Croc

Apologies - it was @theDreamer who posted it there. Forgive me for confusing two equally handsome gentlemen - I cannot tell you apart. Either way - it was posted in the thread I referred to.

I did draft one but then some person here stated he thought it was a great idea as he could then sue the club if he messed it up on track and that would pay for his repairs. Just confirms why we can no longer have nice things. You can google and find the C&L7C version which by virtue of being located in the UK, can post such things publicly without fear of lawsuit. One day I will do this - probably have to wait until I retire sadly. I agree with Carl's observations - these cars are good out of the box from the factory following the standard specs. There is a lot you can customize but you have to know where you are as a starting point. It may be perfect just as it is. A note of caution - this thread will produce multiple differing recommendations that likely conflict with each other. All reflect each person's own experience based on their context. You should consider everything and make your own decision based on your own circumstances, environment, track condition, your own driver skill/comfort level and car condition on the day. We will not be there to make the decision for you. I don't get this. I never seem to have a brake problem and everyone else moans. I suspect the answer is that I am dialed into the brakes on a Caterham. I think the problem is that most people are all dialed into power brakes and have never used manual braking systems before (or its been a long time since you last did). Yes you will need a hefty foot press of the pedal to get bite but you will also need to have the foot/sensitivity to modulate the pedal pressure for things like heel/toe and trail braking application. To avoid heating brakes up you need short sharp braking applications and not long applications at only say 80% of pressure. Make sure your brake fluid is fresh and have driven on this to ensure correct operation before going to the track. Check your fluid spec is rated for track usage. Be sensitive to pedal growing softer on track as things heat up. Refer here for my starting point for my UK 420R - I have tweaked beyond this for my personal preferences. Its close to what Carl is suggesting above but he is also reflecting his personal preferences as a driver. Each driver has an individual style - these cars are so customizable for individuals but you have to start somewhere first. Ignore anti-roll bars for now. Drive as is and decide if it works. Caterham do a good out of the box set up based on their standard options. You want a very good baseline of how the car handles before you get sophisticated and change a lot of stuff. I suspect most people cannot tell the difference on track between setting changes - it takes me laps of repeating corners to discern a measurable difference from a degree of change in caster or camber. Second point against anti-roll bar changes now - you are proposing to stiffen the car's suspension. What if it rains? You want the set up softer for now. Softer set up helps the weight transfer around the 4 wheels - easier for you to feel what the baseline set up is doing. Remember your intended usage for your Caterham. You want to use it on road and track. So it needs to keep a hybrid set up suitable for both. There are no trophies on a track day. The Ferrari F1 Team Principal will NOT be on the pit wall measuring your performance by checking your lap times. There is no lap timing. Relax a little. Learn the car as is. This is personal preference but you are aiming for an optimum HOT tire temp of around 25degC (someone convert me to F please). So the starting cold tire temp needs to adjust depending on the ambient temps of the day. Its summer in CA. Reasonably warm and pleasant. Follow Carl's recommendation and test after one session. Don't get too hung up on precise temps as this is a track day, no trophies, etc.... Keep in mind these are 888Rs. You have 1-1.5 hours from new when they are good. They will go off by the end of the day. You will know this as there is a point when they start to understeer like pigs on track once hot. Its not you - its a characteristic of the tire that the UK racers (and hackers like myself) have found over time. The UK race guys use these tires for just one or two sessions and then discard as they are done for grip. Don't go too low - anything below 17psi runs the risk of ripping the tire bead off on hard cornering. When you get out on track, take it easy the first 2-3 laps and let your tires come up to temp so you have some grip. Cold tires have little grip. If it is running the standard thermostat provided by Caterham then it is going to run at thermostat temp that they decided the engine is optimal at. Its also summer in CA - so I don't know why it would run too cool unlike a winter in upstate NY when the car would genuinely struggle to ever reach optimum operating temps? I have never blanked off a Caterham grille except for one day at Spa-Francorchamps in snow and ice conditions. Anyway, engine temps were never my concern that day, it was the condition of my underwear from driving on ice/snow! Try it out - monitor the oil and water temps and see what it runs at. Water temp should peg at the thermostat spec. I am a firm believer in letting the oil temps warm up to operating range before heading out on track. Start the car 5-10mins early and idle it to let everything just warm up naturally. Always spanner check before you get to the track. The day of the track day I always do an oil level check and visual once over at the beginning of the day and before each session for obvious problems. Ask @S1Steve about dragging exhausts on track days! (Sorry Steve!). One last note - this is a track day. Your standard car insurance will likely not cover you. Keep it simple as you learn the car's behaviors. Don't go like a bat out of hell out of the box. Take it easy and work your way into things. The easier you take it initially will allow you to sense a problem early and stay safe while you get back to the pits to diagnose. You want to drive your car home at the end of the day.

@IamScotticus Is this your car for sale? If not then I will remove this thread. Sellers can make ads for sale. No third party friend of friend stuff. Buyers need to know wwith certainty who they are dealing with on expensive purchases. You have the long running thread of car ads found to put things like this - but @wdb already has posted this.

Its called an A Frame. Its part of the rear suspension for a Caterham. It may be straight but does it have any dings or divots in the powder coat that would be a harbinger of possible damage? Then to ask the second obvious question - which model Caterham is it for? An S3 or an SV? Then which S3 chassis - imperial or metric? From the design at the top of the A, I suspect it is an S3 imperial but a prospective purchaser will need to validate that with you.

Week Beginning July 26, 2026 USA7s Classified Ads of Cars for Sale USA7s classified pages - USA7s club members have the benefit of selling their cars by listing them for free on USA7s forum. https://usa7s.net/ips/forum/26-cars-for-sale/ New Ads Since Last Summary Posted Lotus 7 S2 https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1962-lotus-seven-sun-city-az-2949927 Caterham https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1980-caterham-super-7-sussex-wi-2954418 Caterham (back after an absence) https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1957-caterham-jupiter-fl-2947891 Caterham https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/orondo-caterham-super-prisoner-special/eaHwwogn4S7VmqVToti68R Locost https://www.facebook.com/share/1FaaGrZyqf/ Stalker https://www.facebook.com/share/1Hqqctdgdt/ Stalker Project - Night Stalker Body Kit https://www.facebook.com/share/1Eu47nvrFT/ Caterham https://www.facebook.com/share/19K5bBKZDM/ Locost https://www.facebook.com/share/1969diCUmA/ Lotus 7 https://www.facebook.com/share/1HPmhazsYZ/ Stalker https://www.facebook.com/share/14imPMi8QF3/ DF Goblin https://www.facebook.com/share/19WLPiHGAt/ Stalker https://www.facebook.com/share/1LcXUvUDrK/ Locost/Frankenseven https://www.facebook.com/share/1DSgRiA9Lz/ Stalker https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cx9ETK686/ Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/1GCmVNFQeu/ Repeat Ads From Prior Weeks Caterham (5) https://rockymountaincaterham.com/inventory/ Caterham https://rockymountaincaterham.com/csrtwenty02/ Caterham https://rockymountaincaterham.com/76907-2/ Caterham https://www.beachmanracing.com/inventory Caterham https://ebay.io/m/SionPp Caterham https://ebay.io/m/okgNUS Caterham https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/2026-caterham-seven-miami-fl-2947285 Caterham https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/2026-caterham-seven-miami-fl-2916813 Birkin https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1972-lotus-seven-san-diego-ca-2946925 Lotus 6 replica https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1952-lotus-6-norfolk-ct-2945955 and here https://www.facebook.com/share/1EaNSqrKkv/ Lotus 7 S2 https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/listing/1963-lotus-super-seven-cochranville-pa-2891143 Caterham https://www.hemmings.com/listing/1999-caterham-all-models-526915 Caterham https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/prineville-caterham-620r-lotus-super/7Tz9JyobCToqwy19CRAqkM Locost https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/north-newton-lotus-almost-new/hjkedu1H64BTPZW4tmyRxz Caterham https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ez2btbQrs/ Stalker https://www.facebook.com/share/18F8rAWjLs/ Caterham https://www.facebook.com/share/1Rh6EEYjEy/ Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/1Co1Y9EsFp/ Caterham https://www.facebook.com/share/1HUA66tYRz/ Lotus 7 https://www.facebook.com/share/1CWur9xo5Y/ Lotus 7 S2 https://www.facebook.com/share/18vYAJpGdP/ Locost https://www.facebook.com/share/1BToaxKCTo/ Pre Lit Westfield https://www.facebook.com/share/1bZhVfuHvB/ Lotus 7 https://www.facebook.com/share/1EJZuAv34e/ Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/1Dq7iwVhLc/ Mitsuoka Zero https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bf8kbddFS/ Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/1DMUWbWWK8/ Birkin https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bkz1kpxJR/ Locost https://www.facebook.com/share/18tzAoLnLg/ Diva https://www.facebook.com/share/17YKmc5cNF/ Lotus 7 https://www.facebook.com/share/18xQBuQdpW/ Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/14oL4jK51Xb/ Canada Ads Lotus 7 S4 https://www.autotrader.ca/offers/lotus-unspecified-convertible-gasoline-green-cat_ma44gr200883-ab87a903-b601-4fda-b315-e5cdbd00a240 Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/14k5Zk24aio/ Locost https://www.facebook.com/share/19MFGNdVny/ Westfield https://www.facebook.com/share/19Gs329rKG/ Locost Project https://www.facebook.com/share/14sR15NghSk/ Caterham https://www.facebook.com/share/1EXFjb3wrq/ Fejer https://www.facebook.com/share/1HFdEBiztd/

That is a BMC A series engine number format. I once owned (a very long time ago) a Lotus 7 S2 with an A series engine - it was my first seven. Great little engine.

Congratulations on your first post at USA7s! Sounds like you found a basket case. First thing is are you really looking at a Lotus 7 Series 2? Replica plates are cheap and lots of people put them on cars that look like but are not true Lotus 7s. Factory records are not great. Unless you can score a hit from the numbers on the plate you have or find it on a DMV website then you may never know its history. You may determine it is likely a Series 2 by photos of the chassis, suspension, etc but that is not absolute proof without the provenance/history. Lots of claimed Lotus 7 end up being 1970s or 80s Caterhams for example. In this situation buy at the right price and know what the likely exit Market price after restoration is going to be - there is not a lot of headroom in these cars to invest money and get it back. If you feel comfortable - post photos here in case someone recognizes the car or can determine its origin. Forget the color issue. You likely have Grandpa's axe. It was probably never red originally but the ali was. Change to what you like - no value issues from that unless you went a pink polka dot or something equally repulsive. Taking it back to original frame is a good thing. I guarantee there will be hidden corrosion which you will only find by stripping it back. Powder coating afterwards seems a good approach to protecting a restored chassis. Resources - start here: Good luck.

Congratulations on your purchase! First things are no upgrades initially - you want to drive it and feel it as it is - then you can select upgrades based on what you think is important. Do the basics first - a good service - replace all fluids, including brakes, diff and transmission. Change air filter - flush radiator and fresh coolant. - inspect brakes but if pads have enough life then live with brakes for now. Make sure your brake hoses are in good shape - check throttle, brake and clutch linkages, cables for wear - hoses - they usually perish unless they are high quality silicone. Check hose connections are tight. - check fuel hose and filter - replace as needed. - spanner check on all nuts and bolts. This usually stops 95% of breakdowns in your initial drives. If alignment feels off then do one plus cross weight the front set up with your weight loaded up in the drivers seat.

Reverse parking difficult with the hood up this morning? Hang on, why is the hood up on such a gorgeous summer day? All jokes aside, I do like the color half hood you chose for your red car.

I am remiss in posting my good experiences with these high level LED brake lights on my new monster, Kato. I installed them vertically on the uprights for the cage same as Slonie. I spec’ed mine to act as just brake lights. The only catch was the wiring connector plug was something completely different to the choices offered, reflecting that this car has been bastardized one too many times. Great product. Thank you @das76

D type replica steel wheels?