theDreamer

I think you are correct. The angled roll bar is probably what makes the difference. Too bad to. But thank you for posting this error. Now I know what not to buy.

I am not sure that means the car has been crashed and rebuilt three times. (Although, I may be wrong.) I think that it may have had one big rebuild. Every time it’s been registered in a new state after that it shows up on the new state’s title as “Reconstructed”. Three different owners registering for the street, three different states reconstructed titles. As far as price, it'll bring what ever that one person is willing to pay over what every one else is prepared to spend.

Every club has it's "origin story". What is USA7s? Where did the 7 with a tail logo come from? (I didn't know where to post this. If you think it should go under another group please move it.)

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-caterham-super-seven-3/

Hi Frank, I see this is your first post. Looks like an amazing car to get started with. I have a tendency to get all excited about things I like and sometimes I over look stuff that’s right there in front of me. May I suggest that you re read the ad, look at the photos and re read the comments that have been made. I think you’ll discover, (with a little Google search help) the answers to your questions. 1) Croc points out that the photos were taken at Beachman Racing. That’s in Redmond, WA. The seller says he hasn’t taken delivery yet so it’s probably still there. 2) The seller does say that the car has been “…road tested and runs fine.” So I’d say it’s complete. 3) The seller also states; “Further spec details and price available upon request.” I’d read that to mean, via Private Message. 4) The seller does say; “…I wanna sell it.” 5) If you look at the photos it appears to be a 5 speed “R” type shift knob. However, I may be mistaken, it’s been known to happen. 6) It’s a 2022 360R. A quick search of the Caterham site will show you that it’s a De Dion. 7) Again, it’s a 360R. That means it’s powered by a Ford Duratec 1999cc, 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated with max power of 180 h.p. 8) See answer #2 I hope this helps.

As the original owner hasn’t found them yet… I’m looking for roof bows, (hood sticks) for a 90’s imperial, standard chassis S3. Also would like a half roof. Used preferably, but in good nick as they say. If nothing shows up I'll have to go new.

For obvious reason I’m not in the market but… I'd love to see images. Unfortunately they don’t show up for me. All I see is a little broken window looking thing.

Well, I'm in with the clubs, forums and Facebook groups that I think matter the most. If the others don't want me that's fine. Now if I can figure out what happened to my Window$ Live Mail program. I can receive emails but nothing will send. They just sit in the Outbox with an exclamation sign that flashed up an error message. Something about a problem with my SMTP Server. BUT, this isn't the place for that question.

After countless attempts over several days I finally received the following notice via email Caterham and Lotus Seven Club I have no Idea what I did differently but looks like I'm in. Still waiting for info on my membership to the Caterham C20XE Facebook Page.... Hi Dreamer, Welcome to Caterham and Lotus Seven Club and thank you for joining. You can now sign in with the password you chose when signing up.

Saw the photo in the other thread, vaarrreee niiiice! Hope to see more photos and read reports on your progress. My car is still in Utah and in my head I've put on about 6k.

@Lotusfan, Maybe so but I’m willing to give it a go for a year and then decide. Meanwhile, maybe someone would be so kind as to give Andrew or whomever it is a good, swift, kick up the back side to approve my joining the Caterham7, C20xe Facebook group. It’s one of the groups that have been “pending” for what seems ever. On the other hand, 7 Spot added me within minutes of my request. Go figure, eh?

@Croc and @Stang70Fastback I’ve already adopted this philosophy. I was involved with the antique weapons community for decades. Talk about narrow minded, thin skinned, narcissistic, intransient, buffoons, oh the stories I could tell... However, my desire to join the Caterham & Lotus Seven Club is multifold. I DO wish to learn more about my car, if indeed the original owner posted about it. I would also like to track down info on the mysterious Cadbury Purple Show Car that my car supposedly is a copy of or tribute to. At the very least I would hope to gain more knowledge about Caterham and specifically the HPC models. Will my shouting’s from the wilds of Upper Canada change minds and influence people? Not very bloody likely! But that’s not why I wish to engage with fellow Seven owners from across the pond. At this time though it’s a moot point as I still can’t get the info I need for PayPal to work. Blimey, whata right cock-up!

Sorry to revive this old thread but… I now find myself in the same position as Stang70Fastback. He referenced his car during the auction of my new car. He pointed out the similarities of our two cars. Both order sheets indicate the HPC Evolution 218 BHP Engine option. Reading his blog has really sparked my curiosity. The owner of my car has found the original HPC nose badge which is another box checked off my list. For some reason the owner had someone else sell his car on BaT. Now I am going through this seller to get things done and questions answered. It seems that something is always lost in this three way arrangement. That’s why I’m very anxious to join the Caterham & Lotus 7 Club. The original owner of my car was a long time member. (40 issues of Low Flying are included with my car). The wait to get my membership payment to them is killing me. Once I am a member I will be able to ask questions and search old threads to perhaps find out more about my “new to me” Purple Passion. As agent Scully says to Mulder,” The truth is out there”.

OK, getting REALLY FRUSTRATED NOW!!!!! I’ve been trying to join the Caterham & Lotus Seven Club, yes the one based in England. I do exactly what I’m told or read or have been instructed to do in dozens of emails and still I CAN NOT MAKE PAYMENT TO JOIN!!! After going through all the other pages if I get to the PayPal page (I often get an error message about a Bad Request) it asks for a “Name, username, email, mobile” to enter into the “Send Money” box. The girl I’ve been emailing says there is none. There is no need; it’s just there, somehow. She even suggested I sign into my PayPal account first then go through the LoveAdmin login stuff but I still end up at the same place needing a “Name, username, email, mobile” to enter into the “Send Money” box. In her last email she said I should just use the direct debit option. I’ve told her I’m in Canada! Plus, I don’t like people having direct access to my checking account so that isn’t happening. How do you who are also members of C&LSC pay your membership? Also, while I’m bitching about things… A number of people have mentioned other groups, mostly Facebook groups that I should join. Well, I’ve answered all their questions and a week later my application is still pending. Or in one case after a month it’s now asking me to join, again. What happened to pending? I guess I’m not good enough for that group.

The other thread about insurance got me thinking, who uses what here in Ontario? I did a search but most of the insurance related threads are too old. We don’t have to worry about things like Drive Clean anymore. Plus, my “new to me” car is a well documented 1993 Caterham. I am hoping I can get it registered as “Historic”. If so I’ll probably go with one of the big names like Hagerty or Grundy. Any thoughts?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1993-caterham-super-7-5/

Well, not “my ride” as of yet. Lots of paperwork, ownership transfer and shipping across country and across the border yet to be done but… I will be one of you in about a months’ time. Don’t tell anyone but, I went way over my limit to get that Cadbury purple HPC. I sure hope it’s as good as purported to be 'cause I spent all my budget and most of my contingency funds.

I was going to look up the plate but you beat me to it. I found this on Wikipedia: Auberge is the eleventh studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1991. The album, as well as the title song, is notable for its association with the Caterham Super Seven that Rea owned, which he called the "Blue Seven". The car appears on the album cover, illustrated in oil by renowned motoring artist Alan Fearnley. The album makes several references to the car over several tracks, as well on the video of the title song, and its cover illustration was used for its adverts. In 2005, Rea sold the car in an auction. The car on display however was not his, at least not the car ued for both the cover and the video. Chris Rea’s personal seven was a 1987 Sprint with cycle wings. But it was nice cross branding having the plate read Auberge. I wonder how many sevens were sold from people’s exposure to Caterham through this one song, album and/or video?

I’ve been hunting for info & photos of a London Show car that this latest Caterham on BaT is to have been based on. I found a BBC video on YouTube of the 1991 Motorfair at Earls Court in London. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NJczSA3tr4 Starting around 28:12 they show a HPC that I thought looked purple. The wife tells me it’s blue. What do I know? I’m colour blind and it was late at night when I found it. Anyway, the presenter talks about the “K” series engines from Rover. I think it was misleading people to think that's what was powering the car she was sitting in. I know I took it that way. Car looks to have had a black interior with grey piping which I think looks much better than the two tone grey in the auction car. Back in 1991 it sure looked sweet up on that display stand. I wonder where this car is now. Other things I noted in the video are the front turn signals are on stocks mounted to the nose. I’ve seen a couple of cars with motorcycle style turn signals there but never a factory car. Also, there is no “7” in the grill. When did they start adding that? What else have I missed?

Both cars either side of your daughter’s #7 look like they came from Colin Chapman’s drawing board. The Swiss Cheesemoblie and the Fire Streaming Wedge look to be silhouettes of the Lotus 56 Indy car.

I’d like to remind people that there is a group in the UK restoring a CT05, chassis #1. They are using a modified Formula Renault engine and gearbox. https://www.caterhamf1.co.uk/ Also there is the TDF/One. Again in the UK this company is taking pre enjoyed F1 rollers that meet their standards and putting a similar drivetrain in them. https://tdf.co.uk/tdfone/ (I’m not sure which one came first or if the two are linked.) As far as racing sims go $100,000+ will get you a Vesaro. Check out the YouTube videos or their website.

I contacted BaT with my concerns. I received a reply within a couple of hours, on a Sunday no less. It included a link that directed me to a page with all three “Seven” categories. How would people know about this link, I wondered? So I typed “Lotus Seven” in the search window on the Bring a Trailer website and voila! There it was the same page. Now what I noticed is that the two links for “Lotus Seven & Super Seven” plus “Lotus Other Seven Replicas” have the Lotus directory in their URL’s. (see below) Therefore they are shown as two of the 12 categories found on the Lotus page. https://bringatrailer.com/lotus/other-seven-replicas/ https://bringatrailer.com/lotus/seven-super-seven/ However, the one for “Caterham Seven” is a standalone page not seen on or accessible from the Lotus page. Why? Because it’s not in the Lotus directory. (see below) https://bringatrailer.com/caterham/seven/ I believe this creates a problem because not all people think like us. They type in Lotus and see two categories and think they’re seeing all the sevens. It may not dawn on them to specify Caterham in a separate search and therefore might miss any listed. I sent this new info to BaT but haven’t heard back and see no changes to the Lotus page at this time. Yes Croc I agree with your assessment. Bring a Trailer is now for those who just want to socialize and reminisce about their youth. Or, show how deep their pockets are.

I see that under the Lotus heading BaT has split the Seven category into two. Now there is “Lotus Seven & Super Seven” and “Lotus Other Seven Replicas”. However, nowhere under either of these two new categories, (or within the larger Lotus banner) can I find any of the dozens of Caterham Sevens that have been listed on BaT. However, if I type Caterham in the search window I find one lone category for them. Why remove Caterham from the Lotus heading when BaT's own description clearly shows Caterham's long established connection to Lotus? Things that make you scratch your head... https://bringatrailer.com/lotus/?q=lotus

I think moving a big, heavy battery to the opposite side from the driver near the rear axle has some merit. Although, I’ll bow to MV8’s wisdom on best location for polar moment and CG. You asked for photos and so here is one I know and have seen IRL. This is by no means an ideal installation but will give you an idea of how much space a full size car battery will take up in that small boot. I believe there are better, smaller sized batteries on the market today. If this is you location of choice I’d look at motorcycle batteries. A big “L” or “V” twin needs lots of juice to fit in a smaller space. This photo is from the on-line auction site Bring a Trailer. Look here for more images between #76 and #79: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/caterham-super-7-2/

coffee break Are you really going to drive 7 hours round trip just to make a few passes on the Dragon? I’d at least book one night in or near Robbinsville. There are several nice motels/resorts there and in the surrounding area. Best time of year for the Dragon is late spring or fall when the kids are in school. Less likely to get behind RV’s and family haulers. If you go in the fall make it before the leaves have turned or after they have fallen. Best days and times, early morning or late afternoon, Tuesday to Thursday. Drive up early and arrive before noon. Unload the seven and leave the truck & trailer in the motel/resort parking lot. Go for a blast across the Cherohala Skyway over to Teleco Plains and back. Stop at one of the overlooks to check out the views at least once. Do the Dragon up to Foothills Parkway or Dragon City (junction #72) and back to the gas station. Walk around like a tourist and answer questions about your se7en. Then take #28 over past Fontana Dam to #143 back into Robbinsville. That’ll take you past check in time at least. You can go back during or after supper for a couple more runs. The next morning have everything ready to go and check out but, leave the rig and take the se7en in any of a dozen directions. Like back over #143 to #28 and follow it until it meets #74. (#128 and #74 are four lane divided at this point) Watch for #28 to exit #74 to the right and take it over to Franklin. This part of #28 is VERY twisty, fun road last time I was on it. Lots of good restaurants in Franklin too. Get to #64 after leaving Franklin and take the short drive to Wayha Road. Another fun twisty bit of tarmac. However, there are more and more houses being built in that area so watch out for the locals. Wayah Road comes out at #74 just north of Topton and the junction #129. Turn and head back to the motel/resort, load up and head on home with a huge smile on your face. If you would like more routes farther south like out of Murphy, Dahlonega or Helen let me know. I love that area.