Croc

Caterham produces about 500 kits annually - or roughly 40 kits per month: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/caterham-increases-production-19729.html When I was at Caterham UK in Nov last year I was told there were 6 US sales in 2010 which are timed for delivery in March 2011. A few years back prior to the Caterham US reorg I was told by RMSC that there were up to 10 Caterham kit sales in a very good year. The US and Canada is only a tiny market for Caterham - somewhat surprising given the population size and relative ability to afford a Seven. With perspective, Brunton's sales numbers of 150 in 10 years is very impressive.

Can I please borrow the Bond girl that you plan to install in the car? Preferably before you hit the ejector seat on her...

Oi ! - First you call me portly and then you want my measurements! Lets just say I am voluptuous. More seriously for the moment - I will do this on the weekend for you.

Can I suggest some Bond modifications? How about: 1) Installing a xflow so you can lay down an oil leak for those baddies pursuing you? 2) Adding those pop out wheel hub spinning cutting blades from the Aston? Should be helpful when you go flying through hedges 3) Ejector seat - gets rid of annoying passengers like me! 4) I do like the idea of installing guns in the headlights - that would make a minivan keep out of the fastlane. Sorry Bruce - I have turned your serious post into a mockery :-D

OK I will bite. Assuming I am on the road by then, I will put my hand up for the June 27/28 options. Would prefer the Monday as I would probably travel down on a Sunday to stay overnight and be bright and fresh for the track day. I dont think mixing up expert and novice Sevens is a bad idea - may actually encourage some good behaviors by the virgins in their new monsters following a couple of seasoned experts with doggy cars (I have a Rover...woof! ). Passing on straights only with a wave by sounds like good practice. Also if we have a Sevens only group we may be able to get some leniency for Steve's S1. If Jon's SnakeBite (Snake Bought It?) is not up and running then I would be inclined to let his Meotter into the Sevens group - its lap performance will be sort of similar. Potential population of Sevens: - Tom - SteveS1 - Karl - Ron (redgoose) - Bryce (Bster) - Stewart (Sabbot) - Jon (Boxologist) Possibly get a few ring ins from the DC area?

Looking at the pics we had 10 at the start dropping back to 7 at the end for lunch. I suggest we aim for the weekend of June 4 and 5, the week after Memorial Day but before the Father's Day weekend and well before the track day where we could see some damage and/or non-running Sevens from the more aggressive/assertive drivers amongst us. Other dates (tentative) to keep in mind for the CT/NYC/NJ/PA group are: 1) April 24 - LEO Fish and Chip Run from Milford NJ 2) August 21 - LEO Catskill Run 3) Nov 13 - Bill Thomas Roadsters/LEO Run from Frenchtown NJ

Having Jon participate is the opposite of a safe afternoon - could you imagine the carnage that would result :jester: What am I? A porn star? Never called it a "Thunder" before....

Mondo - your avatar is just freaking me out! What did you get up to during the Holidays?

Well it is 85 degrees, blue sky, perfect sun here in Sydney Australia. Pity my car is 10000 miles away from me in New York!

I saw this car once years ago when I lived in Maine. The pre-lit Westfield are a nice looking car. It has been up for sale what feels like 1-2 years at $20k. The price is now reduced to $15 so maybe the owner is getting serious about selling.

:jester: My lips are sealed. Your lovely wife will beat me up if I say any more!

Interesting. When I was at Caterham UK in November, they said it had been tested up to 350hp FWHP with no issues. It has been pretty reliable in the UK CSR racing series with no issues emerging. Strangely enough I know this from my recent specification discussions with Ben at Caterham US - I was told Karl has a 3.62 diff.

Ok I will fess up and admit guilt - I did send Karl the Cosworth catalog last weekend....

Having lived in 12 countries I know the pain of having to sell the "toys" (1965 Lotus 7 vintage racer) when I moved from Australia on my first move. I hope you can find a new car in the US that is as good as your current car. Good luck with the move!

Wow shock news! It is sad as you were giving the car such a good refresh that you will not be able to enjoy come Spring next year.

When you say the water temp gauge has died I assume you mean the needle is stuck at zero? I would check 2 things: 1) check that the earth is securely attached - not likely this as usually (for me) a failed earth seems to send the gauge full on. 2) trace the cable as intact to the sender unit wherever it is mounted on the engine. 3) If those check out then it is most likely the sender unit is causing trouble. How/where is it mounted in the CSR? FWIW the oil pressure gauge issues are caused by the sender units that fail with regularity. The actual gauge remains fine. Most of my dash gauge electrical problems were caused by loose connections being vibrated off over time/rough roads. I solved this by checking every single connection and using Stabilant 22A which secures the connection and helps conductivity.

There are two directions you can move to solve this - down or forward. I second the Tom's bead seat idea - that can get you an inch lower. Also moving to a tillet shell would get you lower. Lowered floors also takes 1-1.5 inches out. I am sure you have tried moving forward a notch so the forward option really does not work. I am 5'11 and tried the half head rest on standard seats in an S3 with FIA cage in November in the UK and found it was ok for me with helmet on. However I am a notch forward on the seats than your position from looking at the photos. I also tried a regular seat head rest and that was a no go with helmet as you discovered. Two other options: 1) Caterham used to sell a head rest/padded cradle that mounted directly to the roll bar not to the seat. I used to use one on my first Seven in vintage racing. I cannot see it online but it probably still exists 2) Caterham also sell FIA bar padding https://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=3737&osCsid=e184e6aa1ad5ada016bd9ed5fa7b1c54

LOL - I actually took the mirrors and the washers and allen key to London with me a month or two back so I could find time at night to put the washers in. Then I discovered in a hotel room at midnight that some muppet before me had loctited the grub screw in there. Various experiments with heat treatment at home have failed to break it so far...

Excellent news - another Seven in the NY/Philly corridor that can come out and play! Definitely should come along to the Bruce Bowker Annual Milford Sevens Run in June/July.

Mike - I have a bagful of the pieces from Xflow7's excellent idea because I think you had to buy like 25 a go from McMaster Carr. Do you want me to pop some in an envelope and send them out to you? PM me your address and I will do it this weekend. Tom - Do you want the same washers/etc in the mail for the Spa mirrors? PM your address to me and I will make it happen. ... Or are you just angling for the carbon center mirror from my new aeroscreen kit? As you can see from my avatar Christmas came early and the box accidentally got opened ....I just could not resist!

Ooooh! Nice! Engine specs sound excellent. Did you spec it with the Birkin IRS?

Damn that looks nice. Its better than my commute in NYC suburbia. Is there a jealous smilie?

Have you thought about putting the wife outside for winter? She definitely would not smell any fumes then... :leaving:

Yep I heard that when I was at Caterham UK in November. They were pretty excited about having 6 kits go out at once.

I think they have made all episodes of the first series of Top Gear USA and no Caterham was in it (based on me being curious and researching on the internet). For the second series maybe? The problem with giving it to a car show like Top Gear is whether you (Caterham USA) would trust them to give you a fair review? Westfield UK did this on a UK TV show just recently and it was a major black eye to Westfield from a biased reviewer and a poorly prepped car as read on the Westfield Sports Car Club forum postings. Top Gear UK did a similar job on Lancia Stratos kits once.