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.

We'll have to meet up sometime for a drive. There is a Litchfield Lotus Group drive this Sunday morning starting in Granby.

GMT is only a few miles from my house- I wouldn't have thought to check with them, but since they're so close.... There are a few other shop around me that do roll bars/cages that would probably be more cost effective if I have to have one built.

I'd like to do some track events in my recently acquired 2000ish Birkin S3. Being 6'1" there is no way I'm going to pass the broomstick test with the standard bar on there. Just throwing this out there to see if anyone has anything that might work for me before I buy new or have one made. Preferably in the northeast as shipping could get expensive! On a related note- how do they do a broomstick test if you're running an aero screen or something similar?

I'm in Newtown (and occasionally New Preston). I'm fairly active with the Litchfield Lotus Group, we have a few Sevens that join us on occasion. I'd love to meet up with some other Seven owners in the area. I've been going through the car, checking, adjusting and fixing as needed. No major issues, just a few little things have needed attention. Except for those damn fender mounts! 🤪

Here's a clearer picture of what my originals look like. If I can source the updated Birkin parts I will give them a shot.

That must be an updated design since mine were built, it looks much stronger. The remains of one of the originals is the top piece in my picture. Just flat stock welded onto the threaded stud. All broke right next to the stud.

It had almost 30 psi all the way around when I picked it up. Literally brand new Toyo R888 tires. I immediately lowered them to 20 psi- I was afraid to go lower with a low profile tire- 195/50/15 on the fronts. Seeing as how they have virtually no wear after 600 miles (haven't even worn off the paint marking on the tread!) I guess I could go a little lower.

So I am going up on full month since I brought my Zetec powered Birkin home, taking the garage space of my recently sold Lotus Esprit Turbo. It has, for the most part, been a good experience... except for one thing! The weather has been great. Getting it properly registered at the CT DMV was easy. It runs great... after tracking down a massive vacuum leak. I've racked up about 600 miles on it so far- the wife was even good with riding along for a trip up to Lime Rock- about an hour each way. Kids stop in their tracks to take pics or video as soon as they see it. They seem to know what it is from video games. Curioulsy, young moms seem to really like it- Of all of the cool cars I've had, I don't remember that demographic responding so enthusiastically. Most adults don't seem to know what it is, but they are very interested. The driving experience is like nothing else I've owned, but then you all know that already, don't you? Everything is very tight and connected. Every move is instantaneous, with no play anywhere. The shifter has shorter throws than anything else I've ever driven, and took a little getting used to. The Zetec provides sufficient motivation for brisk acceleration or powering a drift through a tight corner. The car does not have a limited slip rear, but it desperately needs one! The gearing seems too low- I blast through 1st, 2nd and 3rd screaming towards the redline.... and then glance at the speedo and I'm only going 60. Not a deal breaker though as the car is most enjoyable below that speed anyhow. The noise and wind buffeting is actually less bothersome than I expected, but then I used to ride motorcycles without a helmet when I was young, so the wind doesn't bother me much. The exhaust exits out the back, which seems like it would be quieter than side exit, but the outlet still only coupe of feet from my ears. The exhaust note isn't offensive, though I am surprised that a muffler as big as this doesn't seem to do much at wide open throttle. I wouldn't mind it having a lower, more "throaty" sound. Now for that "one thing'. The front fender mounts are driving me nuts! I remember reading somewhere on here that they break and it's just something to accept. That's fine, but mine seem to break... a lot! Now this car came to me with 40,000 miles on it, so it's been driven. I was told one owner drove it cross country- twice! Within a coupe days of bring it home one of the brackets broke. I welded it up and reinstalled. A week later one on the other side broke on the way to Lime Rock. I taped it up to keep it from rubbing and continued on. On the way home the one I welded broke again. Taped that one too. Welded both of them up again, both broke again-- right next to the weld. Decided to make some new ones out of virgin material... those haven't broke... yet. The one of the upper mounts broke.... So of the 4 mounting brackets 3 have broken. I know some of the roads around me aren't the best, but this seems ridiculous. How on Earth did they last 40k miles and break so easily now that I own the car??? I am going to fabricate some heavier duty pieces and hopefully they last. I've noticed that Caterham (and others) use a simpler, more robust, design with fewer parts. The Birkin design seems flawed in that it has flat sock pieces that actually mount to the fenders that then bolt onto the uprights that mount onto th front suspension. Any idea if Caterham parts could be adapted onto the Birkin?

Both of my Yellow cars. I knew the Seven is small, but this pic really shows just how small it is!

The front is definitely too low for my location. The oil pan skid plate is only about 2" off the ground... and I live on a dirt road. The muffler guard temp is not an issue- the problem came from putting my shin right on the header as I pulled the hood off immediately after driving. Just not paying attention to what I was doing. 😳