[MERGED] Carlisle May 18-20

[Al Navarro]

I really have no idea if I can go to this yet given my wife's wedding photography schedule, but thought I'd throw it out there.



I think some folks in the forum have been and can advise as to the best day to go (I think Saturday, right?)

[slngsht]

Yes, Saturday is best. I went on Sunday last year, and alot of vendors had packed up.

[Deman USA]

I was wondering if any of you fellow Sevenirs are going to the Carlisle Kit Car Show in PA, on May18-20. Paul and I along with Seth and Dan would like to meet members of the USA7s club. If we dont see you there, we will definitely see you at the 7-7-7 event.



Dino Trakas

Deman USA http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/mad5.gif

[slngsht]

I will make every effort to finish my car by then and drive it up. If I can't finish by then, I will hop in something else and catch up with you guys.

[Al Navarro]

I'm tentatively planning on going out for Saturday...there is a thread (albeit very short) in the Northeast section.



Are you guys going as exhibitors or spectators - will you have a booth we should look for?

[slngsht]

there is a thread (albeit very short) in the Northeast section.



I was wondering where that was... moving and merging.

[Deman USA]

we are going as exhibitors. We might do the solo race as well.

[slngsht]

we are going as exhibitors. We might do the solo race as well.



I've been to Carlisle several times for the Corvettes at Carlisle weekend. Last year was my first time for the kit cars, but I made it there Sunday at noon. Not much left by then.



They have an autox there?

[Deman USA]

From what I heard, there should be a solo event going on. Either on Saturday, or Sunday

[Al Navarro]

Mazda...I think there's an SCCA school on Sat, then on Sunday an Auto X.



Laura is shooting her first wedding of the season that day, so it sounds like a good day out with my kids...though that means I will not be bringing the Seven.

[Al Navarro]

I'm definitely in for this on Saturday for most of the day, including lunch...should we set a rendezvous time and FRS radio channel ("7" naturally!). I'll have the kids with me.

Anyone else thinking of coming?

Mazda...maybe we can crash the Deman booth without telling Dino who we are, be a couple of tire kickers..."Now, is this thing faster than a Cobra?"

[slngsht]

where is the registration for the solo event? On the off chance that I finish fabricating the front suspension by then, it'd be fun to run.

[slngsht]

I'm definitely in for this on Saturday for most of the day, including lunch...should we set a rendezvous time and FRS radio channel ("7" naturally!). I'll have the kids with me.

Anyone else thinking of coming?

Mazda...maybe we can crash the Deman booth without telling Dino who we are, be a couple of tire kickers..."Now, is this thing faster than a Cobra?"

Hey Dean, I got this 30 year old clunker in the lot... wanna race for slips?

:lol:

[xflow7]

I may be able to make it but can't say for sure yet. That is likely to be right around when they are delivering my furniture here so it may be pretty busy.

[manik]

A quick note to let everyone know that Westfield will be at the Carlisle show next weekend on Saturday and Sunday with both a Westfield XI, and a Westfield Sport Miata.

In addition, Westfield's managing director - Mr. Julian Turner - will be on-hand to meet with anyone that comes out to the show. We may even get him to wear a wig as he did for the Stoneleigh kit car show last week...

I hope to see a number of you guys out there, and I won't tell anyone of Al's fondness for the XI!


Best,
Tom

[Al Navarro]

Tom- It will be good to meet you finally. Perhaps I will wear a wig now that you've "outed" me on my love for the XI (and the XTR).:o

It's all about purity of purpose, IMHO, and Westfield products have it.

[slngsht]

A quick note to let everyone know that Westfield will be at the Carlisle show next weekend on Saturday and Sunday with both a Westfield XI, and a Westfield Sport Miata.

In addition, Westfield's managing director - Mr. Julian Turner - will be on-hand to meet with anyone that comes out to the show. We may even get him to wear a wig as he did for the Stoneleigh kit car show last week...

I hope to see a number of you guys out there, and I won't tell anyone of Al's fondness for the XI!


Best,
Tom

XI is sweet... :thumbs:

[Al Navarro]

How about shooting for 11 am rendezvous? FRS radio channel 7. At the Westfield booth. With wigs on.


(Wigs optional.)

[stevet]

chest wigs, presumably :lol:

[andrew7]

We will be there, dad and I. Sadly, I won't be driving the 7. 6+ hours of total drive time on the Pa turnpike with a BEC 7 can't be enjoyable. I don't know about the rest of you but those semi's are BIG when I'm in the car.:eek:
Westfield booth @ 11am ch. 7:thumbs:

[slngsht]

At this point, there is 90% chance Frankn7 won't be there in either. I'll cruise in something else.

[Boxologist]

We will be there, dad and I. Sadly, I won't be driving the 7. 6+ hours of total drive time on the Pa turnpike with a BEC 7 can't be enjoyable. I don't know about the rest of you but those semi's are BIG when I'm in the car.:eek:
Westfield booth @ 11am ch. 7:thumbs:

wuss.:willy:

[Al Navarro]

When I drove down to Shenandoah in torrential thunderstorms, I drove 40 mph in the right lane of 78 and 81 with my blinkers on whenever it got bad. I found that trucks gave me a wide berth and often gave me a friendly honk or wave when they passed. I think the BEC part of your situation is the true limiting factor.

As noted, I will have the kids with me so no Se7en. If I'm stuck in Traffic (I've heard it happens during the shows), I'll call Mazda. I had sent one contact list of 777 attendees around a while back that had phone numbers on it. FRS radio channel 7 (and subchannel 7 if there's interference on the main line) for contact at the show.

[xflow7]

I'm still thinking of trying to make it down depending on how my move is progressing. I'd really like to meet you all to put faces to forum handles/avatars. The Seven is here now (as of Saturday) so I would likely bring it if the weather looks decent.

No FRS, though, so you'll all just have to listen for the barking Webers. :d

I should know by Thursday if I'll be able to go.

[11Budlite]

I had really hoped to make it to Carlisle this year, but I have a couple "volunteers" willing to help me out this weekend so I'll probably be staying home and putting the engine and tranny in the Birkin. Had looked forward to meeting some of the local USA7 members, and checking out the Deman and Westfield booths, but I REALLY need to start making some progress on this car so I can be driving it this summer. For any of you guys that are going, could you do me a favor, and take and post some pics of ANY interesting se7en or related stuff at Carlisle? It'd be much appreciated!!

Thanks, Bruce

[slngsht]

I had really hoped to make it to Carlisle this year, but I have a couple "volunteers" willing to help me out this weekend so I'll probably be staying home and putting the engine and tranny in the Birkin. Had looked forward to meeting some of the local USA7 members, and checking out the Deman and Westfield booths, but I REALLY need to start making some progress on this car so I can be driving it this summer. For any of you guys that are going, could you do me a favor, and take and post some pics of ANY interesting se7en or related stuff at Carlisle? It'd be much appreciated!!

Thanks, Bruce

You can count on pics :yesnod:

[11Budlite]

Thanks Mazda! :d

[Al Navarro]

Damn am I out of shape. I just got to my brother's place in Carlisle after walking around the show for about 3.5 hours.

Got to meet Justin of Brunton, Jim of Coveland, Jamie of RM Motorsport (they make the Diva) and the triumvirate of Westfield: Tom, Doug, and Julian - the Managing director from the UK. Doug is definitely going to be at 7-7-7 with his Miata-engined Westfield. Also met John Hartley, the maker of the rad, Busa-based compact V-8.

Mazda was there, and John V., and Allen B. (Elise owner, but we won't hold that against him), and apparently Michael D. and his wife too (sorry I missed you, Michael). Missed Andrew7. and his Dad...wonder if they made it in from Pittburgh.

One of the nicest things about the show was meeting some new folks, who didn't even know about the 7-7-7 meet. One guy was there with a nitrous-Busa milled Dax, and another guy brought his Volvo p1800 powered Locost.

I'm going to try and post some pix now.

[Al Navarro]

I didn't seem able to upload pix from my brother's house. Will do it when I get home. Damn, I'm tired.

[slngsht]

Thanks Mazda! :d


<----dumba** forgets camera. But I did check with Al on the way up to make sure one of us has one :thumbs:

I had a great time there. Al summarized it pretty well. Can't wait till 7/7/7

Cheers

[andrew7]

Marco............................................. ....................................Polo
:bigears:



Marco............................................. .....................................Polo
:bigears:

Was anybody on Channel 7 ?:d



We were 15 minutes late, we spent an hour walking a circle around the whole place and nobody heard of Westfield vendors. Our second trip around I stumbled onto them. I got to talk to Doug from Westfield, tall English chap, who I believe will represent Westfield in the southeast. I have to say that I am very impressed with their car, clean, neat and tidy. I seen alot of hacked up cars today and Westfield was NOT one of them.

I also seen the Busa-DaxRush, nice car. It held the 0-60 record at one time of 3.14 sec. While there measuring the width, I got to meet Jon Winterhalter who built a BMW powered Locost featured in Car and Driver. His current project is a Locost Atom.

I went back to Westfield and found out I missed Al and the gang. Talked with a guy who wanted to build a Locost and showed him my build pics.

I really liked this show because it wasn't just JAP cars. It was every type of import you could think of. Mazda did you see the Vovette? A stock looking volvo station wagon with a corvette engine, I did not see what it did on the dyno.

No pictures, just some video.
After 6+ hours driving 400 miles and walking around there for 6 hours, I'm tired. Later.

[slngsht]

No, I missed the Volvette... I wish I knew it was there. The guy belongs to another forum I'm on (LS1Tech.com). At least if he's the same guy.

That car is insane. It's not just a LS1. It's turbo.

I was very impressed with the Westfield as well, and the fact that they brought out factory guys. Same for the Stalker guys :thumbs:

[Al Navarro]

Andrew7-My apologies. Just got home (same 3 hour one way drive that you had) I did have the radio on, but perhaps not loudly enough.:nonod:

We were hanging around the Westfield booth from like 11:15 to at least noon, before walking around and grabbing lunch. Then circling back to Westfield and Brunton. At least you know we were there! Regarding the Volvette, my older daughter mentioned that car as we were leaving. I had no idea what she was talking about. My favorite non-Se7en there...the blue Renault R5 Turbo. Again, my apologies for passing you like ships in the night. Hope you had a good time despite it all. The good news is that, as Mazda reminded me, our little car meet is only 6 weeks away.

I'll post pix from Carlisle Monday morning when I have a connection remotely resembling high-speed.

[andrew7]

No problem Al. When I got there I asked doug if other seven club guys stopped in and he had not seen you yet. We probably were bumping into each other and didn't know it. Next time, let's wear 7 t-shirts or something. :) I was surprised to see only 5 seven cars total. I lost track of all the Cobras I seen. I think I missed the Renault but I did get to see a turboed-SBC Ultima Can-Am, it was beautiful. The tires on this car were WIDE, think F1 width, maybe 18".
The Saint's Volvo on display reminded me of the Aston Martin DB5 from James Bond. Speaking of Volvo, I might start checking them out for my next vehicle. The Volvo club had some nice rides out there. The supercharged TVR's were real nice, one black TVR was owned by a couple 10 miles from me. Even the micro-cars were there, the BMW 600 3 wheeler(the Urkel mobile). Al, did you park your TT up in the field with the rest of the Audi contingent? You would have had a great view. See everybody in 47 days.:hurray:

[slngsht]

47 days :willy:

[Al Navarro]

Pix.


Hayes Harris was there from wirewheel.com with a Birkin and Panoz AIV (squint real hard and you'll see the Se7en in there somewhere.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/995951501_Birkin.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1944750633_PanozAiV.jpg


Jim from Coveland was there too, with a Miata-motored Locost. Note that is neither Jim nor Mazda nor I in the photo.:d

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/190550799_Coveland.jpg


The nitrous equipped 'Busa Dax. David W. is the owner...had never heard of the Dragon meet (what rock are these guys hiding under?), will try to make it. FWIW, the shape of the Dax may be my favorite, even besting my own Caterham. Very mean and wide looking.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1386118719_Dax1.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1889434826_Dax2.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/618239613_Dax3.jpg


Daniel M. from Maryland was also there with his "work in progress" Volvo p1800 based Locost. I was looking around for Se7ens and spotted his, in what I thought was the wrong section, until I saw what motor he had in it. Good guy and I think he's going to try and make it to 7-7-7 too.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1849003524_VolvoSeven1.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1940918390_VolvoSeven2.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1524620274_VolvoSeven3.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1705592085_VolvoSeven4.jpg


If you have the book "Lotus Seven & the Independents", you may have come across this car, the R Motorsport "Diva". Visually, it's a combination between a Se7en and a Cobra. The creator, Jamie Dunst was there.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/954610420_RM Diva.jpg


John V. was there with his nice Twin Cam. I think one of the great things about the Dragon meet will be seeing how different even two cars from the same maker can be.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/135780066_JohnsCar1.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/445565462_JohnsCar2.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2053366599_JohnsCar3.jpg

[stevet]

Note that is neither Jim nor Mazda nor I in the photo.:d

It looks like all three of you... :jester:

[Al Navarro]

I nearly captioned that "Dude, you ain't going to fit."

More pix shortly...

[Al Navarro]

We stopped by the Stalker booth and Mazda chatted up Justin S. for a while. I've never seen a Stalker up close and was very very impressed with the fit and finish of the silver and black car they had on display. Justin and Dennis are planning to be up at the 7-7-7 meet for all of the Saturday activities...since the Stalker Ambush is dovetailing with the USA7s at the Dragon event they have a lot of stuff to manage that weekend. It will be great to have them and their loyal Stalker owners on hand.

Mazda E. on the left, Justin S. on the right.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/402821313_MazdaJustin.jpg


Begin Stalker sequence (to borrow a killboy phrase).

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1589388683_Stalker1.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1880808776_Stalker2.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/349869887_Stalker3.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/458369776_Stalker4.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2091172385_Stalker5.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1740423371_Stalker6.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/584196103_Stalker7.jpg

[Al Navarro]

John Hartley, Caterham owner and mechanical engineer extraordinaire, was there with his 2.8 liter V-8 based on Suzuki Hayabusa heads. He was supposed to be showing with Chet Galek, who imports the Fisher Fury, but the Galeks had a family emergency and so John was there by himself.

Compared to some of the other displays, John's was a real down home production, but that didn't stop people from swamping him with questions. Here's the answer to one of the most common questions...between $28 and $30k. Still cheaper than bringing in one of the similar UK V-8s.

He was obviously selling the steak and not the sizzle.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/844598469_HartleySignage.jpg


John was in this mode for much of the time we spent there.

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/806206121_Hartley2-Spiel.jpg


Begin Hartley sequence:

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/784230683_Hartley5.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1150980619_Hartley4.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/807154425_Hartley1.jpg

[stevet]

Great pics, Al, thanks for posting. Mazda will be pleased to hear that I have a 'still plays with cars' sweatshirt. Can't imagine why...

[Al Navarro]

Okay, so I probably spent an inordinate amount of time at the Westfield booth while at Carlisle. Especially for a Caterham owner.

But after all, it was our rendezvous point (albeit a failed one!) and the spot provided some welcome shade after walking around rows and rows of Fieros and other oddities. Without the crowds of the building in which Noble, Factory Five, and many of the other makers were housed.

What’s more, Tom M. of Manik (US Distributor), Doug B. of Autopro (the East Coast dealer/builder), and Julian T. of Westfield UK were all on hand to speak with/get teased by. I think they got a kick out of a Caterham guy who was so into Westfield products. All very nice and obviously passionate fellows. I LOVE the padded buckets in the Westfield 1600 (the Miata-engined car) and would consider swapping at least one of the Tilletts in my car for one (the passenger seat, naturally). At under $30k built!, I think they are going to sell loads of these.

And in addition to their Se7en, they had their Eleven. I joked that I might get impeached as acting USA7s Club president for sitting in the Eleven. But really, that thing is cool, man. As in, I’d definitely get one of those if I didn’t have a Se7en already.

Later in the day, right before we left, we caught fellow Caterham owner John Hartley sitting in the Eleven. He seemed to dig it too. I think Mazda was trying to broker some engine for chassis trade…

Doug B. of Auto-Pro (he'll be at the Dragon with the orange car pictured) and Julian T. of Westfield UK

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1351976512_WestDougJulian.jpg


Initiate Wesfield sequence now:

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/788786159_Westy1.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1314038928_Westy2.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/66351558_Westy3.jpg

Nice Caterham hat, there Benedict Arnold.:d
http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/542472135_Westy4Al.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1036710140_Westy5.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1349066806_Westy6.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1993470957_Westy7.jpg

[Al Navarro]

And now, something not Se7en related, but very cool...rumor has it that this very car be making a guest appearance at 7-7-7...

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/119367527_Eleven1.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1073270423_Eleven2.jpg

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/167292741_Eleven3.jpg

Engine builder John Hartley in the Eleven:
http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/71390528_ElevenJH.jpg

[11Budlite]

Wow Al, thanks for the great write-up and the pics!! :)

Some pretty impressive stuff there. That Hartley V8 looks like an awesome piece of engineering. And the Westfield and Lotus Elevens have always been a favorite of mine! Would love to have one of them sitting in my garage WITH the Birkin. I was hinting to my wife that the Lotus Eleven on ebay would make a great 50th birthday present!! :d

Thanks again, Bruce

PS: Sorry I missed the show, but I did get the engine and tranny installed this weekend. :) Will post pics tonight

[Al Navarro]

No worries Bruce.

I forgot to mention that when I sat in the Orange Westfield (I won't call it a Seven to avoid the wrath of the Caterham factory :d), I could barely see over the scuttle. They told me that the car had the lowered floors.

Also, note that Dino and the Deman USA folks changed plans and did not attend the show. They were invited to participate in some drift competition that was allegedly going to get all sorts of media coverage. As if a few photos on USA7s.com does not constitute "all sorts of media coverage"! See you in July Dino.

[manik]

A thank you to all that stopped by the Westfield booth. I'm just sorry I didn't get any pictures of Al in the XI... :)

A surprising number of 'Sevens' at the show, and I'm glad we were able to attract a great deal of interest from those who really couldn't be bothered with a Cobra. I also hope everyone took advantage of John Hartley's 50% show 'discount' that was discussed here ;)


Next up is the 777 and we are looking forward to it!



tom

[Al Navarro]

I thought John Hartley was more interesting, but here it is, fodder for the July 7th elections...

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1438807957_ElevenAl.jpg

[powderbrake]

Great pics and report. That H1 V8 is a nuclear weapon, looking for a car to set in. Pity the tires on whatever it goes into.
This year the show looked great. When I went to the show in 2003 to look for a seven, the only ones there were a Locost, an Ultralite, a Diva and a Superformance S3. The Superformance was a beautifully finished car, the interior was just like a new car. I understand they stopped making them, and concentrated on the cobras. too bad, the fit and finish were awesome.

[DB's seven]

Just a Quick word to say thankyou to all of our guests who came to visit us at the Westfield stand. We are already talking about plans for next years show so plan to be there if you can. See you all at the 7/7/7 event.http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/2043590296_carlisle miata standMove.jpg

[Boxologist]

Al, your punishment will be another term.:banghead:

[slngsht]

Doug great to meet you and the rest of the gang. See you on 7/7