Pokey

When I'm really bored and feeling flush, I'll replace the key/pushbutton in my Caterham with a FOB/pushbutton solution.

And here is the bottom of the marshmallow getting toasted.

"Seeing Lance in his lovely Lotus is like seeing a marshmallow being pushed into a bottle top."

You guys are killing me. My bone stock Seven hasn’t reached its first birthday yet and not seen but a few road miles but now it needs a Cosworth. I need help I think.

It really ejected itself with purpose - straight up.

My Caterham shipped with 13" Avons so presumably I have the 76101 stays. If you want me to measure so you can compare to your original stays just let me know.

I've always been fascinated with the engineering that goes into carburetors. This Constant Depression design looks like it uses an air valve to deal with changing atmospheric pressure. Any problem with that valve would seem more likely to result in a rich condition though, so probably not the culprit. But what about the float level? Is it possible the fuel level is too low in the float chamber?

That's where my head was originally Graham, but I was thinking an air leak between the carbs and the manifold.

John, I just read you original post again and see the AFR is lean from mid onward. If the AFR is real and it is a fuel issue than doesn't it seem like jetting given you were still building power throughout?

Interesting. Do the needles have a profile that is more complex than a linear taper then?

All of the discussion has been on needles and the needle jet, but from my experience with motorcycles you have the pilot, needle and main jets, for idle->mid, mid->full and full throttle. So if this is a fueling issue rather than air, I would have gone to the full-throttle circuit governed by the main jet. Do these carburetors just have a needle jet?

Air leak?

Nothing clever about it, but I've found 3M Dual Lock to be a good alternative for those times a mechanical fastener isn't really needed (e.g., gauges, washer reservoir, securing items stored in the boot, etc.).

Somewhat selfishly (okay, all selfish), I'm glad to see that I don't have the only Caterham that requires disassembly to remove the front brake pad retaining pin.

Anyone recognize which wheels those are?

The current LSD rear end started life as a BMW.

I opted for paint protection film. Seems to be holding up okay to bugs, rocks and the occasional harness end.

Hey, that sounds like a lot of fun. Assuming I can navigate a conflict with my wife's birthday I'd be very interested!

Last year I bought a Buick for my daily driver. I'll pause now so you can get the sniggering out of the way. What can I say, I'm a sucker for sheetmetal. I wanted AWD, love wagons and was on a company budget that would have normally had me in a Subaru. Then there she was, a pearl white TourX with 300+ HP. I set aside the MotorTrend comment about the lazy transmission - surely it must have been a misprint - and bought my first (last?) Buick. A few months later I got rear ended by a drunk and quickly found out that TourX parts are hard to come by, and that a Trifecta tune was not enough to wake up the transmission. I still like the car, but do need to be mindful to force a downshift if I need to accelerate quickly for any reason.

Good luck with the go-live John, hope it goes smoothly. And thank you!

None of my motorcycle helmets are approved for auto use, although I do have one that is E3 (ECE) that I think may be okay for some club events if memory serves. I'm shopping for a helmet with the latest Snell and FIA certifications (SA2020/FIA8859-2015). https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/pages/understanding-helmet-standards-homologations-295

Thanks John. I plan on calling them this week as their website seems terribly out of date. They list only SA2015 helmets, and some are listed as "coming soon." And they don't seem to carry Stilo, although Joe's Racing appears to.

Thanks for all of the input. To answer the questions, I have an aeroscreen for track use and plan on using a Hans restraint. I have an oval head, and over the years have gravitated toward Arai's motorcycle helmets. Arai doesn't seem to be as mainstream in the auto-racing world so I'm eyeballing Stilo as it seems to have a reputation for fitting oval shaped heads. I've started wearing eyeglasses recently so that is going to add a new dimension as I shop for fit. Shopping for a helmet is second only to shopping for shoes as my all-time least favorite past time. An oval head rules out most helmets, and pizza-slice shaped feet make shoes even harder to find.

I've got a lifetime of experience with motorcycle helmets, but have never purchased a helmet for use with a car so could use some wisdom: 1. All carbon fiber versus a composite? I don't skimp when it comes to helmets, but I also don't like giving my money away. Is getting hit in the head with road debris something that happens in a Caterham? 2. Duckbill? Do I really need to be concerned about helmet lift? 3. Ventilation ports. My head gets hot so I typically need plenty of ventilation, but here in the Pacific Northwest we occasionally get rain so I'm mindful that exhaust ports are designed not to allow water to just drip in on my noggin. I can't imagine I'll be on the track in any significant amount of moisture so am thinking that I needn't be concerned about having a wet head. Am I deluding myself - should anyone with an open top car have exhaust ports covered? Should the ventilation ports be adjustable given airflow in a Caterham is plentiful? Love to hear what has worked and not worked for you!

Yah, that was a fun watch.