Kitcat

Since I am not driving my Seven due to the inclement weather, I thought I'd talk about it instead. And since a topic that is occasionally debated is the practicality of a Seven as a daily driver, I thought I'd add my experience. I was sort of forced into this last Spring when two of my three adult sons were back from college and needed a car for summer jobs. So our Accord and Prius were sacrificed to the cause, my wife kept her car, an '03 T-bird, leaving me wirth the option of taking the bus or driving the Seven. A total no brainer, really. My trip to work is only 5 miles each way and includes some parkway, and wiggly stuff, no Interstates. First the good stuff: what a blast! If there is a better way to start and end a work day, I dont know what it is. The sounds, the smells, the intesity of the sensory exerience, combined with phenominal handling. Nirvana! Everyone notices the car too, so there is lots of love, on top of a spectacular driving experience. I drove along the Ohio river part of the way which offers great views. I typically also drove across a suspension bridge, spanning the Ohio, just for the hell of it. It wasn't on the way but getting out over the water was way cool. I parked in in a ground level lot right next to my office. I could look out and see everyone doing a double take, girls standing next to it so their boyfriends could take thier photos and little kids getting just glued to it in disbelief. I took a number of interstate trips as well. For whatever reason, I find the standard Caterham cloth seats to be perfect (once a small lumbar pillow is added). It's like a lazy boy chair: feet extened, body slightly reclined ( and lots ot tiny finger vibrations to keep you stimulated). On one interstate trip I passed an Ariel Atom going the other way. How many times did a Seven and an Atom pass on the open road last year? Probably not often. My longest roundtrip was about 800 miles. I also went for a 500 mile blat early in the driving season, to make up for the winter of deprivation. So was it all fun and games? First, if there are unresolved electical issues, it's a downer. It took me half the driving season (frequently being stranded, or at least slowed up) to resolve those. But I won't count that as the car has run flawlessly since the issue was solved. Other issues; There isnt much room. As in, I had to take out my wallet to fit comfortably. And God, don't let me forget to remove the keys in advance! Once seated, my hand doesn't fit into my pocket, it's that tight (I am 5'9" 160 lbs). Then I added the ear plugs and ear muffs to help moderate the noise, which is pretty deafening after about 5'. With ear protection tho, it's quite pleasant. One day I forgot my ear protection and was shocked at how much noise I made running thru the gears (So that's why everyone stares?). It also gets a bit toasty, especially on long trips. Bring a change of clothing and lots of deoderant, on long trips you will be ripe. My thermometer on one trip showed cockpit temps around 115 (with the top off, on an 80 degree day). Briefcase fits nicely in the passenger foot well. As does just about everything. But. If you want to stop along the way, to pick up bread, beer, etc., then you have to schelp it all with you into the store. Sort of a big pain. It rains here too. That's not good news in a Seven. Sure, it has a top. It's not too bad either: I'd estimate it keeps out 99.8% of the water. So, I kept a towel in the car and would place it on my leg where the water driped. I also used it to defog the windows occasionally. Speaking of water,I discovered that if you splash thu a large puddle and don't have the door bottom secured, a small tidal wave washes right in. Certainly more than a little towel can dry. Hey, its all part of the fun! I also showed up at work with a drenched pant leg after the windshield squirter hose came loose and emptied the bottle of fluid (helpfully refilled by my mechanic) all over my right pant leg. Of course, if it rains, that means erecting the top. I got

I had left shoulder impingement surgery (shaved excess bone away) 10 years ago. Recovery took 4 months. I was a one armed bandit for 2 months. Amazing how many things you need 2 arms for. PT was slow and painful but worth it. Recovery time seems to be proportionate to PT effort. Shoulder has been like new since. No more waking up in pain after 2 hours sleep, etc. Good luck! Mike Mooney

K8TRUM7

As a dues paying member, I have gotten mine and it's beautiful! Thanks Martin!:hurray:

A no-brainer in many ways: Why reinvent the wheel when LOG 29 exists to serve as a host? Also, LOG 29 and the Birkin/Texas event, were sure to pull participants from the USA7s gathering anyhow. If you can't beat them, join them. Finally, the track day event is right there, not 3 hours away. Downsides: folks may have other plans for that weekend at this point. And the location isn't especially central. Still, a logical decision (IMHO). And I apreciate the effort all of you event-planers are putting into this.

Steering wheel? I thought all you high-powered Seven owners just used the accelerator pedal to steer:)?

Sports Car International died last year too. It was one of my favorite car mags. The internet is taking its toll on the print medium. I used to love watching steam locamotives as a kid too. I still miss them. Not that I am dating myself here or anything.

Jeez, it was 70 degrees here in Cincinnati yesterday-a record high by 5 degrees. That followed biblical rains wh/washed away all the road salt etc. So I fired up the Caterham, with the intention of just letting it idle in the garage and allowing the engine to warm up a little. Then I ran it out to the end of the driveway, just to be sure everything still worked. Before I knew it a strange force took over and I was roaring along a twisty road at 80 mph. Turned out I needed it more than the car did, but it was definetly good for both of us:).

What's impressive abt the snow angel is there are no steps in the snow next to it. Did you fall from the sky? My Seven is in my 2 car garage awaiting warmer weaather. My wife's car got the other garage spot. Meanwhile my 1 month old '08 M3 Coupe sits out in the ice and snow, plotting how to get in out of the weather. I also have an Accord and a Prius so my drive way is starting to look like a car-lot Winter is great for my Seven ownership as it's the only time I am not spending money "upgrading" it:).

It often is the case that a car's road test is really more of a tire test. When Car & Driver tested the Lotus Elise at VIR for its Lightning Lap evaluation 2-3 years ago it was among the fastest cars they tested. This year it was beaten by the mighty Chevy Cobalt. The only discernable difference was this year's car came with the standard tires and the first test was on the optional track tires. As I recall, it cost the Elise 7 seconds on its lap time, and resulted in its lowly overall placement in the cars they tested.

He doesn't seem to be following the build instructions (I don't see any empty Guiness bottles in the garage:)).

Wow: speed, beauty, art, sound, danger. I guess we can all put away our lipstick cams, etc., since the best track video was made some 30-40 years ago.

Great story telling! Of course having a great topic (the Seven) helps:). Makes my 700 mile trip back from NJ in my newly purchased Caterham seem tame (And, I think I had 6 pre-purchase pictures to look at). Adding a heater would enhance the experience. I have used mine extensively. Ditto new tires-they were the single best expense in my nearly continuous series of "improvements" over the last 18 months. They really quieted down the squirrely handling you have described. A characteristic my Seven, on 10 year old street tires, shared. Mike

Well, of course they were all good. But my favorite was running against a friend at a Putnam Park track day. He is an experienced SCCA driver and national level auto-x-er. He was in his "Thunder Roadster", a 1300 lb, Yamanha engined race car on race tires. I was in my humble Kent Crossflow powered Caterham. Long story short, he had to let me by. I turned a 1'22" lap, about 2" faster than my previous best (Nothing like a little competition to bring out the best in everyone). Anyone else have a favorite moment that stands out, on or off the track?

My final tally: 4,404 fun filled miles for '08, a little over 10K miles in 18 months of ownership.

Bad investment? My 8/63 Road and Track has an ad for a "Lotus Race Set" for $19, 885. Included was a Seven ($2,885); Lotus 22 ($5,965); Lotus 23 ($6,255); Elite ($4,780). These were also considered steep prices back then but think of what these would be worth today:).

The engine bay doesn't show the Caterham manufacturer's plate. Theories? Also, the side view mirrors are mounted on the side screens. If you remove the side screens, you lose the mirrors. Not ideal. Anyone else run this set up?

Bruce: What weight oil do you run in this cold weather? Mike

They have salted the roads here-season's over(:.

Is yours the only Westfield Megabusa in the states? What are you doing for reverse? Should be an awesome car when done!

d15b7: As an owner of a '97 Crossflow "Supersprint" that is advertised at 135 hp and that actually pumps out 93 hp on the local dyno, I am interested in who built your motor and for how much $?. What does the dyno graph look like (Is all that wonderful hp locked between 6K -6.5K RPM?)?

No front plates on any of my cars, since '94. One ticket so far. In a Seven, chilly is doable, it's rain that's tough.

On the Interstate without wind deflectors? Must get a little breezy in the cockpit! Man, that silver SUV looks big!

Love the pics! Especially the first and last: a step up from the standard poses/perspectives.

Beautiful Seven! What is the approximate weight? What Miata engine does it have and what is the estimated horsepower?