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"....even the slowest CrossFlow is very quick through every corner." Hey, I resemble that remark! Count me in, including the Karting on Friday. Second Mike's recommendation of not waiting to make reservations. With it being a holiday weekend, the hotels fill up fast. Steve

Mike - you might research the Formula Ford forum on ApexSpeed. Looks like there are Hoosier bias ply in those sizes. Steve

Because of a change in policy at work, I now access the site from my phone. The location of a member doesn't seem to be displayed on my IPhone. It does when I access it from my PC.

Advice I've read and followed for the valve cover is to not over tighten the cover. If you do, it just creates gaps in the gasket. If you have a stamped steel cover, there are load spreading washers that are supposed to help. If you have a cast aluminum cover, you're not supposed to use one type of gasket, but confess I can't remember if it's the cork gasket or not. No advice on the oil pan. Mine leaked until I had my engine rebuilt - now it doesn't. But don't know what the engine builder used. Steve

I purchased a Schroth Pofii II Formula style 6-point and a set of ASM from MSAR in the UK because they were "Caterham specific". http://www.msar.co.uk/motorsports/Race-Harnesses/Racing-6pt-Belts/Car-Specific/Schroth-Caterham-Profi-II-6F-Formula-Style_226.html It was not a wise move on my part. The shoulder strap fittings were not sewn in, which I suppose is ok for racing but not what I wanted for the street. I ended up contacting HMS Motorsport to see if the fittings could be corrected, and worked with Derek Mulson. He, and HMS Motorsport, were fantastic. The changed the fittings, and made other adjustments/corrections. http://www.hmsmotorsport.com/ Basically, I think they can customize any of the harnesses to whatever specs you want. So, if you know how long you want/need the shoulder and lap straps to be, I think they could create a custom set for you, and I don't think they charge extra for it. Definitely worth a call. Steve

Dermot - Trust you're looking here: http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/lotuselan-for-sale-f2/ Steve

Tom - I'm interested. Have kicked myself a number of times for not doing the Barber trackday at LOG. Maybe a fall date, assuming NJMP is late-June/early July again? Steve

Maybe some of the Crossflow/specialist engine builders might have one lying around?

I would call Dave Bean. My copy of the English Ford Racers Catalog shows that he may have 109E con rods, although it also says "Use anything but these!" There is a section that covers the "Dimensional Chronology", and includes a comment section. For the 109E, it says "Contained infamous "glass ball" hollow cast iron crank; good to 20 minutes at racing speeds." Steve

After. He had come from Massachusetts, so had to admire his outlook after balling up his Porsche.

At our drivers meeting at COTA, we were told that every trackday had resulted in at least one driver losing it in the last ess (turn 5). This happened in the first session after lunch that day. Steve

My understanding was that the South African blocks were "AXmnnnn", rather than 711M. Steve

Tom - If you end up replacing rather than repairing, you should consider a Radtec radiator. I bought one for my Crossflow, and the increased cooling is significant. Believe that Lotus 7 Club members get a discount. Plenty on Blatchat about Radtec vs. Caterham radiators. Steve

Jim - Don't know how much they cost these days (although I'm sure it's more than $3 ), but you can still buy canvas Chuck Taylor All-Stars. Steve

Dave - What Tom said. I'm assuming that at some point http://www.blatchat.com will take you to the Forum section of the new site, and unless you're a member you won't see Tech Talk. Steve - I've been a freeloader for 10 years, so probably about time I started to carry my weight. Agree that I prefer the old design, although I'm sure I'll adjust. I don't like the new Technical Search either. I was happy to only search within Tech Talk, and found it easy to find information. Steve

With the new website, apparently Tech Talk on Blatchat is for members only. Sigh. Checking Tech Talk has been part of my daily routine for the last 10 years. This may be the motivation needed to finally join - but maybe not. As a Crossflow owner, it's been a great source of information. Guess I won't be referencing posts any longer. Steve

Pretty sure that Birkin was originally built by someone I know here in St. Louis. His was yellow with a Zetec, and it did catch on fire - big time. Believe it was an insurance write off, and was then surprised to see it posted for sale. Somewhere buried in this forum is a link to the original ad. Steve

Thanks. Pretty much what I figured - the usual stuff. Couldn't remember if they were a "cover the battery terminals" group, but can complete that in NJ. As well as get my arm restraints out of their bag. Steve

Nick - Looks like the 620R is RHD, right? I'll be interested to see how the registration process goes for the new owners, particularly if they elect to purchase the engine/trans from you. Steve '98 Caterham Crossflow

Mike - Doing final prep before leaving this afternoon, and thought I'd review your novella regarding the event. Tried to download the NJMP tech form, and got a "page not found" error. Not having any luck finding in on the NJMP site. Anything special on the form that I/we need to know? Steve

That seems hot to me. 7 PSI is definitely too low. Believe the "standard" cap is 14. I've been wrestling with coolant filling my catch tank since I've had my Xflow rebuilt. Just finished converting it to a sealed system. Steve

Picked up the Mallock this past Saturday. Any thoughts of bringing it to NJMP vanished when I realized that I would need to make some major pedal and seat adjustments before I could drive it. The previous owner was substantially taller than I am. I practically have to lie down to reach the pedals. Here it is in the garage (briefly). P6200147.jpg P6200150.jpg

Tom/Mike - do we need to display the number that we registered on our car? I think I have number 11. Mike - Still haven't made a camera purchase, so if you have a spare..... Steve

Rick - Yes, I originally saw it on Bring a Trailer. By the time I called about it, it was promised to the person I'm buying it from. He owned it for about 2 months and then his race car situation changed and he decided he couldn't keep it. He called the BAT owner and got my name and a few others that had expressed interest. He called, and I decided (sort of) that it was fate. Another person on the East coast was also interested in buying it. Was that you? And where in NJ are you? I grew up in Bergen County outside of NYC. Steve

Looking in Chris Rees book "The Magnificent 7", I think it would probably have been the Ford 105E engine. Lotus started using it in 1961, and it became the "standard" engine. It replaced both the sidevalve and BMC A engines. If it's a Super Seven, I think it would have had the Ford 116 E Cortina engine. Again per the book, your chassis number indicates the car was made at the Cheshunt factory, rather than in Hethel. Steve