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I upgraded my old Westfield from the standard Girling 0.7" master cylinder to the AP Racing unit. The mounting lugs differ slightly from the Caterham version to suit Westfield-specific packaging constraints, but otherwise the assemblies are effectively identical—including AP’s practice of individually shimming each unit to account for production tolerances. Both cars use the same rear calipers and feature four‑pot fronts, but the piston layouts differ slightly: the Westfield setup uses four 1.5" pistons, whereas the AP calipers use a staggered configuration with 1.5" and 1.625" pistons. So while the brake systems aren’t identical, they’re very close. The difference between the MCs was immediately noticeable—firmer pedal feel and easier modulation. Zero regrets despite the price and 6 month wait for AP to do a small run. Here are the AP and Girling 0.7" side-by-side: I also played around with brake pads on that car and found feel differed wildly. My assumption is the non-assisted nature tends to exacerbate differences in initial bite. @KnifeySpoony how is the dust with the Pagids? Is it just a little worse than the stock pads or is it excessive?

Too pretty to drive! Have coil covers?

A guy on the Westfield Club site in UK makes carbon ones probably $700-$800 a pair figuring shipping and tariffs

Don't ignore the effect of pad material on brake feel. The stock front pads that Caterham fit to my car are lifeless and wooden with zero bite when cold. I just put in some RS14s up front (to match the RS14 that come with the rear upgrade kit) and the difference is night and day. Not only do they bite wayyyyy harder (even when ice cold), but the pedal feel is much firmer.

It turns out that the fenders on my trailer are Seven cycle fenders. This week while returning from the Central Coast one of them departed. So I'm looking for fiberglass front cycle fenders if anyone has some to sell. Thanks Tom

Still, top down motoring...hope she enjoys it.

Yes, this is a full on smog edition, single carb, all the air pollution controls, 53 BHP model with, as noted, the rubber baby buggy bumpers. Although many late model spitfires have those converted to earlier style chrome bumpers it is thought to be sacrilege to do so to this final model year. Speaking of which, with its build date being June 1980 and the last UK model being built in August of 1980 that makes the wife’s car one of the last North American Spitfires to be assembled. It was bought new in February of 1982 so it is also one of the last Spitfires sold. As to the fuel issue the garage discovered a cracked rubber fuel line and thought it was sucking air. This after the car lost almost half a tank of fuel while it sat waiting to get looked at. Sounded plausible and the car started and ran fine for them after they replaced that hose. The mechanic did adjust the carb and reset the timing as well. However the carb needs a full rebuild so a kit is on order. We picked the car up late Friday and the wife drove it home. When we arrived she jumped out screaming it was on fire. I raised the bonnet to find it was just coolant burning off the exhaust manifold. When she went to restart it so I could look to see where it was leaking, you guessed it, it would not restart. She washed and detailed the car. That took about two hours at which time it fired right up and she drove it into the garage. Go figure, eh! The car sat all weekend as it rained off and on. Yesterday, (Monday) she decided she wanted to drive it over to the nearest gas station to add some carb/injector cleaner and fill the tank up with fresh fuel. It fired up and drove over without incident. I took a can of Quick Start just in case it wouldn’t start. I figured it should fire up with a squirt of that stuff. However, it didn’t start after filling up nor after waiting several hours regardless if I used the Quick Start or not. So, Hagerty roadside assistance came in handy yet again. The car is now back at the shop and the wife doesn’t want to see it until they can prove it will start repeatedly whether within minutes or hours of being shut off. I’ve researched this issue and it seems lots of Spit owners have had this very problem before. However, each seems to have had a different cause and therefore needed a different solution. From carb rebuilds or replacement to filters and switching to electric fuel pumps. Then there are the electrical fixes from bad earths to lose or broken wires to replacing the coil. I’ll keep you informed as to what the problem and cure is/was. Meanwhile, I’m off in a couple of hours in Purple Reign to the Tuesday night cruise meet about a half hours pleasant drive away.

Shame to miss you on the route. I finished my trip and made it all the way to LA - a little over 3500 miles (with the Boston leg). Was a great trip. Had a little detour up to Vegas. Highlight of the trip, driving wise, was the mountain pass going into Oatman. If I wasn't if a time crunch, I'll probably have repeated that section :-). The town/village of Oatman was amazing to. Ended up with a little bit of sun burn on the last couple of days but generally did pretty well. The 7 was amazing. Everyone always asked if I was comfortable - I'd tell them my back was genuinely better than it was when I started! No major issues on the trip. Somehow lost the "7" grill on the nose cone somewhere around Oklahoma - not sure if it fell off or was stolen and the nut holding the door fastener on drivers side fell off. The door pins didn't like highway speeds and tended to vibrate up and out of place. But otherwise a pretty smooth journey! Now I just need to trip down 3 weeks of 360 video footage from the trip!

Greetings (sorry for the long rant): I've read this thread and a few others that touch on brake issues / problems I'm experiencing and my questions, so I'm posting here. This is after talking w/ AP Racing, Caterham, Demon Tweeks, Questmead, and researching AP documents as best I can. But of course, I may have missed something so defer to the collective group wisdom which greatly exceeds mine. Does anyone have direct experience replacing the "STD" 0.700 bore brake master cylinder w/ the "AP Racing" 0.812" (13/16") bore brake master cylinder, or associated driving experience / feel to offer comparisons 0.700" to 0.812"? The line pressure comparison data etc. AP offers would indicate going up in bore size would reduce feel and the ability to modulate pedal pressure etc. Seams counter intuitive to go up in bore size. I should be able to answer this question myself but am currently trying to remedy / fix brake issues on my: 2008 Roadsport S3 Duratec (0.700" bore brake master cylinder CP5615) repair kits are unavailable so I need a new brake master cylinder, front brakes finally bit the dust as the whole travel to cut off thing, seal degradation, shimming etc. apparently does not allow the port to the hose / reservoir to open upon pedal release, the pads cannot be fully retracted nor can I bleed the front brakes, even with the pedal detached to not preload the cylinder. Rear brakes work fine and can be bleed. The brakes have never really been to my liking. Trying to decide, if I have to buy a new brake master cylinder, should I stick w/ 0.700" bore ($$) (repair kits unavailable) or go w/ the 0.812" (13/16") bore ($$$+) "AP Racing Brake Master Cylinder" (repairs kits are available). Note I have yet to remove, disassemble, and inspect the master cylinder, so do not preclude the potential for a broken internal spring or other problem. 2005 CSR 200 (0.812" 13/16" bore brake master cylinder "AP Racing" CP4627) CP4627-18RK repair kits are available. The brakes work (considerably better than my S3), but given recent experience driving a couple Caterhams with incredible brakes in the UK, and after cleaning, checking, and bleeding brakes my CSR brakes, I have decided the brake master cylinder needs to be rebuilt. I've attached the CP4627-18RK repair kit info including schematic for reference. As best I can tell the 0.700" bore brake master cylinder CP5615 internals are similar but I welcome any corrections. Note: Both cars have the uprated 4-pot Caterham / AP Racing front calipers and stock rear calipers (Sierra?). Anyone with experience or knowledge about the above who can provide any insight or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! Steve P14.038.pdf

Hey Terry, I am going to have the 7 out this weekend, may go for a short drive with another 7. You're welcome to come by Saturday. I'll PM you my address.

I wish I had seen this earlier. I just got done with a 2.5 week chicago to LA route 66 trip. I am sad I didnt see you. I suppose any advice now is moot.

Probably correct Bud....later car. 0 to 60 in 1/2 a minute

@GumballF355 I did end up getting a 420R from Rich but have since moved from SJ to Houston lol. I do miss the Bay Area quite a bit but life takes you places.

Unless it's been modified/upgraded it should be a single Stromberg carb in a 1500 Spitfire. All my former British sports cars had SU's, but I think the Stromberg's were used because they were easier to pass emissions. As well as your normal ignition/fuel supply checks, maybe take the dashpot off and check that the rubber diaphragm isn't damaged.

Did you end up getting one? Theres a few around the South San Jose area. Im at the end of Almaden and building an MK Sportscars kit. Any chance the one you saw was a green caterham? I’ve seen it around sparingly too and I know a few other local guys who own them.

Lee! Good to see you here brother. I’m building one of the MK kits! Care to come have a look see?

2025 is shown on the title. SB100 is your friend in CA.

Has it ever been clarified which manufacturer (model/year/part number) the steering rack is from?

8x13 not 15 and not by design...What is a Birkinized Caterham?

SU carbs.... not overly hard to tune but prone to leaking (seems to be a Brit car design function in that period)...any gunk will really mess them up. Use good filters not those goofy stock steel mesh ones that can only keep small birds from entering the throats....

Your Spitfire's got a carburetor, not fuel injection, right? I'm trying to remember all the things that would go off on my former carbureted cars - TR4 and BMW 2002. Clogged jets and fuel filters weren't unusual. You note that the car had been sitting for a few years. Had the old gas been drained? The other common failure source was burnt or out-of-gap ignition points. Thing about the old technology is it was usually possible to get the cars to run, even if poorly. My newer (former) fun cars (Alfa Spider and Ferrari 328) were more of the "either runs or doesn't" mode. I'm hoping that my Caterham will be more predictable and easier to diagnose/fix.

Wow. Great stuff. Very interesting about the navigation.

That looks amazing. I have been looking for something prettier and more civilized than my Exocet. We have considered a K20A swap for that car... Also looking at Caterhams but the prices are wild. We know our way around Miatas so I might have to try one of these out.

Nice looking car. I am curious about the NHTSA VIN. Does the car show up as a 2025 MK Sportscars RX5 250 or as a 1960 Lotus or something like that? California things...

I've got an intake for an early xflow, the one everybody calls the Cortina engine Not as much flow as the later "uprated" model this is for the older engines with the combustion chamber in the head it has had some race prep done on it -port matching FREE to a good home, just cover shipping