Ian7

With autocross speeds rarely reaching even average highway speeds, the "downforce" component of these diffusers is laughably small, especially if looked at in a $-to-downforce ratio. To put it in perspective, look at photos of what some of the Formula-SAE guys are running for wings in order to get any measurable downforce at their similar speeds. They are 3 and even 4 element assemblies, massive compared to the chassis. The many auto-x suggestions above are spot-on - - delete the windshield, vent the clamshells (if allowed), if not, trim the edges to whatever extent you can get away with, pay for a professional chassis set-up session, and buy the best stickiest tires available... have fun

speaking of spare tires and carriers, I keep toying with this idea, in a photo I've long since forgotten the origin of... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/953526707_trunk idea.jpg

If a missing headrest is your ONLY issue, consider yourself very fortunate indeed. I was half-way through the build when we (CaterhamUK and I) finally determined all my build grief was due to receiving the wrong chassis... (sent me one for a bike engine) :banghead: I'd list all the broken/wrong/missing parts, but I'd rather just glance in the garage and smile at those fading memories now that it's a runner :hurray:

"copper grease" is very likely a brit term for what we call Copa-Slip. Any decent auto parts store has it. Failing that, regular anti-seize is almost as good.

Friend of mine, Craig Taylor, of Taylor Race Engineering, is in Plano, about 3 hours north of Austin. Depending on his workload and your incentive, he might be persuaded. (He's a past FFord champion, has a passing knowledge of X-flows) HA www.taylor-race.com tell him Ian in Montreal sent you

Last photo (head-on, with vette behind) shows an interesting relationship between the top of the windscreen, top of the rollover bar, and the top of the helmet

My oil pressure sensor is on the right hand side of the block under the intake manifold. On previous x-flow it was fairly far forward on the RHS, on current one it is right between the four cast lugs that the side engine mount picks up on. FWIW, my sensor is brass coloured, about 1.5" diameter, threads into block with a pipe thread. Pulling the spark plugs was suggested for two reasons - 1. no compression means less load on the crank bearings, and 2. allows the engine to spin up to a higher rpm (and quicker), so you will get an indication of pressure/flow as fast as possible after poking the starter button.

My .02 worth... Unless you intend to race, stay away from an scca-spec engine, the driveability around town is crap, and unnecessarily expensive. Aluminum head also very hard to justify cost-wise for a street car, as you won't see any real around-town power/driveability benefit at street revs, small weight-reduction effect on handling not withstanding.

From page 2 of the link : " I set a goal of having it done in time for the 1991 Monterey Historic Races. I took it to Chris Beebe's shop, Foreign Car Specialists, and we pulled about three months of all-nighters and weekends, and got it done. We towed it all the way back to California, stopping just once to sleep for six hours, and arrived at the track with about 15 minutes to spare. " His three lines above summarize a 4-page article from the Feb 1992 Road and Track about that car restoration and racing it at Monterey. I'd scan and post if I could. If it can't be googled, post a note and I'll try to find a scanner.

Presuming your x-flow is same as mine, take out spark plugs, unscrew the oil pressure sensor out of the side of the block, put your thumb over the hole, (the oil hole, not the sparkplug hole ), and have someone briefly crank the engine. If oil squirts past your thumb, likely its just a sensor/gauge issue and you can drive it over to a garage.

oh, DITTO DITTO DITTO looked everywhere circa 2002 for a nice affordable car, ended up going kit route as well. :banghead: but in spite of a few painful memories, I can now say "I built that..." :hurray:

Pay extra and get one with a spline drive attachment. The less-expensive 'hexagonal shaft' versions have too much play in them, will drive you nuts very quickly. IMHO.

As I've already got a 7, I'm more interested in the 'Woodies' in the background of the first picture. Any idea who/where/what? thx

31 and snowing here...

I'll offer this for thought, qualified first by saying I don't know what your intended usage is (fast track day, auto-x, full race, etc). Nonetheless, A common mistake is over-tire-ing a car that weighs this little. Very often, ultimate grip is better with a slightly smaller contact patch that heats up to and stabilizes at a more appropriate temperature. Requires lot$ of testing of lot$ of tires, but thats part of the fun, right...?

Of course trying an actual car on for size is best, but the size 15 is definitely going to be an issue. I've seen some photos of Caterham's in England that use a redesign of the floor under the seat to create a seat mount 'pocket' below the normal floor pan horizontal plane to give tall guys more headroom. You could do a similar thing down in the footwell to lower your heels below the frame tube plane. Given that the engine sump is usually the lowest point of the car, surely theres a couple of vertical inches available for your feet.

Certainly impressive, but need to be sure its an apples-to-apples comparison. The 'ring has two timing distances, the full circuit (used less often) and a timed segment that starts some way away from the pit exit, and stops short of the pit entrance (for safety). IIRC, the difference is about 20 seconds... Google would probably find the specifics.

Std Caterham bar on my car is used for pushing car around and in/out of garage. I dont count on it for much more... ... about the same as I count on the side panels helping in an intrusion event. Life's too short to worry about such things anyway. :-)

thanks for the kind words; car is actually black and alloy, but I can see how it might look BRG in photo.

Greetings from Montreal; 1600 x-flow, live axle, and 4-speed, just like God and Colin intended ! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/479136717_BN left front.JPG

Hi from new memeber; I'd like one men's watch please, check in US dollars is enroute to 'slngsht' in MD; I will provide a US address to ship to when ready. Thanks.