Taber10

IF you decide to take a trip to Florida to escape the weather, I'm in the panhandle with my SV and you would be welcome to try it out. Other than that, I am 218 lbs, 6ft 3in with Size 12 shoes. The SV has plenty of room. I don't worry about headroom because here in Florida, we don't have to put the top up that often! But I would recommend that you try entering/exiting the car with full weather equipment. That may influence you purchase decision.

We had a little trouble with mine a few months back. We used the "two men and a boy" method with three of us struggling. We used a dilute soapy water as lubricant and kept at it.

I strongly recommend cutting your own gasket out of the best "fuel-proof" material you can get. The original fuel pump gasket on my 2007 SV with the Ford SVT motor developed a leak and I got two replacements from Rocky Mountain Sportscars. The "factory" gasket had rectangular holes for the six bolts, which were MUCH larger than necessary, and the material was some type of plastic. The large holes resulted in a very small area of gasket at the edge of the plate that bolts into the tank, and did not seal well at all. I made a gasket from a thicker, rubbery gasket material, and punched holes the exact size of the bolts. So far, it has held up for about ten years. The "factory" gasket, as with many Caterham parts, was from some other manufacturer, and back then was over $30 each, and then shipping from Colorado. Or maybe that was with shipping. Good luck, great looking car! OBTW, my local paint guy easily matched the green color. Taber

Thanks to the guys who provided useful information, which I took to my British car club, and the "resident experts" installed the can. Pictures attached.

On my 2007 Caterham 7 SV with Ford Zetec SVT motor, I have never-since 30 Oct 2007-noticed any oil leaking from the hose connected to the rear of the valve (rocker) cover. After two recent drives--182 and 195 miles--I found a small amount of oil on the garage floor under the hose. After much ridicule from my British car club associates--apparently a "leak" the size of a quarter is not considered significant to the MG/Triumph/Mini crowd! --I have purchased a really neat Oil Catch Can with input, output, mesh vapor collector, breathing filter and dip stick. NOW I need some advice on where to mount it: Does it need to be lower than the outlet from the valve cover? Is there any particular place that other Zetec owners have used? I have searched the forums, and read everything that came up, but mostly applies to "dry sump" systems, States with emissions requirements and CSRs with nothing specific to my car. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Taber

Could I suggest that you try one of the Ford Focus blogs/forums (fora?)? There are many more of these engines, and thus ECUs in the Ford Focus than in all of the LSISs. Also, I have seen these offered on eBay under Ford Focus SVT, but haven't seen one--or watched that search--in a while. Good luck.

Plus Two on being busier retired! I wonder how I got everything done back when I worked 8 to 12 hours a day!

Maybe it is just me, but I find your statements (quoted above) somewhat confusing, in that the Focus came with the SVT motor and one of the readily identifiable characteristics of the SVT motor is the Variable Cam Timing (VCT) and the "5th plug in front of spark plugs." I think the Focus SVT was produced from 2002 to 2004 and is readily identifiable through the "5" in the VIN.

Thanks for your reply and especially these parts that I can search for!

My Ford Zetec SVT has a temperature sensor screwed into the rear top of the block (I believe!) and it has failed once about two years ago, again about two months ago, and then again yesterday! Does anyone have any hints as to what causes this thing to fail? The good news is that Ford stocks them, for about $35, I guess because they fit in an '03 Focus, and probably other Fords. I hate to drive the Cat without being able to monitor the temperature, although overheating hasn't ever been a problem. Thanks in advance,

As I age, I have to be careful about "what I used to own!" Maybe getting into my '69 Spitfire wouldn't be as simple for me now--I'll be 71 years old this month--as it was then. Having said that, height (I'm also 6'3") isn't as much a problem as (already mentioned) weight and foot size. I am very glad I got the SV and I fit it fine, at 220lbs and size 12 shoes. I also still fit in my '91 Miata. I'm still not sure why I didn't go for the lowered floors, except that the Caterham I test drove didn't have them. Good luck with your search.

Yes. Tenth of August, 2013.

The pictured parts were "taken out of service" nine years ago yesterday and found a place in my garage.

I just looked at my 2007 with a very similar Zetec SVT. The washer bottle pump wire is a two wire connector, with black and green wires. Comes out of the firewall, and in mine is ziptied to the water hose and for a short distance to the positive battery cable! I was unable to get a clear picture. Removing the air filter wouldn't help, but maybe removing the whole air intake pipe would. I note another similarity--I have a "spacer" block necessitated when I replaced the Banner battery with an Odessy battery.

This may not work for all 7s, as I have full windscreen and wind wings, but I have found something called a "Cap-Surz" (Capsurz.com) that really works for retaining a ball cap. Costs under $10 and secures to the hat band with metal clips, then an adjustable string goes under the chin in use. When not in use, string goes over the bill. Really holds the cap on, at least up to my speeds!

I'm quite a ways North and West of you, in the Panhandle near Crestview, FL. I have a Caterham 7 SV. My wife had a fall a few years back, and one foot is now in a "boot" making it somewhat harder to enter/exit the Cat, but she still manages. There used to be a Caterham dealer in the Sebring area, dealing mostly with race-prepared cars, but I haven't heard anything in years and can't find any info now. Taber

Ben Wolford of Rocky Mountain Sportscars gave me the info for this bonnet rack, and practically insisted that I get one, as he didn't want me to damage my bonnet. Of course, I only use them for a few minutes normally as I check oil, coolant, etc. I haven't done any prolonged maintenance in these garages. Basically some plumbing fixtures, and a "pool noodle" for padding.

I love that article! That guy really understands the se7en mentality, mystique, whatever, and put it on paper. The overall article nearly brought me to tears, especially as I haven't been in my Cat for THREE WEEKS! I take some exception to the explanation of why we don't drive our se7ens more: I did NOT choose the wrong model/version. But I am also not sure that it would be possible to drive a Cat often enough, and certainly not too much! I have had mine 14 years and 4 months, and it has a short blat short of 19,000 miles on it. My excuses--poor as they may seem--include other sports cars (I really "feel" for Croc in this regard!) including another Lotus, a series of Corvettes including the current C8, a '91 Miata in BRG, etc. Other excuses involve real world real life scenarios. Like, weather, cargo, family members, etc. that argue against taking the Cat on some drives. While I am fortunate that I can drive the Cat year round, it is difficult in the middle of the day in June, July and August to justify taking the Cat very far. ANYWAY, great article, thanks for posting.

Plus one on what Jeffs said. I know I am in Northwest Florida, warmer than Dallas all year, but I picked the Cat (with Zetec) up in Denver, and we couldn't take the heater with doors and top on/up. Usually I have the top down, and only use the doors in the worst weather, dress for the drive, and never turn on the heater. Just my two cents..... Taber

Roger, this may not help you very much, but I am on the "Gulf side of Florida" but way up in the Panhandle. I am just north of the Destin area, near Crestview. I have a 2007 Caterham SV that I'd led you try out.

My own take-away from this topic is that I would LOVE to visit Bruce's shop. He has helped me lots, and I'd love to get there, but as we are at opposite corners of the country, it isn't very likely

My Caterham with a Zetec SVT got an Odyssey PC680MJT battery in July of 2011 and it is still working fine. My car starts very quickly, and as in Hawaii, we don't have harsh winters or real cold weather here. I drive it all year long and don't let the car sit for over a couple of weeks. Good luck.

I have a set from SoftBitsforSevens and we use them fairly often. They help "warm up" the interior on cold mornings, they keep the crud out of the car when the roads are wet, and reduce the amount of rocks tossed into the passenger side. There is a limitation, in the use of the rearmost snap if you want to also use the "Bikini" top from SoftBits at the same time. As the boot cover will still be snapped, all three snaps won't fit at the same time. Actually, the wife says we will be using the half doors this morning....

Congratulations on your purchase. I can relate to your wait of 41 years--I test-drove a Caterham in 1978 but didn't get mine until 2007. My 2007 SV came with 14 inch rims and 185/60 R14s front and rear. The "stock" tire was Avon ZV3s, a great tire for the road. I am not sure that "stock" ever applied to Caterham/Caterham USA, but more accurately, "original equipment" for a particular car. For the road, tire choice should consider that the Seven can hydroplane easily in heavy rain. I think the 15s would look better as in better filling the wheel wells, esp. in the rear, and are more widely available than 14s. Good luck in your search.

I have seen the 7 inch buckets on eBay, both chrome and black. Search "Caterham" in auto parts and often they turn up.