Taber10

Since my Caterham is a "50th Anniversary" model, with the appropriate nose badge, I always try to get that into the story and tell them to read the nose badge! Lets me know if they are really interested or just bored! I am always surprised when someone actually knows its a Caterham or a Lotus 7 inspired Sportscar (LSIS).

I only tow my Caterham to one British car show each year. I have towed to two LOGs, the Grizzly Bear Blat, and a few other events.

I think that I am seeing Skip Cannon's old Seven --blue with the "neon" orange wheels--prominently featured in your garage. I still miss that guy, even after he moved on to Corvettes and BMWs as he couldn't physically handle the Seven anymore.

Not a great photo, but here is my 2007 lined up yesterday at the start of the Pensacola Beach (FL) Veterans Day Parade. Taber

Plus one on what Croc said! Also disappointing to hear this in another thread--Terry deserves a thread of his own, in my opinion, for all that he did for Caterhams in Canada and Caterhams that visited Canada--only once in my personal case. He was a great host and he will be missed.

As I vaguely remember, from when I last rebuilt/refilled my Miata shift "tower" it has the leather boot, beneath that a rubberized fabric seal and then a thick rubber ring right on top of the transmission. That was years ago (1991 Miata Special Edition #174 of 4000) but the actual opening in the vehicle's center console is much higher (3 inches?) than the gearbox itself, so I hadn't noticed any "blowby" coming into the cockpit. I think Moss Miata sells a kit for this operation that includes the two seals--not the leather cover.

Thanks for posting that article. I didn't much read C&D back then, as R&T seemed more on topic for me. I have had my Caterham 7 since 2007 with the SVT from a 2003 Focus. There was a member here, I recall "TurboFocus1" that had WAY more good information on the SVT than I had found anywhere. It was also a hot topic on the Ford Focus Forum as I recall. The solenoid that drives the "variable intake timing" is very rare and expensive so there are some "Delete Options" for this feature. You keep the dual channel intake manifold, the under-skirt oiling feature and better pistons, etc. If you search this forum I think you can still find info on the SVT.

I also put in an order yesterday. Thanks to all who worked to make it happen.

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC: During the Grizzly Bear Blat, I 8 August 2013, David Saville Peck of Ennerdale Engineering hosted the entire group for beer and barbeque one evening at his house. He was quite the gentleman and an outstanding host. I believe we were told that he had the only dealership for "new" Caterhams in Canada, or maybe Western Canada. He took several of our group for a ride in his Bike-engined Caterham. Apparently Canadian laws treated the bike-engined cars better. Thanks for your post as it brings back wonderful memories of that guy.

I got a pair of Wobbly Wheels, as made famous by Lotus in the 60s. I don't know how to measure them, but they are smaller than the 14 X 6J wheels that came on my Caterham. Only marking is "Ce" on the inside. I am hoping that someone can tell me something about these wheels--at least where to measure them to get the right size. Thanks in advance. Taber

32eachtime, if you are considering the "horizontal" mount shown by Anthem, especially if you buy the SAME battery--PC680 vs PC680 MJT--I can donate a box sold by Odyessy or one of their distributors years ago and I didn't go with it. Has been in my garage, still has the "protective" plastic on the outside. Let me know. OBTW, the battery Anthem shows does not have the "metal jacket" making it fit in the fully enclosing box I am offering--also, I guess the additional protection could come into play in some installations?

I recommend the Odyssey battery PC680 MJT and their holddown. Our winters here in Florida are not hard on batteries, but the first one lasted from 2011 until 2022. You need the correct terminal kit to fit your cable ends. They sell two "battery boxes" the one shown and one that encloses the battery for a horizontal mount.

I rarely take the bonnet off, as it tends to get knocked about, blown over or otherwise mistreated. IF someone shows GREAT interest in motor, I will remove it, but I hold onto it for the duration. I have let "hundreds" of kids sit in the Cat over the years. Either they think it is "their size" or it duplicates something in their games, stories, etc. I have won the "Kids Choice" award a couple of times. Letting kids sit in it makes up somewhat for my British car club buddies who get nervous if a child approaches their $30K paint job. I have told a Mother, after her child was sitting in the car, when she asked if it were mine, "No, I stole it from the Walmart parking lot this morning!" Her look was priceless. I always remove the "kill" switch and then check all switches when I get back in. I did tell one mother--she was having problems with her three children--that her kids at that moment were more important than all of the sports cars I have owned since 1969!

Based on the amount of really useful information that I got when I posted my Diff fill plug, I thought I would see if anyone knew or could recognize my fuel filter. My mechanic couldn't read any numbers on it, and didn't want to remove it before procuring a replacement unit. Any suggestions for what filter it might be would be appreciated.

Thanks for the replies--all good info and much appreciated!

My mechanic is wanting information on just how much wear, evidenced by metal filings on the differential fill plug--which is magnetic of course--has been experienced by other owners of the Zetec SVT. I don't think the plug has been cleaned since October of 2014 when I had Redline Synthetic put into it. Since someone else did it for me, I am not really sure that it was cleaned then. We found the entire area between the body of the plug and the magnetic center post filled with filings. Hopefully the attached picture shows this. Any opinions or thoughts would be appreciated.

That badge came out in 2007, which was "50 years" of the Seven, and Caterham continued to use it for several years. Apparently to include your 2010. In 2007--I don't know for how long--you could order a large decal very similar to the nose badge that went across the bonnet.

My collection of Caterham/Lotus 7s. Trying to emulate Croc's collection of cars, but due to limitations had to start "SMALL"

Wow, this is REALLY embarrassing: I have added just 1520 miles in the year and a half since I posted to this thread last. Total Mileage on CAT7SV: 21997. NO EXCUSES, but we had a really HOT summer here in the Panhandle of Florida, and I am 73 years old--I don't tolerate the heat like I used to. I was scheduled for a Veteran's Day parade Monday, but it was cancelled due to the inclement weather. I will TRY HARDER for the rest of the year!

My first Odyssey PC680 lasted over 10 years. I have had to replace it and I used the Odyssey mount. Works great. When I added a "catch can" I mounted it to the battery also.

WOW--So SORRY to hear this news! My wife and I got to spend time with Skip on the Grizzly Bear Blat, as we were all fans of both Caterham and Miata fans. Skip and I cruised together as we each had exactly the same chassis--but not the same drivetrain. He once told me in Colorado that he wouldn't take the Caterham out unless he was SURE that he could go over 100 mph! Until GBB, I hadn't seen that kind of speed in my Cat 7SV. We exchanged lots of emails over the years, addressing Caterhams, Miatas, Corvettes (we both bought C8s at about the same time), Colorado and cars in general. He will definitely be missed--May he rest in Peace. Taber

I am going to add the fourth edition and another Brooklands edition that I find helpful: Caterham Seven 2000-2010 The Magnificent Seven FOURTH EDITION

First, Thanks IamScottius for posting this list. Great post and a real resource especially for newer owners. I think the intent of the separate posts was to comment on each book individually, however my computer skills don't allow me that option, apparently. BUT I want to make an important comment: Chris Rees had CONTINUED his EXCELLENT effort started with The Magnificent 7 listed above. That appears to be the First Edition, published in 2002 and reprinted 2002 and 2004. Second edition published 2007 (MIGHT I ADD A GREAT YEAR FOR THE CATERHAM 7 and ME!) Third edition in August 2013, and THE POINT OF MY COMMENT, Fourth edition published in December 2017. The Fourth Edition has MUCH added information, such that it is 254 pages and adds about 30+ versions of "the 7" not included in the list above. I would strongly recommend NOT getting the earlier editions and seeking out the Fourth: it appears on eBay regularly. Just my thoughts

Thanks for the diagram--really neat to see the system drawn out. I can't answer the question, but I want to add that getting my fan to come on while underway is very difficult. I have to sit stationary in the garage and rev the engine to get the temperature up to operate the fan. Also, I have had three temperature guage sending units, and found that the "eBay" switches were at least as reliable as the Ford switch that came on my Zetec SVT and MUCH cheaper. The Ford parts counter employee wanted me to get the date when I purchased the second one, as she thought it would be under warranty and at the time--several years ago--the Ford switch had gone from about $32 to about $34 for the third one. One of them failed in about a week, so I relied on eBay for about $8.

Skip's Corvette on the picture's right is also good for "top-down" driving, although the C8 HTC doesn't give the same "topless" thrill as my Cat7SV. Good to hear from you Skip! Taber