JohnCh

I don't have data on the stainless mesh screens, but when I had my old Westfield with a 1700cc crossflow on the dyno, we did a run with the ITG air filter removed and lost 1.5hp. I didn't expect that. I wouldn't read that as ITG filters make power, but rather they do a good job of not losing power. Given the limited under bonnet space, the Webers were fitted with a short JC50 (or JC40?) filter and the Stubby bolt-on radiused air horns from Pegasus.

Glad to hear you have it sorted. If cold start and initially drivability on the 620 are anything like the factory 420 I've driven, that's money well spent. Please report back and let us know how it works. Thanks, John

Always happy to help

Do you mean the 4 photos on the last post of the previous page or something else? If it's not those photos, please send me a PM and I'll help you troubleshoot.

Redline sells the Throttle assembly with TPS. Might be worth contacting them to see if they can get the TPS separately or know who sells it. https://redlinecomponents.co.uk/product/throttle-body-tps-620r/

Have you checked with Josh at Rocky Mountain or Bruce at Beachman Racing? They both stock parts and one may have this on a shelf.

To me, this is the key. Understand what you have to work with, and identify those constraints before spending time on solutions that may or may not apply. Pictures of your bonnet scoop and the carb to frame area like many showed above may also help.

I found the CSR Engine Build Manual in the downloads section very helpful when building both of my Duratecs: A couple of threads that might also be worth reading to prepare you for some potential challenges are my 2.0L rebuild here, and this thread underway on BlatChat. I outsourced the short block assembly, whereas the BlatChat thread also covers that part of the process. -John

Thanks @Colorado7er, I've updated the title for @SeattleTR to reflect that status.

Thanks @Silber, I've updated the title for @rrdusek to reflect that status and avoid confusion for others.

You'll get differing opinions on how to support the car during the build. If you are building it in a location that can't remain blocked for months on end, or doesn't provide enough working room around the car to easily perform all the jobs, including adequate space up front for the cherry picker, then mobile stands will create fewer moments of frustration. If those things aren't issues, then you have to ask yourself if you will ever move it if you have the option? Stands/sawhorses vs. jackstands is another one I initially debated. A desire for wheeled support basically eliminates jackstands from consideration. If you don't need that -- I didn't -- then it comes down to a few considerations: Height, stability, and access. For me, I didn't want the car so high that it forced me to stretch my arms unnecessarily when laying on my back under the car, nor did I want something that could potentially get in the way for some jobs. Given my jackstands provide sufficient working height, have always felt very stable when doing major jobs on the Westfield, and have the option of using either one or two up front thanks to the cruciform jacking location, I opted to stick with what I know. During my build, there was never a time I wished I had gone with a different setup. That doesn't mean they are right for you or for others, but things to consider. -John

I bought this one from Amazon. Only $18 with free Prime shipping: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081PJSSKY

Congrats on the incoming kit. My advice for prep: Start reading through the build threads on this forum and the blogs provided by @CBuff. I found the second one in his list particularly valuable during my build. There is enough variance in manufacturing tolerances that some activities which are hard to perform for some, are easy for others. Getting a broad perspective up front will better prepare you for some of the head banging frustration you will likely encounter later. Make sure you have plenty of light. It looks like you are set from above, but good lighting under the car is helpful. I am also partial to wearing a head lamp. Supplement the Caterham supplied build manual with the older version in the Downloads section. When Caterham changed from the written build manual to the Ikea version, some important details were lost. Some of these are highlighted in the various build blogs. The only special tool I can recall buying was the socket @slowdude mentions above. In my case, the nuts were tapered, and although 41mm at the bottom, the very tops were 42mm and therefore required the larger socket. Always have your phone with you to take pictures along the way. It's really helpful to refresh your memory of what certain aspects looked like weeks earlier in the build. Start a build thread here. You'll receive a lot of help along the way, and it creates something to refer back to when troubleshooting things in the future. No need to rely on your memory. Plan where you will place the crates (I have measurements if you need them) and clear sufficient space so they can comfortably coexist with the chassis during the initial parts of your build. Bonus points if you have a laptop and large monitor in the garage. This is really helpful when looking at the build manuals, blog photos, and various youtube videos people have published. If you don't drink, you should start practicing now. I guarantee you will need a drink at several points throughout the build process (see the end of bullet one)

To me, this is the key. It's about feel and preferences. Given Farah's perspective differs from most reviews -- including from other "extremely seasoned and experienced" journalists -- I suspect this is something to which he is either more sensitive or dislikes more than others. I have driven cars with specific characteristics that spoiled the car for me but speaking with others who have driven the same car, they either didn't notice those things, or they did and for them they were non-issues. That's why it's always desirable to drive a car yourself to see how it maps to your preferences. Now if you are concerned with lap times, where quantifiable data matters, that's a different story. Another possible factor in this instance is setup. Farrah is not a light guy. If the car was set up for a much lighter driver, it would be riding much closer to its rear bump stops with him in the car, thereby impacting available suspension travel (and rake) and exacerbating the points made above about the de Dion.

@BirkinBernie, I think he's referring to this site. The club sticker panamericano inserted above reads USA7s.org, while the current site default URL is USA7s.net and that's how it's referenced on other sites. This is only speculation on my part, but I believe the site was originally USA7s.net, rather than the more common USA7s.com, in part because of Se7ens.net. When the club portion was founded and 501c3 papers filed, the branding decision was made to call it USA7s.org to reinforce the nonprofit status. Somewhere down the line, it went back to USA7s.net. Al may know the actual details of the .org branding. But again, .org, .net, and .com will all get you here.

No idea on the timing, but .org and .com both redirect to the forum.

The article is now available online: https://www.classicandsportscar.com/features/caterham-seven-50-years-lightweight-thrills

A few additional background details and timeline: September 2005 - The USA2005 tour began. Forty se7ens from the UK made the journey by boat, one Caterham took a plane from Dubai, and another 10-15 US-based cars joined for varying portions of the 3-week long, 4,000 mile journey through the Western US. That experience led to a number of discussions among US participants for better organization on this side of the pond. At the time, those needs were met by the USA subgroup of the se7ens.net list server (already an outdated format), and to a lesser degree, by the California Caterham Club (CCC) which was a proper forum. June 2005 - Mazda ( @slngsht )started this forum as a brand-agnostic community using pretty rudimentary software. Initially, there were only a few members, so conversation was sparse. October 2005 - topic of a national forum was raised on CCC here Early 2006 - traffic began picking up on USA7s Summer 2006 - conversations about forming a club and updating the forum software began in earnest. A group of nine people contributed money to cover club formation and forum upgrade costs, with two of those people (AL and Mazda) doing the overwhelming majority of the work. Becoming a registered non-profit, dealing with insurance, and migrating a forum was a significant undertaking. The thread here is a good read on this aspect. Fall 2006 - plans were underway to merge CCC and USA7s forums to create a single US destination. Unfortunately, those discussions were halted in November when work issues required the undivided attention of CCC's owner. Although the formal club aspect may have stalled over time, it's a testament to Mazda and Al's vision that this is still a vibrant community nearly 19 years later. -John

I've been absent from the forum for over two weeks, in large measure due to this thread. Despite being only a volunteer, I maintain a sense of pride in the forum and what it represents. Frankly, I found much of the initial content in this thread embarrassing. It fails to reflect the supportive community we have collectively worked so hard to build, and it made me question why I invest my time to perform this role. Right or wrong, I chose to temporarily step away instead of further expressing my opinions and contributing to the continuation of this thread. Subsequently, certain individuals introduced a more reasoned approach to the conversation (thank you), while others initiated a radical thread drift, not-so-subtly implying that enough is enough. Nevertheless, none of these efforts seem to be effective, and this thread refuses to die a natural death. So here is what happens next. This thread is now closed. Anyone attempting to restart it elsewhere or complain about its closure will receive a two-week timeout. Repeat offenders will be banned. Bringing up claims that this action hinders your free speech will result in a two-week timeout to allow you time to research the factual inaccuracies of your assertion. If you disagree with the above measures, you are free to leave. I will not continue to volunteer my time to run this forum as a platform for such behavior. Remember, if I depart, Mazda will need to find a replacement volunteer to keep the forum backend afloat. Your departure only removes your perspective from future conversations. Sending me a PM to bitch and moan about any of the above will not receive a response, nor will I waste my time reading your entire treatise. I will break out the technical content to a new thread when I have time. I don't wish to expose someone doing a search for that type of information to this embarrassment. It's not fair to them and doesn't accurately reflect USA7s. Please bear in mind that while this thread is located in the "Politics, Religion, and Controversy" subforum, the concerns many of us have do not solely revolve around the topic itself but rather how specific opinions were expressed. Additionally, even if someone chooses to ignore this thread, it will still be visible in the standard activity feeds, making it difficult to completely disregard. I'm disheartened it has come to this – I hate to be heavy handed – but am hopeful we can reset and get back to what this forum is about. -John

I acknowledge you are a master debater, but isn't a debate time bound and isn't repeating the same argument numerous times considered argumentum ad nauseam, and something to avoid? I think we are all aware of your position and the positions of others who have responded in both threads. Perhaps it's time to ring the bell on this and move on. -John

It's just one data point, but I've been running H&R bolt in spacers on the rear of my Westfield since 2006. When researching them at the time, there were no issues using them in various racing series provided the studs were suitably long for the wheels. I took that as a sign they were fine for my application. -John

One thing that is often overlooked by people running bolt-on adapters is to periodically confirm the bolts holding the adapter to the hub are still properly torqued. Out of sight, out of mind. Obviously not the issue here, but as long as the wheels are off...

The remnants of what looks like Teflon tape makes me wonder if this is a torque issue? Either the studs were over stretched given the reduced friction from the tape, or the lug nuts were under torqued and eventually backed off. Do you recall the last time you checked the lug nuts? -John