Blokko

Well, I arrived and departed in snow showers , but at least there was a good bit in the middle where it was nice and clear 😬. I’d like to add my thanks to the organisers / contributors - especially to those who have travelled considerable distance to get to Curborough *thumbup* Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

I think you’ll find that the article by Neil has been plagiarised from a piece written by Ian Fraser 😬 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

As I’ve posted previously, I’ve been in at least three situations where I’ve had other vehicles on collision course with me and fumbled when trying to hit the horn (I have a q/r wheel so the horn button is located to the right of the wheel). I’m replacing the existing button with something like this and it occurred to me that it might be worth fitting an additional button on the left of the steering wheel. My question is this - is there any reason (technical or legal) why I shouldn’t do this? Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Here. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Spence from Essex 😬 Also heard it as I was travelling in the tintop to fuel up. It can be heard here on BBC Listen Again at 1:59:10 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy Edited by - Blokko on 1 Mar 2008 17:13:33

Some photo's here. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Cracking day Neil - thanks for organising things *thumbup* Any chance that you could attend The Taffia Monster Blat 08 and Chip Shop run please? If you can sort weather like we’ve experienced today in February, you should be able to come up with scorchers for these events later in the year Thanks also to Richard for the course walkthrough and for accompanying me on a couple of laps (quite brave given my track record @ Curbs). Really good to have an idea of how it should be done 😶‍🌫️ As I’ve said to a few people , though I have really enjoyed the day I’m not yet convinced that I’m cut out for this sprinting lark. I think I’m too mechanically sympathetic / emotionally attached to our car to give it the sort of treatment (as demonstrated by Neil on a couple of laps where I rode as passenger) that would give me a half decent time. Maybe I should stick to taking the photos - speaking of which, there will be a few along here in a short while... Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Think Richard may have been referring to me. I got a set of 185/60-13 Yoko A539’s from George Polley in mid Jan for £167 delivered. Off to Curbs tomorrow to see if they are any better than my 5 year old Avon CR322’s Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

CC Mids stated that there was no need to change the tensioner when I had my cambelt changed. The fact that they had no tensioners in stock at the time may have had something to do with this though 🤔 🤔 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Well spotted SM25T, I’m sure I typed Dartford - damn keyboard (only 13.5 miles out) Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

I got mine replaced on 5 years (at CC Midlands after a local garage tried unsuccessfully to remove the pulley). At the point the car was on about 9k miles. To my untrained eye the old belt looked as good as new, but having had a £1,000 bill years ago when a cambelt went on an 8 valve Clio I just don’t take chances on cambelt replacement. If you go to an indy garage, make sure that they have the tool to lock the engine in place for the pulley removal phase of the work. CC Mids charged for 2 hours of labour (£120 from memory and about £30 for the belt). CC Dagenham parts sent the wrong belt and wrong tensioner out. Fortunately CC Mids had a belt in stock and told me that there was no need to replace the tensioner. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Well, managed to get 20 or so miles out of the new rubber without any major incidents. The first thing that was immediately obvious to me was how much of a gap you get between the rear arches and a 60 profile tyre on a 13 inch wheel (makes cleaning the chassis inside the rear arches a bit easier I guess). The steering felt a little lighter on the move than with the old CR322’s (presume the 539’s weigh less than the 322’s). The speedo seems to be out by more than the 6% quoted using an online calculator - I need to compare indicated and actual speed using the Sat Nav. I always felt that the speedo was unusually accurate (for a Caterham) using the 70 profile tyres. Hopefully I can play around with the speedo dip switches to get the indicated speed somewhere near actual speed. In view of Neil’s warning plus the general state of the roads I drove pretty carefully. The backend stepped out a bit when I was pulling away from a car park, but this was in a shaded area with a smooth tarmac surface. The ride actually feels smoother than I expected. The old 322’s had been on the car from new (over 6 years now) and the previous owner didn’t do a lot of mileage so I wonder if the tyres had become very slightly out of shape through standing in the same position for long periods. There was a little bit of jarring when I hit potholes and drain covers etc, but it didn’t seem any worse than on the old tyres. Maybe the 539’s will become a bit more compliant when I’ve bedded them in a bit? I’m going to try to get as many miles as possible covered over the next couple of weeks so that the tyres are ready for the trip to Curborough. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Thanks Neil Unfortunately Jayne has just spotted your reply and this has only reinforced here feeling that you are totally obsessed with tyres Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Just about to get new tyres fitted. What should I go for pressure wise - say 17 psi as a starter?? Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Booked Can I have first dibs on a trailer ride back to Bloxwich in case I get things wrong again please 😳 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Took the car for a spin a couple of days before going back to work after the Christmas break. My eating and drinking excesses over Christmas really made squeezing into the seat a challenge 😳 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Tart, me 🤔 🤔 If I had girly leather seats like you I’d probably be able to get in and out of the car without having to remove the wheel 😬 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

2/4 Full I can't get in or out of my 7 without removing the wheel! Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

*wavey* Shoots U Sir! Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…. Did notice your reply and your Spotted post this lunchtime Shoots U Sir. Just about to return a post to say *wavey* when it kicked off big time at work. My fault for booking 2 weeks hols over Christmas, but upon return to the office today I copped for a few things that didn’t get done and some other bits that got done but went wrong in my absence . Got a particularly aggressive, confrontational, arrogant, bullying Client on the phone giving me some serious grief so any thought of replying to the Spotted went out of the window whilst I spent the remainder of the day chasing progress, emailing status updates etc etc . Anyhow, I hereby solemnly promise to reply to any Spot posts more promptly in the future . Please consider me suitably castigated Anton - had a similar conversation with Nick Chan a while back. He commented that many of the Spotted posts of his go unanswered. I’ve posted a few Spotteds and only a couple have been acknowledged. And of course, as Neil will no doubt testify, the deepening mystery of the "Phantom Spinner of Solihull Bypass" continues to mystify us Midlands based 7’ers. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

I was a bit spoilt as I got a spotted within a week of picking up my car (nothing since in over 4k miles though ). The spotted thing is a worthwhile exercise - good way of making contact with local fellow 7’ers. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Fuelled up today at Sainsbury’s on the Cannock Orbital and a BC member came across to say hello . We chatted for a few minutes (sorry to hear that his motor was at Arch after a spill ) and then went on our merry ways. Now, eight hours (yes, **eight hours **) after this meeting, I’m yet to see an entry on the Spotted section of our forum 😔 😔 . Am I the only sad git out there who religiously dashes for the compoota immediately upon return to base after spotting a fellow Caterham out on the road to fill in a report 🤔 🤔 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Paul I have some serious colour vision problems, but I’m ok with green / yellow (at least in daylight) 😬. The car I saw was definitely all yellow. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

Yellow with hood up, lane 3 of the M6 travelling southbound just after J7 @ 2.35pm Sunday. Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy

All the best drivers spin at Curborough, wouldn't you agree Neil 🤔 Steve - Orange and Black ex Academy