Marek

My son is a young mechanic for an independent Mercedes specialist shop that works on mostly late model and classic Mercedes/BMW/Audi/Porsche and we discuss this on occasion. His advice: Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche have good options, but not all models. Avoid Audi. Know your engines and start there when choosing the car you want. There are often big differences in reliability across the range of engines from any given manufacturer. BMW iDrive V1 is fine. After that the complexity went way up. Mercedes complexity took a turn for the worse around the same time (early 20-teens). Base models. Manual transmission. He has worked on Defenders and numerous G-Wagens and is not a fan of their unsophisticated handling. If you want something that simple, drive an 80s BMW 5-series or Mercedes E-class. This is an interesting topic and it keeps coming up with friends. One friend expects to switch from buying new cars to driving restomods. I think there is a future where we all know someone daily driving a classic with restomodded engine/brakes/interior.

Zetec-Powered Birkin S3 https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2003-birkin-s3-2

When learning about the Sevens world before acquiring my car, I came to several conclusions; 'Originality' for Sevens is its own, fairly unique, aesthetic - and generally does not affect values. The notion of 'Clean Title' is deeply muddled - and has no apparent affect on values. After 'tasteful versus not' and condition, the greatest affect on value is whether or not it is a Caterham (yes, we can talk about a few other names here). These factors make Sevens valuation a very different algorithm than any other vaguely-modern car*. All this is to say I came to the conclusion that when looking at Sevens it is best to check my notions of car valuation at the door. * Elise are worth noting here...such a high percentage have salvage titles, and for non-chassis reasons, that the title status of an Elise has much less affect on values than any modern car I have encountered.

@Carz01 The first part of the season was great as we had it out once a week or more. I had planned to refresh the wiring harness this winter as it came to me with some damage from running higher current lights than the wiring could support. But my luck ran out and the harness began failing; so the winter project began in August. A few higher priority projects later (like learning how to program a Alfa TCT dual dry clutch gearbox), and the Rotus is still in the garage. But January is looking quiet and the car should be ready with fresh wiring and a fix for the trammeling well before the salt clears in spring. Thanks for asking...encouragement is always good.

A friend just installed minisplit heat pumps in his new 1700ft^2 garage. Very effective and efficient! https://mrcool.com/diy-4th-generation

Mike - I am curious the motivation to seek an alternative to the services of a traditional restoration fabricator.

Looks remarkably similar to @speedwagon's one-off Seven!

Many years ago I decided I wanted a good alignment from someone with motorsports experience, so I asked a few people at the next autocross. One name was repeated a couple of times, so I take my car to the shop. In the back corner was his flat patch. His alignment rig was linoleum tiles under the wheels and a spray bottle of soapy water for lubricant, and strings with levels around the car. Later when I was working in IMSA and GrandAm, all the teams I worked for string-aligned their cars; including P1, P2, and GT3. I learned that stringing requires more skill, patience, and attention to detail. But the results are good enough for winning races in top motorsport. Recently I picked up this $35 toe/caster/camber plate set for doing quick checks: https://www.ebay.com/itm/114130836633 I do agree a fancy rack alignment is a great baseline and a cheap form of inspection for worn, bent, or broken parts or other damage.

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.