bball7754

I use Nuvite polish and a Cyclo polisher. I also have the Porter Cable, which I use in some spots. Steve

Jordway - Great to have another Seven in STL! At one point there were at least 6 that I knew of, but recently it’s been down to me and maybe one in Belleville. I registered mine as a “Custom Vehicle”, which has a clause that covers “replicas”. I was literally the first person in MO to register a vehicle with the program. My plate was CV001. Happy to discuss titling and Sevens with you. I’ll send you a message with contact info. Steve

Mike - just curious, who was the organizing group? I did two track days there with 3Balls Racing. Steve

Mike - Bit surprised you hated Grattan. To me, it’s a roller coaster track, and never felt it had less passing opportunities than other tracks. But, hey, to each his own, right? 🙂

Grattan is a fantastic track. Bit run down, but the layout is incredible. You’re also only about 2.5 hours from Mid-Ohio, 5 hours from Putnam Park, and 4 hours from Autobahn County Club outside Chicago.

Think I’m going to safety wire mine!

Steve - thanks, but two quills are in transit from the UK as I type. Just one more slightly silly purchase to add to the list. Seems to come with the territory. Interestingly, the shipping from the UK was the same as what Pierce Manifold charged to ship some gaskets for my Webers from CA. Steve

1962 Seven https://www.vscda.org/classified/ You’ll need to scroll down the page to get to it. Not much info, and judging from the front suspension it’s quite a way from it’s 1962 incarnation.

Anker - The speedo drive fitting on the trans isn’t open to the inside, so the other half isn’t in the trans. The drive kept spinning, so I think it eventually just worked it’s way out.

The other half was in the transmission, and disappeared. I’m probably going to bite the bullet and buy it.

Can you go out the bottom? You would have to jack up the front of the car, or even put it on 4 jack stands, but it seems like it would be doable.

I seem to have snapped the quill in my angle drive for the speedo. The drive itself seems fine, but from what I can tell the quill snapped in two. I’m having trouble bringing myself to pay $10.00 for one, plus shipping from the UK. https://caterhamparts.co.uk/clutch-cables/2443-quill-angle-drive-square-end.html Realize it’s a long shot, but anyone have a spare? Steve

I'm the second owner of my 1998 Seven. It was the personal Seven of one of the founders of Rocky Mountain Sports Car, and then became the "dealer demo" car for RMSCI. I purchased it in January of 2005, and it had 7,850 miles on it. It now has 41,835, so I've put on 33,985 miles in 16 years. So, right around the average of 2,000 miles a year. But, sadly it's been barely driven at all the last 3 years, and driven less in general over the last 6-7 since the purchase of my Mallock. I poked around in some old paperwork, and found a state inspection from 3/25/08. The mileage was 21,913, so in my first 3 years of ownership I drove 14,000 miles. Back then I was driving to my track events. The nearest track was Putnam Park (where I first met KitKat in his original Blue Caterham), which is a little over 200 miles from St. Louis. So each track event there added 400 miles. Other tracks were in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma, so it wasn't hard to put on the mileage. So, bottom line, I think I purchased the right Seven for me. :)

Fantastic!! Looks like one super quick Series One. Quintessentially English.

Thank you! 🙂 It’s surprisingly different from my Caterham.

186 photos on the linked site, and not one of the inboard suspension! Seems to be S3 size, which makes the inboard suspension more of a challenge. There was a conversion kit made by Freestyle, but don’t believe it’s been available for a long time. The front upper A arms look CSRish. Wonder if Arch modified the location of the front suspension attachment points? Seems like the only thing left from the 1996 is the registration plate. There is a picture of the Caterham invoice for the wheels on the website. I actually like the build, but not a fan of the color scheme.

It’s 12.5 hours from St. Louis, so a few hours less than NJMP. And like the idea of something in Nov-Dec timeframe. No guarantees, but interested. Steve

‘17 Jeep Grand Cherokee, purchased primarily so it could also be my tow vehicle. I’ve been surprised at how much I enjoy driving it, particularly since my previous daily was a Mini. .

It is (was?) a popular modification in the UK. I think the approach you describe was the most common and popular. A search on Blatchat should provide lots of info. Regarding why keep the option to remount, while I haven’t done it (yet), I have clamshells and think it looks “classic” with the spare tire. But having it removable would provide more flexibility, and look better for track day photos. Steve

FWIW, the Crossflow in my Mallock sounds quite different from the Crossflow in my Caterham. The Caterham is more mellow, and pitched lower. More Baritone. The Mallock is brighter, harsher, and higher pitched. Closer to a Tenor. I’ve always assumed that much of it is from the higher compression ratio in the Mallock (either 12.5 or 13 to 1- can’t remember off the top of my head) and the cam profile. It also has straight pipes, no muffler. Steve

Years ago I visited one of the US Lotus forums on a daily basis. However, I found that an inordinate number of the posts devolved into personal attacks, many based primarily on politics. Although I found much of it inappropriate, it was a bit like an accident on the highway - hard not to rubber neck. I finally decided I’d had enough, and stopped going to the site. Haven’t been back since. Definitely appreciate the sanity and decorum found here.

180 miles/3 hours.:D

Heater? What’s that? Just excess weight to lug around!

Really enjoying reading about your trip. And envious! My nose cone has the bottom dzus fasteners, and after about 3 years I just stopped using them. Never had an issue, including hours on track. YMMV, but that’s been my experience.