JB455

I don't mean "have you named your Seven?" That would be a completely different discussion.... I mean, if you're at a social function and the topic turns to cars, or if you're out driving and someone asks you at a stop.... really just anytime you say anything about your Seven to anyone who doesn't know what it is. What do you say? My own car is a Birkin S3. To anyone who is familiar with Sevens, they will know exactly what I'm saying. To anyone else, that means absolutely nothing. So I can say "well, Birkin is a small manufacturer from South Africa that made fairly accurate reproductions of a late '60s sports car made by Lotus, that you've also never seen or heard of...." Or do I say it's a kit car... which brings about visions of VW powered, swoopey fiberglass bodied, yard art to people of my age? I usually try to read my audience to determine just how much info to include... Obviously if you own a "real" Lotus Seven, your decision is easier.... though it was still technically a kit car. If you own a Caterham, it's a little bit more known, but still, most "normal" people have never heard of it. If you own a Birkin, Westfield, Superformance, Donkevoort, Fejer or something even more obscure, most car guys have never even heard the name. So what do you say when some one asks "what is that?"

Been a cold, snowy December here in CT... but Friday's rain washed most of the salt off the roads and was in the 40s today, sooooo... Stopped for a pic next to Santa's sleigh on the Rams Pasture. The ground was snow covered and kids were playing hockey on the pond up until the 55 degree rains came.

I dunno- at $6800 I think it would be cheaper (and easier!) to buy a running car. What's that car worth if it were in decent driver condition? Maybe $25k?

My daughter just came home from Pittsburgh for the first time since I've had the Birkin. With the weather being so nice out yesterday, she was dying to take it for a drive, and who am I to say no? Her daily is a MKVII GTI and she's done track days, so she's an experienced driver, but she said she felt like she was learning to drive all over again in the Birkin. We even ran by the grocery store to pick up some things for Thanksgiving- such a practical car! Edit: Not sure why the one pic wants to post upside down? My daughter didn't flip the car! 😅

While I don't really know much about Bruntons, I do know this much.... If you're new to the car, take it easy! And keep anyone who does not have good decision making skills out of the driver seat! That much power in a car that small, bad things can happen quickly. I know that teenage me would have hopped in and pushed the limits... and now at 55, I'm not sure I've gotten any smarter in that regard.

First- Are you using them for racing? Do you need an SFI rating? If not, I wouldn't bother with anything aimed at racing. I would think with an 8 1/2 shoe in an SV car you wouldn't have any issues unless wearing work boots or something similar. I wear size 11 and can wear my Puma Suedes in my Birkin without any issues. I have a pair of Puma Speedcats that wear occasionally that do provide a little bit more room for maneuvering my feet in my Birkin. I like the Speedcats as they are reasonably priced and quite comfortable.

My current truck and trailer- a little overkill for a Seven! F-250 and 20' deck, 10K pound rated trailer. I couldn't even tell it was on there. More likely to be towing on of my Pontiac muscle car to the drag strip.... or my Kioti backhoe. I used to have an enclosed for the cars, but at 28' it was longer than I needed and was tough in tight locations, so I sold it, intending to buy a 24'. Then trailer prices skyrocketed during covid... and I haven't really needed it.

An SV doesn't look big.... until it's parked right next to a standard car. 😜

Just saw this elsewhere- 10,000 rpm, 188 lbs and 325 hp! Would be a blast in a Seven! https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a69379170/borehams-new-16-valve-four-cylinder-revs-to-10000-rpm/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6914954ef446c10001cea906&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=6914953b98e4ce0001318d32&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawODWAtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFyZVo4eDBGaDVaYlplbmdtc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHr7xlDjj5hYn5KfI-s81x3o_QA-3aLcTXg5ef9DFTGjz7d0wG014ne3AiRtF_aem_r62uZIbkmMosrO0iBJVGOA

So the first seller on BAT had the car since 2011 and had a clean title in their name... now it's been flipped at least once and lost the paperwork? If it sold at Mecum last month for $16.5 (plus fees?) and then got shipped to Florida (another $800-1000?) and then got serviced and cleaned up, I don't see Bullet making any money on it... https://www.mecum.com/lots/1156351/1964-lotus-super-seven-roadster/?aa_id=717992-0

I think it's odd that Westfield is having new 2.0 DuraPro (basically a Duratec) engines built for them by Prodev for their cars, but Caterham is going with this little turbo Horse that doesn't fit inside the bodywork. New DuraPro engine pictured below.

Those are definitely an upgrade from what came on my car! They look substantially stronger with the channel and extra angle brace, compared to mine which were basically made out of flat stock. If you were interested in selling the clamshells and associated brackets I could be interested in buying. I kind of prefer them for a vintage look. The carbon fiber cycle fenders on mine now look sporty, but definitely take away from a vintage feel.

I had a nice day of driving around northern CT with the LLG yesterday. It was a little cool (45 degrees) when I headed out in the morning, but it warmed up nicely, up to around 70. We stopped at the Saville Dam in Barkhamsted- it's a quite scenic location and the lot was full of people out enjoying a gorgeous fall day. Most of them came over to admire the cars, with the Seven being especially popular! The best part of the day? I put almost 200 miles on it without my newly fabricated fender mounts breaking! I made new ones out of 3/16" steel in place of the lighter gauge of the originals (and my first replacements) and they are sooo much more solid.

My car also has the R888s on it and I haven't even fully worn through the paint stripes on them after 600+ miles.

I don't know how proficient they are, but I was driving past Joseph's Garage in Norwell when I spotted a red Caterham in their old showroom. This place always gets my attention as they have a cool old Pontiac neon sign out front and I also have a few old Pontiacs. Anyhow on this day the little red Cat called out to me so I stopped in. I was told that it's Steven Tyler's.... yes, that Steven Tyler, and it was in for servicing. So they at least know what a Caterham is.