JohnCh

Are you sure that logo is in the public domain? As mentioned above, I don't want to play fast and loose with copyrights.

The first version had clamshells, but I decided to simplify and add lightness

Note: I'm intentionally putting this thread in the wrong forum to maximize visibility and will move it to Forum Evolution in the future. The forum turns 20 years old this June. Two years after Mazda's (@slngsht) inaugural post on 6/10/2005, the current logo was developed for the 7-7-7 event at the Tail of the Dragon and has held station at the top of the page ever since. I think it's time for a replacement. Perhaps one a little more T-shirt friendly. The creativity and designer genes are missing from my DNA, and although I've taken a stab at a logo, I'd like to open this up to the community to see what the more artistic among you can create. A few things to consider: The logo needs to remain readable when scaled down to fit at the top of the forum pages. The design and color palette should be simple to aid printing and embroidery on clothing. The color palette should also work well with the current forum colors. e.g. no fuchsia. Bonus points if it includes an element that makes it clear this is about cars inspired by the Lotus 7 There should be no copyright issues. Rights will be donated to the club. I suspect we may have a situation where someone comes up with a winning design, but they aren't proficient with graphics software, and we'll need someone to clean things up. Therefore, there are two prizes on the table. One for the designer, and if needed, one for the person doing the graphics rework. The winner(s) will receive: The community's undying gratitude. Lifetime Club Membership. You will be moved into a newly created Lifetime Club Member user group that will exceed the Paid Club Member benefits and won't require payment or annual renewal. This will be displayed under your username and the winner(s) can even select the font color. A small gift to be named later (I have a couple of things in mind). Feel free to post your ideas here, but to make an official submission, please send a PM to both @Croc and @JohnCh with the subject line "Logo submission". We'll close this down at the end of April, but if nothing compelling comes through, we'll extend it indefinitely. Bottom line, we don't want to make a change just for the sake of change. To kick things off, here is the design I've been playing with, and which is an example of something that still requires an expert's touch to clean up and vectorize. I've included a small version to show how it works with the existing forum design and a larger one that would fit on a sticker or shirt. Keep this size disparity in mind when working on your designs. Thanks, John

Given how long you've owned a Caterham, you should know that incomplete or inaccurate technical information is anything but strange

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