Mudder

The half hood is still for sale. $300 + shipping in the US.

Dear USA7 members, I ordered a half hood (30V107A) from Caterham and asked them whether it would fit my 1999 S3. Well, long story short, it arrived and does not fit. The shipping costs were somewhat excessive (nearly $300 for Half top and tonneau) and I am not going to send it back. The top is about 5 inches too short for my car. My car measures 37 ¾ in. from the front of the windscreen to the center of the roll bar but the half hood Caterham supplied measures only 32 ¾ in. I am sure it has to do with the newer street roll bar design which angles slightly forward. On my car the roll bar is straight up and requires more fabric. Anyway, my loss is your gain. The top was 302.97 pounds sterling (excl. VAT and Caterham's outrageous shipping costs) which equals about $380. I'd sell it for $380 + shipping in the US. Cheers PS: I saw theDreamer post, but doubt that it will fit his/her car unless the above mentioned measurements check.

It's an Imperial frame (AM99), at least from what I could research. Arch Manufacturing >>> AM 99; cant really decipher the chassis number underneath. There are long diagonal support tubes in the engine bay and I couldn't find a single tube in the back which transitions from a square profile to a round one.

GL 4 it is. Just checked!

Thanks for the heads up!

Thank you very much for all this information!! I am learning!

Thanks for the link!! The inserts of my trunnions are completely removable, but have a setscrew which arrests the inner metal sleeve. I have the L/H front suspension apart and will attach pictures as soon as I am back at my shop. The picture out of Tony Weale's Seven book perfectly resembles my front suspension

I found setscrews on the trunnions, however the bushes were not bonded. I took the uprights apart just to clean out the old grease (duh) and replace it with SAE90. I am quite sure everything was stock Triumph. The only thing which surprised me was the setscrews. As soon as I am back at my workshop, Ill check the trunnion flange distance in comparison to the trunnion repair set (no setscrew), I have lying around. Yes, I found the small washer when I pulled the bushes on the A frame/differential. What surprised me somewhat is that none of the press-fit bushings (Front and Rear suspension) appear to be centered in there respective location. They are flush on one side and slightly protruding (1/16") on the other.

MV8, IamScotticus Thanks for your replies! The car has a Live Axle and it was imported as a full knockdown kit to the U.S. back in 1999. I remember checking the frame stamping next to the roll bar mount and it identified as an Arch chassis. Because of that I was under the impression it was an imperial frame...... but I just found out that there is a cross member somewhere in the wheel arch area which makes the identification more definitive. Any other clues?? I am traveling until Tuesday of next week and won't have access to the car. I'll report back ASAP. Cheers

Hello all, I've been lurking on the Seven forum for a while (see intro, General Sevens Disc.) and finally pulled the trigger on a 1999 Caterham S3. The car has been sitting for a while and I decided to give it a good overhaul. The suspension was first on my list and I wasn't surprised to find some of the bushings in questionable shape. The A-Frame/differential housing bush was in bad shape and some of the other ones (front) were ever so slightly deformed. The press fit ones show slight signs of dry rot. Well, I decided to replace them all. And here comes my first question: Tony Weale, in his Lotus Seven book (p.87) talks about replacing the front suspension Y9s with Y16s. Since they are shorter he mentions a spacer which needs to be fitted between the bushing halves. I contacted Caterham Parts but never got a reply in regard to a part number. Do any of you know which exact part number this is, or does anybody know what the correct dimensions are. Thank You!

Hello all, I've been a lurker on this forum for many years and have been fascinated with Sevens for the last 40. Over the years I owned and still own (1999 XJR, 1972 Lotus Europa) many British Sports cars of the 1950s and 60s. My obsession started in the 1980s with one Morgan after the other (3 in total), followed by a 1961 E-Type, Coupe and a variety of Healeys, Triumphs, MGs and real Minis. Back in the mid eighties I had a chance to sit in a Lotus Seven, I think it was a S2 with a Twinc, the first time and must have gotten infected for life. Fast Forward 40+ years and I am finally the proud owner of my first Seven. It's a 1999 Caterham S3, Live Axle with a 1700 Super Sprint. The car is a one owner vehicle with only 6500 miles on the clock, but sadly was sitting for quite a while. It took a big leap of faith when I bought it, because the original owner had passed away and his son couldn't provide much information in regard to the engine. Since the car had a carb. fire at one time I thought it would be prudent to pull the head and dig a little deeper. Lucky me, it turned out to be an original 1700 Super Sprint and after digging even deeper, one with an AX block. Thanks to Josh Robbins (RMC) and Pete Christensen (TPE) I am well on my way (wishful thinking) to get my new possession back on the road. Hope to see one of you guys in the Rockies, one of these days!

I forgot to mention that the comps were taken at an elevation of 8000ft and a local air pressure of around 22.00 merc. column.

My stock 1700 Super Sprint (6500 miles) 9.75:1 compression, cold comp test 151 psi on all 4 cylinders. Your 1600 should be 9.00:1 (stock) and your cold comps probably around 140 psi. Hope this helps.