Croc

That is just a lovely seven - clearly the best thing to wake up to with my morning cuppa.

I wonder if Jude has hit upon the issue - vapor lock in the fuel rail due to heat?

Clearly it is broken so you need to go out and buy a brand new engine from Cosworth. I can take your old engine off your hands....

Overfilling can overpressurize the system on hot days but it has got to be really hot. Do you break the rules and run coolant mix or just plain water like the rules say? Did your overheating start while waiting on the dummy grid before going out on track? In those temps my car gets very hot because of the lack of any airflow - the fan alone is not enough. It then takes a while to bring the temps back down when driving. Your bigger issue was probably oil temps and you did not know it. With our Duratecs, oil temp is far higher than water temp and I red zone that before I overheat water temp in hot ambient temps.

No you cannot do that! Its illegal. Look at what happened to the captain of the Exxon Valdez!

Why am I thinking of the movie Caddyshack right now?

George had a few things on his plate not that long ago. He is still going just fine. He is in the middle of repairing one of the NJMP group's caterhams and is still active. I find him more responsive through a phone call rather than emails. Top guy!:flag:

Sure you will fit. I can think of a few 6 footers with standard sevens. Just need to think about headroom with a roll bar and you can achieve this with a tall roll bar and lowered floors in a Caterham or Birkin. Stalkers and Ultralites are easier to accommodate those taller people. The only thing you may not have considered in shoe size. The standard Caterham S3 chassis pedal box is very tight for those with large feet. If you were at George's workshop then you must be local? You talk about Atlanta so not sure? There are a group of us (6 Caterhams) that frequent member days (non competitive) at NJMP about an hour east of George. you just missed the Sevens weekend this month with 12 cars cycling through. There are group there tomorrow and this weekend but then it gets pretty light until Sept. We can arrange a guest pass if you want to come in, meet the group and learn about sevens. I am sure we can convince you to buy one!

Tom - I read blatchat extensively and know exactly the theories you refer to. I also think the air is blocked from under chassis ventilation by the full ali streamlining fairing which is intended to make it more aerodynamic. So the air gets trapped in the engine bay and the gearbox tunnel. As for a chin spoiler for your new S3, have you seen the new nosecones that they sell on the R500? They are reprofiled to include a deeper profile with a vent - comes closer to an integrated chin spoiler concept. I saw one on Jeffs new R500 and thought it was an interesting hybrid to adding a chin.

:rofl: Me a wizard? I am definitely from Oz! :cooldude: LOL - just very patient with electronics to find out the best way of making them work. As for master of driving - I think I was the only one to kiss the wall lately :ack: I will try to find time to write a thread this weekend with links to sample footage and suggestions on what works or does not work.

THe CSR chin spolier would look to be your best approach to mounting a front license plate like Skip has done: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/October%202011/DSC_1989_edited-1.jpg Another option would be to use slimline mounts like these: http://skenedesign.com/FPBracket/index.shtml As for the internal fairing inside the nose cone, I have never taken a photo of that and do not have the car handy at present to take a photo. Maybe search Blatchat for a posted link? Personally, I think the radiator fairing idea makes the car cockpit hotter even if it is good for the engine temps. Certainly my car is the hottest seven I have even been in.

Mike - You are being way too hard on yourself. For a start the location under the rear tonneau in the boot area is actually pretty good since it is a resonator. It works ok on my CSR with the same mic on track and a UK S3 I have video from so why not yours - I have no idea? You have to look at my record from 2 weeks back at the sevens weekend - I wired up 4 cars with powered microphones under the bonnets on Sat and only 2 of those worked. For Sun I went back and rechecked everything and still only got 2 (different) cars working. :banghead: Decent sound on video from our cars is one hell of a challenge.

Hi Mike - I just want to say congratulations on the gutsy driving on the Dragon. You completed the first rule of a timed event - bringing it home in one piece. And you also completed the second rule - showing that bitch who was boss! Excellent result. :flag: As for Mike's referral of my skills with cameras like GoPros and the like - he overrates me. All I will say they can be the most frustrating animals to work with as I have a high failure rate from trying to get the best sound (also broken a lot of mics). I recommended that Olympus back Jan 2012 and have moved on light years in experience since then. I have broken all my ATR3350's too (about 6). I think I should write a new thread where I am now on this topic and my various experiments. I will say you definitely need a powered mic for the best results and under the bonnet is usually best although I am having a custom furry muff made to re-try windproofing a mic directly next to the exhaust. Sound also varies massively by camera brand - I assume you have a GoPro? But which one?

But I bet deep down you would love to try! We are all looking for the next level of driving thrill.

Jeff - I have had what I think was a stone get between water pump belt and pulley and dislodge it in my earlier zetec. I think that or a piece of rubber is the likely cause for your belt coming off and not anything more serious. That said I would be rechecking the belt for splits/frays and its tension. during your first SCDA session on Mon I was hanging over the fence watching at the exit of turn 5 after the hump. You were fighting your way through the field nicely - passing was more polite. I saw some Miatas squabbling and not playing nice - 2 waved fists observed.

I recall Gary Lutz (cannot remember his profile name g??lutz?) used to tow his Birkin with a Jetta wagon. I saw it at Carlisle show a few years back with his really slick trailer.

Should have packed some ice around those wheels to keep them cool!

I am now 120 miles away from my car otherwise I could measure it up for you. You could look for measurements of a regular Caterham with a the standard cloth/leather seat with a regular roll bar and then add 1.25 for the lowered floor (something that can be added to a car if it does not have it already). If I recall correctly it was then another 1.25" for the regular to tall roll bar difference (again an easy switch over and can be ordered from Caterham UK directly. The height differential for the regular to tall track day bar (with diagonal bracing) can be confirmed easily with a call to Caterham UK parts.). If that does not give you enough clearance then you can switch to a resin bead seat base or tillets for an extra 1-1.25 inches. So if no one has a tall roll bar with lowered floors car available on this forum this gives you a way to roughly compute the heights from someone who has a car handy with the different specs. You also may want to pm Karl (Blubarisax) and ask about his experiences as he is the tallest member on this forum I know of with a seven.

And here was me thinking that Canada had to have a better flood insurance program/concept than the US arrangement where you have to pay the premiums but get screw all back when Hurricane Sandy decides to level your home.

Welcome back Dave! I remember your Birkin and its sale a few years back. I have IRS in my Caterham but looking at it this morning I did not see anything particularly solid enough that would allow a trailer. The IRS is heavier than the de Dion in the regular Caterham due to the uprights but there is only minimal extra chassis tubing. How many pounds do you think the trailer weighs all up? Just thinking about some bracing that runs from the rear firewall chassis members rearwards - strengthening the bars that sit under the fuel tank, but I would not think it would take anything heavy. Below is the CSR chassis to see if this gives you inspiration - look at the parallel bars running from the rear firewall for what I am thinking of: http://usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=48426&postcount=1 I have no idea how this compares to a Birkin IRS? I figure it is possible as I have seen this Robin Hood with trailer in the UK: http://usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=55321&postcount=3 Sorry but I did not take any better photo at the time. From my recollection a Birkin chassis has less bracing than the Caterham one but hopefully someone can chime in to confirm. A Stalker could probably tow a 5000pound yacht given the strength and weight of their construction :rofl: I know a Caterham can. Blubarisax is 6'6" and we shoe horned him into my old zetec SV during the ordering process for my car. The lessons we learned: - go for the tallest roll bar possible - there are tall version. - lowered floors give you an extra 1.5inches - tillets give about an inch over the regular cloth leather seats. Maybe another 0.5 inch if you remove the sliding track. - more height can come from going to a foam bead resin seat. - Caterham can supply a hood that fits. They are supplied by Oxted Trimming and either Oxted or Soft Bits for Sevens in the UK can provide off the shelf using a standard pattern if you were to buy a used car that came without a hood. An off the wall idea - what about going for a SBFS sun shade type of top with the 2 sidescreens and a mesh screen to stop mist coming in on the back of the neck? What temps are you driving in? LOL....I scorch my elbow on the exposed chassis tubes running down the center tunnel. Mine is much warmer than my old Zetec which I thought was rather pleasant. My theory is the allow block radiates heat more creating a hotter pedal box/cockpit area.

Karl http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5411_zps472f15d6.jpg

Dave http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5415_zpsf18de252.jpg Tom http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5408_zps5907c0ac.jpg Michael http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5350_zps3af01574.jpg Mike - has that front tire got a little air? http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5374_zpsc1f8dfd3.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_1319_zps7a06a6fe.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5403_zps44367047.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5580_zpsd70be67f.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5547_zpsfc6e4e5a.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_1187_zps83fa62d0.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_1287_zps6ee2872b.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_1111_zps619505c8.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_1193_zps50335316.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5355_zps12defaae.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_6923_zpsd424f168.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_7748_zps99e99044.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/NJMP%20Sevens%20Weekend%20June%202013/IMG_5569_zps1b686201.jpg