B-T

I'm one of the silent readers. Definitely appreciate all the effort in keeping the market recap up to date. BT

Wow, that car is really nice! The gated shifter is sweet, the interior is awesome, the wheels look good, the car doesn't look weird from any angle. I personally would go with a grey exterior with that red interior, but otherwise, I think the builder did a fantastic job! Good price for someone looking to have a fun mountain road car.

This seems like a really good deal for someone. If you have space for the trailer it sure seems ideal. Nice color scheme on the car also! Good luck with the sale. BT

Great looking car. Good luck with the sale. That green is pretty unique, I wonder if it is the only S-1 in that color. BT

I read a post by a guy with a Cobra replica that ran no air filters for over 50k miles with no discernible damage to anything in the engine internally. He just changed the oil every 1000 miles or so. BT

Kevin, if you ever decide to sell this car, please let me know. I would be a very likely buyer. Bill Tracy

Looks nice! The wiring looks especially good. What is the unattached hose near the master cylinders for? Good luck with the sale, it seems to be priced fairly. BT

I think the top dollar for cars on locostusa is around $8k for a really nice complete car. Most cars there are projects in the $1-3k range.

I am pretty sure this is the same car Hayes had for sale about 6-12 months ago. I would call him and ask, and see why the last buyer didn't keep the car. It sure looks great, and Hayes is very honest.

I had located two of them (both from the site mentioned) back in October or so of last year. The black one in California sounds really good, and the Blue one from PA is really in Wyoming or Montana IIRC. If you want their contact info shoot me an email through this website, I don't think they would want me to post it publicly. In the end I decided to stay with my S2000, but both cars were very tempting. BT

I would go for a 14' minimum. 16' would be better. Make sure to get a small dovetail, and drop axles. A breakaway kit is required in most states, so make sure you have that too. Dual axles is definitely more relaxing to tow, the weight difference isn't too bad. My favorite trailer I ever used was a 16' steel deck with an open pit and dropped axles. That was fantastic to tow, and really easy to load. You might also want a removable fender on the drivers side if you plan to open the door. A pic of my old favorite attached. Bought on Fleabay for $710. Sold three years later (after about $80 in paint) for $1400... BT

Wow, great posts guys! To clear up, I am in Georgia, and the 13 counties that make up the metro Atlanta are require emissions for anything titled newer than a 1987. This car was titled as a 1965 Lotus Super Seven in Montana, and it is indeed Jim Ellis's car. I think the answers have given me enough good vibes to go check the car out for myself. I am decent with a wrench, although my current house doesn't have the space I am used to for working on the cars. In 5 years of ownership with the Ginetta (which Hayes Harris of Wirewheel says is nowhere close to the quality of the S1) I only had about $800 in maintenance and repair at a shop. The rest I did on my own. I think the driving impressions are very similar to what I enjoyed most about my other little car. I showed a Birkin to my family prior to buying the Ginetta and they said "That looks old." I recently showed my family pictures of the S1 and they said "That looks old." Funny how women don't get it. I think all Sevens look really good, but I prefer the more finished look of the S1 interior and the body style looks to be my favorite also. Thanks again for the replies, and I will defintiely be active here if/when I get the car. I am an underemployed architect so I don't have much to do these days. | B

Thanks Steve! It looks like I will probably try to make the trip to drive the car next week sometime if my questions at the local DMV get decent answers. I am pretty sure they will. I'm also going on a few days of driving in the mountains with the S2000 tomorrow and Saturday. I am going to try my best to really enjoy the car... I agree about losing it on the street being much too dangerous, I toned it down quite a bit after having a few near incidents when I first took my Ginetta up to the mountains. Thanks again! BT

I'm not at all worried about the ergonomics or the interior room. I'm only about 5'-7" and I was happy with the spacein the G20. The seats in that car were 17" I think, and while it was snug I was okay with it. I am more concerned about the handling and the reliability. I drove Dennis Brunton's Stalker when I wrote an article about it, and it had lots of grunt, even without the supercharger. My feeling is that these cars really don't need big power since they weigh so little. One of the main attractions is the feeling of speed you get when driving a car like a Birkin, Caterham, or Stalker even when you are only going 40-50 through the mountains. The raw nature of the cars makes you feel more connected with the road, and that is a great thing. The engine of the S2000 is no doubt its strong suit. It looks okay, but kind of bland. The real problem is that it feels a little detached from the driving experience. I have similar feelings about the Lotus Elise that I have driven. Nice cars, but they are too well built and don't offer that direct connection feel I liked so much in my Ginetta. Think of where you want the car it is is almost magically there since the steering is so direct and quick. My other thought would be to just keep the S2000 and go to an aftermarket exhaust and suspension to make it a little more edgy. I have a 2006 model with the larger engine and all the electronic gadgetry (traction and stability control, etc...). I just don't know if I want to keep putting oney into a car I am just sort of attracted to. My thought is if I get a good enough feeling about the general handling and reliability here I will go test drive the one for sale. If I like it I will just buy it and sell the S2000. I just don't want to get my hopes up if the general consensus is that the S1 is a well built and good loooking car that will bite you in the handling department if you make the slightest mistake. I'm just not that good of a driver to enjoy a car like that. I am not going to ask this same question on the S2000 forums because the typical S2000 driver would just talk crap about the S1 without knowing anything about it. I have a very unfortunate bunch of peers driving the S2000 typically... BT

Thanks for the info. I also prefer the look of the S1. I'm not much of a purist, so the more modern look of the S1 appeals to me. Does the solid axle want to jump or pull on rough surfaces, or lumpy roads? Just curious. It is really a tough decision for me because I have spent a year getting this relatively boring S2000 in great shape with new interior, tires, stereo, etc... and I am not sure if I would miss it. I loved the Ginetta, but it handled absolutely incredibly. It was scary sometimes not knowing if the car was going to make a turn, and I am thinking the S1 might be similar in that regard. I am hoping for a very predictable handling car with good recovery abilities if I go in to a corner too fast. Would you say the S1 tends to oversteer or understeer? I just don't want to crash! Not counting the aero difference, would you say an S1 corners better than a stock Elise? The Ginetta I had was close, but slightly slower than an Elise most of the time. Most of my fun driving is at kind of low speeds in the mountains, maybe 50 mph or so. One of the best things about the Ginetta is that I didn't have to actually go fast to feel like I was going fast because of the weight and lowness of the car. I think the S1 is similar that way. The newer cars (like the S2000) seem to be so well built and somewhat insulated that you have to go really fast to feel like you are going fast at all. Again, thanks for the replies! Edit: I noticed you are in PA. The car I am considering is also in PA, although I don't know where. It is a Royal Blue car with Piper cams, JE pistons, and some head work (port & polish), plus some performance transmission stuff. I worry that this particular car might be built more for performance and less for reliability. The seller's last name is Ellis.