John B

No, it was the same size as the other gauges. I think 2 3/4"

You're still getting off easy in my book. I've spent over 3X Good call, and I still think you're getting off relatively easy. I have over 3x that in my engine

I have a 2003 SV currently in storage in Farmingdale, NJ. You're welcome to try it on if you're ever up this way. I'm 6'3 225 with size 12 shoes. I fit fine in it, Plenty of leg room. I don't even put the seat back all the way. Headroom is unlimited : ). The hardest part is the shoes. For street I found some Italian driving loafers that work pretty well. For the track I use the smallest race shoes I can squeeze my feet into (9.5's).

My #3 cylinder went cold again. It happened the first time at the track and switching coils in an attempt to diagnose the problem "accidentally" cured it and I was able to finish the weekend. Now, with all new coils, it's happened again. Dead #3 cylinder and a black sooty plug again. So now it's war. if it sparks or squirts it's getting replaced. I decided to replace the 20 year old engine wiring loom as well. We do that after 10 years on our race cars. SBD in the UK was great in helping me determine exactly what I need and getting it to me quickly. There are soo many sensors and connections, but everything fit perfectly. It started right up and runs smoothly on all 4 cylinders now. I think there must have been a short in the harness.

Thanks John, I hadn't realized they had "slipped" so much. I recall the Superlight R500 as a friend has one and I drove it, which is what led me down the whole Caterham wormhole in the first place. Superlight R500 (2008) 263hp/506kg = 520 HP/Tonne - 14 above "500" 620R (now) 310hp/610kg = 508 HP/Tonne - 113 below "620"

Congrats John! I look forward to following the build. Love the color, and good call on the inaugural Guinness FYI - Caterham's naming convention is more complicated than merely 2x HP. It's based on the power to weight ratio, specifically HP/Tonne. A metric Tonne is 1,000 kg or 2,204 lbs. So a 260 hp 420R SV that weighs 1235 lbs would more appropriately be a 464R.

I found the problem with my starter. the weld on the post for the ignition lead broke causing a short. Naturally, it started fine after I trailered it home, but I didn’t trust it any more and dug in. IMG_9269.MOV

Yeah, Bobby Brown is a real character and avid racer. I met him when I bought his Reynard F3000 car mentioned in the article, and we've been friends ever since.

Must have been the Williams F1 guy's

Another great 7’s event is in the books. It was nice seeing old friends and meeting new ones. The weather was perfect for both days. I’d particularly like to thank the willing and able gang of starters that kept me on track both days with push-starts after my starter failed early in the first day.

Actually. the buyer of the 13" wheels realized they wont fit his bolt pattern so they're still for sale too. I mounted a brand new set of Toyo Proxes R888R 205/60R-13 to the rear wheels. I'm bringing the whole lot to NJMP this weekend. Who wants them?

I'm 6'3 220 and fit fine in my SV. Legroom - Not an issue at all as the car is very "long". I almost have to move the seat forward a bit. Headroom - Unlimited Width - Snug with two people my size, but comfortable. Foot Box - The narrow footbox is probably the biggest issue. I wear size 12 shoes and have to wear narrow driving loafers for good footwork. Running shoes won't cut it. For track events I cram my feet into size 9 driving shoes (Formula Atlantic trick). I wish I had a proper dead pedal but there's no room.

Will do Croc, The 13" wheels are sold and I'm bringing them to NJMP for delivery so I'll bring the 15"s along as well. Worst case, we can use them for the "Boobie Prizes"

Wow, that's a can of worms... As best as I can measure, the wheels are 7 3/8" wide (edge to edge) so the centerline is half that, or 3 11/16" or 3.6875" The outside of the inner edge is 4 5/16" or 4.3125" from the machined surface. So the Offset is 4.325" - 3.6875" = 0.625" or 5/8" Positive Offset, or about 16mm Hope this helps...

Thanks Croc, I didn’t realize there were different versions. Further inspection reveals all three are 15x6.5 (not 15x7) and they have a variety of other markings inside that I don’t understand. Here are a few pics of the inside.

Toyo R888R's are 185/60R13

Your post gave me the idea to get off my butt and get rid of some of the wheels I'm not using. A nice set of Minilight 13x6 & 13x7 wheels if you're interested.

We're moving into a new house so it's a good time to clear out some of the stuff I'm not using that's just taking up space. First up: a mixed assortment of Caterham wheels. 2 New 13x7 Minilight wheels with deep recessed rims. Good for rear. 2 Used 13x6? Minilight with never used Toyo Proxes R888R tires Date code 0318 (March 2018) 3 Used CSR 15x7 rims All are in very good condition. Take the whole bunch, or what you need. $100 each? Negotiable. Local pick up or buyer pays shipping Or I can bring to NJMP for the 7's event. John Burke Atlantic Highlands, NJ jburke79x@gmail.com c 732 618 0766

I'm really looking forward to our 7's event and my Cat's getting ready. The broken bellhousing has been replaced and a broken coil wire has been diagnosed and re-pinned. A new AFR gauge will give me something to occupy my time on the straights. A new lithium battery, fluid changes, a swap to track mode (slicks and aero screen), and a good "Nut and Bolt" should complete the prep. See you guys soon! John B

I had two BendPak HD9 4-post lifts in my old house and loved them. They're great for storage and also working on cars from underneath. The sliding hydraulic jacks are awesome. You can lift the car and remove wheels. We moved and I'm going to build a Man-cave / barn at the new place and will go with BendPak's again.

Not really a 7, but Holy Crap! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/turbocharged-k24a-powered-tube-frame-street-car/

Croc, Engine #1 was as installed in the car when I bought it and we never messed with it. It was a 220 hp 2.3L Duratec. The prior owner set it up himself on a dyno and only drove it on the street. It holed a piston at NJMP. We never dyno tuned it, but I suspect it was lean. After that failure we sent the engine to our race engine builder, Paul Hasselgren with instructions to build a kick ass motor out of it, "And by the way it doesn't have to stay 2.3L". Paul builds lots of 2.3L Duratec race engines for Swift 016 Formula Atlantic race cars, but they all have to remain 2.3L. I wasn't really clear with him at the time, but I was thinking increased bore, not stroke. He put in a 2.5L Stroker crank from a Ford Ranger which are cast, not forged. I wasn't too pleased either the stroker or cast idea. It made 270 hp. We broke the crank and holed the block at NJMP. Not much was useable from that engine except the barrel throttle. That failure was not due to a lean condition though. On engine #3 I was very specific on what I wanted this time, preferring a bigger bore, shorter stroke, higher revving configuration. It's a 2.5L MZR block and head with bigger valves and a shorter stroke billet crank from a 2.3L. It displaces 2.4L. It's also modified with a belt drive for the cams instead of the chain drive. it made a rather surprising 327 hp on a fairly conservative tune. The reason for the AFR gauge now is purely for driver peace of mind, it's not for a closed loop ecu system. My car doesn't have a cat and didn't even have a lambda sensor previously. The engine is tuned to run on 93 octane, but we've always used the 100 octane unleaded available when at the track and use 93 on the street. Last time at NJMP we broke a chunk out of the bell housing and also had a coil wire break. The coil wire has been re-pinned and a new bellhousing from Bruce at Beachman Racing is being installed at the moment. I'm crossing my fingers and looking forward to the USA7's event in September.

After holing a piston in our first engine, and breaking a crank in our second, I want to take really good care of engine #3. To that end, I've opted for an AFR gauge to monitor the Air/Fuel ratio. I figure a quick peek at the end of the straight while still WOT will help me keep an eye on things and give me an extra layer of comfort. I went with an analog gauge rather than LED's as it fits in better with the old school nature of the panel, and also LED's can be hard to distinguish in bright sunlight. It's an Innovate MXT - AL. I swapped in where the Fuel Gauge was and moved the fuel gage further off to the right. Temp, Pressure, AFR... https://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/MTXA.php#3855

Shane, Best wishes on your recovery. A mechanical failure is one of the scariest things to me. I had a similar failure while racing when a front A-arm broke under braking in a sports prototype at Mid Ohio. I could no longer steer or brake and was merely along for the ride at that point. It was surprising how little the car slowed down. Fortunately for me there was a well prepared gravel trap to catch me that time. I'm willing to accept the consequences of my own mistakes while driving, but the lingering potential of a mechanical failure can be really creepy.

Good advice. Thanks guys!