roll a 7

I'd like to see it when it is completely assembled. How do you get it from your garage to a runway where you can fly it?

My Caterham orinally had 90/180 progressive springs on the rear. I wrestled with the cars handling for two years before I finally decided to try going in a different direction. In the end I bought new shocks and springs from Freestyle. This transformed the handling once we had the car set up. The rears are now linear 150 pound springs. My front spring rate was also changed and the 24 way adjustable AVO shocks made it easy and fun to play with setup. At this point I believe that I could setup the car to oversteer at the limit on left turns and have terminal understeer at the limit when turning to the right. Can't think of any reason to do that, but it is fun to contemplate... The current setup is neutral at the limit. The car does about a dozen autocrosses and a few track days per year.

The very best tires that I have ever used are the Kumho V 710s which will fit your 6" rims. Stick like crazy and very driftable. The downside is that the street mileage will be terrible and when it rains you will learn a lot about the meaning of "aquaplaning". Think about a second set of rims if you are planning to autocross or do track days. The Yokohoma AO 32s have finally come down to reasonable prices on Tire Rack and are a good all around tire. These are a better choice than Avon CR 500s when price is factored into the equation. The Avon ACB 10s are also good and very light, but much inferior to the V 710s as a performance choice.

Mike, That little toy looks great. Sort of like a WW II vintage fighter. Is it an aerobatic sort? Is the top speed also aroun 175 MPH? Is the canopy plastic or glass? How much does it weigh compared to a similar Cessna or Beech? One of these days I'd like to see it if possible, sort of a payback for my 7 tour..... Most Impressive. Building a 7 should not present any problems for you!!

Mike, The other day I asked about the plane which you are building in your garage. We never finished that conversation---along with a few others... Anyway, tell us about the plane: dimensions, performance capabilities, etc. Many of us like light stuff. A few pics would be good too!!

I have not rolled MY 7. But, when a guy comes around to owning a 7 he has rolled a 7 in the car world. Most other car guys just don't realize the fact.

Martin, There are some guys in the LA area contemplating a weekend blat on the californiacaterhamclub.com website. If you would like to join some other guys in 7s for some fun just add yourself to the mix. The SoCal 7 community is fairly active and ALL 7s are aalways welcome!!!

My superlight is from late 2000 factory prod, but I never heard of a schematic for the wiring on a Caterham. If you are in SD county some day you are welcome to look my car over if that would help. Doug L on the CCC site may have a useful thought on the wiring.

When I ordered my 7 I figured it would see 90% street use and 10% autocross/track use. Once constructed I quickly came to appreciate the extreme nature of the performance envelope and my vision changed. You can't floor the car for more than 3-4 seconds on the street without reaching ridiculous/dangerous speed levels for almost any where you are going to drive. Some freeway drives may offer a little more time. Upon reaching these speeds you will be going much faster than the cars around you and you realize it just ain't that smart. Your car can handle it, but the mortal cars all about will be terrified and you will be the focus of their attention. If you live in a small community expect a visit from another motorist. They can all see who is in the car! The performance capabilities quickly exceed sanity on the streets. My response has been to use the car about 90% autoross/track and 10% on the street. The most fun you can have in the car is when you can start finding the limits under controlled conditions with no oncoming traffic. That is a good definition of autocross and track days. Also, it really is fun hanging out with the other 7ers. On track weekends we have as much fun on saturday night lieing about our driving as we do on the track. Vino y cervezas fuel the fun! My car has a buckboard ride with the performance setup and I don't care. On blats to Borrego and Julian I make no attempt to soften muy 24 way adjustable shocks because I like it this way. Make your own decision on that stuff. I know a La Mesa realtor who drives his Birkin most days and another gent in LJ that uses his SV for daily transport. You get to make the call. Mine goes to work a couple of times per year. A 7 is the natural progression from a motorcycle and I'm suprised that more cyclists have not caught on, yet. More cars on the road should open some eyes over time. Mike, do you plan to get an SB 100 number in 2008?

I'm a kid trapped in a 57 year old body. I try not to look or act my age. Woody Allen said it very well: You are never too old to act immature. So, go out and buy a 7 if you don't have one!!!!

When my life improves to the point where I have three 7s, instead of just one the third will be a BEC. It's a great idea and what they give up in HP/torque they get back through adding lightness. Fantastic performance. One UK showcar BEC weighed 769 pounds ready to go. CC would approve!!!

I have used acb 10s, CR 500s, Kumho ecsta V700s and Kumho V710s. The ACB 10s are lightest. None hold a candle to the Kumho V710s for performance, in my view. The 710s are not a very good street tire, but awesome for autocross/track use. Most 7 owners end up with 2-3 sets of tires and rims to cover their various needs!!! 3 in my case; and if I could slip a 4th past my bride.....

As a college freshman in 1967 I found the other gearheads on my dorm floor pretty quick. One was a guy from a northern Chicago suburb who mentioned the Lotus super 7 one day. Proving my ignorance I replied with a small town boys "what's that?". He proceeded to explain the kit car concept to me. About two years later I finally saw one entered in a Denver autocross. It stomped everything including the fast local 911s and a Ferrari Dino. I was duly impressed and made the mental note to get one some day. Truly a unique car! Over the subsequent too many years whenever I saw one it rekindled the latent/dormant desire. One friday afternoon in about 1987 I looked out my La Jolla office window to see three 7s parking across the street. The drivers emerged and dragged out their female talent and walked off, likely heading for a saloon. I spent about twenty minutes admiring the cars without ever seeing the owners again. I concluded that this would be a fun way to spend an automotive weekend. Still wondering, "Who were those guys?" For many years my married brother raved about what Caterhams were doing to other sports cars in the UK mags. But, alas, it wasn't in his family budget. However, he did yeomans work in keeping the subject alive in my mind. In early 2000 he was scheduled to visit me in CA. So, as a surprise I made an appointment for us to visit the Caterham dealer in Orange County that I had managed to locate in Hemmings. The car we drove was a DeDion with a base zetec. Plenty of fun and very vintage. It seemed expensive with impressive quality. A few weeks later the dealer brought the car to a San Diego autocross. I met him there and also a couple of local 7 racers. One of those gents told me that he was going to dump his crossflow and replace it with a 700 mile zetec he'd bought from a wrecker for $800. This had the effect of deluding me into thinking that a car could be assembled for quite a bit less if one did not buy the motor at the "package price" offered by the distributors. Now I was actively dreaming... About six months later the distributor offered kits with a $4000 discount, claiming a container load shipment would provide enough transport savings to cover him. I figured that a few more years might pass by before I got another chance at a discount on a new Caterham. And I was armed with the secret info about stuffing a barely used $800 zetec under the bonnet to get a modern 4 valve motor at a really low cost. So, I bit on the deal and ordered a superlight R. The dealer assured me that my late July order could not possibly be consructed as a zetec kit in the UK before december. That morphed into september with an end of year US delivery date. When a guy has time to think about what he "really" wants, and the internet to find websites like the Lotus 7 Club of GB (blatchat, specifically), the perceived needs can change dramaticly. The blatchat guys gave me wonderful advice and I steadily learned about upgradeitis with things like Jenvey throttlebodies, Kent cams, headwork, Raceline dry sumps, ITG, six speed Caterhams trans, etc. Every couple of weeks I added another wish list item to my order, using the logic that it would be cheaper to do it that way from the build rather than later. And it only cost another grand or two each time, rather than a whopping and terminal total in one fell swoop! By the time I got the car I realized that I never would have bought if I'd known the real cost. Fortunately, it was too late and I didn't have a wife to stop me! Upon arrival I began sweating out how I would ever get it registered in CA, without exposing myself to a possible prison sentence. Then, a CA state senator named Johanesson managed to get SB 100 by Gov. Gray Davis, after a few previous vetoes, which finally enabled the Sen to register his kit Cobra. It also made my 7 legal and I jumped through the necessary hoops lickety split! I still think this may have contributed to the ascent of Arnold... Thank God I did this! I've met a great bunch of like minded lunatic fringe car

For many years the above Cosworth powered 7 has been among the very fastest in CA. There aren't many real Cosworth cars around and I'll vouch for the above car being a very good/fast 7!! I have seen the car @ Streets of Willow & Fontana, mainly from the back...

The Focus zetec has a lighter crankshaft than the Contour/Mystique version. I'd be trying to get that Focus motor if I had a choice. Then again, if I really had a choice it would be the Cosworth Duratec and damn the cost.....

Esslinger milled my head and installed the Kent Focus 12 cams. Works great!

If you want a better head with bigger valves why not buy the Ford Racing head with bigger valves (33mm intake) for around $900? Fits ZX3 motor. A short block can be had for about $700. I have the Kent Focus 12 cams and like them very much. If you are going to buy cams be sure to get new cams, NOT the reground variety that may have smaller base circles---to avoid future fitment problems. The Fidanza ali flywheel is good choice weighing about nine pounds versus the stock job @ 23 lbs. Your motor will rev noticeably faster when spinning up the 9 pounder. I also have the jenvey throttle body setup and would recommend that. My motor should be somewhere between 202 and 215 HP. A measured 175 hp @ the rear wheels.

I am in ageement with Gert. A national site is fine with me and a good idea which I have previously endorsed. At this point I get a lot from our CCC site and don't want to lose any of that. The users now have a sort of ESPRIT d' Corps. Hopefully a national site will be similar.

The CA site is four years old this month. It has taken most of that time to evolve into the active website that it has become. Most of us left coasters now use it regularly, especially those most committed to using their 7s. I am all for a national website and can see many possible advantages to all of us. My one concern is that I don't want the CA group to find a national site less useful than our present site, and thereby see the users drift off into the netherworld of..... The present site has become very useful for communicating with 7ers that I know and those I have not (yet) met. Meeting even more 7ers on a national site is a good reason to move ahead. It will enable those who travel around the USA to meet up with fellow nutcase 7 owners in the other regions. If we can find a way that satisfies the various needs and desires of 7 owners and groupies across the USA it is the logical next step.

This is my virgin busting post on this site. I regularly post on the californiacaterhamclub.com site. We have been discussing a national site for all types of 7s for a while, over there. Is that the intent of this site? If so, i will certainly support your efforts. It would benefit all 7 owners if the various sites work together and support each other whether regional or national. We are all hearing the same lunatic fringe 7 music; just finding various different ways to skin the cat and scratch the itch. Ultimately, I always want to see more guys/gals getting into the cars. We always need more 7s to play with!!