New addition here in SC-RHD 2003 SV

[mrmustang]

OK, it's not 100% Croc's fault, but his constant taunting by posting cars for sale, week in, and week out finally wore me down.

 

After a few years of no "7", I've finally brought another one into the fold, a world traveling, RHD 2003 SV. Spec'd and built by it's original owner in the UK, originally a Rover powered car, now a 202hp Ztec (working on digging up specs, but have plenty of emails with caterhamusa) 5spd, the car has seen travels in several continents, the UK, Australia (his honeymoon), apparently Italy, Scotland, St Mortiz, just to name a few, before a change in career paths brought him and the car to the USA in 2004/2005 time period. In 2016 the car changed hands, the car was actually posted here for sale as "2003 Caterham Super Seven SV 200 bhp specification engine purchased from Caterham USA, 2004. 4 throttle bodies 5 Speed, LSD, Heater, heated screen, Tonneau, Top, Sun Top, 21,000 miles',  with the 2nd owner(a gracious man I might add) adding an additional 3,830 miles since that time while it resided in Kentucky.The 2nd owner actually made a post inquiring on potentially selling it, and I reached out at the time (7 months ago or so) to see if I could guide him through the process. Not looking for a car at the time, but apparently and subliminally selling it to myself in that process. I've only had time to drive the car off the carrier yesterday and park in on my lawn (new concrete driveway poured this past Friday, two weeks ahead of schedule), after adding 5 gallons of fuel to get it to fire of course. Went through some of the 8" thick files this AM, sure to stumble across additional information. I've got a busy week ahead, and the weather here is not likely to get warmer than 39 degrees, so the car will probably sit covered till I can get it in the garage next Sunday.

 

Going to be a fun project to sort out and drive, looking forward to it.

 

Bill

 

PS: Anyone know where I can get a copy of the publication shown in picture number 4?

 

[theDreamer]

I'll ask the Lotus 7 and Caterham Club in the UK.

 

[mrmustang]

15 minutes ago, theDreamer said:

I'll ask the Lotus 7 and Caterham Club in the UK.

 

Thanks, I did just a few minutes ago (I'm a member there on and off for years), as their archives are extensive, but I'm not sure what year or issue the car was featured on the cover. Trying to narrow it down before I go through month by month and year by year myself.

 

Bill S.

Edited Sunday at 01:21 PM by mrmustang

[theDreamer]

Hopefully a member will be able to help you. You do have the time frame already according to your brief history above. The car was built in 2003 and arrived in the states no later than 2005.

Good luck with the search and congrats on the returning to the fold.

[MV8]

Congrats! 

https://lowflying.lotus7.club/2001/2001_06_Jun.pdf

[JohnCh]

Congrats @mrmustang!  As for the weather, as long as it's dry, 39F is plenty warm for short get acquainted drive.  Heck, the car even has a top!

 

BTW moving this to the Members Rides forum.

[mrmustang]

1 hour ago, JohnCh said:

Congrats @mrmustang!  As for the weather, as long as it's dry, 39F is plenty warm for short get acquainted drive.  Heck, the car even has a top!

 

BTW moving this to the Members Rides forum.

Insurance (Monday) title and plates (Tuesday/Wednesday), then a quick going through the basics (fluids, electronics, filters, tire age and pressures) on Wednesday or Thursday (still sitting on the front lawn) and a drive after that. Temperatures never bother me, -6 is the coldest new years day ride with the top down, so yeah, I'm one of those guys.

Should be able to drive on the new driveway next Sunday or Monday, which means getting it truly under cover (no pun intended) and close to my tool boxes.

 

Bill S.

[mrmustang]

3 hours ago, MV8 said:

Congrats! 

https://lowflying.lotus7.club/2001/2001_06_Jun.pdf

Thanks, that is what I was looking for. Interesting it's the June 2001 issue, wonder if the picture was just used as a template since this car was not ordered till 2002 and delivered 2003.

 

Bill

[mrmustang]

Anyone know if the Caterhamusa.com is still around?

Trying to get additional information of the 202 hp Zetec with 4-50mm throttle body injection manifold and Pectel engine management system. I'm seeing mention in my plethora of printed email (info@caterhamusa.com) correspondences to Engine ($10,000), dry sump ($1,170), and exhaust ($2,100) all dated April 9th, 2004.

 

Thanks again in advance

 

Bill

Edited Sunday at 05:31 PM by mrmustang

[Vovchandr]

9 minutes ago, mrmustang said:

Trying to get additional information .... Pectel engine management system.

 

Welcome to the Club!

 

There are literally a...handful of us

[mrmustang]

8 minutes ago, Vovchandr said:

 

Welcome to the Club!

 

There are literally a...handful of us

Suggestions?

 

Keep and force it to work properly

Go back to a stock Zetec induction and ECU?

Replace with ?

 

Right now, with a short run, from reprime of the system to a ride 3 houses up and back after idle warm up, and a few pops and a lot of hesitation.

 

I have not otherwise touched the car yet

 

 

I'm all ears

Edited Sunday at 05:51 PM by mrmustang

[Vovchandr]

21 minutes ago, mrmustang said:

Suggestions?

 

Keep and force it to work properly

Go back to a stock Zetec induction and ECU?

Replace with ?

 

Right now, with a short run, from reprime of the system to a ride 3 houses up and back after idle warm up, and a few pops and a lot of hesitation.

 

I have not otherwise touched the car yet

 

 

I'm all ears

 

I've been battling this myself.

 

One on hand I'm a big fan of not fixing something if it aint broken.

 

On the other, it's been a wild card of issues throughout my ownership of 5 or 6 years now?

 

I know if I get into swapping to a different ECU its going to be a long down time and it's not worth it for me as the "improvement" doesn't change anything in the day to day operation (IF things are working now). Improvement is in the troubleshooting and tuning for if/when that time comes. 

What is your induction exactly? ITB's? If so I personally wouldn't get rid of them. I love mine and they are really a defining characteristic of the car as it sits, thats why I kept them even throughout the issues. With that said, if you want to keep them you need to keep a standalone ECU of sorts and you can't go to stock.

 

Going to stock regardless is a big undertaking with little to no gain other than sanity and you'll lose performance with this "upgrade".

 

Committing to a new standalone is the right choice but it's expensive. Hardware alone will be thousands of dollars between wiring and a new unit. Not to mention labor if you're not doing it yourself.

 

Hence the dilemma and why I and most people and up "stuck" with these units and keep limping them along. Last summer I thought I fried mine when I reversed the terminals on the battery and left the car dead. That lead down a long and expensive path of partitioning, getting a new unit and wiring harness, sending both old unit and new unit to CT for testing etc. Months of panic and a bill with a comma in it just to discover a 3.5A inline fuse that I couldn't find. 

 

Big problem is it's an old unit with very few active users. The few of us that have these units can stick together and make sense of it all and then it won't be nowhere near as much of a headache. We collectively now have some understanding of it, have the software, some of us have datalogging figured out etc

 

Post here with questions/problems. 

 

Edited Sunday at 06:11 PM by Vovchandr

[Croc]

40 minutes ago, mrmustang said:

Anyone know if the Caterhamusa.com is still around?

Trying to get additional information of the 202 hp Zetec with 4-50mm throttle body injection manifold and Pectel engine management system. I'm seeing mention in my plethora of printed email (info@caterhamusa.com) correspondences to Engine ($10,000), dry sump ($1,170), and exhaust ($2,100) all dated April 9th, 2004.

 

Thanks again in advance

 

Bill

 

In 2001, the CaterhamUSA.com was connected with the old Rocky Mountain Sports Cars (RMSC), which had the sole Caterham importer rights to the USA at the time - its now defunct.  Don't confuse that with the the current Rocky Mountain Caterham - they are not related legally or by people. 

 

Is this a SVT Zetec or the regular cooking model Zetec? 

 

 

[Vovchandr]

45 minutes ago, Croc said:

regular cooking model Zetec? 

 

Very regular. Same ITB setup as most of us have state side with Zetecs/Pectel combos. 

 

 

Your biggest saving grace for having a Zetec is having @1turbofocus not too far away from where you are. He's not too familiar with Pectels while we messed around with mine but if you can have data logging sorted out, wide band installed, adjustable cam gears setup and software on your laptop then he can tune it just like anything else. 

Edited Sunday at 07:04 PM by Vovchandr

[mrmustang]

So, no dry sump, looks like you are correct ITB's (have not pulled air filter yet to really confirm)

Where we get into questioning things is between the next two pictures

Clearly a ZX3 head

However, this one makes me question the internals

While this appears to show the ITB's we would expect when someone labels the induction "4 roller barrels"

At least we have a non cat, really nice header and exhaust

 

The above was the only time I had today to get under the bonnet.

 

Other notes, no dropped floors (I didn't think so when I purchased it), Caterham-zetec ribbed/reinforced pan.

 

Bill

 

Edited Sunday at 07:53 PM by mrmustang

[theDreamer]

Don’t know why I didn’t mention this the first time as I did see them. The car on the cover of Lowflying is running a pair of Weber carbs with K&N filters poking out of the bonnet. Your car has no such cutout in the bonnet. So, it either was a paint scheme that was offered or the original owner liked the cover shot so much he had it duplicated. Sort of like my car which is a LHD copy of a one off RHD show car.

Edited Sunday at 09:01 PM by theDreamer

[Vovchandr]

1 hour ago, mrmustang said:

While this appears to show the ITB's we would expect when someone labels the induction "4 roller barrels"

 

ITB's can be either roller barrel or butterfly valve.

 

TWM's above (now owned by Borla if you need a rebuild) are butterfly type that are commonly used state side. 

 

Roller barrel talks I've mostly seen when people discuss things on the other side of the pond for K series or Rover engines and the like.

 

I don't believe you have an idle air control valve for idle so your ITB's are likely setup to hold butterflies slightly open with an idle screw. Your manifold had ports for IAC valve but they are plugged (each runner has a nipple on it past injectors)

 

On an old car like yours when it runs funny is to do full maintenance/inspection on all mechanical items that could have worn down over years and miles.

 

Full engine health test > compression + leakdown. (can be rented)

Sparkplugs replaced and regapped

Coolant system pressure test (rent it at autozone/advance for free)

Get a vaccum reader for each one of your runners to see if they are all pulling similar vacuum 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMC57R0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ideally get a wideband air meter mounted as well

Check the health of your air filter covering ITB's (mine disintegrated) 

Get a fuel pressure guage mounted to make sure you're getting around 40psi going into the ITB's

 

You need to know all your mechanicals are solid before you want to dive in troubleshooting ECU or whether you need to

 

Lots of these things have been learned by me the hard way over the years and are documented in my looong thread..

 

I'm slightly jealous of the people who have either modern engines or regular zetecs on stock ECU but unreliable cars make good stories so I have lots of those I suppose..

[mrmustang]

2 minutes ago, Vovchandr said:

 

ITB's can be either roller barrel or butterfly valve.

 

TWM's above (now owned by Borla if you need a rebuild) are butterfly type that are commonly used state side. 

 

Roller barrel talks I've mostly seen when people discuss things on the other side of the pond for K series or Rover engines and the like.

 

I don't believe you have an idle air control valve for idle so your ITB's are likely setup to hold butterflies slightly open with an idle screw. Your manifold had ports for IAC valve but they are plugged (each runner has a nipple on it past injectors)

 

On an old car like yours when it runs funny is to do full maintenance/inspection on all mechanical items that could have worn down over years and miles.

 

Full engine health test > compression + leakdown. (can be rented)

Sparkplugs replaced and regapped

Coolant system pressure test (rent it at autozone/advance for free)

Get a vaccum reader for each one of your runners to see if they are all pulling similar vacuum 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMC57R0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ideally get a wideband air meter mounted as well

Check the health of your air filter covering ITB's (mine disintegrated) 

Get a fuel pressure guage mounted to make sure you're getting around 40psi going into the ITB's

 

You need to know all your mechanicals are solid before you want to dive in troubleshooting ECU or whether you need to

 

Lots of these things have been learned by me the hard way over the years and are documented in my looong thread..

 

I'm slightly jealous of the people who have either modern engines or regular zetecs on stock ECU but unreliable cars make good stories so I have lots of those I suppose..

Thanks, I should (maybe) have a compression tester in my toolbox and yes, that was on my list along with filters (fuel/air) and new plugs and wires. A quick squirt to all moving parts to lubricate them. No smell of coolant, but testing will be added to my list of things to do, in other circles, I call that "baselining" where I bring all maintenance to current so I do not have to worry about when it was last done. Taking the fuel tank to true empty and sucking 20+ years of crap into the filter is never a good thing, hoping it did not make it past the filter. Fuel gauges underhood make me nervous, but I may have one off a past race car I can make work to test the pressure.  Airflow meter just ordered, might get it on the 17th, thanks for the link, sure beats the old one I have for tuning downdrafts on my old TR6. Filter was sticky as heck today, as I was dressed a bit to clean for dealing with that, I left it in place for another day, but I get where you are coming from. The rest, yes, the ECU and tuning is the last thing I was planning to touch. I'll get to everything once it's safely in one of the garage spaces next Sunday or Monday.

 

Anything else you can think of, I'm all ears, the last similar setup I had was under an Emerald Controller, and I didn't need to do a thing with it while I owned the car.

 

 

Bill

[1turbofocus]

Im Located in Belmont NC let me know if I can help , Focus-Power.com 

 

Tom

[mrmustang]

3 hours ago, 1turbofocus said:

Im Located in Belmont NC let me know if I can help , Focus-Power.com 

 

Tom

Tom,

 

    Thanks, if I have to get into the ECU/tuning, or find myself stumped, you'll be the first I'll contact. The rest is all the same to me, either vintage iron, to SWMBO 06 Miata GT 6spd with a 2008 2.5L Duratec under the hood.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill

 

PS: You find yourself in or around the Greenville, SC area, let me know, we are always up for some company.