Getting ready for delivery....

[ukchris]

So things are moving, finally, I've agreed to terms and started the transportation process for my 7, it'll no doubt be a few weeks yet but I'm starting to plan things I may want to do, particularly while waiting for the weather to improved. I wasn't sure whether to start separate threads, for now I figured one thread and a list would be more efficient.

 

Polishing an Aluminium (Aluminum?) Body

My car will have an unpainted body, fenders and nose in BRG. This (I think) my favorite combination but I'm debating if/how to polish it. Part of me wants to go *shiny* but I suspect it may be a lot of work and then a lot of work to maintain. How do those of you with base bodies maintain them?

 

Fenders/Nose

I may have some chips to deal with, if so I am inclined to have a go at wrapping them in vinyl, there seems to be a lot of different opinions on wraps, has anyone tried to do the fenders and nose themselves?

 

Coolant Hoses

The care has a minor coolant leak, not sure it'll be a big deal but I may look to replace all of the hoses, how big of a job is this for a relatively inexperienced mechanic? Are there any procedures / tutorials out there you'd recommend?

 

Removable Steering Wheel

My last 7 had a removable Momo which I liked, this one has a fixed Caterham wheel, what is involved in terms of cost and effort to swap from one to the other?

 

General Maintenance

Once the car arrives I'd like to do a general check-up, does anyone have a list of what to focus on (and quite possibly how to do it) as I get in to things?

 

I'm sure there'll be more...

[yellowss7]

Don't know what engine your car has, but changing hoses is probably the easiest thing you can do. Drain the coolant from the radiator, using the bolt at the bottom of one of the corners, Open the reservoir cap to let air in which helps it drain. Squeeze the hoses to help get the coolant out. Undo the clamps, remove the hoses and replace and reinstall the drain plug.

 

When filling, it may be helpful to raise the end of the car where the reservoir is located. If in the front, raise the front, if up on the firewall, raise the rear or put it on a slight hill nose down. That will help the air move up and out while you fill it.

 

Fill if from the reservoir first. Squeeze the hoses to help the air move out, and top up again as needed. If your car has a heater, you may have to undo one of the top hoses to it to fill. Installing a bleed Tee is a good idea as well.

 

After the coolant is filled to the correct level in the reservoir, start up the car and run it until the thermostat opens and top up as necessary. Leave the cap off as you warm it up. Good luck. Tom

[yellowss7]

General maintenance.

 

Do a complete nut and bolt check. Things vibrate and loosen often on these cars. Check wheel bearing. Torque your wheel bolts correctly. Change the oil and filter. check your battery. Check the brake pads every 10-15 years.:jester: That's it. Simple. Tom

[lucky dawg]

I had the nose covered in 3M wrap several years ago. It has had up well and protected better than I could have hoped for.

[ukchris]

Don't know what engine your car has, but changing hoses is probably the easiest thing you can do. Drain the coolant from the radiator, using the bolt at the bottom of one of the corners, Open the reservoir cap to let air in which helps it drain. Squeeze the hoses to help get the coolant out. Undo the clamps, remove the hoses and replace and reinstall the drain plug.

 

When filling, it may be helpful to raise the end of the car where the reservoir is located. If in the front, raise the front, if up on the firewall, raise the rear or put it on a slight hill nose down. That will help the air move up and out while you fill it.

 

Fill if from the reservoir first. Squeeze the hoses to help the air move out, and top up again as needed. If your car has a heater, you may have to undo one of the top hoses to it to fill. Installing a bleed Tee is a good idea as well.

 

After the coolant is filled to the correct level in the reservoir, start up the car and run it until the thermostat opens and top up as necessary. Leave the cap off as you warm it up. Good luck. Tom

 

Thanks Tom, it's a 1.6 Sigma/Zetec SE Ti-VCT with a Radtec radiator, I get the feeling that once it's here I need to ferret around a little based on your guidance then post questions / photos if I'm still confused. Need to assess if it's a leak or a dribble but as you say swapping hoses shouldn't be a big deal so may be worthwhile experience either way.

[ukchris]

I had the nose covered in 3M wrap several years ago. It has had up well and protected better than I could have hoped for.

 

Did you do it yourself? I've been watching videos on youtube and I'm tempted to give it a go myself, the vinyl doesn't seem expensive and as it is (in theory) easy to remove it seems reasonable to give it a shot before paying someone else to do it. Much as I like the BRG I'm leaning towards either carbon fiber look or bright orange.

[ukchris]

General maintenance.

 

Do a complete nut and bolt check. Things vibrate and loosen often on these cars. Check wheel bearing. Torque your wheel bolts correctly. Change the oil and filter. check your battery. Check the brake pads every 10-15 years.:jester: That's it. Simple. Tom

 

I need to check if the seller will include the build manuals - or if I can get them online, I suspect they'd be a very handy reference to have around.

[yellowss7]

This might help.

 

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/827135/Caterham-Seven.html#manual

[lucky dawg]

Did you do it yourself? I've been watching videos on youtube and I'm tempted to give it a go myself, the vinyl doesn't seem expensive and as it is (in theory) easy to remove it seems reasonable to give it a shot before paying someone else to do it. Much as I like the BRG I'm leaning towards either carbon fiber look or bright orange.

It is the clear film. I had mine professionally done, which was a good thing because of the difficult compound curves.

[coffee break]

Try Burtonpower.com for hoses. I got a complete set* of silicone hoses that were specific to my car. They aren't items you can get from a local parts house.

 

* a "complete set" was an upper and lower radiator hoses and a length of heater hose, But it fit!

[Croc]

General maintenance.

 

Do a complete nut and bolt check. Things vibrate and loosen often on these cars. Check wheel bearing. Torque your wheel bolts correctly. Change the oil and filter. check your battery. Check the brake pads every 10-15 years.:jester: That's it. Simple. Tom

 

 

I would add to Tom's list, this:

- engine mounts secure and rubber not cracked

- radiator mounts

- exhaust bobbins not deteriorated - exhaust connections to body is a good one

- the hexagonal nut joining the two parts of the steering column together is a very good one to check

- diff bolts secure is a good check

- I would replace brake fluid with fresh stuff for peace of mind

- replace the metal rear wing connectors to the body with the plastic riv nuts (or whatever they are called). If you ever rip out a rear wing then the metal is undamaged on the body with the plastic nuts.

- check if your brake hoses are weeping fluid - replace

- check fuel hoses for cracking - replace

- identify where your roll over cut off switch is located under the bonnet. guarantee you will trigger it at the first pot hole and have to reset it.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Croc

[yellowss7]

If you plan to autox, or track the car, the plastic/nylon bolt replacement on the rear wings is a must. You can buy a bag of them at McMaster Carr on line pretty cheaply. https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/124/3236/=1bsv4cv They are 5mm and 25 mm long. item # 94175A435

 

As Croc says they break off and don't rip out the rivenuts and save your aluminum skin from damage. You also don't need to replace all the bolts. Five or six are plenty to hold the wing on securely. Brake fluid is a yearly maintenance item imo.

Edited March 3, 2018 by yellowss7

[wemtd]

Other essentials:

- Mirrors For Sevens http://www.mirrorsforsevens.com

- paint protection film (if you want to try your hand at it. this is what i used and it stands up extremely well after 3 years) LLumar-12 fit my car well. https://clearmask.com/bulk-paint-protection-headlamp-protection-films.html

- I use Alex at GranitStateDyno for tune-ups & full mapping and have been happy.

[breezy7]

I need to check if the seller will include the build manuals - or if I can get them online, I suspect they'd be a very handy reference to have around.

 

Build guide from 2014:https://www.lotus7.club/sites/default/files/images/Docs/Guides/guide.pdf

[bball7754]

I noticed that no one has chimed in on the aluminum polishing, so thought I’d share my experience.

 

I’ve been polishing now for 13 years, and actually bought a Mallock race car that is polished aluminum. So, take that into account.

 

I’ve used Nuvite polish for about the last 10 years. I started with Mothers, but got caught up in the polishing and did some research that resulted in using the Nuvite. It comes in different grades, so the coarser grade can be used to bring back the finish on aluminum that hasn’t been polished for some time. Then you follow it up with the fine grade to remove the scratches the coarse grade leaves.

 

You definitely don’t want to do the car by hand. Some type of polisher should be purchased. I first bought the Porter Cable Random Orbit 7424, which I still use. About 5 years ago I bought a Cyclo polisher.

 

The Nuvite and Cyclo polisher, as well as other polishing products and info, can be purchased from Perfect Polish:

 

https://www.perfectpolish.com/

 

Over the years, I’ve taken more and more of the car apart before I polish. I’ve found that the more is removed, the easier the access is. You’ll want to first get the car on jack stands as high as possible, primarily to save your back. I then remove the wheels, all fenders, the windshield and stanchions, and the exhaust from the headers back. I polish the windshield frame and stanchions off the car.

 

I use blue painters tape to mask off anywhere I don’t want polish - for instance the windshield wiper mounts and the top of the interior sides.

 

For me, it’s a full weekend plus to complete the polishing. It has gotten easier and faster.

 

And wear clothes you don’t care about. It’s pretty messy. I wear latex gloves to keep my hands from being black for a week.

 

Once a year allows me to just polish using the Nuvite S, and not have to compound with the coarser grade.

 

It is a fair amount of work, but worth it - at least to me. YMMV

 

Steve

[ukchris]

Great post Steve, thank you. I'm leaning towards polishing and will look at ordering some Nuvite, is the Cyclo what you'd recommend as a polisher?

 

I noticed that no one has chimed in on the aluminum polishing, so thought I’d share my experience.

 

I’ve been polishing now for 13 years, and actually bought a Mallock race car that is polished aluminum. So, take that into account.

 

I’ve used Nuvite polish for about the last 10 years. I started with Mothers, but got caught up in the polishing and did some research that resulted in using the Nuvite. It comes in different grades, so the coarser grade can be used to bring back the finish on aluminum that hasn’t been polished for some time. Then you follow it up with the fine grade to remove the scratches the coarse grade leaves.

 

You definitely don’t want to do the car by hand. Some type of polisher should be purchased. I first bought the Porter Cable Random Orbit 7424, which I still use. About 5 years ago I bought a Cyclo polisher.

 

The Nuvite and Cyclo polisher, as well as other polishing products and info, can be purchased from Perfect Polish:

 

https://www.perfectpolish.com/

 

Over the years, I’ve taken more and more of the car apart before I polish. I’ve found that the more is removed, the easier the access is. You’ll want to first get the car on jack stands as high as possible, primarily to save your back. I then remove the wheels, all fenders, the windshield and stanchions, and the exhaust from the headers back. I polish the windshield frame and stanchions off the car.

 

I use blue painters tape to mask off anywhere I don’t want polish - for instance the windshield wiper mounts and the top of the interior sides.

 

For me, it’s a full weekend plus to complete the polishing. It has gotten easier and faster.

 

And wear clothes you don’t care about. It’s pretty messy. I wear latex gloves to keep my hands from being black for a week.

 

Once a year allows me to just polish using the Nuvite S, and not have to compound with the coarser grade.

 

It is a fair amount of work, but worth it - at least to me. YMMV

 

Steve

[Kitcat]

I can attest to BBall's se7en being a thing of polished Alu beauty! As can anyone who has attended our annual gathering at NJMP.

[ukchris]

More broadly thank you all, sorry for the delayed response but I ended up spending most of the weekend preparing the 7's new home in my barn, built a new staircase, installed a garage door opener and made a start at tidying up!

 

I'm thinking I need to invest in some axle stands fairly quickly, and recommendations? Amazon and Harbor Freight seem to have them for around $25 a pair, any horror stories? I figure I need to make sure that a) they will not collapse and b) are high enough.

 

Need to replace my floor jack too that I somehow lost in a divorce..! I'd think the Harbor Freight low profile race jack again?

[xcarguy]

I can attest to BBall's se7en being a thing of polished Alu beauty! As can anyone who has attended our annual gathering at NJMP.

 

i think this is BBall’s 7 from the 2014 event. Kitcat, if I’m wrong, please correct me.

[JohnCh]

I'm thinking I need to invest in some axle stands fairly quickly, and recommendations? Amazon and Harbor Freight seem to have them for around $25 a pair, any horror stories? I figure I need to make sure that a) they will not collapse and b) are high enough.

 

Although not cheap, the Esco stands are fantastic. They have plenty of height, a secure locking pin, and a padded flat top that doesn't mar the chassis rails.

 

-John