John B

I’m 6’3” 225 and fit fine by the way

I have an SV in Rumson NJ and am happy to lure new enthusiasts to the dark side 😎

I just had Paul Hasselgren of Hasselgren Race Engineering build me a 2.5L Cosworth Duartec/MZR with a barrel throttle. He builds the race engines in our Formula Atlantic race cars. This is essentially a 2.3L Cosworth/Duartec Formula Atlantic engine with a 2.5L MZR stroker crank and lower compression to run on 93 octane. It made 273 HP on Hasselgren’s dyno. It has an excellent powerband and is very driveable. It wasn’t cheap, but Cheap, Reliable, Fast: - Pick any two... http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11696-2-5L-Hasselgren-MZR-273-hp

Thanks Bruce, That's sweet!

Thanks guys, good ideas. I think I’ll do the same. How do you find driving with the Brooklands screens? More buffeting? Do you need goggles?

I'd like to try Brooklands screens on my SV and ordered a set from Caterham. The problem is Caterham does not seem to have a stanchion available to mount the screens on. Before I go down the self-fab route, does anyone here have any good ideas? Also, what about mirrors?

Not me, but I'd be curious how you got your Alfa 4C up to 320 hp. I really wanted to get one and went for a test drive and liked everything about it except the power.

Has anyone ever ice raced a Caterham? My son and his friends have done a bit of ice racing on Lake Champlain up in Vermont in prior years. We were chatting about this season and it didn't take long to come up with the idea of ice racing our 2003 SV. I think it would kick butt and be a blast! To get the ball rolling we'll need to make up a set of "Bolt tires" and I'll need an additional set of wheels for that. I posted a WTB for some 15x7's in the classified section. http://sccv.org/wp/

I'm planning to do a little ice racing and I need another set of wheels for my 2003 Caterham SV to make a set of ice wheels. Looking for 15x7, 4x108 bolt pattern, 15mm offset Change of plan: Looking for 13x6 Caterham wheels 4x108...

I'll try not to blow this one up! See you guys at NJMP, or sooner if anyone's up for a local drive. Happy 2018!

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was Hooning, not even a mouse... ... When all of a sudden, there arose such a clatter... Our second annual traditional Christmas Eve Caterham ride.

Yep, that's us.

I did get a dyno sheet. I’ll scan and post it. The 2.5 MZR is essentially a stroked 2.3 Duratec. Consequently it doesn’t rev as high but makes more torque and hp all the way up the range. We set the rev limit at 7,900. Good eye! That is a CGT hiding back there. I can’t believe you identified it with just that small portion visible.

I just got my SV back with the 273 hp 2.5L MZR installed. I just took it out for a good blast. It makes great power all the way up the rev range and really comes on strong in the top third of the range. Traction is certainly not it's strong point! I'm very pleased with the driveability of the barrel throttle. In some applications they can be tricky off idle but this is very smooth and progressive all the way up. I'm so happy to have it back!

Well, it's been a year since I holed two pistons in the 2.3L Duratech SBD in my SV at Thunderbolt. It's first track day... We pulled the engine and sent it to Hasselgren Engineering in CA that does our Formula Atlantic race engines. The instructions were basically to make it a killer Formula Atlantic engine with a Cosworth 45mm barrel throttle and all the best hardware: Forged crank, Carillo rods, forged pistons, Formula Atlantic cams and valvetrain, but it should run on pump gas. Oh and by the way it doesn't have to remain 2.3 liters!! Well, it's finally done: 2.5L MZR - 273 hp on the dyno. I can't wait!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd09uFlpCHU&feature=youtu.be

Nice looking Caterham Zetec on BaT. Anyone here know it? http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-caterham-super-7/

Nice LS3 Stalker in Texas. Guess we should call it the "Texas Stalker" https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/5998993363.html

After hole-ing two pistons at NJMP last summer at a member day before the 7's event. I sent my 2.3L SBD Duratech to Hasselgren Engineering in Berkely, CA, They do our Formula Atlantic engines. Paul does a lot of 2.3 Duratecs for Swift 016's. I told him I want a kick ass engine that runs on 93 octane, and "By the way, it doesn't have to remain a 2.3 liter" His eyes widened and a big smile emerged. He's boring it to 2.5L and using the 2.5L head with larger valves and it will run the Cosworth barrel throttles. It was 235 hp from SBD, Hasselgren thinks 285-300

No solid theories at the moment, although the prior owner did re-map it to get it running to his satisfaction on the street. I don't believe it was ever tracked before, so possibly it was too lean for extended full throttle action on the track, but that's just conjecture at this point.

It was nice meeting you guys at NJMP last weekend. Unfortunately, the engine in my Caterham didn't survive the track day. It was losing power and smoking on track. In the paddock it seemed compression was getting into the bottom end as it was puffing smoke out of the catch can breather. I suspect a piston failure, maybe a ring land collapsed. We called a flatbed to take it to our race shop in PA. The bad news is this means we won't make the 7's event at NJMP. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, so I'll probably send the engine to one of our Formula Atlantic engine builders. They build lots of 2.3 Duratecs for the later Swift 016 Formula Atlantics. I'll probably ask for a street spec Atlantic Engine with the barrel throttle, porting, crank, and oil pump that runs on 93 octane, maybe 12:1 instead of 14.5:1. It doesn't have to stay at 2.3 liters either, so maybe it can take a bigger bore and bigger valves. We'll see, but regardless it will come back stronger and faster.

Awesome! Six sevens, we could almost have our own run group. I look forward to meeting you guys in person

I'm bringing my Caterham SV to NJMP this Saturday, June 18th for its first track day. The forecast looks great. - Any other 7's going?

I'd do June 13th in New Hope...

Since my harness were way out of date I ordered a new set from Caterham Parts in the UK. They were at my door the very next day! Those guys don't screw around...

Well, a wedding popped up that cancels my racing plans for the weekend of 6/30 - 7/3. The good news is I think I can now make the Sunday track day - I'm in!