four20

Thanks Johnh and everyone for your suggestions. It’s unlikely to be A frame bushes since the A frame was replaced around 500 miles ago but I’ll go round the car again looking for anything with play in it. The drivetrain has had a hard life trying to get round Castle Combe sprints faster than everyone else which is why I suspected the diff. I have limited mobility so I think the best bet would be to run it over to James Whiting (who fitted the replacement Zetec) for a diagnosis before I start ripping the beast apart. If anyone can suggest a competent mechanic nearer to me (Reading/Newbury/Basingstoke) I’d appreciate it. Thanks again, Tony B.

Thanks for the fast replies chaps, my mechanic reckons that the prop shaft is OK, he had a look today when he did my MOT. I’ve left a message with Caterham Cars too, they have a massively reduced unit that I hope might fit! (358 quid - down from £1200!) i’ll give Jigsaw and Road and Race a bell tomorrow. Thanks again. Tony.

my 1995 Seven has (I believe) an Ital diff which at the moment is making cringe making bangs as I let in the clutch on take off and when changing gear. I have a spare unit which came with the car but can’t find a specialist to assess/refurbish it before changing it for the nasty one in the car. My local chap says he won’t be able to source spares. I’m based near Reading and would appreciate any recommendations for getting it checked/refurbished or replaced. thanks in advance, Tony Booth

Heading East on the A4 towards Reading. monday 22nd May 2014.

I'll offer a cheeky 400 Mark. atb Tony

Pressures all at 18. No LSD. car was pretty stable front and back although it could be pushed at the front. It was the first time I'd driven it in anger since the rebuild and it was sliding both ends together quite nicely. Previously I'd had to adjust dampers to get it balanced but last time out all were evenly stiffened. I'm used to pushing the front both into and out of corners so I'd expect some graining on the tyres but I would have expected it to be further across the treads rather than just on about 15% at the outside edge. There must have been substantial grip right across 'cos my times were good. no photos I'm afraid. One of the few meetings with no camera. this was at two events, castle combe and hullavington, both are fast tracks - if that helps. my mechanic is back from europe in a couple of weeks so all is not lost. Thanks for your input chaps.. tony

i had my car setup by a race mechanic after a chassis repair and notice that after a track session the front tyres are scrubbed along the outside edge. On the Yoko 021s fitted this represents half a tyre block of the four blocks across the tread. is this acceptable or should I be looking at more castor/toe in. can't complain about the handling and before any asks, I neglected to check the rear tyres.

thinking of fitting a tillett to my Roadsport to get through the new rollbar regs from MSA but unsure of which model to choose - at the moment I'm favouring the B6 but don't really have a clue. any advice please?

Just a quiet heads up to say that Craven intend to repeat their successful sprint at Hullavington next March. Date and track layout to be confirmed but they hope to make the run 20% longer at just over 2 miles and possibly in the reverse direction. nothing finlised yet and lots of co-ordination with MSA and Pegasus & Bristol to do. either way, I had a great time at both Hullavington meets last year.

Orange with black wings, could have been a Westfield. Respect though, pissing down with rain and no roof! A340 Basingstoke road approaching Aldermaston.

Blue and ali in Newbury this afternoon. Looked nice

Spotted turning off A4 onto Frouds Lane, Padworth - a beautiful shade of yellow and (I think) a full roll cage. 12.30 Monday 23rd June. Rgds Tony (driving my beat up old Merc at the time)

Good blast up the A4 then I looked in my mirror and it was full of caterham. Good to see you Smiffy, hoping you might follow into Waitrose car park but you're looking good. atb. Tony Edited by - four20 on 12 Jun 2014 17:32:03

i'd like a pair please andy, cheque etc in the post tomorrow. just reread your post, is a cheque ok? tony b Edited by - four20 on 8 Jun 2014 19:39:03

Got my old engine back from James Whiting and it's now ready for sale. It's a 1760cc Roger King Crossflow unit fitted in Nov 2001 and has the usual RK bits pushing it to a claimed 155bhp. Engine is complete from the clutch forwards except for the carbs but has inlet and exhaust manifolds and complete exhaust with a shiny Techcraft repackable silencer. I decided to change to a Zetec unit partly because the XF was going to need attention before doing any more sprints. After the last one the oil pressure was dropping very low at tickover although at road revs it was acceptable. I believe that the oil pump needs renovation but James Whiting thinks that the loose alternator he found caused the 'knocking' noises - he knows alot more than me but either way I don't believe the big ends are any worse than 'worn' (as opposed to clapped out). the XF unit cost just over 4K in 2001 and has done about 32 thousand miles so I'm hoping for something in xs of 3 thousand to defray the cost of the Zetec (6K). I live in West Berks and don't have an engine lift so prospective buyers would need to bring along a strong mate. Hoping to sell through Blatchat but will go to ebay if there's little interest. This engine has been sprinted over the last two years and got best in class at the last Castle Combe meeting of last year. Full spec from RK on demand.

totally agree, bhp is a rough guide but i don't have the torque figures for either engine yet. i'm led to believe that the zetec is comparable in power but the power curve starts lower in the rev range and is therefore wider - should be tractable if that's so but i'll miss the roar and carbfarts from the crossflow. might be easier to keep the exhaust under the noise limits too.

cheers screens, not too sure about the palace. i was hoping to go to gurston for that weekend which would leave monday free but three 5am starts might be a bit too much! tempting though, it's a lovely venue and the burgers are good.

thanks zetec, the excitement is tempered by the hole it's making in my pension but i'm looking forward to a run across salisbury plain to get it bedded in. met office says spring has sprung. did james do the rolling road or is it a separate operation, if so where and how much? also, were the 45s off your original engine (thinking of resale here).

thanks anothercat, i'll take all the advice i can get - this is all new territory for me. did you get the old engine back complete or were essential bits swopped over onto the zetec? i'm glad james whiting persuaded me of a zetec over a fresh X/F, he says it gets on the torque curve at lower revs so my starts could improve but any more info would be welcome. assume i know nothing and you'll be pretty close to my reality! i had thought of a 2 litre version but james suggested that it might just trash the diff and an 1800 at least lets me race the crew i've been trying to beat for the past 2 years. those sylva riots had better watch out.

not too sure at the mo evotell, i was hoping for some enlightenment from others! i'm pretty sure that the exhaust and manifolds are included, the invoice for the new engine lists the exhaust system but doesn't go into detail although at £785 I would expect it to be complete (and gold plated!). there's no mention of new carbs but the rebuild should be finished next week so i'll know more then. alot will depend on how much the 'refresh' costs. i was starting to get low oil pressure on tickover after a fast run but there's no bearing noise and the pressure was acceptable at driving revs so i'm hoping that it's the oil pump losing pressure and that the bearings and journals don't need grinding. it's been a good engine, the inlet roar is magnificent and it got me best in class at the last combe meeting. i'll get back to you when i know more - sorry to be a tad premature but i was eager to know what the going price was.

i'm in the process of having the X/F extracted from my seven and a new zetec installed. the old engine is a Roger King 155bhp unit and will be refurbished by James Whiting. Just wondered if there was a market for this and how much I can expect to recover towards the cost of the (expensive) zetec.

thanks for that chris, the new engine isn't far off what i paid for the car so any returns will be welcome. i think i've caught the big ends before any serious damage has been done though so the engine should be in fairly good nick. atb tony

mmmmmm...speed. cheers chris, the bank balance has taken a mighty hit but the old engine should be minimally damaged so i'm hoping to check that out and sell it on if there's a market......anyone looking for a fast AX blocked crossflow, slightly foxed? Edited by - four20 on 25 Oct 2013 22:01:34

and he rides a Norton Atlas - double top man. trouble with the engine change is it puts me in a different class in sprints - against a 3L Noble for example. Edited by - four20 on 25 Oct 2013 19:03:51

final update, i've decided to go for an upgrade to 2L zetec with james whiting and looking forward to another 40 horses and a wider torque curve. might get a bit closer to the Sylvas too. a full service from someone who knows what they're doing will set my mind at rest for next year too - this car is almost old enough to vote.