wdb

If the rectangular opening is a standard size you may be able to use switches from the Caterham -- they were probably used in a ton of other British kit cars too. My switches (1995 Se7en) are a similar shape.

And just like that: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-7/

Ditto the WOW! I thought it might stall out when you said reserve was met. All it takes are two, as they say...

Oh dear! Your sweet 4 cylinder direct descendant versus a V8 fat-tired beast. Two different customer bases.

Lotus Elan rear suspension!

Gosh, how about that auto repair labor market.

Addendum: our tankless hot water heater recently needed service. Despite 30+ years of trying to find them I only know of one good plumber. But he seems to have given up on servicing the tankless system he installed, and would not return calls. So I decided to try one of the corporatized plumbing outfits, Essig. I called them, explained the situation, provided model and serial numbers. They sent a fellow out who genuinely seemed to know what he was doing. I was impressed. But he told me my unit did not have an inlet filter, which I found difficult to believe. After he left I popped the inlet connector off, reached in, and, lo and behold, there was the inlet filter. In dire need of cleaning. I was left with the impression that the fellow may have once cared more about the quality of his work, but may have had it drained out of him by the corporatization of the industry and the attendant de-personalization. Doing a top notch job doesn't mean as much there as it may have when he was independent.

My most recent experiences slot in pretty well with the general consensus here. I had my Porsche 996 engine rebuilt by Flat Six Innovations in Georgia. The main man there, Jake Raby, is extremely fussy and will only work with a handful of shops nationwide to remove/install/break in their engines. I am fortunate to have one of them in my general area. But the stories coming out of FSI are a bit dire. Finding qualified mechanical skills is all but impossible. In addition the parts situation is not good; quality has gone down even on the Porsche labeled stuff, and availability continues to diminish as well. They have taken to making their own parts (in conjunction with LN Engineering) because of those issues. Rebuilding Porsche transaxles is difficult due to parts availability and the need for specialized tools. Only a few shops in the country can be counted on for quality work. At least those exist! I have been harping about the increasing gap between skilled labor and college educated labor for many many many years. @Bruce K has already done the topic good justice so I won't go on about it myself other than to say, "hear hear." There needs to be far more respect given to skilled craftspeople of all sorts. And the $ need to be there to attract people towards those paths and away from what has largely become the diploma mill college system. In terms of the increased costs for skilled labor, I am ALL FOR IT. Charge me more! Allow those skilled artists to make a good living! But ensure that I am getting good, quality workmanship in return. I will gladly spend my money on people who are proud of their work and stand behind it.

My 1995 car has that filler door and cap. It has a fuel cell though; that car does not appear to have one. My cap is unvented; there is a specific vent port on the RF corner of the cell. Leakage during cornering on my car is not a big issue as there is a ball valve at the vent; however the buildup of fumes inside a tightly built garage was an issue. I would imagine that car may have add similar "character" to the workshop aroma.

Mine went through there too but in 1995.

BaT find. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-seven-5/

What in heavens name is that anyway? A bitsa se7en to be sure but just which bits? And for $33K you'd think they would at least use something besides duct tape.

Not to mention giving us more information about whatever is lurking in the garage...

I was invited by Bring a Trailer to attend the races on Saturday. Planning to arrive Friday in time to take in some of the downtown events. Unfortunately I will be leaving Sunday to visit friends in the area. (All of this will be sans 7.)

I'm intrigued by that Cars&Bids Caterham but there are a couple of things bothering me. How did it get that fender gash, plus another fender was replaced? Hm. Current owner only added 200 miles. Not confidence inspiring. The cold start video sounds to me as though the car is running on 3 cylinders. Definitely a project. Even more so than my car, I suspect.

Any chance of sneaking in through, say, Autotempest? I just tried their search tool and it is still showing craigslist entries.

Hoo-boy that poor car has suffered from humid storage. I've never seen a Rotus, interesting front suspension on that one. I may have to study up on them.

I'm none of the above, especially regarding 7's. But I have a switch that flips when I see a plainly dirty car photographed for sale. "Run hard and put away wet" springs to the front of my mind. It seems like a nice spec though.

My kill switch key is safety wired to the car. I guess a sufficiently evil person could still take it though. Damn, now I'm paranoid too. Although there is an old adage: just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you.

Funny, I just got my 996 back after it was laid up all year waiting for its new -- uhhh -- horse. Not to mention the myriad Ferraris with the -- uhhh -- horse behind the -- uhhh -- rider. I'm more reminded of FWD vs. RWD by that image.

I ran that road on my way home from Deal’s Gap a couple of years ago. Beautiful area. Regular driveways, crossroads, and some intensely narrow/tight corners differentiate it from the Tail. Also I was there very early on a weekday morning and shared the road with commuters and contractors pulling backhoes behind their dually pickups. No other “enthusiast” vehicles. I enjoyed the drive very much but would caution others to be mindful.

I think the BaT car is brilliant. Steam punk Europa! Anyone wanting to know more should read the thread on BaT. The builder is a famous body man and is only selling because he built some new wild thing.

I love watching garage projects happen. The only problem is that it tempts me to post pics of our garage project, which fascinate my wife and I but bore everyone else to tears. Like vacation videos.

I admit to being a n00b in terms of all the variations of 7's out there, but gee -- why is that Birkin still so cheap? Is there something about Birkins I don't know? The only real knock against it I can see is the hack job under the driver's seat. It is certainly a track oriented build also, which may not be everyone's cuppa. And I can imagine that rollcage making ingress/egress a bit of a trick. But it seems very well specced overall. And it has the SB100. My uneducated price range would be at least triple it's current $9500 bid.

It may be my nature but I am always suspicious of a wrapped car for sale. There has to be a reason. I suspect the Cali Caterham will go for large $ due to the SB100 thing. Wrap or no wrap. @Cueball1 my experience may not be typical but here it is. I've always wanted a Lotus, either Elan or 7. I saw a Caterham at auction and it pushed all of the right buttons for me. Plus it was near enough to me that I could see it in person. I won the auction, got a really neat car, and met a great person with whom I still communicate regularly. The car needed a lot more than I anticipated but it was running and driving, so I run it and drive it and fix it in between. I guess my point is that you should find one that tickles you and just jump in. Assume that it will need stuff -- most of them do.