paul jacobs

Thanks Roger and Julians, I will check the feed and earthing side of things, but somehow feel that there could be something else at the bottom of it. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'd be grateful. Will be at Stoneleigh both days, so if anyone is good with wiring, you're welcome to come and poke around. Just look for a red 21 with a big "For Sale" sign on it....

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but if there is already a Seven in the garage, I fail to see the point of getting another two seater, that pretends to be some sort of sports car - it isn't. I fancy that a 3 series convertible, with 4 useable seats makes a far better car, just as quick, just as good roadholding [with the sports suspension etc], just as cosseting with all creature comforts, and virtually all for the same price. Why go for the lesser option, apart from which my personal view is that the Z3 is no looker, the SLK is just so much sharper. The perfect second car to a Seven, IMHO, has got to be an M3 convertible and, yes, mine is due in July teeth.gif I can't wait...

I seem to have a problem with an intermittant electrical feed to the fuel pump on my 21. Symptons are that it can be running perfectly, I turn the engine off for a short while, say 5 or 10 minutes, then when I turn the ignition back on to start the engine, the pump doesn't work, if I then leave it for some while again, say between 5 - 30 minutes or longer, the pump may well work again, or not. If I remove the fuel pump fuse [which is OK] and take a feed, using a short length of wire, from anothe circuit on the fuse board, it will work perfectly. My first thought was that the wires behind the fuse board were not making a good contact, but I've wiggled them all around with no discernable effect, then I thought the fuse holder may be slightly corroded as some water may have run over the fuses when washing the engine compartment down, so cleaned these - same result. I'm now wondering if the after market immobilizer that I had fitted about 4 years ago, is causing problems on only that one circuit. I phoned the immobilizer fitter yesterday, who thought that it would be most unlikely that this would be the fault, he reckons that they are very reliable anyway, being solid state, and wouldn't give problems on only one circuit, but then he would say that wouldn't he. [Me, cynical, surely not!] Note that this immobilizer is NOT the standard Rover one, but an aftermarket fit one. Right over to you guys, can anyone come up with the definitive answer before I leave for Stoneleigh on Sunday a.m.?

Why wait up to 5 months, I've got a virtually complete kit available for sale now. If a one year old 1.6 K is worth £15K - £16K, mine has got to be worth in the region of £13K - £14K [or I MIGHT even take less]. Drop me a line or phone me on 01823 421 748, and I'll give you all the info. you need. This kind of offer doesn't come along often - and it's 100% genuine too.

Wow, real money then! I've got two of them as well, looks like Antigua is on for this year after all...... Seriously, as Elie suggested, I'll bring them up to Stoneleigh next w/e, and see if any one is interested, in fairness, Elie has first refusal though. I'm hoping to be there for both days, camping on site, I'll be in the red 21 [the one with the Vauxhall engine and the For Sale sticker on the window]

I really haven't a clue what they're worth. Are they like some rare collectors item or just another old manual? Can anyone give some indication as to value?

Is it worth much? I've got a couple of them tucked away at the back of my bookshelf. A bit more thumbed than the one on E bay but complete nontheless.

Ahh, right then. Yes it's amazing what mechanics are capable of when they get their greasy mits on a proper car. Best thing is to try and get a look at another Vx engined car and compare the differences. Best of luck.

Hmm, Yes, this sounds just like a mod that I made to a Vx. engined and chassised car a few years ago. On my car everything was kosher, but I wanted to move the engine back as far as possible in the chassis to compensate for the extra weight of the vauxhall engine. it worked a treat too, giving wonderfully balanced handling. Give us a bit more info on the car Tony. Has the battery been moved to the back, or the fuel tank been modified or the spare wheel carrier been modified? Is the car by any chance running on Leda shock absorbers?

My SBD engine was designed to run in a vacuum like Grahams, but for several years I have had a lot of problems with oil blowing past the gaskets and seals. Following a similar discussion here last year, Arnie advised that a breather from the cam cover to the tank would be a good idea and I have to say that since doing this, I have had no further trouble with oil leaks and the engine seems to run as well as it did before especially since I have stopped using that bloody awful Mobil 1 0-40 stuff and reverted to SynerG. Arnie took great delight in confirming that this was the correct course of action - I have to admit that he was right too. You're not all hot air then Arnie!

I just feel like a change, I've gone as far as I can with the 21, whilst still keeping it sweet as a road car. I fancy one of those motorbike engined sevens which rev to 14,000 with sequential 6 speed boxes and weigh next to nothing. Haven't driven one yet in case I wanted one badly, so I might get put off after that.

The time has come to put my red 21 on the market. Having built it in spring 1997, registered it on a "R" plate, done 3000 miles in that summer, I then fitted an SBD modified, dry sumped Vauxhall 2 litre 16v engine, using throttle bodies and MBE ecu, which showed 246 bhp on the dyno when newly built. The spec of the engine is too long to list here, but if you are interested give me a ring. {I would also be interested in selling the complete engine, with loom, dry sump equipment and all ancillaries except the alternator, seperately for around £5,000:00, if anyone is interested] Gearbox is a Brian Hill BGH Geartec modified c/r helical 5 speeder plus quick shift lever, with a 3.92 limited slip diff. All suspension has been uprated, as have the brakes which now run 280mm front discs with AP 4 pots and a "competition" master cylinder. The interior has black leather "S" seats, piped in red to match the paintwork and is fully trimmed with power point, glove locker, map net, rollover hoops, heater etc and is a great place to be. This is now a genuine 150mph car which has still only done 12,000 miles, and whilst perhaps, not such an everyday car as Caterham might have liked it to be, is nevertheless a great drive and a never ending source of amusement, fun and attention. It has also been the subject of several complimentary magazine articles, is in excellent condition and has never been involved in any accidents nor needed to be repaired. But there is full factory spares backup from Caterham if it is ever required! I am looking for an offer in the region of £18,750:00 which doesn't even start to reflect the amount of money that I have put in during the last 4 years, but will give excellent value for money on a power per pound sterling basis. I also have a spare Vauxhall 2 litre engine, slightly less modified. Wet sumped running Kent cams and Alpha-Weber throttle bodies and ECU. This engine has just been rebuilt and not run. If someone is interested in either engine seperately, please talk to me. My phone number is: 01823 421 748 Edited by - Paul Jacobs on 7 Apr 2002 14:08:27 Edited by - Paul Jacobs on 29 May 2002 09:42:38

Chris, I'm still interested, didn't receive your email, it could've gone straight to my spam box and been deleted in error - sorry. Did you manage to find out how much a carrier would want to get it to me in Taunton? Thanks

Peter, Could you explain why you say that a proportioning valve should not be used in the front circuit?

That's great, good info, thanks Martin.

Hi Rob, I've got the opposite problem on my 21 now. Since upgrading the front discs to 280mm vented and drilled with the AP 4 pot calipers, installing a competition master cylinder and putting in Pagid pads all round, but still retaining the standard XR4 rear calipers, I'm now finding that the fronts are locking under heavey braking, so I'm looking at putting in a valve to limit the front pressure! This is probably a better problem I fancy. I expect that you've got the 4 pots with the 26omm discs on the front, the competion m/cylinder makes a big difference, really shortens the pedal stroke and hardens it up, should help combat the softness when the fluid heats up. The problem with having different pads front to back is that as they heat up they will give different characteristics over a period of time, so you won't know exactly what the car is going to do next. As Felix says, it may be best to brake less - hmm......

Martin, I was interested in your fitting of a brake bias control. Last year I changed my front discs for a larger pair, and installed Pagid pads all round, as well as a couple of other mods, but I'm now having trouble with the fronts locking up under extreme braking, so I reckon I need a bias control to reduce the pressure on the front. How difficult was it, where exactly did you put the valve and is it adjustable from the cockpit? Oh yes, what sort of price was it?

Andy, I think that the real problem is that the Caterham rear wings are slightly too big for standard 185 tyres, so they do stick out a fair bit and the tyres look lost in them. The best advice has been given, don't do it - however....... if you really do want to have a go, consider the following: you will need longer studs and they are a pig to put in because the hub has to come off to get the old ones out and push the new ones in; by widening the track it puts more leverage on the bearings, so they will require more maintainance; it is quite likely to alter the setup of the car too, probably leading to slightly more understeer, which is not a good thing with the more recent cars, as there is already too much built in. Having said all that, I have widened the rear track on my 21[same suspension setup], by a small amount, about a quarter of an inch either side, by using spacers and longer studs, in my case so that my nearside tyre could clear a non standard rear exit exhaust system, and I find no difference in the handling, although it has always understeered like a pig, in certain corners on track only, so I probably haven't helped this trait much. It certainly looks good though!

Geoff, personaly I would forget the rear a/r bar altogether, but go for stiffer front springs, say around 220 - 250lbs, but be prepared to experiment, I would suggest that you can leave the rears alone for the time being. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can alter your ride height at will though, say lower it for track days and put it up again later for the road, every time you move it you change all the camber, caster and toe settings which you would have paid so much to have set up when the car was flat floored, have it set up just once then leave it well alone once you're sure you like the feel of it with those settings. [unless you carry your own corner weight scales around with you of course!]

Mike, don't take it all too seriously, it's only a gentle bit of leg pulling. I'd expect no less if I tried selling my 21 on the W*******d or Elise BB sites - hmm, now, there's an idea. Anyone interested in buying possibly the fastest 21 on sale right now? One careful owner, only 10,000 miles, never raced or rallied, oh no sorry, can't put that, but it does eat Elsies for breakfast.

If only it had been a Caterham, at that price I'd bitten you arm off for it - even with the swept wings. Best of luck, it sounds like a really nice car.......for a W*******d of course.

Well it all goes back to popular colours really, I was just wondering if black or black/ali was considered a good colour for a Seven.

Brian has been having some personal problems of late and is rather behind with his orders. I have magaged to speak to him at odd times, but he has his machine switched over to fax mode most of the time now. The only thing is to keep trying him. If you do get through, please ask him if he's done Paul Jacobs' 5 speed box and diff. yet, if so to ring me back ASAP so I can collect them and get started on my build......... Best of luck.

Hmm, good response, excellent spec, but I also notice that it is a black car, is that very important for people replying? Does Black make the car more desirable in other words?

Chris, That sounds fine to me, the only prob is picking it up from you. Where are you in Herts? I've got to go to Cranbrook in Kent in the next couple of weeks, so maybe I can make a detour via you, or if not, maybe you could tie a label on to it and send it down via a courier, just let me know how much that's likely to cost though.