breezy7

Sounds good Steve. The Tap Room on Locust? It is down the street from Pappy's Smokehouse so a good excuse to get some ribs. What time are you thinking about? I can make any time so set what works best for everyone else. I can adjust to something else if this does not work out, just let me know when and where. Mike

I'll be out of town May 14-15 too, but should be able to make the other dates Steve suggested. Steve, do you have something in mind about a meeting place? Mike

Ian : Where is the regulator, have a picture? Is the SVT set up the same as a standard Zetec? Mike

Problem turned out to be bad plug wire. By chance I was holding the inductive pickup to my timing light in my right had and touched the #4 plug wire with my left hand and the timing light lit up. If I touched but not clamped the pick up to the wires at the rear of the engine the light worked but moving forward the clamp had to be installed to make the light come on. Seems that the wires have broken down and losing some of the spark. I did a quick bandaid fix and a trip around the block showed the car running great. Off Road SHO: I found different numbers for what the vacuum should be, anywhere from 12 inches to 21 inches. The scale on the face of my vacuum gauge did show the reading a little low but checking my daily driver I had similar numbers to the Caterham plus the reading needs to be adjusted for elevation above sea level which I had not done. I think the way the gauge reacts is important even though a very low reading would be a concern. Slomove: My concerns to CATUSA were that the filter could be clogged or the pump output low and starving the engine for fuel at higher RPM. Ben was not in the shop today, I have always talked to him when calling there. He is very helpful and spends the time with me whether I am buying something or just need help or information. Mike

I have been having problems with the SVT engine in my Caterham. The car starts and idles fine but seems down on power and gives a bucking effect at higher RPM that makes the car undriveable. There are no engine codes other that the usual evaporative emission ones, the spark plugs look OK and the engine pulls 14-15 inches of vacuum. The vacuum gauge drops to near zero and then returns to normal when blipping the throttle. I don't have a compression gauge but the vacuum readings indicate to me that I haven't lost compression. I also don't have a gauge for checking fuel pressure but talked with Caterham USA today and they haven't seen problems with Zetec fuel pressure. I did a have the intake manifold off this winter to make connections to a new mechanical oil pressure line but it all electrical connections and vacuum lines look OK. If I had a leak at the manifold the vacuum readings would be off. Maybe I've been staring at the manifold too long and am missing something. If someone could post a picture or two of their manifold that may help. Any suggetions on what else to try? If I can't figure it out ( and its not looking good right now) I'm going to talk to my local Ford deal and hope they can hook up and read more whats going on then me just looking at fail codes. Curious if they will want to work on it. Anyone taken their 7 to a dealer?

Me and my Caterham are located in the cornfields of Illinois about 40 miles east of St. Louis. There are a couple of St. Louis area 7 owners on the forum as well. The St. Louis Lotus club has a drive scheduled for May 7 that usually has a 7 or two in attendance. http://www.stalls-club.webs.com/ Mike

Here is the SEMA site with registration regulations for all 50 states. I know there are a few guys on the forum from Georgia that should be able to tell you the ins and outs of registration. Insurance is easy, either from the major companies to specialty insurers like Hagerty. http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=62843 Mike

I found this list of 7 types at the Lotus talk forum.http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f178/can-somebody-list-lotus-7-caterham-knockoffs-87787/ (post # 5) It is amazing to me that such an obscure car as the original Lotus 7 has spawned so many replicas worldwide. Even today the Lotus name can't be that well recognized compared to the big names in sports cars. Mike

I just read in the May edition of Road & Track that Carroll Shelby said " the Cobra was the most replicated car thats ever been." It made me curious about the number of companies that have made Cobra replicas and the number of cars they have produced versus the LSIS types. Anyone have an idea about how many companies / number of Cobra replicas there have been? Other than a few Porsche 356 replicas I can't think of another sport cars being replicated. Mike

Here is a link to a site that lists all the dimensions for the different Caterham models.http://www.automobile-catalog.com/list-caterham.html I have an S3 chassis and the pedal box is tight for my size 9 shoes, some type of narrow soled or driving shoe is a must. I'm 5' 9" and the only time I feel squeezed into the car is in cool weather, extra clothing makes it a tight fit. If you plan on using the car to travel and someone is going with you the extra cargo space of an SV would be a plus. Mike

Rod, Maybe the folks on this site could help http://www.diyse7ens.com/forums/index.php Mike

Is this it? http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-technical-articles/air-pump/

I bought a windshield mounted mirror from these folks in the UK,https://www.europaspares.com/MIRRORS/INTERIORMIRRORS/ don't know if they have anything different then what you have seen but worth a try. The service was very quick. I would think the ones that have a metal stem and mount to the scuttle would stand up to the wind. I looked at another site in England, can't remember the name but if I come across it I'll post it too. Mike

Here is a link to the site dedicated to the new car http://www.caterham-spr.com/

Does anyone have the spark plug torque for a Zetec? It is for a SVT if there is a difference. I can't seem to find a repair manual for a Focus with a SVT. Any suggestions ? Mike

Here is a link to a few roads in Illinois.http://www.motorcycleroads.us/regions/il_prairie.html There aren't many roads to challenge a 7 in Illinois. There have been several discussions about buying a 7, the search feature should give you plenty to read. I think the California Caterham website has information on different choices too. Mike

Here is a link to the California Caterham Club article on attaching with adhesives and try a search on the Lotus Seven Club site, I have seen it discussed there quite a bit.http://www.californiacaterhamclub.com/resources/CycleWings.pdf Mike

Take a look at http://www.the caterhamproject.com to see what is involved with a Caterham build, it is the best build site i've found and then download the assembly manual from the technical section of the Caterham UK site. Those two things should give you a good idea if you can handle it. As others have said the assembly is pretty straight forward, everything fits no welding or machine work and basic handtools are used. I did have to borrow a 200lb./ft torque wrench and 41mm socket for the rear axle but that was it. I live in Illinois and the registration process in 2006 was a piece of cake but looking at the Secretary of State website things might have changed. There is a requirement to have a mechanical inspection done before registration is complete. In 2006 the State allowed inspectors from the National Street Rod Association do the inspection using the State's criteria. That is who inspected my car but from what I saw today it is done by the Secretary of State's police officers and that may a bit trickier. There are 2 possible gotchas on the inspection, a DOT stamp on the windshield and steel brake lines, Caterhams have neither. The inspector who looked at my car never mentioned the brake lines and after a 30 second discussion about the windshield he approved that too. He was a car guy who was impressed with the build quality of the kit but a cop from the Secretary's office might not look at it the same way. I would contact the State about the process, I may have the number of the person I dealt with at the State if you are interested, there was only 1 person who handled these type of registration at that time. As far as a dealer I dealt with Rocky Mountain Sportscars (now Caterham USA) and was very satisfied. The few bits were missing or broken were quickly replaced and I never was on hold waiting for parts. Having a dealer near you would be nice but I haven't seen any web activity from the guy in Illinois and he has been listed for a while, call Ben at Caterham USA to see if the guy is active. Mike

Hey guys: Called Moss Motors/ Jackson Supercharging, they are one in the same. Surf must be up in Goleta,CA. no answer on the phone. The swap to a 1.8used in the 94-97 Miata would give me 128hp vs 116hp I have now just isn't enough difference. If you can believe the advertising, Moss sells a $300 cold air intake that is good for 14 hp and that would be cheaper and easier route. I'm not up for a engine swap and the associated headaches, it is hard enough to find time to change the oil. I've got under 80k miles on the car and the engine is in good shape. If I remember correctly the 1.6 started out as a turbocharged engine in the Mazda 323 and is very rugged, it is good for 7psi of boost with no mods and I'm looking at 5-6 psi that would give me 40hp or so. Don't need a super quick car( Caterham fills that bill) just would like the acceleration to match the exhaust tone, it sounds like we are going fast but progress is a bit slow. Mike

Thanks Steve, hope it is not imposing. Things better with the crossflow? Mike .

I have been thinking for years about adding a Jackson racing M45 supercharger to my 93 Miata and now that I am ready the kit is no longer available so that leaves me with used ones. I am not looking for the most power but just want to make the car a bit quicker without sacrificing reliability or driveability. I have found an older model that comes with a auxiliary fuel pressure regulator to handle extra fuel requirements instead of the electronic controller of later models. How well does the auxiliary regulator work compared to the electronic version? Any weak points I should be aware of or telltale signs something is wrong? From what I've read it is a plug and play operation( at least new ones were). The car is off the road with suspension damage so a drive is not possible, other than a boost gauge how can I tell the system is working? Any weak points to be aware of? The guy is asking $1450 including the Bipes ignition controller and that seems steep to me. I was thinking $1000 tops, am I out of line? I've done a bit of reading on wwwthemiatanet but not much help, so if any Miata guys can chime in it will help. Steve, if you see this post I talked to a guy at the British car show 2 years ago that was changing his Miata from supercharged to V8 power and he knew you. He used to have a Birkin I think and lived in your neighbor hood I think. He might be someone I could talk to. Mike

I looked at the pictures on your website and it looks much cleaner then what I have. I noticed you have different turn signals in a new location. Can the original turn signals mount to the new bracket? Will email Ben at Cat USA to see what he has on hand. Mike

Has anyone tried using a lowered headlight bracket? I saw them at freestlye motorsports and am tempted to try them to get rid of the bugeye look of my Caterham. Are there any other sources for a bracket? Even if I don't use the bracket I will go with smaller headlights, that alone makes a big difference. I have seen many 5 3/4 inch lights but saw a 4 inch on a UK kit car site but can't remember the name of the place. Mike

Didn't Lotus go down this road before? Many years ago they tried to go up market and it just about killed them, it wasn't until they went back to their roots with the Elise that they turned things around. I don't think they will pull customers away from the companies they will be competing with. In my opinion the cars look dated now much less 5 years from now, but I'm not the customer they are targeting. Saying that I didn't care for looks of the Evora until seeing it in person. I think the last good looking Lotus was the original Elan so I may be out of touch! Mike