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version 1.1.jpg
I was bitten by the bug when a friend asked me to babysit his Series 2 Lotus 7 for a few years as long as I put it back together (it came in boxes) and autocrossed it nicely. Five years later it went away. What a blast. So, I decided to assemble the components/materials and build my own. Just before I was going to buy the frame material a Caterham chassis was listed in the local paper.
Version 1.1 hit the street and the autocross course in 1985 with a 1600 kent engine and a Datsun 510 stationwagon diff (aluminum pumpkin). After a couple of years it needed more power. A 2.0-liter Lotus 907 engine was obtained and modified to fit. Engine tilted up abit from factory, dry sump pan made, starter relocated to the left side, adapter made to accept a mazda 4-spd. The 510 diff was replaced by an RX2 unit due to ratio availability. Version 2.1 saw action in 1987. Shortly thereafter it became a competition only car with the addition of frame triangulation and other stuff in the passenger area. In 1990, version 2.2 was created with the addition of aero devices (outlawed in 1991). Version 3.1 was started in 1991 because it still needed more power. To accomplish this a turbo rotary was drafted. It was known that this package would need to shed alot more heat, so sidepods were made to house the outboard turbo on the right side and a large oil cooler and radiator on the left side. In 1995, v3.1 hit the track, yikes, too much power
A larger wastegate with a softer spring and formula atlantic rears made it much better. But now, the rear suspension was incompatible with the desired ride height. Thus, a second gen RX7 IRS was fitted.
It's still a blast.