Alaskossie

Mopho, That's no sleeper.... Alaskossie

Bstr13, I have been designing (in my head) an aluminum luggage rack for my Caterham Seven S3, and am now putting it into the flesh (I hope in time for my long trip this summer). Its basic ladder-frame will mount between the spare tire and the body, and will move the tire out one inch. The finished rack will carry a bag on each side of the spare tire, against the rear panel, and a third bag against the spare tire. The rack will be supported at the bottom by the spare tire bracket tubes, and at the top by straps to the rear roll bar mount. The three bags are identical waterproof nylon ski-boot bags, which seem to be close to the right size, and are cheap. The rack will eventually be powder-coated in semi-gloss black. When the rack is not in use, the bag brackets will be removable, leaving only the ladder- frame behind the spare tire visible. If it works, I'll post photos. (If it doesn't work, you'll never hear of it again....) Alaskossie

Mike, I drove the Kankamagus Hwy in NH last week (unfortunately, in a rental car), and it is a great piece of road. There are some roads in eastern Vermont, slightly north of White River Jct. VT (in the Hartford/Queechee/Woodstock area) that have brand-new asphalt, are tighter than the Kank, and look like great fun in a Seven. (Of course, there may be ideal Seven roads like these all over New England). I'm planning a drive from Colorado to Alaska in July/August of this year, so eventually I'll be able to speak from experience about several thousand miles spent in a Tillett seat....(check out the Pacific Northwest tour section of USA7s for one leg of this journey) Alaskossie

Mopho, Is that the Chrysler turbine car behind the White steam car in the photo? If so, what a sleeper! i saw Jay at the 2009 Pasadena Motor Tour on New Year's Day, and he looked like he was having a blast, talking cars and driving his giant early 1900's touring car. Alaskossie

Snookwheel, Just a few thoughts. I believe the CSR chassis is stiffer than the SV, but I'm not sure it's "much stiffer." Caterham UK has the comparative figures (or claims), I think. The metric-chassis SV gained a few percentage points over the earlier non-metric Arch chassis. The CSR's "integrated dash" option is the hoop-shaped dash surrounds that form a center console. I've seen photos, but not in the flesh. Certainly not a "traditional" approach to the Seven interior. The "black pack" option basically has all of the exterior brightwork anodized or painted in black. The most obvious "black-pack" parts are the windscreen and the triangular windscreen braces. i can't think of whatever else may be in the "black pack." I believe all rollbars are painted semi-gloss black as a standard feature. If you want a different color, you'll have to do it yourself. The nose band (if you spec one) may be in body-stripe color, or it may not be. You need to be specific. I ordered my 2007 car in an Audi custom light silver color, with carbon fiber nose cone and wings. I wanted the nose cone painted the Audi silver color, and the wings bare c/f. The nose cone was painted silver, but they left a band around the nose of bare c/f (I guess they assumed that I would want to show off the fact that the nose was c/f). i had to have the entire nose cone repainted in silver. I don't have any advice on the ever-changing engine options, except to recommend going with the Duratec if you can -- it is the engine of the future.

Yes, it does seem to reduce the buffeting with no top, and just wind wings (and with the SoftBits breeze-blocker between the headrests).

Thanks for the comments and compliments. When I have a little spare time (not now, unfortunately), I'll compile a comprehensive list of what options I ordered from Caterham on my car, and what I altered and/or added during my build. I'm afraid that upgrade-itis bit me bad, even before I had the crates from Dartford unpacked. My thought was if I didn't incorporate my eccentric ideas during the build, they might never happen, or they might require disassembly later. So, essentially I added two years to the build time, with my infrequent trips to Colorado, trying to remember where I had left off. This is the Series 3 Caterham car mentioned in a USA7s thread in 2007 or 2008 as experimenting with the wider Caterham CSR 15-inch rear wheels (9-inch rims instead of 6.5-inch rims, and 255/40R15 Avon CR500 rear tires, instead of the stock 195/45R15 rears). I mounted them with 5mm spacers for a bit of additional clearance. No clearance issues so far, though of course I have not yet had it on a track. They look good, though.

Mike, I have been trying to reach you via PM about your belly pan for the Caterham de Dion classic chassis, but it hasn't worked yet. Please contact me at my e-mail; tmeacham@gci.net. Thanks. Tom

Attached are three photos of my 2007 Caterham "Executive Superlight" (so named by ex-Caterham engineer Nathan Down). It is shown in its natural habitat --the ivy-covered garage of my friend Jeff Ball in Greeley, Colorado, where it has been fitfully assembled by me since July 2007. (In fact, in the Google Streetview of 1913 or 1915 15th Avenue in Greeley, you can see it on sawhorses, through the open garage door!). I've just had it on the road last week, and aside from a gearbox dribble now being fixed, it is nearly ready for my epic drive to Alaska this August, via the Monterey Mazda Historics and Pebble Beach. USA7er John Christensen is organizing a post-Historics Sevens drive through twisty parts of Oregon and Washington, to put me in proper position (and frame of mind) for the Alaska Highway -- check out the Pacific events section of the USA7s site, and join us if you can.

The link I posted earlier seems to have better film quality. Sorry, I forgot the umlaut in Rörhl...

This clip of the great Walter Rorhl driving a Grp B Audi Sport Quattro in competition is really amazing -- it shows what separates the men from the boys. And it shows why Grp B rallying was banned -- the objective danger to the spectators was enormous, and crowd control was non-existent. mms://a178.v096910.c9691.e.vc.akamaistream.net/7/178/9691/v0009/audi.download.akamai.com/9691/history/04_mh/07_rallye_physik_b.wmv

rnr, I am having my tickets and corral pass sent to my son's home in Los Angeles; I hope they arrive there before I do.

I guess this "Caterham Lambretta" is Dartford's answer to the Nissan 260Z 'hairdresser's car" -- a question no one has been asking, apparently...

Neversatisfied, The Westfield with the "race car type body" that you saw on the film clip was probably the Westfield replica of the Lotus Eleven. The original Lotus Eleven is of the same general vintage as the original Lotus Seven (late 1950's), but the Eleven was quite a bit more sophisticated in its frame, suspension, and enclosed, aerodynamic bodywork.

Neversatisfied, For starters, look up websites for Caterham, Westfield, Birkin, Stalker, and Ultralite. Caterham's is http://www.caterham.co.uk/ All of the brands made overseas (Caterham and Westfield in UK, Birkin in S. Africa) have US distributors. Also, there is an active market in used models, which might be the way to go, just starting out. Most of these cars are designed for 4-cylinder engines, though there are motorcycle-engine variants, and the Stalker has a V-6. I hope this points you in the right direction, and gets you started....

And perhaps the snowy-trailer shot also!

That first picture is a calendar shot!

I originally had a "7" emblem in stainless obtained from a UK supplier I found on eBay, but decided that the proportions of the emblem were too large for my Caterham S3 nose opening. So I asked the supplier to cut me one in 2/3 normal size. I had the 2/3-sized "7" powder-coated in silver, and attached it to the Caterham black mesh grille with stainless safety wire. My opinion is that its proportions suit the S3 nose opening a lot better than the standard-sized emblem. Attached is a photo taken at last month's Seven Event at scannnon's in Colorado (standing behind my Executive Superlight is Nathan Down, master Caterham engineer and assembler from UK).

John, I'm with you. I'll try to make similar reservations.......

Who said anything about DEPLETED uranium? My car was weighed with one-half tank of gas, full (and somewhat duplicative) weather equipment (windshield, side screens, Caterham top, SoftBits bikini top, half-doors, wind wings, heater), and two fire extinguishers and mounts (those things are HEAVY!). It is a dry sump Duratec, with FIA roll bar and 15-inch Caterham wheels. On the plus (or weight-negative) side, it has an Odyssey battery, carbon fiber front and rear wings and nose cone, carbon fiber headlamps and rear light blocks, and carbon-kevlar Tillet seats. My car has interior carpeting and engine bay and tunnel insulation. I weighed the insulation as it was put in, and it added approximately 25 lb. total. The front and rear wings are sprayed with bed-liner to reduce rock impacts, which probably resulted in them weighing about as much as unlined fiberglas wings. The car weighed 1408 as specified above, not 1450. The "1450" was a lame joke. According to Nathan Down an S3 Superlight R500 from Caterham weighs in at around 1220 lb in "race trim" (i. e., no windscreen, no paint, no heater, no fluids of any kind, no fuel, no weather equipment, only an aeroscreen and a rollbar). Caterham's objective was to get its bragging weight as low as possible, so that they could calculate "500" hp per tonne power to weight ratio. I'll bet there are few Caterham S3's racing in England that even approach that "bragging weight." yellowss7, your S3 Superlight may in fact weigh 1164, but that is a weight that even the factory can't seem to approach with the current S3 cars.

Scannon, my S3 is "robust." Your SV is still a Fat Bastard.

bsimon, Target: 1450 I'm getting there....

Mike, I was actually thinking of rivnuts in the fixed part of the Caterham bodywork, and bolting your flange on with bolts running from the outside through the rivnuts and into the interior. I'm not sure that is what you meant by "screw heads (if put in from above"). i suppose the possibility of some rivnuts fouling the seat rails (I have adjustable seats) has to be considered.

Mike, I have concluded that due to my dry-sump on my 2007 Caterham S3 offering more ground clearance than your wet-sump, I do not need the level of protection afforded by your sump guard. for comparison, I have attached photos of my dry sump (with optional Caterham "sump guard bar" bolted on, of doubtful efficacy), and your wet sump. Also, I would have to locate a hole for my dry sump tank drain, and possibly clearance for my two 110 V sockets you can see in the photo (one for oil tank pre-heater, and one for battery conditioner). I may eventually design a similar but lower-profile sump guard and have it fabricated locally out of heavy-gauge aluminum. I am interested in your rear belly-pan. Could the fixed piece that is pop-riveted to the existing body be attached by nut-serts, to make it removable if necessary? Any disadvantages?

yellowss7, Sorry for the late reply, I'm just now getting back to my computer at home in Alaska. My car is a 2007 Caterham S3 ("classic") lhd with the older Arch chassis (not the "metric" chassis). The engine is a 250 hp Cosworth 2.3 Duratec with dry sump; transmission is he Caterham 6-speed; rear end ratio is 3.31:1. The wheels are 15-inch Caterhams with Avon CR500 tyres, with the wider 9.5-inch CSR rims on the rear (they do fit, despite what Caterham says!). There were no particular physical fitment problems in putting this engine in this chassis; the dry sump tank is a Brise tank, fitting in front of the engine; this eliminates the need to chop[ off the passenger footwell. The biggest unanticipated problem was that all lhd Caterham chassis shipped to the US through 2007 carry a wiring loom for a Zetec engine; the functions related to the Duratec and its engine management are so altered from the Zetec spec that without Nathan Down's knowledge and help (gained from years of working at Caterham in UK), I would have never figured it out for myself. As it turned out, Nathan spent hours and hours stringing yards and yards of new wire into the loom, and he provided me with an 8-page summary of the wiring changes he had to make, in order to get the engine to mate with the chassis. Skip is right that "upgrade-itis" captured me when I originally started assembling the Caterham kit in July of 2007; some of my mods (engine bay and tunnel insulation, for example) would have been impossible once the kit was built, without taking it apart again. But I'm very happy with the resulting Executive Superlight --even if it does weigh 1408 lb. I can always diet. Scannon, thanks for organizing the great Seven coming-out party last week -- let's do it again!