BruceBe

It's all of the above. The 3" belts give you more surface area, distributing the load across more of your body. In a 30G impact, which can be generated at almost any reasonable speed, the more surface area the better. 3" belts can be made uncomfortably tight in any car - the issue arises with head/neck restraint devices. HANS devices, in particular, do much better with a 2" shoulder harness. We install hybrid 2"->3" harnesses, to get the best of both worlds. The upper 2" section of the shoulder harness rides very securely on the HANS, and then widens to 3" before meeting the buckle. Sub-belts are 2", and the lap-belts are 3".

-Bruce

How do you know 6th is not engaging? It could be a calibration issue with the gear display. Sadev has specific instructions.

At last check, an outstanding order for about a dozen LHD 620r's would justify the engineering investment.

The CSR achieves it's power/performance differently than the 620R. The roller-barrels in a CSR generate quite a bit of (demonic) intake howl, while the blower on the 620R dampens intake noise. Of course, that noise is replaced with a very nice blower turbine sound, combined with sequential gear noise.

Congrats on the acquisition.

Best,

-Bruce

...a Caterham CSR in R&T. It's an interesting back-drop to an interview with John Krafcik, Google Self-Driving Car CEO. Sam Smith did a great job weaving a positive message about the Caterham Seven into the article.

Luckydawg is well, uh, a lucky dog to get such a great photo feature of his car. We didn't think it would feature so prominently, given the theme of the story.

-Bruce

Embarrassingly, I brought a new car cover in for someone, and can't find the contact info. So - if you ordered a car cover, give me a holler.

Cheers,

-Bruce

Mike,

Is this a standard Cosworth-encrypted ECU that you are using? I'm impressed that you are getting TPS and some of the temps.

Cheers,

-Bruce

Ted - thanks for coming out to what turned out to be a very private track day, with absolutely gorgeous weather. Thunderhill West is a track well-suited to Sevens.

-Bruce

Special shout out to Bruce at Beachman Racing for helping me with the build so far. A wealth of knowledge in all things Caterham, especially CSR related. First class outstanding service! Bruce not only quickly replies to my countless emails, calls & questions, but the prices on the parts he has are very reasonable as well. He's also currently helping me with the crossover loom.

Thanks Van! Now we need to deal with that swirl tower cap...

-Bruce

All of the Panasports have found a home. Thanks to all for helping clear them out.

-Bruce

Ok - so it now sounds like all of the sets are spoken for.

-Bruce

bruce, how would you describe the condition of these wheels on a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being new?

 

alan in LA

Well, with the exception of a 10, the scale is very subjective. I think they generally look very good for a used racing wheel, and would probably clean-up rather nicely. If you plan on winning best-of-show at the next All British Field Meet in your area, these are probably not the wheels for you. They will have some nicks, scratches, and perhaps a tooling mark or two from a tire-changer. I do like the fact that they appear to have steel conical inserts in the lug holes.

Two sets are gone now, with two sets remaining.

Cheers,

-Bruce

Bruce,

Just interested for my own education- what makes these 'for racing purposes only'?? I've never seen that before on any wheels. Doesn't appear to be a one peice wheel like most Panasports.

 

Jim

These are one-piece wheels, but in either case, the architecture of the wheel doesn't determine DOT/TUV compliance. Panasport's *racing* wheel is likely specified as such due to their very light weight (sub-10lb).

-Bruce

I'm very interested... Where are you located ?

We're in Seattle, Washington. However, there are these brown chariots that evidently carry one's goods all over this great land :-)

Budget about $65 or so to get the four wheels to Trabuco Canyon.

-Bruce

I don't suppose you could mount some Toyo Proxes RA1 205/60r13 on them and ship them by barge to 99801? Lynden Transport, Alaska Marine Lines or Northland Services?

Sure - as long as you're willing to make us whole on time/expenses to do it :-)

PM me, and we can take it from there.

Cheers,

-Bruce

I'm listing these for a client - here are the details:

• Panasport race wheel
  
• 13 x 6"
  
• Caterham fitment (4 x 108mm BCD)
  
• 4 sets are available
  
• $300/set + shipping
  

Cheers,

-Bruce

So - the last national magazine article referred to the Seven as a "...bellowing ox-cart". And now, we have an article that ends with the author saying they'll "never do [it] again."

Developing Caterham brand in the USA - Ready. Shoot. Aim.

-Bruce

The price of $35,000 is FOB from where ? I'm just wondering if the buyer is paying for the shipping of the car from Bahrain or UK ? What is the approximate hours on the engine and drivetrain ? If you rather you can just PM me. Thanks.

The cars are here in Seattle, WA. Unfortunately, I don't have the hours on the engine/drivetrain. Several factors convinced us that these are really good cars, worthy of the investment:

• They were originally built to compete in a spec series that never materialized - the cars then became the driving school fleet at BIC (Bahrain International Circuit)
  
• As school cars, they were fleet maintained by an ex-Caterham employee who was previously responsible for the CDX program at Silverstone. So far, we've been very impressed with the state of maintenance and overall running condition of these cars.
  
• We were told that the school only operates about three months of the year, due to the extreme heat. The cars can handle it, but the people can't.
  
• The fleet was liquidated due to the requirement for a paddle-shifted school car. Our understanding is that BIC was evaluating several replacement options, but liquidating the current fleet was a prerequisite.
  

Since the last posted video earlier in the thread, I've had another car on track at speed. It ran *flawlessly*, with excellent power/torque, zero startup smoke, quiet valve train, etc. Even small issues that we would expect to require some attention (e.g. wheel bearing lash, bushing slop, etc.) have been minimal. Nonetheless, each car will be completely prepped and ready to go, including compression/leak-down.

Hope that helps,

-Bruce

thanks bruce. I responded to your PM but I don't see a copy; can't figure out what I did wrong. Anyway, I think the Sonoma 2/7 day with HOD is the way to go. Simple. no risk with weather etc.

 

Private track rentals are always tough. Been there done that with a very healthy group of my local Formula Mazda brethren and it was still tough.

 

Thanks for organizing. It's a thankless job.

Finally got your PM and responded. Rain sucks, but, if it's a good group, fun is to be had anyway. For some of us, Thill West will be a first-time experience, so any rain will have less impact in the process of orienting to the new track.

But hey - why are we so convinced it's going to rain? It's not Seattle :-)

-Bruce

An Additional Option - Fully Supported Race Package in the "Caterham Cup - Northwest"

Early demand for these Caterham G7 race cars has resulted in the development of a fully-supported spec race series in 2016. Here is a basic outline of the program:

• Caterham G7 race car
  
• Car fully prepped and set up prior to first race weekend
  
• 5 race weekends, visiting three separate race tracks in the Pacific Northwest
  
• 15-race series (at least three races each weekend)
  
• 1-day school
  
• Transport
  
• Storage
  
• Pre-event technical check/nut-bolt
  
• Full technical track support
  
• Drive development chalk-talk sessions
  
• Driver points championship - modeled after the UK Caterham Academy
  
• Cost (including purchase of Caterham G7) - $52,500
  

With extensive experience and success in both professional and amateur road racing, Beachman Racing will administer and implement the inaugural "Caterham Cup - Northwest". The program is designed to make road-racing more approachable to the novice, since the logistical overhead of prepping/managing a race car can be removed, and investment in supporting equipment (tow vehicle, trailer, storage space, tools, etc.) can also be eliminated. For the experienced racer, competing in a series with fast, communicative, and identical race cars will reward precision, while exposing opportunities for further improvement.

Given the structure of the program (full transport/storage/support included for 2016 race series), living in the Pacific Northwest is not a requirement - just arrive and race *your* Caterham for the weekend!

-Bruce

by first 3, you mean the 2 days at T-Hill and the Sunday at Sonoma with HOD?

 

what's the plan for T-Hill; open test on Friday and rent the 2 mile track on Saturday? or enter Redline event?

 

what's the plan for HOD? everyone sign up on their own?

It looks like the Saturday 2mi at Thill is now going to require our own rental (previously, a lapping day organizer had it scheduled). With sufficient numbers, a track rental could be feasible, however, that is currently not the case. I have a call into Sonoma, to see if something could be worked out for 2/6 instead - then, we would have two days at Sonoma.

Yes - for Sunday 2/7, everyone will register through Hooked On Driving.

-Bruce

Bruce - I have PM'd you. Thanks

Ok - Drew is all set. Anyone else?

Cheers,

-Bruce

any update on this? any of these dates shaping up to happen?

It appears that the first three are starting to gel. So far, the mid-week interest is not much more than what I've seen here.

-Bruce

We're in the process of ordering several Tillett seats for clients/vehicles we service, and looking to get to an optimized volume for shipping from the UK. I've been told by Tillett that a single automotive seat will cost upwards of $375-$450 to get shipped. However, a pallet of 12 seats should get the landed cost to our facility down to about a 1/6th of that (estimated).

Tillett is the factory race seat manufacturer for Caterham, and offer a variety of seats that bolt into a Seven. For those competing at sanctioned events (e.g. SCCA, NASA, etc.), Tilllett now offer FIA-approved versions of several seat models (e.g. B6F). For wide chassis (SV) Caterham Sevens, Tillett also offers a *wider* seat (B6-XL) that will bolt into these cars. The Tillett auto racing seat gallery, with pricing/options/etc. can be found here. To keep it simple, we'll sell the seat at Tillett's advertised web price, converted to US dollars at the time of our transaction with Tillett, plus actual shipping/duty from the UK and to your door. If you are in the market for 1 or 2 seats, participating in this order could save a couple hundred dollars (or more).

We'll finalize our order to Tillett no later than 1/15.

Cheers,

-Bruce

When I built my S3 in 2007-2010, I was about to install the Cosworth 2.3 Duratec when I learned that my car had come by mistake from Caterham with the Zetec loom. I learned later that there are a number of functions that a Duratec-specific loom has, that are handled in a different way by the Zetec loom (I'm speaking in layman's terms).

 

I did not want to completely disassemble the car to install the correct Duratec loom, so I took my mostly-assembled chassis to Nathan Down at Thomas Vintage Motors in Boulder, Colorado (40 miles away from where I was building my Seven). Nathan is a graduate engineer who developed the SV for Caterham, where he worked for several years. He was able to reverse-engineer my S3 to function with the Duratec engine and the Zetec loom. I lucked out, as there was probably no one else within tw thousand miles who could have got my car running correctly with the loom that Caterham had installed.

 

Send me a PM and I'll send you Nathan's e-mail. He may be able to give you some quick answers about the engine and loom change that you are considering.

 

,

The Cosworth engine includes an engine loom. Therefore, any *adaptation* would occur at the chassis loom interface. That interface is documented across all of the models - so I wouldn't call it "reverse engineering".

Cheers,

-Bruce

Well boy howdy, this could be interesting. I am a "wet behind the ears" noob here, having swapped a Formula Mazda for a Super Stalker 3 weeks ago. But not a noob to these tracks, having driven and raced on them for 15 years. And lookee here, if I'm not too much of an outlaw with a Brunton, I just may have some time open to be at T-Hill or Sonoma.

 

And there's a local Central CA club I have raced with since 2002 that has 14 Caterhams. So if you want, I'll let them know.

By all means, please let the club know. 14 Caterhams - wow.

-Bruce

I would be very interested later in the spring , Arizona until April

bill

We'll need to get you plugged-in to our NW Caterham Club and Friends track days and multi-day "expeditions".

-Bruce