theDreamer

I have unfriended or stopped all contact with blood relatives, relatives through marriage, close friends and mere acquaintances because they insist on taking every opportunity to spew the lies and misinformation coming from the present US government. I can think for myself. I can do my own research. Most importantly I tend to believe my own eyes and ears. With regard to Trump’s tariffs, Reuters is a trusted source for unbiased news and information. Well known for its commitment to accuracy and reliability. Reuter’s financial journalists and the analysts they have interviewed have proven over and over that the math just doesn’t work and never will. Even if the present government was doing everything else correctly (and it is not) the tariffs are so hap hazard, on today off tomorrow, signed in to law without any thought to implementation etc. The figures used to chart one week are useless the next because what is covered and the percentages charged are in constant flux. If you chose to believe things will be better for your country in the long run with these huge, illegal tariffs than I will accept that as your opinion. I will in turn respectfully disagree.

Wow. Insurance is very different up here. All vehicles have to be licensed, (that means everything from watercraft, aircraft as well as both on and off road vehicles) and therefore have to be insured, full stop! Insurance in Ontario runs 12 months. For vehicles that are seasonal like boats or motorcycles etc. the insurance is prorated so the months those vehicles are most used in are the ones they charge the highest premiums for. Also, if you have three cars and three licensed drivers in the household each driver is assigned principle driver on one of the three cars. So the insurance company will determine premiums based on each drivers record against the vehicle they are listed as principle driver on. In our case, when our youngest daughter got her licence (over 30 years ago now) the insurance company decided that my wife would be listed principle driver on her company car, a car we did not own nor pay insurance on. They had me listed as principle driver of a beat up old Ford Tempo and so my daughter became principle driver on my wife’s AWD, Plymouth Laser Turbo. Premiums were outrages like $3600 per year. We fought for months with them and finally changed brokers and insurance companies. Sorry for the off topic rant. We return now to the regular scheduled “Cars Wanted - Seeking Rotus” thread.

Well back in the day my father used Varsol, turpentine or Xylene depending on what he was cleaning. Yes, gasoline too. In those dark days we didn’t wear gloves or think about fumes. Although, if any of us had our hands in it for any length of time Dad would make us stop and lather up with Mom’s hand lotion and then give us something else to do.

Don't laugh but my wife used Avon bubble bath to detail our motorcycles. Well diluted for seats, tanks, fenders and the like. Stronger for heavy soiled areas and a soft bristled brush to scrub the fins & carbs. Some heat marks, fuel and oil stains simply disappeared. Don't knock it until you try it.

I have to agree with MV8, repair is the best way to go. Fiberglass is easy for those with the knowledge and experience. You will have to have it painted whether it’s new, used or repaired. So why not have a good body shop do it all for you. Is your nose as bad as my fender was? It was totally broke clean through and there was a few chucks missing. Look how it turned out and this is just the first of several coats with more sanding to come.

Is that all you need? If so boy, did you get off lucky. Good luck with the repairs.

One of the most frequent comments we get on our car is how great the interior looks. Caterham owners always comment on how black our toggle switches are. The wife has spent many decades detailing our vehicles. She really liked S100 but switched to 303 and cannot remember why. Since getting our Caterham she has been using Weiman’s Leather Conditioner which may be packaged differently in the US. I’m not sure if this is going to work long term but, she uses it on the entire interior as it is all leather including the dash covering. Obviously some gets on the toggle switches so she just uses that to clean them too. I do not know why but the switches in our 32 year old Caterham look like new. Same goes for the gauges. So we are not doing anything to bring back the black just keeping everything clean and sparkling.

Who did you order from, did you specify a specific type of shipping and how quick was it from ordering to shipping and from shipping to receiving?

The first photo was taken yesterday as our little Group of Sevens was about to start our epic two day Blat of Prince Edward County and points north, east and west. The second was at Farmtown Park in Stirling Ontario.

As I mentioned in the “Photo of your car you took today” thread the mechanical work is complete. The body shop has the left front fender repaired, primed and sanded. They have made the car drivable so that we can attend our Group of Sevens Blat this coming weekend. We may keep it for a week so we can also attend the British Car Day at Bronte Creek. There is still a lot of work to do like repositioning the fender bracket as the driver’s side fender now sits about a half inch higher than the passenger side. We are going to have all four fenders done now because they were poorly molded when new. This will include having the underside sprayed with a black bed liner type material to prevent star cracks in the future. Earl figures at least two weeks to do everything. (That is "IF" he can get the colour match right.) The spare wheel with a zero miles new tire purchased last year went on the left front. The right front tire was demounted and the rim got the brand new zero miles tire supplied. (So two new tires up front.) The damaged rim has been professionally straightened and the tire from the right front is now mounted on it as the spare. There is a small chip on the inside lip that was not repaired as welding (heat) is the enemy of alloy rims. The wheels were spun balanced and laser checked. I find the new steering rack seems to take a little more effort at the wheel than I recall but, it has been four months since I last drove this car. Here is another photo I just took of it out in the garage.

The mechanical is done and the body shop has the left front fender repaired, primed and sanded. The car is drivable so they gave it back to us so we can attend our Group of Sevens Blat this coming weekend. We may keep it for a week so we can attend the British Car Day at Bronte Creek. There is still a lot of work to do. Earl figures at least two weeks to do everything. Here is a photo I just took of it out in the garage.

Your car is a RHD where as my HPC is LHD. Clutch and brake set up look very similar but your car has a different throttle pedal and cable to mine. I’m 5’ 4 ½” and shrinking but I have no trouble with my car as is if I slide down in the seat a smidge. However, I usually sit on a two part pillow the wife made for me. The bottom part raises me up so that all the junk I carry in my back pockets isn’t resting on the sides of the seat digging into me. It also has a small 2nd section that acts as a lumbar support. I seem to recall that there are two holes for the clutch/brake pivot pin to fit into. In the photo mine appears to be set to the farthest away position (closer to the firewall). Unfortunately my car is still in the body shop (four months now) so I can’t just run out to the garage to check.

Well I’m totally confused now. Why would a Canadian, individual person or business, HAVE TO pay the US tariffs on goods being purchased and imported into the US by a US person or business? What a total fuster cluck!

Just to be clear, you are talking about US duties that you are now expected to pay? Not US tariffs but some other form of taxation, correct?

So we know who brought in both cars now as they are listed in the for sale section.

You do realize that it is in Scotland and with shipping, duty, taxes, and tariffs it'll be a fair bit more money than the high bid.

I thought the same thing but when I zoomed into that area of the photo it’s the main hood stick that is sticking up. Is it possible that to clear the taller roll bar you need hood sticks that are also taller? I don’t even know if Caterham provides taller hood sticks. I do know that hoods and ½ hoods are specific to the roll bar being used. Hence why we see people selling them when they change roll bars.

Yes most interesting about the dip in the hood. Like yours ours is nice and flat. I also see chrome mirrors mounted on the windscreen stays and nothing on the doors. Ooo and clam shelf fenders too.

Curious, how long did your order take? Did you get a tracking number when it shipped?

linenoise's Zetec-Powered Caterham Super Seven 5-Speed is now up on BaT. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-seven-10/ This video is from the 2020 BaT auctions. (Yes, was sold twice 5 months apart.) https://youtu.be/SE7zvAsndig

When I had the car certified in March of 2024 I had five brand new Firestone Fire Hawk Indy 500 tires installed and balanced. Four of these tires have travelled a total of only 2,600 very easy miles. The spare has zero miles on it. Only one tire, the left front, is damaged so only it will be replaced. The shop says the rim should not be repaired. I think they and the appraiser are still arguing over this point. Little sense as no new wheel has been located as yet. But when one is the idea is to have the spare and the new wheel tire both on the front and the right front will be used as the spare. The chassis was to have been measured and checked over. I have yet to see any measurements but as far as I know the only chassis related problem found was the upper A arm pick up points were bent. They have been put back into position and the new A arms have been trial fitted. Again, I have not seen any measurements and I am gong by what I’ve been told. Believe me I‘ve been asking questions about every aspect at least once a week. I am not well liked at either shop at this point. There was nothing broken or badly bent so there is no heating or welding to be done. As I said, I’ve been led to believe that the upper A arm and upper ball joint threaded end took the brunt of the force. The tire and wheel rim took the balance. All the other suspension and steering rack parts are being replaced more as a precaution. Or so I’m told. I hear what you are saying. However, at this time I’m at the mercy of the mechanic and the body shop.

I have not posted anything in months because no work was being done on my car. (Long story for another time.) Among the parts to be replaced was the steering rack. My 1993 HPC has a small diameter rack tube. I now understand this original part was a modified Mini rack no longer available. Oddly they also ordered a new right side tie rod end. There is no damage to the right side. So is this common practice or is this a metric rack and therefore needed a metric right side tie rod end? The mechanic has not replied as to whether the threads on the rack are metric or standard. The rack delivered is the newer Caterham cast alloy unit. The mounting brackets for my car won’t fit over this new rack. Emails back and forth and new brackets were dispatched. When they arrived they have an offset mounting hole. They don’t work either. I just learned that new brackets have been dispatched but with no ETA. It seems no one understands or pays attention to tracking numbers. No one seems in a hurry to get my car back on the road. So it’s sitting in a corner of the mechanic’s shop waiting to get put together and a four wheel alignment done. Then it has to go back to the body shop to have the alloy panel and fiberglass fender repaired and painted. For the love of gawd we are now into the 16th week. It should not have taken more than six even with parts taking 10-12 days to arrive from the UK. I am sooo jealous of everyone who is able to enjoy their Sevens so far this season. Here I am well into the fourth month of our short five month season and I got to drive my car about a mile on that Sunday, the first weekend of the season. How screwed up has this been? Well, they haven’t order a tire because according to the body shop the mechanic can’t locate one. I just found this out today. So I Googled the make and size and in 30 seconds had four companies with prices ranging from $150 to $210. Linda forwarded that onto the body shop and about 20 minutes later I had an email saying the tire would be here tomorrow. It’s like when the parts first arrived they didn’t send the car over to the mechanic because “their tow guy’s” flat bed was down and it was going to be two weeks before it would be running again. I saw red when I heard that and explained there are a dozen tow companies in the area so they should CALL ONE OF THEM! A few days later is when we found out that they switched steering racks and that’s when things really went to hell. I must thank IamScotticus for his help, patience and encouragement as I try to get through this mess. Latest photos I shot of the car taken weeks ago when they discovered the rack issue.

Funny, I posted this very info last Friday; “…the close up of the head casting number (image #305) verifies it is a SVT DOHC four valve head. So I would believe it to be the higher horse power engine. How close to the rated numbers is another matter.” I guess I should have included the image as you did to get people’s attention. As for buyer’s fees I tend to agree with you. They claim it’s the price you pay for the auction site to (supposedly) vet items, the sellers and bidders. I’m being particularly nasty here as many have suspected that not all is done fairly and above board on these auction sites. I now know for a fact that sellers have been known to hold multiple accounts or have friends bid to up the price. In the case of no reserve items they will buy it outright if it doesn’t reach the sellers expectations. By “buy” I mean they will pay the buyer’s fee but the ownership will never change hands. It is a small amount to pay when compared to the huge loses if they let it go too cheaply.

Lucky you, I'm so jealous. I know you've had your issues but... Tomorrow begins week 16 of the long sad tale that started early on the morning of Sunday, May 4th. Ever the optimist I’m hoping the correct parts for the mechanical repairs will be here this week. Once the suspension and steering rack are done it will get a four wheel alignment. Then it’s back to the body shop for repair and paint.

SVT stands for Special Vehicle Teams and is one of Ford's performance groups. I’m familiar with this engine in the 2002 Ford Focus SVT. Unfortunately when I look up the remanufactured engine part number it comes up as information no longer available. However, the close up of the head casting number (image #305) verifies it is a SVT DOHC four valve head. So I would believe it to be the higher horse power engine. How close to the rated numbers is another matter. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15138020/ford-svt-focus-first-drive-review/