AnkerB-S

Olivier Aries and I manage a mailing list of all Seven owners that we are aware of in New England and adjoining states in the USA and Canada. We will be organizing blats and meetups that we invite everyone on the list to participate in. If you live in the are and own a Caterham, Lotus 7, or a Lotus 7 clone, you can contact me at Anker@ankerSoft.com and give me your contact information so I can include you in the list. We will keep your personal information confidential unless you agree otherwise.

This page and blog is intended for communications with and between Caterham and Lotus 7 owners in the USA and Canada. Our hope is that will help build a strong and vibrant community of owners over there. Please join the group, share what you have and what you are doing with you Seven, and feel free to organize blats and meetups and share them with others here. Please do note that the club has not organized management in the Americas and any events posted here cannot be represented as club-organized and covered by Caterham and Lotus 2 Club insurance.

As always, your replies are very much appreciated! Anker

My apologies for the triple post. The website was insanely slow to respond to my submit. Anker

I am pretty sure my 1987 SuperSprint 1700 De Dion has a Sierra diff with a 7" crown gear. Can someone more knowledgeable than me confirm this? Thanks/Anker

I heard back from Chris at Redline and he was able to help me. Thanks/Anker

The OD of the drums is 9" and the ID is a little over 8"'. Anker

Thanks Alan! Anker

The liners are worn down on my rear drum brakes and I have trouble identifying where I can purchase replacement shoes. I looked at Caterhamparts, but they don't seem to have them. I will appreciate if someone can point me to a source for these parts. Thank you/Anker

That's what I think. Hard on power is necessary to get good times in Autocross. On a warm track with warm tace tires it causes the weight to transfer to the rear and slingshot you out of the corner. On this particular day it was not warm and I suspect the tires spun in initial power application and then suddenly gripped when the weight started transferring back to the inside wheel, which is the one that shredded the universal joint.

I spent most of the afternoon trying to find someone local who could sell or lend me a 41 mm socket and breaker bar. No luck, so I have ordered them from Amazon. They will arrive on Friday, but unfortunately, I will be flying out of town Friday morning, so it will be a while before I can start disassembling.

Thanks Wrightpayne, I am going to very carefully through the entire suspension to see if there is play anywhere or something is bent. It is somewhat strange that it happened on the left side because that was on the inside when it broke, so the sideload was a lot less than on the other side, but, of course, that was where the sideload was trying to pull the wheel away from the diff, so maybe it isn't that strange. It was a cool day and I was on R888R, so the inside tire had a tendency to slip, grip, slip, grip, which puts some hard torsion loads on the axle. It will be interesting to do the post mortem. I plan to start today. Anker

PM sent to PROBE2. Thanks/Anker

Yesterday I had my first real breakdown in the Caterham. I was going g through a fast left hander doing Autocross and a loud bang from the rear was followed by loud clanking sounds when the clutch was engaged. Upon inspection I found that the universal joint at the differential end on the left half shaft was ripped apart. I am a decent wrenched, so I plan to do the repair myself. I will deeply appreciate some opinions on how bad the damage looks. I assume there is a splined shaft going into the differential and that I need to remove the wheel carrier to get the shaft out. I should mention that when I put the car in gear and jack up the left wheel I can spin the wheel by hand, so there is no solid connection to the differential gears. So do you think more than the tube attached to the differential is damaged on the differential side? What is the make and model of the differential? Where can I source the parts? Any other advice will be hugely appreciated. Thanks/Anker

Yesterday I had my first real breakdown in the Caterham. I was going g through a fast left hander doing Autocross and a loud bang from the rear was followed by loud clanking sounds when the clutch was engaged. Upon inspection I found that the universal joint at the differential end on the left half shaft was ripped apart. I am a decent wrenched, so I plan to do the repair myself. I will deeply appreciate some opinions on how bad the damage looks. I assume there is a splined shaft going into the differential and that I need to remove the wheel carrier to get the shaft out. I should mention that when I put the car in gear and jack up the left wheel I can spin the wheel by hand, so there is no solid connection to the differential gears. So do you think more than the tube attached to the differential is damaged on the differential side? What is the make and model of the differential? Where can I source the parts? Any other advice will be hugely appreciated. Thanks/Anker

The original valve seals are junk. Burton Power has better seals and they are easy to change once the cylinder head is off. There are two sizes and Burton can help you figure out which size is the right one for you. A compression and leak down test should be done first.

I use a QuickJack all the time with my 7. The two sides should be parallel, otherwise the rubber lift points will change horizontal spacing as you raise and lower the lift, which is bad and can be catastrophic. This is easily achieved since the rubber lift point support areas are quite wide. So have them inwards at the front and outwards at the rear of the car. This is a unique 7 issue since most cars have the same spacing between the front and the rear of the lift points on the car.

The thermostat is there to help the engine warm up quickly, not to prevent overheating. My X-flow has a thermostat, and my coolant level covers the coolant temperature sensor. Anker

I believe the easiest way to determine whether you have a Supersprint engine is to remove the valve cover. If it has double valve springs it is most probably a Supersprint. If it has single valve springs it is most probably a 1600, possibly bored out to 1690 cc. The Supersprint also has a different cam, bigger valves and a smoother intake. To get a final answer you have to pull the head, not a big job. It also gives you an opportunity to examine the bores, the amount of carbon deposit, etc.

The only proper way is to replace the rusted parts with new or used ones in good shape.

The Lucas Electronic Ignition Amplifier is a companion to the Lucas distributor with optical "points". Many Z-flow owners have replaced the Lucas system. I replaced mine with a Burton Power one with an Aldon Ignitor inside. Much simpler and supposedly more reliable.

It is a breeze to replace the water pump. The biggest hassle is draining and refilling the coolant.

One of the idle circuits on my DCOE 40s is blocked. The idle stumbles and most of the time I have to keep the car running with a light touch on the throttle. I can turn the offending idle mixture adjustment screw all the way in and out without any change in behavior. I would like to defer a carb rebuild till the driving season is over, so a quick unblocking fix will be preferred. My first thought is to remove the idle jet and the mixture screw completely, give the idle jet a blast of compressed air both ways and then blow compressed air into the two exposed cavities. Is there a better way? Is there any risk with performing the above procedure? Thank you in advance! Anker

22-29 ft lbs or 30-39 Nm. I have never applied any coating to spark plug threads.

I stupidly threw the packaging away before I pulled the head. I bought it from Summit Racing in the US and the gasket itself has a waxy feel. I am confident that based on your reply and the appearance and feel of the gasket that it goes on dry. Thanks for the help!