Kitcat

For those who follow this obscure thread: We had a great time at the track: 2 Caterhams and an Ultralite mixed in with a variety of normal cars. Bball was fastest in his '98 Caterham Crosflow, I was a tick or two behind in my '97, with the Ultralite back a bit more (totally rookie driver). My car died and had to be trailered home (I drove it there & bummed a ride back w/a friend w/a trailer). Early Dx-coolant leak which landed on electrics and shorted things out. I am mechanically challenged so its at a shop with an experienced mechanic who has worked on Caterhams in the past. Wont be doing TOD tho. Hopefully it will be ready for the track day I am doing at Nelson's Ledges on 7/20.

The bad thing about pronouncing it correctly is now even Lotus fans give me a blank look when I say I bought a used kate-trum. I have to mispronounce it as cat-ter-ham before they know what I am talking about. I have started just calling it a Lotus 7. I guess I shudda got a Birkin:)).

I have test driven 2 Caterhams owned by brits. I bought the 2nd car I tested. Both owners pronounced it Kate-trum (Hence K8-rum7). Who wants an obvious vanity plate?. When I called the first owner, after seeing an ad, I said I was calling about the Cat-tur-ham. He had no idea what I was talking about. After many amusing miscues we finally connected. Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said US & Briton were 2 countries separated by a common language?

Scratch my car from the list of availables. I went to Putnam Park racetrack yesterday and ended up with a dead engine and had to mooch a trailer ride home. Probably nothing terribly serious but it's at the only shop in this area with experience working on 7's, Crossflows, Webers, etc and there is a long line of other charming old Brit cars ahead of it. So it doesn't look like we will be cruisin the Dragon this weekend after all.

Nice article. They are trying to imitate "Evo" magazine's top car tests. Most cars that Evo test end up at the same track. Currently the Caterham 400 is in 2nd out of many cars on the Evo list. I am waiting for C & D to test the CSR w/ the 2.3 litre Duratec putting out 260 hp-the 'Vette's going down!.

My goal is to get K8TRUM7

Steve, thanks for the tip! I will ck it out. See you tomorrow. Weather does look to be great. Mike

It's a metal sounding deal. The sharper the turn, the louder the noise, esp on right hand turns. The sound reminded of the mechanical noise some limited slip diffs generate, but this is an open diff. Maybe a wheel bearing? I am out of town the next week so no time to check it out til right before this next Putnam event. I will probably trouble- shoot it my usual way: when the part completely fails, I will know what was wrong:).

Steve: I will drive over from Cincy that am. It's about 2 & 1/2 hours so I should be there by the 8:30 driver's meeting. My car has been making funny noises on hard right hand turns so maybe I can get your thoughts on a ride-along. Kumar says 17 drivers have signed up so far, so it mite just be one long lapping session where you drive as much as you want, when you want (I am good for about 25' before I run out of stamina). See you there. Mike

Just back from my first track day in the 7: this one also @ P Park, w/LOG. Lots & lot s of Elises/Exiges.: No interest in the lowlie 7 (Wh/was faster than 90% of the newer Lotus's). Aren't they interested in from whence theier cars commeth??? (Guess not). Anyhow driving a 7 is very different than any other car I have had at the track. Whereas the othe cars had to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck & man handled-around, the 7 appreciates a subtle suggestion-ham fisted doesnt do it. Once I figured that out, it was very fast, all 100 hp or so.

What's the gas station situation at the Tail? My Caterham holds a mere 7 gallons and spirited driving can use that up pretty fast.

Anyone wanting a ride/drive in a '97 Classic Caterham DeDion Crosssflow should contact me. As a new owner, I am happy to share the love. I am sure I will have the only midnite blue with a red flash on the nose, so feel free to grab me at the event. I leave Sunday AM so this offer is only good from expected arrival on Friday around 1:00 (hopefully) til late Saturday. Prospective drivers and passengers should know that it helps to be short and skinny. I think anyone with more than a 34" waist is going to have trouble fitting. Even if you get in, you may never get out! My guess is that length is less of a problem so up to 6' tall should be do-able. Also upper torso is important. I wear a size 40 suit and man, this car feels like a size 38 in the shoulder area. Also, bring driving shoes if you have them. My size 9 feet don't work well with tennis shoes so I bought driving shoes and even with them the fit is tight. See you there, Mike

It's mostly a weekend/track car. Heavy traffic is a bit unnerving because the car is hard to spot. I am always one gear low so the engine is blating away, and I have the lights on.

OK: 60 y/o lawyer. Not the type that sues people. Instead, the type that helps disabled people, including veterans, obtain their disability benefits from the government. I have a lifetime love for all things automotive but especially 7's. I started reading Road and Track in '62 and soon saw an article on the Lotus 7 (thinly disguised race car or, TDRC). Back then the kit ran about $1.2K, so there has been a slight upward adjustment in cost over the years. I always liked its giant-killer reputation. I also thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw, especially with the top (aka "hood") up. When I was in law school in Champagne-Urbana in the late '60's there was one tooling around & I thought: "some day!" every time I saw it. It never seemed to slow up going around 90 degree turns and it drove right under the parking lot arm without stopping. Research showed it to be incredibly fun/unreliable, perhaps not in that order. So I have been on the sidelines for 45years or so. I have read everything I could about it , including books, car mag articles and various build diaries. Although slightly partial to Caterhams, I love all LISS's. I was very attracted to the Ultralite for its amazing level of power & reliability combined with very high content for a mid-to high 30's price. I have avidly followed the build progress of the FM Miata powered Westfied. My ardor cooled a bit when they announced the 15% price increase due to the sagging dollar. The 'Busa powered Damaen cars were also tempting but I never really figured out their website and decided that while I was willing to live with primitive, a reverse gear was a necessity I stumbled onto this forum about a year ago and it really is responsible for my now having a 7. I asked many questions and always got friendly, helpful answers. I ended up buying a '97 Caterham (wh/I learned from this site is pronounced Kate-trum) for $22.5K. What a deal! It may actually gain value over the ensuing years, or at least not depreciate the way my other sports cars have. And, as my nom 'du forum (Kitcat) suggests, I had always hoped to have a kit Caterham. So here I am: In 2 weeks I have put 1K miles on it, met tons of people who just flip out when they see it, have signed up to do a track day this Monday with the Lotus club at Putnam Park and am headed to the Dragon in a few short weeks to chill w/the rest of you Seven lovers. Pretty neat. Mike

Yesterday I weighed the spare tire : 30 lbs for a 15" prisoner wheel w/195x60 tire; 10 lbs tool bag/jack, 8 lbs top/tonneau; 5 lbs fire extinguisher, so about 1230 lbs net for the car. I am impressed. I always assumed the low Caterham weights advertised were "underestimations" () and predicted about 1350lbs would be the actual weight.

My '97 Caterham crossflow weighed 1275 lbs when aligned today. That was with the spare tire, jack, soft top, fire extinguisher, 2 gallons of gas, etc. It would be closer to 1225 without that stuff. Without me, the weight was almost evenly distributed. With me in the car, the right front side was 40 lbs lighter than the left front, the rears were still even.

Good luck. It would be nice to have another 7 on the track on July 1 so I hope it all works out and isn't too expensive.

Go to work for yourself & you'll discover you have a slave-driver for a boss (like I did:).

I think the 1M mile warranty only covers the original purchaser. Also I suspect mine were rarely re-oiled in their 10 year history and a little maintenance is also required. Thanks to a post on the se7ens list, I located just what I need at Pegasus & they are on their way. Next week I get it aligned & weighed. Then a tune up & a visit to the chassis dyno to see if I can break 100 hp at the wheels (I am betting mid-90's). First track day is 7/1:)

Steve: Everything is working now at their website. I just checked. Hope to see you in July. What type of LiSS are you bringing? Mike

Classic webers with cutout in bonnet for air filters. Two oval size: 4 1/2 x7", 3 1/4" deep.

The K & N air filter elements on my newly purchased '97 Caterham 1700cc Kent Crossflow are shot. The filter material is missing in spots and can not be "recharged". I have been to K & N's site but can't locate anything that seems like it would work. Rocky Mountain Motorsports wants $85 for the air filter and bracket, which seems a bit steep. Any idea what the proper size/part number is for a replacement K & N filter? Thanks, Mike

Steve: I am having the same problem. I just called the owner of Predator, Kumar Viswalingham, and left a message. I will let you know as soon as the glitch is resolved. I signed up on the webpage a few days ago (downloded the application & mailed it & $300 in to Predator) and just spoke w/Kumar yesterday who said its' a go-he's paid the rent on the traack, so it will happen, regardless of how many people sign up. It would be great to have another 7 or two there! I have driven the track many times in other cars. This will be my maiden voyage in the 7 so I am excited to see how it does. Mike

Snopes.com (Urban Legends) says this piece has been floating across the Internet since '00 & is untrue. Go to their website and search: Congressman and social security, to find out the details. There is still plenty of other stuff Congress has done to be indignant about tho.

Having just purchased a '97 1700cc Crossflow Caterham, I am anxious to try it out. A friend is hosting a track day at Putnam Park race track, about 40 miles southwest of Indy. Any one care to join me? Cost is $300. Just 2 run groups: fast & slow/newbies. So you will get as much time on track as you and your car can handle. If interested, go to their website: www.predatormotosport.com for details. This is a pure trackday, no formal instruction is provided but you will have no trouble catching a ride with someone and getting a quick tutorial if needed. There is always a nice mix of cars (no 7's before, tho): Miatas, Vettes, Mustangs, etc. At the moment only 14 cars are signed up so there will be plenty of track space & tons of time on track. Hope to see you there! Mike