bigdog

As per the title. Photo was done using DxO optics pro & DxO film pack.

Won't all that silicone freeze in the cold?

I believe the customs folks tend to have only a few items of a personal use nature that will set off alarms. Rolex's and stuff like that that have high value and are easy to turn over. The main thing they are after is items that are for resale.

I've been sending all kinds of European items back to the US from Germany over the last 3 1/2 years. Never has anyone I sent something to been told that duty was due. I would suggest that if you are a business owner that you order personal use items with your name and not use your business name or address, As that may alert the customs office that the item could be for resale.

Took the wife for her first ride in our seven. Mind you, It's a bit chilly out (2 C) 37F. So it was a short blat down to our local German bakery/Cafe. (you haven't had real baked goods until you've been to a German bakery) Then to the farmers market. My wife said it wasn't as hard to get in & out of the seven as she thought it would be. Much less back draft than our BMW Zed4 had as well, which is surprising. The heater works a treat too.

All our German friends and strangers alike, thought the seven was just the coolest thing they have ever seen. Many thumbs up and big smiles greeted us as we drove around our village. And that is the charm of the seven, Huge fun to drive. Yet old, young, petrolhead, non-petrolhead, can't help but be charmed by the seven.

I'd put down to a rent in the fabric of the space/time continuum.

 

As long as you don't meet him, the world will be safe for 7 owners. :leaving:

 

 

m

You mean like TNG where the Enterprise kept crashing into itself in a subspace rift? What to do, What to do. I know, I'll ask the all knowing Cmdr Data. AKA, My wife.:flag:

And probably just as humble...

I would certainly hope so.

or how much alike you are. maybe he's your twin, separated at birth.

Well he is a doctor and owns a seven. So he's obviously a genius just like me.

So I took my seven to the shop as mentioned in another post. The owner asks me if I had bought my seven from a guy named Jerry. I told him no, But that MY name is Jerry. Boy did he look puzzled. He then told me that there is a military doctor in the Ramstein area that has the exact same seven as mine & his name is Jerry as well. How weird is that? It will be interesting when I meet him & see just how much alike our sevens are.

I miss the weather. After 20 years the (almost) permanent sun starts to suck.

Some would call you crazy. But I feel that way as well, I like a change of season but Germany tends to be a little too sunless (think Seattle) during the winter. We can literally go for a month or more without seeing the sun. In addition I live in a small village in the hills where three valleys meet, couple this with a latitude that is north of Vancouver BC (yet we are in southern Germany close to France). Which means that if the sky is clear we still won't see the sun come over the hills till 10:30AM then sinks behind the opposite hill at 4:00PM. We eat vitamin D tablets like candy.

I was stationed in Ramstein Air Base back in the late 70s... enjoyed it. Have fun, hope the heater works;)

The shop I linked to is just about 1/4 mile from Rhine ordinance barracks near the intersection of B270 and the A6 autobahn. The wife and I really enjoy living in Germany. Especially as we are civilians, I'm retired AF and the wife is a GS contracting officer. No war games, alerts, or telephone standby for us.

Actually, The heater works quite well. The cold in Germany isn't to bad, It's the freezing rain that sucks the worst. I spent most of my 20 yr. career at Ellsworth in South Dakota working on Minuteman II ICBM electronics. Now that's cold.

Call it fate or destiny, I was registering my seven at the Air Force installation here in Germany. The German tech that was testing my car is a big seven fan, he noticed that it was not running like it should and asked about it. I told him that I have owned cars with weber's before but these just don't want to tune properly. The car is 30 years old and the carbs probably have some grit in them. I don't have an air compressor to assist with cleaning and the German's are very restrictive on the cleaning chemicals for such work. (We have to go to France to get round-up for the garden as the German's won't allow it)

Much to my surprise the German tech said there is a guy in Kaiserslautern (15 minutes from my house) that races sevens, Mini's, And sidecar bikes.

So off I go to here:http://mini-clubsport.com/ Super nice guy, He stopped what he was doing to try and adjust the carbs for me. He said that yes they will not tune and are probably full of old petrol deposits and grit. Without even making an appointment he says to just leave it with him and he will rebuild the weber's and tune it. Sure is nice to accidentally find that there is a specialist seven guy right in my back yard and speaks perfect English as well. :hurray:

I rather like the MEV Aston-Martin DBR1.

As for the MEV trike. Front on the MEV trike doesn't look to bad. From the side though, It has no style at all. And really does look like it was built from an old ladder.

And everyone was polite and professional as well. Very nice. I've been in Bremerton many times as my Father (RIP) lived in Illahee near silverdale. Great part of the sound region. Once I get back to Walla Walla from Germany I'll check that track out. Looks like I'll also have a handy place to order parts for my rather old S3.

"Bloody hell" The ring again? The ring has to be the most boring as well as the worst track for having fun in a seven. A supermoto (very tight) track or just a back road would suit a seven much more nicely.

Most of the places that rent a seven in Germany use the 175HP engine. http://www.caterham-cars-kempten.de/vermietung/startseite.htm

Seems this thread has gone from the virtues of a small light weight car not needing big HP to be fun or fast. To the brochure wars of engine size, HP numbers, and car reviews based on "track day" passing. And that's not meant as a poke in the eye of the track day folk.

A "track day" means nothing about a cars real maximum capabilities Vs. another when just a very few on those track day events are racing at maximum 100% effort on every lap. It's apples to oranges as no one at a track day are making their living or trying to impress other race teams for a possible future driving position. They are there to have fun and maybe learn to drive a little better. So it means nothing really to pronounce that this car or that car are better or worse because they passed or got passed on a track day. Now if you had passed that Corvette during a sanctioned race. Then you should be proud for having trounced a much more powerful car. However to my eye that red Corvette looks to have backed off a bit. But who cares, the Lotus driver was having a good time. I'm sure the Corvette driver was as well.

When I drove the Nurburgring I didn't drive at max effort. I was there to have fun. It wasn't a race, blocking another car would get you ejected from the track as would dangerous passing. At the ring, should you crash and block the track you are responsible for the track loosing revenue and you WILL be presented with a bill. That little fact is generally left out of those ring videos on you tube. It cost me $37 per lap to drive the ring.

here is a breakdown: 1 Euro=$1.38

• Base fee for attendance of armco truck: €150
  
• Removing damaged armco: €10/metre (x2 or x3 or x4 for multiple-height sections)
  
• Replacement armco: €31/metre (x2 or x3 for double/triple height)
  
• Removing damaged armco posts: €5.10 each
  
• Replacing armco post: €39 each
  
• Safety car attendance: €82 per 30 mins (car + 2 people)
  
• Circuit closure: €1,350 per hour
  
• Recovery truck: €190 (inc VAT)
  
• Hospital stay & air ambulance: Let's just say, do NOT go there without travel insurance! (Though a European Health Card - which replaced the E111 - may cover the hospital bit.)
  

Everything except the recovery truck is then subject to 19% VAT.

The record armco bill I'm aware of is €15,000. That was a car that managed to flatten a very impressive length of armco between the Quiddlebacher Hohe bridge and the crest on the approach to Flugplatz. But even a minor bump can turn into a surprisingly expensive day out.

But based on all the conventional wisdom of track day automotive reviews. After having been passed. I probably should have went home and got rid of my BMW Zed 4 or tried to drop in an M5 V10 to replace the inline six. After all, having been passed at a track day means I was in a crap car. Right? Probably doesn't matter that I was driving at 7/10s or less and the folks that passed me were driving harder or had a lot more track time than me. That track day at the ring meant nothing about anyone nor any car. It was a fun day on the track. Nothing more nothing less.

There used to be a "Fahrzeugbrief" which is technically only a paper of responsibility for the vehicle not an indication of ownership. But practically it functions as a title paper for insurance and ownership change purpose and if you leave it in the car that gets stolen you are screwed. There have been some changes to comply with EU law in 2005 but I am not completely familiar with that.

While I was on the Zed 4 forum they would talk about the UK V5 and how you could as you put it "get screwed but royally" should you leave it laying about your car. Never paid much attention as I wasn't subject to the same system. But having bought a British registered car I can see what they were on about.

Fortunately I don't have to "go all the way" with German registration due to my wife working for the US military as a civilian. We have a bit of a hybrid system that we go through which is easier, Located on post with English speaking Germans and much, much cheaper fees. I.E. The Germans allow us to buy big ticket items with a VAT form free of the 19% tax on everything. Yep, You heard that correctly 19% tax. Buy a car or a house and you will get quite a surprise.

Definitely different than the states. The seven came with the V5 document (UK registration) there is no title. The new owner simply fills in the new owner data on the back the old owner does nothing nor signs anything on the V5 showing that it was sold or transferred. The only thing showing I bought the car was a copy of the bill of sale sent via email and is sufficient for the Germans to let me register it in my name. They said they do not need the original bill of sale.

Now I know why folks in the UK say to never have your V5 registration papers in the car. Something that will get one in trouble in the US.

I think the thread is summed up pretty well above.

 

Look, obviously we are all here in this 7 nitch of the car hobby because we believe lighter is better. We are just going to have to agree to disagree that more power is the answer.

 

As I admitted, I am a V-8 junkie, particularly the LS variety. I'm putting one in a seven-ish car because it is about as light, and capable a starting point as I can find in my budget range.

 

It is all a balancing act of power, weight, cost and simplicity in the end.

 

If you want to build a lighter, lower powered seven, I'm all for it. Just don't be surprised when you get some argument when you claim superiority.

 

I hope to see you at a track event when I get my heavy, powerful seven finished and sorted.

I see the issue as this. When a MANUFACTURER (a self built kit is different) becomes to narrowly focused on super fast, super light, super expensive, they run the risk of becoming a little to niche. Ferrari can get away with this as they are owned by Fiat. Fiat pays for the Ferrari looses. Most of the other popular super cars have a parent company that pays the bills as well. If those super car makers were making money because of the super fast, super light formula? Why was it necessary to sell their company to someone else? Right now Caterham is just barely making any if not loosing money. As has been pointed out. The original 7 cost $2900 in 1957 which adjusted for inflation equals $24,000 in 2012. The last time I was on the USA Cat site. The low end model was close to $30,000 all the way to the R500 at $61,000 then you still have to buy an engine/trans for them, Plus tire/wheels for the classic. So to shave 44Kgs will cost you $31,000 or $320 per pound saved. Which if you are making your living by winning races is fine. But for bragging rights at a non-professional track day! Well, Kudos to you for having the deep pockets to feed the Ego while lapping everyone. I don't say that in a pejorative manner either. Modern Caterhams are designed first and foremost for the street. Otherwise none of them would come with DOT lighting, tires.

So I applaud Caterham for returning to it's and Lotus' past. I believe it will be a profitable move for them. And a great way for those without deep pockets to enjoy the sheer pleasure of driving a seven, Even if it's not at racing levels of speed.

xcarguy,

That course was about as straight as a circuit can get. Those looked to be rather long radius corners.

I'll use the example of my Sumo motorcycle (Husqvarna SM610) In the really tight stuff I would either pass or be on the butt of the much more powerful sports bikes. There were more than a few sport bike pilots that would just scratch their heads when a 575CC 50HP motocross bike was hounding them in the canyons. Yes! if the road opened up they were gone.

I have to tell you though that after 3 years of living in Germany, going fast on an open road (autobahn) is ponderously boring. Which of course means most of the Americans over here love the autobahn as most Americans have to look up curvy back road in the dictionary. I always set the GPS to avoid the autobahns unless I'm with the wife in her 328 going somewhere. It's one reason I sold my BMW Zed 4 and bought the seven. I would rather have fun in the curves at 60MPH than just put my foot down then pat myself on the back and tell myself how cool I am because I went 160 on a straight road.

To each their own though.

I for one am glad to see Caterham offering an old school type of car along side their beasty models.

Klasic-69

My frame of reference when I started this and another thread about trailers is that the wife and I will retire in a couple of years. I do not and will not be tracking the 7. I bought the 7 to cruise, socialize, And just generally having fun driving a rather unique and great looking car. Therefore, We want a vehicle that is nice, gets good economy and can on occasion tow a light weight trailer to take the 7 with us to a destination.

A carbureted seven certainly isn't very miserly with fuel, And with an 8 gallon tank isn't exactly a touring car. There are places in Eastern Washington state where I own a home that one might have to fill a motorcycle pull trailer with fuel cans so as to not run out between stations.

Just look at the post about a titanium chassis. We Americans have been brought up to over do just about everything in the quest for the fastest, Most powerful, Biggest engine. Even though most don't need it nor could they even come close to using it. It's all about the bragging rights. I.E. brochure racing or top trumps with cars and their specs.

Oh well, Old McDonald was a bad speller too. Just ask the folks at Geico. :jester:

Good one xcarguy:D

To be fair, I'm no Mark Twain when it comes to writing skills. The least one should do when trying to place an advert to sell something is to do at least a little proof reading & use a spell checker.

The car is pretty cool looking & that Vortec Oops! I mean VTEC should be pretty quick as well. It could be a brilliant car. But the seller has done every thing in his power to make that car look questionable & himself look like a dodgy back ally huckster. May not be fair, But that's life.

I personally wouldn't touch it unless I had the chassis number and made a call to Xanthos to ask whether it was a kit build or turnkey. Mr. mfast really needs to do the aforementioned title/registration investigation, As well as insisting that he be put in touch with the prior owner.

But where it all changed so drastically was the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank. A private bank that controls the money supply. Do a little synopses quick read of a book called "the creature from Jekyll island"

Before the FED a bank could only loan out what it had in it's vault. After that the "special" people that had banks were allowed to loan more money than they had. It's called fractional banking. It can work provided one maintains very tight controls on it. Also, 5 of the 7 bankers that formed the FED were foreign nationals. So when the congress approved this FRB deal they did it knowing that they could now just have their buddies at the bank produce more money. which produces a false impression of wealth being created. When in fact it's just borrowing on the credit card.

Not only does he not know about the car he is selling. He has about the same grasp of the English language as my house cat. Low quality photos as well. It all adds up a rather dodgy situation to me. But I could be dead wrong. Caveat emptor.

if we are too friendly with each other -- this site will be very boring.

i rather see your shadow and color...... i don't want pretending & lying hahaha !

 

mix it up....is always good

I like mixing it up. But, I do think that a lot of folks are realizing that the real enemy of us are politicians in general. I think that is a good sign though. As the government loves it when the citizens are at each others throats thereby drawing fire from the real issues at hand. dishonest career politicians. What's that old saying. Governments most fear an informed citizen above all other things.