Jesse D

I do a lot of trailering, my boat especially, so I've learned about tongue weight. You really do want 10-15% of the total trailer/load weight on the tongue. Cutting this down to keep your tow vehicle level is asking for trouble. The trailer I bought for my Caterham is at the other end of the spectrum, as it is enclosed. Made in NH, it is a motorcycle/snowmobile trailer but has been great for me behind an RV or my pickup. Not cheap but my brother was buying and it has other uses. http://www.nhtrailers.com/multisport.htm

As a data point for you, I replaced the seats in my 1993 Caterham (which I bought happily off an ad here-http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?9612-For-Sale-1993-Caterham-HPC) with the Tillett unpadded fiberglass seats for Caterhams and I have been very pleasantly surprised with the comfort level. I planned on getting padding but to date haven't felt the need, and that includes a few country drives on roads not in the best shape.

Anybody just drive with a helmet on? Solves all the problems and if you look like a fool, no one will know who the fool is.

1.3 gallons a second . . . . . . . . .

My best guess turned out to be correct and everything works properly when I wired it up, so problem solved.

Sorry, uploaded my drawing as a pdf by mistake- here is a jpg.

Note to self- do not work on your car when you are tired/sick. I decided last weekend to replace one of the scuttle grommets on my 1994 Caterham as the old one was frayed. The items running through this grommet (just above the steering column) are the speedo cable, the windshield washer tube, and the wiring for the aftermarket radar detector installed by a previous owner of my car. In the course of unplugging various things to replace the grommet I somehow pulled three of the four wires off the back of my ignition switch without realizing I was doing so, so I have no idea which wire goes where. Sigh. See note to self. My electrical knowledge is very limited, meaning a voltmeter can be a dangerous tool for me. I'm hoping that one of the knowledgeable folks here can set me right after having a chuckle at my expense. Attached is a diagram of the back of my Lowe and Fletcher ignition switch. The upper right has two mounts with 15 as a label. These two mounts are close enough together that it appears one of the ganged wires below could fit over both mounts, but that is not the case- only one of the ganged female mounts will fit over a prong on the switch. The lower right has a single prong labeled 30 The lower left has a single prong labeled 50 The upper left has a single prong labeled P and R Playing with a voltmeter as a continuity tester and the ignition switch shows that the lower right prong labeled 30 makes a connection to both the upper left and the upper right prongs when the key is turned to the first position and makes a connection to the lower left prong labeled 50 when the key is turned to ignition. The other prongs have no connections to each other. The wire that didn't come off was attached to the upper left (marked P and R) and is a fused power wire that I'm pretty sure goes to the radar detector. The other wires available that pulled off are * Two brown wires with female mounts that are ganged together with a bridge. These wires have 12 volts running through them. * Two white wires with female mounts that are ganged together with a bridge. No current running through them. * a single white wire with a red stripe that has an appropriate female connector. No current running through it. These wires run right into a taped harness so no way to trace them by hand. I do see a white wire with a red stripe coming off the solenoid attached to the starter motor Based on all this my best guess it that the two brown wires should go to the lower right prong labeled 30 as the source of power and the other wires should go to upper right and lower left. I assume one of these wires provides power to everything, and I'm guessing that is the two ganged white wires and they go to the upper right and that the single white with red wire is the starter wire and should go to the lower left prong, but I very much want to do this correctly the first time and not turn a simple problem into a more complicated one- everything was working fine before the wires came off:-) Can anyone here save me from my carelessness. Thanks in advance. Caterham Ignition.PDF

Thanks for that- great exhibit.

TireRack's business model is based on the fact that you can UPS an assembled tire/wheel combo (mounted, balanced and pressurized). I would think your's could be shipped that way- and it isn't too expensive.

BringATrailor has a nice Westfield Eleven up in this week's auction- don't know if that has been mentioned yet.

From the other side . . . . . When I got the hankering to buy a Seven last summer/fall I started on the internet looking for a dealer, as I'm not knowledgeable about these cars, just wanted one since 1964 and finally getting around to it. Found Chris at Sevens and Elans so proved that there was someone who could take care of my car for me, but he had nothing suitable for sale. A little more internet work got me to this forum and the car I bought. I would absolutely get a good description and pictures going on this site. My concept was buy in November, sell in May, so this spring I will be on the opposite side, trying to sell the pristine BMW that started this whole thing for me. I will try for BringATrailor or sell it locally.

Macs have a default setting of higher security than most pc's. I wonder if your mac browser is set to delete cookies after every session. Newer systems also have a Password saving utility that may be set to delete- do you have other sites where your password is saving?

Looking through the threads here I couldn't find a quick answer to my question so figure there is always room for one more on the basics. My Caterham came with two sets of wheels, 15" and 16". Currently has 195/45R15 Avon CR500s and 205/45R16 Goodyear Eagle F1s fitted. With the 15s fitted I have less than 3" clearance under the engine, and it has proved difficult for trailering and I suspect for driving Maine's back roads. I hope to do a little autocrossing/track driving so plan to use one set of wheels for "street" and one for "other". My question is specifically with how best to get a little better ride height for the street. I'll gain about an inch with the 16s right now but I'm wondering if the way to go is to fit a higher profile tire to the 15s for street use and keep a lower profile on the 16s or the reverse. Comfort vs. handling is the other question. What say the experienced folks here? FWIW, I like the look of the 15s better, today at least.

On my first drive I pulled up to a stop sign with my left blinker on. I had noticed a jeep behind me hustling to keep up and he pulled up on my right and immediately put his window down and started asking questions. This went on for a while then he said cool and put up his window and waited for me to turn. I had to signal him and when he rolled down his window tell him that I couldn't see through his car and couldn't turn until he left. We laughed and he pulled away.

As the resident sailor here, my guess is starboard, which means right oriented to the front. They can't use right or left or up and down or cardinal directions, so ship terminology makes sense. Now if it was RTFM . . . . . .

Don't know if this is the right place to post, but through Hemmings site I just stumbled across this 1967 Seven being sold at F40 Motorspoprts, of "Chasing Classic Cars" fame. http://www.f40.com/inventorymanager.php?action=view&Id=391277 Not many details yet.

Next thread down- Caterham in Ontario.

When I was growing up in the later 50's in Cincinnati there was a divorced woman in my parent's circle of friends who drove a Gullwing. She would let me go out and sit in the parked car, which I could do for hours. I often wonder back on who she was and how she was a part of this circle of friends, all of who were classic 50's husband and wife combos in the conservative midwest. I don't remember the wives being particularly afraid of her so she wasn't husband hunting in that set, but I often wonder about the things a seven year old wouldn't have picked up on.

Thanks, the avatar photo is my F-31 trimaran. A bit bigger than a Hobie with some cruising room. For those of you that don't sail, a multihull is the nautical equivalent of a seven, lots of lightness added.

Last summer at the Isle of Mann TT the electric class times were as fast as the 1981 times for conventional bikes. They only do one 30 mile lap.

Sad to hear.

Arrgh, stupid me (I could be a member of DAM, Mothers Against Dyslexia)- 1998 model year, sold in Nov 97.

Well you could buy it and leave it in Newfoundland for the Targa next fall (something I'd love to do). Back in the 80's there used to be quite the parking lot up in northern Maine where folks would try and bring a gray market car over the border, thinking that some obscure border town would be best- they would be told to "park over there between the Ferrari and the Porsche". Better bet would be Windsor/Detroit at rush hour.

That would be the new guy here:flag: Drove down with Chris from Sevens & Elans, as he had built it, and took it back on a trailer to Chris's shop. Not that it needs anything, but there are a few things I'm planning to do. I'm tall enough to want a higher roll bar, and I'll put competition belts in while leaving the ability to put the inertia belts back in. My thanks to Rick, car was exactly as described, clean and well cared for. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions for you all, and I'm looking for a trailer as there will be occasions for towing. Anyone want a mint bright yellow 1989 BMW Z3 with 15,000 miles? That is the car that was willed to me that is one of the reasons for me buying a seven- my theory is buy in the fall, sell in the spring, but I'll sell it now- could be just the car for someone's significant other by way of affection or appeasement.

Thanks to all for the welcome- it seemed appropriate to follow John's instruction as it seemed so gentle- on the sailing site I frequent the immediate response to anyone posting for the first time is "f** off and show us your wife's . . . ." which either drives people quickly away or gets them used to the nature of some of the talk. I'm expecting to buy a car, not build a kit. I'm trying to build a small boat for the grandsons, because I can handle wood and fiberglass, but two projects would be a bit much. With boats I'm happy sailing or working, with this car I'm focused on driving.