Taber10

Great article. Thanks for posting!

Croc, Great article and really explains "Birkin" for some of us not that familiar with this outstanding car and the current status. However, I would like to point out one thing in the article, as it states: " Birkin kits come as plain ali finish and owners can then choose to leave in its polished shiny state or have painted to their color preference when they purchase. " As far as I know, and as shown in the pictures accompanying the article, Birkin--or Lotus, or Caterham--did not come "in its polished shiny state." AND, the "traditional" look for the Seven IS NOT POLISHED as the "club racers" in England in the late '50s, '60s, etc. did NOT waste time on polishing the aluminum. It did not increase speed, it was very time-consuming, and the effort would be wasted depending on which panels were crumped during the weekend's racing. Or at least that is what I have been told, and I have come to believe. I understand that an ali aircraft will benefit from polishing, but as far as the Seven goes, that is something our contemporary owners have added to improve the appearance of their cars, but it is NOT the "traditional" look. Just my thoughts--I would defer to your much greater knowledge of all things Seven, of course!

I realize my first thought isn't helpful to the OP, but here goes anyway: To replicate that photo in my Caterham I would have to buy a lot of carpet.....

Good to know! I have FOUR of their two-color weathertech car covers, and I have just ordered their ceramic polish for my new C8. Of course, they told me NOT to use it until the car is 90 days old--that will be 11 April. Thanks for arranging and thanks for posting

I addressed this in my original comments regarding the EXCELLENT "Smithology" article mentioned above. My car was built in 2007, picked up on 30 October 2007. It currently has 18,000 miles on the odometer. I am very proud of each and every mile, but my excuses (included in my post earlier) are the heat of the car vs the heat in Florida's summer; my employment, often overseas, until November 2014; my degenerated hip, surgical correction, and subsequent recovery, for approximately one whole year; the wife and I owned--until recently--SEVEN cars, including 5 convertible sportscars, one of them being the Se7en. NO I do not think I purchased the wrong car/model. I got EXCELLENT pre-purchase advice from Ben Wofford and Nathan Downs both formerly of Rocky Mountain Sports Cars Inc. Thanks to the OP Vovchandr for allowing us the opportunity to capture these data. Taber

I agree, very good--even fantastic!-article on the Seven. I am not a writer--never will be, so while I am not at all qualified to comment on this great article, I would still like to expand on two points: First, the article makes it sound like the engine comes in a crate along with the crate containing the body. I know Federal Law has changed and is changing, but in many States, esp. Florida, the engine MUST be procured entirely separately from some other major, serialized, component, usually the chassis/body. State laws may someday update to mirror the 2013 Federal change, but until then, someone may be misled by this article to think they could buy all components in one shipment, from one source, etc. Second, the article doesn't address the myriad of reasons for relatively low mileage on some Sevens, other than the owner bought the wrong car/wrong model of the car. I was once asked at an event, if I ever drove my Cat7SV. I enthusiastically replied, "Sure, all the time!" The questioner was particularly accusatory, and pointed out that the ten year old 7 had (then) only 16,000 miles. Well, I mentally went through the hot summer months in Florida with a heat-generating 7; the year leading up to, during and after hip replacement surgery; the fact that I was still WORKING--including months-long stints overseas then, and my (and wife's) other SIX vehicles, four of them convertible sportscars. Sure, the Cat has LOW mileage by some measures, but I never felt that I bought the wrong car/model back in 2007 when I put it on order. Again, GREAT article that any Se7ener would enjoy reading. Taber

Beautiful car. Maybe I'll wait for the convertible version.....

Wow! Very nice high mileage 145, esp. the upgrade to what looks like the 242GT or "Turbo" sedan wheels circa early '80s. I picked up a '79 245DL at the factory in Goteburg once upon a time... My daily driver for three years in the UK, including my first trip to the town of Caterham in Southern England. Thanks for posting

Wow--opening doors and roll-up windows! Pretty impressive.

Welcome Yoram and Happy New Year. Sorry--can't help with your problem--I'm about as computer-illiterate as anyone owning one could be....

We can't "over-emphasize" what Mark said above: You can't count on other drivers seeing the Caterham--or any LSIS--cause some of them don't pay that much attention. You MUST look out for them. While a bright paint job may help, I wouldn't count on it too much.

Or you could convert to LED bulbs which probably won't need replacement, and use something like weatherstrip sealant to glue the lens to the white base..... Just a thought.....

Definitely a "plus 2" on what Croc and BlueBDA said: I am 6ft3in and 210 lbs, and can FIT in an S3, but my size twelve Narrow feet can't work the pedals in anything other than socks! However, my SV is perfect, even in street shoes. I know its too far for a test fit, but you are welcome to come to the panhandle of Florida and take a ride in my SV.

I agree that Nathan is an irreplaceable asset in the Caterham world. He was instrumental in assembling my SV in 2007. As a side note, in addition to the "bunch of important engineering programs" mentioned in the previous post, he was allegedly responsible for the TOTALLY OBNOXIOUS turn signal "bleeping" on my car, which is NON-CANCELLING. I just wish he had been closer for follow on questions... Taber

I pulled out my reg and my title today and was surprised to see that my car is registered as a "CATE" and the "primary brand" is listed as KIT CAR.

AS mentioned before, this has been addressed on "BlatChat" in the past. I "fixed" mine by flipping the light switches and the turn signals along with the Hazard switch, back and forth many times. It is corrosion in one of the switches, and I NORMALLY don't use my lights or flashers very often. OF course, I use my turn signals often, and you must flip the switch ON and then flip it off, as it is not self-cancelling. It was NOT the turn signal switch, in my case.....

I registered my Caterham in Florida, initially in Nov 2007, and have renewed it every year, including recently for next year, as it comes due on my birthday in September. The "category" is "Specially constructed Vehicle" and you need to find a DMV that performs the inspection. My inspector was a State Policeman, tasked with that duty. Confirms that you actually constructed the vehicle--I had attached pictures of the boxes as received, and the two separate Bills of Sale--one for the car kit and one for the motor. Hope this helps, Taber

Just to "close out" my "off-topic" post on the Carlisle Import and Performance Nationals The re-focusing of the event on drifting, exhaust competitions, etc. coupled with the COVID issue really impacted this event. I estimated approximately1120 cars, based on registration numbers. There were a good number of British cars, and lots of other makes, however the overwhelming Asian influence was evident. For example, while all British cars were included in one class "Euro-Other" there were four classes each of Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota etc. The only "kit cars" were a bunch of "VW-based dune buggies." The Carlisle Events staff selects on FRIDAY ten cars for membership in the "Carlisle Elite" class, and awards a small trophy, ball cap and T-Shirt: One of the winners of that award was a particular 2007 Caterham 7 SV--the ONLY LSIS there!

I know it is a bad idea to go to anything right now, and I know the Carlisle event isn't like it was as "Import and Kit Car Nationals" but Is anyone planning on going next weekend? Taber

Croc, Thanks for posting. Really interesting read, and answers questions I've had. Now, I've read everything I can find, including Rees, Tipler, Adcock, Hawkins, Brooklands, many magazine articles and ESPECIALLY "Croc!" on the Lotus 7/Caterham 7, and this is the first time I've seen "SV" defined as "Special Vehicle" versus the more used "Sumo Version" and "Series V (five)" but hey, I'm always interested in learning. Thanks again, Taber

CONGRATULATIONS Skip! I can't even get the dealer--from whom I purchased my C6 and C7--to even return my calls!

As an SVT owner and fan, the only thing that would improve these pictures would be Texas dropping the front license plate requirement like Ohio just did..... Great grouping of Cats Taber

I was also at LOG 30, and while the statement above is my real memory, I also felt that we Caterham owners were "looked down on" as second class citizens by the Lotus elite. I was really surprised when we returned to Birmingham and were put in the front row of the picture for LOG 30-Seven--even the Caterhams.

I guess as I get older, my idea of "many years" has become less precise. Great looking car. Taber