Alaskossie

I contacted Tony in early December 2007 re obtaining a set of his larger 7 windwings. His response was that unfortunately, he had become too busy to do any more fabrication projects -- a pity. However, he volunteered to send me the measurements of his windwings. Any other windwing alternatives out there that do not involve DIY? I've got enough DIY projects on my plate at present. Alaskossie

I don't see the plywood so much as a "crumple zone," as a throwback to Morgan/MG TC construction expedients. The rear cockpit frame members would prevent any boot floor, whether aly or plywood, from "slicing through the cockpit like a sword." I replaced my plywood with a sheet of 0.080" aly, with four small aly angle pieces bolted to the underside to give it rigidity. Then I ditched the sheet metal screws and fastened the boot floor to the interior panel flanges with proper bolts and fixed threaded rivnuts. Alaskossie

Has anyone tried the carbon-fiber airfoil sections that Mog and Fluke offer for the front upper and lower wishbones? Do these offer a measurable increase in downforce? In theory at least, the look as if they might. Any opinions? Alaskossie

edmandsd, What was your power to weight ratio, with the Hart 420R and 415 kg total weight? Alaskossie

Are there any exact numbers available as to precisely how much heavier the bare metric chassis is than a comparable Arch chassis? Alaskossie

Bob, Having applied your own organic handbrake on occasion (and having kicked it around in the victim's footwell on more occasions), I can also attest to its earth-friendly, carbon-neutral attributes (and I know you intend to recycle it by composting, instead of incineration). I understand that you see this mod as your own small contribution to mitigate the world's inconvenient truths.... Alaskossie

Julian, I assume that you have long ago binned the locking steering column, and substituted a simple key lock on or under the dash panel? Alaskossie

Adam, The sidewall on a 40-series tire is so shallow, and the Seven is so light, that I was not anticipating the tyre sidewall would deform very much from cornering forces. I think any rubbing by the tyre during cornering would probably come from a combination of sidewall deflection and DD tube lateral movement against its bushes. I was advised that the reason CC's assembly manual directs the builder to position the rear, short Watts link arm with it waisted or clearanced side toward the body (instead of outward which would be more logical), is to avoid fouling the body with the Watts link during hard cornering while hitting a bump, etc. So there must be some lateral DD/suspension movement of some kind going on during hard cornering. The front Watts link is of course directed to be installed with its waisted side outward, to give extra clearance for the tyre. It would be nice to have that extra tyre clearance for the short Watts link arm also. Alaskossie

Does anyone have experience with installing the 15X9, ET30 rear wheel/tyre combination offered on the CSR onto a late-model (new) Series 3 with deDion/Watts link suspension? This would be the Caterham 10-spoke anthracite rear wheel with Avon CR500 tyres in 245/40 R15 size. (Caterham refers to this as a “255/40” size, but Avon doesn’t make the CR500 in a 255 size). I have dry-fit this wheel/tyre combination onto my car, and it appears that there is about 1/2 inches of clearance between the tyre sidewall and the rear Watts link tube, which looks to be sufficient -- but my Caterham dealer says that there should be 3/4- inch clearance to allow for lateral movement of the deDion tube under hard cornering, with resulting contact between the Watts link tubes and the tyre sidewall. That seems like a lot of anticipated lateral movement of the deDion tube... Anyone out there having some practical experience with this wheel/tyre combination on a Series 3? Alaskossie

Philip, Thanks for your words of encouragement. Snow tyres are only one issue. I took great pains to insulate the cockpit from engine-compartment heat, but now am wondering if I might eventually like a bit of that excess heat in the cockpit, after all... (at least, seasonally....) Alaskossie

Based on comments earlier on B/C, when I assembled my 2007 Caterham Classic (a build still in progress), I took a pair of pliers to the filler neck, and removed the spring-loaded flap entirely. I cannot see that the flap had any useful function. We'll see if its removal helps with the filling-kickback problem. Alaskossie

A few months ago, there was talk on B/C about a new narrow-case transmission that Quaife was planning to introduce, that would be suitable for high-power/high torque Sevens. Any current news, or at least gossip? Alaskossie

RiF, I'd like to second the vote for carbon clams in wide-track configuration. I'm thinking the potential market for these out there may be larger than you think. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

I've been in touch with Andy Wiltshire also, looking for long-term solutions for more fuel capacity for a Series 3, while still preserving reasonable boot capacity. (You may justifiably ask why, since my Seven is only half-assembled, and hasn't turned a wheel yet....!). I'm just thinking down the road, for the future. In building my Seven, I spent some time fixing the Caterham honeycomb panel protection kit for the stock fuel tank. I even cut the 5-inch fuel pump access circle out of a spare honeycomb end piece for the right side of the tank (which honeycomb panel Caterham apparently does not supply). Does anyone know if the honeycomb panel material that Caterham uses is available to the public in uncut sheets, in case one wanted to fabricate honeycomb protection for a custom-made fuel tank? Alaskossie

I am about to try out Alex's advice. I am currently building a 2007 Series 3 Seven and specified the 3.38:1 rear diff ratio from Caterham (at significant extra cost!). I'm trusting that my 2.3 Cosworth Duratec (250 hp spec) will have enough torque to not make the car feel sluggish on acceleration. Highway cruising should be a treat in 6th.... Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Nick, Could you send me the lowered-headlamp bracket photos also? I don't know how to acccess private message capabilities by Blartchat, so will give you my e-mail address "in the clear:" tmeacham@gci.net Thanks. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Also -- will they fit on a current S3 chassis? Tom Meacham Alaskossie

My Duratec 2.3 with dry sump and roller-throttle bodies from Cosworth USA (which I am in the process of installing in my new Series 3 Seven) was invoiced to me in April 2007 at $14,179.00, not including freight. This price did not include the clutch, flywheel or wiring loom. The initial dyno run by Cosworth yielded 244 hp, so I am hoping that after running-in, it will give its advertised 250 hp. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

I can attest that the water in the southwest US also leaves large, persistent white spots on the Caterham-supplied nosecone and wings of an R400 that some folks drove from Texas to the Lotus Ltd. gathering three weeks ago in Snowmass, Colorado USA. Based partly on their experience, I am having my own cf wings clear-coated by a paint shop during my on-going Seven build. But the paint shop is having a devil of a time eliminating the dozens of little pin-hole pits in the finish that even three applications of clear-coat seem to leave, with mild sanding between coats.

To perhaps answer my own question -- After reading the comments to my inquiry, I took a look at Porsche jacks on eBay, and found that a 944 jack is a scissors-type jack made of aluminium. It just so happens that I have an '86 944 Turbo in my garage (I'd forgotten what the boot jack looks like, since I always use a floor jack on the car). This jack is relatively light in weight (being all aluminium), and it looks like it has possibilities if the bespoke saddle fitting (to fit the locating holes in the Porsche undersill) can be changed. The jack has a listed capacity of 950 kg, so I could lift all four corners of a Seven at once, and still have nearly 1/3 of the jack's rated capacity left over. With this excess of capacity, it looks as if some judicious drilling might be undertaken, to "skeletonize" and lighten the jack a bit more. My planned modification of the saddle (essentially placing another rectangular footplate on the top of the scissors) will require the disassembly of another of these jack (relatively cheap buys on eBay, I hope). Even the jack's handle crank is hollow aluminium, and it appears it can be cut down in size by 1/3.. If I'm successful, I'll post the results, and a weight comparison with the stock Caterham items. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Approximately 125mm diameter and 360 mm length. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

I'll be driving my Seven from Colorado to Alaska USA on the Alcan Highway shortly, so I think a jack and spare tire are the most prudent options for me. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Does anyone have photos or descriptions of a good way to mount a 2.5 lb. fire extinguisher in front of an adjustable Tillett seat in a Seven Series 3? Ideally, the mount would travel with the seat when it is adjusted fore and aft. Or is a 2.5 lb. extinguisher too large a diameter to fit in front of a Tillett? Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Has anyone found a safe, lightweight substitute for the Caterham-supplied steel scissor jack? A jack designed to lift a corner of a 3500-lb. car is a bit of overkill to carry in a Seven. Tom Meacham Alaskossie

Thanks Alan! Tom Meacham Alaskossie