Alaskossie

EburgE, Looking at your photo closely again, it appears that you have the rear arm dimple facing outward toward the tyre, not inward. Turning the dimple inward on each side may solve your problem. Tom

EburgE, I went through this exercise recently also (though my bellcranks were not missing, and I was able to assemble the Watts links in the build-manual sequence). I recall removing and reinstalling the Watts-link parts several times, until I got all the components right. The build manual is confusingly opaque and ambiguous on this little assembly task. Are the bellcranks "handed" themselves? (I mean, does the bushing extend farther outward from the crank face on one side of each arm, than on the other side? If so, can you swap them around? I seem to remember that one hole on each bellcrank is spaced farther away from the bushing than the other. Have you tried flipping them end for end? Do you have the forward Watts-link arm trunnion bolted into the correct hole in the chassis? (The "Watts-link" hole, not the "trailing arm" hole). Bob S. is correct about the dimples (narrowed sections) of the forward Watts link arms facing the tyre, and the dimples in the rear arms facing the chassis. Doesn't seem logical for the rear arm dimple to face inward, but Nathan at RMSC confirmed that this is correct (facing it outward would seem to give more tyre clearance). Orienting the rear arm in this way changes the centering of the arm slightly vis a vis the bell crank, since the trunnion that is bolted to the chassis is not centered lengthwise on the arm. I don't have my build manual in front of me, and my car itself is on Bob S.'s sawhorses several thousand miles down south, at present. Wish I could more accurately go through this step-by-step with you. Tom Meacham

Al, Initial engine install should happen in Colorado during the first week of March '08. This has been a "long-distance" assembly project with six trips down to Colorado so far, but I have enjoyed it all (except for the painted c/f nosecone dropping nose-first onto the concrete garage floor from a height of about 4 feet!). Depending on where you have your 2009 (or 2008??) meet, I'll see if I can drive down! Tom

Stevet, One thing I will definitely change on my '07 Caterham, ASAP, is to replace the c/f cycle wings with wide-track c/f clamshells, as soon as RIF in UK gets his act together and starts producing them..... I agree with you that the clamshell Caterham/Lotus is the "classic" look (despite the fact that the earliest S1 Lotus Sevens appeared with flimsy cycle wings).

Taber10, Welcome aboard! I think I saw your Caterham after Nathan Down had finished assembling it at RMSC -- BRG and bare aluminum with a yellow nose stripe, right? A mighty sharp package! They told me it was being driven to Florida by the new owner and wife. How was the trip? Two things I failed to mention in my earlier response to the question. First, assembling the car myself from a kit was very important to me, despite my lack of prior experience in such an undertaking. This was one feature of the Seven from the very beginning in the late 1950's that filled my incessant daydreams -- and to find that not only is the same basic car being made and sold 50 years later, but that the kit-build option is still available, are pretty darned astounding, and probably unique in automotive history. (So, my own Seven build is taking longer than I had planned...but I AM able to incorporate all the details (and attention to detail) that I expect of myself but could not reasonably ask someone else to do for me). The second item has to do with the desirability of having a true collectible, vintage Lotus 7 S2 or S3, as Al has expressed. I had also considered this angle, but for me the overriding consideration was pure performance: When the Seven first hit the market in 1957, it was as quick in acceleration and around the corners as almost anything else you would meet on the road. With a modern Caterham Seven or equivalent, in their higher-powered (but still street-registered) variants, this is still true in 2008. What other car originally entering the 1957 automotive market can still make that claim? Precisely none, except the Seven. So a modern Seven occupies the same niche in the current automotive spectrum as its ancestor did in 1957 -- pretty neat, in my opinion. I had not considered the possible problems of registering a modern Seven that are found in some states. For me, the process could not have been simpler. The deputy sheriff in Colorado examined the car (it is still on sawhorses!) and its title papers, determined through an instant computer search that it was not stolen, and issued me a certificate to that effect. I took the certificate to the DMV in Alaska and walked out with my plates. The DMV clerk even turned out to be an enthusiast, and knew exactly what a Caterham was -- quite a surprise! Alaskossie

Folks have told variants on the theme already -- I would have somehow found a way to buy a Seven (probably a Lotus S2) shortly after I first learned about them when I was 18 years old, rather than procrastinating until I was past 64 to buy one. Think of all those miles untraveled, and adventures unexperienced..... Living the Seven life vicariously is just a waste of valuable time. Who knows, the next five decades might have turned out totally different for me (not that I'm complaining, but.....). Tom Meacham

eBurgE, For myself, I'm going to be attaching my carbon-fiber cycle wings to my new Caterham by the old-fashioned bolt-through method. I think this is the most secure and compact way to do it. It eliminates any play or unwanted clearance in a tie-mounting arrangement, and doesn't leave you with a hunk of gunk that has to be attacked with a disk sander at replacement time. My c/f wings have been undercoated with pickup-truck bed liner to protect against stones being kicked up, so they have a bit more "meat" to them than the average front cycle wing. I am using black-oxide stainless steel bolts with a recessed-Allen socket (button-head bolts) from McMaster-Carr. Instead of cutting rubber grommets in half as Caterham does, I am going to punch out thinner bolt gaskets from some rubber snow-and-ice seal sheeting that is a home construction left-over, and handy for all sorts of car projects. Instead of using nuts on the inside ends of the through-bolts through the wing stays, I am sizing the length of the bolts so that I can tap the wing stays themselves with the proper thread, and eliminate a nut altogether -- thus a weight savings of eight nuts, and more clearance between wing stay and tire!! Alaskossie

As an attorney, I agree with Kitcat. if you bought the car for the price it was offered for, and you have paid in full and the seller or his agent has accepted your payment, you own that car. Once the sales amount was accepted (and even cashed??), it would be a highly unusual contract that would give the seller any remaining option but to deliver the goods. Once there has been offer, acceptance, and payment, the deal is closed. Even offer and acceptance are usually enough to conclude an enforceable deal, if there is ability and willingness to pay on the buyer's part. If you want to back out now and get your money back, that's up to you. But you don't have to. You should also be paid the fair value of all the time and effort you spent to get the car running right. Would you have gone through that time, effort and hassle if you had had any idea that it was not your car you were working on? An attorney letter from a Texas attorney ought to do the trick for you. If you do decide to let him back out, I think that Caterham with the Vauxhall engine now being offered looks like a sweet ride. I have a friend in Colorado with the nearly-identical setup (including the right-hand drive), and it goes like a bat out of H___, even at 5000 ft. altitude. Alaskossie

There a several turbo-Cosworth powered Dax Rushes 4X4 cars around, in UK. One was on eBay last month, with a claimed 430 hp and a 0-100 time of 6.6 seconds (only possible with all-wheel-drive, I'm sure). The weight of the front diff and Sierra/Escort 4wd transmission and transfer case take the 4X4 Rush out of the "Seven" concept, but it is an unbelievably quick weapon. Cosworth is now making an aluminum YB block, so the weight penalty for the iron-blocked YB should be reduced somewhat. I believe the aluminum block is available through Cosworth USA, but I am not aware of Cosworth USA carrying any of the other bits; these are pretty readily available in UK. As it happens, I own a turbo Cosworth YB in my Ford Escort (tell someone you have a "quick Ford Escort," and see what kind of laughs that normally brings!!). Mine is a 1995 Ford Escort RS Cosworth 4X4 with an Eggenberger-tuned, stroked 2.3l engine, and 378 hp and 435 lb/ft. of torque on the dyno. (photo attached). The car weighs 3100 lb. The car was assembled by Karmann in Germany, so it is a really tight, well-built package. There are about 15 street-registered Escort Cosworths in the USA, but almost all are around the stock 225 hp. Even with stock hp, it is a very nimble winter car. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1510192438_Cossie.1.jpg Alaskossie

I'll second scannon's advice. I simply laid the driveshaft in the tunnel before "offering up" the diff. We offered up the diff by placing a piece of particle board on top of an upended aluminum beer keg (the perfect height), and then slid the whole set-up under the frame. Then the shaft flange was bolted to the diff, with the diff already in place. The trouble came when I decided I wanted to insulate the tunnel. I unbolted the shaft flange, but was unable to maneuver the shaft out of the tunnel. I confirmed with Ben at RMSC that it is not possible to install or remove the driveshaft with the diff in place. (If the handbrake mountings at the top of the tunnel were not fixed permanently, it might be possible to do it). Alasksossie

I don't think finding parts for the Vauxhall engine should be too much of a problem. Nathan Down at RMSC is presently rebuilding a broken VX engine from a Salt Lake City-based Caterham. He readily obtained parts, and a new dry sump setup, from the UK. Alaskossie http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1354236613_DSC_0007.JPG

I vote for retaining the spare-tire mount. It will give you some rear crash protection, and the side profile of a Seven with spare tire looks more "balanced" than one without. If you want to remove it, do it like this: http://www.sjmmarsh.f2s.com/Caterham/WheelCarrier.html Then you can re-mount it any tiime you want to carry a spare. On my Seven, I'm planning to eventually make the tire rack dis-mountable, then fashion a custom luggage rack that fits behind the spare, has bottom tubes that mount over the spare-tire tubes, and the rack itself extends on both sides of the spare the width of the body, to hold two narrow pannier-style bags, one on either side of the spare tire. Alaskossie

And here is what the "mummy" looks like, once the crate has been stripped away: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1272835303_DSC_0016.jpg Unpacking the crate and the large box from Caterham took more than a day. Alaskossie

I should have read the instructions first. Here is the photo I thought I had attached: http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/438381239_DSC_0008.jpg Alaskossie

Sounds like the day before the birth of your first child! I used (and am still using) a Permatex anti-seize compound. Be careful -- it gets all over everything! One thing the Brits apparently have that I couldn't find is rubber lubricant, which is called for in assembling grommets, bushings, steering column, etc. (anywhere you have rubber-to-metal contact and a tight fit). I used silicone spray, but I don't think it is the same thing. I had my front ands rear wings coated with pickup-truck bed liner by an auto body shop. It is a thin coating, and very professional-looking (for anyone looking into my wheel wells!). Steve Taylor's photo showed what a typical Caterham delivery in UK looks like. In the US delivery, the windscreen is not attached so that the height of the crate can be reduced. (Be sure to get the extra pages describing windscreen attachment that have been prepared for US customers -- the build manual does not cover it at all). Here is what a US deliver looks like (as of July 2007, in Greeley, Colorado): /Users/thomasmeacham/Desktop/DSC_0008.JPG (Hope this photo is attached correctly -- I've never tried it before). Good luck in starting your project! Alaskossie

What type, size and brand are these lights? Are they true HID lights with the separate amplifier module, or just extra-bright blue-white H4 bulbs? Alaskossie

Skip, you lucky dog! Wish I had been there to join you! I know those roads well... It is fortunate that you didn't proceed briskly up Boulder Canyon and close in unsuspectingly on the sheriff's cars... It's 15 degrees here today, a foot of snow on the ground, and more expected tomorrow. And only 6 hours of daylight. Hibernation mode, I'm afraid. Alaskossie

Two additional thoughts on Seven rear-end crash protection: 1. Could the possibility of the spare tire mounting stud punching a neat hole through the tank in a rear-ender be reduced by cementing a 3/8' thick square of tempered aluminum between the stud and the tank? Something that would have more impact resistance at that location than honeycomb aluminum sheet? 2. Could the same thing be done on the tank panel facing the differential? Tom Meacham

Slomov, Did you have your spare tire mounted at the time of the crash? Just curious..... Tom Meacham

Well, the box of Ortenburger Seven stuff went for $1250.00, to a "Toby Griffiths" (eBay user name "griffithstoby"). Anybody know him? I was willing to go up to $425 for the box, but it shot way past that at he last moment, with two bidders arm-wrestling for it. Not a bad price for a neglected box of stuff that has been taking up space in yourgarage for 30 years... What happens to it now?? Tom Meacham

Slomov, What is the intended benefit of honeycomb aluminum panels for aircraft? Rigidity only? Caterham uses the honeycomb both for fuel tank protection and for cockpit side protection, as options. Better than nothing, or worse than nothing -- or somewhere in between?? Tom

Bob, Thanks! Don't know why I didn't think to look there, instead of for a UK source. McMaster-Carr seems to have virtually everything a tinkerer needs (or thinks he needs)...... Tom

Re the subject of fuel tank protection on the thread about crashed Sevens, I glued the Caterham honeycomb panels to the sides and bottom of my fuel tank with silicone caulking, which seems to provide a strong bond. Caterham does not supply a pre-cut honeycomb panel for the right end of the tank (where the fuel pump/sender unit is) for some reason, so I ordered an extra left- end piece for the right end, and cut a 5-inch circle in it to permit access to the sender unit. I plan to always carry the spare tire in its rear mount, which should offer some additional rear-end crash protection. I have been discussing a possible larger-capacity fuel tank with Andy Wiltshire in UK (http://andywiltshire.com/index.htm). I have some ideas for a larger-capacity Seven tank without losing any boot space. Andy has purchased a Caterham JPE saddle-tank arrangement (3 separate tanks) as a mock-up for making a larger-capacity tank, but it looks pretty complicated. If I do go for a larger custom tank, I would like to be able to obtain some of the Caterham honeycomb panels in bulk, to cut for my individual needs. Don’t know if this is possible. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Nope, not me either (my Seven's still on sawhorses!). But I've examined the car in question, at RMSC in Denver. it is a yellow Caterham CSR 260 from Washington State. On a rainy track day, it apparently slid off the track, caught a front tire in the turf, pitch-poled end over end a couple of times, then slid backwards into a tree. The chassis is pretty well buckled up at the rear, and the tank appears severely dented as i recall, but the car did not catch fire and the driver was not injured. I understand a rear frame section is being ordered to graft on to the front one, which could use some straightening but is not smashed. I'm feeling sorry for the owner, and somewhat saddened that my first glimpse of a CSR in the flesh was this one, which has seen better days. I had my camera, but forgot to snap any photos at the time. EburgE, I recall that someone else on the USA7s line had a Fuelsafe fuel cell, and nothing but trouble. Also, a fuel cell ages and has to be replaced every four or five years, right? I wish that the cell didn't decrease the stock fuel capacity by a third or more, also... Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Buzz, Welcome to the list! I'm the fellow who was the passenger in Bob's green rhd Caterham Seven VX Evo on that memorable drive through Buena Vista and Leadville, Colorado with your yellow Westie, and the black Westie with the Chev V8 power, during the 2005 Sevens Tour. I am the "old guy " (62 at the time) with the beard who made the ill-advised rude gesture to the driver of the SUV hogging the passing lane when we three Sevens all passed him on the right at a good rate of speed -- only to later to be confronted at our gas stop in Leadville by this redneck driver and his ex-con son, who both threatened physical mayhem and property damage to all of us in some unprintable phrases..... I'm sure you remember the incident well, as a bit of Wild West "local colour." I was waiting for the driver of the black Westie (who I learned is a British constable in real life) to take these guys down, but he remained calm throughout -- good on him! It is safe to say that I have not given that rude gesture to another driver since....I've learned my lesson well. And I am now a Seven owner myself -- my build of a 2007 Caterham Series 3 with Duratec power is in progress in Greeley, Colorado. It is taking longer than I expected, but it is more enjoyable than I expected, also. If you are ever passing through Anchorage, Alaska USA, please drop by and say hello! Tom Meacham Alaskossie