Croc

Following on from my exhaust cracking activities on Saturday when I had a nice long drive through the Delaware Water Gap, I took the Seven out to see if I could hear better where the loud rattling was coming from the exhaust. Bad move - should have stayed in bed. So about 10 miles from home I notice the temp gauge heading north from its usual 80-85 to 96-100. Not good so pull over and check the engine. Ah ha....its a pin hole leak in one of the cooling hose. So I tightly wrap it to get me home and begin to baby home to replace the hose with a spare I have. Two miles further down the road and the temp guage spikes into the red. Shut it down and pulled over and checked again. This time the pipe catastrophically failed with coolant everywhere, spraying the electrics and frying them. I did not have the kit to limp me home with this so I call AAA and begin to wait for them. 45 mins later the first tow truck arrived - no gear to get me home and I was not going to let him tow me - so I wait for a flatbed. 45 mins later a second tow truck. Sent him away to await the promised flatbed - another hour away. Meantime I had stopped the car in a parking area just off a roundabout. I'm waiting under a tree next to the roundabout keeping cool. It's highly entertaining watching the incompetence of most drivers in a roundabout (do I give way to those in the roundabout? Or do I make them give way to me? Or do I just have a near miss?). Well, here I am minding my own business watching a Ford Explorer get carved up by a Honda rice cooker heap when next moment the SUV is heading straight at my tree. So I run for it and when the carnage is over there are 2 bent cars (Honda and Ford), a tree knocked over and me slightly shaken and my near miss. Luckily the tree branches just brushed the back of my Seven - no damage. The drivers, wives, extended family all exit from the vehicles and start screaming at each other. AAA truck choses that moment to arrive and I am off home - I can leave that madhouse. I decide it is not my lucky day for cars. Rustled up a few friends for a BBQ and open the beer. Before I start I decide to fix my BBQ table to stop a wobble - easy - just drill a hole and put a bolt through. Of course I have an audience of friends to make fun of me. So happily drilling away holding the table at the area where I am drilling when next moment extreme pain in my finger and hand and I cannot move my hand. Yes I drilled all the way through my finger. One friend said no problem just reverse the drill....so I did at full speed....that provided more damage and cussing from me but I was free from the table. My cry for help was answered by another buddy who is also a doctor (GP). He was useless - "Dude, thats just gross. I need another drink before I can deal with that." So BBQ delayed while I headed to the emergency room for patching. My friends just stayed at my place drinking my beer, wine and spirits. The emergency room doctor was a beacon of hope and comfort "What were you thinking? Are you F#$%@# nuts?" So he stitches/patches me up, gives me a tentanus injection. I head home for a drink or three. I then discover over the course of the next 2 hours I am allergic to tentanus injections as my left arm is now double its normal size, red, throbbing, feels heavy and extremely sensitive to any touch which causes pain. Back to the same doctor - "Not you again? What did you screw up this time? Why did you not tell me you are allergic to tetanus?" (how was I to know?) Such a reassuring bedside manner. Apparently it will take a few days for the arm to go back to normal. So get back home to find the party over (lots of empties but no BBQ). But where is the drill? Cannot find it. This morning I empty the dishwasher which some thoughtful person had loaded and put on wash for me while I was at the emergency room. Ah ha...there it is! Some @#$$%% muppet friend loaded my electric drill into a dishwasher and turned it on! I am going back to bed....the world is a safer place without me. So how was your weekend?

I checked the heat shield and it is tight - none of the fastenings are loose or broken - so no rattling from there. Rear mounts are solid - so not there. I really like the idea of a front mount and was considering making something like that - I had no idea it was a Caterham part. I will give them a call today. I am not surprised the weld gave way given NJ has the worst roads in the US. The vibrations are a killer.

Yesterday on a nice long run I developed a 4.5 inch crack in the exhaust at the weld where the 4 merge to 1. I have a standard Caterham SV rear exit exhaust. At the same time the muffler started giving off rattle sounds - like something is rattling around inside. I checked and the exhaust is still seems securely mounted so it is not rattling around on the mounts or hitting anything. It also does not seem to be the shielding hitting the muffler. I have looked at old past posts and the crack looks to be a common problem - the consensus seems to be just weld the crack up. However for the rattling, is it possible that a metal baffle inside the muffler has come loose or are these mufflers just packed with steel wool and the rattle is coming from somewhere else?

There is a car? Where? I don't see one. I noticed you parked in a disabled spot - I would be disabled too after having them draped all over me. :rofl: You're a lucky man Hank!

That is just so incredibly tasteful :drool:

Will she bring enough to pay for the rims?

This is very frustrating. It is a case of inconsistent application of NJ laws and regs. It is hard to aim for a target when NJ keeps moving it. Of course if you try and ask the NJ MVC exactly what process you should follow you get 20 different answers. The NJ Government are just not friendly to cars like ours. Morgan's suggestion of substituting engine is a clever one its just who wants to do an engine change every 2 years when you have to address the inspection requirements. The QQ plate idea is also a good one but I was told by the MVC in January that they plan to phase out the plate in 2010 since too many cars were taking advantage of it - I guess that was a forewarning of where they plan to go.

Maybe....Jon should post an article on the trials and tribulations of getting his Se7en to start before summer is finished.... It would definitely be interesting and something we can all relate to. Then again, given the carp weather we have been having in NYC I am not sure summer has even started!

Um....what is the '1000 Club'?

No affiliation, etc. Interesting design ideas in this one. The owner has clearly put a lot of thought into it. It does not say what chassis it is based on but it is beautifully constructed. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lotus-Roadster_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZalgoQ3dSIQ26itsQ3dIQ252BCQ26ituQ3dFICSQ252BUAQ252BUCIQ26otnQ3d39Q26poQ3dLVIQ26psQ3d54QQ_trksidZp2773Q2em263QQcategoryZ6312QQitemZ300324103183 http://diligentdesign.ca/seven/photos/001.jpg

In a couple of the photos it looks like he has put his directional tires on backwards...oops!

I am really enjoying digging around on the internet to research this! Using the information kindly posted by West7se above, I have been doing more digging on this car. On all the Dutton websites I have reviewed plus checking back to Ortenburger, there was no production run of an S1 in 1975. The Dutton Owners Club has a nice section with pics to identify your car: http://www.duttonownersclub.co.uk/ The car we are trying to identify is not shown there and interestingly all the early cars design were inspired by the spirit of a Lotus Seven S4. I wonder if this is a one-off Dutton creation pre-production in the 1960s and was never a production model? The styling is a clear generation before the production vehicles. The front suspension does seem to line up with some of the other Dutton model pictures so it would appear to be Triumph based front suspension. O/T I was surprised to see Tim Dutton is still out there being creative. Here is his latest venture http://www.amphijeep.biz/ I would not mind one of these to drive out of my garage and into the Hudson river at the end of my driveway!

Yes but does Grace look good in a red dress? anyway...back to the point in question - which Zetec are we talking about here? the regular version or the SVT motor? If it is the SVT then there was a very interesting post by Athens who upgraded his SVT engine to the Kent cam (amongst other things). It was not as trouble free as I would expect for a simple cam upgrade http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1577&highlight=kent

Brilliant - had me totally fooled! I would love to see this posted on LotusTalk - the screams of anguish would be priceless.

Yes but was your son happy with what you did to his car?

Whatever it is - I like the look of it. I spent some time browsinig the Denis Ortenburger book and unfortunately did not get a clear match. It sort of matches the Donkervoort S7 or Glauner Rush in elements of styling but the distinctive dash shape did not match either of those.

I just want to echo everyone else with thanks to Bruce for putting this all together. I had a great time! For those that did not make it some photo links to enjoy: We started at Milford NJ, a sleepy little town on the Delaware river: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05608.jpg And proceeded to drive what I though Bruce described as "Tail of the Gecko" I could have misheard.....but it was fun! Some pics from the drive: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05611.jpg During the drive we passed Bikie diner heaven on Rt 32 - there had to be at least 100 bikes at this diner - even a dealer would not have a forecourt so crowded. Plenty of waves from those guys - they get our "habit"! http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05610.jpg This is Steve (and Boxologist) smiling just before my car decided to give him his cardio workout for the day - yes the brake lights decided to go to lunch early on the drive...oops! Sorry Steve. http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05609.jpg Steve then caused alarm at the front by disappearing from the rear vision mirror. Was it mechanical problems? Was it electrical? Had his passenger puked? Noooo.....he saw a port-a-potty! Pit stop: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05613.jpg http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05614.jpg http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05615.jpg Post drive we ended up at Bruce's house to redecorate the driveway before then adjourning to the Ship Inn for some lunch, tall stories and lots of laughter: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05617.jpg http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05620.jpg Due to the threat of impending rain Jack and I did decide to use our hoods as a preventative measure - good idea since it bucketed down while we were in the Ship Inn having lunch Following lunch we had a peek at Bruce's exquisite taste in motor vehicles - original Mini Cooper, Austin Heally in stunning Pacific Blue ("No its not an Aston Healy Jen":D), a gorgeous cream Jaguar E-type V12 convertible, and a concours condition red Jaguar E-type coupe. At this point its time to leave and its still raining. Bruce was concerned about Steve's ability to swim while driving and had a brilliant solution: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/Milford%20NJ%20run/?action=view&current=DSC05623.jpg Other suitable captions are welcome for this pic I decided to drive home (with hood up) by way of a lengthy detour. I retraced Rt 32 and 611 north to I-78 and headed west to bond with my inner red neck at Cabela's at Hamburg PA. Wrong move. The rain was torrential and I was leaking everywhere. I know I did not have the James Bond's Lotus Esprit submarine car but geez the water coming in from the top of the pedal box was like a rushing tap! I also discovered that while it is more fun to have 2 people in the car heavy breathing really only 1 person is needed to fog up the windows so you cannot see where you are going. Good news is the windscreen wipers worked well on the outside but the running water on the inside of the screen (yes hood was installed correctly - the rain was that bad!) meant that the wipers were about as useful as boobs on a bull. Still the car handled beautifully in the paddling pool that was I-78 - plenty of traction - better than I expected. At Cabela's I had fun viewing the stuffed wildlife, checking out the fish tank and BBQ section, viewing the guns, and generally pretending to be a red neck Q:"So you say you can fit gun racks to any car? I have a Caterham will that work? A: "Wha type of hoity toity pick up is thart? Is it a furriner vehickle?" For the drive back to NYC I took the hood off to drive au naturel. Well that lasted 20 mins before I ran into the back of the rain front that I passed through on the way to Cabela's. Hood back up, I then experienced the joy a submariner has on discovering his submarine has an open porthole! Has anyone installed a bilge pump in a Se7en? I actually wrung a boatload of water out of the carpets last night! If anyone is interested I can email around the "rally book" of the driving route that we took. Should we use our rain day on June 20 to do another drive - I had a lot of fun!!!

Unfortunately renting track cars is an expensive proposition at the best of times. With the economy the way it is, it is not surprising the business struggled. I guess I now have to go back here to rent a Seven for the track. http://www.autegmotorsport.com/track_car_rental Seriously though, race car rental works in a place like this - a ton of people making the pilgrimage to race track Mecca means plenty of customers. Its hard to think of a race circuit in North America with the same star quality and drawing power to make this business work.

and that is a problem? sounds pretty good fun to me

Roll call 1 - Bruce and wife 2 - Jack and Jen 3 - Alan & Kathy (At Carlisle they said they would come - not sure if they have seen this post? I do not have their contact details). 4 - Steve and Box 5 - Me and Kyle And Al doing a chilli cook-off!

You raise an interesting point. How many people drive their Se7ens on the road with arm restraints? I have always thought of them for circuit racing not road use. Admittedly when I used to race "Elvis" my old Series II I never used arm restraints but I did have an FIA rollbar. I guess I was young and stupid

Sorry to hear that your Seven is still misbehaving. I would offer you my spare seat but Kyle has reserved it since his Birkin is unfortunately also off the road. Two of the other cars are already paired up - Jack/Jen and Alan/Kathy. The only car that comes to mind with a free seat is Bruce's (or possibly Steve's?). Give Bruce a call on his cell (on this post) as I dont believe he is checking email or this site regularly now that he is back in the country this week. It would be great to have you along. Edited - Problem solved for Box by Steve.

So a 4 cylinder engine becomes an 8 cylinder in this approach? Unless they dropped something (e,g, some cylinders) the packaging for one of these engines is larger and heavier than the original otto cycle design?

Weather looks encouraging for Saturday - sunny 74 degrees. Hopefully the rain from Thurs/Fri will have cleared away.

I have the mirrorforsevens product as well and like it. I am still getting used to it but I have removed the passenger side mirror as I found I just do not need it. I still feel I need the driver side mirror as I cannot quite see everything I want to. I am yet to remove the center mirror as I continue to tweak positioning to avoid the roll bar which sits right in the middle of my line of sight with the mirrorforsevens.