Paul Hill

Summit Point in June? Tell me more please... that's only 8 hr from home!:auto:

Tom RPM is not the relevant criteria in this equation. As you well know the Focus Zetec is mounted transversely in the original car. Fitting it to a Seven style vehicle, or my Europa project, changes the engine orientation to longitudinal. My understanding is that the oem Focus Zetec sump and baffling are totally wrong for a fore/aft layout, will sooner or later cause the motor to starve for oil pressure. The normal solution is to buy a new cast sump from Raceline in the UK or someone similar. Call me cheap but I thought that perhaps adding scavenge lines to the stock pan, adding a multistage pump and dry sump tank might be a more cost effective alternative... assuming the correct parts could be found used. Previous experience tells me they are laying around somewhere unused, in someone's garage... I just need to find them!

Stig If you find someone to make one keep me in the loop: I need one for my '74-'75 short cockpit Cat. Thanks

When Caterham went to this style master cylinder/pedal mount some time in the later 80s they offered a retrofit kit for older cars to provide a sealed (?) firewall upgrade. Sadly they have been out of production for quite a while or this would have been an easy answer to your pedal/master cylinder mounting issues. I have an early ('74-75) short cockpit S3 Cat basketcase that was missing these components as well, have so far come up short in finding a kit or parts other than the aluminum casting of the older style. If anyone has any pieces around... missing the pedals as well. Or can someone send me a sketch with the appropriate dimensions so I can fab my own? I do have access to pedals that I can pull a pattern from. Thanks

Looking at going the dry sump route with my Black Top Zetec rather than go to a cast wet sump pan. My thought was to ditch the oem oil pump, add scavenge lines to the sloped oem steel pan, add a belt driven dry sump pump and tank. Our Cat previously had a dry sump, the tank bracket is still in place on the frame. Any thoughts on this notion? Pros/cons? Am looking for a tank and pump here.......

Thanks Ian, they'll do quite nicely! As for price, well, we can sort that out when you deliver the goods!:rofl: As for other parts my/our biggest dilemna is still pedals and master cylinder mounts. Shocking that to date we have had absolutely zero luck finding anything. I've looked at various aftermarket pedal/master assemblies from Tilton and the like but would prefer something that is closer to oem, preferably that leaves us with a functioning true firewall with no holes. Unless some lurker here has something better to offer I plan to replicate the late 80s/90s style that Caterham used. Life and priorities continue to get in the way of project progress but we live in hope...

Figures..... what else should we have discussed? They coud bve an easy addition to your carry-on when you fly home at Christmas? Cab fare from Plattsburgh? Thanks....

Still gathering bits to ressurect our early Catheram... Looking for the sideligths that mount on the outer edge of the clamshell fenders. These would be redundant to anyone who has switched over to cycle fenders. Thanks

Gary You might want to check with Tony at http://www.lotusowners.com They are a Rochester/Buffalo NY area based Lotus owners club/group that always seem to have a few Lotus 7s and Caterhams for sale on their site. Tony seems to know where they are hiding... No affiliation etc, usual "buyer beware" disclaimers apply. I do believe you will do well monitoring this site as well as some VERY good cars pop up here fairly regularly. I also believe you've made the right decision coming back to the 7 family. Most other cars pale in comparison!

OK, I'm convinced! After too many years of too many friends telling me what we missed by NOT attending, we're going to try to get there. My better half has family in Dundas, I have a sister in Markham, so we are going to try to knock off a bunch of promised visits all in one swoop. Sadly we (guess I am the actual lazy party) don't have anything Britsh that is mobile so we'll suffer in the BMW convertible. ('74 850 Norton Commando, '75 T160 Triumph Trident, '74(?) Caterham, 1-'69, 2-'70 Lotus Europas... seems I'm stuck in the 70s?) Hopefully we can gather info on piecing together our mid 70s Caterham, put some faces to some of the people on here. Any thoughts on how someone unfamiliar with the individuals might make their acquaintance? Does the group have an identfier of sorts? Are you all planning to park together? In an effort to be somewhat recognizable I'll be in a grey "Tail of the Dragon" golf shirt, black TofD hat, Rosemarie in a pink long sleeved TofD T shirt. Looking forward to next Sunday!

Care to share the tailight mount source? The lights look like 4" truck/trailer units... leds? I've always been a stickler for making sure I am highly visible from the rear and your setup would fill that priority....

The '76 Cat sheets would be of interest. Doubt there would be a lot of useful info from the '90 papers, a lot of changes in that 15 yr timespan. PM me some contact info please. Have a sister in Markham that is overdue for a visit... Hopefully we can get there before you get rid of the '76! Thanks!

We are resurrecting an early short cockpit Caterham, '74 or '75 vintage. Since it is an incomplete basket case there are many brackets, attachment points that could use a little explanation. Minor details I know but.... Does anyone happen to have a set of original assembly instructions? Photocopies or scanned copies would be fine.... This site is such a wealth of info, thanks guys!

Thanks Kiwi, looks pretty easy........ We are in the same situation with our mid 70s short cockpit Caterham, not a lot of room in the passenger footwell. Since there is no drivetrain in the car at the moment I think I will follow your lead. Your pics are more relevant than most, our car is rhd as well! Any other mods you would suggest while I am at it?

I'm sure I am not the only one with this question........ What size are they? Where are you/the wheels located?

Ian Sent you a PM.......

Hey Kiwi...... Snap lots of pics and post them here for all to see as you extend the footbox. We need to do similar surgery to our '75 right hand drive Cat and would love to see how you go about the mods. Thanks

Hi Derek Not exactly around the corner (eastern Ontario, just off 401 at exit 750) but we are resurrecting a mid 70s, early short cockpit Caterham. Keep us in mind if you see yourself heading in this direction. Us Cat types aren't all that common in Ontario!

Thanks for the offer. I have a sister in Markham that I am way overdue to visit so you never know! I have seen the pics of your car, hope ours turns out nearly as nice! It's an early short cockpit Caterham, also rhd. Concerning the brake parts in question... was looking to duplicate the enclosed box that Caterham went to shortly after yours was produced. I have an enquiry in to Raceline in the UK for the aluminum casting and pedals similar to yours should I decide to stay with a style similar to yours. Thanks again for the offer. Will be sure to contact you next time we head that way!

bump........

I'm looking for an eastern Ontario Caterham that I might study for technical info we need for our restorartion of our Caterham. Specifically, I have to fab a pedal box/master cylinder mount. Thanks

Thanks for all the input guys. Some interesting info... but: What I was looking for was info particular to the oem setup used in the E prod class in SCCA. It SEEMS like a complete oem drop-in as opposed to one engineered to suit the aftermarket pieces. I was told that with increased compression (12:1 now) and uprated cams the motor we saw had purportedly shown 210+ on an engine dyno. Supposedly everything else is oem Ford. My thinking is that even with a stock '03 Focus motor there will be lots of power with the great reliability of a modern engine, the only mod being the Caterham headers. We aren't looking for a killer Zetec, just a relatively simple, already engineered motor upgrade that will be mostly trouble free. The car is to be for my other half, and even 140+ hp will be enough for her to handle. The object of the exercise is to make it as easy to drive as possible, hopefully that sips gas, that never gives grief like overheating or hard starting. Turn the key and go have fun. I have some experience with more radical (?) versions of the Zetec as I have a Hilborn injected, Megasquirted unit in my '70 S2 Europa project, so was looking for a simpler approach for the Caterham. Thanks again. Will try to contact Folis for some Megasquirt input on the Europa.

pi7ot...... Interesting to say the least! A few questions if I may: -is this "E management kit" something off the shelf somewhere? -why did you remove it? -were you using it with carbs? -can you please elaborate on your manifold comment? As I mentioned, we are wavering between webers and f/i of some sort, have the oem injection system AND a pair of 40 Webers, as well as a set of Suzuki throttle bodies to choose from. Each has its pros and cons but ignition choices become a variable with each option. Thanks

I recently became aware of the use of Zetecs in Caterhams in this SCCA class when we were lucky enough to see one at a buddy's shop. Could someone please share their knowledge about this installation? We are upgrading a 70s Caterham with a Zetec and are curious about how the oem injection works. It would seem to be an economical answer vs throttle bodies or Webers since it appears to use oem Ford parts that came with the motor. Thanks

Got a sweet deal on a T-9 from Jeff at Midwest! Thanks Ross, and all others who took the time to reply.