Whoever was guilty for the design of the Convertible top on my Cat 7 needs shooting

[pethier]

16 hours ago, IamScotticus said:

Take the shifter knob too.

Nothing is safe.

 LOL. 

 

I can drive home without a shifter knob...

[pethier]

On 11/5/2024 at 7:14 PM, pethier said:

I think the doors are hinged so they fit in the boot.  But I did discover the "elbow the bottom" trick one day when I was concerned about driving into rain, but it was not all that cold.

 

I did not get my French-Canadian father's skin.  Got the melanin-deprived Irish skin from my mother.  I have the top on essentially all the time for shade or rain.  I don't put on the doors unless whether demands it.  My top has a zip-open rear window.  With this feature, I have no need of a half-hood.

 

I'm 74 years living and 5'10".  I went to lot of trouble to make my steering wheel removable, but nearly all the time I need not remove it.  I use the in/out techniques learned in the 1970s and it still works for me.

I wasn't actually trying to lie.  It was an honest typo.  I am 5'8" and 155 pounds.

 

BTW, I saw a rear-window-zipper mod in Lowflying.  Looks really interesting.  The author took the top to Caterham and they sent it out to their supplier.   The author is trying to convince Caterham to have them all made this way.

 

Well, I don't live in England, and I'm not shipping this top both ways.  I have a veteran upholstery guy here in Saint Paul on the job.  He should be able to source the extra pull and do the mod.  I see exactly what needs to be done, don't have the wherewithal to do it myself.

 

I will try to remember to take photos and post them here when the job is done.

[Reiver]

I've had numerous Brit cars from back in the day.  It always amused me that a country that has more rain than sunshine has always produced the worst weather protection extant. The designs always look like an afterthought and allow so much rain in that one needs a serious sense of humor.  Triumphs, AH's specifically.  Oh, and the windshield wipers...lmao... really, that's the high speed. 

Where I live in Az it will not be an issue and if anything I'll get the half top for a sunshade.

[theDreamer]

I agree with your comment as it is amusing. Same too for the wipers. However, we’ve been caught in three major down pours in our seven and never had any water leaking in from around the hood or doors. We did get water running along the inside bottom of the shelf with the odd drip hitting our legs. I think that water is getting into (or behind) the heater via the bonnet vents for the fresh air intake.

The wife’s 1964 AH Sprite had roll up windows and a good fitting hood as well. Back in the day my older brother’s Midgets had the sliding Plexiglas side windows and ill fitting hoods so both cars leaked. He did have fibreglass hard tops for both to use in late fall through to spring. Then again, his 850 Morris Mini Minor had sliding windows and he always carried cloths around for when it rained.

[Reiver]

Brit cars are cult like...... Lucas Electrics/ the prince of darkness...what did Lucas Sr. tell his son on his death bed "Never drive at night', why do Brits drink warm beer...Lucas makes the refrigerators. ..... driving my 71 XKE in Columba's Ga at night on a dark back road.....I lost every light in and on the car....  headlights/rears and every dash light..... exciting.

 

As to rain.... the Brit solution..... wrap a towel around your neck and drive so fast the rain goes over the windscreen and you..... 

[mrmustang]

You guys think getting in and out of a Caterham 7 is a pain with the top on, try an AC Ace or Cobra

 

Owning both (this is not my car pictured), I can tell you that the 7 is much, much easier to get in and out of with the top on vs the Cobra. One of the reasons why after 30 years of ownership, and 140,000+ miles combined, I can still count on both hands the times I had the top on. 85% of the time because SWMBO was with me in the sub freezing temps while still living in the northeast.

 

Anyone want to see for themselves, as soon as the daily temps go up into the high 70's, I'll pull both tops out in the sun to warm up and I'll show you up close and in person.

 

 

Bill

Edited Tuesday at 12:00 AM by mrmustang

[Reiver]

Yeah, one is a Brit car and the other a clone....   Great looking car btw, I like that body style the best.  I've always found the AC Aceca to really be a fine model.  Never driven one but have seen some at shows.....

Edited Tuesday at 01:41 AM by Reiver

[mrmustang]

1 hour ago, Reiver said:

Yeah, one is a Brit car and the other a clone....   Great looking car btw, I like that body style the best.  I've always found the AC Aceca to really be a fine model.  Never driven one but have seen some at shows.....

The one above is an original, sold for $1.1M last year I believe.

Mine is just a replica, used to be tracked, last two years I detuned it for the street.

Edited Tuesday at 02:07 AM by mrmustang

[theDreamer]

3 hours ago, mrmustang said:

You guys think getting in and out of a Caterham 7 is a pain with the top on, try an AC Ace or Cobra

 

Owning both (this is not my car pictured), I can tell you that the 7 is much, much easier to get in and out of with the top on vs the Cobra. One of the reasons why after 30 years of ownership, and 140,000+ miles combined, I can still count on both hands the times I had the top on. 85% of the time because SWMBO was with me in the sub freezing temps while still living in the northeast.

 

Anyone want to see for themselves, as soon as the daily temps go up into the high 70's, I'll pull both tops out in the sun to warm up and I'll show you up close and in person.

 

 

Bill

It has been many decades since I got in and out of an AC plus I was much younger and flexible then than now. However, I find your statement hard to believe. An AC Cobra, real or kit, has doors where the Lotus/Caterham 7 does not. So first one must get over the sill height and then bend, twist and contort themselves to fit through a much smaller opening.

An AC Cobra’s door sill is almost level with the seat cushion and closer to the ground so nothing to step over.

I‘ve posted this image before with the opening sizes in inches. I cannot see an AC with its hood up and doors open having a smaller or being harder to enter and exit than a 7. I would suggest that you have mastered ingress and egress of your Seven but not your Cobra. Once you find the technique that works for you, you’ll be off to the races so to speak.

[mrmustang]

39 minutes ago, theDreamer said:

It has been many decades since I got in and out of an AC plus I was much younger and flexible then than now. However, I find your statement hard to believe. An AC Cobra, real or kit, has doors where the Lotus/Caterham 7 does not. So first one must get over the sill height and then bend, twist and contort themselves to fit through a much smaller opening.

 

An AC Cobra’s door sill is almost level with the seat cushion and closer to the ground so nothing to step over.

 

I‘ve posted this image before with the opening sizes in inches. I cannot see an AC with its hood up and doors open having a smaller or being harder to enter and exit than a 7. I would suggest that you have mastered ingress and egress of your Seven but not your Cobra. Once you find the technique that works for you, you’ll be off to the races so to speak.

 

The door to the cobra does not open all the way, giving you 16.5" of usable space between the windshield/hinge area and the top of the door frame,, less than 12" at the bottom of the door opening,  with the top on you have 24.5" of height, but then in a cobra, the seats are much higher in the passenger compartment making the same opening with the fixed larger diameter steering wheel, the dash being closer to the door opening (3") and flat floor makes for a difficult time to get in. Worse with the side windows in place. You basically go head first, can't put any weight on the door assembly as they are not that sturdy, then you stretch all the way across the transmission tunnel with one hand on the passenger seat, or in the case of the FIA rollbar, one hand on the rollbar, you then push back while twisting around and getting your feet and legs below the steering wheel, and your behind in the seat. This is the only way into a Cobra for me with the top up.

 

Where the 7 you have a door that flips completely out of the way, and more headroom with the top on, allowing for ample room to swing  in semi gracefully, or at least I can after kneeling on the drivers seat. 

 

The biggest difference is in the footbox area, as the Cobra is further into the engine compartment than the 7.

 

Again two similar, yet different setups.

 

Bill