mrmustang

Ask (nicely) for the cross measurements, again, you want at least 6 different points measured, then one long measurement from front left to rear right and vice versa. When the A arms took the hit, and bent, they also had to transfer some of that force to the chassis, which is why I highly recommend that this occur. Tire wise, since the advent of radial tires, it has been drummed in to my head to always replace tires in pairs, regardless of the mileage. In your cars case, both front tires should be replaced, keep the other as a spare in case of emergency if you like, but replace it just the same. Just a few dollars more, and it's peace of mind. Finally, and I have to ask, did you choose the body shop, or did your insurance carrier? If you did, then the headaches and responsibility are yours, if not, then you need to escalate up your insurance companies food chain. Keep a level head either way, take notes of what has been discussed and with who, date and time should also be noted for any and all discussions from this point forward and if possible, ask for everything in writing as backup. Worse comes to worse, you might consider pulling it from the shop it is at if you made the decision on repair palaces..... I'll help any way I can from the other end of the equation, but as for now, I can only read what you have already posted and respond. Bill

As the retired body shop owner, my mind is spitting out questions I do not see answered in this thread yet, so bare with me: OK, not just one tire, but both should be replaced. Rim wise, have it sent out to a shop that specializes in straightening and refinishing Has the chassis been cross measured (at least 6, better to do 8 points) to rule out torsional twist, if not, stop, get specs from Caterham, do not weld anything until you get this done. Since the car is on a lift, it's a simple procedure and will take two people under 10 minutes to accomplish. While we are talking about torsional twist, measurements of your front suspension (both sides) should be done and recorded appropriately, again before any welding occurs. While things look one way, torsional twist can occur from the left front hit all the way to the very back right corner of the chassis. Better safe than sorry. Bill

So, did you buy the car off BAT?

Knowing the casting number on the head, the "donor" aspect may not have been a Mercury after all, as the Mercury line did not have a SVT 2.0L Zetec powered offering, not in the cougar or Mystic lineup. Ford did with the Focus SVT for the 2001-2003 (or 2004) time period. Where the Focus and Contour did. Don't get caught up in the details being told to you as they were told to the last owner, as they may not be 100% accurate, in the case of the SVT engine, they are not. Bill

standard 2.0L 130hp Zetec

Ebay was the same way, so yes, I get the "friends and family" bidding style. As for vetting cars and/or sellers, not likely, everything sold with the caveat of "as is, where is", BAT is just the intermediary type site and nothing else. 4 months and a few thousand dollars to get my 65 Tiger on the road safely after the last owner (11-13 months) did nothing but add gas, car came to me with 3 working brakes, a dry clutch master, and 1 gallon of gas in the tank. 7 year old plugs, wires, cap, rotor, same goes for fuel filter, and a shifter handle that came off in my hand forcing me to drive the car in 2nd gear the 3 or so miles to my home after it was dropped off by my enclosed shipping company. Improvements after that were for reliability and safety and on my dime. At least when I bought my 03 SV, I knew in advance (mostly) what I was getting myself into, and documented it here for all to see. Bill

Ford Focus related news group(s)

I've had my fair share of RHD vehicles over the years, my current Caterham and my earlier series 1 Lotus 7, a TR5, and a Sunbeam Alpine.....Plenty of LHD versions as well, they were all fun...........The hunt for me is half of that, as I truly love the hunt, but when it comes time to sell, I despise that side of the equation. Good luck on your search.

I would be paying more attention to the head casting number then the actual block, although, logic would dictate that the engine, if actually a donor, would tell you more about the specs of the entire engine below. In this case: 2M5V-6F093-AB Q6PHA (shown in pic 238 on the auction) Which comes back as the SVT style head used 2001-2004 on the 2.0L Ford Zetec engine. Figure 170hp, 140ft/lbs torque I hate paying "buyer fees" and would have gone to the $26,600 I mentioned in the auction knowing what the buyer fees would have been. Surprised the seller did not reach out to me afterwards, but that is fine too, as what would I do with both a RHD (202-210hp sourced from Caterham as a stage 1 engine) and LHD Zetec SV, probably want to sell the RHD and keep the LHD so SWMBO would drive it.

I know :D

Slightly off topic: So what would make my 202hp-210hp (remains to be seen) 03 SV? Asking for a friend

See my thread below: Spent a month or so going over my options, and ended up with a tire that I can drive on the street, in all weather, and still if I wanted, take it to a local autocross or even a trip up to VIR. "H" rated to 130mph, doubt my car would get up to that speed given my 5spd transmission. Bill

Are you is Massachusetts or California? Both have their own process to get cars like the Birkin/Caterham and Cobra properly titled and registered. Only difficult if you try to reinvent the wheel and sneak the car through as something it is not (usually for tax purposes). Bill

Only one user name for me, this is either a good thing, or a bad thing depending on if I annoyed you by proving you wrong in the past

Caterham Seven "SV" on BAT https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-caterham-seven/ Will allow Croc to breakdown the rest for the masses

Congratulations, I had a similar issue when I was reviving my car earlier this year. Plugs, wires, coil pack, went further with fuel filter (2003 dated), proper injectors (high impedance vs low impedance, ECU spec for high), alternator belt, and fuel lines (originals cracked from age and modern fuel additives). New tires a few weeks ago as the ones on the car aged out........Just food for thought. Bill

Just throwing this out there: Faulty or failing inertia switch (vibration will cause it to not trip 100%, but cause the sudden loss of electrical power to the fuel pump). No real way to test it though, cheap enough to replace. Perhaps stay out of the far left lane and stick to the right lane until you figure out what the issue is.

I know it, and you know it, but the OP in his continued posts appears to believe in my previously posted "immaculate compression"

Then the clutch is not releasing 100% and is dragging the flywheel to continue to turn the motor. Without compression from the pistons moving, your engine will not run. As others have already alluded, you are thinking because the tach drops to zero that the engine is not still running, and this is a misconception on your part. At this point, you are going to have to try and catch this situation on video so the rest of us can see and hear what you are experiencing. Either that, or you need to find a competent mechnic in Irvine (California I have to assume). Steve Beck is in LA 310-391-9774 I highly recommend you give him a call. He not only knows Caterhams (he owns one), but Ford electronics. Bill

Your engine needs three things to run, fuel, spark, and compression, if the motor died, and is no longer running or turning over (clutch out, transmission still in a gear), the engine has lost all of it's motion and cannot spontaneously start without some type of momentum within. Bill

Now we are getting somewhere, for without the engine/transmission turning, or the starter engaging, there is no way for the engine to start from "0". We are back to electrical issues, and now that we are narrowing things down, an ECU issue, corrosion or bad diode/capacitor on the board within the ECU along with the potential still for a broken/frayed wire under the dash. Bill

But the car is still in gear? That suggests an electrical short as has already been mentioned previously, not only that, but it also suggests your clutch never fully disengages, perhaps you have some type of minor grind or difficulty getting the car in gear at times. What happens if the car is not in gear and you push the clutch while you are moving, will the car start with the car in neutral without the starter engaging? Just trying to get past the obvious that others have yet to touch base on. If the car is in a gear, and you depress the clutch, and the engine starts, you are never disconnecting from the clutch 100%, but dragging it lightly along. Without the mass to turn the engine over, or the starter engaging, there is no immaculate compression for which the engine needs to restart. So, for now: Clutch drag Wiring short or short to ground in and around the clutch pedal assembly and/or master/slave cylinder. No rhyme or reason equals my leaning towards the shorted wiring theory, ignition cylinder or ECU related with the actual shorted/pinched wiring somewhere in the harness or even a loose connection within any number of assorted plugs. Without pulling and testing, one item at a time, you may never know. Bill

Since you have not told us what year your Caterham is, whether it is LHD or RHD, and if it was converted from another drivetrain (like my 03 was 1 year after production) Engine recently rebuilt you say, I'm going with a bent, loose, or damaged pin in an electrical connection within your engine compartment while the engine was being reinstalled. Had a similar issue doing a 2.5L Ford Duratec conversion on a 2006 Miata 10 years ago. Ran great, fantastic even, then one day started having issues like you describe in your initial post. Took a month of working backwards in my spare time to come across it. If this is what it turns out to be, you can donate the $100 to a worthy charity of your choice. Bill

https://bringatrailer.com/lotus/seven-caterham-seven/ I've been around BAT since the beginning, and yes, I've never seen so many 7 style vehicles listed at one time. This may or may not work in favor of the seller(s) though as competition for bidders is now in play. I suspect BAT was hoping for a feeding frenzy, but I'm not seeing it as a viable game of play.

295/50/15 imagine the possibilities Where it actually belongs (awaiting new battery which gets installed in the upper passenger rear quarter panel on my 289 FIA Cobra replica), oh so much fun to R&R Bill