700newtons

Yes, after reading that useful article in low flying (p8) I have realised that mine could be shorter too. (and I'm not that much of a bean pole)

Great news (at last!) It is surprisingly nippy for a small engine isn't it? I find that I tend to catch up with traffic on country roads promptly. M25 is rather intimidating for the first drive too, especially when you have less rear view visibility than modern road cars. enjoy, Simon

Ah we were in Portmeirion on the 27th (Orange 160). We drove up on the coast road from Aberdovey (through Barmouth, Harlech etc). Wonderful twisting roads, and beautiful views of the coast. Not too much in the way of traffic either. A really good run, recommended. Simon

Welcome and good luck to you, what model have you bought? Simon

Thanks Ned, I'll reply. How is the car? It must be on the road now. simon

Ok 12 noon... (Thank you - my wife would like to come too) By the way, Peter and I met up at today's Poole Quay meet. There was quite a lot of interest in the 160s.

Yes, looks good to me. I look forward to it. Simon

Ah good news!

Martin, OK, It is in the diary. I hope the others can make it too. Simon

Hello all, I can can make he 13th (but not the 6th) Newbury sounds a good location. Perhaps we could have a pub lunch? I look forward meeting everyone, if it works out. Is anyone else going to the Poole event on the 21st? Simon

Your post did not come across like that at all. Good luck with the build. The last bit with the IVA and registration is definitely themost annoying. Simon

Hmm... I was keen to run in mine carefully too. I mostly did (sort of) but the temptation to push it a bit was sometimes too great. The car seems to be running sweetly after 3000 miles.

Chris, Caterham South did my PBC and IVA (twice, it failed the first one). From memory there was about 100 miles on the clock. I thought that getting them to do the IVA was worthwhile and saved a lot of hassle. Simon

I bought some better 'racetech' mirrors; I got fed up with the standard IVA ones flopping around. I have not tested them in action yet, but with convex glass, the field of view seems much better. Any news Ned, or is it too soon? Simon

I'm open to suggestions... From September on I can only do Sundays but I'm fairly free(ish) towards the end of This month. Simon

Ah Ok, we all seem a fairy busy bunch. Let's bag it. I look forward to seeing you with your cars at some stage. (After all we went through!) Simon

Hello Ned, ah I feel for you. My car also failed on a problem with the wiper fuses. This should be a known problem the very best of luck with the retest. if others reply, and we do meet up, you should still come and hitch a ride. i think I will probably go to the Poole event on he 21st, I understand that Peter will be there too. Simon

Hello Folks... We talked about a 160 owners meet up next weekend... I'm quite keen to have a bite in a pub and kick 160 tyres if anyone else is. I did suggest Somerset, but something more central might be better (Newbury?, Haynes motor museum on the A303?). I'm free at the weekend or most days/evening this week. any interest? Simon

We have just come back from a lovely Scottish trip. My 160, in its infancy, has now travelled the complete length of the UK. With many thanks to Rob and Sally (planning and patience respectively) and also thanks for the advice we received from L7 members from the North – John and Nigel. We had a great time. Our tour started at the Invergary Hotel . This is a comfortable friendly hotel, and also won our tour award for best breakfasts. We decided to pack light, and this did involve some negotiations. After much deliberation we left my wife’s gym weights, although the hairdryer was deemed essential. North West Scotland has rather well spaced out fuel stations, and so we took extra fuel cans just in case. My 160 has a range of over 300 miles, and so this turned out to be unnecessary, but gas guzzlers could run into problems. Our first trip was over the famous Applecross pass to the Applecross Inn. We were blessed with a clear day with excellent views, although keeping up with Rob and Sally made it rather a blur. We then progressed swiftly along single track roads to Ullapool – a scenic coastal route through very remote land. The Caterhams are perfect for this terrain; swift to accelerate, and excellent through the bends. In Ullapool we stayed in Ardvreck House. This was a recommendation from some sea kayaking chums, and we had a warm welcome. We had superb views over Loch Broom. We were armed with chemical defences against the Scottish midge – ‘Avon So Soft’ was recommended by my ex military friend. From Ullapool we had excursions to the Summer Isles Hotel (for a very posh meal), a boat trip, and Alice and I took a hike to Scoraig. This little village is only assessable by boat or 8km costal footpath. We left the Seven in the middle of nowhere and got our walking boots on. After a few days we continued north via Lockinver (and the Lockinver Larder) and onto the Eddracilles Hotel. This turned out to be one of our favourite stays. Excellent views, food and whiskey. We took a day to blat along the north coast and went to Cape Wrath for a ferry trip and a bumpy minibus ride to the pointy North West tip of Scotland. Soon after my half hood was fully tested in a thunder storm (and worked), although I wondered if a roll bar would be an effective faraday cage. Handa Island was also worth a visit. If you go before mid July you can see Puffins. Keen drivers can also try the Fanagmore Ring – our invention, but don’t bother. We then ploughed on along the superb A838 past Loch Shin to Aviemore (although to be honest most Scottish roads are excellent in a Seven). We stayed in the youth hostel – don’t do this. Then, after a short hike, we set off to complete our trip to Invergary. Oh yes, and we stopped at the Dalwhinnie distillery. The 160 completed the trip faultlessly. I managed to keep pace with Rob’s academy car, and even with spirited driving the fuel economy was remarkably good. Scotland is a great place to take a Seven.

In the interests of science I took a sound recording of my 160 on the motorway. The noise reached about 92dB (open top), and with the half hood up at around 40mph I also took similar readings. A quick search on google showed that unprotected exposure to this level for prolonged periods (over an hour) is probably not the best. I let you know for info....

I took advantage of the damp conditions in Somerset to test the limits of friction today (on quiet roads at slow speeds). yep, it definitely locks up if you press hard enough! Also the back end comes out if you try.

Fair points... (If you are reading this as a 'noob' (I'm down with the kids) then a suggested homemade tool for the gear and diff plug is mentioned in the blogs; mine was a sawn down square piece of steel and a spanner) Have a great time at Goodwood Peter. Simon

Watch out folks... When I did my 1000 mile service yesterday I checked the whole car over. Virtually everything seemed ok (although the paint takes a hammering where things rub). However, I did notice that the ventilation slot number 4 on the left hand side of the bonnet was slowly sawing it's way through the rubber air intake tube. I fixed it by gluing on a bit of IVA trim to the metal edge. Simon

Hello Mike, I did my number one service tonight too, I first changed the diff oil. After reports from friends, I was expecting to see a mass of iron filings on the magnetic plug. However, not a whisker (either the Suzuki diff is well made or I wasn't trying hard enough). I also checked the torque on all the suspension bolts that I could get too, and visually inspected those that I could not. All bolts seemed in good order. I then changed the engine oil (the Fram oil filter that you suggested fitted perfectly). I put just over 3L of the recommended oil in, and then had a lengthy OCD episode trying to establish the level from the dip stick ( very hard with such fine oil), I think I have just got it to the max level but not over. Again, very little sign of any engine wear for the 840miles I have totted up to date. Like you, I'm loving bombing around in it. tomorrow we are off for a drive and a run...

did I miss anything?