Your 7?

[Roll a 7]

I'm curious about the 7s represented on this site. Mine is a Caterham SLR registered in California under SB100 in 2002. The motor is a zetec of about 200HP with cams, headwork, light flywheel, underdrive, dry sump and Jenvey throttlebodies. The trans is the Cat 6 speed and the LSD is a ZF. The car is painted yellow and can be seen in the gallery section on this website. I bought this lunatic fringe vehicle because it was the least compromised sports car available, ie.: no power anything, no radio, no air conditioning, minimal doors, everything is stripped off the car to maximize the performance driving experience. And that is exactly what I wanted. Purest driving exhiliration with no interference from the numerous systems (performance sapping extra weight)required/mandated by all conventional street cars. Every time I drive the car I like it better :!: So, please tell the rest of us about your car, how it is specced, why you bought a 7, and how you like it(the 7). If you don't presently have a 7 then tell us why you are intersted in 7s and/or what sort of 7 you would like to get your hands on(so that you can start having fun with those of us who get together for the purpose of enjoying our 7s ):!:

[slomove]

I was interested in a Lotus Seven in the 70's but never found one that I could afford as a student. Stayed in the far back of my mind while I had other hobby priorities but suddenly popped up this January. I found that Caterham made a replica of the Lotus Seven and rented one for a day. Great car, loved the performance and fun factor but not the price.

That is how I got to buy a Birkin. I don't care about brands or heritage and from a technical perspective they are almost indistinguishable (live axle only!). Minor differerences I have seen: the stock seats really suck in comparison with Caterham but front suspension, radiator, pedal/master cyl. assembly and hydraulic plumbing are so much nicer.

My car is from '98 with a 2.0l ZX1 engine on 45DCOE carbs, maybe 160 bhp. I wish I had bought a car with EFI :roll: Otherwise no special things except Raceline wet sump and water rail. I bought it with 600 miles, i.e. almost new. It was registered as a '69 Birkin (??) in California and Florida before and that is how I kept it. I am by no means a Pistonhead and would never service my other cars myself but naturally I found myself upgrading the Seven, e.g. new Magnaflow exhaust, new Cobra seats, new Emerald ECU. Maybe I am going to upgrade the cams next.

After all, I love it!!!

Gert

[Ronbo]

Mine is a '93 long-cockpit de-dion chassis with the 135 hp 1700 Super Sprint and 5-speed. I ordered it as a kit from Sevens & Elans and spent a couple of months on assembly. It's pretty much standard issue, but does have the 4 into 1 competition exhaust, 15" Prisoner wheels, and Moto-Lita steering wheel. The only mod is the Momo shift knob (the spun aluminium ball type). It has BRG fiberglass (clamshell wings) and bare aluminum body. It's been a great car in the 10 years I've owned it. No track time, just the local canyon roads.

[ira]

I was interested in a Lotus Seven in the 70's but never found one that I could afford as a student. Stayed in the far back of my mind while I had other hobby priorities but suddenly popped up this January. I found that Caterham made a replica of the Lotus Seven and rented one for a day. Great car, loved the performance and fun factor but not the price.

Interesting, I bought my first 7 in 1972 for $1500 and passed over one for $2500. Sadly once I learned more I realized I'd bought the wrong car. It was my daily driver for the 5 years or so. Years ago I also acquired a RHD Caterham frame and last month I picked up a series 3 Lotus 7. Now it's time to get them all running.

I'm in West LA and after the first of the year will have access to digital corner weighting scales and a dyno if the group ever wants to have a Saturday play day at the shop. Might have to collect some money for dyno runs for the boss, but it shouldn't be bad. The scales are there now, the dyno is supposed to arrive in december.

Ira

[slomove]

Ira,
I guess you will be a very popular guy. I would be definitely interested but need to get my setup straightened out first. Please keep us informed about the Dyno!!

Gert

[Jim Gunther]

:)
Good Morning from the Right Coast,

Been enjoying this forum for a while now.

I've been building a www.StalkerV6.com for a couple months. Just can't wait for Spring to arrive in Connecticut.
Been interested in a Super 7 since I began driving in 1963 but, like most folks, always fantasized about more power.
About 3 or 4 years ago, began hanging around the Cobra forums and have been keen on building an FFR replica.
The Stalker, however, has given me an opportunity to "have it now" and, frankly, if I screw up the build, I won't lose too much money. I don't have a LOT of confidence in my mechanical skills.

As it turns out, the build has gone quite well. The Camaro V-6 and the S-10 transmission are very easy to deal with (and unbelievably CHEAP) and look so cool. Wish there were more bolt-ons available but 200 HP ought to be good enough for my first year.

Hope to see some of you folks at the "Gathering of the Sevens" in Indy next June ('04) and -if the river don't rise- perhaps I can get to the West Coast in time for the British Invaision.
Be well,

[Elv15]

I have a 2003 Clubsport with a 200HP Duratec and a 5sp transmission. It is polished aluminum with yellow fenders and a yellow nose. Leather seats, FIA roll bar.

Pics at: http://www.pierats.com/

[Jim Gunther]

GREAT picture gallery. Thanks!
Be well, Jim

[moosetestbestanden]

Mine is a 2003 SLR w/ a 2.0L Duratec & a 5 speed close ratio box, no paint. Not yet on the road or licensed, but both processes are well in progress. It looks frickin awesome in carbon fiber and bare aluminum, sorta like Janet Jackson (mostly) in her halftime suit nyuk nyuk.

I'm a Lotus guy from waaaay back. I drove a 64 Series II Elan back in the late 60's and was hooked. Lotus made the 2 seat roadster that all the other marques (Triumph, MG et. al.) always should have made imo. It was simply the best 2 seat roadster there was - rotoflex couplings notwithstanding. So along the way a few Elans came and went, along w/ 2 of the ultimate Lotus' (imo), namely the Lotus Cortina Mk I. What a car! Gawd I wish I'd kept the 2nd.

Anyway, I'd been drooling about a Se7en since then, although a mid 80s' trip to Caterham showed me that at 6'3 n' change I'd never fit in the car. So I went down the mid-engined "exotic" route instead, only to realize over time that most - all really - of those vehicles are more about status & waxing than they are about speed and driving fun. Simply stated, for me they're too dear, too fast for the public road and too slow on the track. Like many others these days, I found myself becoming more interested in track days and technical fiddling around w/ an ongoing project track car than in sitting, stuck in traffic on the way to work, in a mid-engined "sports car".

So I went to see an SV, drove it, then hopped into a 'normal' 7 and quickly realized that the changes that had transpired over a decade or so made it possible to actually fit in one. WooHooo! Goodbye mid-engine, hello roadster! And so commenced the saga of the build, which at 6+ months is pretty close to being done, finally. I'm really looking forward to some track days this spring and summer and as I live in the White Trash Hills of Tujunga, the mountain roads ain't but a few minutes away as well.

Lower & Upper Big T anyone?

[slomove]

Hi Moose (I guess you will need a shorter nickname)

I am in Pasadena, only 30 min from your place. Get your car finished and we can try your area of the mountains. When do you expect to be on the road then?

Gert

[moosetestbestanden]

Don't know. the vast majority of the car is built. I've not gotten the engine started because I don't have any electrical inpulse whatsoever. I hope to have some resolution from the dealer soon. Hopefully I'm only a few weeks from finished.

The only real big build item remaining are the dreaded (by me anyway) Cycle Wings. Registration process is underway - I've got my number whew - so it's just the referee, the chp n then the whee!

[magnusfeuer]

Moose,

Drop me an email if you want help with getting the engine started and/or help with the cycle wings.

I got my wings perfect at the first try. (Well actually, I overtightened one bolt so that minute surface cracks appeared on the gelcoat. But now I know).

I'll be back in the U.S. on Sunday.

/Magnus F.
magnus.feuer@californiacaterhamclub.com

[Elv15]

I attached my cycle wings with adhesive. DOW 997 I believe is what I used. Works like a charm and no chance of cracks.

Cheers,

Tom

[moosetestbestanden]

Those on my car are in CF. I've seen some of the English using a fastener called a Bighead - it's glued to the underside and simply zip-tied to the support. I haven't been able to find a similar product here though. I don't know much about the gel coat on CF but I reckon an appropriately strong adhesive like Araldite epoxy would do. I'd sure like to avoid bolts and drilling holes if possible. Of course, I could always screw up the glue too.

[Rod]

My car is a 202 hp Zetec in a De Dion. I have the old style flared fenders in BRG with a yellow nose and stripe, no bare aluminum. (More like the prisoner car). I got the body in 2002. It is now on the road registered and smog exempt under the SB100 program.

[imported_venom7]

Where do I begin. . . well I watched the 'Prisoner' in grade 7 English class and swore I would get one of 'those' cars. When it came time and I was able to afford it I started looking.
I talked to a longstanding dealer on the east coast. I spoke of my situation being in Canada and wanting a Seven, and he said ' no problem, come on down'.
I was just about to book a flight for myself to fly down to MA when I opened an issue of Cycle Canada. They were doing the old bike vs. car test. A new R1 against a HPC. Since it was a bike mag it ended up biased towards the bike. But unofficially the car trounced the R1. I found out from the article that there was indeed a Canadian dealer (Glynn Wilson). Just an hour east of where I lived.
I called him up and spoke of my intentions to fly to MA and drive back a 7 back home. He laughed, telling me I would never make it across, with a US car. Nice to know now, at least I never booked the ticket.
Made arrangements to look at a Super Sprint he had there for sale, cream and black(that’s another story). It was a long weekend holiday and the traffic was solid coming out of the city, I was going to be late. I called him up to let him know and he said it was fine. I arrived an hour late and he then told me he had sold it just before I showed up. Damn.
Glynn saw the disappointment in my face and started to realize I wasn't a tire kicker. "I know someone who might want to sell their Seven, but it is much more power and more car than this one". "Sure", I said," I'll take a look at it". So we made arrangements for him to call me when he had it.
A few weeks later I got the call. "It's here". I drove out on the Saturday to look at it. Yes it was much MUCH more than the Super Sprint I missed. It traveled 4 hours for this meeting so I wasn't going to waste the opportunity." Wanna hop in?" Glynn said. I dove into the passenger seat as Glynn started the Twin Cam Vauxhall. Purrrrrrrr. It was like music. And I mean music. Soft and subtle and crisp and rasp. Argh. I can't believe I dove into the passenger seat, lucky thing as I would find out later. He snicked the shifter into first and snapped the clutch free. The violence of the take off was nothing my muscle car life had ever experienced. I soon began to think I was in over my head. Wow, WOW. He accelerated hard through the empty industrial parks nieghbouring his shop. I gripped the transmission tunnel with my right hand as my left searched for an anchor to find comfort in. Nothing I'd be in or on before ever felt like this.
We drove down a few Cul De Sacs and sped over a few railway tracks. My heart was beating like I was running a marathon. Glynn came to a screeching stop and spun a 180.
"Okay you wanna take it now?" Who?, me?" I thought," you must be kidding?" Me, some 25 year old kid with a pocketful of dough burning a whole, who, in the last 30 seconds has just lost his way in life. What did I really want? To go home, to buy a truck and enjoy the view or, or get this two seater monster that would enliven my life for the rest of my days?
We swapped seats and he coached me through getting into the car and I slipped on the 4 pt. harness. My brain is going a million miles an hour. I can't believe I'm sitting in this thing about to drive away.
I slid it into neutral and push on the clutch for safety. I fumble for the key slot in the ignition. Twist. Boom. Ahead of me, two big 45 Webers are gulping all the air they can wrap their trumpets around. Alright, pop it into first and . . . Choke. I stall the monster. I turn and smile. Second chance, I pull away smoothly and short shift up to fourth. Glynn looks at he speedo, 40, and tells me to drop it to third and stomp it. Wow eee, Yee Haw holy. Never felt this before, I'm intoxicated in seconds and never want to let go, till I see the elevated intersection. Whomp, we grab some air and come down, greeting stainless with pavement.
"Sold"
"Really?"
"Yes, what do you need from me?"
A week later, I'm driving around the hottest, most amazing car in Toronto. Damn, this is good.

I'm the proud owner of a '92 HPC Caterham. I've tried to ignore it and sell it but still it never leaves me. I just can't part with it. (In Canada) Winter comes and I reach the selling point. Then as the snow melts at the end of March I charge the battery over night and crank it over the next day. That sweet smell of oil and the ear blistering ring from the exhaust, entice me to give it one more chance. I slid into the seat and strap in, blip the throttle a few times as it reaches 100 and notch it into reverse, back out and proceed to take a winter's worth of anguish out on the DVP. Up and down the highway, one off ramp at a time; on then off then on and off. In a three mile stretch of road I cover fifteen miles easy. Why do I own a Caterham?
The same reason you do.

[magnusfeuer]

Venom7, that was a beautiful story. I almost had to shed a tear.

Before I moved to the States from Sweden, I was in full vintage mode with my old Porsche 356 convertible (a smart concept in the land of snow and darkness).

One day a fellow 356-owner, who was still restoring his car, came to a meet in a Lotus 7 from 1966 (I believe). Disdainfully, I concluded Lotus=English=Lucas=Crap, while Porsche=German=Bosch=Über. I started to have second thoughts when we went for a drive and he left us in his wake (and oil leaks).

When he showed us the car, I was amazed over the lightness of the construction. I was given the keys and went for a spin through the beautiful countryside outside Stockholm with the sun shining down on a perfect spring day. That was it for me. Silently the seven entered the "Gotta have before I die"-list, topping out cars such as the Citroen SM, Lamborhini Espada and the Mercedes 600 Pullman.

Not much happened after that. I learned about Caterham after spotting one on the street and looking it up on the net and was fascinated that it was still manufactured.

When I moved to the States, I stuffed my 356 into a container with all our furniture and brought it with me. I drove it for about a year, but it was time for something new. One day I was surfing the web when I stumbled upon Caterham. I saw that there was a dealer just a few miles from where I lived. Interesting. I called the dealer and booked a test drive. Needless to say, I ordered one within weeks.

I decided to build the car myself, which I haven't regretted for a single second. I now know my car inside out and have lost all "New-car-Don't-touch-it-may-break" respect for it. If something is wrong, I dig into it. If I think I can improve something I give it a shot. If I built it, I can always repair it.

The supercharger is being tuned right now, and I am already eyeing an upgraded drive train. I may sneak into Brad's garage one night and steal his six-speed gearbox.

This is the perfect car for me since its design is totally open and inviting for enhancements and modifications. The list of things I want to do with it is almost endless.

In conclusion, this is the best car (for me) that I've ever had.

/Magnus F.

[Anonymous]

Hi all

Looks like I might have one of the oldest Sevens on this forum. I made mine in 2000. It's got a 1967 Ford Crossflow that outputs about 80hp at the wheels on a good day. 5 speed Ford Sierra transmission and a DeDion rear end. You can see my build diary here : http://www.ganimede.demon.co.uk/cat7.htm

I had wanted one for years. It's all Jeremy Clarkson's fault. In case you don't know, he is a TV presenter on the UK TV program "Top Gear", which is a magazine style program all about cars. I had always lusted after a Lamborghini or a McLaren F1, but knew I would never be able to afford either of them. Then Jeremy did a piece where he took out an SLR on a race track and put it up against 2 or three high performance sports cars - can't remember which - I think there was a Porsche and a Ferrari and something else exotic. IT SMOKED THEM!! But it wasn't until he muttered those fateful words - "And one of these bad boys can be yours for as little as 16 thousand pounds" - that knew I absolutely had to have one of these cars. Of course, living in Britain on the pittance I was paid at the time, even 16,000GBP seemed like a lot, so it wasn't until I moved to California, got paid what I'm worth and decided to blow some of my savings on the grounds that "you only live once" that I actually got the car.

I drive it as my daily commute car (yes, even in the winter) and am still in love with it.

[Slartybartfast]

DOH !!! Forgot to log in first :oops:

That's my post above ^