Caterham 7

<body BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#1010A0"> <p align=center> <IMG SRC=big_7_logo.jpg align=center BORDER=0> </p> <H1 ALIGN=CENTER>My dream car -<br>The Caterham Seven</H1> <hr width=50% size=2 noshade> <p align=center> <A HREF=mt_hamilton_big.jpg> <IMG SRC=mt_hamilton_small.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="Click for a bigger version"></A> </p> <p align=center> My car at the Lick Astronomical Observatory, atop Mount Hamilton in California </p> <hr width=50% size=2 noshade> <br> <table align=center width=80%> <tr> <td align=left><h3>History of the 'Seven'</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=justify> Designed by Colin Chapman and launched by Lotus cars at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1957, the Lotus 7 was the successor to the highly popular Lotus 6, which ceased production in 1955. The original Series 1 Seven was produced with a Ford sidevalve engine and a 3 speed gearbox. Later models were produced with the Coventry Climax 1097cc engine or the BMC 948cc engine from the Austin A35, with a 4 speed BMC gearbox. </p> <p align=justify> In 1960, the Series 2 was introduced which had a lighter spaceframe and a revised fiberglass nosecone, which remains outwardly unchanged to this day. In 1968, the Series 3 Seven was launched. The chassis frame was considerably stiffer and the standard engine was the 1600cc Ford 2265E crossflow. This is the type of engine that is in my Seven. In the early 1970's, sales of Sevens declined to near zero, almost resulting in the demise of the car. </p> <p align=justify> In May 1973, Graham Nearn's Caterham Cars took over all the remaining Seven parts, jigs, moulds and - most importantly - the manufacturing rights from Lotus. The Caterham Seven has therefore continued outwardly unchanged since then, though considerable improvements have been made over the years to the engines, transmissions and internal details of the car. Though many have tried to emulate, and some have even tried to copy the Seven, none have managed to improve on this 43 year old design. </p><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left><h3>Getting hooked</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=justify> I had seen Sevens on the road and on the television many times before, but the thing that got me hooked was a review by the TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson on the "Top Gear" motoring program in Britain. He basically compared the Seven agianst other, more expensive sports cars and it trounced them! The Caterham Seven's high performance for relatively little cost, plus it's unsurpassed good looks are what kept me going until I could actually afford one of these dream cars. </p><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left><h3>The realisation of a dream</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=justify> It wasn't until I moved from Britain to California that I was able to scrape together enough cash to actually buy my very own 7. Financially, it was a bit touch-and-go, but I thought <i>"You only live once, and where better to appreciate an open topped sports car than California ?"</i>. I soon found the Rocky Mountain Sports Cars web site ( <a href=http://www.rmsci.com>www.rmsci.com</a> ) and started making enquiries. The people there were really friendly and helpful and bent over backwards to make my dream come true. The diary is an account of what happened once the car arrived in the country, but there were actually a lot of negotiations and discussions in the months leading up the car's arrival. </p><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left><h3>Build Diary - The short version</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=justify> I took delivery of the car on Saturday, 15<sup>th</sup> January 2000. Most of the construction was finished by the end of February 2000. I would say that in total, I spent about 120 hours building the car, but only about 80-90 of those hours were spent working on it. The rest of the time was spent sat on the floor reading the Assembly "Guide" over and over with bits of the car in front of me trying to reconcile the scant instructions with what I had before me. I am currently in the process of trying to register the car. I say "tryng" because the registration beaurocracy is not really geared up for "unusual" cars. I have put about 800 miles on the clock at the time of writing (end of April) and have loved every one of them! </p><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=left><h3>Update!</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=justify> See the "March and beyond..." section of the diary for the latest information. </p><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center><h3>Specifications</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center> <table> <tr><td>Model</td> <td width=20></td><td>Seven Roadsport (AKA Super 7 Sport)</td></tr> <tr><td>Colour</td> <td width=20></td><td>Yellow - all over!</td></tr> <tr><td valign=top>Options</td> <td width=20></td><td> <li>FIA approved Roll-bar. <li>FIA approved 4 point harnesses. <li>Quick release steering wheel. <li>"Cycle" wings. <li>"7" radiator grille. <li>Cloth adjustable seats. <li>Heater - concession to the wife. </td> <tr><td>Engine</td> <td width=20></td><td>1600cc, 4 cylinder Ford "Kent" Crossflow - 1967</td></tr> <tr><td>Carburation</td> <td width=20></td><td>Twin dual Weber DCOE40 carbs.</td> <tr><td>Horse Power</td> <td width=20></td><td>About 100-ish</td></tr> <tr><td>Max. engine revs</td> <td width=20></td><td>6000rpm</td></tr> <tr><td>Transmission</td> <td width=20></td><td>Ford 5 speed XR4i gearbox and differential</td> <tr><td>Max. Speed</td> <td width=20></td><td>110mph</td></tr> <tr><td>0-60 time</td> <td width=20></td><td>About 7 seconds</td></tr> <tr><td>60-0 distance</td> <td width-20></td><td>120ft. (39m) - estimated</td></tr> <tr><td>Weight</td> <td width=20></td><td>1100 lbs (500kg) - empty</td></tr> <tr><td>Power / Weight ratio</td><td width=20></td><td>200 hp / ton</td></tr> <tr><td>Lateral Acceleration</td><td width=20></td><td>Over 1G</td></tr> <tr><td>Fuel "economy"</td> <td width=20></td><td>16mpg town, 25mpg freeway</td></tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <H1 ALIGN=CENTER>Build Diary</H1> <br><br> <p align=center> <table cellpadding=10> <tr> <td bgcolor=#FFD000><font size=+1><a href=diary_jan_1.htm>11<sup>th</sup>-21<sup>st</sup> January 2000</a></font></td> <td> <li>Picking up the car from the airport. <li>Suspension. <li>Seats/interior. </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor=#FFD000><font size=+1><a href=diary_jan_2.htm>22<sup>nd</sup>-31<sup>st</sup> January 2000</a></font></td> <td> <li>Windscreen. <li>Engine assembly. <li>Side screens. </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor=#FFD000><font size=+1><a href=diary_feb.htm>1<sup>st</sup>-28<sup>th</sup> February 2000</a></font></td> <td> <li>Engine installation. <li>Starting it up. <li>Finishing things off. </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor=#FFD000><font size=+1><a href=diary_mar.htm>March and beyond...</a></font></td> <td> <li>Start of the registration process. <li>Initial impressions. <li>Events. </td> </tr> </table> <hr width=50% size=2 noshade> <br> <table align=center width=50%> <tr> <td align=left><h3>Links</h3></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href=http://www.caterham.co.uk target=_top>Caterham Cars Ltd. - www.caterham.co.uk</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href=http://www.uscaterham.com/home.html target=_top>Caterham Cars USA - www.uscaterham.com/home.html</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href=http://www.rmsci.com target=_top>Rocky Mountain Sporsts Cars Inc. - www.rmsci.com</a></td> </tr> </table> <br> <hr width=50% size=2 noshade> <P ALIGN=CENTER> <A HREF=index.htm> <IMG SRC=small_back.jpg ALIGN=CENTER BORDER=0 ALT="Back to index page" width=57 height=60></A> <A HREF=ganimede.htm> <IMG SRC=small_gan.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="Ganimede page" width=57 height=60></A> <A href=cgi.htm> <IMG SRC=small_ball.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="Computer Graphics page" width=57 height=60></a> <A HREF=ballooning.htm> <IMG SRC=small_bbac.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="Hot Air Ballooning" width=57 height=60></A> <A HREF=quake.htm> <IMG SRC=small_q.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="QUAKE!" width=57 height=60></A> <A HREF=unreal.htm> <IMG SRC=small_unreal.gif align=center BORDER=0 ALT="Unreal" width=57 height=60></A> <IMG SRC=grey_7_logo.jpg align=center BORDER=0 width=57 height=60></A> <A HREF=mars.htm> <IMG SRC=small_mars.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="Mars page" width=57 height=60></A> <A HREF=profile.htm> <IMG SRC=small_prof.jpg align=center BORDER=0 ALT="About me" width=57 height=60></A> </P> <hr width=50% size=2 noshade> <P ALIGN=CENTER> Maintenance of these pages is attempted by <A HREF=mailto:webmaster@ganimede.demon.co.uk><i>webmaster@ganimede.demon.co.uk</i> </A> </body>