Rooster18221

Fellow Seven Owners: I am attempting to remove the steering wheel on my Seven, which has been installed for 40 years. The wheel has essentially seized on the steering shaft. Has anyone had this issue prior and can offer suggestions to remove without destroying either the wheel or the shaft? This is a standard steering wheel, as I recall, and is not a Moto Lita. Any help appreciated. Thanks. R.

Since you are taking photos, please post another photo of where you have the front stand positioned. That is to say, when you lift the car with the 2x4 on top of the floor jack in the front, where then do you place this cross brace stand; do you position the brace aft of your jack board? It looks like your rear brace is positioned just aft of the exhaust hanger bolt. And, by the way, good thinking on the rear width extension. I'd have done similar. Thanks. R

Hi fellow Caterham Seven Owners, I am aware this topic has been beat to death. Many of the late century Sevens were equipped with the 13 inch wheels and 185/70/13 tires. I've read all the details I could locate on the club site and are about to make a decision on this topic but wish to ask one final question. For those of you with this same original equipment during the 80's and 90's, have you made a switch to a different size tire on the same 13 inch wheel. or stuck with the original size? If so, will you please post or reply with your experiences and the results of this change? There are tires available in the original size, but they are certainly not the top quality brands, unless you are speaking about racing tires. That's a whole different use, as I am speaking about street tires. I sincerely appreciate any feedback. R.

Thanks for the hint. R.

Your brake master cylinder is the original for your year model and many others. Chris switched mine out recently for a new one. Yes, Chris grew up working on "Sevens and Elans". Unfortunately, the new master cylinder only comes equipped with two ports, not three as in the original. After all, this car is 40 years old, however, I am aware of a company that restores old classic brake master cylinders and warrants them for life; White Post Restorations in White Post, VA. As of now, one port/line goes to my two front disc brakes and the other line goes to the rear brakes. When I have my master cylinder rebuilt, I will use your diagram to reinstall mine correctly as intended. So, thanks very much for posting your photo. It is exactly what I was hoping to locate. Now, if someone can tell me how to save these photos to my computer, I will indeed be a happy camper. Copy and paste doesn't seem to work for me. Thank you again, Jon, for posting these photos. R.

MV8, Sorry I thought this was private messaging, but I stand to be corrected. When a private message string is initiated through the picture, will the subsequent messages be private or does any reply each time need to be re-initiated through the picture? Or, how do you know when it is not a PM? Thank you for the details on the brake situation. At this point, I do not have a brake light switch attached to a line tee like I have noticed on others. I've been looking for the switch the past couple of days haven't located it. I thought it might be attached to the brake pedal arm, but haven't found it there either. Obviously, there is an electrical switch at the top of the master cylinder so I am looking into that as well. The brake master cylinder was a Lockheed replacement unit from Caterham. My previous three port Lockheed master cylinder was apparently discontinued. Still working on this issue. And, I will make all attempts to stay within the rules, going forward. R.

Hey Jon, Thanks for reaching back out to me. Yes, your Seven resembles mine in many ways and not many ways. My Seven is LHD and is powered by the Sprint version of the Cross Flow 1600, unlike your twin cam. I took my Seven to a shop here fairly locally, and they removed the brake master cylinder and installed the current UK replacement, which unfortunately, was equipped with only two brake line ports. As a result, They had to fabricate a different brake line set up to me to the front calipers. I kept the old brake master cylinder as they can be rebuilt here in the US. There is a specialty shop, White Post Restorations, located in White Post, VA. However, in the mean time I have very little braking ability in my system. My brake master cylinder was exactly like yours, but now different. It is possible for you could follow your brake line individual routing to each caliper/drum, and tell me where each one terminates and from which brake master cylinder port While I have the door open, do you run 13 inch tires or otherwise. I'm having some real difficulty finding quality 13 inch tires for my car; not racing tires as I do not race this ride. It appears Avon tires, when available are good for the racers. I was looking at the BF Goodrich TA line and they do have a lower profile tire that might work lowering the car about 1/2 inch when space on this ride is at a premium. My original tires are 185/70/13. Is your car set up with Girling calipers in front and Ital or Ford drum brakes in the rear? How long have you owned your Seven? Where do you source your wearable parts; brake pads, shoes, other parts? And, do you have legacy part numbers for the parts? My seven is a long cockpit version, which came with the Morris Marina/Ital live rear axle. Although, I should know, as a previous multiple British car owner in the past, I do not know where the front calipers were sourced; which car, which model years? I have owned my Seven for almost 40 years. It is close to being road worthy again, excepting the brakes and tires. Hope to solve that as soon as I can. It has been sitting in my hanger for about 5-6 years. Still needs much TLC in the form of wash, wax, and some re-chroming but it will work for me until I can get that done. Just itching to get back out on the road. I'm located in North Florida; what about you? Are you a member of the Caterham/Lotus 7 Club in the UK? I was for about 10 years, then life got in the way, and I simply dropped my membership. Plan to open it back up again. He, Jon, thanks again for reaching out. If you shoot me your phone number and give me a time, we can talk more about this on the phone. I'll be glad to make the call. Cheers. Ron. Thanks for your

Hello Fellow SS owners, I own a 1983/4 S7S model which was assembled in late 1983. I am looking to get in touch with a few owners who own any of these various years of Sevens as they are very likely to be constructed much the same as mine. I am having some brake issues and would like to discuss this in more detail by telephone rather than here in writing. Anyone who owns such a Seven and would be open to speaking to me, please respond here on this site and I will reply for arrangements to call. Thanks in advance to those who will offer some guidance and direction to my issues. Respectfully, Rooster

Hi David, I have started searching for new tires as well, for the first time in about 40 years. But, I'm not really looking for a really high performance tire such as the Avon ZZR or ZZS street slicks. Both tires are very good, sticky, and handle well, but not much tread life. Plus, they are very expensive for a street car. I'm not a racer so I don't need near as much grip with my tires. My 84 Caterham came equipped with 185/70/13 tires on 13x6 wheels. I use my Seven for cruising and chilling, not for racing. Tires for this size are limited and out of stock on the Avons as well. So, I was looking on eBay and found several sets of tires in your size, 195/50/15, some well known brands, for fairly cheap money, all new tires and available right away. You could pick up a new set of your size tires for 300-400 bucks to use until you could find what you are really seeking. I found a set of 205/60/13 that I'm considering for about 4 bills; new and available now with free shipping. You don't have to wait for the cargo ship or the cargo airplane. So, take a look; you might be surprised. Or, try a slightly different profile 15 inch tire that has a circumference that is nearly or close to the same as your 195/50/15 installation. What is the width of the Prisoners wheels? R.

Yep, looks like MV8 is correct. Since my SS is much older, I do not have the rubber cover over the tie rod shaft.

I agree, run it by Bruce, while at the mean time moving forward with some other components in the assembly. If I recall, MV8 is correct in that you can adjust the tie rod end without removing the rod end, itself. But, I'll need to look at mine before I can verify that.

Invest in a two pound hide mallet. They do wonders for this sort of thing when nothing else seems to work. I try never to use a hammer on anything except a nail!

Or, you can follow what MV8 recommends.

There is a tool made for this sort of pin removal. Check at the Better Tool Sources, Snap On, Matco, etc., and see what you can locate. There is nothing in my opinion better to use than a tool made just for a purpose. Besides, once you have it in your tool box, no worries going forward. You might also call your local Distributor, Beachman Racing, who is located in Redmond for their recommendation before you move forward.

Absolutely not. It needs to be on the front of a tail-dragger! I grew up very near a local grass strip, bicycle distance in those days, and got the bug early. However, it was much later in life before I had an opportunity to get into it. Anyway, I had a coworker who was a flyer and told me in no uncertain terms; you cannot do airplanes and cars at the same time! I didn't listen to him, and thought it was only a ruse. Anyway, I am here to tell you, I learned the hard way, but it is definitely a true statement, unless you want to farm out some maintenance. Airplanes takes all of your time. There is always something to do. I actually spent a vacation in England and dropped by the Caterham Works in 1979. Wow, what a cottage operation. Then I stopped in at the Morgan Factory for a tour and it was the same. The only difference was Caterham was in an old building with about three bays. It resembled what we call here as an old service station with mechanics on duty. The Morgan Factory was a line of Old Quanset Huts from WWII that had been repurposed for their manufacturing. Will never forget that trip. Anyway, I had to have a Seven and was lucky enough to find one in late 1983. Had it ever since.