yellowss7

I usually do a front to back inspection of the major componenets after each trackday or long drive. Check fluid levels, belts, wiring, tighten key bolts etc. Just to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be. After back to back trackdays on Monday and Tuesday, I finally got around to checking things over as I'm am doing another trackday on Sunday. I noticed that my coolant level looked slightly lower, a little under the full line. I thought that was strange so I topped it and ran it for a while. All seemed fine, it came up to temp and held steady, once the stat opened, temp dropped a bit but held steady. I turned it off and noticed a small wet spot where the waterrail attaches to the head. This gasket is a known weak point on the K series. However, upon closer inspection I noticed that a bolt that holds the waterrail to the head was missing:ack: I would never had noticed it if I hadn't remembered it when I built the car as it's only a 5mm bolt. Luckily I ordered an extra gasket and bolt on my last order from Caterham. Lesson is that these cars can vibrate just about any component loose. A few minutes looking over the car might save you money and help keep you safe. Tom

Mike, I will ask this weekend when I go, if there is any limit to the number of guests I can bring on a day. You, Croc,Karl and Ron? Any one else before I inquire? If I get a positive response from the Track, I'll see if they will allow you on both days. Tom

Croc, the only scheduled Qualifed members day left is Saturday Nov 12th. Karl and Ron may also be interested iin doing that day. The remaining member days are Sept 17, 18. Fri. Sep 23 Monday Oct 10th. Fri.& sat Oct. 20,21. And Sat. Sun Nov 12th and 13th. On none qualified days, they usually only let guests drive in the novice group which is with a pace car and no passing. I'll see if they will make an exception for potential members Tom

Had another great day at Thunderbolt with the SCDA guys yesterday. 30 plus cars in the intermidiate group again but other than 2 slow/clueless drivers that we all complained about, it was a good event. Once you got by the slow guys the track opened up and was fine until you lapped the guys again. There was a Factory Ford racing mustang that sounded awesome, althought when I let him and his buddy in the Ferrari pass, I couldn't even hear my own car, that's how loud he was. I may do Saturday and or Sunday member trackdays but 4 days in a week might be too much. We'll see. Weather looks perfect though. Once winter sets in I'll start next year's windup for another group outing. tom

I found a local guy that installs the 3m clear guard and had him do the front half of my rear wings and he even cut pieces to install over my carbon rear wing guards. They still look nice after 5 years or so. He only charged me about $200 to do it and he said he spent way more time than he had estimated. I would also recommend having it done on the nose cone and maybe even the side panels from the wheels back to the rear wings as these areas also see some abuse. Here's a link to installers in Virginia where I think you are based. Tom http://www.clearbrafilms.com/virginia/

Lightning today Tbolt tomorrow.

Just finished a great day here at NJMP and I'm resting up for another one tomorrow. Pretty crowded in the intermidiate run group today. Just a couple of slowpokes that didn't like to give point bys can really bog down a lap. We needed the Kitcat to put the fear of God in them.:jester: One poor guy lost it on the last lap of the 3rd session, on turn 5 the blind off camber one, for those of you who have run here. He went off on the left and then shot back across the track and hit the tire wall. head on. 2005 Elise. Front clam is toast. Felt bad for him as the checkered flag was just a corner away when he lost it. :nopity: Other than that, weather is perfect, and I'm haveing fun. Wish you were here. Tom

Stig, just an FYI the standard caterham/triumph brakes are more than adequate for almost any usage. They are cheap, Rotors are cheap and they do the job. Just for comparison, price out the cost of just the vented rotors for the Caterham AP brake upgrade. They are Significantly more pricey. The UK guys don't think it's worth the costs. That being said I do have the AP 4pot calipers and vented rotors. :leaving: Tom

This is a great looking car from both the front and rear view, and as I spent plenty of time on the track with Mike, I have a lot of video that shows both views. The car does sound great and Seems to be very well set up for the track in Mike's capable hands. Getting a car that's well sorted makes the se7en experience much more enjoyable. Right Mike? :smash: :DTom

Sounds like a good excuse to install a winch. :seeya: Easy job, and I, like Karl, installed a small solar panel to help keep the battery charged up. Sounds like a good rainy day project. Tom

Wow! I didn't know Mike was a twin!:smilielol5: Tom

Michael, I assume you know that you just press it on the top to reset it, right? Sorry, I didn't see that you said it will restart immediately without you resetting it. Can you just disconnct it or bypass it to see if it's the culprit?

Ouch Mike. I understand Kidney stones are one of, if not the most painful thing you can have. Hope you can get the new beast sorted to your satisfaction. Can't wait to see it in action. It will be interesting to see your comparison of the Birkin to the Caterham. Rest and relax this weekend and hopefully all will be sorted. Tom:seeya:

Bessie seems to have stopped posting on her condition. I hope she's still a member of this site. You'd think that either she or Al Navarro would have had the courtesy to keep in touch. I hope she's not shacked up with some low life foreign car of ill repute. You know how those Flighty English birds are. :rofl: Come on Al give us an update.:seeya: Tom

Martin, the Wildwood beaches have changed alot since our younger days. Due to changes in the currents or something, Wildwood's beaches have been growing every year. It's my understanding that the walk to the surf from the boardwalk is now over a 1/4 mile trek. Here are some pictures that I found on line. Just imagine that walk on hot sand!:ack: I have very foggy memories of spending my Senior week from High School in Wildwood, back when the drinking age was 18. I still remember that bed spinning and spinning. :willy_nilly: :cheers: Tom

Martin, My understanding is that it came thru unscathed. I'll need to caulk up the holes that were made screwing in the plywood to cover the doors and windows, at least that's what I was told. I did not go down, as we had tenants that have rented the place for 5 straight weeks ending next week. So we will go down and check it out durning the turnover to the next tenant. It's rented thru to the end of October. It will be interesting to see what the beach and dune look like. We literally are less than 100 yard from the surf and the dune is less than 10 feet high. The house has an awesome view, but now in retrospect, it may be just a little too close for comfort. :willy_nilly: A little more than a month ago it seemed like a great idea and a good investment. Now after weathering a hurricane, and playing Landlord, I'm starting to have second thoughts. On paper it's a good deal. We'll see. Here's the view on a nice day. Tom

I have Kodiaks on my Caterham. Very light. I know Michael D. does as he turned me on to them. Tom

With all you guys coming out of the closet, next thing you know, Mazda will change the background color of the site to pink. Man up guys! Whoops on second thought, forget about that one. :puke: Tom:jester:

Wind Tunnel Testing? Are you trying to determine a way to keep the dust storms you create from getting into your car, or do you think that your new aeroscreen will allow it to just sweep up and over your helmet?:rofl::rofl: You missed a nice day on Friday at NJMP. I did talk to a guy who said he was interested in renting the track out, and mentioned that if we can get the 7's together again, he could get a few of his associates together and we could rent the track out reasonalbly without overcrowding. Tom

Our Neighbor had someone go thru theirs and said everything was fine. I may head down tomorrow or Wednesday to check for myself. Tom

Crap, 13 feet!! That must have been a mess. Tom

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5: Exactly! Storm was pretty mild here just outside of Philly. Lots of rain, some wind. Had Tornado warnings for about an hour last night, so spent some time in the basement. Had a few neighbors over and killed a few bottles of Red wine. Haven't heard anything definative about the shore house. But some tv coverage seemed to say that storm drains failing was the major source of flooding. Haven't seen any shots of that end of the beach. Fingers still crossed. Croc, hope things are mild for you too. Hang tight. Tom

Mike, easy fix is just to swap back over to the Clams:iagree: Come on, you know you want to. :jester: Tom

Two guys garage, Muscle car, and extreme 4x4. The guys on Muscle car are great. Body work, Fabrication, engine rebuilds etc. They do a nice step by step process. Not that I can do any of that but I enjoy their creativity. Although for shear beauty of the paint and detail, you can't beat Chip Foose's work on Overhaulin. Tom

South end of Ocean City NJ. Rain just started here in Philly at 12Noon, Pretty heavy, at the moment. The fact that my backyard is bordered by a State Park and Arboretum means the now I only have to worry about trees falling. Curiously we have one that came down all by itself yesterday. No wind, no rain, just fell over into the yard. Tom