NEHA

I am the owner of a Seven with Zetec power and I have just discovered the NEHA, after looking for something a bit more interesting than autocross. Here in Maine there does not seem to be much else unless you like to go round and round an oval track. After reading the website, I have some questions. It says that some courses are quite bumpy........my car is street legal, but ground clearance is limited, especially with race wheels and tires........how bumpy is it? Do you allow slicks, or must tires be street legal? Are there other Seven owners competing in the series? I am very familiar with the hillclimb concept, but not in the USA.......I grew up in Britain and attended dozens of events with an uncle who competed with a Lotus 20. The major difference would seem to be that the British events were held on private estates and the road/track was always in immaculate condition........a requirement as many of the cars were formula cars and sports racing cars which were not tolerant of rough terrain. I would really appreciate any and all feedback as this series looks like a lot of fun and well worth the travel time and cost.

It is dependent on the hill. Ascutney is quite bumpy. The others are fairly smooth on course, but the paddock area can be a challenge.
Have a look over our rules, and it will explain tires(any tire is legal, but class dependent). It will also go over safety requirements, as Seven will have some unique requirements it will have to meet.
http://www.hillclimb.org/rulesregs.html

In general I'd recommend about 3.5" of ground clearance as the minimum. But that of course depends on a lot of factors. If the car is stiffly sprung it might need less (although stiffly sprung is not great on bumpy courses). Different people and different cars also have different tolerances for bottoming out. On a good run at Ascutney I drag a frame rail on the pavement 2 or 3 times. I think that is perfect but if your oil pan is what is hitting you might not.

My car is soft and with 3.5" I touch down occasionally. I used to run with 4" and didn't touch.

Quicker wrote: Do you allow slicks, or must tires be street legal?

It depends on the class. Cars running in Prepared classes can run any tire they want. I believe Unprepared and Street Prepared must use DOT tires.

Quicker wrote:Are there other Seven owners competing in the series?

I don't think so but I'm not entirely sure what a Seven is? Do you have a picture? The links I find on the web make it look like an open cockpit car with a rollbar. Without a full cage you will be limited to running under the break out time but lots of people do that.

Quicker wrote:The major difference would seem to be that the British events were held on private estates and the road/track was always in immaculate condition........a requirement as many of the cars were formula cars and sports racing cars which were not tolerant of rough terrain.

Some of our courses are smooth and some resemble the cratered surface of the moon. The top of Ascutney has been known to break stock suspension components if attacked at full speed.

Quicker:
I'm running a lowered Miata with about 3.0" ground clearance at the lowest point (roughly at the center of the car) and haven't bottomed yet. The roads are very, very bumpy though.

Paul

Most of the 7's I have seen have at most a roll bar with backstays. This with arm restraints would permit you to run in our U or S class under the breakout rule. If you have a cage that complies with our definition of a cage the breakout rule would not apply so long as you also meet the rest of the rules for caged cars, including:

Seats and harnesses
Suit, gloves, shoes
Head and neck restraint
Arm restraints

Thank you all for the response........I will have to spend some time reading the rules and regulations. Kevin, my car is a Lotus Seven, but not an original. Lotus made the 7 from 1959 to 1972, and at that time Colin Chapman sold the rights to build the car to Caterham in Britain and Birkin in South Africa. These are the two most original appearing cars, but many other builders, such as Westfield and Brunton produce their own interpretation. My car is a Birkin........they are much more reasonably priced and are imported in a partially assembled state with no engine or gearbox. I do have a full width rollbar with supporting struts, so what are arm restraints and why are they necessary? Basically, I would imagine that the Seven would be viewed by a scrutineer in the same way as a Miata, TR^ or Morgan with a rollbar.........it's a classic sports car with a convertible top.

Michael.

Arm restraints are a strap that goes around your forearm and attached to your belt. The point of them is to keep your arms secured inside the drivers area in the event of a crash/rollover. In an open top car, you don't have body work keeping your arms in the car.

I assume this restraint is only on the left arm............do all convertibles in all classes have to have this?

With no top, the restraints need to be on both arms although the inboard side restraint just needs to keep that arm from flying above your head so it can be a little longer and a less confining.