full hood, fia bar, hood sticks, blood, sweating and swearing, then tonneau cover

[Miker7]

Nb I'm 6'3"and sit on a small bit of foam so I fit in the caterham s3. This will become relevant later.

Got the mot booked for Friday, then looked at the weather forecast. I figured I need to try the wet weather gear I got with my car & investigate snorkels and life vests. One thing at once, full hood first.

Since purchasing I've changed the standard roll bar to an fia bar (2002 car with 2002ish fia bar).

Having watched the turn 7 video I loosened the fabric straps so the hoops straddles the roll bar.

I can with difficulty get all but two poppers fitted at the rear corners. I figure this is good enough for a 20 minute drive in the biblical floods forecast. By difficulty I mean my thumb is now bleeding by the nail for some reason. Do you need all of them fastened?

I can not, no matter what I try tighten the fabric straps adjuster. Figured we should see what this means in practical terms so I spent 20 minutes trying to climb into the car. My family even came to watch it was that entertaining. At one point I even had a stool I was trying to half sit on whilst climbing in. My now ex daughter showed me how it should be done in 20 seconds. She's not 6'3" and it's currently unlikely she'll see 5'4". I eventually found a way by doing something ridiculous, from the driver's side, pulling my upper half onto the passenger seat with legs sticking out the driver's side, then lifting my legs into the driving position, then moving my torso back to the driving position. Is their an easier way for the excessively tall?

Yes I'm in, but my head and the hoop are arguing over who had right of way. Do you need the hoops? My max speed will be 50mph, possibly less but I'm hoping the 14" avon zt7 tyres work in the wet.

After deciding this is an abject failure I thought of trying the tonneau cover. It fits over the passenger side. How do you secure the doors? How do you view the temperature gauge?

Currently hiding in the garage to avoid more Mickey taking by my "family". Still think the caterham is better than the bmw mini I also don't fit in.

(Whoever took the bet with their colleagues on who could make the most ridiculous wet weather gear design, congratulations I hope you're happy having won that wager.)

Edited May 1 by Miker7

[Tom_Arundel]

Any photos? 🙊

[Miker7]

Not of me making a fool of myself (thankfully)

[Doggydog33]

I think the hood is different if you have an FIA bar as opposed to the standard ‘roll hoop’. 
I couldn’t get my hood to fit after fitting a trackday cage. I had to buy another hood and sell mine on. 
 

As you’re tall, you may do well to buy the hood with the ‘easy in’ zip in the top. Can remember if it’s soft bits for sevens or Oxted who make them. 
 

as with most Caterham hoods, they will probably spend most of the time in the boot, especially if you get the half hood. Much easier to use!

I don’t think the tonneau is designed to work with doors  I think it’s one or the other. 
someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly to tell you for definite.

 

Regards, Doggydog. 

[CAT170]

I'm sorry I can't help at all, though as a relatively short 6'2" specimen your original post made me laugh out loud. So thanks for that.!

[robert green]

I second the advice on the half hood. Not used my full hood since. The standard hood should fit with fia bar. Mine did. It is easier if the hood is slightly warmed before fitting which on the road isn’t easy but ahead of a mot should be easy enough. Also do ensure the straps are loosened so there is no tension when poppering up. Then tighten. The ez in seems a good tip for taller drivers but you do need to know your passenger well if climbing into the car hood up whatever your height! It’s all part of the experience, but do get a half hood so you don’t broil, and can see out! So much more pleasant. 

[Wrightpayne]

I have a cage on mine and at 6’1 and a bit I always stick my bum in the passengers face when climbing in!

You dont mention whether you have a detachable steering wheel - I don’t think I could get in mine without it. I also have a lowered floor which makes a massive difference to comfort for tall drivers!

 

I’m in Broughton Astley if you want to try it! I think you’re fairly local to me.

Edited May 2 by Wrightpayne

[Miker7]

2 hours ago, Wrightpayne said:

I have a cage on mine and at 6’1 and a bit I always stick my bum in the passengers face when climbing in!

You dont mention whether you have a detachable steering wheel - I don’t think I could get in mine without it. I also have a lowered floor which makes a massive difference to comfort for tall drivers!

 

I’m in Broughton Astley if you want to try it! I think you’re fairly local to me.

I am local (Burbage) and really should pop round.

Thank God my steering wheel is also detachable, I often leave it on when climbing in normally but last night that would have resulted in a hospital trip & more hilarity for the family.

I don't have a lowered floor and I'm very keen to see the difference, however I'm surviving sitting on the floor so it's not top of the essential shopping list currently.

A half hood was on the "that's interesting" list and is rapidly moving it's way up to the "essential" list after last night. Although being northern I'm struggling with the cost for "a bit of fabric".

Re straps, I just don't seem able to tighten them at all once the hood is up. I'm concerned the plastic bracket is going to break.I can only move them if I push the fabric through then pull it tight, impossible in situ.

[BigCol]

What’s a full hood?

[Paul D]

6'2" in an S3, and with practice have found I can get in reasonably quickly if (with the steering wheel removed and a little cover fitted over the splines as I always drag my leg on the greased part) I climb in with my left leg, put backside halfway up the rear of the seat then, holding myself in that position with the left leg, drag my right foot past the dashboard and into the footwell.

Still causes some mirth from onlookers but is at least over with in seconds. 

Edited May 2 by Paul D

[Wrightpayne]

Strangely, the lowered floor also makes the footwell more comfortable for my size 11s along with a bigger gap between knees and steering wheel meaning I can have a 290 momo. This in turn (no pun intended) means less jarring on the wrists!

[Wrightpayne]

@Miker7 YHM

[David_Stamp]

A half hood is definitely an 'essential' ...

[Dreamer]

Don’t think of this as me hijacking your thread but rather I’m piggy backing on your thread with my story (sorry for the length) as a preamble to our own funny way of ingress and egress with the hood up.

I had a list of items I wanted to get done on the car and true to “Life with a Seven”; every one of them is giving me fits. I won’t bother you with all of them but I will talk about the biggest problem right now. Those damn hood sticks, the straps and getting the hood on. My car didn’t come with hood sticks. I had to order a new set. These new sticks came with the holes are on the wrong side. Using a small diameter bit I drilled through the internal fastener and out the other side of the tubes. Then I drilled a clearance sized hole from that other side. I wasn’t sure that the threads of the internal fixed fastener were undamaged so I decided to purchase longer 10-32 cap screws and nyloc nuts. I get the drilling done on one side and the power goes out. This is around 10:30 am a week ago last Sunday. First Hydro posted that it would be fixed by 1:00 pm which became 2:00 pm. When they posted again it was going to be 3:00 pm the wife and I went into town to pick up supplies and grab a bite. She had been shining up the bright work, cleaning/polishing the paint (the rear panel of the car behind the spare is nasty) and was going to detail the interior.

We got back at 4:30pm just as the power came back on. From then until 8:00 ish we fought with the hood (roof). Turns out after looking at a half dozen videos and pages of photos I learned that older S3’s like mine have the hood stick mounting tabs welded flush with the outside skin. New Caterhams have that same tab welded on the inside of the frame tubes. Hence, my brand new hood sticks are for a newer Caterham S3 and not the older style like mine. Too late now as I have already drilled and test mounted them.

Next was attaching the straps. No instructions anywhere to be found. Lots of videos on how you can put up the roof in three to five minutes. None on how to affix those straps. I was horrified when I read in a build blog that I had to drill and use self-tapping screws to anchor the straps. Then what do you know, I found two holes in the boot of our car that would have been used for that very purpose. OK, what size screws should I use in these used holes? And, how do we attach the straps to the secondary tube as we could find no place for it to pass through. The wife figured it required a larger loop at the adjuster. It took two attempts on which way was up.

We tried a test fit and that’s what killed it for us. We fought for over an hour, tried everything we could think of but there was just no way we could get the main tube to line up with the Velcro section in the roof. We can get it to within about a ½ inch but that’s it. The roof at this point is under so much tension and the main tube where it bends is pushing out the plastic side windows yet the area around the door is slack. It’s as if that main tube is too tall for my hood. Or, my hood isn’t tall enough for these sticks. I’m quickly learning I have no tolerance for things like this anymore. After fifty years the wife is very patient with me. But, only to a point. Once I start to stutter its downhill from there. So, we called it a night.

The car sat for seveal days as I had to take the wife first for a scope on Monday. Tuesday I figured out that there was an area for the tube to slide through. I carefully took a knife and was able to separate the strap to reveal this hidden loop. Come Wednesday and it was another angiogram. Thursday she had cataract measurements and Friday morning she had to see our cardiologist. All things seem good with her so we went back at the hood after lunch. Nope, still won’t fit. I parked the car out in the sun hoping that the vinyl would heat up and we would be able to stretch it that little bit more that we needed to get all the fasteners done up and the sticks in place.

Well that worked for the poppers and we got the main hoop into the Velcro but… The secondly tube will not move back into position. I’ve come to the conclusion that these sticks are to clear a taller roll bar and therefore the hood needs to be taller as well.

My car had hood sticks for a long time as the paint is worn off around the mounting holes. Where they went, why they were not with the car now is a mystery. Also, this roof looks new and had the zip out rear window. Did Caterhams in the early 90’s have that feature?

Anyway I included a photo of the wife working on the exhaust cover. It is covered in marks, tar and/or dried on rubber marbles from old track days.

Back and forth I went looking through the Assembly Guides and checking on-line photos, diagrams and videos. Meanwhile the wife kept playing around. The longer the hood sat in the sun the easier things got. In one build thread the guy mentioned that unzipping the rear window made it all work. Before I got outside with this info the wife came into the computer room and told she had it on and all buttoned up. She said the trick was UNZIPPING the rear window.

So, we fitted the spare tire back in place, (removed it to clean and reposition the cover) put the doors on and then spent ½ hour testing different methods of ingress and egress. The wife at 5’ 6”uses a butt first, legs in after approach with the reverse to exit. I tried a couple of different techniques.  I’m only 5’ 4” but over weight at 180lbs. I found that putting my right foot on the seat, pulling my upper torso in, turning as I place my right foot into the foot well and with my butt half way into the seat drag my left leg and foot into the car as I slide down the seat back placing said left appendages into the foot well. Not graceful but it works for me.

Happy with ourselves we took a little 50+ mile drive to fill up with gas. Then took the shorter 40 mile route back home.

It was actually quite comfy in there with the hood up. It was about 10 degrees C (50F) outside but very windy. I had on a light sweater and the wife had on her heavier sweater and rabbit fur hat. Now we have rabbit fur all over the interior and the underside of the hood. Well, that’s her job to clean and also remove all the bugs off the windshield.

A couple of new problems “popped” up. We both got out at different times and without realizing it we hit and unfastened the first popper behind the doors. Both times I drove off and once up to speed that side of the hood would start to sail off. This is not something that can be popped back on while moving.

I think the hood and hood stick issues are sorted now. Although as I type this I realize I still have to screw the strap ends to the back of the boot. We’ll continue to refine our entry and exit moves.

Here's a very short video of our drive with the hood up. First time using a phone to record video. https://youtu.be/5SixG5YLC9M

[Bob L]

Love these honest stories, it proves we are not alone in our life struggles.  Yep, the full hood is a near impossible when hot, in the cold and rain when you really need it, they all shrink a couple of inches.  In addition, if you do manage the impossible, the interior becomes a steam room and an echo chamber.  I gave up and use a half hood.  Can be set up in seconds, won't ruin your manicure, no hood sticks involved and you can see where you're going.  They are not perfect but work surprisingly well with doors.  If it has to be left outside I use in conjunction with the rain cap.

As for getting in and out.....

[TJG]

I've no intention of offering any practical advice but thanks for posting Mikey7 and Dreamer, did make me laugh!

[Miker7]

We'll it's seems God loves a trier - just not very much.

 

Cause I've tried lots of times to get into the car gracefully with the hood up....... And I've not succeeded once, but I've been rewarded by the almighty as I can now get into the car in about 30 seconds........ Once I've remembered what the first move is to getting in the car (guess he's not that generous)

 

As long as I don't have a passenger, of course, which is fine ....... because my wife has so far refused to go in the car & after the debacle of trying to get in with the hood up she's even more certain she doesn't want to go for a ride.

 

However there are side effects.

I'm not a kid, all my joints work, I do bend, just not very easily or quickly. Is it just me that's literally out of breath with the contortions to resist gravity and climb out of the blasted thing when the hood is up?

Being a fraction over Collins ideal size I also sit on the floor and am quite happy. Until tonight, to see out of the side screens due to the hood partially covering them I need to duck my head, which very quickly starts to give me neck ache. This car is literally a pain - still love it

 

Oh, passed the mot but the tester did point out drops of coolant around the front of the engine

God giveth, God taketh away ☹️