Hm, longish post. Skip down to the last couple paragraphs if you get
impatient.
Welp, I took the test drive and snapped some pics. Except for the fact
that I did have the presence of mind to pull the choke, I tried
to start it like an FI car on the first turn of the key. After that,
I remembered that I've got a Weber on the other end of the throttle
cable and gave it a few pumps on the second turn of the key. With that,
it started right up nice and strong.
Firstly, the exhaust note wasn't as unpleasant as I expected. I was
expecting something whiny from the rotary, but it did have some throatiness
to it. And while loud, it wasn't as ear-splitting as I had expected.
Maybe I'm too used to racing exhausts. After backing out of the driveway
and engaging first, a few things immediately come to mind. Driving with
just the side curtains is really annoying. I can't see a thing out the
"windows" and I'm too short to see over them. Pulling away, the engine
is quite smooth even though it hadn't been run in 18hrs and the choke is
out. One thing I noticed as I was adjusting to the short stiff clutch
take-up on the 1-2 upshift is that there seems to be a click or thunk
or something I can't quite place. I think it might be a loose tranny
or engine mount. After about 4 or 5 shifts, I got used to the clutch
and I didn't notice the thunking any more (I used to own an Alfa GTV6
which came with a twin plate clutch so I'm used to short stiff clutches).
The second thing I noticed pulling away was that the clamshell fenders
seemed to shake a lot even at low speeds. Somebody had mounted mirrors
on the top of the fenders and I have no idea how they thought they'd be
effective up there with all that shaking. The third thing I notice
was that I was fast approaching a dip and that cold brakes don't stop
very well. Speaking of brakes, the seller had mentioned a squeal that
he couldn't locate, but I didn't hear any. The tires are indeed pretty
hard, but not unmanageable. As a matter of fact, I kept hearing about
how easy it is to spin Sevens, and in particular this car because of
the 215hp on an open diff with short throttle travel, but I found it
was actually quite manageable. I didn't find it hard to modulate the
throttle at all so long as I kept my enthusiasm in check. As a matter
of fact, I was doing heel and toe downshifts after only a couple of
turns. I found I could get the rear end loose if I wanted but since
it was not my car I didn't try very hard. The tires felt a bit
hard and slippery, but again not unmanageable unless you are really
pushing it.
Oddly, the speedo works but the tach doesn't. Kind of backwards if
you ask me. Speaking of which, isn't the speedo supposed to be
over in front of the passenger? Or is that only on the S2?
On this car, both were behind the wheel.
I didn't notice any steering or handling problems, but
on the other hand I didn't try any hands off driving. On one relatively
hard corner, I thought I detected the front wheel hitting the fender.
Shocks may be worn, but I didn't spend enough time on the drive to
get a good feel for the chassis to tell.
Going home in my 2003 Mazda 6s was a weird experience. Drove it
no problem to work, then to home, then to see the Seven. After
the Seven, I kept inching the clutch pedal out waiting for it to catch.
Cornering had all the tactile feedback of a video game. I think
I'm going to have to toss it into the corners and run it to redline on the
exits so that I can reacquaint myself :-)
Whew, that was long winded. To sum up: runs well except for
driveline click/thunk, clamshell fenders that shake, tires a bit hard,
non-functioning tach and can't see out the side curtains.
Should I be overly concerned about the thunk?
-Dennis
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