Black Hole

Yes, I'd be glad to help. Mine is also BRG with the classic yellow stipe and nose band. There are some nice roads around your area so hopefully we can meet up before salt season.

Note if you are looking for an authentic Lotus 7, this is not the car for you. This was previously advertised by New England Classics in CT and I saw this car there. It still shows on their website??? http://www.newenglandclassics.com/cars/NE-1984-1/ Their description lists it as a 1984 Caterham and excerpts of their copy: Formerly owned by the ex President of Lotus USA, well cared for and properly serviced. Left hand drive, footwell extended to accomodate a 6'3" driver Also a note..........car has an authentic Lotus VIN plate, Lotus title, Lotus badges....and is a Caterham. However, IF one cared to 'own' a Lotus, well, here it is.

I want to thank you all for your sympathy and offers of assistance. I made it home without issues, except for a very loooong brake pedal as it unfortunately still had air in the system - and a bit of rain that was a nice brake (sic) from the sun and heat. Presenting the trophy to my family only reinforced to them the geekiness of the 7s event and crew :jester:. They were disappointed for me but clearly loved the trophy, now unceremoniously displayed atop my tool box. The car did not lose one drop of brake fluid on the way home. TK did not hook up my ebrake after reinstalling the caliper because it was a bear to get off and this way I won't have to do it when I replace the caliper. And this morning I had an aha! moment :banghead: . It only leaks when the ebrake is engaged. So this morning I checked it and zero drops after parking all night. I drove all the way down without issue, when I left the hotel after having the ebrake on all night is when the low fluid light came on. I likely could have confirmed this and perhaps driven my car! The whole time it was leaking on Saturday morning the ebrake was on, The only time I took it off was a momentary movement of it while we were troubleshooting. Alas, that is in the past. New caliper being shipped out by Josh today and hopefully we will regroup in 2020! Thank you to Mike and Tom for putting together an excellent and well organized event. Their efforts are much appreciated.

And after you put on the windscreen (recommended! I would not want the risk of getting hit by debris on the highway - or you can wear a helmet) side screens are highly recommend for the drive down if you have a set. I will be driving from Hartford and with the side screens in place, a set of ear plugs and a hat it is not too bad.

My problem is I get nauseous as a passenger and the driver. Not good on boats either! I spend hundreds of hours a year in airplanes and thankfully they don't bother me, even with the consistent chop when headed down under and turbulence in the north pacific. Just worse when I was a passenger in your car, exacerbated by being a passenger and your ability to bring the car to much higher G loads than I can push the car. But it was fun while it lasted

Thanks. Josh at Rocky Mountain already shipped it out, I expect it should be here by tomorrow. I was able to kluge up the broken switch to work in the meantime. While NJ is flat I was still able to get queasy on Lightning. May have to do with being in the passenger seat of Croc's car!

Already used a version of this trick. Turns out CT requires a back up light for inspection and they failed me because George did not install it or the fog lamp when he built my car. He doesn't like the looks of them. After hooking up the back up light I learned he did not install the switch in the transmission because he said they hang up and break when installing the engine. So the solution was to hook the back up light into the fog lamp circuit. When I was at the DMV I put the lights on and when he said put it in reverse I shifted to reveres and subtly turned on the "fog lights". Back up light on, and I got a pass.

I am now registered for the event and booked in at the Fairfield. As Colin intended I will again be driving my 7 from CT in convoy with Paul (wemtd) who will be trailering his Birkin. Car is mostly set but waiting for the brake light switch from Rocky Mountain to finalize. I jury rigged my broken brake light and through some Caterham voodoo the circuit decided to work when it was previously not getting 12V. My final task is to figure out how not to get nausea. I was at the Porsche school at Barber and was getting motion sickness from the 80-90 ft of elevation change that creates a couple of nice whoop de doos around turns 3-4 and 11-14. Even with pills (and ginger) I needed to curtail running during some sessions :ack: .

I made a temp fix to the switch by attaching a wire to the broken connector. But still no brake lights. A friend was following me for our drive on Sunday to Greenwich and back of over 1 hour each way and he says the brake lights were working. If I apply 12V to one side of the switch loom my brake lights come on. It appears I don't have 12V on the other side that should pass through the switch when the brakes are applied (I did this with the car running - I don't think the brake lights come on when the car is off). Seems like quite a coincidence that I lost the power to one side of the switch at the same time. Am I missing something From battery +12V------->Brake light switch----------------->brake lights--------------Ground (plunger out=closed)

Last week the ignition failed. Thanks to Josh and Rocky Mountain Caterham I got to take my car to the Greenwich Concours on Sunday. Here were the two cars parked next to me - a Dino is quite a low car (and this is only the parking lot) http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15468&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15469&stc=1 Last night my daughter and I went for an ice cream run and for some reason when we got back I had her check if my brake lights were working (they have stopped working before). And of course, they weren't. This time it wasn't just an adjustment of the switch like previously, but it was broken http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15470&stc=1 A quick email to Josh and he responded within minutes with the part. Back in service after it arrives. Twice in one week under the dash is cruel

I must say, changing the ignition system is definitely the easiest thing you can do under the dash. It was quite accessible. Maybe next weekend we can do a test drive to shake the cars down. I will drive mine to Greenwich for the Concours tomorrow. Celebrating Zagato so I expect some cool cars. Only a slight chance i will get soaked on the way home.,

Big thank you to Rocky Mountain Caterham. Josh got the parts out to me on Tuesday and I installed them this morning. I can now start my car, though if I did not have the parts in hand this weekend I was going to do some self taught hot wire lessons. Based on the install I think it would be a five minute job to hot wire a 7. Another fun fact is the ignition still has a steering column lock in it and the tube around the column has a hole for it to actuate into. Just does not interface with the rotating shaft and provide any looking function.

Fantastic support. Great that Caterham has support in the US to allow us to enjoy our cars. I will send end you an email

Does anyone have an email contact for Rocky Mountain Sports Cars. I can find a phone number but no other contacts in my search Thank you

Can someone explain how i attach a photo without it being repeated at the bottom of the post. I pick manage attachments and insert inline. Is there a more efficient way to do this?

Thank you all. While i was taking the steering lock off of the column i had this part fall out that appears to go in the bottom of the whole at the end of the lock cylinder: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15434&stc=1 Hard to see from the picture but on each side of the shiny groove the part appears fractured. So I think i am on the buy a new path and will check with the sources mentioned. Caterham says they have them in stock but if I can get one in the US even better.

After driving my Caterham over 4000 miles it has finally stranded me. I went to start the car and the key just rotated in the lock cylinder. Absolutely nothing happened, ie it did not act as if it was in position I or II and no electrics came on or the starter try and energize. I went to pull out the key and reinsert it (I thought I may have actually not inserted it into the lock cylinder) and the entire cylinder came out attached to the key. http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15428&stc=1 http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15429&stc=1http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15430&stc=1 After the cylinder came out I inserted a screwdriver to see if I could rotate the ignition switch but had no luck. Turns out the screwdriver tip was magnetized and the two parts shown came out with it. I think the brass piece should be attached on the end of the cylinder and rotates the ignition, but i cannot place how the long silver place fits into it. Just for added fun when I took the key out to see if the silver part fits in the slot and two of the tumblers came out. I think I put them in the right slots Anybody have any idea of how this puzzle fits together. Caterham has the whole steering lock that says it is for all cars on their website and I suspect I may need to buy a complete assembly. It is easy to access (especially considering it is under the dash). My unit looks just like the picture from their website. Does anyone know how the black plastic part is attached. It seems to spin, I did not want to force if off just yet but suspect it is a snap fit on. How long does it take to get from Caterham UK. I could order on Monday from them or I could wait til Tuesday and see if any of the US sources stock this part. I would hope it is low utilization and they don't have them! What are the most likely US options? Beacham and the new Denver based dealer>

That sounds great, I am less familiar with the roads in that area so I am game for a drive. I will give you a PM. Maybe sometime in June will work

Chopd65 - Greetings. I am in West Hartford and work in East Hartford so my 7 is occasionally spotted in Glastonbury. Wemtd lives near me and we try to connect for some drives. We usually head NW of Hartford but just had the 7 down in Essex and Clinton last week so send a note and we can hook up for a meet somewhere. Jay

My car was built by George Alderman (Mid-Atlantic Caterham) and he tack welded the bolts to the seat runners. It made if very easy to remove the seats (though I think one or more of the tacks is now broken).

Forgot about that mattress. That was exciting! With only Brooklands I would definitely go the trailer route.

I will be driving my 7 down from West Hartford. I went two years ago and I think I was the only one who did not trailer. I will likely convoy down with wemtd who will trailer his Birkin. I did drive with the side screens and earplugs. I think without the side screens it would be a loooong trip. And I have full weather protection if really necessary. Though driving the NJ Turnpike in the rain may be pretty dodgy! And full disclosure, my car is a SV (wide body) with standard Caterham seats so I can shift around a bit

Add another to the list, I plan to attend

The owner of the linked store has a 7 that I believe is BDR powered. Located in the Ginza neighborhood. Nice (and expensive) driving shoes, helmets and retro F1 stuff (like Hesketh T shirts) for sale Motorimoda: http://www.motorimoda.com/sp/shopinfo/en-mm_ginza.html

And while we are on the subject what is the crush washer that Caterham uses (is it a Raceline wet sump?_, standard Ford or other?