theDreamer

Watch this 19 second video of my car being driven from the transport into the parking lot of the shop last year. Notice how he picks his way across the sidewalk and into the parking lot. You can see he had lots of clearance but still took his time because he didn’t know he had the clearance. You’ll get use to this type of; go where you feel you need to type of driving style. https://youtu.be/n1X559_VvOc

If I may use a Sheldon Cooper quote; “I agree with your logic, but reject your conclusion.” The Prowler was designed to be a retro-styled "hot rod" roadster akin to those of the 40’s & 50’s. One of the goals in the design was the use of aluminum and other lightweight materials to create a more fuel efficient vehicle. However, simplify and add lightness was not in the brief. Yes, it does seem odd to an outsider that it made it into production. However, many other cars and motorcycles started out as design concepts and landed in showrooms. The 1934 LaSalle convertible coupe saved the model from getting the axe. It started as a sketch and was made into the first full sized mock. When Harley Earl preneted it to the GM top brass he said; “Gentlemen, if you decide to discontinue the LaSalle, this is the car you are not going to build.” In more recent times there was the Ducati MH900e. Look these two up. The Prowler had many changes made. The concept was to have a big V8 and manual transmission were as the production car had a V6, auto trans and much heavier with added safety features. Not to mention, a very small fuel tank.

Yes, the wife and I have been and it is a must see for anyone into motorcycles, cars, racing and art. The collection is so large that over a third of the vehicles are in storage. The staff changes up the displays on a regular basis so each time you go you’ll probably see something you hadn’t seen before. The real treat is that over 95% are fulling functioning and are taken out at least once a year and run around the track. The exceptions are those cars without engines, carbon chassis’ that have failed testing and the few mock ups or concept vehicles. The grounds are the best kept park like setting you'll ever see. Plus, he has art work everywhere! George Barber was a successful businessman who had raced in the 60’s. Check out the website. https://www.barbermuseum.org/

I keep my eye open as I've always thought I'd like to have one. Very pricey these days and so everyone thinks they should get top dollar even if their car isn't up to snuff. https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/d/miami-lotus-ford-cortina-race-car-1966/7823101841.html

I forgot a couple of items the wife had created for us. After the UK club’s Lowflying article came out she had two purple hoodies done with the “Glass and a Half” Cadbury’s logo image. When we are not wearing them she likes to place them on the seats. She made up two pillows one for her to use as an arm rest and mine to lift my butt and it has a second larger piece of foam that acts as a lumbar support. Funny how it makes my hoodie look like it has a belly. (I think she does that on purpose.) Then at one of the big car shows she had two photos along with the cars name put on drinks glasses by a vendor. They’re not bottles or cups and have a clear lid with a slide to drink out of or put a straw into. Even though these are stainless covered in a clear plastic I can only think of drinking glasses to describe them. I also included my very first mouse pad. It came packaged with a Microsoft mouse and the very first issue of Windows for DOS. The Caterham promotional photo came from David Kaplan of DSK Cars fame. He sent it along with other sales literature and prices in response to my request for info back in the late 70's. And if you wish to bring in other “Lotus” related items well, I have the rear wing off of Gunnar Nilsson’s Lotus 78 as raced at the last GP held at Mosport Park. (NOTE: This had been on Andretti’s car hence all the win stickers. But all those were removed and the one for Gunnar’s win in Belgium was added when it was switched to Gunnar’s car.) P.S. I added a couple of other bits. One is a vintage late 70's early 80's Lotus Club of Canada logo watch and an even earlier Lotus Seven lapel pin.

There maybe a few Lotus parts and looks sort of like but that is not in any way a Lotus 23.

Want a project? Do you have friends in the UK? Unfinished 1990 K Series live axle being auctioned with no reserve: https://charterhouse-cars.com/product/1990-caterham-super-7

If car covers are swag then mine should “fit” right in. (See what I did there?) According to the build sheet and Caterham invoice my car was delivered with a “Factory Car Cover – Calico (dust) Super Seven”. I assume it would have had a Logo. What I received from the seller with my car is a type of cloth cover, perhaps home made with a Caterham Seven patch sewn onto it. It just drapes over the car as opposed to being stretched over it as the modern ones do. Original, aftermarket or homemade can anyone tell me?

Don’t know why I didn’t mention this the first time as I did see them. The car on the cover of Lowflying is running a pair of Weber carbs with K&N filters poking out of the bonnet. Your car has no such cutout in the bonnet. So, it either was a paint scheme that was offered or the original owner liked the cover shot so much he had it duplicated. Sort of like my car which is a LHD copy of a one off RHD show car.

I was a big, HUGE fan of Subaru. We have had 6 (7 if you count the BRZ Inazuma I bought but was unable to take delivery of due to being terminated without cause) 3 STi’s, 2 Crosstreks and another BRZ tS. I love the late model 2018-2021 first gen BRZ. I bought my 2006 STi as a demo with 10k (kilometers) on it. I drove it daily like the fast and furious for 13 years and 280k. I did the regular maintenance (oil, tires, brakes but not the clutch) and only had to replace two O2 sensors in all that time. The wife had a 2011 STi Hatch and hated it. She traded it in on a 2016 STi sedan which although bigger and heavier than my ’06 handled and rode about the same. She then switched to a 2022 Crosstrek Limited which she traded n for a 2024 Crosstrek Wilderness which has a 3500lb tow rating. When I won my wrongful dismissal lawsuit I went out and found a left over 2018 tS limited edition in Crystal Black Pearl. When I bought my Caterham I gave it to my oldest grandson. The good part was the older Subarus were tough and could take a beating. The bodies in Canadian weather however require repeated rust proofing or they just disappear. The bad is the new cars have lots of little problems that cost big. At least that’s been our experience. Lots of problems with they’re “Eye-Sight” camera system and other electrical nannies. Not to mention engine issues. If we buy another daily vehicle it will be used not new. It will have as few electronic aids as possible. I doubt I’ll be around in 15 years. If I am I probably won’t be driving.

AC Cars website is all smoke and mirrors. By that I mean, lots of talk with very little actual info. What I think is happening is they are going to use the same or similar drivetrain as in their classic AC Ace. The Ace uses a fuel-injected 2.3-litre inline 4 EcoBoost engine which they claim develops in excess of 300 bhp. Oh and mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. A four cylinder Ace with wire wheels would be OK with me depending on price. However, you cannot call an Ace with Cobra-esque styling (big wheels, fat tires, side vents etc.) a Cobra. That’s like calling an electric box SUV a Mustang.

Hopefully a member will be able to help you. You do have the time frame already according to your brief history above. The car was built in 2003 and arrived in the states no later than 2005. Good luck with the search and congrats on the returning to the fold.

I'll ask the Lotus 7 and Caterham Club in the UK.

I have an older (1993) LHD Caterham and the Heater knob is on the right hand side just above the E brake. (see first image) It’s easy to reach even for a shorty like myself. You can see it snakes out between the air horn trumpets and is affixed to the front of the heater box. To operate the valve on my car it has to come the right hand side. Yours is probably the same or similar. Someone did mention they’d routed it around from the left to the right with a big loop. I do not remember if it was on this or another forum. It's possible it was on one of the Facebook groups.

As much as I’d like to attend, even just to hang out in the garages and not go “on track” it will not happen. I’m not a fan of the incoming administration and the crap he and his minions say, did and will do against Canada. But even more than that I refuse to pay a 48% premium to cross over. (I just checked and my bank’s exchange rate is $1.4773 today.) Sorry but, we’ll be enjoying our Caterham north of the border for the foreseeable future. I’ll still follow all the threads about all the great things you people do plus I’ll post what we get up to here at home. Thank you very much for the invite. I know I’m opinionated and obstinate at times but I also realize that most in this group are like minded, fun loving, piston heads like myself. We hope you have a great turn out and all have a good time.

Where do I sign up?

That is a photo of our 1993 HPC, (Purple Reign) from the BaT auction you have there. You should have included the image from the rear. It clearly shows the tips of the sump fins below the bottom of the bell housing. There are also photos showing the sump with very minor rub marks. I can attest to the fact you should not attempt to drive over anything on the road. You must condition yourself to drive around any items you encounter. Even with higher profile sidewalls and a sump guard it’s just a good habit to get into. Also, look well down the road. If you see a dip look for telltale gouge marks in the pavement just beyond. If regular cars hit at speed you can well imagine the seven will too.

When it comes to Caterham items I have some old and some new. The few books I have are decades old first editions packed away somewhere. Same goes for all my sales literature and most of my Caterham die cast models. (I’ll have to hunt them out just to remember what I have.) I’m sure I’ve mentioned my vintage 1993ish Green with Yellow jacket that my wife gave me for Christmas over 30 years ago. I can be seen wearing it in several of the previously posted photos. I’ve included a couple more to jog your memories. I recently purchased a gently used Black Caterham jacket off of eBay. Both jackets are surprisingly warm. The wife surprised me with a custom order set of laser etched slate coasters for Christmas this year. She supplied the photos taken at different events over the summer. She also told me the chap who made these is local and to her knowledge only does round or square coasters. I’ll have to look into what else he might be able to do.

In the thread “How Many Miles Did You Drive This Year” Vovchandr posted the attached poll results from a Caterham Cars Webinar. Our Seven falls in the 2nd group at 48%. Hopefully next year we’ll graduate to the 3rd or 4th group. https://usa7s.net/ips/uploads/monthly_2024_01/image.png.fdeed133eba397a9df4dc9d22f5426d7.png I posted our total mileage in my thread, Soon To Be A Se7en Owner where I did a photo summary of our first season as Se7en owners. But to show off here is a before and after shot of the odometer. Note: in the first photo you can see that the car had travelled a mere 201 miles since its last recorded oil change. Also, it works out to an average of about 600 miles per year during its first 31 years.

I replaced the 20 year old tires on my HPC with the same recommended size 205/45 16. My speedometer reads about 10% higher than actual when compared to GPS or road side radar. As for the sump guard, it will have a beneficial side effect. Speaking to Peter Marie earlier this year (he now owns the HPC that I first drove back in in the 90’s) he told me of an over cooling issue the C20xe Sevens are known for. He supplied this answer to his “shroud” in the latest issue of the Lotus Club of Canada’s newsletter which I’ve included. When Caterham shoehorned the tall 2L Vauxhall engine into the Seven they replaced the original oil pan with a bespoke long, shallow, heavily-finned aluminum sump. Additionally they removed the oil to water heat exchanger that was fitted between the oil filter and oil pump. This was all done to provide adequate ground clearance. Unfortunately these changes made for a very cold running engine. The heavily finned sump is really a non-thermostatically controlled oil cooler. It kept the oil temperature at an ideal maximum of 95°C when hammering the car on the track on a warm summer day—but on the street even on a hot 35°C summer day the oil temperature rarely got above 80°C. On a cooler 20°C day I'd be lucky to see 65°C, and on a cold day the oil would struggle to get above 50°. That of course is way too cold for a long engine life. So I made a ‘Shroud’. [Thermal Blanket] It prevents air flow under the sump and retains engine heat. I now get the oil up over 80°C on a 10° to 25° day which is at least okay. One advantage of the low oil temperature in the carb'ed engine, with no starting choke, is that I can run a light 0W-20 engine oil which greatly improves the car's starting and driveability when cold. Plus proper oil flow at 80°C oil temperature. Plus at the track the shroud can be removed to maximize oil cooling. Note: My car was ordered with an oil cooler. However, it was removed at some point probably because it was overkill.

The Lotus Club of Canada’s winter “E” newsletter just showed up in my in-box. The wife and I appear in this issue driving through Bronte Creek Provincial Park on the way to our assigned parking area. This was our first time showing a car at British Car Day. This year was not the largest turn out but it was very close. See the image, Bronte by the Numbers.

Purple Rain is in a state of slumber. I filled the tank with fresh premium grade and a little two stroke oil then drove around for about 20 minutes before parking it at home. The indoor cover is on and I can easily roll the car forward and back several feet so no need to worry about flat spots. Good thing is if we get another sunny spell I can hop in a go for a blat. Once they start salting the roads though it’ll be spring before we hit the open road again. Looking back over the summer we covered only 2668 miles (about 4300 km’s) but those were some epic outings. We attended over a dozen car shows, (took a 2nd in class at one) and attended at least one Cruise Night per week. I did not document the shows and rallies on this site. However, if you follow the UK club site or the Lotus 7 & Caterham Cub Canada Facebook page you would have seen all that. Here is a brief look back of some highlights in photos.

Congratulations on the Green with Yellow nose C20xe. We are very happy with the 1993 HPC that we bought earlier this year. It had about the same mileage but I don’t think anywhere near the level of care in its later years. We will fix things as they come up. As for your seating I agree with the others, go for the adjustable buckets. I’m only 5’4” so I have the seat moved up so I can reach the pedals. I don’t like that this puts the steering wheel so close to my chest. I’m used to a 60’s style arms straight out driving style. I think I can move the pedals back towards the seat which will allow me to move back. However, I like my position to the shifter for 3rd and 5th gears. So I’ve left things for now. We’ve only driven 2668 miles so far so I’m still learning. Oh, I’m close behind you as I’ll be 71 next month.

Everyone wants videos. The “lookie lous” are wanting to hear the engine make noise and get a taste of the speed. Real buyers want to be able to read the gauges while the car is moving and listen for signs of trouble. Most videos have terrible wind noise and are useless for detecting problems. When doing videos do not forget to shoot several of the car passing the camera. I had an MV F3 up for sale and a gentleman drove over 8 hours round trip to see it. He obviously was serious and had the money so I let him take it for a ride. He went down to end of our road then up past us to the stop sign at the top of our road and back. He hummed and hawed for over an hour. I offered to through in an MV riding jacket with built in armour. It fit him better than it did me. In the end he decided to pass. I sent him an email with a couple of photos of him on the bike and a short video of him riding past our driveway. The next day after seeing that video he emailed back that he’d take the bike without the jacket at the agreed upon price.

How does one go about finding out the unknowns for a car like this one? It looks to be in great shape with no signs of water stains or damage from debris. I believe there are three types of flood waters, salt water, rain or overland water and sewage back up. If this car did get flooded I’d say it was rain or overland and not submerged. It is possible that it was on a lift and didn’t really get very wet at all. But, how does one know? It’s very low mileage if I’ve broken down the VIN correctly. SDK= Manufacturer code for Caterham L= Left hand drive L= Live axle K= Kit built A= Chassis type NS= Engine not supplied V= Model year 1997