Lotus Sevens and their clones:
Greetings all,
I am a fresh new member, having joined only today. I drive a Birkin "SS" and it is strictly a track car and not legal in any way for street. These are very quick right out of the box, so if you have any racing genes in your system you have to wonder what they would do on the track. But be warned, it's a slippery slope from a street only car to a track only one, I know because I started sliding on that slope three years ago.
I might add I first started SCCA racing in 1966, since then I raced FP, FV, FF, FB, SR, and my favorite, Formula Atlantic. I have gotten many components from MSS and found all to be everything they were expected to be. The crown jewel is one of their "ultimate heads". That is probably the quickest path to screaming power there is, it's just awesome the way it changed the car.
There are a number of "clones" out there such as Birkin, Caterham, and Westfield, along with a lot of lesser known ones. We are all using the twin-cam Zetec, but the coming thing are the Duratecs. I see that MSS is now offering that engine with some outstanding power.
I'd like to hear from other Seven owners and encourage them to join us here. I do all my own work so I know the Seven and the Zetec like the back of my hand.
Just thought I would create a new topic as well as introduce myself,
Regards,
Folis
Folis Jones
Suffolk, Virginia
Glad to have you on board, Folis!!!
Post some more pix of Maggie for those unfamiliar! Whats curb weight again on these amazing machines, 1300-1400lbs?
That vid of you chasing the Porsche was a good one too. Very easy to post vids on these forums.
Lets try this again....
I'm in my 7th year building my Lotus XI replica, "Invincible II" around the Duratec 2.3L. I bought the motor, then went looking for a car to build around it.
The target weight/power is ~7 #/hp for the first season. Once I get the suspension dialed in, and learn to drive the car, I will twist more out of the engine.
The chassis is based on Ron Champion's "Locost" design, with custom front suspension, and an 8" stretch to fit my legs.
You can see a video of the engine being calibrated on the dyno at:
It has been helpful to have Massive around during this build. The internals are mostly stock, with uprated rod & head bolts. I added individual throttles, Cosworth dry sump, AL flywheel, and electric water pump. Hope to get it on the road Summer '10.
Good to see you on here, Mark! Car is looking great!!!
Welcome!
