Kitcat

They are the same size as my Prisoner wheels and the tires are actually narrower than my RA1's. Since my RA1's are now bald, they will be my dry weather tires. Karl's will be my wet weather set. After all the tire discussion here, it will be interesting to do my own mini-comparo. Stay tuned. Mike M.

Assuming they will fit my Caterham, I will purchase. Mike

There is a primo used Caterham SV in the for-sale section of this site for $36K. It's a steal IMHO (Full Disclosure, I am pals w/seller but it's still a steal).

I have long had lots of smoke off my engine once warmed up. Sitting at traffic lights, the white stuff floated up between my cooling vents and looked almost like a radiator hose issue.I have always assumed it was oil/grease burning off, and it was never bad enough to really look into. Yesterday I had some extra time so I got it warmed up and tried to see where it was all coming from. Turns out it is being pumped out of the valve cover (rocker cover) gasket. It stopped the instant I turned off tho motor, even tho it was still hot enough to burn any spilled oil, etc. So, in no particular order, my (dumb) questions are: 1] Is it serious; 2] Is it a simple matter of tightening the fasteners that hold it in place? 3] If # 2 is the solution, any one know what size allen wrench to tighten the valve cover on a crossflow, (5mm is too big, 4mm too small), and what the torque shd be? 4] If I need a new gasket, any one have a recommendation? 5] Any tricks-warm up engine 1st, use stickum on one side of the gasket, both sides, etc? Mike M.

I run RA1 205's all around. Steering is very heavy when parking, at speed it is fine. I have the maximum caster as well wh/also makes the steering heavier.

This is a long shot, but: Is there a chance that it is a mechanical problem caused by g-forces on the the track? In other words, something that looks normal in the pits but, under load, is distorted. Classic example on my and other Cats was worn engine mounts allowing engine to rotate enough on the track to cause the air cleaner to carbs to make contact w/bonnet, cause air leak and screw w/A/F ratio and hence coughing, spluttering etc. I know you don't have carbs but maybe something similar is occurring if engine is moving around?

Jeez, Skip, sorry to hear abt the med conditions! For a non-gearhead, like me, 80 hours on wiring sounds like pure torture. Mike M.

80-C: Great story! A friend bought a used one after we got out of college, in '68, for $5K. Luckily he still has it. I think it is his retirement plan.

Skip: You make it sound so easy:). Didn't you spend around 70 hours just sorting out the wiring? BTW-I agree, yours is one of the nicest se7ens. I love the color, attention to detail and of course, that thing is "all motor."

Worn rubber motor mounts are a known problem area on Caterhams. Replacing them every coupla years is a good practice.

Croc: All the mentioned hoses have been replaced- after they failed:). Only hoses left were the heater hoses, wh/have now failed. And the oil cooler hoses. I will quit tempting fate and replace them now as well. Mike M.

Pretty much the same spec as my '97.

And the men are total wimps, at least this sorry loser is.

My Cat has sprung a heater hose leak that has grounded me. Its one of the two, short, angled hoses the enter the heater box. Since my car is 14 years old, maybe 10 years wld be a safe time to routinely replace these? I have patched it and it's semi-functional but I wont be taking any long trips til replacement hoses are found. Mike M.

Hmmmm...... I think I can think of a certain sports car that has been even more imitated than even the Cobra:).

IF you will be on the Shenandoah Circuit, find an in-car video of a hot lap and watch it every day until you can run the course in your mind without the video. Those of us who did the track as part of LOG 30, and who never had been there before, found its 23 or so turns enormously confusing. It is hard to get the "line" right when you think the course veers right after the blind turn in, only to see it goes the opposite direction. Like driving an auto-X course w/o first walking it a few times. Tom,(Yellow SS7) can I get an "amen!"?

Sounds like a heck of a deal for a terrific car but, as you say, what do I know?

The extent of the damage and lasting effect is really staggering. Even w/the previous photos, I did not appreciate how devastating this was to CChurch.

Slow in/fast out is the preferred method. They tried fast in/not out. Hard to see what happened with the Caterham at the very end-his was the most botched of some epically botched "turns". BTW-the featured track is not NJMP.

Phil Hill somehow survived that era. When interviewed prior to his death he talked abt driver "X" killing himself at this track and driver "Y" killing himself at that track. Finally the interviewer said, why do you say they killed them selves? P Hill reflected and said words to the effect that it was a defense mechanism, a way for to create the illusion that his fate was in his hands, that he and the other drivers controlled what happened at the track. Otherwise he wld have never had the courage to get back out there. It is frightening to look at the "safety" features on the early F1 cars-they wldnt pass an informal trackday inspection today (roll over bar well below the driver's head, etc.).

Croc: What size front/rear tires? Can you get wheelspin just w/accelerator? Photos are not available, tho I saw a few that Skip posted. Wow! Are you driving it home? Is it sorted or is more tinkering needed? Mike M

Gary: I have to agree. The Cat on E-Bay is about what you wld have AFTER you fixed all the issues the Westfield has. And it may not cost much more. And it runs, you can test drive it, etc. I wld guess $2-5K over time to bring the E-bay Cat up to spec (new tires/fluids, etc. tho it may be in excellent shape already, hard to tell). Mike M.

Croc's car: Oooooooohhhh, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! What a pretty engine! I'd be tempted to run it w/o the "bonnet"! Not to start anything (), but I wonder who's car's faster, Skip's Turbo Miata engined Cat or Croc's uber Duratec Cat? Hyopothetically speaking, of course. Nice aray of se7ens. Looks like almost as many there as at LOG. Nice Ferrari too (tho, w/o the red paint, I initially thot it was a Lotus Evora).

Looks like a nice, stock, solid rear axle car. Little different from mine. I don't see a price listed but current bid is $16K and that shd go up a bit. Seems like a $20-22K car (5 sp., 1700 cc engine).

Hugh Jarce (aka, large butt): Someone shd introduce you to Bessie the Seven:).