A short update - the Jensen did run this Friday for the Roebling test day. Finally, after Jeff and I have slaved on this thing for 1.5 years (well, we did build two other cars in that time so maybe not that long). A light at the end of the tunnel, or is that firelight?

First drive out, the car caught fire on lap one, so we didn't even make one complete lap. Header wrap with a 907 engine IS NOT a good idea. And someone told me "nah, it'll just soak the wrap and stink, but it won't catch fire". Wrong. Turn 4 - funny smell. Turn 8, some smoke. Seconds later, warm floor board and blistering paint - got to head for the pit!! Fire was extinguished, driver shaken, but not that much since I've been on fire before in the 260z, so this is old hat. Why the header wrap never caught fire during break in, warming up, etc. is beyond me. I suppose a lot of RPM and lots of air flowing over the wrap changes the combustion dynamics appreciably.

Second drive out - all is fine, runs nice, good power, good enough to gain on second gen RX7s on the entrance to the straight. But, after a couple of laps water temp and oil temp got too high, oil pressure dropped so I brought it in again. Not enough cooling.

Ditto third time out. The raditor needs to be larger and we need a larger oil cooler. Lotus 907 engines are incredibly strong on the bottom end, but are well know for oiling issues and heat issues. We've addressed internal oiling issues but heat, we still haven't got.

So, net result is the JH went out and did okay. It is light, turns in very sharply, and stops well. Power is pretty good and I think once sorted it'll be somewhat of a threat in ITS. Weight, with Jeff in the car, is 2290 lbs. I'm about 20lbs lighter than Jeff and we have a couple of things we can drop off the car, so 2240lbs is no problem to get to.

All in all, I'm pleased. We essentially have a car that is as light as a Miata and turns in very well, just like, well, a Miata. Power *seems* to be pretty good, but it is hard to tell. Handling did not seem evil, but I could only drive it like 75% or so, therefore, no good data here. Gearbox SUCKS, like a stick in oatmeal and nothing I can do about that, but the ratios are beautiful with a 1:1 5th that will actually pull at 6000 RPM in 5th on the straight, with another 1500 RPM to go. I can use a stronger and much more positive 4 speed if needed.

I'm optimistic about the future for this little car. We'll have more issues to sort, but I think we can manage and get this thing out on track racing. Here are a couple of pics: