Lotus Boy

According to Chris Rees book 'Caterham Seven - the official story of a Unique British Sportscar' - 'A' denotes non-HPC/Clubman/Racecar. This is the only reference I have come across that describes the A denotation, so make of it what you will. If i recall my two friends with Caterham Fireblades have Alternative chassis but I also came across a VX car with A that was built from a starter which would suggest that the A chassis are those sold for a variety of engines - or built with engine undetermined. But if yours is complete knock down and A then that potentially throws it open Dave Edited by - Lotus Boy on 31 May 2005 21:54:09

Welcome to Blatchat Barry!!! Pleasure to be your spotter 😬 Judging by your location you must have been just passing through...

First was green/yellow anni stripe reg N7DEL going up Halstead high street Saturday morning. Second was dark blue Q-plate ( I think) coming down Halstead high street Saturday afternoon. Nice day for a blat...shame I was working Dave

Ah the power of blatchat!! I know who owns K948 RAM - all red painted car with flares yes? I'll speak to him soon and let him know you want to get in touch. The car probably doesn't look as pretty as when you built it now though...and it sports Zetec power these days too. Cheers Dave Edited by - Lotus Boy on 26 May 2005 21:18:36

Steve I have been a passenger in your car and know for a fact that you get more than 25 miles per hour out of your car 😬 Think 'tis me who hits about 25mph...any more than that and I risk getting her dirty 😬

AVES - spot on fella! Just confirmed with the previous owner what you queried. Indeed I led myself to believe that the emissions regs canister thingy with the carbon filters was a catch tank 😳 since it wasn't described in the build manual.Thanks for clearing that one up...I can stop looking now! I've topped up to the max mark so will see what difference it makes next time I'm out. Thanks again. Dave

Will look into the SBD mod - thanks. Well having a look at mine properly last weekend and reading the build manual notes I know mine is the Caterham Sump - it tapers from rear to front. So...are the min max marks correct or should I overfill by a few mm as previously noted by others on various other threads. Also (bit numpty) how do you check how much oil is in the catch tank? There's some sort of electrical plug on top of the tank, do you have to remove this to see? Cheers

Having just trawled through lots of old posts on this I apologise for bringing something up that has been done to death but I'm still a little confused. I have a '94 HPC VXi running with Comma SynerG. The oil level is half way between min and max marks on the dipstick and convincing myself that I can hear the odd noisy tappet on cold start up I was wondering if I should top up the oil level a bit? Questions come into play when I read that some people fill 5mm above the max mark but if I understand right this is for those fitted with a Caterham wet sump - presumably is this a shallower sump (for additional ground clearance??) and do all genuine VX2.0 Caterhams have the shallow(?) Caterham wet sump or was this an option? i.e. would my car have the Caterham sump or the normal Vauxhall one as standard? Questions, questions, questions, sorry sorry, sorry Dave

Spotted parked in the Holiday Inn car park Wednesday evening. Guessing it might be the one I saw in Aldeburgh on the bank holiday???

Try Lony Lloyd for wind deflectors. Link - here I have recently 'discovered' the joys of door-less sevening...thanks in part to getting some Wiley XL-1's which really shield your eyes from the buffeting and dust, but I too get tired of the fierce buffeting at speed. Thinking of getting some of these screens too. Don't know how the price compares to Caterham's own deflectors...how much are theirs? Cheers Dave

Spotted a silver Seven, reg **OBR in town centre Friday lunchtime. Dave

Spotted a dark red (mica) Seven on Prisoners on A1 in Peterborough. Tried to catch up and give you a 'toot', whoever you, are but you pulled off before I caught up...that said, I was in the tin top so it would have taken a while!! Good to see people enjoying the nice weather today. Dave

Spotted a very tidy blue/yellow anni striped Seven coming into Sible Hedingham Sunday afternoon. I was in the red Seven...hi to whoever it was! Nice wheels Would have been rude not to go out with such glorious weather. Dave

Stick to a 5 speed 'box. The VX2.0 produces so much torque you don't need 6 gears, plus you would be buzzing at silly rpm at high speed in 6th. Mark Piper has a 6 speed in his HPC but I don't think he wants to keep it in, he's been muttering about switching to a 5 speed. If you are custom building then go for a long first gear ratio, standard 1st is too short really.

To remove the inertias you have to remove the pop rivetted panel inside the rear wheel arch and from there you can remove all the gubbins. Personally though, when I recently fitted my harnesses I left the inertias in place and tucked them behind the seat. Dave

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Knew I could count on blatchat!!!

Not sure if this helps but according to my QED catalogue they list early engines as those up to engine no. 14142838, and later engines where they changed the belt train etc is from 14142839 onwards. Dave

Hi Mr.B, Funnily enough I burbled through Finchingfield earlier that day too whilst giving a friend a ride, absolutely heaving with bikers! On the way home it seemed a shame to stop driving since the weather was so nice so I rode on into Suffolk and did a 70 mile big loop of all the villages. I live in Halstead, just down the road. If you fancy hooking up for a blat and natter one day that would be cool... Cheers Dave

I have a '94 HPC and am getting a little oil leak from the alloy cover that sits on the end of the exhaust cam. I believe this cover is where the distributor used to sit when in a Vauxhall car, it has a black connector that plugs into it and if I understand correctly is used as a timing sensor?? The problem occurred a few months back and the O-ring gasket was replaced and silicone sealant added in a effort to remedy, this was done by the previous owner. Looks like it hasn't worked properly. Should this alloy cover be filled with oil? I'm told there is an oilway at the end of the cam but not sure if it is designed to fill up the cover since the dizzy was originally supposed to sit there. Any ideas on what to do to stop it leaking. It's only very small amounts but would like to stop it nonetheless for obvious reasons. Cheers Dave

7 spotted, might be a Beaulieu, as it was a late car with a green nose with yellow band going through the little village of Stoke-by-Clare. I was the one in the red Seven. Hello 😬 Dave

Trying to contact Steve Parker (as in Steve Parker Racing in Stanstead) but can't get hold of him. Workshop phone just rings and can't get him on mobile. Anyone know if he is on holiday or something... Cheers Dave

Phil, I was kind of wondering about this too. Like you I have just bought some Brooklands screens and half doors and was wondering about how the doors work with the tonneau. I came to the conclusion that it would be simpler to remove the half doors when the tonneau is in place and to use the tonneau poppers for the half doors. That said I haven't 'lined' the doors up yet so have no idea if the current popper positions are suitable. I'm sure the bottom ones will probably be ok at least. Would appreciate it if you could keep me posted on what works best. To answer your title, I've decided on getting half doors because it is much more comfortable as it cuts out more buffeting and flying debris to a lesser degree. If you have them...use them! And as for getting in and out, just hop over. Cheers Dave Edited by - Lotus Boy on 15 Mar 2005 20:37:44

Thanks Bryn. Sorry I can't help with your crotch straps as I went for the 4-points. (I ubelieve they mount on the floor near the back of the seats but don't know the ins and outs.) Is there nothing in the Willans instructions? Cheers Dave

Another thing Bryn - did you leave the interia's in the car? I'm considering leaving them in the car...just in case...though of what I don't know. Just not sure if I can be hassled with drilling out the panels etc to remove it all. If you did leave your interia's in, was there enough room on the bottom bolts for the harness end plates? Cheers Dave

Going to fit mine this weekend. When I picked them up from Luke Beaumont, he mentioned that the bolt holes are not big enough to use a top hat to allow swivelling. I'm certainly not going to risk drilling a larger hole so will just bolt down tightly too. Bryn - I have the same seats as you and may well have the same problem...however when I popped to Hyperion to get some bolts they showed me that there are two outer drilled holes (spaced about 3cm apart IIRC) in the back rail. Looks like the furthest one might clear the headrest better. I haven't looked at mine yet to see if they are already covered or used for something. That said you may have probs with getting a bolt on one side due to the diagonal strut if you have an FIA bar. Sure someone will be along to put things straight about the additional hole if I have got it wrong! Cheers Dave