bball7754

Mike/Tom - My belts are current, but my arm restraints are not. Will that be an issue for tech inspection? Steve

I was surprised to find out that they are a US company, and that the controllers are made here also - in Michigan I think. So, no overseas help desk.

Mike - try their help line. I called it when I had issues getting mine to synch and they were actually very helpful - which is not always the case with help lines.

Mike - Those plans are now somewhat on hold, possibly replaced by a trip to Japan to include the Japanese F1 race at Suzuka. Our younger son will be teaching English in Japan starting in July. Steve

Xcarguy and rx7locost- Used the advice from both of you. Spoke with Tim at Federal Hill, and his advice was to trim the AN fitting I purchased and use a crush washer. All installed and operational, with no leaks! Steve

Another, more optimistic view: http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/industry/what-s-happening-caterham

Apparently the Caterham/Renault joint venture to develop a new version of the Alpine has been canceled. http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/renault-confirms-caterham-joint-venture-will-be-axed Seems odd to cancel a joint venture, but then say that Caterham will continue to develop it on their own using the same platform as Renault. This combined with Tony F statements about how the F1 team must show improvement this year makes me wonder about his long term commitment to owning Caterham. Maybe it was never intended to be long term. All of this has some of the same odor as the Dany Behar period at Lotus, and we know how that ended. Steve

Thanks. I've found what appears to be the same Girling master cylinder at British American Transfer, and it shows that the port is 3/8"-24 (AN-3). So, maybe my fitting is correct - or maybe the Girling units for the UK market (I purchased it from Caterham) are different than those for the US market. The thread is correct, it's just hard/impossible to tell if the bottom of the port is 37 degrees or 45.

The clutch master cylinder on my Caterham has been on the way out for awhile, and rather than do a rebuild on it purchased a replacement. It's a Girling .70". My braided hose also needed to be replaced, and took a chance and purchased a hose with -3 AN female swivel fittings at both ends. Went to do the swap last weekend, and discovered that the hose end of the fitting in the master cylinder port was, um... strange. So, decided I would order a new fitting. It seemed like a -3 bulkhead fitting would do the job, and received it today. Needless to say, it's not right. Here is a photo of the original fitting on the left, and the new on the right. The old fitting seems to have a 3/8-24 SAE 45 degree single flare end, but that's a researched guess. I've had no luck finding a fitting with 3/8-24 SAE 45 male at one end, and -3AN male at the other. My hope was to use the hose I purchased, but at this point if someone can tell me what type of hose end fitting is on the original, I'll go from there. Anyway, any guidance is appreciated. Thanks. Steve

If your distributor has the Pertronix/Aldon ignitor in it (replaces points), it may be going south. My understanding is that they can be damaged if the ignition is left in the "on" position with engine not running. I had similar issues when my ignitor went bad. It would sporadically start missing, then clear up, then miss, etc. If you have one and it's old, probably worth just replacing. Steve

Here is the Blatchat thread discussing Dedion failures. The first post has a list of all the variations: http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=94283 Steve

It's sort of a custom build. It's one of the Montrose standard designs, but I had them narrow it a bit as I had a width clearance challenge on my driveway. They will make pretty much anything you want, though. It's all aluminium (except for the floor) so quite light - maybe 1,400 lbs empty (working from memory). Steve

Lots of options, and everyone seems happy with their choice. Here's mine: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/picture.php?albumid=57&pictureid=509 http://www.usa7s.com/vb/picture.php?albumid=57&pictureid=508 Steve

Tom - looks great. Was it cheaper to have it fabricated at Midatlantic rather than purchasing from Caterham and shipping from the UK? Also wondering whether George could have added mounting bosses for a 3rd tailight? Steve

See, didn't even have to go to Blatchat for a Quaife owner to offer their (totally valid) viewpoint. Agree, from what I've read, that the ramp setup on a plate type is crucial, particularly for a Seven. My Tran-X had ramp angles specifically setup for a Caterham, and I haven't experienced any nasty behavior. But I've also read (again, on Blatchat) of semi-nightmarish handling due to not having a plate type correctly setup. And again, lots of happy Quaife owners on Blatchat. Steve

Stewart - General sentiment on Blatchat seems to be that the Quaife is not as suited for track. It's a "viscous" LSD, rather than "plate type", and apparently isn't happy going over curbs. Of course, you'll find Quaife LSD owners on Blatchat who say that's rubbish. I have a Tran-X plate type, but believe they got out of the LSD business, at least for the Sierra diff. I think Titan may now be the plate LSD of choice. Steve

Paul - Believe this post on Blatchat was made by Terry. Maybe he was looking for a manual for you? http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=237736 Steve

When I was trying to find a tow vehicle (which also needed to be my wife's daily driver, so F150, etc., was not an option), I found that the tow ratings in the US were consistently lower than the European ratings. I ended up with a Volvo XC60 with, as I remember, a 3500 lb tow limit. Believe in Europe it's 5000. Reading similar discussions on various forums, the litigious nature of the US (sue over everything/anything) was often viewed as one of the primary reasons. FWIW, I've had no problems towing with the Volvo. Steve

Mike - Since one of my three awards resulted in leaving a day early, do I get to collect last years trophies this year? Steve

Tom - I'm hoping you'll hear the Crossflow for more than 5 laps this year. Sounds like that interpretation of the rules is for the track, regardless of the organization running the trackday. Steve