Ferrari Mailing List: Caterham 7 pseudo experience

[Mark (misc]

Hi Guys,

In follow-up to the Caterham 7 conversation, my neighbor has a pseudo 7(much modified) that he autocrosses.  I thought you might be interested in a little info he gave me regarding the car and setup:

 

Hi Mark,

 

We’re leaving tomorrow morning for a couple of days in the mountains, so I thought I better answer at least some of your questions today.

 

My SCCA D Modified Lotus 7 Solo (autocross) car:

- Original bare chassis built by Pat Prince.  Essential the same stock design as built for Lotus 7 road racers.

- The car was originally built by Del Long from the Cedar Rapids area in Iowa for the 2001 season.

- He and a co-driver campaigned the car for a year.

- The co-driver won a Championship in this car, but the class has gotten tougher since then.

- Del approximately tripled the stock chassis stiffness and set the general location of all the various parts.

- Since then the chassis stiffness has been multiplied again by apx. 3x and the engine, transmission and entire rear suspension have been replaced.

- Engine is now a Cosworth YBM which is a dry-sumped, 2 liter, 4 cylinder engine built on an English Ford block with 4 valve Cosworth head, pistons, cams and...

- Fuel injected with crank fire ignition provided by Motec M48 ECU.

- Engine shifted back to maximum allowed wheelbase midpoint.

- Engine shifted right to fit driver.

- English dog clutch transmission based on Ford Bullet box.

- Quick-change rear differential with ramp load type limited slip

- 58% rear weight bias.

- 13 x10 front rims with 20 x 10-13 Avon slicks.

- 13 x 13 rear rims with 23.5 x 12-13 Avon slicks.

- Full width front air dam with splitter.

- Full width 10” tall rear spoiler.

- Custom double a-arm front suspension.

- Unique IRS with camber fully compensated in heave and roll.

- There are no Lotus parts on this car and every system and almost every part on the car has been replaced or modified since the car was built.

- The car does not look too much like a Lotus 7 anymore.

 

Weight with driver apx. 1510 lbs.

Estimated 0-60, less than 4 seconds.

 

I have autocrossed in several different cars and classes over the years, including a Citation Formula Ford.  This car may be a little faster than the FF on course.  Compared to the 1100 lb with driver FF, this car may be slightly slower in steering response, since it weighs  400 lbs more, but the tires are around 50% wider and the hp is a little more than double.  Overall width is pretty similar, while the wheelbase is a little shorter.  In the low gears used in autocrossing the acceleration is as strong as you would expect and on course the turns come at you as fast as, or faster, than you might expect.  I at least feel like I’m driving with my brain in overload in this car, as I did in the FF.

 

This year I got something of a late start, I added the front air dam and splitter and also had some ignition system failures.  The air dam significantly shifted my handling balance on course, even at autocross speeds, but I did manage to work through the handling issues just before the National Championship event.  Because of my ignition problems though, my finish position at Nationals was quite a bit less than I expected.  Over the last few years it has seemed like 3^rd was my typical result, but not this year.

 

 

 

Mark Lueker

86 308

 

From: Ferrari [mailto:ferrari-bounces+misc=308systems.com [at] ferrarilist.com] On Behalf Of Michel Savard
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2014 6:21 PM
To: Mark
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: [Ferrari] fuel gauge on 308

 

1981 308 GTSi: As you remember I had problems 2 weeks ago with my car dying on me 3 miles from home. It was a faulty fuel gauge. It read 1/4 of a tank left but I had 3 liters left.

My mechanic told me on the phone that in 35 years he changed a fuel gauge ONCE on a Ferrari. Needless to say he was very surprised.

My question is, is it worth changing it ? I saw a fuel gauge on Ebay for $200.u.s. How long does it take to change ?

I drove without a fuel gauge for 11 years, then decided to change the "control arm" that goes into the fuel tank. Everything was fine for 2 years and now the actual fuel gauge is faulty.

 

Michael Savard