athens7

Discussions regarding the crappy Caterham oil pressure gauge/sender are numerous, both here and on blatchat. Replacement with a mechanical gauge is the most common route. For example: http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3913

Factory Caterham carpets (that means branded cheap carpet, as opposed to generic cheap carpet) over insulation, with 4 snaps on each side pop riveted into the floor pan.

:smilielol5:

Mazda's car may in fact be the genesis of a whole new category of LSIS-the Motus!

Apparently, I'm even more obtuse than usual, but huh...?

Is it possible that the USA7s community have become market makers, affecting the price of relevant commodities? If so, watch out for impending government reform/regulation!:devil:

That is an interesting idea. Thanks.

I suppose the same could be said about me:D

I haven't seen a rotary engine car like this before. One would think the rotary's compact dimensions and light weight would be a natural fit for our cars. This car sure seems to be a handy buy, especially if it has been properly fettled.

That was a conversation my mechanic and I had; however, the ECU is located right below the old battery location (fun if battery acid ever leaked!), and the intake noise problem concerns me. My plan is to run a trumpet type air inlet at the radiator and some 3" air duct hose along the right side of the engine compartment to the new air filter location, ultimately adding walls (plexi?) to create a CAI:drool:. If only my mind's eye can be converted to reality...

New Odyssey PC680 with over-priced hold down. It fits beautifully in front of the heater box, which is blocked off most of the year, and allows the relocation of the air intake away from the back of the motor (surrounded by exhaust headers and coolant hoses). Now if I can figure out the duct routing, I think I can create a cold air intake box around the air intake. Even without the box, it seems likely that this is a better way to get air into the engine than the original Caterham USA arrangement. This also fixed my intermittent temperature gauge failure, which turns out to have been caused by the Banner's inability to maintain voltage under starter load, causing the gauge to think the car was off. The last picture is the original set up, which included the distributor and plug wires that have been replaced by a coil on plug setup.

My mother has asked me to sell her 1991 Saab 900S Convertible (one of the benefits of having a son who is a car dealer). One owner, garage kept. Under 18,000 original miles (yes, 18,000). White over gray leather with black top. 5 speed manual transmission. All original, never hit, in as new condition. Recent service (last 60 days), as well as a complete service history. I have a bunch of 3.5 mb pictures if anyone wants to see them. Car is currently in North Carolina. $9800 obo.

Not cheap, perhaps, but not much different than a reasonably appointed late model Caterham, and less than almost any new one, with provenance few of our cars can match. Plus, how many vintage 50's era digital data acquisition devices like the one behind the Brooklands screen are you likely to run into?

Nice to see there's still a little creativity left in the advertising business. I am so tired of advertisers showing me vignettes of people acting like idiots, then saying "buy this product". If I'm not an idiot, I am insulted and put off by their product; if I am an idiot, I'd rather not have it pointed out! Judgment as to my actual idiot status is best left to my wife...

:party:

:smilielol5:

:drool:

The air cooled Type I motor is a simple product, with good parts availability. It is better to have a mechanic who has some experience with this type of motor. There are some endemic traps to avoid; the Bosch 009 distributor doesn't hold time well, tending to over-advance, which can lead to cooking a cylinder head (personal experience). Replacing with a Mallory with special spring settings is a good investment. Vintage spyders tend to use the 911 cooling fan shroud; a pretty, but less effective way to cool the engine in a mid-mount application. Jake Raby's DTM shroud is best. This is an important consideration, because the #3 cylinder is prone to hotter temperatures than the others, and it is easy enough to cook a Type I motor. Lastly, the throttle linkage for the dual Webers is crap; there is an excellent thread on spyderclub on how to fix this problem. Until that is done, it is much more difficult to keep the carbs synchronized. As to handling, I can only speak to my car. The 550 was designed with swing arms in back, 110-135 hp, and 4 inch tires. My car had the same suspension, 185 hp, and 6 inch tires. Where the original car tended to slide, the reproductions grip and then let go. The car takes an understeering set into a corner, then switches to oversteer. Trailing throttle oversteer is always a concern. The closest contemporary equivalent in my opinion would be a Lotus Elise, as owners with whom I've spoken say it transitions similarly. If you plan on any competitive use, I would think the Vintage would be much better, as it has some transverse hoops in the frame that hold the body in place. The Beck is just a ladder frame with the body attached by machine screws. If I had autocrossed my spyder like I do my 7, I think it would have fallen apart in a year.

OK, how much time have you got? I owned Beck 550 #789 for 4 years before I bought my 7. Here's the short version: I coveted 2 cars (that I could possibly afford) in my adult life, a 550 spyder repro and a Caterham 7. The Beck was the more affordable of the 2 at $30k loaded in 2003 vs. $40k+ for the 7, so that's where I started. After 4 years, I sold the spyder and bought my Caterham. Almost 3 years later, I am still very happy with my car, feeling I improved my driving environment and capabilities significantly. If I had owned the 7 first and traded it for the Beck, I would be FURIOUS now. The 7 is a better car in every way (the spyder sure was pretty, though). If you want to learn more about all things 550 spyder, go to http://www.spyderclub.com, where you will find an active, engaged group with lots of good advice and expertise. Also, this is where you'll find the best used car marketplace. There are 4 manufacturers of spyders at this time: Vintage, Thunder Ranch, Special Edition, and Stuttgart Spyders. The Beck Spyder no longer exisits under that name, but the Beck is based on bodies and frames from Chamonix (a Brazilian company) and is sold through Carey Hines at Special Edition (good folks). All of these spyders are purpose built, mid engine cars, NOT new bodies on beetle pans. All use torsion bar front and swing axle rear suspensions, except the Vintage, which uses trailing arms and coil over shocks in the rear. All are fiberglass bodies on ladder frames. There is one company that builds an aluminum spyder, but they are expensive and I know nothing about them, or even if they have built their first customer car yet. Vintage offers the Subaru engine option, otherwise a VW Type I 4 cylinder with dual Weber 44IDF carbs is standard. CB Performance builds a nice 2165 CC unit that puts out a (purported) 185 HP. Jake Raby builds a righteous Type 4 motor (Porsche 914), but it's $$$$. Generally, the Vintage is the most meticulously built, but many people find dealing with Greg Leach (Vintage's owner) very difficult and frustrating. All of these cars require significant fettling, as they make a good seven feel like it came off the assembly line at Stuttgart! Buying advice-buy used, from an owner with great records and a penchant for upgrades. My car was much better when I sold it than it was when I bought it new in 2003. For cosmetic upgrades, find Russ Rodriguez at Fibersteel (great guy!). Safety-makes a 7 look like an S Class Mercedes-Benz (just so you know). There, 4 years of anal retentive experience in one post! BUY ANOTHER SEVEN.

AMAZING exhibit! Porsche 550-01, 2 Pebble Beach Best of Show winners, a 250 GT SWB Competizione, a Mercedes 540K to die for... AND only a 2 block walk to Tamarind Seed Thai Bistro!

I can attest that cycle wings do a great job of allowing debris into the cockpit, aided mightily by sticky tires!

+1 All my experiences with McM-C have been completely satisfactory.

I find the Toyo R1R to be a very good wet weather tire, based on the VERY wet SoloPro school I attended today. Very good grip, both off the line with 2000 rpm standing starts (needs 3000 rpm in the dry), and in transient maneuvers. Breaks away progressively, and easy to catch. The tires also handled standing water on course without hydroplaning or snatching the wheel out of my hand.

That brings back: a) some embarrassing memories, and b) a profound sense of relief that camera phones, flip cameras, and pocket video cameras had not yet been invented when I was in college!