cars were close enough that it was fun playtime. We were pulling 110 mph on the front straight, about the same as I'd seen when drafting the Subaru. The SV was dropping behind a bit on the straight - interesting, as this is the same car I'd been running with in Aspen. Every lap we'd catch a Miata (or three) and pass on the back straight, triple-teaming the poor cars. I'm going to relive this session in my head many times. We had a great time playing. I'd always wanted the Seven to be not just quick, but truly fast and world-class. I think I'm there.

Every time I was out of the Seven, Bill was in it. He had some memorable dices with a few cars and really bonded with the little booger. Every time I turned my back the car was scooting out of the pits to go chase something. Every time I'd pull into the pits, Bill would be walking towards me with his helmet in hand. I think there's going to be another lightweight car in the Flyin' Miata stable eventually! He even got comfortable with the brakes - he discovered that while they take a bit of a push, the car just hauls down and stops without wheel lockup problems.

I had one graphic illustration of how I'd become used to the Seven. After spending all day in the little car, I jumped into Janel's Miata to chase the WRX and Mark in his Miata. We powered out of the pits, into turn 1...and I think I scared Janel. All of my inputs were met with weight transfer, body movement and sliding tires where the Seven would simply do what I asked and get on with it. This isn't a stock Miata, either, but one with suspension work and decent tires. I don't think I've ever pushed that Miata quite that hard before and I did get in a little trouble with the owner because of it. Especially when I took "the Seven line" though the hairpin and came out sideways with smoking tires! No harm done and they're my tires anyhow!

The Caterham and Lotus owners were very welcoming, even if the Superlight driver (in good humor) "refused to be passed by a Locost". There wasn't really much danger of that, as the Locost was simply trying to keep up! They assumed I'd done something to the motor due to my improved straight line speed. I can't really explain it, but the Superlight had just been dynoed at 158 wheel hp while I have about 145. It's also supposed to be under 1100 lbs while I'm carrying at least 200 lbs more. I did have my windscreen off and have a less aerodynamically messy roll cage than the Superlight, which also did not have a windscreen. The handling of my car was definitely improved since the last big track test and I suspect I might have carried a couple of mph on to the straight that the Superlight didn't. Still, his approach to turn 1 had me wondering if his brake lights were actually working! His speed there had to be seen to be believed. We had a lot of fun and I think Bill got the chance to run in close company with them as well.

The car behaved perfectly all day, despite being on the track constantly. I checked fluids at midday and everything was good, so we just had to keep dumping gas into the tank. It was one of the fastest cars there running with the big boys. Nothing fell off, nothing overheated and every driver and passenger in the car had a good time. That's what I built the little thing for!
entry 1268

Can you see my grin through the helmet? Chasing the Superlight R down the front straight.
entry 1269
It looks like a drag strip because it is a drag strip.
The SV falling slightly behind on the front straight at Pueblo, but all I'm looking at is a green target.
entry 1270
<< | show individual entries | >>