James A

Bruce, you are correct on both accounts, I was referring to getting a more modern specification Caterham certified for E Production racing including the SV chassis, and it is a more difficult hill to climb. In looking over the paperwork from getting the S3 Zetec chassis approved in the late 90s I would guess there is around 80 hours of dedicated work to get this done. On the flip side there were on the order of (I don't know the exact number here) 20 cars built up for competition in EP. If those numbers make since in terms of cost to sell than an enterprising Caterham dealer might be able to sell some cars that were ready to race EP cars.

Darn Brad, I need to bottom end SVT, now if you had a whole engine in good shape... I hope all is going well and you are having fun with the Boss 302!

Bruce, this does sound very positive, but if you look at the last 'certification' for competition in the SCCA the documents cover every aspect of the car, Wings (fenders), engine (only the Zetec is currently approved), suspension, gearbox (only a stock gearbox with stock ford ratios is allowed), differential, most everything. I would be happy to send the certification paperwork and specification to you. So the question is, are you planning to get the current form of the S3 and SV certified for competition? If so, those of us who race in SCCA would have some valuable input as to what is certified. Regards, Jim

Yes, buy one and start racing, I think you know Mike in Dallas there is also Paul who was racing the black and grey Caterham. Rick K. lives in the Dallas are so at least three Caterham 7 racers in your area. and three of us down here in the Houston area along with three Lotus 7 racers and huge group of autocross and DE owners! Jump in!

Andrew and I talked with him at impound, he was suffering the same issue as everyone on Sunday, a significant lack of grip, he was sliding around a lot and simply had to back off to keep the car on track. although it appeared to me his brakes were an issue from watching him brake in to turn 1.

Very nice meeting you and your son Martin! I will go ahead and post the Sunday race on YouTube and link it, but after Andrew passes the Mustang for 1st it is pretty boring. One thing you will notice is how over sprung we were for ECR. We had heard they repaved the worst parts of the track, well it was even worse than the last time we were there. And so, we were highly over sprung and it was very difficult driving for Andrew. Oh you will also see Andrew run out of gas on the cool down lap.

We have a GoPro video of both races, any idea of how to post them, I guess I could put them on YouTube. It's great to watch him pass that huge Mustang and drive away.

One more shot and I will shut up! Oh, he ran out of gas on the cool down lap and had to be towed in!!! That is keeping it light weight.

Shoe laces that match his car are an important part of racing, and worth at least a few tenths per lap!!!! It was dry for our race Saturday but rained on us in impound. Sunday it had dried, but there were damp spots on the track, but all of the rubber had been washed out of the asphalt so it was slick!

Results sheets, 4 Caterhams in the race. ECR Saturday Results.pdf ECR Sunday Results.pdf

Podium photo from Sunday.

Well the race weekend went good, despite some horrible weather! On Saturday we got second overall and in class, on Sunday we won. So not bad. The track Sunday was a mess, heavy rains made it very green, and it was 40 degrees so the tires did not want to stick. All in all a good test of driving skills. Oh a Caterham was third on Sunday, owned by a local Dallas driver! So two Caterhams on the podium on Sunday!

A great summary Mike! I don't have the Dave Bean part number, just give them a call they will know exactly what you are talking about! I have purchased 3 full set-ups from them.

Yes, it is COTA, that was the SCCA Majors race, where we had 82 people in our run group, my son finished 3rd on day one but was penalized one spot due to an infraction. On day two he was second, darn good for a Caterham on a course that has two long straights.

Just look for this car!

Martin, this weekend my son is racing and I am being Jimmy the Pit Boy, he will be in the Lime Green car #24. Saturday we are scheduled to run at 9:30 for qualifying and the race is at 1:15, on Sunday the race for our group is at 9:40. Four Caterhams are registered right now, a fifth may be going us. Oh and in EP the fastest car in the nation will be there, he won the Nationals after spinning in to almost last place but had it taken away due to an infarction.

For all of you in the Dallas area, there is an SCCA race at Eagle's Canyon next weekend, March 15 and 16, and there should be 4 Caterham's, maybe five, racing in E Production. Looks like nice weather, and a great course for the Caterhams.

The Dave Bean upgrade will fit the existing hub and bearings, they do sell a premium bearing and have a nice inner seal modification that seems better than the felt seal that is standard. I for one would never track a Caterham without one of the upgraded spindles, whether it is the Caterham upgrade or Dave Bean. We have had a wheel separate from the car on the track and it was quite dramatic.

If you have had one of these snap in two on you like I have, you can buy an upgraded piece from Dave Bean Engineering.

Well I have owned a Porsche GT3 and currently own an E30 M3, and E36 M3 so even though I have two Caterhams I am a member of the 'unwashed'. But you know what, its all in good fun! Or, I am completely schizophrenic as a car owner, because the GT3 was fantastic on the track, the M3s are a lot of fun on the track also, great drift cars! I really like every car I have had or have. Excess gold chains aside.

OK, thank you John, now the thread is complete, BMW owners have been thrown under the buss!!!!

How in the world did this thread get so long without mention of BMW owners?

Oh, here is a write up on the Quaife diff. We currently use an older AP SureTrac LSD that is terrific, but as with some other units these are no longer available. I had a Quaife built up as a standby for when he SureTrac dies. http://quaife.co.uk/differentials

Give Dan Taylor a call, at Taylor Driveline Services, he supports a number of race teams and has rebuilt and installed LSDs in our Sierra diffs. Dan can be reached at 972-838-7054. Oh, a lot of shops will not work on the Sierra diffs as the the screw on side covers tend to gall and destroy themselves on disassembly.

Or, ATL sells foam also, just bought a new cell for the Caterham race car from them, fantastic customer service. http://www.atlinc.com/pdfs/Racing/ATL-2014-Catalog-Page18.pdf