MHKflyer52

You have my vote.

Like Gert I quit keeping track of the costs of owning my 7 several years ago as it is a toy for me and a way for me to relax so expense is not a big issue all though my wife has made a couple of comments when she was looking at some of my expenses for tax reasons about why I bought so many engines and parts for the 7 (two complete engine rebuilds since Aug 08 first engine lasted 66.4 mils, second new engine is still going strong [actually the third engine for the car]). So as long as my wife dose not complain and I have a good time then it really does not matter I would say. (:>)

Doesn’t DaimlerChrysler (Mercedes) owen the Chrysler Company here in the US and if so why are they not closing some of the Mercedes Dealerships. Just a though.

1149 lbs no fuel 120 HP but will not run without fuel 9.575 lbs per HP I just tell people its power to weight is about 10 lbs to 1 HP or fast enough to get you a ticket.......About what Franklin 7's Starter produces......

I am surprised that no one hit it on the correct day. CONGRADS to the Founding Members for starting a forum that is growing at a respectable rate.

That is true in Oregon. I use to live in Newberg and though that it was funny that you had to have a workable windsheld wiper but were not required to have a windshield. I have a little windshield wiper that is for use on a Model T and is manual and clips to the top of the windshield frame. Here is the link: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Hand-Crank-Wipers,2301.html Funny part is I do not have a top so when it rains the backside of the windshield gets just as wet as the front due to the wind wiping the spray back into the passanger compartment. I guess I could use two of them on on the outside and one on the inside.

I would have to say a 7 with somewhere close to 125 HP is a lot more fun that one with 250+ HP as it is more civilized and these cars were originally designed for short curvy road courses were a lot of power is not really necessary but control and being smooth in the driving inputs plays a bigger factor than raw HP. I think the original 7's designed by Colin only had a 948cc engine that put out a warping 36 to 40 HP and they were extremely fast and nimble for their time and even to this day. Just my belief and thoughts....but more HP is always fun for something’s and places.

That is funny.

Hi Dan, You might want to read this link on the forum. http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3632 A lot of good information about oil.

The second one in Mondo's post is what I use on my car. It works great is all I can say and wasveryeasy to install and helped keep the wireing to a minimum for me.

Wish my paint job was that nice.....I guess I should have used more spray cans as I only bought 6 cans and still have about a half of a can for touch-ups......YEP I am CHEAP...... Again nice pait job.

Here is a photo of my car and you can see it is dull.

Hi KiwiBirkin, Sorry to hijack the post but you are making me envious as I miss living in Christchurch. Spent 4 years at NSFA (VXE-6) at the airport coming and going to the ICE and loved every day that I was able to spend on the South Island between 1986 and 1990. Looking forward to see those mountain passes again.

That is great especially the wind-up-key on the back.

That is also one of the reasons I use a Green Scotch Brite Pad to keep my cars aluminum a dull luster and besides I am just plain LAZY and it hides those little imperfections that you cannot have if it is a super polished finish.

Good question.....my first thought was they are the British equivalent of the early America cars that were stripped down to make them lighter and faster by people who wanted to go faster with what they had available to them at the time but then I also though they tend to look like an early street rod that has been chopped and channeled and lowered to the ground sort of like a speedway special from the thirties. All I know is that our cars are accepted by anyone who knows cars as being one of the best handling cars out there and that they are basically all handmade so most street rod owners can and do appreciate them for what they are…FUN LITTLE CARS that GO LIKE STINK….. Just my belief and thoughts.

Hi Paul, I can only speak for myself and the fit of my car to me. I do not have a Caterham but a hand build replica that has the same dimensions of a 1963 Lotus 7 and I am 74.5 inches tall and weigh 220 lbs and fit in my car just fine. I think it al depends on the seat and the size of the steering wheel as how one fits in a 7. A friend has a base model Caterham 7 and I also fit in it very nicely. He happens to have a removable steering wheel that is only 10.5 inches across so it is actually easier to get in and out of his car that it is mine as I have a 13 inch diameter steering wheel. His seat has also been modified so that he sits lower in it to keep his head lower than the roll-bar. I would have to remove the lower cushion to have my head below the top of the roll-bar in his car as he has the factory bar on his car and with my helmet on the roll-bar is just even with the top of my helmet unless I slouch down which is not what you want when your driving for more than one reason. As for hip room in my car and his I actually feel like I have more room in his Caterham than I have in my car most likely due to the difference in the seats. I also wear an 11.5 street shoe and have no problems with either my cars peddles or his cars peddles but again I think it is something you become accustom to once you have one of these car for any time. Hope this helps and I know others will post what they have experienced so you can weigh the differences that people have experienced.

And they have a new comercial out that says their stores are packaging specialist.....I would be calling a lawyer I think if they do not owen up to their mistake especially if you insured the shippment for the value of the seats. Just my oppion and you know what that will get you.

Ok, so the forum now has 990 members as of 4pm Pacific Coast time on 05-07-09 and how long will it take to get the next ten new members. I think the 1000 member will occure on 15 May 2009 before 12 noon.

You wanted the load where!!!! On the otherside.

Is not a BMW it is a Škoda Felicia.

Tom you know you were just trying to make your car weigh less so you could go faster.....

That is very good. Could you imagen trying to find your car with that paint job if you had a pint or two not that anyone on this forum would drive after a pint or two......

You are all in for a treat as I can say I saw Jon W's clone Atom in his garage when he was building it and even then it was very impressive and I have seen and even driven a real Atom from England and the ones made in Oregon. Jon told me once that he scaled all of his working drawings from photos of atoms by using the license plate as the base line to scale the photos so he could duplicate the structure. Jon W is quite the craftsman and has produced a car that I feel is better than a real Atom, safer, stronger and better looking.

Thats a good one.