Alaskossie

Terry, Could you measure the can on that muffler before you ship it out? The one I got to replace my loud non-Caterham muffler is 27 1/2 inches long. Yours looks a bit shorter. I'd like to find one like yours, if it is indeed shorter. If you have a Caterham part number for yours, please let me know. Thanks.

Neil, Welcome aboard! What town in Norge do ye hail from? Bsimon and I seem to be the only ones so far with a carbon clam fetish. Bob S. has some ideas about how they should be designed; we haven't worked yet with Ian Ashdown in California, who said he has the capability of making them. I would prefer all c/f, and would then spray the underside with pickup-truck bed-liner, to protect against stones. I presently have all c/f fromt cycle wings and rear wings, and coated them with bed-liner. the top-sides are clear-coated, which protects against moisture absorption, and gives the wings a real three-dimensional look.

Terry, Could you measure the overall length of the can on this muffler? Also, do you have the Caterham part no.? i got one from Caterham USA to replace my very loud non-Caterham muffler, and the replacement is long enough that I will have to alter my side-pipe forward mount. I'm wondering if one like yours would fit without any alteration. it looks shorter than the one I got from Caterham (I'd have to go out to the garage to measure it). Thanks.

chrisc and lancylad, Do you know if there is any chance this fantastic-sounding Vancouver Island blat can be added onto the tail end of next year's Grizzly Bear Blat, or as an add-on option for folks who don't get enough driving on BC roads in the GBB itself? I can't make this year's Vancouver Island tour, but am planning to drive down from Anchorage to do the GBB next year. It would be great to have a Vancouver Island tour at the end of the GBB -- or even just have a copy of this year's Vancouver route book, if nothing else. Just a thought.....

Do you still have the Y-fitting for the spare tire? Please let me know, and if so, what you're asking. Thanks.

jlumba81, We have family visiting from Virginia (just arrived last night), or I'd try to look you up before you depart back for Juneau today. Br sure to let me know when you may be coming for the autox in September. Will that be the Sept. 9 or Sept 16 autox (or perhaps both?)? Let's keep in touch.

jlumba81, Have you driven back to Juneau yet? When you were in Anchorage, you should have given me a call; I'm in the phone book. I believe this is the second Juneau-Anchorage-Juneau trip that you have made in your Caterham, right? I'm hoping that Giles Cooper, the Aussie with the long-distance Elise, will be calling me when he reaches Anchorage. I had made contact with him earlier, when he was in California and Colorado. He'll have more than a few miles under his belt by the time he rolls into town.

Benn Wofford at Caterham USA in 2011 sold me a re-designed locking cap/ filler neck and opening for the Caterham that is supposed to allow more of the nozzle down into the neck of the tank. i have not installed it yet, so cannot report on how well it works.

Here's a Caterham Seven with 157,000 track miles: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=25607&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=html&utm_campaign=2012-5-1 It apparently still has its original engine and gearbox. So much for a Seven being a high-strung, fair-weather toy, spending most of its time in the repair shop....

Klasik-69, If your chassis is a 2004, it is an imperial chassis built by Arch Motors, the original Seven chassis builder. The change to the metric chassis occurred sometime in 2006-07 as to rhd S3 cars, and a bit later for lhd S3, I believe. There are detail differences between the late imperial and the metric chassis, such as to mounts for the master cylinders, engine-bay bracing, and other details I'm not familiar with. One objective was to have as few differences as possible between lhd and rhd chassis. The structural difference is that the metric chassis is jig-welded by automated welders, not hand-brazed by human beings as the Arch chassis is (was). I believe Arch still makes replacement chassis and chassis parts for pre-metric cars. Danilo, I think Caterham's chassis changes were a gradual evolution in thinking about chassis design and also availability for a wider, taller variety of drivers. It was not some mis-guided attempt to "stay in the news;" I've seen no evidence of that. After all, this was originally a 1957 design -- name one other 1957-origin car design that has gradually evolved to still be one of the quickest cars on the road today. That is the genius of Lotus and Caterham, under C. Chapman and G. Nearn. Further, Caterham is just a slightly grown-up British "cottage industry," with all the advantages and disadvantages that the term implies. It is not GM (thank God for that!).

Terry, Off-topic, but I believe I have an unused set of those Mog headlamp brackets, if you are interested. i did not use them on my build. And Croc -- sorry about the off; looks like you were as prepared as you could have been. Best of luck in getting back on the road (and track).

Cyberbug, Here's an anorak, hoping to de-confuse things. a bit... The S3 (i. e., Series 3) and the SV are two different Caterham models. The S3 is the traditional, narrow Seven chassis, close to the original Lotus 7 in size. The SV (also known as the "Fat Bastard") is the larger Seven, 4 inches wider across the cockpit, with proportions adjusted so well that it is hard to tell the difference unless it is parked next to a S3. Bo the S3 and the SV have deDion rear suspension. The CSR is the fully-independent suspension Seven (inboard front suspension), with exterior and cockpit dimensions very close to the SV. Hope this helps de-confuse.

twobone, i have a stainless muffler that has only internal metal baffles in a radial pattern, from Summit Racing. It is too loud, and it is very hot, even with a stainless heat shield and some space-age insulation between the two. i am planning to replace it with a Caterham-sourced muffler that has about the same o/a diameter as my present muffler and the shield. It won't look as classy as that bright stainless shield, though. But I am hoping that the exterior of the replacement muffler will be warm but not hot. I have seen John Christensen's Westfield with a similar set-up, and his muffler, without a shield never got more than warm to the touch.

Caterham brought the metric (automated, jig-welded) chassis in metric dimensions on line for the Seven S3 in rhd around 2006 However, Arch Motors was still making the lhd S3 (brazed, Imperial-measurement) chassis when I bought mine in 2007. i believe the metric chassis for the S3 in lhd came in late 2007, or 2008. I believe Arch was making the chassis for the CRS. lhd or rhd, until fairly recently. i understood that Caterham gave Arch a chance to acquire the necessary jig-welding equipment to make the metric chassis, but Arch decided the outlay would be too expemnsive, so Caterham turned to Caged. The Caged Company was originally the maker of the metric chassis; the company was bought by Caterham later, and I believe it is now a division of Caterham. One objective of the metric chassis was to have as few differences between lhd and rhd chassis as possible. the metric chassis has the same rod-actuated clutch and brake master cylinders as the CSR, with the cylinders located below the level of the scuttle. I don't know if this might pose problems with some engine installations or intake/exhaust layouts, on lhd cars.

Must be Japan or NZ -- or he is taking a blind curve on the wrong side of the road.....

Cyberbug, I meant to mention, if you plan to use your Seven for "some weekend drives," don't rule the Caterham Series 3 out, even with Tillett seats. In August of '10, I drove my S3 with Tilletts from Colorado to Alaska via California (6150 miles), and was comfortable in the car the entire way. It fit like a glove, and I felt completely integrated with the machine itself -- a great feeling!

I have the S3 Caterham with the traditional (earlier) Arch chassis, before the metric chassis came in. But I think the interior dimensions of all newer S3's are the same, whether Arch or metric. One consideration, as far as fit goes, is whether you got an S3 with the traditional standard buckets, or with the carbon-kevlar Tilletts. The Tilletts are pretty snug, with full sides, meaning that the seating area is narrower than with the ordinary buckets. My Tilletts keep me on a permanent weight-loss program. But your listed weight and height mean that you should have no problem fitting into Tilletts -- and getting out again. Your passengers? Well, the Tilletts are an automatic passenger-selection filter. By all means, if you are set on a Caterham, try to locate a Caterham owner in your area and try a test-fit, and a demonstration drive.

What make of light bar is that?

There was a well-known Lotus (not Rotus) Seven in the US in the late 1970's or so, that autocrossed very successfully with a Wankel engine. As I recall, it was a Series 2 or Series 3 Lotus, certainly pre-Caterham. If pressed, I can look it up -- though most of my references are boxed up, awaiting new shelves in my garage.

Tom, I'll bet the Seven you are referring to is the James Whiting C. car, white with red and blue stripes on the wings, and mesh panels? I don't think the mesh would stop the water, which (in addition to stones) is my purpose for running front wings....

Tom, So you may also be interested in going the c/f clams route? Good to hear. If new molds were being made up, I would not mind another half-inch or 1-inch more space between the wings and the body, if it were fairly easy to do. This would also give more room for low-set headlamps (I'm hoping to retain my custom headlamp brackets, even though the stock Caterham front clam stay includes a headlamp bracket). The front clam stay would have to be re-worked or custom in any event, if the clams were wider One question (the perennial one): Do you notice increased front lift with the clams? Debate goes 'round and 'round on this one. Your front view of your Seven with the Hoosier slicks on it, looks like a little kid clomping around in his father's shoes...!

Ian, I can send photos of my existing rear wing c/f pattern and twill orientation. I would prefer all-carbon, over carbon/fiberglas -- but what is the cost differential, in general terms? I know that MOG Racing makes the carbon/fiberglas wings, but with the added weight of the fiberglas, there is no real weight savings, and the c/f becomes a cosmetic touch only. However, I would plan to have the inner surface of the wings coated with pick-up truck bed-liner (as I have done my c/f cycle wings and c/f rear wings) for stone protection, so i am no doubt negating some of the c/f weight savings in any event. Adding in a one-inch inside spacer, on the body side, into the mold for c/f wide-track clams sounds like the way to go, to provide for wide-track coverage. I think the forward wing supports to accommodate these clams would have to be custom-fabricated, in any event.

Ian, Verry, verry interesting.... I have been told that the normal Caterham clams do cover a wide-track to some extent, but never had a chance to test this proposition. i can check the Caterham catalog, and another source, to see if we can learn what the story is. Also, I rode in a fellow's Seven once, from Washington, DC, and he had extended his clams outward with a piece of approx. 1-inch square aluminum tube between the wing and the body, cut and crimped where necessary to follow the inside flange of the clamshell. That would be a solution, if needed. About the c/f weave -- I would want a weave pattern and direction thats matches my rear c/f wings from Caterham. Don't know how that could be coordinated, but assume it could be. Anyway, what you propose sounds promising.....

Croc, I am the person who was interested in carbon clamshells (and who solicited interest on BlatChat) about a year ago. Before Richard in France passed away, I had corresponded with him in 2006 through 2008 about making carbon clams, and he was interested. He told me that he had made up molds for wide-track carbon clams, but didn't have time to make the clams yet, due to other items he was making. Then he passed away quite suddenly. About a year ago, I contacted the RiF's remnant company and Carbon-Bits, to see if RiF's clamshell molds could be resurrected, and used to turn out some c/f clams. They told me that they would need to have firm orders for 6 or 8 sets (at, as I recall, about £400 a set) before they could do that. I asked for any expressions of interest on BlatChat, and I got ZERO favorable response. Now both Rif's company and Carbon-Bits are no more. I don't know what has has happened to RiF's clamshell molds. I had hear a rumor that c/f clams were being made by a company in Japan; I had the link to a c/f supplier of Seven bodyparts in Japan, but cannot locate it now; and a Google search hasn't turned up anything. I do know one thing, though -- my Caterham would look the dog's bollocks with a set of wide-track carbon clams!

Re the EVO clip -- too dicey for me, on public roads with oncoming traffic. But he does do a nice job in keeping the Seven out of the ditches. I certainly would not risk my own car under conditions like these (perhaps, when I was younger.....).