xflow7

There have been several updates to the chassis over time as the cockpit was lengthened, the De Dion made available, the front suspension reworked, and more recently with the change to Metric chassis, etc. However, I think the primary stiffening was done when the so-called "Long Cockpit" was introduced which - according to Jeremy Coulter's "The Lotus and Caterham Sevens" - was with chassis number LCS/4140/MKRM. Not sure of the year, but I think it was early '80's. Edited to add additional info from another section in the book: 1974: Initial chassis as S3 with added triangulation in engine bay and cockpit sides 1981: Long cockpit introduced 1985: De Dion introduced, tubes added along transmission tunnel 1986: Symmetrical chassis introduced, front mounted radiator. The book was published in '86 so doesn't list anything after that time. Dave

By strange coincidence I live literally just over the hill from Doug (~1/2 mi according to the crow). I've been over to see the project a couple of times (though not lately, I'm embarrassed to say). It is most certainly in the right hands.

Howdy. As Croc noted I moved here to VT about a year ago with my Seven (Caterham X-flow, titled 2002). I was initially concerned as they do have mandatory emissions/OBD-II testing to the standards in place at the time of manufacture of the car and there was no mention on the DMV website of any concessions or special regsitration status for collector/kit/replica cars. However, it turns out there is a clause in the Official Inspection Manual that is issued to certified shops that indicates that Replicas are considered Special Vehicles and are to be inspected to the standards of the original vehicle. There doesn't seem to be a provision for formally titling/reg'ing a car as a replica, so you could in principle get burned at a shop that just looks at the titled year, but my experience was that if you find a shop friendly to old/British cars, they'll understand that the car is a replica of a Lotus 7 and will treat it as such. I convinced the DMV to list the Model on my title as REP to drive home the point that it is a replica. Dave

"Hey Nineteen, That's 'Retha Franklin. She don't remember the Queen of Soul. It's hard times befallen, The sole survivors. She thinks I'm crazy, But I'm just growing old."

Given that the brand has recently moved into top level racing with the acquisition by Tony Fernandes, this also begs the obvious question as to whether there is a tie-up at work here to eventually go sportscar racing with a Caterham-branded Lola campaigned by Dyson. Plus, with Cosworth's footprint in F1 apparently on the way down, there's a nice synergy there as well to allocate some Cosworth resources to a potential Ford-Cosworth program.

Darrell. I'm interested in the Dry Sump stuff. Can you post or PM some pics and more info? Thanks, Dave

Mike, did you already alert Caterham to the problem? If they have a bad batch of brake lines they need to know about that. Dave

I should add that, in addition to the state from my anecdote, I've had the car in 2 other states that required front plates and in none of the 3 has anyone ever given me any static over it.

Frankly, another vote for waiting to see if anyone actually cares. I keep mine in the map pocket in case they want to see it. The one time I got nicked for speeding, the officer walked around the front of the car and looked down at the nose. I piped up "I have the front tag here in the car as I haven't been able to mount it yet." He responded, "Oh. Actually I was just looking at the badge on the nose to see what kind of car this was." :blueangel: YMMV

Twobone. I'm glad you avoided it. See http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=2842443880105%3A1040067937 and http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=3842443880105%3A1354232839 for the aftermath and some repair pics of my deer encounter at speed on the interstate. My experience indicates that you'd likely have caught her directly in the head unless your windscreen manages to deflect her. I consider myself rather lucky to have survived that. Damage was worse than is obvious in the pics. All new aluminum except the bonnet, bent frame, and bent axle bracket.

Anyone else going? Jude and I will be headed down Saturday morning and staying through most of Monday. Planning to park in the Lotus Corral, but unfortunately we'll likely miss the parade laps. Speaking of the Car Corral, any Lotus Ltd. members know if there is a discount available to club members? I browsed the Lotus Ltd. Members site and Forums and didn't find anything. Hope to see some of you there. :party: Dave

I'm in Fairlee, VT which is ~20min North of Hanover, just of I-91. Nice blatting country (after the frost heaves subside! ). Dave

I replaced mine with Hellas some years ago. I think with the same ones you are talking about. I also had a little bit of slop around the rim of the sealed beam, but from memory I was able to shim behind the springs with some kind of material (may have been scraps of that neoprene-like stuff you can get to line toolbox drawers). It's worked fine and I've never had any problems since.

I live right in the Rt-5 / I-91 corridor so I've already seen that there will be some good exploring there and WMNF isn't too far either so I'll go looking for Kancamagus too. I'm already planning to be at Lime Rock for the vintage races over Labor Day. Will be looking for other regional events as well as time allows. Thanks for the tip about NELLI. Anyway, apologies for thread-hacking. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming....

Well, it would appear to be Tony Fernandes buying it under Team Lotus Enterprises as opposed to Team Lotus F1 itself buying it (which was my original concern as well). So while there is obviously a tie-up between Caterham and the F1 team I highly doubt that the purchase is taking any resources away from the F1 outfit.

I'm up in Vermont now. Roughly halfway up the state and right on the NH border. It's a beautiful area, but I haven't been able to much exploring in the Seven yet - a combination of a loooong winter and "mud season", and the fact that for the time being I have to keep the car several miles away from home which makes it less convenient to just hop in for a blat. Life is good, though. Enjoying the change of pace. Doubt I'll make it down to Carlisle this year, but hopefully we can catch up at some event or other.

Oh man, Mazda! I've been off the radar for a while with a move, new job, etc. and had to go hunting to find out what this was all about. I felt awful reading about the incident and seeing the pictures. Very relieved that you came away unscathed, though. In any case, best of luck with whatever path forward you choose. I'm sure you'll come back with something amazing and I look forward to seeing it! Dave

Now official... http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90955

D'oh! Of course that's correct!

The notion of a Caterham-Cosworth Formula 1 team is rather interesting to say the least! Having said that, the realist in me says I don't think of backmarker F1 teams as particularly stable businesses, so I'd be pretty wary for the future of Caterham

Pic below:

I have a pair of the SPA GT mirrors that are surplus to requirements. These are the larger SPA mirrors with 100 sq.cm faces. They are Black with flat lenses and have never been used (still have the protective film on the mirror faces). These are ~$160/pr. on Pegasus. Will let them go for $130 plus shipping. Dave

Do you notice your headlights getting brighter with engine speed? If so, it's likely the voltage regulator on the alternator. Alternatively, you can put a voltmeter on the battery as you rev the engine. If the voltage soars much above 14-14.5V with RPM the regulator's shot.

My girlfriend, Jude, and I will be coming down tomorrow. Not sure yet what time we'll get off. Need to drop the dog off and pack the car. I expect we'll be leaving mid- to late-morning and arrive in Gettysburg around 3 or 4. Looking forward to seeing everyone! Dave

Hey Mike, If you haven't already ordered bits, I still have some of the Delrin washers left over if you want me to mail them to you or bring them to LOG. Dave