Marek

You only have to watch a few episodes of Wheeler Dealer to have the sense this is not so much a problem in the UK as the US. For every other late model car they refurbish, a box of parts goes off to some specialist for a rebuild. There was, I think, a Maserati 4200 Cambiocorsa which they had the F1 gearbox hydraulics rebuilt and the console refinished and lettering restored. Both seemingly daunting tasks in low demand, but a niche specialist exists in the UK for each.

I anticipate we are talking at least 15, maybe 20, years from now. And I expect the lack of people with the required skills will be a greater hurdle than parts availability. For many non-Caterham Seven owners, poor parts availability is par for the course. Maybe the risk is Sevens become less accessible. The skills problem is a topic in classic car circles and not limited to Sevens.

The engine is the well known Alfa Romeo Nord as found in in US Spiders, Guilias, Berlinas, and Alfetta GTVs. Very nice, reliable, and tunable engines backed by a large community of knowledge and parts.

I believe the Rotus wiper arms and blades are from an Austin Healey, Triumph, or MG. My memory wants me to claim they are Spridget parts. These guys show the 193-8208 wiper blades as fitting the 1961-1968 MG Midget: https://saintgeorgeltd.com/Part-Listings/WIPER BLADES.html The blades which came on my car have clearly been trimmed to length; suggesting there are longer alternatives. Are your arms missing/damaged? Let me know if you need pictures.

Any preferences on ordering a half-hood or storm cap for a non-Caterham Seven from either Softbits or Oxted? The dimensions on my car are all wrong for using something off the shelf.

One comment on getting the longest life out of these batteries (and really, most AGMs): the charging requirements are not support by all chargers. This recent thread goes into the topic in detail.

I know of a parts bin Defender which was successfully imported from Canada to the US a few years ago. The chassis, body, and engine were all of different years and not in a combination which ever left the factory. (and in this case also assembled in The Netherlands) The advice given the buyer and seller in the case of the Defender was to leave the complicated cases to a vehicle specialist broker. I believe the one they used is in the Vancouver area.

Sheets of carbon-kevlar are widely available as well. The advantage is the material is prefinished. So you only need to drill holes for switches, gauges, and mounting.

These guys will sell you a bellhousing allowing you to K-Swap and use your existing Ford Type 9. https://www.rwdmotorsport.com/product/honda-k20-k24-to-ford-type-9-bellhousing/ At that point, you have access to the entire Honda K-series world...

Did your car come with a delivery binder? It looks in great shape and well cared for; so I'll guess it came with good documentation.

Congrats, Tom, and welcome to the club! Is this the car which was at AUTO HOUSE OF BLOOMINGTON? What part of West Virginia are you in?

I ditched the dash cigarette lighter on my Seven (in part because it was poorly wired) for an Anderson Powerpole-terminated direct connection to the battery. A variety of sizes are available; but I am using the 7.5A version which is sufficient for any reasonable battery tender. Their PanelPole1 makes for a nice, water tight, dash mount. USB ports are also available. My connection is under the dash. In place of the cigarette lighter I mounted an inexpensive digital voltage meter (at the time I lacked confidence in the alternator - since resolved).

Great trip report. Thanks for that! I'll take your comments as an endorsement of the Union Pacifics as good quality with sufficient light. What is your opinion on 7" vs 5.75" lights? My Seven came with the smaller lights and they fit the car well (and a 7" would require new housings, mountings, and a different look). Is the 5.75" a significant sacrifice?

Switches, connections, and long wire runs are your most likely sources of either current drop or over-heating (the prime motivators for using relays). As a general rule, that means beams (front lights), fans, and pumps. You can also generalize to say any circuit which is 14AWG or larger; assuming your harness was appropriately sized. If you are replacing the wires, this list is a decent rule of thumb on wire gauges for motorsports: Automotive use (longer wire runs ) 10/14/20AWG: Battery Positive Direct 10AWG Battery Negative Direct 10AWG Other Battery Positive 14AWG Fuel Pump Positive 14AWG Radiator Fan 14AWG Switched Ignition 20AWG 12V 5A Fused 20AWG Tach Output 20AWG Sensors 20 AWG Injectors 20AWG For motorcycle use (short wire runs) 14/18/16/20/22AWG: Injectors 20AWG (better seal plugs) Lambda Sensor (5) 20AWG to Autosport Lambda Harness: 12V+ 20AWG, Heater(-) 20AWG, Vs 22AWG, Ip 22AWG, Lambda Analog GND 22AWG 5V Sensors 22AWG; Fuel Pump +/- 16AWG VBat+ 14AWG Chassis Ground VBat- 14AWG References: https://dsl.torque.net/tech/relays/relays.html https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/wiring_ecu.html

I suggest reading up on Odyssey's tech notes on charging these batteries. They have a list of approved chargers. https://www.odysseybattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ODYSSEY_approved_12V_chargers.pdf The two I could find for sale at a reasonable price was the above mentioned CTEK and the Schauner: https://battery-chargers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/model_CM6A_CM12A_charge_Master.pdf The chemistry on these batteries is such that few chargers support the charge cycle needed. The result is short battery life. I've been using the Schauner. I know quite a few others on the forum have used the CTEK as well.

The, very, different engine configurations used by Rotus don't lend themselves well to a cohesive group. I can think of four owners active on the forum at the moment and we have four different engines: BMW M10, Toyota 2L Twincam, Ford Pinto, and Mazda Rotary. But I am always happy to help out on the rest of the car. Right now, the cowl is off on mine to make access to the dash easy while I work on the electrics.

Demon Tweeks has a wide selection of non-yellow harnesses. This is where I picked up the current Sabelts in my Seven.

I do like the fuse block cover and battery switch. Nice, clean, solutions. Exhausts are a whole other topic. My car was built with dual rear exits which came out the sides and routed inside the rear wheels. The most recent previous owner simplified this with a nice single 3" pipe on the right side with a resonator. But it needs more. The pipe length is less than the turbo rotary wants; and the decibels is more than you want for touring any real distance. A tried a Supertrapp; but that was not the right answer. I may try a Spintech next. Originality is an interesting question with these cars. Each of our three are largely original factory cars and notable in the history of the company for different reasons. Does that much matter in the world of Sevens?

Starter button on the far left. Non-canceling turn indicator stalk hiding to the left of the wheel. Below the starter button is a blanked hole with no wires near it. (Would be a handy location for a battery isolator switch.) Matching horn button to the right of the wheel. The top row is self-evident. The switch marked 'Lights' activate the driving lights mounted in place of headlights. (to be corrected) Just out of sight to the right is a boost adjustment dial for the HKS computer. I assume one switch should be for the heater and one for high beams. But that still leaves one unused switch. Perhaps the mystery will be solved once I pull the cowl to refresh the dash wiring. I am not sure what parts bin donated the switches. The tips are illuminated when the switch is on.

The hot question for me at the moment is the purpose of the four toggle switches in lower center of the dash. Only two of mine are connected, and are not using the original wiring, so I have no idea of their original function.

There is a well known parts cross reference which is about a page and a quarter long. If yours is more extensive, several of us are very interested.

We are a small group, and easily excited when someone new joins our sub-club. But yes, keeping the forums general does make sense. It would be interesting for those of us with less common variants if it was easier to search for other users with the same variant.

Welcome to the club! @ptegler Also has a Rotus and has been active recently.

The red car (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1203044494197797/) appears to have been sold to @solder_guy in 2007. Maybe he can fill us in on history. It is also at a dealer; who shared a letter showing this car was in Chris Custer's estate at the time of his death.

Two Rotus at the same time! And at the same price. More details on the green one in Illinois here: https://www.autohouseofbloomington.com/details/used-1992-lotus-super-7-replicarotus/103425924 This one is particularly well optioned and with what might be the preferred engine choice.