theDreamer

“…I am not likely to finish before I am 70 years old.” You mean 70 years young, eh? Owning a seven will make you a kid again. (Not that I ever grew up.) “I have found places in Vancouver that will store collectible cars, at a reasonable price.” What do you consider reasonable? I know what people have to pay for storage in Toronto and I thought Vancouver was even higher. Don’t mind me I’m just pushing your buttons. Welcome to the addiction. Your parameters for choosing a se7en are quite reasonable actually. There is nothing wrong with a solid carbureted car whether a Ford Xflow or if you’re lucky a twin cam Lotus powered car. You’d be surprise though how much knowledge there is here for the other engine makes. I have a 2L Vauxhall powered Caterham and there is a repair shop in Kingston (about an hour’s drive east) where the mechanic is well versed with the C20xe having been trained in Old Blighty. There is also a growing number of Lotus Elise S1’s and early S2’s with the Rover K series engine here in Canada. So you can find people to help you should you purchase a seven powered by one of those. There is lots of support across Canada from British specialty shops, sports car clubs and racers. We have several members in this group plus on other social media sites that own sevens and live in BC. I’m not familiar with Peugeot drive trains in sevens but then there is a lot I do not know. So, have at it! Find what suits your needs in good nick at a price you can live with and enjoy it.

Anyone here ever drive one of these? I’m sure it shares some characteristics with the seven but I’m also sure it is a very different experience. Comments, criticisms and anyone here going to bid? https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-lotus-elise-340r-5/

The Sigma engine was also known as the Zeta but for legal reasons Ford was forced to change the name. They chose Zetec then later they changed it again to Duratec. Ford built them in 1.2L up to 1.7L then jumped to 2.0L with aftermarket performance builders going as big as 2.3L. (At least I do not think Ford released a 2.3L version.) As for the LSD, raise the rear wheels off the ground enough that you can spin them. Turn one and if the other rotates in the same direction and speed it’s a LSD. If the other wheel does not turn or rotates in the opposite direction it’s not a LSD.

EdWills, you must have missed all the posts about my Purple Reign. It is definitely an Arch Motors chassis (see image). Earl is confident that any frame tubes can be brought back into alignment and that no chassis welds will be affected. The upper wish bone will be replaced, lower too if need be. There should be no need to strip the car. The damage appears mostly contained to the left front corner with some force being sent further as I indicated. Earl was quite sure that he would not need to remove anything more than the damaged parts.

So did you buy RickRa’s 280? It should have adjustable seats. They may just be stuck. Also, for now you can use a pillow to sit on. My wife made this one for me and it just does the trick perfectly.

Oh the joys of dealing with insurance companies. Nobody told us that it was our responsibility to find a body shop, a mechanical repair shop and arrange towing. The adjuster should have explained all this to us during one of our numerous phone calls or sent an email. The insurance company wanted the car moved ASAP so as not to pay anymore storage fees then necessary. However, they can’t just give the towing company a credit card number over the phone. Oh no, they have to cut a check and it may take 7 – 10 days to arrive. Meanwhile the towing company isn’t going to release the car until the bill is paid. Catch 22 as the insurance company will not issue a check without knowing the exact amount and the towing company cannot give them an exact amount until they know when the check will arrive. So, I had to pay the bill including the added charges to move the car 4.8 kilometers to the collision centre that will be doing the repairs. Now I get to wait the 7-10 days! The car arrived at the body shop where Earl (the shop owner) and I went over it. WOW, worse than I thought and we did not do a complete investigation. Things like the wheel bearing, tie rod, steering rack, main frame rails etc. all still have to be evaluated. I understood that the rim and tire would be toast. Same for the upper wish bone rod end. What I didn’t see was how bent the upper wish bone and upper suspension pickup points were. You can see in the image how far back the rubber boot on the sway bar has been moved by the amount of exposed bar. The upper shock mount is about ½” back and the upper wish bone shows cracked and flaking paint both on the bars and the welds. The lower wish bone mounting bolt is bent revealing a gap between the washers and the pivot mount. The diagonal bar running past the headers is warped about 3/8” as is the brace running from the top left to bottom right near the steering rack. Now we wait for the appraiser to make his appearance and then hammer out a dollar amount.

DAMN! You are correct, I missed that. We'll have to see what the insurance company says as it'll probably come down to cost.

Thanks for the offer but the rim looks untouched. It will have to be spin balanced once it gets a new tire and we’ll see if there are any problems then.

Looking for an original "Imperial" drivers left front clam shell fender. I'd rather not have them patch the old one.The alloy skin can be brought back to as new. Suspension bits and the rack are a worry but we'll see once the shop as had a chance to really look at it. Still waiting for the insurance appraiser to see the car. No mods, the car is staying as original as I can make it.

“Excrement Doth Occur!” We didn’t make it to the Stirling Car Show. Not four minutes from our home we were hit by a neighbour who cut the corner while making a left hand turn. He admitted it was his fault, not paying attention and turning directly into us in our lane. I saw the truck coming so stopped just back from the stop sign thinking he’s seen me and will change course. But no, with the wife and I both yelling and me trying to get into reverse and honk the horn at the same time it was over before we knew it. The car is inside at the towing yard awaiting instructions from Hagerty. Hopefully things will move quickly but I'm not holding my breath. If I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all. Left front suspension is mucked up (tie rod bent back and everything is skewed) fender is toast and the body panel from front to the exhaust cutout is rippled with paint missing. I suspect more damage will be found like the suspension mounting points will be bent/broken.

WOW! That is a find for sure. Looks great with the clam shell fenders and the 16” wheels but then I biased. I see you’ve changed the wheels and tires already, good call. They look the part and most say the smaller diameter rim is a better choice. You just need to get a matching one for the spare. As one who is searching the history of my own seven I wish you good luck in learning more about yours.

Sorry, I’ve been out of racing over 20 years now plus I’m in Ontario. I’d suggest you talk to people in the know like Time Attack clubs or other track day groups in your area. They will have the inside scoop on where to buy products and get services done specific to track use.

“Ken used some kind of goop on the bead which may be necessary for track use.” Say whaa??? As you now know: Always use wheels and tires that YOU KNOW are suitable for purpose. Always use trusted technicians who KNOW THEIR JOB! Back in my day, if I wasn’t doing the work myself I almost always was looking over the shoulder of the guy who was. He might not have liked me hovering but out on the track it was my investment and my well-being at stake not his.

So many nice cars it is hard to pick just one. I bet most will go over market. P.S. Very disappointed that there are no photos of the engines and drive trains (underside) for the majority of the cars. Also, cars that are stated as running when stored were not brought up to at least start and idle condition.

Don't you just hate when this happens! I know it has happen to me and I'll be danged if I know what I did wrong, if anything.

Mmmmm... Mandalorian you quote, Words wise these are!

Just listed on Bat at "No Reserve"! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-caterham-superlite-4/

Heater in a Seven? In Ontario I find it is a "Must Have!" as it was for all sports cars. As to driving in bad weather well, my father rode motorcycles (with a side car and chains) through winters when he didn’t have a car. I have too but without the side car in the snow and it was only for fun. I did have to ride my little dual sport Kawi to and from work in the cold, damp and some flurries. It was the very late fall early winter the first time. Then again in the very late winter early spring when we had rear stub axles break on our Europa. You see I drove my Europa year round for a several years. Both my older brothers drove their Sprites and Midgets year round as they and my father did with their Corvairs. Which like my VW bug all are heated via ducts around the cylinders. I used the heater in my Seven on the drive home from picking it up. I couldn’t use the hood because the car came with no hood sticks. It was a bright and sunny 6c. My vintage Caterham jacket worked great. I did keep my left hand in my pocket only grabbing the wheel with it when needed like reaching down to put my right hand in front of heater vents. I’m bound and determined to put double the miles on our seven this year so I expect the heater will get more use again this year. With the roof up and doors on it actually does not a bad job of keeping the cockpit cozy and dry. I’m sooo glad we had a heater when driving in the pouring rain because it does take the edge off the dampness.

If you want an OEM with the electric filaments contact one of the US dealers. I’m sure if they do not have one in stock that they could get one. Might have to wait until they have a shipment coming in and of course it will cost.

@Reiver my car is all original as ordered form the factory. The custom two-tone grey “S” leather interior was 2064.29. The special leather boot cover was 150.00. The roll over bar’s custom padded leather cover was 85.00 and the spare tire cover was 75.00. This is taken from the 1993 Caterham invoice. I can’t see where it specifies the currency so these values may be in Pounds Sterling. I shudder to think how much a good leather man would charge to replicate this interior at today’s prices. Good luck with the half hood. Looking forward to seeing it on your car.

Read my report about losing and then fixing the clutch cable connection to the clutch arm on our way to a car show. https://usa7s.net/ips/topic/15051-first-breakdown-going-to-a-british-car-show/

Our car has a leather covered padded roll bar as can be seen in the photos. The standard hood clears the padding with no issues. The half hoods use the roll bar not a hood stick so as stated above it should work. You may have to do some tweaking but as long as you get the correct size for your roll bar it should work. You want to measure from the front of the windscreen to rear of the roll bar. The distance from rear seam to inside front lip of the half hood should be the same + or - a 1/4" or so. Several of us with the older vertical style roll bars have had problems because the hoods shipped have been too sort being made for the newer, angled forward roll bar. (About 4 inches different give or take.)

@JohnCh, Your concern over the style of 7 used seems odd to me. Looking at the original 7-7-7 event logo I’d say that ship has sailed. The 7 with the dragon tail clearly is based on that used by Caterham. Hell, how many none Caterham owners have placed a similar styled 7 in the nose of their none Caterham cars? I’ve been involved with companies and clubs during logo creation or changeover. There are some basic dos and don’ts. Simple and clean where less is more is the best approach. As you state, think about how hard it would be for stitching or iron on transfers for T’s and caps. As far as colours go you don’t need to use the red white and blue theme as that is made clear by clubs name. The 20th anniversary is called China. The gem stone is Emerald and the colours are green and/or yellow depending on which site you read. (Hmmm, isn’t that interesting…) I’m no graphic wiz so I’ve not done a visual yet. My idea is similar to many shown however; where mine differs is having the last part of the “A” of the USA and the little “s” flow slightly over the larger 7. I’d stay away from the car image. Other clubs, most notably the UK’s Caterham and Lotus 7 Club and the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs to name two have used it for decades. It’ll be hard to match those. However, if you really what the 7 car outline then go with the one that has the least amount of detail. I’d also raise it up into the USA more. You might think about using the “flip image colour” trick I used on my Moto Star helmet back in the 70’s. I attached images showing how used the divide between two colours to highlight my name. The rear image of the helmet is included because I know you guys would ask to see it.

Nah mate, it's a no-name knock off. The proper NOS ones on new leather that MV8 linked to are GBP 45.00 before shipping. I got all four of these shipped to my door for less. Now if someone would like to gift me a proper vintage key ring with fob I'd not turn it down. However, I think what I received is FOBulous, simply FOBulous!

Some images like the windscreen were added after the fact.