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This car garners a completely different kind of attention than anything I've owned before. Two of my neighbors, female and distinctly *not* car oriented, want rides in it. They saw me out in the yard the other day and asked me to show the car to them. My friend's muscle car brother said "Wow those are cool cars!" which would not have been uttered about a Porsche I can assure you. Gas station stops have resulted in conversation 3 times out of 5 so far. Road construction crews give me thumbs up. It's really quite something.

I don’t think he fits.

Well whaddaya know. I live in Berks County PA; Reading is the county seat. I have to admit that it's been quite a few years since I sat in either a 2002 or a Cortina GT. I don't doubt that the BMW has a more refined ride and comfort level. But my memories are of it understeering and picking up its inside rear wheel with little provocation. It was capable, but it wasn't what I'd call fun. The Cortina on the other hand was more neutral and easier to power slide out of turns. "Power" of course being a relative term with either car!

Thanks for the details. That setup is pretty much where I was before finding the looped line solution. I don't think the loops function the same as a sink trap. Those keep liquid in the trap section to prevent gases from passing. They're one-way valves. I suspect the loops in the gas vent might allow the vapors to condense somewhat rather than escape, or perhaps they take advantage of the difference in density between air and fuel vapors. Given the vertical rise and the number of loops I do not expect to see liquid fuel making it all the way through, except perhaps if I were to spend a few minutes maxing G's on a skidpad. I'll just have to wait and see if the system is capable of affecting fuel delivery to the engine if liquid fuel does actually pool in the loops. The remnants of Hurricane Ian finally decided to mosey off late yesterday, so maybe today I can finally go for a romp---errr, perform some real world testing.

Thanks for the tip on the Webers. I conducted a more localized sniff test this morning and sure enough the aromas are emanating from up front; the fuel tank area is clear. I still smell gas in the garage but my wife doesn't, and that may be good enough. It might have to be, from the sounds of it. I know I'm particularly sensitized to the smell. I used to love the smell of gasoline, but that changed during the 1970's energy crisis when I accidentally swallowed a bit of the stuff when siphoning from one car to another. I can attest to the fact that gasoline belches are not pleasant.

The fuel cell vent connector contains a rollover valve. It's logical when I think of it a bit, because this car was originally intended to be raced and subsequent owners have maintained that objective. I did look into charcoal canisters but didn't love any of the solutions I saw. Short of designing and constructing my own version of a modern fuel vapor recovery system, which seems to me to be antithetical to the car. I'm not completely abandoning it as a solution though. I'm not certain of the full science behind how the loops are intended to function, but part of it is definitely to stop vapors from escaping. If this afternoon's whiff of the garage is anything to go by they are working. Also I think the rise from tank to top of the loops is sufficient to keep sloshed gas from making its way up and over, especially if I am careful not to fill the tank too much. (A functioning gas gauge would help but this cell is not so equipped.)

I just read the whole thread. Quite a test of patience! And quite a car at the end of it.

First bit of sorting is to control the vapors emanating from the fuel cell. Our garage is insulated and fairly airtight, and the fumes build up in there when the car sits overnight. I poked around and found that the fuel cell vent was just sitting there open to the atmosphere. No kind of piping at all. Taking a left turn 'with enthusiasm' would cause fuel to slosh out. I bought a little vent filter from Summit Racing, which looked very cute but did little for the sloshing and zero for controlling vapor emissions. Google to the rescue, I hope. I found some general instructions on reducing vapor emissions from a fuel cell and used them to fashion a solution for my situation. The basic idea is to have a few loops in the vent line, higher than the filler neck. Easy in my case because there is none. From there the vent line should run down to a point below the the bottom of the fuel cell. http://www.radiumauto.com/Fuel-Cell-Vent-Kits-P1518.aspx First image is from that link, the next 3 show my interpretation for the Caterham. Hopefully I've made better use of the cute little Summit Racing filter. This morning the garage still smells of 93 octane, but not as strongly as before. I may need to do another cleanup of the overflowed fuel to get a full, fair test of the vent.

I really like cycle fenders, plus they hop up and down with the wheels which adds a visual enjoyment factor. But I must admit to wondering what screaming yellow clamshell fenders would look like. Thanks to you and the others for the warm welcome. I really liked this particular car because of the Lotus twin cam engine. The seller was convinced that the price the second time around would be lower; I was not, and was honestly quite surprised. But you're right, there is sorting to be done. The first time I drove the car was to get it home from the seller's house, about 1.5 hours door to door, mostly on twisty secondary roads. The first 10 miles or so were on a road with a real washboard surface; I was constantly feeling the back of the car hop sideways as it skittered over the undulations. Plus even with my skinniest shoes it was and is a challenge to hit just one pedal at a time; mainly brake and clutch. It was quite a learning curve. By the time I got home I was ready to be out of the car to be honest. But after grabbing some lunch I got right back in! It's been a long time since I've driven anything this simple and direct, and I don't think I've ever driven a car anywhere near as overwhelmingly joyful. It puts a smile on my face every time I give it some beans, every time I flick the wheel. Heck, every time I climb in.

I may have missed this one somewhere in this thread. 1994 Caterham Super Seven HPC on Cars&Bids. https://carsandbids.com/auctions/92xwwLMA/1994-caterham-super-seven-hpc

A bit of background is probably in order. I owned, and daily drove, British cars back in the 1970's through the 1990's. I also worked as a mechanic at a British car dealership for a few years as well. I know a lot about British Leyland stuff. I also owned a 1966 Cortina GT, which I consider to be far superior to the 1968 BMW 2002 I owned -- but could not afford to keep -- before the Cortina. The GT was just such a joy to toss through the twisty bits. Alas Ford was in the process of abandoning them in the US at the time, and parts were hard to find, so we parted ways. I once looked at a Lotus Cortina, but it had been run hard and put away wet as the saying goes. (Hmm, that car needs to be added to my list of desired Loti.) Fast forward a few decades and I find myself once more in a position to chase my fun car jones. So far I've bought a few BMWs, a Porsche 996 targa, and this Caterham. I still own them all, although one of the BMWs is probably going to go. Anyone interested in a very sweet driver quality Z4MC?

Seems appropriate that I start a thread about my recent acquisition. I've always wanted a Lotus, either a Seven or an Elan (the Europa dropped off the list after I had a chance to sit in one). This particular car was on an auction site and physically located near me, however at the time I was very busy with Life Things and could not pursue it. Lo and behold a little more than year later it reappeared on the same site, and now I was free to chase it. Short story, I won it. Rather than post a bunch of pics I'll just post one, and link to the auction site where there are a bunch more. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-seven-2/

I have a Challenger 9000 lb. 4-post lift. The Caterham looks dainty sitting on it. The rolling jacks won't clear the oil pan though so I need to be mindful. I wavered between 2-post and 4-post lifts when shopping for them but went with 4 posts because I would definitely be using it for storage and didn't like the idea of the car hanging there unsuspended for weeks/months at a time. There are some inconveniences when doing work on the cars but so far no show stoppers.

It is leaking out around both top covers, at the tail housing mount to the gearbox, plus you can see those wet spots at the bolts holding the bell housing. (There is no oil dripping out at the front edge of the bell housing.) That's why I was thinking it was pressure buildup. The stuff at the rear seal is gooey. I don't see oil there. I agree that if that little orifice is supposed to be the vent, it needs an upgrade. I am resigned to pulling the engine on my brand new purchase, but it will wait until cold weather forces me off the road. It is an intoxicating thing. I've already nearly doubled its lifetime total mileage. Thanks for all of the advice and links. I'll try to post some good news too.

Here's one more, showing the end of the tailshaft from above.

Thanks for the replies. I may have found the vent. At least these pictures should help identify which gearbox it is. They also show the leaks. EDIT: I also checked for overfill. The level is well below the edge of the fill plug so my assumption is no, not overfilled. As for the apparent solution, pulling it out and reasealing it -- is it only possible by pulling the engine, or can it be snuck out the bottom? Seems pretty tight under there.

I'm new to Caterhams although I did once own a 1966 Cortina GT (amongst a slew of other English cars back then). And I don't recall that car being as messy as this one. Just how badly do Cortina gearboxes leak? Mine appears to be leaking from the front, back, top and possibly also where the tailpiece bolts to the main box. It's coming out pretty well too; a 30 mile drive leaves a nice mess under the car. I cleaned everything off before the drive which is how I know it is coming out from several locations. Could it be overfilled? (Easy) Is there a breather on the gearbox somewhere? (Maybe easy) Is it filled with the wrong kind of oil that is foaming up and building pressure inside the case? I dunno. I can try changing the oil -- I'd love to hear what folks recommend to use. It's possible that it's leaking just from age. It was completely refurbished but it was quite a few years ago. The car had a total of less 100 miles on it since then, so it isn't an age/use thing, but perhaps the seals all deteriorated from sitting? Doesn't seem right to me, the seals don't look like cork or string or anything weird. Oh that reminds me -- there is some sort of black goo oozing from the rear seal. Enough woe. Thanks for ideas and suggestions.

Hi all, I'm Dave and I just bought a 1995 Caterham Super Seven that was recently offered on Bring a Trailer. It was a bit of kismet I think; the car went up for sale last year, it was not far from me, and I really wanted to at least go see it. But I was caring for an ailing parent and going off chasing little yellow cars was not an option. So reluctantly I watched as it sold to someone besides me. Fast forward about a year and, lo and behold, the car is once again up for auction on BaT! Still nearby, still with the same owner in fact -- the first sale had fallen through. This time I was free to go see it, crawl around it, meet the owner, and eventually win the auction. Owning a Lotus is one of my bucket list items and as far as I'm concerned this gives me a checkmark. Rather than post a bunch of pictures I'll just link the auction. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-seven-2/ I also have my first question, namely just how badly do Cortina gearboxes leak? Because mine appears to be leaking from the front, back, top and possibly also where the tailpiece bolts to the main box. I'll start another thread on that rather than clutter things up here.

That one is me. Well, soon it will be me.