No longer a dreamer, now a 7 owner

[Black Hole]

I have finally joined the club and purchased a 7. My car is a 2009 Caterham Roadsport SV with a 175HP Duratec. Classic Team Lotus BRG with yellow stripes. Delivered on Wednesday but I headed out of town on Friday so I missed out on the gorgeous driving weather this weekend in CT.

 

First I want to thank this list. Between lurking on the forum, eagerly awaiting Croc's Saturday morning for sale thread, contacting quite a few of you and joining the fun at NJMP in July the information I received was invaluable. The final lead was when Bob Collum posted some pictures from Mid-Atlantic Caterham that led me to contact George Alderman and the purchase of the car pictured.

 

Now the questions!

 

How the hell do you get gas into the tank!:banghead: It really did not want to fill up. I tried various contortions with the hose and the orientation of the handle and adjusting the flow but it kept wanting to cut off

 

I can't quite get the seat to pedal position where I want. I have a short 30" inseam and either need to move the seat rails forward (standard Caterham seats on runners) or move the pedals aft. Are the pedals adjustable? The SV does not have the large trapezoidal foot box, but I think there is an access panel just under the intake. Are the pedals on threaded rods or does the whole assembly move?

 

I stopped the car and left the key in the ignition for about 15 minutes to show a friend. When I went to start the car, nothing happened. I tried removing the key and reinitiating but no luck. Finally I let the car roll backwards and tried a jump start. It did not start (I did not think the battery was dead), but when I turned the key it came to life. Any nuances to the immobilizer system? What does it take to deactivate it as I don't think I need it.

 

All in all, living the dream. My wife even enjoyed the first ride in the car (we will see about rides 2,3...)

 

Jay

[scannon]

Jay,

 

Welcome to the wacky world of Se7en ownership.

 

My SV has the same problem filling the tank. I just insert the nozzle about 2" and then hold the lever on the handle and fill at a slow rate. Sometimes I can get it to self fill on the lowest click on the handle. With a 10 gallon tank it doesn't take very long.

 

My SV is an '04 and the pedal pivots are not adjustable. There is a little adjustment via the threaded rods but they are in the trapezoidal box on my car. The throttle can also be adjusted up a bit by shortening the cable. I have a short inseam but have no problem reaching the pedals when I move the seat forward. I don't need it all the way forward and there are 2 or three position notches that I can work them from depending on whether I am feeling laid back or want to be close. You might have to move the seat tracks forward which should be quite easy. Just remove the four bolts through the floor and drill new ones further forward. Plug the old holes.

 

Can't help with the immobilizer, I didn't use the wiring for the Zetec ECU and eliminated the roll over switch for the fuel pump and if there was an immobilizer it went away when I used an aftermarket stand alone ECU.

[wemtd]

Congratulations (or condolences) Jay.

I can help you with the gas filler (had similar issues with my birkin) and burning some gas if you're back in town before the salt flies.

 

ps. love the color

 

cheers

P.

[Croc]

Hi Jay,

 

Perfect for touring around the country CT lanes. Stop your traveling and drive it! Congratulations on the choice!

 

Cheers

mike

[Kitcat]

Short term pedal solution: add a pillow to your seatback-it will shove you forward (Great looking car, BTW!). As Skip said, slowly filling the tank is the solution. And only put nozzle in part way (1-2"?). And you have to watch it as it will then spill out since you can't put the nozzle in far enough to trigger the automatic cut off. All the while you are fielding questions from the small crowd at the gas station gathered around your car. Only a flying saucer would generate more questions:).

Edited October 18, 2016 by Kitcat

[Anaximander]

Jay, First of all, I want to say big time congrats on joining the whacky band of 7 lovers! Secondly, I would like to second your appreciation for the forum members and especially Croc and his weekly postings of sevens for sale. A couple of years ago, I dipped my toe into the seven waters and bought the prototype M-Spec Stalker that Scott Minehart had developed. At the time, I was still working and planned to autocross the car and drive it around our deserted North Florida/South Georgia roads. However, I sold it fairly quickly as the preparation for x-cross was more than I was willing to deal with at the time.

 

Fast forward about a year and half after I sold the M-Spec and was casually returning to the site when my interest of 5 months ago for a particular Brunton Stalker was re-ignited. After extensive conversations with the wonderful fellow that built the car back in 2007/2008 about 5 months ago and then as recently as yesterday, I pulled the trigger on the classic Brunton Stalker in Texas.

 

This website is absolutely "infectious" when it comes to 7's of all kinds and I found that I was missing the true enjoyment of the marque and/or its close facsimile in the Classic Stalker. About 50 years ago when I was in high school in Southern California, I almost pulled the trigger on a 1962 Lotus Super Seven but my father's admonishment that I would be run over on LA freeways dissuaded me from getting the car and I ended up with a Triumph TR4. My M-Spec Stalker was a more modern variant of the 7 marque but not as traditional as the one I am getting this weekend. Again, congrats Jay on your new ride and thanks again to the forum members and especially Croc in keeping our interest so high for the marque. Bob

[yellowss7]

Congrats Jay! I've seen that car at George's place and it's a very nice car. Looking forward to seeing you out on track with us next year. Good luck with the car and watch out for wet leaves when you take it out now. Tom

[Dan3030]

I think we may have a new "beauty queen" at next year's NJMP event. I'm ok with that, I've gotten sick the event owner walking into the changing room anyways... :deadhorse::flag::grouphug:

 

NICE CAR!

[coffee break]

Ah, you drank the cool-aid. Now that you're hooked it's discovery time, all the unique aspects of having a 7.

I have found that not all gas pumps behave the same. Some operate at higher flow rates than others. Visit different stations and find ones that work better than others.

Also, tie wraps and some flexible material on the gas pedal may be a short term fix.

Welcome to the asylum!:hurray:

[yellowss7]

Jay, I never fill up at the station. I just fill a couple of 2.5 gallon jugs and a 5 gallon one and use the smaller flexible hose/filler on the jugs to get it in there. I also bought a long flexible funnel to use with the 5 gallon jug as it didn't come with the flexible filler. Might not work for long trips, but you can always bring the jug and use it to fill the car. Tom

[Black Hole]

Thank you for all of the kind replies and advice. I can see I will need plenty of support and the community here is a huge asset. I haven't owned such a "needy" car since my Austin-Healy 3000. I'll continue to experiment with the gas pumps and I can always follow Tom's advice and go for the fuel jugs.

 

Beautiful day here in CT so I drove it to work. Another friend drove his FF Cobra but my Europa buddy bailed! Needless to say in a parking lot of a huge aerospace company, I had plenty of people reviewing the car. Everyone is extremely impressed by the build quality as it is a very tidy car.

 

Experimented with adopting the Lotus Position (a la Jim Clark in a Lotus 25) by scrunching down in the seat and that worked pretty well to make the pedal position better. Now I just need to add some red to the interior

 

I am still having immobilizer issues. This morning and evening the car did not start when I turned the key. This evening I let it sit for about 30 sec and then it started right up. Any ideas?

 

And my oil pressure is running low at idle. After the car got hot (about 85deg) the pressure light came on at idle (which looks about 1 Bar - 14 psi on the gauge).The the car idles around 1200 RPM. The car is filled with mineral Rotella and I think it is a light viscosity (10W-30?) as the engine only has 100 miles or so since rebuild and this was put in for break in. George recommended changing after about 500 miles but I think I may need to go to 5W-50.

 

Next step is getting it registered. I am looking forward to the challenge (currently on a Delaware temp plate) :willy_nilly:

 

Jay

[MichaelD]

50 weight will help show higher OP. However the real problem is likely a bad Caterham OP gauge. Buy a cheap mechanical unit to test it out. Mine now shows 80 on start and 45 after a track session at idle and 80 under acceleration.

 

And Oh Yes...welcome to our wacky world.

[scannon]

Check the back of the ignition switch to make sure all the connections are tight especially the one for the starter motor. Also check the connections at the starter solenoid.

 

A few years ago I spent 2 hours in a service station parking lot in a small town in the middle of Colorado chasing down a no start. I finally found the crimp on the battery cable at the starter was loose inside its terminal.

[Black Hole]

Thanks, I was wondering if the Caterham gauge could be off. I know my tach is a bit flaky with a period of no RPMs after start up. I will have to check that.

 

50 weight will help show higher OP. However the real problem is likely a bad Caterham OP gauge. Buy a cheap mechanical unit to test it out. Mine now shows 80 on start and 45 after a track session at idle and 80 under acceleration.

 

And Oh Yes...welcome to our wacky world.

[Kitcat]

The stock Caterham OP gauge will only tell you that you have oil pressure, not how much. It is mostly decorative, so I did what MichaelD suggested and purchased an aftermarket mechanical gauge that fit. The peace of mind in knowing what the oil pressure actually is has been great. Also the occasional low pressure on turns has told me my oil level was low, so I was able to add oil and avoid catastrophe.

 

Chasing the sporadic no-start issue was my first great Caterham challenge, 10 years ago. Do what Skip suggests. The problem is, since it is intermittent, you can't reliably chase it down because it fixes itself while you are at it. After replacing my battery, starter, belts, solenoid, fuses, relays you name it, it turned out my problem was a loose ground wire. Since my Cat engine was pre-immobilizers, I was at least able to elimninate it from the cast of suspects.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Kitcat

[scannon]

My Caterham oil pressure gauge consistently reads barely at the top of the red zone. When it first happened I bought a cheap mechanical gauge and found that engine was producing 75 psi. When I look at the gauge and it shows any reading at all I don't worry about oil pressure.

 

I didn't install the mechanical gauge because I didn't want a non matching gauge on the panel and Miata engines rarely have oiling problems. Its been like this for the majority of the 26k miles I've put on the car.

[TurboWood]

Very good looking car, congrats and welcome.

 

Daniel

[Black Hole]

According to George Alderman who built the car the low pressure reading is not a concern and the light comes up at a high pressure (like 20 psi, not 3-4 psi). If I want to hook up a mechanical pressure gauge, where do I conveniently hook up to get the signal (where is the Caterham gauge tapped into the oil system?).

 

The starting "issue" continues to baffle me. I am pretty sure it is related to the immobilizer. I started the car around five times today. The good news it always started, but it does not start on the first key turn. The immobilizer light remained flashing, I think it may turn steady when it is OK to start. It seems to like it when I hold the key briefly in the start position, I then hear a whirring sound (does not sound like a relay click) and then it seems to start.

 

I am getting used to the clutch (first car I have stalled in a long time) and I am loving the way this car transitions in the corners:D Another day of fabulous weather and fantastic driving (just going to work was fun)

[mrmustang]

According to George Alderman who built the car the low pressure reading is not a concern and the light comes up at a high pressure (like 20 psi, not 3-4 psi). If I want to hook up a mechanical pressure gauge, where do I conveniently hook up to get the signal (where is the Caterham gauge tapped into the oil system?).

 

The starting "issue" continues to baffle me. I am pretty sure it is related to the immobilizer. I started the car around five times today. The good news it always started, but it does not start on the first key turn. The immobilizer light remained flashing, I think it may turn steady when it is OK to start. It seems to like it when I hold the key briefly in the start position, I then hear a whirring sound (does not sound like a relay click) and then it seems to start.

 

I am getting used to the clutch (first car I have stalled in a long time) and I am loving the way this car transitions in the corners:D Another day of fabulous weather and fantastic driving (just going to work was fun)

 

If you are using a Ford based immobilizer key set up, you may need to get a new key, as the micro battery located within the old key may be failing. Strange as it sounds, I've seen it before, mostly on the early Fusion/Focus cars with the immobilizer chipped keys.

 

Just more food for thought besides looking for a loose connection (which you should still check for on every connection due to the amount of vibration the chassis takes).........

 

Bill S

[Black Hole]

This is a Duratec car, but it uses a MBE ECU and a non-chipped key with a Sterling branded key fob. I don't think this type of fob has any battery in it?

 

If you are using a Ford based immobilizer key set up, you may need to get a new key, as the micro battery located within the old key may be failing. Strange as it sounds, I've seen it before, mostly on the early Fusion/Focus cars with the immobilizer chipped keys.

 

Just more food for thought besides looking for a loose connection (which you should still check for on every connection due to the amount of vibration the chassis takes).........

 

Bill S