Croc

So we all survived day 2. Rahul managed a safe spin at Pouhon. The Bookatrack mechanics took to calling Jeff’s Ginetta, the “Love Nest”. Why? Well he and his significant other were spending a lot of time in the small enclosed cabin (on track) that the Ginetta has. So late Sunday, when the Ginetta arrived in the pits with steamed up windows, the crew started laughing. Their laughter (and mine) increased once the instructor exited the passenger seat.

My rental car for this trip was something really unusual. Who of you has heard of a manufacturer called “DS”? So I had a DS7. It’s part of Peugeot/Citroen group but is a unique vehicle line. It was mostly well equipped - no power seats or rear vision camera. It was really quite nice to drive except...it had a 1.5L diesel. No turbo. It was sadly lacking in the engine ferret department. Glaciers have moved quicker.

Yes that is a Ferrari 275 GTB. Yes he took it out in the rain and snow. Yes he did spin it.

We all survived day 1, albeit a little tired and sore. There is a fair amount of G forces on the body around this track and that adds up over the course of the day. Day 2 begins in 5 hours. Weather forecast is looking iffy - sleet and rain. May be a day to take it gentle.

Sun is out in pit lane here

My trusty beastie!

Rahul is running the Golf R32 with a few track mods.

Jeff is running a Ginetta today

Some freebies from when I bought my UK Caterham.

Following on from the 2018 event http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?11929-A-return-visit-to-Sp-Francorchamps-in-a-Caterham&highlight=Donington So I am back to Spa for some days on track. This time I brought JBH (Jeff) and rnr (Rahul) from this forum plus a few other friends. Yesterday was the museum to see the rotating car displays.

That could be used to describe me.

Look on the bright side - it could be a divorce! They are really expensive! I would not beat yourself up about the 1/4 mile drive home doing more damage. The initial oops noise did everything it needed to guarantee an engine pull down and rebuild.

I can think of a few forum members who hit deer. Then there was Taber who went bear hunting one day.....[emoji15]

Bit unfair there Tom, Lucky-7 is probably a much better driver than you and won’t hit cones....or rocks...[emoji14]

Todays ad on Bringatrailer https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1962-brunton-super-stalker-2/

This week's update: NEW Birkin (I think this was featured on Craigslist in the last 3 months but back on consignment this time) http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1993-birkin-seven/ REPEATS Lotus 7 S1 https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1065332/1958-lotus-seven-for-sale-in-stratford-connecticut-06615 Super Seven Sportscar (Fejer) http://sodo-moto.com/listings/super-seven-2tg/ Caterham http://britauto.com/portfolio-view/2000-caterham/ Caterham SV http://britauto.com/portfolio-view/201216-nos-caterham-sv-roadsport/ Caterham SV http://vintageracecarsales.com/portfolio-view/2013-caterham-seven-480/ Lotus 7 S1 https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/lotus/7/2099394.html Stalker https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/lotus/7/2167534.html Lotus 7 S2 https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/lotus/super-seven/2150667.html Caterham SV hayabusa http://www.race-cars.com/carsales/other/1458694360/1458694360ss.htm Caterham https://www.wirewheel.com/2001-Caterham-race-car-for-sale.html Caterham https://www.wirewheel.com/2014-Caterham-Seven-for-sale.html Stalker https://www.ebay.com/itm/1959-Replica-Kit-Makes-Brunton-Stalker-Classic/163584221374?hash=item26166120be:g:jhIAAOSw6xVcgV2V&frcectupt=true Stalker https://www.ebay.com/itm/1962-Stalker-Super-7/273749962571?hash=item3fbcc4ef4b:g:~XkAAOSwTOZcgZZ8 Project https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/d/knox-miata-based-locost-project/6838053397.html Project https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/cto/d/lakeland-lotus-7-style-chassis-alfa/6834856461.html Dutton project https://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/d/pasadena-1978-dutton-lotus-7-recreation/6827462413.html Replica https://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/d/hubbard-first-6500-takes-it-lotus-super/6822144414.html Lotus 7 S1 https://huntsville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1960-lotus-7-rare-early-series-one-with/6827115589.html Chevron 7 https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/d/tempe-lotus-super-7/6824784311.html Lotus 7 S4 project https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/d/sierra-vista-lotus-s4-seven-8000-or/6811196570.html Diva https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/d/phoenix-1962-lotus-super-7/6813823091.html Westfield V8 https://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/cto/d/starlight-1968-lotus-super-seven-8/6823280717.html Rotus 7 https://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/d/canton-1990-rotus-seven-kit-car/6821329023.html Replica project https://pueblo.craigslist.org/cto/d/pueblo-lotus-super-seven-style-tube/6804612338.html CANADA Caterham SV https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/red-deer/caterham-sv-hayabusa/1413694224?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true Caterham https://www.kijiji.ca/v-autos-camions/sherbrooke-qc/caterham-super-7-sylver-jubilee-1982/1410777802?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true Next week a few of us from here are headed to Spa-Francorchamps to have some fun on track. So no update on this thread from me next week.

The following Daily Turismo link is already listed in the Sunday update (CRaigs list - Dayton OH, under Replica) but the commentary is entertaining http://www.dailyturismo.com/2019/03/spitfire-kit-1960ish-lotus-seven-replica.html

LOL :rofl: No chance of that. Priority is to get running reliably again with minimal cost. A potential SC installation is a whole world of new pain. Lets not put Steve through that! Reason you dont see much SC on sevens is packaging - its really tight.

Worked quite well. It was hard to see but what I saw: #1 Looks fine #2 Could not see much but I thought I may be seeing a metal fatigue crack on the piston top lower down on last image? Could be dreaming? Could be a dried oil mark. Likely all good and its me being confused by the video. #3 The dandruff is probably metal flakes or dried coolant. Given you did not have head gasket symptoms before this exercise, my money is on metal flakes (they seem to reflect/shiny in the video). No chunks so I suspect you swallowed an exhaust valve since your intake valves seemed to be present from your earlier check through the throttle bodies. It could be in the sump or more likely disappeared out the exhaust. Could not ascertain piston tops in this cylinder due to the shiny stuff. #4 Similar to #3 but no where near as bad. Wonder if the flakes were transported from #3 via the oil galleys? Trying to remember the oil circulation cycle of a zetec. If it was then the bottom end bearings are toast. Piston tops did not look too bad. Hope everyone else weighs in on that video. If I was you...breaking it down into steps, I would: 1) pull the sump off and see what bits are lurking in there. Easy enough for you to do. I bet you find shavings around the sump magnet but no bits. 2) Get it to a mechanic to pull the head and inspect for certain. If confirmed then put it back together for convenience and pull the engine out. 3) Work out why it failed. Oil pump flow inadequate? Sump baffling? Were you autocrossing? Track? You may need to buy an accusump/baffled raceline sump/dry sump to protect yourself depending on how it was caused. None of us really know this. 4) Define the purpose of your Caterham - casual drives? Autocross? Track junky? Racing? Determine whether your proposed solution will work. e.g. racing/autocross might justify a dry sump. Track HPDE should be fine with a Raceline baffled sump pan and a accusump. Casual drives will be fine with the crate solution. Again, none of us really know this. 5) Buy the Focus Power engine and drop it in. I like it has a high flow oil pump - critical in Zetecs. Swap over peripherals. Make other mods as suitable for your intended usage. Check clutch and related bearings for possible replacement at the same time. You might as well....ask me how I know... 6) Save the old engine as is, and one day when you have money and you decide you want more power, send it to Quicksilver for big hp. Once built, swap it over and sell the Focus Power engine on Ebay. The step up to a SVT is not really worth it in the long run. Its not that big...maybe 20hp at the flywheel realistically (ignore the Caterham USA claims of bulk hp from the period). You would need to do dynoing to extract potential and that takes time/cost. I could never tell the difference between my Zetec SVT and basic Zetec when I had them in my yellow and maroon Caterhams. Felt about the same to me - was about a second a lap when tested scientifically. The Quicksilver package was noticeably quicker on track than the SVT cars when I saw them performing back to back. I would not go for Duratec as the change over is more than engine. You need to worry about a new ECu map, dyno tuning, wiring harness, you are creating a new hole in your body (exhaust exits other side). I think you have to change the gearbox input shaft from recollection. Too costly - discard. Your biggest issue is cost so keep the hp demands modest, stay with the standard zetec with throttle bodies, make sure it is a quality crate build with some warranty (unlikely but try), pay for a good tune and you will be bck on the road quicker and with less cost. There are some seriously knowledgeable folks on this forum - I hope they chime in with their experience so you get a range of views to evaluate.

Yes there have been times when I could have cheerfully set fire to one of my cars from it misbehaving. Glad you restrained yourself.