Roy Blyth

My 1980 1600 Sprint does not have any trumpets, just pancake filters.

There's always Redline, just saying....

I haven't topped a battery up since... well, in the days when you always had to top batteries up! My Banner looks like it needs a top up, but I can't see up to what level? Is there meant to be a marker in there somewhere, or should I just make sure they are all just above the top of the plates? The Banner website is worse than useless

Here ya go! The roll bar is an FIA bar, so a bit thicker than the standard one it replaced, but using exactly the same mountings. The car is a 1980 1600 Sprint and the roll bar was bought from Redline some 20+ years ago. Let me know if you need anything else.

The last picture is an S3, exactly as the 1980 one sitting in my garage.

I think it depends on what you're doing. I would say doors off at Curborough, but definitely doors on at Goodwood! Curborough is relatively short and low speed (but not that low! ), whereas a track like Goodwood is long and fast. My first sprint at Goodwood I did with the doors off and finished the lap with my eyeballs still rattling around in my head with the buffeting - never again! Curborough is different as you need to get yer elbows out and muscle the car around

Very impressive and hats off to the man! Then I started to look at the DJ website.... 2.65 litre Cosworth V8, 500bhp and 15,000rpm... looks like it might fit?

You should sell that sound as a ringtone, worth every penny of whatever it is you spent!

Ahah! Thanks for pointing out the S&C option, I might give that a go. I did phone Caterham and they confirmed that they don't sell the heated glass on it's own "probably because so many got damaged in transit"....

Funny you should ask this as my heated screen has acquired a small U-shaped crack at the top, so it will need replacing at least before it's first MoT in about 18 x months. I looked on Caterham parts website and could not find a replacement heated glass, just the whole assembly with frame - a few bob short of £500! I don't need the frame, there's nothing wrong with it, so does anyone know if the heated glass on it's own is available elsewhere? I doubt it, but I'll ask anyway and maybe it might influence the OP's decision in going down that route...?

Well a great time was had by all at Curborough yesterday! Fantastic weather and a wonderful mix of cars to enjoy; everything from hot hatches to a Mustang to single seaters. Both Chris and Kevin were very happy with the changes to the damper settings, saying the car did not feel nervous any more and they were able to control the back end better. We didn't make any more changes on the day, they both just kept trying to improve their times by finding a better line. One area that they felt was definitely better was the start, with Chris getting down to a 2.28 at 64' and Kevin a 2.37 on his last run, a consistent improvement on their times back in May. This kind of echoed their feelings that the car was now not squatting as much on the start. All in all, a really good day with their best runs finishing up only 0.05 sec apart, with Chris the 'winner' on the day with a 37.45 sec run There were only three runners in our class, the other being a well prepared W*******d with 175bhp, aeroscreen, etc. He managed to beat us with a 37.35 so only a tenth in it and Chris could have come home with the silverware! However, while Kevin managed to keep it on the black stuff (apart from a brown trouser moment after Molehill! ), Chris's final run then included his usual free lawn maintenance services, this time just after Flagpole! So, they've done a double-lap and now a single lap event at Curborough and we're back there in two weeks time for a figure of eight event. Not sure that we'll make any changes this time as that layout will give them something else to think about, so we'll probably play it safe and leave things alone for now. One thing that did make me nervous though was when the drivers were called for an 'important' meeting and told to be aware of a hump that had appeared just after the finish line! Thoughts of sump, Coke can and a frowning Geoff Brown came rapidly to mind... but thankfully it didn't cause anyone any problems Meanwhile, I cannot fail to be impressed by the Mustang driver. The car looks like it only just fits on the narrow track, yet he drove up, slapped some numbers on, threw out the carpets and wrestled five litres of muscle round that track like he was driving a single seater! Respect, as they say

Doesn't matter which one, we had to squash it a bit to get it under the sump anyway...

No apology needed Geoff, these 'conversations' would be so much better stood at the bar with a pint in hand! The Coke can test works (just!) and we're all set for a return to Curborough this weekend. Their first visit was the Club double-lapper, but this week it's a single lap event, so it's definitely a case of getting it right first time! Watch this space...

Hmmm.. a "well done" from Deputy Headmaster Kay and a "you really don't know what you're doing, do you" from GB Listen chaps, as I said in the OP, we're trying to lower the rear ride height as that is what both the drivers say they would like to try. Both of them have minimal experience of driving a Seven and are still exploring both their's and the car's potential on track. But their feeling is that the car is 'sitting up' too high at the rear, an observation that was made a few months ago at Curborough by a couple of more experienced competitors. Both drivers said the same at North Weald recently, however they only really had one dry lap to confirm that feeling. But they may well get to the next event and find it didn't work, in which case we'll have a rethink. The thing is, they want to experiment with anything on the car that's adjustable, in just the same way that they want to try different lines on the track. Neither of them really have the opportunity to try things out on the road; my son Chris who built the car is only 19 so insurance on a Seven is a no-no, my nephew Kevin is insured but it's not his car so he's reluctant to experiment on the public roads. So we'll give this a go and we'll have a direct comparison as their next two events are both at Curborough next month. Of course, I would love to give them the benefit of my experience and show them how it's done, but I can't get in or out of a Seven at the moment, so I just keep waving my dusty old Curborough trophies at them and tell them to stop asking about Sigma upgrades...

Many, many years ago I had something similar and could not see anything obvious. James Whiting had the car in for a service and found the A-frame bracket was cracked and about to part company! Nothing escapes his watchful eye...

Update: We measured the car first with roughly half a tank of fuel and driver onboard, front shocks already set with adjustment available up or down, rears at the very bottom of adjustment. Front - 159 & 153 Rear - 173 & 163 As we were trying to lower the rear, we decided to aim for Front - 150 and Rear - 160 which meant moving the circlip down on the rears. Once we realised that the black platform collar was not fixed to the shock it all became a lot easier! A quick calculation on the new position for the platforms, slap them back on and we ended up with the following: Front - 154 & 154 Rear - 163 & 160 Not perfect, but close enough for now as we have two different drivers of 'similar' weights and we'd rather do small adjustments and see how it goes. Their next sprint is at Curborough again in September, so we'll see what they think then Thanks again for all your help!

Okay, it's wet 'n windy out there, so we've been playing in the garage and whipped one of the rear dampers off. We've wound the platform adjuster and lock ring up and now have the black collar sitting on it's own at the bottom, with what looks like a circlip set into it, as per the photo (damper upside down). The question is, how do I get the circlip out without destroying it? I've tried winding the collar up to expose it, but it just turns the whole threaded column. Suggestions please, before someone finds me jobs to do in the house...!

Thanks for all the advice. The strange thing is that it does not 'handle like a brick'. It's not perfect and the two drivers have done two sprints now and are not complaining of anything drastic. Anyway, we're going to take some measurements first before we do anything and then follow Geoff's advice, if possible. Watch this space...

Some simple advice, please! Our car is a standard 2015 SuperSport, with a de-dion and anti-roll bar at the rear. We're trying to lower the rear ride height and I assumed that we could do this by winding the Bilstein spring platforms down. However, they are already wound right down as that is how they were supplied in the kit? Springs 'n things are the work of the devil to me, so I would appreciate any simple explanation as to how I can achieve a lower ride height. I know I need to check the ground clearance front and rear (with or without a pile of bricks onboard and a couple of Coke cans or beer bottles underneath!), but I would like to understand the theory a bit better. Roy

Philip, I noticed your comment about the wires in the connector to the pump. When we finished building the car last year it would not start. It turned over and everything electrical worked, except the fuel pump would not prime. An auto electrician came and took a look and found that one of the pins in that plug was slightly bent. Straightened the pin, plugged it back in and started first time! Maybe yours is/was a similar issue..?

https://blog.tupperware.com/community/file-a-missing-seal-report/

If you need a spacer, I used these people recently to get a stainless one to help with fitting my petty strut. Available in lots of sizes and materials, with excellent service: https://www.gwr-fasteners.co.uk/spacers---standoff-collars-606-c.asp

Thanks Shaun, it looked as frantic from inside the cockpit as it did from outside!

4 x Avon CR500 tyres 175/55 R13 79V Almost brand new, 250 miles only, 3 x years old. They were new with our kit which took a long time to build and have now been swapped for Yoko's for sprinting. Collection from Herts. £100 OVNO

Almost brand new, 250 miles only, with fitting kit, £90. Collection from Herts.