build diary

August 9, 2007:
Time for some new shoes.
The last set of RA-1s lasted through a whole bunch of track time, the destructive and entertaining drift session with C&D, an Atom test and even some (gasp!) street driving. There was still some good life left in three of them, but with significant cord showing on one I decided it was time to buy another set. The water pump belt is back on and a few bolts have been tightened up in the suspension, so it's almost time to defend my lap record at the Open House! This year I'll be under attack from not only the usual turbo Miatas, but a turbo Caterham and a turbo Westfield. It's going to be tough to say the least.
entry 1390

August 14, 2007:
Go buy this magazine.
The October 2007 issue of Grassroots Motorsports should start hitting newsstands around August 21st. Subscribers are seeing their copies now. Heck, you can go to GrassrootsMotorsports.com and ask for a free copy to be sent to you. But why should you care?
Because it has B.S. Levy's highly entertaining article about the Ariel Atom vs a particular Locost - remember that trip to Texas last spring? I won't give the result away, only say that I'm quite happy with how he wrote it up. There are lots of great pictures of the Atom along with his reactions to it, and of course there's my favorite little orange car right in the thick of it. The funniest thing is that I got called a ringer again. After taking on a $75,000+ car!
To celebrate, I've got the Seven ready to defend my track record this Friday. It's the FM Open House again, the third anniversary of the Seven's "coming out". This year, it's the Targa Miata that will likely get the majority of the attention, but I do have a challenge ahead. Skip reports that his turbo Miata powered Caterham isn't up to snuff, but I know that the Westfield has a lot of potential. We'll see how this goes.
entry 1391

August 19, 2007:
Open House time!
I think of the FM Open House as the Seven's "birthday", as that first track outing was a big goal. Well, I was back at the track this year in the company of my latest project, the Targa Miata. So it was a full day.
entry 1392
The challenge this year was to keep the lap record.
As I've mentioned, I had both a turbo Caterham and the FM Westfield gunning for me - and gunning hard. I haven't been on this track all that much in the past year and the Seven's been a little neglected for the Targa car, so it was a bit of a gamble. Other than the repairs to the head after the lifter failure back in May, I haven't done anything to improve the car.
entry 1393
This is the corner that will make or break a lap in this configuration.
I'm screaming down the hill, in a corner that tightening up and a bit off-camber. The engine is roaring away and the car is right in the middle of its best acceleration zone. All four wheels are sliding - it's the corner where I drive the Seven closer to its limit than anywhere on any track. Oh, and to add to the challenge, there's a hairpin at the end. The braking zone is short and the car's unbalanced when it comes in, so it's where I can use the Seven's low CG, fast reflexes and great braking to take big chunks of time off other people. Well, assuming I get it right.
On my first fast lap, I discovered that I must have moved the brake bias to the rear at some point. Oops - I ran off the end of the track. No harm done, and there's a reason I put the bias adjuster in the cockpit!
entry 1394
I put this picture up because I liked it for some reason.
Anyhow, after my first session Brandon noticed fresh antifreeze on the side of the hood. After a bit of hunting, I found a rubber cap that had sprung a small leak. It would have also been leaking onto the belt, could that have contributed to the break? It certainly would have hurt my cooling, as the system wouldn't have pressurized. Bill and I came up with a good temporary fix.
While the sweeper was the challenging corner, the most entertaining was probably the first one after the front straight. I was going in pretty fast, and the car rotated really well. On one lap, I basically turned in and then straightened the wheels, letting the back end just smear around the entire sweeper with no lock on at all. It felt wonderful.
entry 1395
The track looks nuts from this angle.
Yes, that's all the track, there are no access roads visible. I just found out that it's visible on Google Maps from satellite: here. We were running counter-clockwise, and the big sweeper is the fun part. My goal is to start braking when my left front wheel hits the kerbing before the hairpin.
entry 1396
The real race was between Bill and I.
The Caterham wasn't in the hunt, as it's a freshly finished car with a driver that's still getting used to it. At one point on the track, Bill and I would come into sight of each other going in opposite directions. We each would check the position of the other to see if the gap was getting smaller or larger. Overall, it wasn't really changing. We were 0.2 seconds apart on one session. In the next, Bill got faster - but so did I by the same amount. Still 0.2 seconds. The times weren't challenging my lap record (probably due to the brand new tires in my case) but it was a good race.
After every session, Bill and I would come in to the pits and park side by side. We'd pull off our helmets, look at each other - and just start laughing. We were both having a ball.
The end result? 1:03.733 for me, 1:03.913 for Bill. Phew, I stayed on top for another year. But I've got some real competition now, as Bill's only starting development. He has some horsepower planned that might make a difference on a couple of straights...
entry 1397
For one session, I took out a photographer.
Bill tucked in right behind my wife Janel in her little turbo Miata, and I planted myself on his tail. The poor photographer was having a bit of trouble hanging on to the camera!
After he was done with the pictures, he asked me to get the car sideways. Well, all right. So I booted the throttle coming out of a tight corner and the tail went wide...and the car snapped into a spin. We stopped parked backwards on the track with the engine stalled. That's odd, I had the clutch in. I looked down, and discovered the photographer had been using the only handle he could find to brace himself - the handbrake. When the car had started to slide, he tensed up and locked the back wheels on me! Thank goodness it happened on one of the slowest corners on the track. Everyone in the pits made sure I knew that they'd seen me spin the car, of course.
entry 1398
A bit of a family portrait.
The Seven, the Westfield, the Targa Miata and the little turbo Miata street car. It's a fun collection.
entry 1399

August 22, 2007:
A little sprinkle of rain at the track day had the lightweight cars scurrying for cover.
Yes, Skip does have neon orange wheels on his Caterham.
entry 1400

August 27, 2007:
The Lotus Owner's Gathering (LOG) took place in Aspen this past weekend.
I was too burnt out from other car-related activities to sign up for the Colorado Exotic Car Association trackday on Sunday or the LOG trackday today, but I did jump in the passenger's seat of the Westfield and head down to Aspen for the "concours". As a friend noted, the organizers had spread 2 short days of activity over three full days, so there was lots of time to just wander around and look at cars because, well, nobody had anything else to do!

One thing I did do was meet up with Peter Egan. He wanted a look at the Westfield, and for me it was a chance to sit down and talk with a hero. Like many gearheads, I grew up reading his work in Road and Track, and I do hold him heavily responsible for my interest in Sevens due to his enthusiasm for light cars, British cars and working on cars - and the habit of combining all three. Our conversation about the Westfield meandered around, taking side trips to discuss why nobody can ever identify the year of a classic Cadillac and Hank William's last road trip. It was a most enjoyable afternoon.

I did spend a bit of time looking at the captive Lotuses, though. It appears that Chrome Orange is very popular amongst Elise owners but that the color doesn't really flatter the car as much as it flatters mine. Interesting. Lotus does have some delicious colors on the Elise, though - a red with bottomless highlights and Laser Blue, a color I've used on a Miata in the past. Janel was ready to put in an order for a Laser Blue Elise, although she did state a worrying admiration for the earlier cars. And she thinks I spend a lot of time in the garage now!

One car that did catch my eye was this Donkervoort. Look at that metal work! Not just the pretty vents in the flawless aluminum nose, but the lip around the air intake in the bonnet and even the contouring around the suspension. Amazing work. And a whole lot of polishing.
entry 1401

September 15, 2007:
The Seven is an extreme car.
When it blows a light bulb for a taillight, it doesn't just pop a filament. No, it smokes the entire inside of the bulb with white powder and cracks the glass! Yikes.
It's time to get the car out of the garage for some more fun. The last autocross of the season is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I think it's time to get the Seven back out in the cones. Last time I took the classic Mini which was a huge amount of fun in a small package, but there's some good competition for FTD and I want to be part of the fun.
entry 1402

September 25, 2007:
It's hard to believe, but I said no to a track day.
The Atomfest organizers invited me to come take part in a three-day Atom festival (thus the name). Three days of track time, food, cool cars - but it's in Oklahoma. With the cost and time involved in towing there and back (1000 miles each way) and the spectre of the Targa Newfoundland in a year's time, I had to decline the invitation. I must be getting old.
entry 1403

October 3, 2007:
The new issue of Grassroots Motorsports has arrived at subscribers.
This is sad, because it means that the Seven vs Atom article is now old news. But it's happy, because I've been given permission to put the article online! Now it can live on. Note that it may take a week or two before the new issue arrives on the shelves, so if you want a hard copy you can still run out and get one.
The article can be downloaded in PDF format. I have two versions, a small one that downloads quickly and a big shiny one that has better quality pictures - not that you can tell a difference on screen.
Small file (878 KB)
Large file (2.04 MB)
I'm proud of this.
entry 1404

October 14, 2007:
Autocross time again!
Somehow, despite running my own autocross series all through the summer, I never got around to taking the Seven up after the big tire debacle of the first race. So it's been four months. It feels like a whole lot longer, honestly. I've spent so much time working on the development of the Targa Miata that the Seven has been sorely neglected. So I put out a little extra effort and managed to get both the Miata and the Seven out to the final autocross of the season, run by my friends at the Corvette club.

Driving over to the venue, I was reminded just how different the Seven feels than the door slammer. The chassis isn't as rigid (the Miata has a full cage) but the suspension is stiffer (the Miata is a rally car, remember). It's the immediacy that had dulled in my memory. I'd be concentrating more on the problems of late - poor tires, cooling fittings that were cracking and spewing - than the ability of the car.

I started off driving the Miata in the first group - you can read about it on the Targa page. This meant that when I rolled up to the start line, I had an idea of the course and a target. Target? Oh yes, the Fiat was in town.

We met up over two years ago and the Seven was vanquished by a 0.3 second margin. We've run against each other on the track a few times, but I have not had the chance to avenge my autocross defeat, as that's where the Fiat is at its best. I was on a mission. I've made a lot of improvements to the car since that time, but never had a chance to prove it until today.

On my first run, I was blown away. I'd forgotten how violent the Seven could be on an autocross course. Even though I'd put down the second fastest time of the day (to that point) in the Miata, the Seven was far ahead of me and I was just reacting to it. The first run was, shall we say, messy as I collected a couple of cones and spend a lot of time trying to keep the tail in line. The cold weather didn't help, but it was mostly just me trying to adjust to the ferocity of an uncaged Seven.

On the next couple of runs, I started to get on top of the car. My second run put me ahead of the Fiat, and I concentrated on cleaning things up. Finally, on my fourth run I put down a clean lap and figured I had my fast time. Then, on run five I tried a different line - one I'd spotted during the course walk but this time I exaggerated it and combined that with an even cleaner run. The result? Another 0.9 seconds off an already-impressive time. My last run was a DNF as I overcooked the entrance to the slalom, but I parked feeling pretty happy.

The Fiat had three runs to respond - it was an odd run grouping. He tried, but didn't manage to improve over his best time set earlier. The final margin? 3.231 seconds. This was FTD, and the Fiat was second-fastest with a well-driven C5 Z06 very close behind. I think I redeemed myself from the previous loss a couple of years ago. Now that's what I wanted. Not just a victory, but domination. Over 3 seconds on a sub-60 second course.

The Seven wasn't completely unscathed. Yet another cooling fitting let go - a little rubber cap on the back of the head split and started misting the scuttle with coolant. It's the exact same failure I had last time at the track, but this time at the rear instead of the front. Luckily, this is the last of those rubber caps so I should finally have this series of foolish little problems sorted out. I drove home with a big smile and little drips of coolant on my feet.
entry 1405

October 23, 2007:
Rob Mitchell is a fan of the Seven, and he sent me a little present for it.
This oil warning light is just perfect for the car. Thanks so much, Rob!
entry 1406

October 31, 2007:
The Seven is trapped in the garage.
The Targa Miata is awaiting a new suspension, and I brilliantly took it apart while parked in front of the other toy cars. So I'm stuck driving my old Toyota pickup until that suspension arrives.
The Targa car is getting new parts in preparation for a track day at Pueblo. It's the third anniversary of the first big track day for the Seven, but unfortunately logistics prevent me from bringing both cars. It's frustrating. I need to build a two-car trailer!
entry 1407

November 4, 2007:
I went to the Pueblo track day without the Seven, but that doesn't mean I didn't get something out of it!
The Targa Miata was there and that was my main focus. Bill brought along his Westfield (using the same trailer I did three years ago) and I had the chance to do a few laps in that. Janel also got a chance to drive it, and had some interesting comments. I felt the car was working well from a handling standpoint - it was faithful and adjustable, with the fast reflexes you expect from a lightweight. But the engine doesn't inspire. It's a fairly stock 1.8 with good engine management. This gives it great throttle response and it does outgun my car in terms of torque, but it's not inspiring. Both Bill and I agree that it doesn't have the top end it needs. My best description is that it doesn't howl. Bill's working on that, and hard. So for the moment, it's simply very competent but it doesn't have that edge it needs.
Janel took the car out for a fairly extended tour. She did enjoy driving it, but found that there were a few things she preferred about the Seven. The most obvious was the brakes. The Seven has, if I do say so myself, exceptional brakes. The Westfield has a less reassuring pedal. Is it due to a flexing pedal box, a mismatch on hydraulic sizing and pedal ratio (quite possibly considering the lack of understanding apparent in the original clutch hydraulics on that car) or a problem with the donor parts? I'm not sure, but it does take some getting used to. The Seven also doesn't roll quite as much and is a little less biased towards understeer.
So there's the target - make the Westfield feel like the Seven. On the way home, I started to make plans about putting a bike engine in the Westfield. It could be quite a killer!
entry 1408

November 28, 2007:
There's an unbuilt CMC "Miata" frame on eBay.
It's the same thing I started with. I'm amazed it's surfaced, but then again I did hear of an unbuilt 1977 Caterham in the Denver area yesterday.

I'm interested in the background story of this kit. The seller says that CMC went out of business around the time he took delivery, but the design of the rear control arms is an earlier one that was used before Heikki's car was built - I think that's the case, anyhow. Perhaps it's one of the frames that went through a dealer. The interior panels are more complete than mine were. However, the scuttle is missing. More importantly, so is the MSO which may make it difficult to register.

Still, for anyone looking for a starting point for a Seven here's a good option. There are a few things to fix up - the rear differential mount comes to mind immediately - but readers of this website won't have trouble figuring that all out.

eBay auction
entry 1409

December 29, 2007:
We've had a nice, wet and cold December.
So while the skiing has been fantastic, the small sports car fun has been curtailed. The Seven has been moved to the back of the garage to make room for more pedestrian vehicles - the garage is two cars wide but 2.5 cars deep. To make it easier to shuffle the car around and keep it out of danger, I picked up these very high-tech toys. They're moving dollies from Harbor Freight and can carry 1000 lbs each. Not bad for $10. We have some fancier ones at work that are a lot more expensive, but this is all I need...
entry 1410
Since I'm working on the exhaust for the rally car, I've become inspired to work on the one for the Seven.
Remember those motorcycle mufflers I picked up aeons ago? Well, one of the reasons I haven't installed them is because I'm sick of cutting up the exhaust again and again. But I have a spare header collector, which means I can build a new setup without having to destroy the old! Time to get to work then.
entry 1411
And here I was being so clever.
The new collector is actually much better than the original one. Unfortunately, it also puts the pipes slightly further apart. This doesn't play well with the inflexible header pipes.

Now that I know more about collectors, I'm pretty sure my original one is a formed weld-on unit with some tubes welded on the end. They're inexpensive, around $35 new. So maybe I'll order another one. I prefer that idea to the alternative of messing with the header pipes!
entry 1412
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