Lostin complexity

glad you all saw the story on BaT. As noted the car has been stripped of the turbocharger and runs well. The next step is to build a new windscreen as the original and the carbon fiber one do not work well. The dash needs replacing as the tach and speedometer are directly behind the steering wheel and are unreadable.

Further update on the car. Put it on the street for a brief run to continue the shakedown phase. Ended up taking a 60 mile trip on the back country roads between St George Utah and Mesquite Nevada. Lots of twists, few cars and no houses or businesses. What a great time. Couldn’t stop laughing. Car ran great. Tracked cleanly. Wonderful power. So happy car is back with the genius mechanic for fine tuning and to work out a windshield. The standard upright wall of glass creates to much turbulence, the carbon fiber channels the air directly to my face as it is to low. Going to try the old tilting one from my MG. If that doesn’t work than I’ll have something fabricated out of aluminum. what a great time.

I did not see you. That was its maidan voyage. It was wonderful. Let’s get together and lwill show it to you.. .

I thought I’d post a brief update on the car. it arrived safely and I’m please that I fit in it. It looks gorgeous in the all aluminum skin. It runs like crap with the turbocharger in a low speed urban environment. The complexity in person is even greater than the photos as it is a mass of wiring and plumbing. The clutch definitely needs replacing. The existing clutch is for racing and does not come in a street version so a new flywheel etc. will be needed. Using a UK distributor. Disconnected the turbocharger and the engine ran strongly. decided to pull the turbo and related parts. Returning the car to a more or less original version Replaced the clutch without pulling the engine which was nice. Pulled second radiator in the back and removed related plumbing. put car on the street briefly and it ran well. I think we are on the right track. modified the exhaust manifold to fit. Putin undercar exhaust system. Took dent out of fender. Put in many hours of polishing. Another couple of weeks work. So far, we have removed 200 pounds of old equipment.

MV8 thanks for all the information. Very helpful for this new kid on the block.

Ok. Things are proceeding reasonably well the engine is out and the clutch , flywheel and parts have been ordered from Burtons in the UK Tilton did not produce anything but a race clutch in 7.25 inches. we are removing the turbo and related parts as the engine runs better without it. I need a source for a exhaust manifold and heat shield for the side side pipe. Any ideas jim

thanks to everyone for their thoughts and advice. A special “thank you” to Josh in Denver who ran through the project in great detail. The car has arrived from Massachusetts to St. George Utah. As laid out by the seller, the clutch does need to be replaced. Before seeing it, I was inclined to just replace the clutch and run the car as. is. After seeing it with hoses running everywhere , a turbo and 2 radiators, I find the complexity of the car to be overwhelming. It has a turbo, 2 radiators (front and back), a dry sump lubrication system and more hoses running in more directions than is imaginable. on the plus side, the engine and trans are sound and the car functions as it should. The body with the unpainted aluminum is stunning. I’m researching ceramic coatings and other products which will allow me to spend more time in the car and less time working with a polisher in my hands. The seats are comfortable and at 6 feet one inch and 185 pounds, I fit in it -barely. Im returning the car to its original by stripping out the turbo and related plumbing. I have a 2008 BMW M roadster that has an ESS supercharger and is very simple compared to the turbo. As Colin Chapman said, simplify and add lightness. I’m going to escape this complex build. I’ll provide more info as the project develops. jim

Kayen can we get together and talk. I’m in Entrada. I don’t know how to call you directly. How about 2:00 at the new coffee place next to the Chevron station on Snow Canyon?

That sounds like good advice. I always change the fluids with a purchase of a used car and changing the rubber when the engine is out for the clutch would be appropriate. Thoughts on the clutch brand and model? thoughts on a LSD if it’s fixed now, there seems to be some confusion as to what it has.

Hi,kjuu ppppa new member and a new owner of a Caterham Super7. I’ve wanted this car since I was 16 (o so many moons ago) and now I have it. Well, that’s not quite correct as I only purchased it on Thursday and it still resides in Massachusetts-2600 miles from here. It was purchased on Bring a Trailer and anyone interested in assisting me in deciding what to do with it can go to that website to learn the details of the car. Here is the problem ..1300 pounds and 360 horses from a turbo charged 4 cylinder. 2 radiators and lots of plumbing. Not exactly true to Chapman’s ideals. it needs a new clutch, any recommendations. Fixed rear axle, should a LSD go in? Should the turbo come out? what kind of carbs go in? you get the idea, what is the ideal setup? I drive my cars a lot. There are no garage queens. No track days but lots of great back roads