pethier

BTW, my 1979 Caterham did not have a mounting bracket. The spare tire simply sat on the tire-rack/number-plate-holder and a loose strap was passed around the car tubing, through a slot in the car body, through the wheel, over the tire, and joined its other end with a buckle.

I have had good luck with several UK suppliers shipping with FedEx to the FedEx office near me in Minnesota. As Ed points out, I have not had to pay the Value Added Tax that UK companies show in their catalogs.

Yeah. I have made that mistake before. I forgot to make them "public".

Mine is on a 1991 1700 Super Sprint with 6.5 x 15 Prisoner wheels. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/54547173692/in/album-72177720326434104/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/54547173687/in/album-72177720326434104/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/54548050756/in/album-72177720326434104/

I think you are on to something. If you see the photo album, you will see that the measurements are virtually-identical. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72177720326311251/ Here is the album for the original Birkin tank: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72177720326317327/

This Fuel Safe brand fuel cell was used in a Birkin car. One thing I know for sure is that it will NOT fit in a Caterham with de Dion rear suspension. I suspect that this is not a custom-made cell. Fuel Safe does list both a 5-gallon and a 7-gallon tank for Lotus 7 cars. I theorize that companies selling live-axle Seven clones used the same sort of tank as the factory Lotus tank. I feel there is a strong possibility that this cell will fit in Lotus and Caterham live-axle Sevens, and maybe other Seven clones. There is what looks like a factory sticker on the cell, but all printing has faded from it. Fuel Safe does not show any photographs of the actual tanks for Lotus 7 cars. This fuel cell comes with what purports to be unused foam blocks to replace the used blocks now in-place. I also have what I believe to be the original Birkin tank. I'm not ready to offer that one yet. From the Fuel Safe website: ========= Fuel Safe®'s Lotus Super 7 racing fuel cell delivers optimal safety and fuel performance in two sizes: 5 and 7 gallons. Both sizes of racing fuel cells are built to fit within the location of the factory installed fuel tank. The Lotus Super 7 racing fuel cells from Fuel Safe® are made of the highest grade materials available designed to win races. Each Lotus racing fuel cell includes: TIG welded aluminum container Safety baffling foam Factory 4x6 fill plate Part No. Capacity Information SA113 7 gallons Lotus Pro Cell® Fuel Bladder in an aluminum container SA113B 5 gallons Lotus Pro Cell® Fuel Bladder in an aluminum container Pro Cell® Lotus Super 7 Complete Fuel Cell 7 Gallon, SA113 Sale price $2,871.00 Pro Cell® Lotus Super 7 Complete Fuel Cell 5 Gallon, SA113B Sale price $2,825.00 Current Lead Time: 8+ Weeks ========= My Flickr album has several photos of the fuel cell and measurements. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72177720326311251/

I'd like the tail lamps, please.

I am keeping mine. I can shoot photos and take measurements if you want someone local to fab you one.

I am an autocrosser, and I have to have a car engine. Don't think the Polaris engine will squeak by. I am installing a Zetec in my Caterham because I had an opportunity to get one that had already been in a Birkin. It has the fuel injection from a Suzuki Hayabusa on adaptors to a manifold previously used for Weber 40DCOE carbs.

As I recall, a 1400cc automobile engine with a supercharger would be legal for DM. What are Jeremy and Jeff using for an engine? IMHO, this discussion could be moved to https://usa7s.net/ips/forum/11-autocrossing/

IRS sounds limiting, but I like the de Dion in my car. I like that the Chapman-designed location system gives a low roll center. I am just now undertaking the change to a Zetec with Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection controlled by Megasquirt.

It would be great to find a "bubba ring" of car freaks that have a big shop and buy in. I know there was one of these insouth Minneapolis. Don't know if it is still going. I would have joined them, but was lucky enough to have my own space. The advantage of the "bubba ring" shop is that you can work on each others' projects be they circle-track, drag, autocross, road-racing, all mixed together.

I put a Quaiffe torque-sensing dif and 411/1 gears in the Ford live axle in my 1979 Caterham. Worked very well. I think my current 1991 Caterham 1700 Super Sprint de Dion has a Sierra diff which I believe came in the kit from Caterham with the plate-style LSD. I t seems to work fine on the road and in autocross.

As Is, it is not drivable yet. But your suggesstion echos Brian's. in fact, when we get it drivable, we will drive it around Isanti without the front fenders, nose or bonnet.

The donor car was apparently a Ford Contour.

I have been wrong. It's actually Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection.

I don't know where the heck I heard Mikuni, but I did. Turns out, it was billed as the hardware off a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle when Steve bought it. So it's Keihin/Denso. Well, this is not the shock that some folks get when they get their DNA results, but it does surprise me.

"keihin and gm spec parts for the msq" Showing my ignorance here. "gm" is General Motors or something or something else? I have no idea what "keihin" might be. Tuesday I need to dive in on the system that I own and do not understand.

I don't have any of the documentation here and can't see it until Tuesday. All I really know right now is that this is supposed to be a Mikuni* injection system meant for a motorcycle and this system has been run by Megasquirt. The whole system, engine and FI, was being run successfully in a Birkin car. One of the reasons I'm talking about his now is packaging. The tech wants to lose the backing plate and airbox/filter. Individual filters seem to be better for the setup in the Caterham. I need for find out more about what is available. I'm not a big fan of oiling filters, although I admit that I had them on the 40 DCOE feeding my Lotus 65 Europa (pushrod Renault). If there are socks for velocity stacks that do not require oil, I'm interested. I think I hear you saying that if the temperature sensor was protected somewhere in the vicinity of ITBs that it ight work. May be a little bracket inside the filter housing for one of the four throttle bodies. * Actually Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection.

IMG_8041 Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection. What does the white sensor measure? My guess is that it is air pressure. Maybe temperature? I would like to go to individual air filters for each intake horn. If that sensor is critical to the operation of the fuel injection by measuring pressure INSIDE THE AIRBOX, that could present a problem.

The clamp is designed to slip.

Whatever you do, made sure that the steering column will telescope if you get in a collision.

[flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72177720326088078] For those who have not picked up on this from other posts, here is some background on this project. In the fall of 2023, I bought this 1991 Caterham 1700 Super Sprint from a gentleman in central Illinois. This is one of four Caterham cars he had shipped from England. He had investigated three cars online and engaged an agent in England to inspect the cars and close the deals. The agent informed him that he had room for a fourth car in the shipment. He told the agent to find a fourth car. This is that fourth car. The original owner had ordered it from Caterham as a "complete kit". It seems like a Prisoner car, but not an official one, as it was painted all Ford Moonstone Blue. Specifications include electric windscreen, de Dion rear suspension, plate-style LSD, and swaybars (the rear adjustable). It seems to have spent its life in Northwich, Cheshire. I autocrossed the car in 2024, with a few interruptions. I had autocrossed my previous 1979 live-axle 1600 for three seasons with no body damage at all. Second time out with this car, the right rear fender was destroyed. I got another fender and took the oppertunity to have the fenders and nosecone painted Caterham Firecracker Yellow. Back on the road, I suffered the failure of an oil-pump gasket. I made to the 2024 Lotus Owners gathering in Texas and drove it around the Austin area including around COTA and to (but on on-track) Harris Hill. When I bought the car, I assumed that the 1700 Super Sprint engine would be great fun for track days and twisy-roads driving. I was right. This driveline gives the classic Lotus Seven experience with more kick. Thing is, those activities are not the main reason I have owned Lotus cars. My automotive addiction since 1968 has been USA-style autocross. We called it "Summer Gymkhana" in the rule book for the Twin Cities when I started (before SCCA started Solo II). For this activity, an essentially "Cosworthized" pushrod engine does not give the broad power band in second gear I coveted. From the jump, I had an idea. I have a friend with a Birkin. He came to the autocross community when I was autocrossing my Lotus Europa. He had driving talent and a faster car, but he was not yet beating me. I knew I had to fix that. Each autocross day, I would ask him, is this the day you beat me?" I showed him that he was inflating his tires too high. He soon put his engineering intellect to work on the car and his intelligence to work on the art of autocross driving and began to beat me, as he should. One chilly day at ValleyFair, Steve's Birkin got Fastest Time Of Day, beating the Formula Cars. The secret? Hillclimb tires. Steve is always thinking, always up for something different. When I bought the Super Sprint, I knew that Steve was embarking on a new adventure. He was going to take the Birkin all-electric. I paid Steve cash for all of his gasoline-based Birkin equipment and he graciously allowed me to delay picking it up. It took me a while to track down the motor mounts I would need. Birkin and Caterham have completely-different ideas about motor mounts. I also realized that I was going to need help with the work. I got my foot in the door with Brian, who runs a British-car shop with the specialty of putting GM V6 engines in MGB cars. His crew knows about fuel-injection in cars that were made for carbs. He also has a packed schedule. It all came together suddenly on May 6, even a couple of weeks sooner than I expected. That's when this photo-trail tracks back to. You will probably always see more photographs in the Flickr album than make it here. Along the way, I will try to keep you informed of how it's going, and I look forward to all of your advice. We are none of us as knowledgeable as all of us.

Cover plates for heater ports. Made these today. Tuesday I'll go to Brian's shop and install them, being sure to mark the locations of the chassis tubes that run through the area.

Suzuki Hayabusa Keihin/Denso injection.