bball7754

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

Tom - Adding on to Mike's post above, are passengers allowed during the sessions? As I remember, the organization used for last years gathering didn't allow passengers. Oh, and I'm not feeling the love from you for Crossflows. Steve

The Middletown BDA has been on Race-Cars.com for quite some time - maybe 2 years? The Memphis one is, I think, a relatively new posting. Bit out of my price range (wild understatement) though.

Actually, I'm just jealous. Missed out on 2 BD's last year, or I'd be there with Stewart.

Andy - Sounds like you might have a Crossflow? Since Stewart converted to the dark side/BDA, I was the sole Xflow representative last year. Would be great to have company! Steve

Skip - my understanding was that it was also a federal regulation. Purchasing everything from one source would force the car to comply with current safety regulations, etc. From conversations with Ben, I actually thought that Rocky Mountain was formed specifically for the purpose of complying with the federal regulation. I've been surprised at this new direction. I hope everyone has done their homework. Steve

Tony - I won't bore you with my distributor story, but I ended up having it refurbished and recurved by Advanced Distributors: http://advanceddistributors.com/index.htm I'm pretty sure he (it's a one man operation - can't think of his name off the top of my head) can install a Pertronix ignitor in the distributor. I'd give him a call and discuss your distributor and situation. Steve

You should be able to join the forum. I live in Missouri, and they let me join.

You probably should post this information on the California Caterham Club forum: http://californiacaterhamclub.com/ Some of the CCC members are also on this forum, but I believe some/many are not. Steve

Maybe we should take an optimistic approach and assume that the existing Retailers are not SOL. Beachman appears to still be in business as a dealer. When this story broke, I went out to the Caterham USA site and the retailers page was still there. I actually found a new retailer, Turn 7, who is located at Autobahn motorsports park outside Chicago. http://www.turn7motorsport.com/ Believe that Randy Chase's firm is still active as a retailer ([url=http://www.theadrenalinegallery.com][/url]http://www.theadrenalinegallery.com) and there is George Alderman at Mid-Atlantic (http://www.midatlanticcaterham.com/). Know there are a few others - Sevens and Elans in Boston, one in Texas, plus a few more. Steve

I signed up on the Zenos website 3-4 months ago, and immediately received a semi-personalized email from Ansar Ali. I responded to him, and asked about bringing E10 to the US. He actually did reply, and stated that the US was not in their plans. Of course, things always change. Steve