11Budlite

I don't know anybody personally that's running Freestyle parts but I see them discussed on Blatchat quite frequently and they seem to have a pretty good reputation. You can try doing a search here: http://www.blatchat.com/searchsp.asp

I know those wheels hit a nerve with me!

So, the other night I hear the deep rumble of a V-8 pull in the driveway. It's dark but it certainly looks like it could be a 60's Corvette. So I go outside and Nancy's in the passenger seat (all this time I thought she was upstairs doing laundry!) with my neighbor Karen at the wheel. Her husband already has a couple Corvettes from the 60's, but they just recently picked this one up. It was a completely stock '66 Red convertible with a 427 4-barrel, 4-speed, side pipes, and modern radials. Well, she tells me to go take it for a spin so who am I to argue! The first thing I notice is this thing doesn't have power steering and even with the huge wheel, it's a pain to maneuver in the driveway. But it sounds good, shifts with a much shorter throw than I expected, and has a ton of torque....I mean it doesn't seem to matter what gear you're in or what rpm you're at, it just pulls and pulls and pulls! I didn't dump the clutch or anything, but I did run it up through the gears pretty good and it seemed like it had pretty good traction, too. But OMG the steering on this thing was horrendous. The suspension felt tight and it seemed to ride and handle decent for the era, but with the steering it was just all over the place! Maybe a simple adjustment to the steering box and a good alignment would fix some of it, but I don't think I could ever get used to the imprecision of this beast! On a winding road my Birkin is so much easier to drive and handles so much better that I think I'd leave it in the dust. It really is a beautiful car with what I think is the best looking, most well equipped interior of any 1960's American car. It was an entertaining drive and would probably be a blast at a dragstrip or cruising around, but I don't think you'll be seeing one of those in my garage any time soon...and I'm sure it has nothing to do with the cost of admission!!

Looks like a real nice build! Any idea when you'll have that first drive?

Not sure which year it is. No affiliation, etc: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Makes-67-Super-7-Replica-S3-Stunningly-Fast-Birkin-S3-220-HP-Street-Car_W0QQitemZ250442032155QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item3a4f82241b&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1205%7C240%3A1318#ebayphotohosting

Not a fan of the wheel color on the Prisoner wheels, but the rest looks nice. No affiliation, etc: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lotus-Caterham-Super-7_W0QQitemZ330336840233QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item4ce99c2a29&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A317%7C240%3A1318

"The method of packing is cool. It reminds me of Tony V. on his expeditions." - My friend Ed had his Caterham at the British by the Sea show this weekend, and had a luggage rack that clipped over the spare tire mount on either side of the license plate flat section and strapped to the spare tire. It then had a flip down section that you could strap bags or a couple of folding chairs to. I really thought it was a neat, simple idea that expanded the carrying capacity without blocking the rear view. I'm either going to make one up similar or get the one from Caterham as long as it fits the Birkin. Looks like this:

That Series 1 is looking real nice Dean! Do you know who the owner of the yellow Birkin is?

That second car is an absolute beauty and would be a great addition to my garage if I had more room, cash, time, etc. The first car (the red one) I would suggest you go see in person (or have an independent party do an inspection) before you lay down your hard-earned cash. I don't know any details on this car, but I did buy my Birkin sight unseen from Hayes and if I could do it again I would have checked it out in person first. Bear in mind that my car had a little over 200 miles on it when I bought it. PM me if you want any details on my experience.

Check out this build site. Jeff did a beautiful job on his car and I'm sure he has some good info here: http://underwood-racing.com/constuction.htm For reference, my Zetec powered Birkin runs 300/front and 175/rear.

"Due to the bias on my brakes I need to add a brake light switch to the F brakes so my brake light is on ALL the time the brake is. " - Kyle/Gary: Sorry for the hijack, but you might consider switching to a mechanical switch mounted at the pedal box. I got the idea from (I think) Bernie L. to fab up a bracket that mounts to the pedal box . The project consisted of the angle bracket, two holes drilled and tapped in the pedal housing, and a simple GM mechanical brake switch that is adjustable for reach. And you obviously have to change the wiring, but that was easy for me because I was working on the harness at the time anyway. When I get home tonight I can post a pic of the installation.

I agree with you Dermot. I don't have my copy handy, but if I remember correctly it was restored with partially painted/partially polished bodywork (with the paint extending to cover the top of the aly Series 1 nose), wobbly webs, Dunlop racing tires, and external rear trailing arms. Sorry, I don't have any recent photos of that car after restoration, but there are a few historic photos on the web. Here's a link on the SimpleSeven site to the ex-David Porter car: http://www.simplesevens.org/porter.htm And an old black and white image:

"There's a chance I'll make it over to British-by-the-Sea this weekend. If I do I'll look for you." - Dave, since I've already missed Carlisle and LOG this year, I'm REALLY hoping to have my car ready for BBTS. Either way I'll probably be there. That'd be great if you could make it!

Some more photos here: http://www.themotoringenthusiast.com/caterham-7

Rune - how about this one? They even have a guide you can download on importing from Japan: http://www.terra2imports.ca/caterham/

I've gone to this show several times in the past and it really is in a beautiful location. Last year Nancy and I took the Birkin for the first time and had a really nice day! If all goes as planned, I'll have the Birkin back together and we'll be there again this year. With Lotus being the featured marque, hopefully we'll have a good turnout of Lotus/Se7en enthusiasts. Thanks for posting this Shawn.

Looking good Dave! That polished aly/BRG/yellow nose combination is a classic. Nice pics Ken. Thanks for sharing!

I've only seen a few black se7ens in person and they were all stunning. I especially like them with red interiors like Brad's Caterham. I still haven't seen one with clamshell fenders but I do have a pic of a black Birkin I can share:

Thanks for that info Rune. It should be interesting to see what this one gets bid to. Here's a thread when it was for sale as a 1963 Lotus Seven, SB1503. The Ebay ad info is NLA. http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3057

That's what I was thinking!

No affiliation, etc: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lotus-7-Stalker-V6-Stalker-V6-Seven-7-Stalker-V6_W0QQitemZ200345446478QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item2ea584e84e&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1171%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

I think this one was for sale before. No affiliation, etc: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230345946708

No affiliation, etc: http://www.sevenselans.com/cars_for_sale/caterham_sv/index.htm

No affiliation, etc: http://www.sevenselans.com/cars_for_sale/1993_caterham_super7/index.htm

No affiliation, etc: http://www.sevenselans.com/cars_for_sale/2006_caterham_csr/index.htm