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Super Seven 1600 Register

Super Seven 1600 Register

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This post is intended to be a register of the Super Seven 1600. The model was introduced in April 2020 as a heritage version of the 270 with styling and finishes which are only used on the 'Super Seven' branded cars. This includes flared wings (although cycle wings were an option), chrome finishes to the windscreen, wipers and grill, proper Smiths dials and leather interior options. The car also has a mechanical difference from the 270, or strictly the EU 275, on which it is based. The standard Sigma induction unit is replaced with twin Jenvey Heritage throttle bodies which change the sound and character of the engine. By June 2021 they had stopped taking orders due to dwindling supplies of the Ford Sigma unit. Mine was the last UK-ordered car, but there may be some EU or Japanese cars which were built afterwards. I'm still trying to get an accurate number of the total production, but it seems to be around 60 cars. Caterham ordered 50 sets of the Jenveys, which were used on...
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Planning for road trip to Italy

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In 4 weeks time we're off on a proper trip, London to Brescia to see the start of the Mille Miglia, and also attend the International Seven Meeting at Kumschick Cars in Switzerland. It will be a 10 day trip with 2 other cars, through 3 countries and covering over 2,000 kilometers. There's a lot of planning involved ! Aside from booking hotels and LeShuttle there's quite a few legal requirements to deal with. As we will be driving through Switzerland we need a 40 franc Vignette which can be purchased online. For driving in France there are 2 issues; firstly we need a Crit'Air sticker displayed in the windscreen to drive in certain cities like Nancy which is our destination on day one. Second is the toll roads. We will be using the autoroutes to get through France, most of which are toll roads. Rather than having to get out of car and pay at a machine the easiest option is to get an electronic tag that you place on the windscreen. For UK users the best option is an Emovis...
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Boot lining

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So I've never liked the standard carpets that Caterham supply, the material is not very nice at all. When I spec'd my car I told them to remove the rear panel carpet, they also didn't fit carpet to the sides of the boot (just the boot floor one). I job I've wanted to do for a while is completely line the boot with a much better padded vinyl. So I finally ordered this from Amazon . It's a nice diamond stitch vinyl with a foam backing that will protect the skins of the car and also reduce noise from things knocking around in the boot. I ordered 2m x 1.3m which was plenty. I started by removing the old boot floor carpet and using that as a template to cut the new vinyl. I removed the screws from the filler pipe cover to gain access. Even though a lot of the edges were cut with scissors, the edge fit was fine. I then spent a while cutting all of the sections necessary to fill the side panelling. For these I used professional velcro to attach them to the sides, so they a...
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Glow fuses and start of the driving season

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With the weather finally picking up after a very rainy and generally horrible winter I've got the car out of the lockup and back on the drive way. I've done a couple of drives already. A meet up in town in March. And also a trip up to Morecambe to see the lovely Jennifer. That's a proper 6 hour drive from London ! With the great weather this week I did a trip to Eastwell Manor, one of my favourite spa break hotels. I also did a little job on the car that I've been meaning to do for a while. I ordered a set of replacement fuses that are known as Glow Fuses. Basically if they blow then a small LED lights up to indicate the failure. This is a great improvement as you can visually see which fuse has blown, rather than having to start testing them all. I got these from BRT Motorsport in the UK. Note that my car is an EU spec vehicle based on the 275. The fuses are as per this table. Looking forward to a big summer drive. Off to Italy and back in June !
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