Shortshift

Just to say that, with less than two weeks to go, there are still some final places available on the Club exclusive track day at Cadwell Park on Friday 27th May. If you want to secure a place, best to contact Sam in the Club Office directly at this stage but don't hesitate to contact me or Dave if you want any more information. It's all looking to be one of the great events in the Club's 2016 calendar - so don't miss out! James

A heads-up, ahead of further detail, to say that Dave and I have secured a booking at Anglesey for what will be our third (and maybe final?) Club track day of 2016. This is a terrific track for Caterhams, and is well worth the drive to the beautiful Anglesey location for those who haven't been before. Outline details are as follows: Date: Friday 30th September 2016 (immediately before the weekend sprint event!) Format: As a new initiative, we will be sharing the day with enthusiasts from the MG's on Track organisation - they will be taking a 20 minute session in each hour and we will be having 40 minutes, divided into two 20 minute sessions each hour, for our exclusive use. We will be offering the chance to drive on two different circuit configurations - the Coastal circuit in the morning and the full-fat International circuit in the afternoon. Two for the price of one! We will start with sessions (two groupings of 20 minutes each, based on ability/experience/car type as usual) but our aim will be to move to an OPL format (applicable to our 40 minute allocation per hour) in the afternoon - so long as everyone is comfortable with this.Features: we will be aiming to build upon the social side (hopefully a curry get-together in the evening before the track day), continuing with our initiatives to encourage newcomers and to build the active-participants list (using the 'buddy' approach we will be trialing at Brands) as well providing free-of-charge instruction. With luck, we may be able to offer 'Hot Laps' if I can persuade Caterham Cars to travel to the circuit... Cost: provisionally at £175 with further nominal charges, as usual, for additional drivers and passengers. Further detail will be posted online and published in Low Flying in due course, and we will also create an Event in the online Calendar with links to the relevant forms, but for now get that date in your diaries - this should be a cracking event! James

And sold to the gentleman above! James

I have an unused windscreen assembly suitable for a standard body/current/Series 3 car. It's got the black frame and is the heated version. So, the assembly consists of the glass and black frame with the electrical wires attached for connecting the heated element, together with the rubber seal which runs along the bottom edge of the frame and seals to the scuttle panel. (The side stanchions are not included in the assembly). It is completely as new, unused and is in the original box with protective filling as supplied by Caterham Cars. Their current part number is (I believe) 76086A. These are £474 to buy from Caterham Cars, so I was thinking in terms of £350, giving a good saving over the 'new' price. James

Hi Nick Sorry - I usually get alerts when my posts are replied to but I didn't in this case. I'll send across my details but just to be sure, each bag contains an amount of the material. It looks like long, fibrous fluffy stuff (hard to describe - a bit like the wadding in a duvet perhaps!) but I don't think it's the sheet material that you mentioned. Here (below) is the start of the thread from the bulk-buy back in 2007 (the good old days of BlatChat...) that I lifted from the archive site; hopefully that will help to confirm it's what you're after. James

Some of you may remember the bulk-buy organised by Mark Collins the best part of 10 years go (ahem) for long strand e-glass exhaust repacking material. Magic stuff. Well, I have a box which was unopened until last night, containing 14 bags of it!. It is known to easy to install and very long lasting. I'm guessing that there's enough here for at least two repacks... Thinking about £20 plus shipping (which shouldn't be much - it's pretty light). Any takers? James

As I said in the original posting, hopefully there will be time for everyone who is interested to grab one of the hot laps being offered by Caterham Cars. The rides are being provided foc by Caterham as part of their drive to strengthen support for the Club and our events and, obviously, they will be hoping that this type of activity leads to an eventual commercial return - more exposure and hence sales of cars, experiences and parts to Club members. So, no charge is the intention - though voluntary donations to NtL might be a welcome and appropriate gesture... James

Hi Nigel Just to say how enjoyable and interesting the blog is. Hope to see the car soon - but I'm really impressed with those low profile seat bolts. They really tidy-up an area of the car that previously always looked a bit amateurish and unfinished. Are you working towards a target completion date? James

With Sam's help, Dave Rothwell and I have been working through the documents and processes for Club track days with the aim of making things clearer and easier to follow. I'd like to summarise the revised process here so that everyone can see the new arrangements; if you are attending any future Club track day then you will need to be familiar with this! All Club track days will now be shown as Events within the "What's On" section of the Club website (www.lotus7.club.com). Each track day event within the "What's On" area will contain a number of links to various important documents that relate to that event, typically including: - A booking form for the event - The Club's operating procedures for track days - Notes on scrutineering and the self-assurance process - Notes on the specification of rollbars and cages - Disclaimer and Liability form When a member applies successfully to participate on a Club track day they will receive a 'Confirmation and Preliminary Information' email from Sam that will confirm their booking. This email will also provide detail on how to access the event documents on the Club website. Where appropriate, we will also send out a ‘Final Instructions’ email closer to the event. As we will no longer be sending out copies of the event documentation to every participant on an individual basis, it is important that members attending a Club track day are familiar with (and where necessary can comply with) the requirements contained in the online documents. Please note that, in particular, each participant on a Club track day must download, print and sign a copy of the 'Disclaimer and Indemnity' form for their event, and bring it with them for presentation at the sign-on process at the start of the day’s activities.We hope this makes sense and look forward to your co-operation as we strive to simplify and streamline the way we organise these events. James

Great news for everyone who has already booked (and, in the case of Cadwell Park on 27th May, also for those who are still to sign-up for the remaining places)... Caterham Cars (with thanks to Dave Ridley) have agreed to strengthen their ties with our activities and to show their support for our forthcoming track days at Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park by arranging to bring along a Seven 620R (and driver!) and offering 'hot laps' for participating Club members. Dave Rothwell and I will work with Caterham Cars to allocate rides on the day (in other words, we won't be taking 'bookings' until we arrive at the venues) on a first-come-first-served or some other fair and equitable basis. But, hopefully, there will be plenty of time on each day for everyone who wants a thrill or two to get a ride squeezed in. Thought you might want to know! James

Just shamelessly putting this back to the top so that the reduced price gets spotted! Suggesting £35 for the pair... Any takers? James

Don't forget - for all travelling up to Cadwell or anyone already in the area the night before the track day - Dave and I will be arranging a curry venue to allow everyone to meet together ahead of the event. We have agreed the arrangements with a local restaurant in Louth; details to follow... James

Updated to say: Any interest at, say £35 for the pair (instead of £25 each as originally advertised)?? I have a pair of CR500's in the rear wheel size with a fair amount of tread left on them - at least 3 or 4mm. Only thing is they are 2004 vintage - that said, they've been kept in a cool dark environment and don't look to be hardened or oxidised to any unreasonable extent. In fact, they look rather good! Certainly good for writing off on a track day or two... Thinking £25 each and delivery at cost (not too bad on these from memory) or, of course, collection from Stratford upon Avon area. James

Does anyone have a set of unwanted Pagid RS15 pads, preferably unused, for fitment to a car with uprated front brakes? James

Just to confirm... The Cadwell Booking Form is now available online within the 'News' section of the Club site (that is, at http://www.lotus7.club/news). It will also be included in the next edition of Low Flying which is due for publication early in March. You'll see that you can download the Booking Form from the website and then pay either by cheque (do people still do that??) or by calling Sam Pearce in the Club Office on 01873 777303 and providing debit or credit card details. I'll now hand the 'early bookers' list over to Sam so that she can maintain a single record of all attendees; I'd ask all members who contacted me about booking a place on my informal list to now complete the formal Booking Form and make payment as above to secure the place that I have been holding for you. So, let's see: curry is booked (venue and details later), track is booked... Now we just need the weather! James

Good news! Exclusive Club trackday is now CONFIRMED for Friday 27th May; sorry that it took so long to get to this point but, hey, Dave and I are learning the ropes here... Full details and a Booking Form will be available in the next issue of Low Flying but Dave and I are happy to take bookings on a provisional basis by email to our respective Lotus 7 Club email addresses. So, if you want to be at the front of the queue then drop either myself or Dave a line at: james.batchelor@lotus7.club and/or dave.rothwell@lotus7.club We will accept these emails as 'intentions to book' and will effectively reserve places for you on a first-come first-served basis until such time as the official booking forms are available. If we get to a point of being oversubscribed before the forms are released then we'll give priority to the early bookers, so long as the expressions of interest are backed up by payment to secure the place promptly after the forms do become available. Further detail in Low Flying then, but a couple of pointers as to how Dave and I are intending to run things: Firstly, we will certainly be starting the day on a Sessioned Basis (that is, with three categories of driver graded by experience and performance, with each group being allowed on track for a single twenty minute session per hour) but our intention will be to move to Open Pit Lane (OPL) as soon as we judge this to be sensible, taking into account driving standards and behaviour (ahem..) and - importantly - making sure that the lesser experienced drivers feel comfortable with this. And secondly, although we can't promise it at the moment, our aim is to arrange a get-together over a curry somewhere in the locality for the evening before the track day; hopefully a good way to break the ice, meet fellow members and generally get in the mood for a cracking day to follow. Should be a great event! James Joint Trackday Coordinator

It very much looks as though Friday 27th May is going to be the date for Cadwell, and I hope to have final confirmation within the next 48 hours. Behind the scenes, we've been 'doing the paperwork' with MSV for the day; the final step is for our deposit payment to be recognised by MSV and at that stage - finally - we will be able to consider the date as watertight. So sit tight for a further day or two, tops, and then we'll be there! James Joint Trackday Coordinator

I have to say that I have the same issue and, whilst I am usually inclined to cut CC a bit of slack, this particular issue makes my blood boil. Simple fact: the screen that they currently sell for however many hundreds of pounds just doesn't fit.... Not only the 'bowing' but also the fact that it is canted up at a ridiculous angle and relies on the action of the centre poppers (or whatever fixes you are using) to pull it down under quite a bit of tension. In the end, I sealed the gap with some 3mm self adhesive foam but that's not the point. Interestingly, on my previous car (2004 vintage) the carbon screen was moulded with a 'return' feature along the surface that fits to the scuttle panel, and this not only fitted better anyway but it presented a good flat surface to fit some foam tape to. No such luck with the latest version - just the single thickness edge of the moulding. As I said, not good enough for the price that is charged. James

Hi Paul Not anthracite but newly painted in black; Simon Rogers (Meteor Motorsport) is advertising a set over on Facebook. Might be worth contacting him? This is what he is saying about them: I have a set of 2 x 6" x 13" and 2 x 8" x 13" 8 spokes freshly finished in Black - not used since finished. Mint condition. They are currently covered with Kumho V70 Medium 175 and 235. Road legal but about 70% worn and or 2 - 3 hard track days left. I purchased these for the SV hire car instead of the 15" it has but since fitting AD08R's it has transformed the ride and does not need the 13". I need the space for new Wet's. Hope that helps both of you! James

Hi there Not sure if there's a problem with PMs at the moment but I didn't receive yours and I have tried to send a PM to you without success... Feel free to contact me on: James

I have one front sized (185/55 R13) ZZR and one rear sized (215/55 R13) ZZR available. They each have around 4 to 5mm of tread left on them them, no damage or marks or anything like that; they are left over from complete pairs where the matching halves had punctures and had to be junked. Thinking of, say, £25 each. They can be collected (B49 post code, just outside Stratford upon Avon) or I will happily arrange to get them delivered at cost. Let me know if you're interested. James

Hi Ian I think I may have one, leather covered. Let me check in the morning. From memory, it isn't a perfect specimen but I think it's quite good... James

You're right, and the centre cap that I've included in the image isn't the right one for me. The one's I'm after are from the anthracite wheels (available as 13" diameter and in 6" or 8" widths). The important bit is that the badges/decals are 40mm diameter as I mentioned originally. Fingers crossed. James

Thanks Jonathan I think the answer to your question is "incompetence" but with luck (and your help) this should show it: /sites/default/files/images/users/4437/medium_Wheel%20cap%20.jpeg So, not the entire centre cap but it's just the smart-looking badge or decal in the centre that I'm after. That said, if the only way to get them is to have the centre cap complete then that's what I'll do! James

Has anyone got some spares of these they'd part with? Just the decal or badge part, not the entire centre cap. I bought some lovely ones from Ivan (there are several threads on here) but the style doesn't exactly match the original Caterham design, which has a bright outer ring before the next ring in, which is yellow and contains the word 'Caterham', and then the green centre with the yellow 'Super 7' emblem in the middle. About 40mm diameter. (Shame we can't post images here - it would have saved all those words...) Anyway - anyone got some that are surplus to requirements? James