Kitcat

If I ever auto -X I will get something like the attached fabricated. I think a simple bar, mounted to the seat anchors underneath the car and extending an inch past the rear fender works reasonably well too.

NVP: I dont think I ever got better than 18 mpg even cruising at 70 mph in 5th. My X-Flow was carburated and they dont remotely approach gas efficiency of FI cars. And who knows how out of tune it was? Also, the Se7en is a barn door so doesn't exactly slice thru the air, esp over 60 mph. And in reality, there was very little difference in my "street" driving and my track driving:). The best feature of the X-flow is its wonderful sound on hard acceleration/deceleration/downshifting-and I took full advantage of that.

Yep, or watching football:). How did the Birkin do?

To make this work , you have to really (REALLY) want it. The car is magical, light, responsive, never boring-all the stuff you have read about. It is also very, very hot in the cockpit, it is unbelievably loud (compared to a normal car), lots of wind buffeting, there is no lockable storage, you will always be the center of attention. The X-flow engined cars get 14-18 mpg. I drove my original Cat as an adjunct daily driver to my regular car, a BMW M3 (sunny days, not too warm/cold, etc.). And it was great. Comfy seats, responsive, etc. But my commute was mostly on twisty back roads. And as others have mentioned, it is helpful to be handy with the tools as something is always falling off or threatening to. And the thing that really wore me out were the constant questions:What is, who makes it, how fast is it, etc,etc. I hated to get gas as I would always get cornered by admirers. Fun for a while, eventually a PITA.

Skip-that's why I guesstimated $35-40K. It might depend on how big of a hurry he is in, the lower the price, the likelier it is to sell. And how lucky he might get in finding that one, rare, potential buyer who values originality above all else. Original Elites are going for $100+K. Elans from the same era as this S3, seem to go for about $30-40K? I dont claim to be an expert, or even semi-informed, maybe Croc will offer his thoughts, and ditto the folks over at simple sevens? But I am sticking to my $35-40K guess. And for that $, I'd likely buy a higher performing, newer Caterham, since this car's wonderful provenance is not esp imp to me. A final (updated) thought: I recall being told that when you buy used the rule is:Buy the owner, not the car. That concept adds value to this se7en.

I remember this car as well as its owner and his wife and her Elan at LOG 30 in Gettysburg. The car is as beautiful as represented above and the driver as heroic as the car is lovely. I was pretty proud of having driven my Cat 600 miles one way to LOG. Then I saw this driver and I stopped bragging. I later bought his little tome chronicling his se7en adventures. Quite a fun read. So what is this worth, who knows? Seems like decent original S3's are bringing somewhere around $35K? This one does seem special tho and it is running and well loved and maintained, not a dried up relic. So maybe $35-40K? Hopefully Skip will eventually tell us the sales price and we will all know for sure.

Jim: Har, har, "shoot the lawyer", har-har. Wait, I AM a lawyer....So, let me just say that if a member of your family ever dies due to the indifference or incompetence of a doctor, believe me, you will want a lawyer. And every day you will be begging him to drop a nuclear weapon on that doctor. As imperfect as the legal system is, without it, and all of us evil lawyers, we are back to the self-help gun option, noted in XCar's post, above. Folks love to quote Shakespeare's passage:"First we shoot all the lawyers..." What they miss is that was said by a character trying to promote anarchy. Anyhow, Skip, I loved the wi-fi joke and have told it to everyone who will listen:).

Nice work! The official Caterham doors also fold up horizontally, 1/2 down from the top. So you can flip the bottom 1/2 up, where wind pressure holds it in place once underway and this lets in a nice breeze. The windowed top half prevents excessive head buffeting. I logged many highway miles with that bottom 1/2 flipped up on my original Cat. Slovemove-when are you going to offer your aftermarket parts to the general populace? You could be the "Softbits" in the USA.

Glad you are enjoying it. Looks like it has been reliable. So, less weight+ more power AND reliability= formula for track day success. I can't imagine it at RA, those huge straights....

I like the "wank" Westy, in spite of the yellow piping on the seats. Not sure I'd brag about its ability to whoop up on MX5's though. Knock $10K off the price and it's going to sell.

I'll take two!

55%. I was much better on the make than the year. Only one "I KNEW" for sure was the Avanti.

Due to low pressure in one cylinder, I am having a valve job done on my Caterham's SVT Zetec engine. I am thinking about upgrading the valve springs as well as the valve spring retainers. Is that worthwhile and if so, who are the suppliers? Or, is just replacing these items with stock Ford SVT springs etc., ok? RPM's will be limited to 7K, trying to stay stock and reliable, not looking to gain power.

Ya can't keep a good man down! I know you have given a lot of thought to how to minimize the effect of catastrophic vertical impacts on the driver and passenger. What, if anything, are your plans in that area? A more laid back seating arrangement, more padding?

She is a beauty, love the color and the clams too! Looks brand new, but for the typical switchgear patina. Someone will get a great car.

I think the wheels/axels are off-center to help ensure that proper (significant) weight is on the tongue. Mine is the same way. Trailers dont tow well or track well if they are balanced 50-50. That is quite a deal for an aluminum trailer. I had a friend who spent $5K over 20 years ago for something similar.

That is 1 1/2 hours from NJMP, is there a track day associated with LOG 36, there or elsewhere?

Great scenery/car! Video work was pretty awesome too, with front to back shots. And the lass was obviously a good sport.

Looks like a great event. I see Skip's unique "butt extractor'' winch at the bottom of the first photo. If nothing else it's a conversation starter:)!

Whoops, sorry FF, I mixed you up with another epic driver who appears here as midgetracr. He drove a V8 Stalker that topped out at 170 mph at VIR, did the 1/4 mile under 10 sec at 149 mph, etc. Quite the car/driver combo, not unlike you.

Is it as fast as your ex-Stalker? Does the large windshield reduce effectiveness of rear wing? What is top speed? I have been doing the same job for 43 years, so just 6 more to go:)! P.S. Just noticed that spec Atom goes for $104K so I mite have to wait 100 years....

Or, how about this: a new camera called a Graava, like a GoPro, but automatically transfers data to "the cloud" wherein it is edited and the user ends up with just the exciting bits. Cost $249 when released next year, per NY Times article recently.

Spearing of nickels, I think the Chump car champ wins $5,000, in nickels, delivered on a pallet! But returning to this thread, the worst my back has been whacked in the last year was at the Go-kart event at NJMP. Are you SURE about this karting, Shane. I was thinking perhaps some fly fishing-after you learn how to tie your own flies, of course:).

Croc: You commentary on the Westfield ad, above, was pretty hilarious. Keep up the good work! And how about the photos of the R400 in the post above the Westfield comments. Best I have ever seen in any car for-sale ad. So many times the car is pulled out and photographed in front of the garbage cans, one of which has fallen over, etc.

When I cut the wires to my heated windshield (cracked so replaced with non-heated one) there were no issues. I did have an 2 year long battle with a shorting out wire to starter-easily fixed once ID'd but intermittent nature made it hard to diagnose.