Ian7

wow, 400+ pounds, and at only 120 mph ? sounds an aggressive claim, not to mention the "quality" of the airflow towards the rear of a 7-esque car will be eager to hear about real-world results cheers

If you're "windshield-less" and not wearing a full face, I'd have to say that the odds are you'll take a big one some day...

Alaskossie, glad to fill you in, but could be long and tedious, maybe best to shoot me a personal email and we'll swap info off-board Ian

Well, I'm not fresh, been on-board for 3 months but never posted here. I'm a Mechanical Eng by education, ex-aerospace by trade, currently trying to turn fantasy into reality as an open-wheel race engineer. Been at it 7 years since leaving the 'real world', some full time, some part, but always smiling... Lots of travel though :ack: Current Caterham is my third. First was a toyota-powered, datsun-suspended clone built in Ontario, which I foolishly sold due to future parts availability concerns. Second was a right hand drive 'perfect condition' used Caterham from an independent dealer in England, photos and phone calls fooled me. Shipped it here sold it a month later to a guy who "just had to have it" so broke even. Third one was new Caterham kit, bought under delusion that everything would be new, correct, easy to put together, etc. Long story short, car was 3.5 years old before turning a wheel.:banghead: Names of guilty parties above omitted, as I don't have time for frivolous lawsuits None of that matters now, car is wonderful. Photo in readers rides, circa end Nov 07. cheers

The pre-drive "nut and bolt" check is good advice, we do it regularly on all the race cars. One mistake over-eager novices tend to make though is thinking that they have to make the nut or bolt 'move' each time they put a wrench on it for it to be "checked". Quite wrong, all you want to do is make sure there is the correct torque on it each time, not MORE torque.

OK, agreed my 1600cc Kent Caterham isn't everything I'd truly want, but REALLY, there must be a practical limit, and this has got to be past it... ...and do we even want to mention wings and splitters on Seven-esque cars? :ack:

From those of us that make our living in open-wheel racing, this is WAY better late than never...:cheers:

If as you say, track-day-only tires are ok, then contact Dave Handy at Sasco Sports at VIR; he can set you up with a range of options. Might want to try the Hoosier bias-ply semi-slick tire common to vintage racers. Should have much more "feel" than a DOT radial.

My reply offers no help except to share your pain... my 1600 Kent engine came with an oil pressure sensor sitting right in the middle of the engine mount 4-bolt-pattern, so engine is installed with Caterham mount on one side and floor jack on the other while cutting/welding/cursing continues :ack:

Company in england called "Soft Bits For Sevens" makes a neat 'shorty' top without side windows. Haven't ordered one yet, but intend to.

I'd have hoped the members of this club were above this...

" I use to think I could drive until I started Autoxing. Now I know I can't. Autoxing has cured me of hard driving on the road. " agreed, strenuously... :iagree: I make my living in auto racing, drive an (underpowered Kent ) 7 for fun, and a Hyundai Accent for winter/rainy... there's no justification in owning /driving these ridiculously over-powered street cars in todays environment.

" NOTE: this is just about the car (buy new/used, build, powertrain, etc...), not dealings with dealers/sellers, etc..." I'm not sure you can separate the two with these cars, given the hands-on nature of them, however... my .02 : in hindsight I shoul'da kept my first one. Turns out upgrading to newer/faster/lighter/better/etc really wasn't worth the extra money to me in the end, and the lost time without the car between the two merely added to the wasnt-worth-it. See Al's comments above, get something nice NOW rather than perfect later, and just enjoy it.

hmm, 2845 miles each way, mostly through snow... ...who's with me?

I dealt financially with the company in question. Fortunately was not a big loss, but enough to warn off others...

Clever, great way to alleviate traffic jams that tow-trucks can't get through. No reason why it couldn't have electric brakes like my box trailer.

" and the related sloshing/churning in the crankcase the oil was just puked into the air filter " huh?

iceberg: While the choice of which vehicle can be highly emotional, I highly recommend looking in great depth at the licensing regulations where you live before committing your $. You might find that buying used (already registered in your province) saves you months (or even years; cough, cough...) of grief.

Heck, even laptops are bursting in to flames these days, if you believe what you read... I like the idea of alternatives to oil, but have to agree with the lack-of-sound complaint. A few years ago we were racing a Saturday/Monday event at Lime Rock (which forbids car noises on Sundays), so a mixed group of elecrtic race cars put on a show. Very disconcerting seeing a dozen "race cars" nose to tail streaming downhill towards start finish, and not hearing anything but a mild swoosh... Gotta love having max torque at zero rpm though !!

Contrary to yesterdays email, watch IS in my buddy's hands now after all; thanks for all your efforts, look forward to seeing it. Ian

Air filter comment certainly valid, but might err on the side of more caution, if car was as dirty as it sounds. Pull the air horns and look deep in the intake runners, and if dirty, think about pulling the head for a thorough cleaning. Sounds like a lot of work-for-maybe-nothing, but pales in light of sand-in-the-cylinders. Enjoy eventually.

good source for Kent parts is this racers forum: http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/

mr. scannon "Several times when I have parked on a friend's weird driveway, one wheel was off the ground and the car would not move. Until I learned about the parking brake trick, I had to push it a bit to where both rear tires were in contact with the ground." I would have thought that out there in snowy Colorado (like we do here out east), you'd spend a lot of time gently touching the brake pedal when the wheels of your open-diff street car start spinning in the snow. Its a crude version of electronic traction control, with the drawback that its lightly braking all wheels, but always works to get unstuck. Thanks for the Torsen explanation.

Mr. "scannon" what torsen acts like an open diff with the inside wheel off the ground, and why? thx

Up front, I'm not a lawyer, but have been through similar to what you have on an eBay deal gone bad. My advice is if you can get all or 99% of your money back, TAKE IT AND RUN AWAY. You don't want to drag this out for months (or worse), paying lawyers, and generally getting an unwarranted bad taste for caterham's in your mouth. Better to wait a few months for another nice-enough car to come available, than to be tied to an unhappy lump such as the one in question. :nonod: