JohnCh

You're progressing quickly! Aside from the mystery parts, how has the build gone thus far? Any surprises?

@EdWills, is the UK dealer Longstone and are the Pirellis you've mentioned the CN36? If so, I've heard very good things about both. I am running the Michelin XAS FF on the Elan (expensive, but great option for @wdb) but would have also considered the CN36 if it was available in the 155/13 size I needed.

Thanks for creating the new post. I've edited your post above to avoid confusion. Link to the new thread is here: Now back to winter upgrade updates...

Hi @EdWills tire questions always result in deeper conversations that will take this thread too far off topic and will make it harder for people to find this in the future when they have the same question. Please start a new thread in the Wheels & Tires forum: https://usa7s.net/ips/forum/32-wheels-and-tires/. I'm happy to edit out that portion of the post above once your new thread is live All, please wait for Ed to start the new thread and post your answers to his tire question there, so I won't have to go back and move posts later. Thanks, John

Many years ago, a friend bought a new Exige S with the supercharger. A few of us did back-to-back drives with the Westfield. Afterwards, we all commented how the Westfield made the Exige feel shockingly heavy. Comparing weights of the two cars with fuel, the Exige was nearly 70% heavier. There is light, and then there is light.

I don't like to lock threads unless it's a necessity. Everyone, please post any technical advice or feedback to the thread below. Failure to do so will result in public humiliation.

They sell tools specifically designed to remove the black ring. I use this one, but there are likely cheaper alternatives. Works great. No penetrating oil needed. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0079GPYA4?

@EdWills were you trying to link to this page? https://www.7-dna.com/eugene/suspension.html

Did a little off-roading by the pond after a blat yesterday. And yes, that is a lot of green. -John

@Vovchandr the point many of us are making is not that 4-points can't also accommodate a sub belt, but that being in a collision with only the lap and shoulder belts attached isn't as safe as it appears. This very old Schroth video uses crash test dummies to illustrate the difference between normal 4-points and 4-points with ASM, which more closely mirror the effect of using sub belts.

The weather here since the Holidays has been either atrocious, or those rare dry days have occurred when I'm unable to take out the cars. As a result, yesterday was the first time I've driven the Caterham since connecting up the short-cut button to zero out the trip odometer in the AiM. I did a 25-mile loop, then went to fuel the car, and the button no longer works. I'm assuming vibration caused a connection to no longer connect, but I'll need to remove the scuttle to confirm and to fix it, so it will be a while. This was also my first opportunity to try the heated seats. I didn't order these as a means to keep me warm, but rather to help with a bad back, which does respond a bit to heat. Sadly, the Caterham seat heaters appear to be designed by the same Lucas engineer who did the wiper mechanism. Yes, they work, but not particularly well. I'd say the seat heaters on high feel equivalent to a modern car's seats on their lowest setting. Better than nothing, but not quite what I need. Oh well... With rain returning tomorrow, I took the car out again today, doing my favorite 40-mile loop up High Bridge Rd. Traffic was fairly light on the out leg, but virtually traffic free on the return. The engine continues to amaze. I've driven 265hp and 280hp Caterham's in the past, but the lower powered car didn't make me involuntarily swear when accelerating hard like this car. Here is a photo taken along the way.

@CBuff I rotated your last photo. If you intended it to be upside down to highlight the effectiveness of the Schroths, please let me know and I'll return it to the original orientation

Although expensive, I'm a fan of the Schroth Profi II with ASM. A danger of running a standard 4-point is that in a collision, the lap belt rides up the abdomen and can crush internal organs. Mounting the lap belt at the correct angle and using a crotch strap (5 or 6 point) keeps the lap belt in the correct position at the pelvis and minimizes this type of trauma. Schroth is the exception. Their ASM technology has a stitched fold on the inside shoulder belt that breaks in a collision, instantly lengthening that side and causing the lower body to slightly rotate. That rotation ensures the pelvis catches on top of the lap belt and prevents the belt from riding up to the soft tissue. They have crash test dummy videos that illustrate the difference. The Schroths also have a lot of flexibility in mounting; you can configure the lap belts as pull-up, or pull-down, or some combination, and there is also a decent amount of flexibility when placing the adjusting buckle location on the lap belt. This comes in handy if using one-piece seats like Tillets where the lap belt must thread through a hole in the side of the seat. I have them in the Caterham, Westfield, and Miata. No issues with fit in any of them.

Hmm... Perhaps I should update my signature with this?

Does this list only include paying jobs, or does volunteer work count? If the latter, then you forgot to add Vlad ego booster. It's right there in his signature

I've seen various threads here over the years on the lack of performance shops that still rebuild/modify Zetecs. Esslinger Engineering, who has done Duratecs for a few of us, recently posted a photo on FB of a Zetec they are redoing. I pinged them to find out if this is a one-off or if Zetecs are in their wheelhouse, and was told they don't do many simply because of low demand, but they are happy to do more. Something to keep in mind, particularly for those in the Western US. https://esslingeracing.com/ -John

But you don't have six two-seat road cars, so your excessiveness is manifested in a different way

I thought I had a problem with owning impractical cars, but you have me beat. Next time someone asks me why I have five sportscars, rather than respond "because six would be excessive" I'll show them your post and explain I'm comparatively practical Very nice garage!

Ignoring whether or not a new Caterham is worth the money at current prices, they are sufficiently expensive that a number of alternatives suddenly become realistic options for buyers. I'm curious if the really long waiting list is still a thing? I waited over 17 months after placing an order in 2021, but there have been at least two significant price increases since.

A no-options 420S S3 is 42k GBP which is $53k at current exchange rates before you factor in shipping. In my case, that added $8k to the bill. Unless those prices have dropped considerably, even a stripper 420 is a $60k car delivered to the West Coast. Option up a 420R SV and it's not hard to cross into new Porsche Cayman territory. Things have changed.

You might get more targeted answers if you update your profile with the type of se7en you own (it shows you are still looking). On my Westfield, I am using this model from Protex with the optional latching pins. Protex has a huge number of choices, and their latches are high quality. Unless you are okay drilling new holes, I'd pay attention to the mounting hole locations for your current latches. https://protex.com/27-1570MSZN-spring-claw-toggle-latch-with-safety-catch-light-duty-mild-steel-zinc-plate-passivate-silver-blue

Superformance S1 located in OR: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1081099910487213/

Hard to be certain from the video, but it looks like the outer MC has a lot more side-to-side room on the balance bar than the inner MC. What happens if you tighten that up?

Keith Tanner, the author of the GRM article, also wrote a book many years ago titled "How to Build a Cheap Sports Car" which is now out of print, but copies do come up on the used market occasionally. I'd spend time digging through his build diary here. It should help crystalize what's involved. https://cheapsportscar.net/diary.php?start=1 I'd also join https://www.locostusa.com/forums/ and https://locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/ if you haven't already done so. USA7s is not focused on any single brand, but the majority of owners have cars that started as kits from various companies such as Birkin, Caterham, Stalker, GBS, MK, WCM Ultralite, Westfield, etc. Although there are Locost owners here, and the requisite knowledge to build one among several of the members, you won't find as much on that topic as you will on those dedicated Locost forums. Belonging to all of the forums is a good approach, as-is digging through various build threads to see how some of the companies I mentioned above do it. At this point reading everything you can get your hands on will be helpful as you build your knowledge base and develop your build plan. I'm looking forward to hearing what you decide to do. Cheers John

Welcome @Cirving! For those interested, Cirving has also created a dedicated thread to his car. Turbocharged bike-engined se7en. Yeah, that's a sedate ride