Croc

My thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time.

G'day Will, Welcome to the forum - it is nice knowing I am no longer the only Aussie on this Board! Finally we outnumber the Kiwis (by 1) but not the Poms yet! I love the color scheme - orange and black just go together nicely plus it is a safe hi-visibility color scheme. The Toyota engine is perfectly matched for one of these cars and they are so easy to get parts for in Oz. Being on the Gold Coast you have access to some wonderful roads in the hinterland to be driving on (around Lamington National Park comes to mind). Apart from Tasmania, it has to be some of the nicer 7 driving roads in Australia. Given the uneven quality of roads, do you have any problems with the aeroscreen - like having to use a helmet when you are out driving? I usually get to the Gold Coast once a year (from NYC where I live). My sister lives just north of there, towards Brisbane, and I drive from Sydney (where my parents are) to see her usually every year. I will be making the drive again on Xmas eve this year for a quick 3 day trip. A guy in the same street as my parents in Sydney also has a Fraser but I think he has the 1.6l Toyota twin cam screamer from the Corolla. I should ask him which chassis number it is... Keep posting pics - it is nice to see the old country every so often! Cheers

LOL....a Seven swamp buggy!

Wow....your Seven really does fly!

Geez....given the number of sets of jugs he had arrayed over the car at Hooters, it would topped 1400 lbs easily.

LOL... How did he end up across the road like that! Looks close to bottoming out - something John and I discovered twice over some humps. Lucas Prince of Darkness strikes again. I think you need to exorcise the demons that possess your car. Either that or your car is a chick and you need to spend more on her to make her feel wanted and happy again Give her a good servicing. I am very lucky the way it turned out on Sunday - I had a very experienced navigator to get me happily lost on great twisting roads at night. LOL...assuming you start? Not sure of his last name but I am sure that was him. It was a lovely car :drool:and very nice guy to talk with. I want to have a CD soundtrack of the engine sound. The drive was a good route - I definitely want to go back and do it again. When Bruce is back in town we can do a Sevens only run along the same roads.

That looks fun - I want one. Just need to move to Maine to justify it.

I've done that with a kangaroo and a skunk! :ack: I think I am hunting the wrong animals....

Bill's very nice TR4 http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2790_edited-1.jpg Alan and Kathy's nice BRG Seven http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2789_edited-1.jpg There was also a nice smattering of Corvettes, a turbo supra, Porsche, including a very nice GT3. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2787_edited-1.jpg The drive took us over western NJ into PA and along some great backroads. I will be doing the route again at some point - very scenic. Entertainingly, Steve did not want to follow me because of my brake light failure last time. So he followed Ron who decided to have brake light failure just to liven up Steve's life. Even more amusing (because it luckily ended without harm) was hearing of Steve arriving over a crest to find a sudden 90 degree left hander. I hear there was more than 1 set of skidmarks left behind - nothing the laundry cannot fix. We took a break at Columcille Megalith Park http://www.columcille.org/ This is where Jack and Jen took their leave and headed off to what they thought would be an easy drive home. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2799_edited-1.jpg We made it to the Glacier House restaurant and thought we would get an early start home....oh dear. We hit I-80 and promptly hit a jam around the Delaware Water Gap. After sitting for 15 mins I decided to call 511 to find that I-80 was fully closed due to a tractor trailer overturned. At this point Jon appealed to my worst instincts, so it was a U-turn on a muddy track across the median strip to reverse direction on I-80. It was mud everywhere as I did what you do with little traction! Oops. So we found ourselves off I-80 and then got a call from Jack saying don’t go on I-80. He was still stuck on there - maybe 2 miles ahead of where I did my muddy u-turn. So much for him and Jen leaving early. Then began the second spirited drive of the day - in the dark. The GPS batteries died so we relied on Google maps on my blackberry to navigate. It was back roads to Rt 46 and then finding too much traffic, more back roads to Rt 209. Despite the dark slowing us down the roads were brilliant - I have no idea where we were (and I do not think Jon did either!) but the twisting roads were brilliant. There was even a 5mph limit section! So our driving detour gets us back on to I-80 much further down the road. So who do we see as we enter the highway - a pickup with car trailer that had been next to us when we did the muddy u-turn - go figure! All thanks to Jon for navigating me home.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2791_edited-1.jpg Engine bay of the Europa http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2793_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2796_edited-1.jpg Four DeLorean's came along. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2794_edited-1.jpg

It was great to see everybody at the Lotus Enthusiasts Organization (LEO) of NJ and NY Spirited Drive today. Big thanks to Atwell and Bill Thomas (and his lovely wife) for hosting. It was good to see Steve, Jack, Jen, Jon (Box) again. Ron K joined us for his first LEO event with his new Seven. It was great to see Alan and Kathy turn up in their Seven for an appearance. Al was sadly missed! Box's car decided to misbehave so he was navigator duties with me - a role that was sorely needed after the spirited drive. Starting off it was at Bill's place to redecorate the lawn and generally accessorize his nice collection of Augusta bikes, Seven, TR2 and TR4 amongst many things. Seven's left to right, mine, Jack's and Ron K http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2786_edited-1.jpg This is Bill's very nice and new to him anniversary edition. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2788_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2798_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Spirited%20Drive%20Nov%202009/DSC_2797_edited-1.jpg

I think I know this guy. He is fairly well known in his industry. If it is the same guy I am thinking of then I met him a few times during my business dealings and thought he was "larger than life" plus a very good businessman (I am sure I lost that negotiation!) He is in his 70s but he does not look it - very vigorous. I knew he had destroyed a fair few exotic cars on tracks and at his home but .... wow. The water feature is fairly large and as I heard it he miscalulated a power slide. I suspect the palm trees are the ones along his driveway. One interesting side note - did anyone else ee the new Bugatti crash video that the site has a link for? Shows the car leaving the road.

:ack: I know there is a lot of information on the web but honestly....

Not sure what an alternative chassis is? Mine is a "5" standing for SV or Fat Bastard.

Probably.....but I also happen to know of a Birkin with a Caterham badge on it! And there was one Caterham at LOG caught on camera with all the Caterham badges replaced with Lotus badges! Bunch of wannabees!!! Hairdressers are more dangerous that Cat owners! Speaking of hairdressers, is your avatar a self-portrait? What on earth were you thinking?

SDK = Caterham car L = left hand drive D = De Dion K = Kit built A = alternative chassis NS = Engine not supplied 1 = 2001 chassis year 0022003 = chassis number

Psssst...I have a Caterham badge for you to stick on the car!

I love it! :rofl: You had me sitting here puzzled for a while trying to work out what was a "standard air package."

I just sent you the codes document - let me know if it does not come through. It is fairly large.... As for your question in red....it is a damn good question. I do not know and had not considered it before you asked. It was built by a Caterham dealer in Florida for a original owner and suspect they found a workaround from their history in building these cars. I will go hunting around on the weekend now...you have me curious. Have you asked Caterham USA (Ben) if he has a workaround?

Ah.....this is like asking what is the meaning of life. After a long time I am still confused by my engine codes. Eventually I just ignored them and found a way around the problems. I have a description on all codes for the engine and this is what it says for each: P0171 - System to Lean (Bank 1) The Adaptive Fuel Strategy continuously monitors fuel delivery hardware. The test fails when the adaptive fuel tables reach a rich calibrated limit. For lean and rich DTCs: - Fuel system - Excessive fuel pressure. - Leaking/contaminated fuel injectors. - Leaking fuel pressure regulator. - Low fuel pressure or running out of fuel. - Vapor recovery system. - Induction system: - Air leaks after the MAF. - Vacuum Leaks. - PCV system. - Improperly seated engine oil dipstick. - EGR system: - Leaking gasket. - Stuck EGR valve. - Leaking diaphragm or EVR. - Base Engine: - Oil overfill. - Cam timing. - Cylinder compression. - Exhaust leaks before or near the HO2Ss. A SHRTFT-1,2 PID value between -25% to +35% and a LONGFT-1,2 PID value between -35% to +35% is acceptable. Reading beyond these values indicate a failure. P1451 - EVAP Control System Canister Vent Solenoid Circuit Malfunction Monitors the canister vent (CV) solenoid circuit for an electrical failure. The test fails when the signal moves outside the minimum or maximum allowable calibrated parameters for a specified canister vent duty cycle by PCM command. VPWR circuit open - CV solenoid circuit shorted to PWR GND or CHASSIS GND - Damaged CV solenoid - CV solenoid circuit open - CV solenoid circuit shorted to VPWR - Damaged PCM To verify normal function, monitor the EVAP canister vent solenoid signal PID EVAPCV and the signal voltage (PCM control side). With the valve open, EVAPCV will indicate 0 percent duty cycle and the voltage approximately equal to battery voltage. When the valve is commanded fully closed, EVAPCV will indicate 100% duty cycle and a voltage drop of 4 volts minimum is normal. Output test mode may be used to switch output ON/OFF to verify function. Both 171 and 1451 come up on my car too (2004 Zetec SVT) - they are standard Ford codes. As far as I could tell after a lot of investigation plus enlisting the servcies of a trusted mechanic they arise because the change in the fuel system where excess fuel vapor goes to a carbon canister before (in my car's situation) being vented to the manifold to be burnt. This is why my car pops and backfires happily on lift off whereas a standard Focus is all quiet. The standard focus recycles the fuel vapor differently and it does not go the manifold like the installation on my Caterham. As for 730 to 753 you are right it is the lack of an auto box. - P0730 Incorrect Gear Ratio - P0750 Shift Solenoid A Malfunction - P0753 Shift Solenoid A Electrical I have not found a way to solve this one. I also get OBD errors for the air conditioning. I guess you have air conditioning fitted in your Seven? I did try a little OBDII tool to read the codes and reset them. However, when you plug into emissions testing equipment, the computer will not read correctly and so (in NJ) you will have to go for a short drive for the computer to reset itself. Once reset you find the codes have come back and so you cannot get the OBDII read via the stanard emissions testing software. For what it is worth, in my Seven the engine light only comes on during start up, it goes off immediately afterwards. However, I still have the engine code exceptions prevent the DMV reading the car via OBD II software. Possible solution - Can you ask NYS to use a tail pipe probe like they normally do with pre-OBDII cars? The Ford codes document is one I pulled together after hunting the web. It is a little SVT motor focused with some of the engine diagrams but the codes piece of the doc are standard Ford codes for all Zetecs. It is too big to upload here. if you are interested in getting it, PM me with a private email and I will email you directly.

Just found this car again (I think) on auto trader classics asking $2150. I am not sure what to think with a price like that. Wonder if he is missing a zero? Link http://www.autotraderclassics.com/find/vehicle/vehicleDetail.xhtml?adId=199312&actionMethod=find%2Fvehicle%2FvehicleSearchResults.xhtml%3AuShipController.init&conversationId=86969

I think its lucky they hit head on. Could you imagine running up the rear of an elephant in an SUV - you would be at a..hole height. As for hitting an elephant in a Seven, the consequence dont bear thinking - probably brush it away with its trunk.

Ow..thats nasty! Educate me here, what punched that hole out? rod, piston...? Do you plan to upgrade to a new bike motor as a result of this? Hayabusa powered maybe?

Oh yes...do I remember that road to Karamea! :blush: About 20 years ago I had a rental Toyota Starlet, 1.1 litre front wheel drive 4 speed skinny tyres POS on that road. Top speed wound out was 135 km/h (80mph). Somehow (stupidly) I managed to make that crap engine overpower the tyres - so I four wheel drifted off that road and down into the forest at fairly healthy rate of speed. While I came out of that wreck undamaged the car was less intact. At the time I viewed it as my contribution to improving the automotive gene pool. Since then my driving skills, brains and common sense have improved drammatically. Awesome roads for that drive. Anyone rent Sevens there for a weeks vacation? I really do want to go back.

Great photos Kiwi - thanks for sharing. I think I recognize some of the roads. Did you do a up and back between Christchurch and Greymouth via Arthurs Pass? Or did you do the full loop with Lewis Pass to provide variety for the return?