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New 7 owner in S'consin


rdhunt1

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Hey all,

Long time lurker, and finally jumped in! This was the car that was advertised down in South Carolina. 1996 super sprint live axle. I flew down with the intent of driving it the 1068 miles back to Wisconsin. Not a stranger to little expeditions like this since many a street bike and car have been procured in this fashion. While we did decide that it fits in my toyhauler...driving is better! Robert (seller) was adamant that it would make the trip and even changed all fluids for me. Needless to say I was giddy to be driving a 7 for the first time on the test ride...right up until the clutch cable broke! Not to worry we limped it the short jump back to the shop and devised a plan that included cutting the outer back and crimping it back together in the pedal box. First go, not successful. Wires started pulling through crimp almost immediately. Second go we crimped a little better and made stops that if it did pull it could only go so far. Success, and is still holding...1068 miles later! Of course there was bank/money snafu's that had to make it less than seamless, but in the end it worked and both parties are happy! Me, maybe MUCH MORE SO!!

 

Having snowed ever so lightly from say Wisconsin to Florida the day before i was going to head home we put the top up and i headed out. Clean and clear until well into Tn, where i was going to meet up with a pal and his son in their wife/mom's z4m. It was gunna be his alfa 4c until the crappy white stuff fell! I was surprised with the green corduroy button up that matches the car with R.Hunt on one side and Caterham Super 7 embroidered on the other in yellow! I have great friends! We attempted to make a break for the gap (tail of the dragon, us 129, etc, etc...) but more and more of the little roads were closed due to ice and snow. Bummer. So we turned tail and just took nice roads up into Kentucky to see some of his family and park for the night. I will have to find the 7 passing the Z car in a tunnel footage, it's pretty sweet! After that, it was pretty uneventful all the way home. 70 mph, 4k rpm, roughly 20 mpg giggling like an idiot the whole time!!

 

I now have a 7...Finally! its keeping company with a few other garage toys. Some others are already packed away in the house. (yup...single) Lots of late nights cuz i cant stop playing with it. Lots of exploring, cleaning, tidying, new toy fun! Look forward to meeting some of you in the future. Josh at rocky mountain (sending me aforementioned clutch cable!) said there are two others 7's he knows of near me. It will likely see a trackday or two at the places I am familiar with.

 

So in short.. Sup yall!21.jpg6.jpg

 

Ryan

Edited by rdhunt1
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Hello rdHunt1,

Best of luck with the new toy. I was on the fence to purchase this Cat and spoke with Robert several times. Seems like a really good guy. Did a little research on him and he’s a pretty interesting character. Even wrote a book. Must have been a real fun ride home. Have fun tweaking it all winter.

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8 year?. No kidding. That's some lurking.

A 1000+ drive mile home in spotty weather is proof those 8 years were well spent! As others have said great first post and great first drive.

 

-John

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Thanks all. Hope to glean some knowledge off the board for future...ahem...improvements, along with all the requisite tips and tricks. Still just giving the 7 the official heavy once over.

 

Had a great time in SC with Robert. Good conversation, food and drink and an overnight stay in a room by the ocean! There are lots of beautiful cars in his friend circle! I was privileged to see some personal collections of cars and bikes, some of the bikes (two and four stroke) being the same as my own. Many of the cars were downright amazing. I did get a copy of his book for the coffee table...signed of course! Yet to read it as i would much rather play in the garage to wee hours of the morning. Ride home was a ball!

 

While this is my first 7 the stable does include all sorts of other bits and bobbles... Suppose i should make a signature.

 

1967 Royal Enfield Interceptor

1972 Suzuki GT750

1976 Yamaha RD400 racebike

1979 Yamaha RD400 daytona streetbike

1982 Honda CBX

1984 Yamaha RZ350

1985 550 Jetski

1990 Yamaha TZ250

1996 Yamaha YZ250 dirt/ice bike

2014 Yamaha RD400 racing sidecar

2015 BMW K1300s daily ride

skypup ultralight

 

There is just too much cool stuff out there and not enough time, space, and money to get it all!!

 

Again, Thanks all for the warm welcome.

 

Ryan

Edited by rdhunt1
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Welcome Ryan!

Hope the heater worked well on your ride home. Here is a photo of your car at the Charleston British car show a few years ago.

It was a nice warm day then! Eric

 

Well look a that!! Very Cool! Thanks Eric

 

The heater was...adequate... on the way home. I did bring along a heated motorcycle vest that did get used for a few hours. I have since massaged the doors to fit tighter against the body to reduce the drafts. This alone made a noticeable improvement. Once home the heater core o-rings decided it was time to give up so the heater box was disassembled to be cleaned as I replaced them. I spent some (too much) time making a new foam surround to seal around the heater core. The old one was likely original and disintegrating. This made a drastic improvement in heater core efficiency due to reduced blow-by of fresh air around the sides of the core. I'd say it is at least 50% better than it was. The air is much warmer when it is forced THROUGH the heater core!

 

List goes on and on for new owner tinkering. Last night I pulled the tops of the carbs to get a baseline on all jetting to see if anything is out of the ordinary. Now I just need to find out what stock is supposed to be. I'll throw that question over in tech.

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You have inspired me to add my boat to my signature.

 

Thanks all. Hope to glean some knowledge off the board for future...ahem...improvements, along with all the requisite tips and tricks. Still just giving the 7 the official heavy once over.

 

Had a great time in SC with Robert. Good conversation, food and drink and an overnight stay in a room by the ocean! There are lots of beautiful cars in his friend circle! I was privileged to see some personal collections of cars and bikes, some of the bikes (two and four stroke) being the same as my own. Many of the cars were downright amazing. I did get a copy of his book for the coffee table...signed of course! Yet to read it as i would much rather play in the garage to wee hours of the morning. Ride home was a ball!

 

While this is my first 7 the stable does include all sorts of other bits and bobbles... Suppose i should make a signature.

 

1967 Royal Enfield Interceptor

1972 Suzuki GT750

1976 Yamaha RD400 racebike

1979 Yamaha RD400 daytona streetbike

1982 Honda CBX

1984 Yamaha RZ350

1985 550 Jetski

1990 Yamaha TZ250

1996 Yamaha YZ250 dirt/ice bike

2014 Yamaha RD400 racing sidecar

2015 BMW K1300s daily ride

skypup ultralight

 

There is just too much cool stuff out there and not enough time, space, and money to get it all!!

 

Again, Thanks all for the warm welcome.

 

Ryan

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You have inspired me to add my boat to my signature.

 

Oh don't go there!!! I had a '99 Donzi ZX28 from '15 to '18. Twin stock 350's with bravo1's and labbed props up here for lake michigan and winnebago. I never thought 64mph could feel so f'n fast!! Beautiful ride trimmed up with the hull aired out! It liked to be touched...cleaning, maintenance and was work, but i really enjoyed it. Ex wife decided we had had enough fun with it and said we should sell it, and filed for divorce two months later. I miss my boat more than the Ex and frequently look about for a Donzi Classic 22 or a Checkmate Pulsare. Next one wont have twins. Safety for lake Mi, but that lake is rarely really nice to boat on unless you are longer than 28', so ill stay inland.

 

Spent a fair bit of time looking for a whaler for my cousin that lives up on Winneconnie (linked to winnbago). Dauntless, Nantucket, Montauk. He lusts after one like i do a 7!

 

Birds of a feather!

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  • 4 weeks later...

It is white up here in s'consin so the front to back once over is well underway on the 7. Front wheel bearing inners were pretty toasted, so inners and outers were replaced.

 

right.jpg

While i was up there the front calipers got split, cleaned and new seals. Took some harsh chemicals and a stainless brush but the end result is pretty sweet!

caliper after.jpg

Rear bearings were a little suspect so they came out as well. The scoring on the balls is kind of interesting...

 

 

That far in may as well pull the diff...This was the ring gear side carrier race.

The other carrier was about the same. Pinions were better but scarred from hardened bearing material sloshing about.

Edited by rdhunt1
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Brake backing plates were getting a bit rusty so they got a respray before reassembly.

 

clean plate.jpg

 

OE black diff housing paint had all but disappeared so it got cleaned off and resprayed in high temp "cast iron". Looks nice. easy to clean.

diff housing.jpg

 

Pulled the alternator to have it tested and give it a refresh. Sooooo, I may have gotten bored and lightened the alternator bracket that nobody will ever see. 21 to 14 oz!!! 28% weight reduction!! Should have just made a new one from aluminum. Before and after.

alt bracket before.jpg

alt bracket after.jpg

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Come to find out I have 3.9:1 rear ratio. Still marked with the axle sticker and counted teeth to confirm. Is that common for a supersprint with a four speed? Reassembly of the diff went well. Feels beautiful compared to before, marking looks ok. Backlash fell right back to where it was before disassembly at about .008 to .009". Anybody know if this is correct?

IMG_20210110_155901.jpg

I think the original carrier bolts are toast. I have read that they are supposed to be 65 ft/lbs. They took 50 ft/lbs just fine. Anything over that started to take way to much torque wrench rotation. Threads in the cast iron look excellent. Bolts are slightly different lengths, and I can see where one is necking/stretching. They are 'T' marked on the head which I think is about an 8.8 here in the states. M10x1.0 x ~45. Cant find any small head bolts that will fit (all 'normal' bolts have wrench size 17mm, when these are 14mm) I did find m10x1.0x50 12.9 socket head cap screws. Head diameter is identical to the OE lockwasher. Even a touch longer to utilize all the thread in the housing. If i have to shorten them a bit to be perfect, so be it. The head is about 4mm taller than OE, but can spin'm down if there is clearance issues.

 

EDIT: Come to find out the carrier bolts on a Morris live axle aren't metric. I am now convinced they are 3/8-24. That should be easier to find!

EDIT #2: ARP bolts inbound. That'll be a cute surprise for whoever opens the diff after me.

Edited by rdhunt1
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repost from up above....maybe my pics were still to big...

Rear bearings were a little suspect so they came out as well. The scoring on the balls is kind of interesting...

drivers rear small.jpg

 

That far in may as well pull the diff...This was the ring gear side carrier race.

carrier left.jpg

The other carrier was about the same. Pinions were better but scarred from hardened bearing material sloshing about.

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It rained for a day up here and cleaned the roads off good enough for a test drive with the new wheel, diff, and alternator bearings. The difference in noise is really astonishing! Previously sounded like I had straight cut trans gears like one of my racebike primaries, so much so that I used earplugs on the trip to bring the car to WI. Now... Little to no perceptible unwanted drivetrain noise. Just intake, exhaust, and what I believe is one loose valve. Now I really cant wait for my complete bushing kit from Bruce!

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Pulled the starter last night with the intent of just cleaning the power terminal. Found that the solenoid terminal had a fractured solder joint so that was remedied. Then I started to clean the oily goop from in an around the starter gear and crap just kept coming out. Sooooo.... the front housing had to come off. Good lord was there junk in there! Cleaned it up, lubed the gear splines, shaft, bushing and reassembled.

 

A seven on ramps is still really low, but from underneath I can see the clean lightened alt bracket!! Might crank just a little better now with clean terminals. Moved on to balancing carbs and trying to map the ignition curve but that's over in tech.

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