JohnCh

Looks like the builder took inspiration from the Caterham Levante when selecting mirrors and headlights. -John

A single pic won't cut it. I suspect there are enough of us interested in the car that it warrants a thread of it's own! -John

For mirrors, see this thread. Several options including what's been mentioned here. The bonnet is a little tricky. If it has to come from the UK on it's own (i.e. not bundled in a container with some kits) shipping costs won't be cheap due to the size. I'd check with Rocky Mountain Caterham and Beachman Racing to see if either have any spares in stock or incoming shipments to which they can add it. As per xcarguy, also check local fabricators. The cost may be much higher than a new bonnet, but it might net out when shipping costs are added to the total. Perhaps the bonnet isn't so far gone that it's more cost effective to have them fix and refinish it? In addition to engine and trans information, what clutch master is installed (brand and part number)? If it's the stock part, the clutch shouldn't be overly light, but you never know what changes have been made by prior owners. Also, when was the transmission fluid last changed and do you know what's in it? That can also play a factor in shifting smoothness. Thanks, John

I am using a Raceline supplied AP Racing HD clutch and pressure plate on my Duratec. No complaints. -John

Welcome and sorry to hear the dealers haven't met your expectations. Not sure what brand you're looking for, but if you are considering a Westfield, contact the US distributor directly. Tom is a good guy and very helpful. if you are looking for a Caterham, Bruce Beachman of Beachman Racing has a very good reputation on the forum, and as per this recent thread, the guys at Rocky Mountain Caterham are back in business. A lot of people on the forum have had very good experiences with them when buying their cars. I've also had positive experiences sourcing parts from them, even though I have a Westfield. Over the years some Caterham dealers have been a little uppity with me regarding Westfield ownership, so they score extra points in my book. If you are looking for something else, it might be worth posting the desired brand(s) to get other recommendations. -John

"again" would imply that I stopped being in trouble at some point. And no, nothing new since the Elan...but there were a few upgrades -John

No need to for an admin to do this. Feel free to create the thread in Member Rides. There isn't much frequent new content there (only 5 posts in the past 5 months) so no need to make it a sticky, but happy to revisit that if things change and traffic drives it down the page. Before Croc jumps in and corrects your error, I'll simply admit that I'm not worthy of anyone's respect :jester: -John

I spoke with Mazda about your request and we're fine with a dedicated thread in the Member Rides section. One request though; please remember this site was intentionally created as a brand agnostic forum to celebrate cars inspired by the Lotus 7, and we don't want to undermine that brief. If you do things like plan events as mentioned earlier, please keep that off the forum unless they are open to non-Caterham owners. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Thanks, John

It happened just north of San Francisco on the way back from USA2005. I hit the carcass with the left front, it then shot up along the tub (look closely and you can the rubber marks), hit the polycarbonate wind deflector, then down to the rear wing. Without the deflector, or if that was just made from plexiglass, it would have been a head or shoulder hit at over 70mph. i.e. it wouldn't have ended well... -John

Sometimes it's not a cone. Sometimes it's a tire carcass jumping in front of you on a very dark section of freeway at 5:30am. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15150&stc=1 -John

Look for something sitting on the top of a piston, scrapes/gouges on the cylinder walls, and if any of the valves are bent or tweaked. As you look at the valves within a cylinder or go cylinder to cylinder, treat this like a game of "one of these things is not like the others." If you find something, you probably found the problem. BTW don't forget to check the sparkplugs as per my earlier post. If one of those is damaged or really oily, that's likely the cylinder with the damage. -John

I knew I could count on you to back me up. And it was the Elan this time. Last weekend I almost turned it into a 4-wheeled candle. The price for that Jegs SVT engine is much less than I expected. Isn't there a visual difference between the SVT and regular Zetec cam covers? Just thinking of ways to narrow down the engine version if no one knows how to decipher the block number. -John

Sorry, being a sarcastic a-hole just comes naturally to me Pull the plugs (keep them in order so you know which plug came from each cylinder) and look for a bent electrode, flecks of metal, chipped/cracked insulator, oil soaked, or discolored compared to the rest. Post photos if anything looks suspect. -John

Don't forget, in addition to the 8 intake valves, you have 8 exhaust valves. If those are visible from the intake, then you have a serious problem :jester: Have you removed the sparkplugs yet to look for damage? If something is banging around the combustion chamber, it can visibly damage the plug. Shining a flashlight down the sparkplug port "could" also reveal a piece of metal on top of the piston, but I'd spend $40 and buy a borescope that you can put down that opening and give it a good once over. Nothing may have broken off, but you could have bent a valve. I have this one that works well and would do the job. -John

Check out Protex. They make a number of different styles and their site includes dimensional drawings which should come in handy. -John

Hmm... Although the article called it a Westfield, upon closer examination, I'm not sure what this is. It has some Westfield elements (scuttle, dash, transmission tunnel) but some Caterham elements as well (door sill angle, rear wings/tub interface, windscreen pillars). Whatever it is, it's a more interesting camera car than a Cayenne.

Apparently fast SUVs have become the standard camera cars for high speed automotive and motorcycle video work. A German film production company, however, has taken a different approach and decided to add some lightness in the form of a bike-engined Westfield. Slide show here, and video of it in action is here. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=14910&stc=1 -John

I should have known better than to think you missed one, let alone two cars :banghead: Fortunately the Elan doesn't need a restoration; just dry weather so I can enjoy it. Upgrades though are another story. I recently swapped out the crappy M&S tires for a set of Michelin XAS FF in the correct size (BIG difference!) and a larger, hollow front ARB just arrived from the UK. I suppose the next step is an LS swap :jester: -John

I don't recall seeing either of these cars in previous posts. They are offered by a Seattle shop that imports cars from Japan. The Caterham is RHD with a 1600 Crossflow and the Fejer is LHD with a 2L Toyota mill. No idea on condition, but pricing seems very reasonable. '88 Caterham S3 RHD '84 Fejer Super Seven -John

I had to replace some tappets about 6 years ago and discovered it was a lot easier buying them from my local Mazda dealer. Below are the part number conversions from my notes: 3.302: LF01-12-556 3.382: LF01-12-561 3.522: LF01-12-568 3.625: LF01-12-574 3.650: LF01-12-575 3.725: LF01-12-578 -John

Moved to Parts section. -John

Hate to admit it, but Croc is right once again, including time of day (I usually call between 6-7am PT). Although I've never dealt with SBD, short phone calls with all the other vendors -- and there have been a lot over the years -- has always proven the most expedient approach. -John

Build threads are too few and far between. I'd love to better understand your plans for the upgrades and then critique, er...I mean observe this from the sidelines. :jester: -John

I have MOG seats which are similar to the Tillets. Because the shells are so thin, they do make a significant difference in available space. With the runners in place, and 1/4" spacers in front to increase tilt back, my butt is -John

The manufacturer already did that This shows it putting out 2 liters of fuel: It's certainly an interesting concept. The size, weight , and price are big improvements over Halon and Halotron, but I'm not as enthused over the engagement mechanism or the inability to stop the stream. With a regular fire extinguisher you simply pull the pin and squeeze the trigger which doesn't really take any practice to accomplish quickly. With the Element you need to remove a cap and strike it against the end. In the panic of a fire, with never having tried this before, I wonder if it could add precious seconds doing multiple strikes at different pressures, or in my case, finding the cap that I carelessly threw to the ground while attempting that initial strike. When using a fire extinguisher on my car in the past, it was helpful stopping the stream for a second to examine the engine bay and assess if I needed to reposition it. With the Element, it appears there is always a smoke screen partially blocking your view. Not sure if these concerns are valid or if they outweigh the benefits, but I am looking forward to reading more reviews. Given the price though, it might be worth having one in the car to supplement my Halon unit. -John