craig chima

Selling a very nice 1600 Ford Kent wet sump oil pan. I believe that someone on the forum was looking for one of these awhile back and know that these are getting a bit scarce since most of the original ones have been converted to dry sump pans over the years. $100 and will include shipping to anywhere in the Continental U.S. for that price. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com call or email for pix if interested. Thanks, Craig

Looking for a core Ford crossflow cylinder head. Need the version with the small combustion chamber in it (i.e. not where the valves are flush with the bottom of the head). Looking for a stock, unmodified head. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, Akron, OH (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Guys, got it done using a large pallet as a base and then built a box around the pallet. Needed to buy some aluminum sheeting for a couple of projects currently in the shop and the aluminum came on a 4' x 8' pallet and that ended up being sufficient to use as the base (with some extra reinforcement). The box ended up being 30" high x 48" wide x 120" long and weighed just over 350# including the chassis and was just over $650 to ship to California from Ohio which I thought fairly reasonable. Should be there mid-week next week. And yes, it's the chassis that will replace the one that got written off during the F Production race at the Runoffs this year. Craig

Does anyone have any ideas on how best to go about shipping a complete, but otherwise bare Lotus 7 chassis (i.e. skinned, but nothing else on it -- just the chassis) from Ohio to California? Probably weighs 175# (some strengthening mods done to it). I could potentially build a crate and stick it inside but trying to avoid that option. Only other thing I can think of is to center it on a pallet and then bolt it down and maybe shrink wrap the whole thing…. Other thoughts or ideas greatly appreciated. Craig

Correct, James. Caterham technically not a Lotus 7 but Kim did win back in '05 in a crash filled EP race as he did a good job avoiding the last lap carnage. I was correct in saying only two wins for Lotus 7 in SCCA Runoffs history. Mike, SCCA never homologated the Ginetta G4 for club racing but it is a popular vintage race car here in the US (and Europe), for the most part using the same running gear as the pre-crossflow Lotus 7 (although some run 1 liter Kent motors, and some run twincams). I won FP in a Midget and EP in an Elva Courier. Craig

Couple thoughts/corrections to add to this thread. Mike, Mid Ohio is certainly not a course that favors aero. Mid Ohio is a classic handling track where if there was ever a chance for a car like a Lotus 7 to win, this was it. Top speeds at Mid Ohio in F Production are in the neighborhood of 128 mph in the front-running SCCA Lotus 7's, from pre-crossflow 1500cc Kent motors, so not a big "aero" influence at those speeds, and besides the back straight, Mid Ohio is all about handling and "transitions" where the Lotus 7 excels. This was why you saw 3 Lotus 7's qualify in the top 7, and none even bother to go to Daytona last year, and likely none will be able to qualify in the top 10 at Indy next year. If there was ever a year for a Lotus 7 to win the Runoffs, this was it and John Walker took advantage of it and congrats to him. He drove a car that his dad has been racing for probably 20 years and I actually did the setup on it on Monday morning before first qualifying. The Steve Hussey car that qualified 2nd may be a total write-off is a chassis that I built from scratch about 10 years ago and is a super-strong car that did it's job in a 120mph impact, and the Peter Morton car that ended up 5th is actually my old SCCA car that I raced in the late 90's and finished 2nd in. Eric Prill raced his dad's (Paul) Lotus for many years and qualified it on pole at the Runoffs in Topeka 7 or 8 years ago but has never won the Runoffs in a Lotus, or in his current Miata. A Lotus 7 had only once-previously won the Runoffs, back in 1978 I believe with Tom Robertson winning in CP, and that car can now be seen at the Barber Museum.

P.S. Need to clarify on the above because had a brief brain fart when doing my prior post. My adjustable arms for stock type suspension have adjustment on the inboard side just like in the picture I referenced above and meant to say that I can provide with or without rod ends, and not the outer ball joints. Further clarifying, the outboard side of my adjustable arm is completely stock, including the outer ball joint. Craig

The adjustable upper arm in the picture that Mike (Kitcat) posted is obviously on a car with a separate upper anti roll bar. I also have a set of very similar upper arms that are "done" and in stock that are very much like the arms in the picture in the post by "TheDingo8MyBaby" and are designed for a stock type suspension. Those arms are fully chrome plated just like the arms in the picture that Mike posted of my car, and I can provide complete with outer ball joints or not. Can send pictures if you like. Thanks, Craig Chima, CC Motorsports

Mike, Thanks for your kind words, and yes, I think that I described the car very fairly and accurately. Priced it that way too, and as such have a tentative agreement for purchase on the car. If anything falls through with the sale I will let everyone know but as of now, I believe it is a "done deal." Craig

This is a really nice, very original 1979 DSK Caterham that I purchased less than 2 months ago with the intent on putting a higher horsepower BDR 1700 cc engine in. As many on this forum know I am an "old school" guy, and am very picky about my cars and this car fit the bill for me. I purchased it from Mark Fortin in Massachusetts who is also a forum member, and over the several years that Mark owned the car, he poured closed to $7000 into various upgrades (I have all the receipts). In the time that I have owned it, I have installed a new Odyssey PC680 battery and aluminum cover, gone through the carbs, ignition system, brake system, done the camber and toe, and basically gotten the car so that it starts easily, drives great and is easy to enjoy (Mark just didn't drive it much over the last period of his ownership and it needed some attention). As it sits, the car is a very solid 8+ out of 10 (and maybe better than that). It is a car that you can drive anywhere and be proud of and even take to car shows, etc. It won't win a car show, but is just a super nice original Caterham. The owner prior to Mark spent probably double what Mark did on a full restoration of the car in the late 1990's (down to bare frame with skin off, etc) and the chassis is still in excellent condition from that restoration. There is a large plastic crate with files and files of receipts of all work done to this car for probably the past 30 years that will go with the sale (see picture). Anyway, in terms of some of the more important particulars, it is a rebuilt 1600 dry-sumped crossflow, with upgraded cam, pistons, and compression, and probably making close to 130bhp. The motor starts easily, idles great, sounds great, has perfect oil pressure and is not "fussy" at all. It does everything that a good Crossflow should do. Trans is close ratio and shifts great. Rear end is obviously solid axle as were all early cars, but has Quaife limited slip with alloy carrier for considerable weight savings. Front suspension has been upgraded to late model Caterham (see picture) with 5/8" sway bar, and shocks are double adjustable aluminum bodied QA1 on the front, and single adjustable on the rear. I have not put a ton of miles on this car, but given the DSK chassis, and the fact that the suspension has pretty much every conceivable upgrade you would every want on an early Caterham the car should be as tuneable as you would every want to your particular driving style (i.e. mild to super aggressive). The car has full length tonneau, soft top, and side curtains. The bench seats were purchased new by Mark and are still in perfect condition and will accommodate drivers up to 6'1" or perhaps even slightly taller than that. All aluminum pieces (skins, hood, cowl, etc) are in excellent condition with no appreciable dents, dings, etc. There are a couple of small stone chips here and there as would be expected for a car that is driven, but the paint is very, very nice. I paid Mark $19,500 for the car which I felt was a fair price for an original DSK car in overall excellent condition, plus have put some time and a little money into it, plus pickup costs from Ohio to Mass. As I posted in the General Forum, I had NO intent of selling this car until a friend of mine contacted me yesterday and offered me his SCCA prepared Lotus Super 7 F Production race car and it has given me the bug to go SCCA racing again after a 10 year hiatus. I need to move this car quickly if I have any hope of buying the race car and am offering it for $20K and am pretty firm at that price and it is very fairly priced for what all is there. I am sure that everyone has seen plenty of Crossflow cars offered in the $25K+ range over recent months and this car is every bit the equal of those with far more desirable lineage. Car is in Akron, OH Craig Chima (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

Mike, thanks for your post and for stopping by. A couple of additional points of clarification based on the photos. The silver/red Lotus and silver/blue Lotus, are both original 1962 chassis, albeit with considerable restoration and reinforcement to the chassis for racing purposes. Both are vintage race cars, but they are actually prepared to different rule sets. The red car runs to a much more liberal rule set, allowing modified front suspension, separate anti roll bar, etc, whereas the blue car is required to run basically stock suspension (anti roll bar as part of the upper a-arm) throughout. Both are dry sumped pre-crossflow 1498's (1538cc with .040 overbore) making around 170-173 bhp on 112 leaded race fuel. Obviously, a great amount of time, expense, and literally thousands of dyno runs have allowed us to achieve these power figures. The black MG Midget is a customer car that is now on it's way to Texas via car transport service, and the red MG Midget is actually a rather significant car in that it won the SCCA Runoffs in 1978 and is still in nearly identical configuration today as when it won, making it a true "vintage" race car. Lastly, as Mike suggested, the yellow Caterham is my own street car that I purchased a couple of months ago but as of today have decided to reluctantly put up for sale and will be placing an ad in the "cars for sale" section shortly. A longtime friend of mine has just put his SCCA prepared Lotus 7 up for sale and I have the "bug" to go back and do SCCA racing in a "7" after a 10 year hiatus from Club racing and need to move that car quickly if I have any hope of coming up with the $$ to purchase the race car. A person can have only so many toys.

Bump with price reduction to $11,500 including the exhaust. I really need to sell this motor and at this price it is a steal for what is included for an "all steel" dry-sumped BDA/BDR. I have a dry sump tank that fits nicely in a Caterham that I'll also include if that helps sweeten the deal for anyone. Craig

Latest update. Everything now spoken for except one pair of taillights. Thanks to all. Craig

FIA bar and front A-arms now spoken for. All that's left are 1 pair of taillights and 1 pair of the mid-fender stays. Thanks again, Craig

Hi All, Sorry for not being able to post here for the past 5-6 days, but I've been away at a vintage race at Summit point since last Wednesday morning. All of the seats have been spoken for for close to 2 weeks now (hence me removing them from the original posting). The parts listed at the top of the page are all that remain. Thanks for everyone's interest. Kurt, I sent you a PM last night about the other set of fender stays. Cheers, Craig

Complete Dry-Sumped, 1600 Crossflow (.030 over) built with very desirable 711M block. On Dellorto DHLA's with 32mm chokes. Compression is 9.0:1 so runs fine on even 91 octane pump gas. 1.53 intake/1.31 exhaust valves and ported and polished head with upgraded springs and Norris 286 cam. Titan dry sump pump and pan. Approximately 130-135bhp. Includes alternator, distributor, clutch, flywheel, very nice 4 into 2 into 1 header/exhaust system (completely Jet Hot coated) for Caterham and also dry sump tank. Pretty much everything you would need to "plug and play." $3500 for all listed above and would prefer to sell everything as a package deal. If someone wants the motor separately, I might sell the exhaust and other bits separately. A la carte pricing as follows: less the tank $3400, less the exhaust $3100, less the clutch and flywheel $3000. Craig (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com[ATTACH=CONFIG]10870[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]10866[/ATTACH]

I recently acquired a Caterham that came with a bunch of spares that are superfluous to my needs and hence are offering them here. The car is a 1979 Caterham so the parts mentioned will fit any similar chassis. If uncertain about fitment, please contact me about specifics, etc. FIA Rollbar $200 ONE pair of original Caterham Clamshell fender "mid-fender" fender stays. $50/pr ONE pair of original Caterham lower a-arms. Perfect condition with bushings "as new." $100/pr ONE pair of NEW Caterham rear taillights. $50/pair (reduced price) All parts are in new to excellent condition and I will be posting pictures ASAP. I will also be posting the 1600 crossflow motor and exhaust system from the car shortly (BDA motor to be installed). Parts plus shipping from Akron, OH Craig (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

As the Title says, this is an original DSK built rear a-frame suitable for a S2 or S3 Lotus 7 or solid axle Caterham. I bought it a couple of years ago for a project that never materialized. Sandblasted and ready for paint/powdercoat. $125 plus shipping from Akron, OH. (330) 807-8072 or chima97@aol.com. I can finish/modify/adapt to your specific needs if you like.

As there has been some discussion in the "Cars for Sale" section about a Caterham with BDR, I thought it would be good opportunity for me to post a really sweet running BDR that I've got in the shop for sale. It was in a Caterham that I built 5 or 6 years ago (Kitcat actually drove this car at one point), and has now been in a corner of my shop for the past year or so. It was originally built by Dave Bean in the late 70's, and has been rebuit a couple of times since then, most recently by Midwest Motorsports here in Ohio who has done all of my engine work for the past 15+ years and it has less than 3000 miles on it since that time. I did a leakdown test on it prior to removing it from the Caterham and numbers were between 2% and 4% on all cylinders so the motor is sealed up well and in great shape. It was broken in properly and always ran synthetic oil thereafter. It is an "all-steel" bottom end with fully counterweighted billet crank, Carillo rods, and Cosworth pistons. Compression is about 10.5:1 so it runs great on premium pump gas. It is fully dry sumped and includes the dry sump pump, alternator, electronic distributor, flywheel, heavy duty clutch, and complete exhaust system just as it ran in the Caterham and is on Weber DCOE 45's. Horsepower is conservatively between 180 and 185 and could easily go higher with more aggressive cams. With the quality of the bottom end pieces, this is easily a 10,000 rpm motor if someone chose to run it that high, but I had an 8500 rpm rev limiter in the car which was plenty for street or track purposes. The cost to build this motor today would be in excess of $20K and I'd previously advertised it for $15K but would now really like to get it sold and so am offering it for $12,500, complete with the exhaust. If someone is looking to upgrade your crossflow powered car to something that's dead reliable and an easy "interchange" this is a perfect option. Craig Chima, CC Motorsports, 330 807 0742 or chima97@aol.com. Akron, OH

A couple of years ago I believe there was a forum member with 289 Cobra replica who was looking to trade his car for a Caterham or other 7 type replica. I went back through posts and couldn't locate that topic, and was wondering if anyone had any recollection of that. A customer of mine has a really nice low mileage Caterham and is looking to replace it with a Cobra replica. Craig

Gregg, See the assembly posted in the middle of page 2 in this section. Not sure if that is what you are looking for or not, but if so, I still have it. Craig

Gary Strait of Strait Roads. You can Google him for fone contact. He has transported several 7's and Caterhams and Élans for me, a few of which were race cars with less than 2.5" ground clearance and has always been able to handle the job no problem. Very conscientious. Just picked up a car for me a couple of weeks ago as a matter of fact. He is a one man band so when you call you will get him (i.e. no brokers) and you may have to wait a couple of weeks, but he can transport 5-6 cars in his rig and he crisss-crosses the country on a weekly basis (150k+ miles per year). Rates are as reasonable as anyone else I have found. Have had many customers use brokers to have cars transported to me and most of the time the drivers who show up have no clue as to how to properly tie down small/light cars. Just saying....

Complete set of four Bilstein shocks off 2001 Caterham for sale. Just removed from original 7000 mile car and these shocks are excellent working condition. $100 for all four plus shipping. Set of four Western 8 spoke Minilite/Panasport lookalike wheels. 13 x 5.5" wide with 4 on 4.25" (Caterham/English Ford) bolt circle. 4" backspace. Currently mounted with very nice Toyo 185 x 60 x 13 tires (can include or dismount for the same price). Recently powdercoated and in excellent condition. $200 for all. Craig (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com

I believe that it should work just fine. Easy install with a crossflow motor since the plumbing will be essentially identical. Two wires from your rocker "fan" switch (one high speed and one low speed) and one ground wire and that's it. Can give you the dimensions of the heater box unit if you like as well. Craig

Complete Heater Assembly from my 2001 Caterham. Still installed in my car as you can see in the pictures but as I just don't seem to ever use it I'd like to sell. Great shape and works perfectly (both fan speeds). Will include the heater ball valve, pull cable, and all braided lines as shown in the pix. $225 firm plus shipping from Akron, OH. Craig. (330) 807-0742 or chima97@aol.com