d15b7

hello guys. I have a 92 Caterham Super 7 DeDion crossflow powered, with the standard 4 wheel disks all around. the fronts are the 'regular' non-ventilated rotors with oem calipers. question is -- what car are the front rotors sourced from? I'd like to buy a new pair of rotors (these are the originals with 10k race miles on them, and I'm getting a front brake judder under heavy braking now). I thought that I'd heard that they might be Triumph of some sort, but I'd really appreciate an answer of what make year and model so that I can cross-reference and find the part locally. thanks again!

Todd

thanks! there were maybe 25 cars in the field? Group 2 is what I call 'mid bore' - it's 1.6 liter to 2.5 liter vintage production cars. there was another Super Seven, and another Ginetta, plus an Elva Mk7 (he finished 3rd and was the only car we didn't lap!). the lead Ginetta and I were definitely having quite a tussle and were moving through the field at a fair clip!

hey Tom! it was really nice meeting you too! and i'm looking forward to joining you guys at a track day too.

ya he was definitely running his Ginetta really hard; and he told me it was 195 hp!

this was the Group 2 feature race on Sunday of the VRG Historics last weekend at NJMP Lightning. I'm driving my Super Seven and Mike Clifford is driving his Ginetta G4 (the video is from his in-car setup). I'd won on Friday's qualifying race, with Mike winning on Saturday. this was the tie breaker, and oh my was it a battle!!! closest/best vintage race I've ever been in. enjoy!

Todd

ReidSpeed

hi.

if you plan on street driving it at all, then you really need to consider running the Toyos or Nitto NT-01s or Yokohama A032R or A048R on it. you don't want to run the hoosiers or the hankook 214s on the street. especially the hoosiers; they have a very thin carcass (i think that they only have a pair of fiberglass belts; no steel belts?) and can be very very easily damaged by even the slightest pothole. also, i've found that they are a magnet for 'trash' like nails and screw heads and whatnot; they pick up flats very easily. i've run the toyos as street tires (and also the yoko A032R) for years; they are a great 'dual purpose' street and track tire.... if you really want to run the fastest R compound tires at the track (hoosier and hankook z214 and the new goodyear DOT) then you need two sets of wheels and tires, or you need to trailer it and no street driving).

hope that helped!

todd

ReidSpeed

hi! i have a spare wheel with a brand new tire on it (i don't think its ever been used; it was the spare for my Caterham Super Seven, and since its a racecar, thats the first thing i ever took off of it!). i THINK its a prisoner wheel; its 14"x6"; here's a pic of the car with the 'prisoner' wheels on it:

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/9321/frontpassenger.jpg

the spare is in the basement, and as i said, i dont' think its been used, and has a goodyear eagle tire on it.

where are you located? i'm near newark, de.

happy holidays!

sincerely,

todd

I'd be interested in the set of shocks. Price?

good morning, rm8!

i'm asking $150 (that's the shipped price, assuming you are in the 48 states?) for the shocks and springs (set of 3 corners).

sincerely,

todd

hi michael!

i only have one clamshell (the passenger side). it's in excellent condition (red in color). i just sent you an email, too.

thanks!

todd

hi!

i sold him the wiper assy; it is clearly marked in paint on the assy 'LH'; and it came off my left hand drive car, so it should be ready to go!

todd

ReidSpeed

PS and rainex is great; i use it to on all my racecars; problem arises if you are going slow (under 30 mph) and its raining lightly....

hi, and you are welcome!

- the EP suspension package comes standard on the EP super seven that caterham used to offer (i don't know if they still offer it anymore). a while back, you could buy an entire kit from caterham which was basically a racecar ready to go for the USA that you could run in SCCA EP class. the suspension was a specially calibrated set of coilovers (springs and bilstien shocks) and antiroll bars. i bought the coilovers/springs/shocks and antirollbars and installed them on my Seven, along with the front upper and lower control arms.

- my car is a dedion.

- very mild entry corner understeer, unless the corner is very very sharp (like at an autox). i LOVE the welded rear in the dry! it is fantastic to put power down, especially if you are up on the curbs or two wheels in the dirt! it is a real handful in the wet, though -- tons of entry understeer (bucket loads); then you have to lift a huge amount to try to get the front to bite, which it eventually will; then the car will transfer to lift throttle oversteer, which you balance with the throttle (but not too much power, or you'll go into a bad tank-slapper from the wheelspin!). its a real handful in the wet....

- i seem to remember that the flywheel is 12 lbs now.

- the Elgin cam was a custom grind; duration = 308 deg. overlap = 39 deg @ 0.050". lift = 0.321". when i called Elgin, he asked what the purpose of the motor was going to be (roadracing); what the comp ratio was. the size of the carbs. the rev range (still have the cast crank, so under 7500 max max. in fact, the whole last weekend, i was trying to shift just before 7k).

- ignition is a Lucas Super coil, with some real trickery when it comes to the distributor system - it has an ingnitor from a V8 chevy, and an electronic Bosch dizzy from a BMW e30 M3 machined to fit like a glove into my xflow block. looks stock, has a perfect advance curve, works great!

by the way, this motor would be perfect for use in an 'occasional' street car! it idles perfectly at 1100 rpm. starts up extremely easily. super tractable from 2k on up, and comes on like a freight train at about 4500 rpm, and pulls til the numbers run off the dial. the only downside is that it needs 100 octane gas due to the comp ratio of 11.8:1. not a big deal for me, as there is a small airport about 15 mins from my house which will sell you as much 100LL as you want ($4.20 per gal).

hope that helps!

todd

ReidSpeed

hi!

i've had this car since 1994; this is the second rebuild of the motor; the first engine lasted for 3200 track miles. i expect that this one will go at least that long (i broke the first down; all my fault; extended time at watkins glen and i was revving way over 7k rpm). the place i have the work done is called 'R and W Enterprises'; its an old time shop, run by a father and son team. they've done lots and lots of kent motors, and have a very good working knowledge of them. they are located outside of west chester, pa. great guys!

my other two cars are a 1993 Ford Probe GT (NASA PTE racecar) and a very fast 1995 honda civic hatchback (has a rsx-s motor and 6 speed trans with a T28 turbo. 2200 lbs with me in it and 320 whp). if i think of it, i'll post up a few vids of those cars on various tracks...

todd

thanks again for the kind words! i just finished putting up a post explaining about my car in the Members section.

i guess i should mention that i have two other 'modern' racecars that i campaign (mostly with NASA and EMRA sanctioning bodies). this year, i've mostly run my Ford Probe GT (its really a mazda mx-6 with the word 'ford' on it) in NASA PTE competition (i can tell more about that if you are interested, and i have lots of incar footage of some good battles in those races).

i also do some pro coaching during the year, and i will teach and/or support client efforts at Summit Point, VIR, Watkins Glen, Pocono, NJMP, Mid Ohio, and CMP.

i must say, that after racing this weekend, i didn't realize how much i missed driving the Seven! i've driven many, many different racecars (and street cars) on track over the years; nothing compares to the feeling of driving the Seven!

todd

ReidSpeed

hi gents!

i had recently posted to the roadrace forum about a race weekend that i had particpated in, and in a reply was asked to post up some info about my racecar, so here goes!

it's a 1992 Caterham; its got a FIA cage, a fuel cell, brooklands screen, and a bench seat. i've removed the headlights and converted it to cycle fenders. on to the good stuff:

- 1660 ford crossflow 'kent' motor; 711m. stock cast crank, balanced and lightened. lightened flywheel with stock clutch and pressure plate. 11.8:1 pistons with forged rods. baffled wet sump oiling system with remote oil filter, oil cooler, and accusump. Elgin cam with lifters and pushrods. steel rocker assembly. moderately ported and polished cylinder head with multiangle valvejob. webber DCOE 40 carbs. chessman 4 into 1 header with straight pipe exhaust. underdrive pulley on alternator. aluminum radiator. oil breather catch-can system. broken in and tuned on the engine dyno, made 175 hp at the flywheel (on a slightly optimistic dyno; i think its around 165 hp in 'real life'):

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3033/enginebaypassengerside.th.jpg

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8778/interioro.th.jpg

- type 9 transmission (stock; i WISH i had the shorter 5th gear conversion). rear diff is welded; i think the rear gear is a 3.65:1, but i could be wrong, i might be 3:92:1. i just can't remember!

- full E production suspension conversion, including springs, shocks, swaybars (no rear bar at all right now). wide track front. 13"x7" Panasport race wheels with 185-60-13F and 225-45-13R Toyo 888 tires. its got the 'fast ratio' steering rack.

- interior is pretty stock, except for 6 point belts, a kill switch, a custom 'low profile' shift knob, and a full compliment of gauges: speedo, tach, oil pressure (mechanical), oil temp (mechanical), and water temp (mechanical). i have a manually controlled engine fan, and an electrically controlled accusump, with one way valve:

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3847/interiorcw.th.jpg

well, i think that's all there is to tell about my Super Seven! it's a wonderful race machine; of my three racecars, it is by far my favorite to race on the track!!!!

any questions, and please feel free to ask!

todd

ReidSpeed

it certainly is a great track! and they are repaving it in the early spring, so it shouldn't be so bumpy in T1/T2 and T6....

i'll make a point of being there for LOG!

todd

thanks guys!

i SO wish that the camera had worked for the Big Bore enduro yesterday! you'd have seen my tiny Seven charge from the very back to the front, weaving in and out between all those big bruisers!!! if i could have gotten around that Shelby GT350, i would have started to gap him; its just that he was a great defensive driver, and i couldn't even stay in his draft in order to try to outbrake him at the end of the straightaways! grrrrrrr - stupid camera!

Summit Point is my 'home track'; i have probably 10k miles on it, at least. the Seven and i work well there!

it would be really fun if we could get a big contingent of Sevens together and do an event there -- i instruct for practically every group around here: NASA, PCA, BMWCCA, CCC, you name it. we would have a ball!

and yes, its fun having the little Seven with the xflow hounding the others -- i can't tell you how many folks came up after the race(s), smiling and wanting to know what was going on! i guess everyone pulls for 'david', and wants him to bring down 'goliath'!!!

todd

ReidSpeed

whew! finally got home after racing this weekend at the Turkey Bowl at Summit Point. i was driving the #71 red Super Seven Super Sprint (powered by a Ford crossflow Kent 1600 with the usual 'hop up' parts). here's a pic with my friend Ian in the driver's seat:

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3862/lotussupersevensuperspr.jpg

the organizers plopped me in Group 3, with the 'Formula and Open Wheel racers' for saturday's races; i was the only road going thing in this heat, lol! i'm up against a pack of Formula Fords, Mallocks, and S2000 racers.... the competition is fierce up front (i knew this heat would be super fast compared to smallbore, so i took off my street tires (ancient yokohama A509s), and put on my rain tires, which are toyo 888s); i ended up 2nd overall behind one of the Mallocks in the first race (couldn't get around him to save my life, and couldn't stay in his draft on the front straight!!!) (the camera failed to operate in the first race, so no footage). in the second race, i got a poor start (was 6th after the first lap, behind the S2000, two Formula Fords, and two Mallocks), but i immediately found my groove and started moving up -- picking off a car every lap, til i was second right behind the S2000. i was probing him in several places, when he lost it in the brake zone and hooked off the track, exiting stage right (it was later determined that his right rear upright had failed, shearing off), and he crashed very hard into the inside tirewall (no serious injuries, just real stiff the next day). i ended up winning that race, cause they had to black flag us all and clean it up (not the way i like to win a race). here's the video from that race (sorry about the smears on the camera - one of the cars up front was leaking some kind of fluids out): Turkey Bowl 2009 Summit Point - Super Seven in Open Wheel Group 3 on Vimeo

here's a pic of the Mallocks (they were super fast):

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8260/mallock2.jpg

sorry, i didn't get any pics of the Formula Fords or the S2000 sports racer.....

Sunday's race was a 45 minute 'enduro'; apparently 45 mins is a long time for these old cars to race!!! :lol: i asked to be moved into the Big Bore Vintage heat (Group 2) for sunday's race; i wanted to see how i'd stack up against the big dogs (plus, there were only about 4 or 5 open wheelers that were going to do the enduro). they lined me up in the back of the grid -- i got a pretty good start, and began to move up fast! (the stupid camera failed again, and i got no footage of this race ). by the beginning of the 4th lap, i was in 2nd place, behind a big bad very very fast #70 Shelby GT350. this monster sounded like a NASCAR racer!!! he would crush me in the straights; he'd pull about 30 carlengths from T10 to T1 (and i would be glued to his bumper coming thru T10). we continued in this fashion throughout the entire race, never more than a few seconds apart; it was very very tight racing! i tried many times to get around him in the carousel (i owned him there) but he was very smart and very defensive and i had the door shut on me many times. we came thru T10 the last time, with me a foot off his rear bumper, and he shot off to the finish line, pulling away..... it was an excellent race, and i had a great time!

amazingly, the Seven needed almost no service during the weekend! an alternator heat shield came loose (fixed with zip ties and aluminum tape). the clutch cable needed adjusting. and that was it! no oil burned at all; just added gas and race! very un-Lotus like!

i must say, i've missed racing that little car! its a real racecar, not a fwd grocery getter that i've forced into racing service! definitely the most fun car i've ever driven on the racing surface!

enjoy the pics and vid!

todd

ReidSpeed

Hi how much is the distrbutor and what make is it? mac w

hi mac.

it is a Lucas unit; it came with my 1992 Caterham Super Seven (has about 8k miles on it). i believe it is an Aldon modified unit (please see another pic below):

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2333/xflowdistributorlucas10oc0.jpg

i'm asking $200 obo for the complete unit.

thanks!

todd

Damn, I bet shipping would be hell to Louisiana.

yeah; i think it would be $15 to $20 per tire.... it kinda would suck to be paying less than $15 for the tire, and then $20 to ship it!!!! its a big stack of tires, guys; you'll want a pickup truck to take them all home in (or at least a big minivan with the seats folded down!).

BTW, you should see the rest of my basement; well over 60 wheels/tires combinations; its taking up about 1/3 of the total basement, stacked floor to ceiling! thats what happens when you have three racecars!!!! aaackkk! i've gotta slim this down somewhat!

todd

hello!

i am cleaning out my basement of 'extra' Sevens parts; as i no longer plan to use full slicks on the car anymore (i had oil pressure problems with my xflow in the past due to the extremely high G forces from the slicks; i will only use street tires or DOT R compounds on it from now on) i have the following for sale:

(3) Goodyear 22x9x13 R430 compound slicks (for rear of car)

(2) Goodyear 22x9x13 R160 compound slicks (for rear of car)

(2) Goodyear 20x7x13 R430 compound slicks (for front of car)

(2) Goodyear 20x6.5x13 R160 compound slicks (for front of car)

(2) Hoosier 20x7x13 R45 compound slicks (for front of car)

most have only one track day on them; tons of tread remaining on all of them (the dimples are very deep). they are all 7 yrs old, but have always been stored off the ground in a dark space in my basement (i stacked them all up for the picture). asking $150 obo for the entire stack of 11 tires:

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2810/supersevenslicks.jpg

shoot me an email or a PM -- d15b7 at aol dot com

todd

hey slngsht!

i'm almost ready to load the Super Seven into my trailer; i've been slaving over it every night for a while now! only a few odds and ends to tidy up, and then it'll be race time! the weather looks perfect; low 50s and almost no chance of rain -- this fresh xflow motor is singing now, and i am sure its going to really like the cool weather! i'm driving to Piscataway today to pick up another set of tires, and i'll have them mounted on my minlites tomorrow... i've got your wiper assy stowed in the truck, and can meet you at summit anytime this weekend; my rig is a black 2003 chevy 2500hd, pulling a dirty white Pace enclosed trailer. my Seven is bright red; it'll be number 71, or 17, depending. come find me in the paddock and we can hang out!

todd

ReidSpeed

How much for the cover ??

hi.

i think that might be sold already. i'll let you know if it doesn't sell!

thanks,

todd

Todd, I'm going to the Ravens game today. I can swing by after the game and pick it up. I will email you my number. Do you have the wiper arms to go with the assembly?

hi!

the car came to me with the 'brooklands' screen on it (tiny little oval of a windshield), so i don't have the wiper arms. the assembly definitely operates correctly, because before i took it off, you could click the two speed switch and see the spindles oscillating back and forth!.

i got your phone number, and will give you a call!

sincerely,

todd

Interested in the wiper assembly. Let me know how much

hi.

i was thinking $75 for the wiper assembly. i am located just outside of elkton, md.

todd

hi jim!

i'm an experienced road racer; i've been racing for 9 yrs, and doing track events for 16 yrs (yikes!). i typically race two different tin top cars (a Ford Probe GT in NASA PTE class (or SCCA ITS if you prefer) and a Honda Civic in ST2 class). both of those cars i run on DOT R compounds (the Probe on Toyo RA-1s and the Honda on Hoosiers). my Super Seven is typically my 'fun' and vintage racecar; it's got a race prepped crossflow motor in it, and has all suspension mods to support an E Production race seven. the engine should have been dry-sumped, but instead i run a wet sump, with a fully baffled race pan.

anyway, here's the point i wanted to bring up -- when i run slicks on the Seven (usually goodyear 430, 6.5" front and 9" rear on 13" wheels), it grips like nothing else i've ever driven! the braking and cornering is unbelievable; in fact it takes some getting used to in order to 'believe' that it can corner and brake at those levels..... but, here is the big 'but' -- i've had TONS of trouble keeping oil pressure up when running the slicks; huge drops in pressure, all the way to 0 psi for a second or more on hard corners (especially right turns, and especially worst when cornering and braking at the same time). i tried all manner of things, and now currently have an accusump plumbed into the oil system (big remote HP4 filter, big oil lines, and a decent size oil cooler, and a mechanical non-damped oil pressure gauge). the accusump keeps the oil pressure from dropping below 30 psi (you can see the gauge go down from about 65 psi in a corner to 35 or so; it slips down smoothly, and then will hover at 35 for a sec, then climbs back up to 65 again). this is not 'good', but is sort of kinda 'livable'.

when i run R compounds, i see much less dips in pressure; with the accusump, i might see the press drop to 50 psi for a half sec, and then shoot back to 65. this is much better! with street tires on it (i vintage race it on an old old set of little 185 street tires; this keeps me slowed down enough to have some fun with the other guys!) i never see the oil pressure budge.

the long and short of it is this: if you are a good driver, and are pushing the car really hard (as i do; i run it out at 100% -- that's what it was built to do!) and you run full slicks on it, and you are not dry-sumped, then i think you might run into a serious oil pressure problem.... a harder compound Rcomp tire might work out better for you in the long run...

oh, and i have a blast running on the rock hard yoko A509 185 street tires! the car drifts and slides around all over the place, and it really feels very 'vintage like'! at Summit Point Raceway, i can run a 1:22.xxx on the slicks, and i have to try very hard to run a high 1:28, low 1:29 on the old skinny street tires. if i ever ran it on a toyo RA-1 (which, if i were going to run on Rcomps, that's what i'd pick, due to price, longevity, and 'fun factor') i am sure i'd run a low low 1:25 or so (with only little to moderate oil press fluctuation).

hope that helps!

todd

You may want to try to post on apexpseed.com under the "Formula F" section.

thanks alot; i will!

todd