I B Sevener

Wonderful write up Outbound. Now, keep doing the drives but take your little ones with you so that they are properly raised regarding Sevens.

If you are anywhere near Denver and want to honor Skip's memory: CELEBRATION OF SKIP CANNON'S LIFE Please join us at one of Skip's favorite restaurants, to share stories and a toast to Skip. He passed away unexpectedly on 23 Oct 2024. ***Please RSVP by Friday, Nov 1 to mleatham49@gmail.com*** When: Sunday, 3 November 2-5pm Where: Pete's Central 1 Restaurant 300 South Pearl Street Denver, CO Here is a photo of my Point Seven on the back of Skip's trailer after he was kind enough to bring it back from a show we both attended so I wouldn't have to drive over and get it myself. What a neat memory for me

I talked to Skip a couple of times a month just to see what he was up to and there was always something new or planned for coming soon. The last time I spoke with him, a couple of weeks ago, he told me he had been feeling bad and had a doctor's appointment the next day. He was upbeat saying that would set him right and he could get back to car stuff. He had just sold his C8 ZR1 on BaT and was looking for where to spend the proceeds, so this comes as a surprise. While he had been in poor health for a long time, his sense of humor and his spirit were always full throttle. Godspeed Skip! Ross Robbins PS: That is me in the flat cap on the right in Croc's photo.

Here's a post from last year: https://usa7s.net/ips/topic/14400-an-amazing-trip-up-the-hill-pikes-peak-that-is/#comment-135708 I will be at the Fan Fest tonight and expect to see Colin there. He is an inspiration for certain, so I expect Croc in his CSR to tackle the mountain next year!!

Thanks for the responses guys...it's a lot better than being pilloried for pitching my book which I thought might happen. I know these are just silly stories that barely qualify as literature (He says hopefully) but generally put a smile on your face. I appreciate all the prior purchases too, Tom, Jim and John. Maybe I can supersize the fries next time.

As a slow learner when it comes to cars, my exploits generate stories so I have written yet another book about my adventures around the country in my varied cars. Some are Lotus cars and some are not, though they are all interesting. In this book, I also reminisce about some of the cars that passed through my hands and some of the adventures I have been blessed with by friends I have met through the cars, even though I wasn’t driving. The resulting stories will either make you really wish you were with me or very glad you were not. The book is called CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL CAR GUY and is available on Amazon.com for $12.95. Though it is a compact book, it does come with colored photos throughout this time so I have definitely classed it up since the first books. This is a great way to be a passenger with me in some of my interesting old cars for less than the cost of three gallons of gas in your own. If enough of you actually buy a book, I can probably take my wife out to dinner this month…if we go to McDonald’s. And if we order off the dollar menu…and share. https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Serial-Car-Ross-Robbins/dp/B0D29YZMYY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SUJGPL56YLI7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JXwMeXzy_hMg5wa6PZnMOpbqGkhbSmY1SVmwJ3q2B4MNldLO8fyAY5vXxYpea_OaTO0O68lLql8WyWn6YZJ46yQO2Fqb3wO6b1tDtZOY37t8EcXGbZX1qtOTQS-HMx76rwciP9jUP4aDMdWouDV1rKnCaBCMUcrma1LXwgs7cdcPazq9Zs15qDP1JuWVkaCxbeWhveT5J9R1SEvTK0R-kp7TaMl9sARLcJNbr24G_Gc.Gn9BHqtrmNapwxV_cSxFAfjEvzRU1lMCmOFoGlRd93I&dib_tag=se&keywords=confessions+of+a+serial+car+guy&qid=1715289229&sprefix=confessions+of+a+serial+car+guy%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1

Gosh, I'm blushing While I do take a lot of road trips (just got back from LOG 42 and head out tomorrow in my Elan for this: http://www.drivingforkids.com/route.html) I don't own the Seven anymore. My son Josh, (Yes CBuff, there is definitely a connection!) is her steward now as I content myself with the more luxurious Elan. I do miss her though and the trips I took with her are the reason I have my screen name IBSevener which stands for Iron Butt. That little 84 horsepower workhorse has been with me from coast to coast and border to border with seven (yes!) trips of over a thousand miles each. By the way I hope you are enjoying my books...everything in them actually happened! And, with all due respect Scotticus, I had hoped the takeaway from my little piece was to just GO. There I was in the remotest place imaginable with a car most folks have never even seen, and I did fine. Just GO! Besides, the reason I don’t take any other spares is simple…it is never the part you have with you that fails. All one does when taking spares is to carry extra weight and I don’t need any extra weight. The corollary to the spares law is that taking spares implies a lack of faith and the car knows this. “Aha,” the fates cry, “this faithless traveler deserves to feel our contempt, and we shall smite him!” The flip side to spare parts is that a breakdown occurs within any part you do NOT have with you, but you can usually limp along to a repair shop. My feeling is, why tempt the fates? So, I go and just carry the two most important tools any Seven driver can have: A cell phone and a credit card with ample limit. Thanks to you for the shout out and compliment John. The reason I haven't been on here for quite a while is that I don't think I have anything to add. It's all in Josh's hands. Cheers, Ross "Iron Butt" Robbins

I’m local to Pike’s Peak so I showed up at Tech day where one can view all the cars competing. I came upon this guy thinking he had a Caterham, but it was really a glorified Lotus Seven clone called a Dax. That’s when I met Duncan Cowper who had come all the way from the UK to run the Peak on a shoestring budget. He and his mate who was his only crew, borrowed a truck and trailer to get the car from Denver International Airport and get it down to tech where he passed with no problem. Then I saw him again down at Pueblo Motorsport Park at the vintage races where my friends were competing with their S2 Sevens. I asked him what his goal for the mountain was, knowing that it is mighty intimidating to those of us who have been up it dozens of times at 30-40 mile per hour and to be competitive one must go much, much faster. He said he would like to make it to the top (only about 80-90% do) and if he were really lucky, break 12 minutes which would put him in the top 50 of the 66 cars entered. His Hayabusa with massive turbo powered Dax weighed in at about 1,450 pounds and had some 440 horsepower. Here is a link to a Jalopnik bit which shows many of the cars, their time and some of the beauty of the mountain and how hard it is to tame: https://jalopnik.com/views-from-the-2023-pikes-peak-international-hill-climb-1850581361 Well as you may have now discovered if you viewed all those slides, Duncan did much better than his wildest dream must have been. He not only made it to the top, 14,115 feet above sea level but what is even more impressive is drove, 12th fastest up the hill out of 66 cars at 9:57.072 which is just amazing!! It means he drove that mountain at an average speed of nearly 75 miles an hour. Let that sink in with the understanding that there are 156 turns, many of them hairpin turns. Not too many years ago, a time of 9:57 would have won the event and made him “King of the Mountain”. He should be very, very proud! Here is the video of his run…watch how hard he enters the corners and how he is on the power all the way up:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oetk2IP63hY His story of coming over with sheer grit and a homebuilt car was his quest and was much like the story of Burt Munro in the “World’s Fastest Indian.” He proved that a dream can not only come true but be even better than the dream…It would make a great movie.

Here is a comparison article I wrote back in 2008 that reaches roughly the same conclusion: Seven Heaven Over 50 years ago, Colin Chapman, ostensibly with a push from Hazel, gave us the Lotus Seven. After four editions of the idea, Chapman in 1973 had no further use for the thing so he sold the rights to Graham Nearn of Caterham who went back to the S3 version and nurtured it until its new owners, led by Ansar Ali, took it over in 2005. It seemed a fitting idea to take the latest Caterham, the Superlight R 400 and compare it to my 1968 Lotus Seven S3 to see where the similarities and differences were, separated by forty years of constant development. Today I made seven discoveries about this fascinating throwaway idea that Chapman had no use for, now brought to its fullest fruition. It is less kit car and all of a piece. Until the Esprit, Lotus had a history of creating new ideas that never got fully developed, as the works was always onto the next new thing. Caterham, on the other hand has taken a page from Porsche and finessed and fettled for 35 years on the same theme. Their Superlight R400 is absolutely true to the DNA and character of the early Seven, but bursting at the seams with improvements. There is nothing on the R400 that is not required for two people to go have fun. It is still a dual purpose machine which will be as at home on the track as on a twisty two lane road. And it still catches my eye. Other folk’s eyes too. The looks Ben Wofford and I got on a nice warm March day were priceless –so many different versions of the double take that I stopped counting. Or maybe it was the grins on our faces as we zipped through traffic on the way to the foothill canyon we were planning on strafing. It is faster, way faster. At a comfortable lope, in other words about 50% faster that the traffic norms, the R 400 doesn’t seem that quick. This is a reflection on how good the original S3 is rather than panning the R 400. But when I had the chance to run up a freeway on ramp, I got it in spades…this thing is faster than a crotch rocket! I caught one of those up the ramp that wouldn’t get out of my way. OK, maybe he wasn’t aware that it was a contest, but I still blew by him; that never would have happened with my S-3. The factory spec is 210 BHP for 0-60 in 3.8 sec. if you hit the rev limiter on each shift. And it keeps on pulling, too. While 90 is a tough maximum to reach in the S-3, the R 400 has a factory top speed of 140 which I have no reason to doubt. I briefly touched an indicated 100 and it was still pulling strongly. It is way cool to dust off a Corvette or Porsche with ease! It rides better, way better. While the old bum is less sensitive to rotational input than it used to be, it is far more sensitive to comfort. This car has a deDion rear suspension that is far more forgiving over frost heaves and ruts. It’s actually smooth! Ben was following in my car and as I rounded a very fast bend with a lateral bump in the middle, I thought “I would have jumped sideways six inches in my car over that.” So I looked behind me and sure enough the S-3 took a sideways leap that required a bit of opposite lock from Ben. A day at the track will leave you wanting more instead of wanting ibuprofen. It is precise and more direct. I rode once with a stunt pilot who could roll his plane in 45 degree increments with precision until he completed a full 360. I feel the same way about the R 400. It just changes direction NOW. There is none of the loosey goosey rubber bushing or chassis flex that the S-3 displays. If I put wider low profile tires on my Seven S-3 it still wouldn’t deliver the absolute grip or direct feel the R 400 displays. This precision is an enormous confidence builder when canyon carving as we did. It corners better with less bump steer. Because the steering is so fast, Ben says he has to remind those who have not been in a Seven before to feed in steering change carefully. Of course I have tens of thousands of miles in my S-3, so I was just cocky enough to have too much input into the first real turn. The good news is that the car is easy to modulate and doesn’t get upset by roughness and bumps, and, of course, sticks like flypaper. It makes even me look good. It has the same cockpit and footwell feel. One thing hasn’t changed though; the footwell still requires racing ballet shoes or sox. There is just enough room to heel and toe the pedals if you have size 10 feet or smaller. Luckily, I do. But I don’t have the slim hips that fit the R 400 carbon fiber seat. The phrase 10 pounds in a five pound bag, comes to mind. Once ensconced however, I was located so well it was easy to feel like I was in a race car. All good quick cars keep the driver’s trunk well located so the driving becomes the focus. The absence of the seat form makes the bare padding of the S-3 a bit more accommodating, just a bit less supportive. Here is where the DNA is most obvious to the driver. It has bug eyes. The look of the two cars side by side reveals the most obvious difference, the new headlight height requirements. (Say that fast three times!) If this bugs you like it does me, Ben says that an individual can solve the problem with a different bracket although the car will need to be registered with full compliance. Since this is primarily a daytime use vehicle, I guess I would endorse that very enlightened, illuminated approach. So, what is the verdict? Firstly, I must admit to an extreme bias toward the simple dynamic elegance of the original. Having said that, it seems the lads at Caterham have kept the best and updated the rest. It is amazing enough that this 50 year old design can post the numbers that it does, yet what is more amazing is that it is just as fun to drive at a more sedate pace. Then, when they least suspect it, Superlight R 400 jumps out of the phone booth, cape flying, and leaps tall Porsches in a couple of gears. As for me, I’d have to save it for the track and I wouldn’t license it for the street. I need my driver’s license to get to work, the bus service stinks out here and I’d lose it within weeks if I had this car.

2014 Caterham Roadsport 140 is now SOLD

SOLD to a 77 year young man who will be DRIVING it home from CO to CA. I think this may be part of a trend of 77 year old guys driving cross country!!

Price Reduced to $36,000 Please give either me or Josh at Rocky Mountain Caterham a call. This is a great car and now that the Sigma engines will not be available, a more desirable car than ever!

Interesting back story on the owner of this Seven: His daughter (who is now handling his affairs) sent us this letter with the note: "Look what I found going through his stuff today . His interest in and pricing from Lotus Caribbean in 1967. He wasn’t lying when he told me he’s wanted one for 50 years !"

Kris has sold her Dad's home and the Seven now needs a new garage so the motivation to see it sold is high. This is a wonderful car that RMC has inspected and feels very good about, so if you are at all interested give me a call at (3o3) 923-8I38 or send an email to http://info@rockymountaincaterham.com and we will give you all the info you will need. This really is a great car folks!!!

Ian: Standard type 9 ratios, yep, so short first gear.

· 1.6 Sigma Ti-VCT with throttle body, 137 bhp (270 spec). · Type 9 5-speed gear box, and 3.61 standard Sierra diff (these are lighter than the current 270 spec), · S3 chassis, standard floors, Ballistic Orange paint, Black Pack, road suspension, 14″ KN Panasport with Avon ZT3s. · 3 point inertia reel belts, leather seats, heater, Moto Lita steering wheel, carbon sill and wing protectors. · Full weather gear (heated windscreen, sidescreens, hood) Soft Bits For Sevens half hood with driver’s side zip out panel. · Clean Colorado title and registration. · One owner from new, with *extensive* records and documentation.11,8xx miles. This is a lovely road Seven, ready for scything back-roads. This Roadsport 140 (equal to a current 270 spec) Seven is local to us and is looking for a home. Currently in Castle Rock, Colorado, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend someone fly in and drive it home the long way. To Punta Arenas, or Prudhoe Bay, if that is where home is. We have seen and driven the car and think it is worth every penny. We are helping out the selling family as a favor to the Sevens community -- please reach out if you think your home could use a timeless orange machine. $37,500.00 Sorted. Fantastic condition, ready for the road. Contact: josh.robbins@rockymountaincaterham.com (Note: We (Rocky Mountain Caterham) are assisting the owner with the sale as a courtesy and can’t warranty it; however we have seen and driven the car and think it is a fine specimen that is sorted, titled, and ready to go for spring adventures. To recreate this as a new 270S would cost in the upper $40ks at current pricing.)

It was an amazing 36 days on the road out of 40 days since April 11th. As I noted in my blog, I have the mixed feeling of excitement to having achieved the goal and sadness that there would be no more travel. So, it is now over and I can reflect a bit on the adventure and achievement. Let’s start with some basic statistics about the trip in response to questions I have been asked and think might be asked: · Total miles traveled – This is subject to revision as I recalculate each segment over the next month or so, but using my odometer and adjusting for its error I believe I traveled 11,544 miles in 36 days for an average of just over 320 miles per day or a bit less than I estimated. · Total Fuel used - Again my records are less than perfect although I tried to enter every fill-up as soon as I finished, some were from recall so it actually may be one or two tenths more or less. I used 385.8 gallons for a miles per gallon average of almost 30 at 29.923MPG for the whole trip. Not bad! · Best Day – That’s easy, the last one coming home through Colorado. There were a lot of memorable places though and I’ll cover some of them in another post. · Worst Day – This one is easy too; driving from Death Valley to Goleta CA through the desert and the edge of Los Angeles in the horrible traffic with no clutch. A distant second was the trip south from Madawaska Maine in the cold and rain on that awful Highway 11. · Number of States touched – 34: Twenty three on the East loop; Eleven on the West. · Number of Tickets or Police Encounters – One. The setup in Alma just for the photo. · Problems on the Road – Only four, of which two were serious and two were minor. 1. Needing fuel in Mississippi and getting enough to make it to the next town with a gas station, 2. The Rear Suspension replacement at RD Enterprises (read blog posts 10-12 to get this whole story) 3. Clutch slave cylinder at JAE in Goleta (read west blog posts 4 and 5 to get this whole story), and finally, 4. Brake Lights at Spencer Motorsport in Rohnert Park, CA, (read west blog post six to get this whole story). · Weather Observations – I was really fortunate to miss any major severe weather during the trip. I left home both times just after major storm systems had passed through and found generally mild and dry weather across the whole country. The two exceptions were the rain day in Jacksonville when I was off the road at the Bungay’s and the cold rainy weather in Maine and New York neither of which was bad. Now that I am home safe in the garage, there are severe rainstorms across the south central states and major snow in Montana where I just was. I was incredibly lucky, indeed! · Percentage of Time with Top Down – 50% is a guess. Most of the eastern loop after Kansas I had the top up because of wind or rainy weather, or the cold in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York and the entire western loop except for the early morning on the last day was top down. My condition after the drive – Wiped out! I clearly overestimated my endurance, but I’m grinning! Impressions from the trip end day: • This is a very big and diverse country in geography and density but a much more unified country in values than is portrayed in the press. I think both of these things surprised me. • I am really glad I did this trip. The planning of it was a beacon of hope last year when hope was hard to find and the doing of it was even better. I found that what holds us back is usually overstated and what makes us go is usually undervalued. Mark Twain said it best: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” • Several times I wondered if the Elan would make it all the way…I should not have doubted. This is one tough little featherweight car, much like Mighty Mouse it punches well above its weight. Cute my eye! • It seems to be rare and getting rarer to do things without all the modern conveniences. Do we really need all the aids we have to do pretty mundane things like drive? How do we keep skills sharp that we don’t use anymore? Now it seems a clerk cannot even make change without the machine doing the math. I worry that we are getting too soft and when an external challenge comes we will be found wanting. I hope I’m wrong.

Well the weather looks good, the car is ready, I’m all packed and it seems as though all signs are positive. So I will be leaving on Sunday April 11, 2021 on the first leg. While I have planned the route carefully I know that Eisenhower was right when he said "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." If you are interested in the actual progress, be sure to subscribe to the blog at http://www.xcountryelan.com to see my planned daily post from the road. And if you wish to join me for a segment, contact me through the above blog to make arrangements to connect. See you on the road!!

Just an update while I am logged in for the Smithology post. Thanks to all of you who have made contributions to the kids at Roundup River Ranch. I recognize some of the names and would voice my thanks personally if I knew how to reach you directly. In the meantime this will have to suffice even though it is just as heartfelt a thank you. And, finally, I have quite a few posts on my Blog so it may be worth a visit: https://xcountryelan.com/

Sam Smith has just posted a new piece about Sevens in his latest Smithology column for Hagerty. I think it is a wonderful take on Sevens, sevening and the spirit of the Seven...worth a read: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/smithology/smithology-im-building-another-caterham-would-you-like-to-know-more/

Even though this is not technically Seven related, it may be of interest. Some of you may be aware that I am planning a cross country trip in my Elan this spring. In preparation for that adventure I have begun a blog to get the word out to anyone who might be interested in either meeting up somewhere along the way or just following the progress and story. I also am soliciting donations to the kids at Roundup River Ranch and have set up a donation page for the Ranch. While I will be funding my own expenses for this trip, I would appreciate any support you may feel like contributing for the kids. The link to the blog called Cross Country Elan, is here: www.xcountryelan.com If you want to be notified of any updates to the blog as they are posted, just subscribe using the FOLLOW button after entering your email address above that. If you wish to donate, use the rounded button marked DONATE HERE and give whatever you can even if it is a small amount. It all adds up and it helps the kids. And, finally, if you wish to connect along the route which will be published as a general path soon and with specific daily routes about a week in advance, click on MENU (the three bars in the upper right hand corner) and use the contact button. Here’s hoping to see you or virtually connect with you in the next few months. Cheers, Ross

Here's another photo for reference:

On the 310S we just built I was advised by Nathan Down to just plug in the MAP sensor and leave the port open to atmospheric pressure. The car seems to run fine and we are at 6,000 feet above sea level so I am equally curious if this is incorrect. Here is a photo of the car The sensor is simply stuck to the panel with double sided tape and seems to stay just fine. I await the experts to guide me the rest of the way. Cheers,

Croc wrote about LOG 30 in Gettysburg "After being relegated to Siberia, both in the banquet room and at the car show, plus some unfortunate views expressed by two owners of original Lotus 7s,..." so it is clear to me that snub still stings. I certainly cannot undo what caused you to feel that way though I want you to know that, as an owner of a Lotus 7 who was there at Gettysburg, I welcome all sevens even the lowly Robin Hood version as part of the tribe. I don't know whether it will make you feel better or not, but I felt the same disdain from the snobs about having my seven in the car show without having washed it. I naively thought that the "patina" of dirt and bugs it had was a badge of achievement for having driven eight days and 2,345 miles to the event. In the grand scheme of automobile tribes, the Seven tribe is so small as to be a rounding error for the likes of the Porsche, Corvette or BMW folks, so it seems to me we need a very welcoming tent for whomever is of a like ethos. Cheers. Ross