theDreamer

Just posted up on BaT. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-westfield-sei/

OMG, what a deal! That beautiful green and ginger Sigma Super Seven 1600 on Cars & Bids sold for only $37k. There’s about $60K in invoices in the gallery. That new Super Seven 2000 on Hemings is $86K. https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3vYkXyLj/2020-caterham-super-seven

Just posted on BaT, Formula 27 Honda CBR1100 powered Seven-esque roadster in NC. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/formula-27-lotus-seven-roadster/

How’d an early Steelbro (Steel Brothers) Series 4 (oh excuse me MK 4) Lotus Seven end up in Pennsylvania?

The owner states that life changes are forcing him to sell so this one is back up: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1996-caterham-7-4/

Did not reach reserve but the seller says it was close. Look for it being advertised on another site in the near future.

Update: On the Victims of Classic Car theft ring Facebook page more people have come forward to say their cars have been seized. It has now spilled over into Quebec where numerous cars are known to have been sold. I believe at this time at least four families have been contacted by the Sûreté du Québec. Plus, it’s not just collector cars but daily drivers and RV’s too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/472241915546522 Also, the CBC aired a spot last week on both regional and national news programs which brought out some new information. You may view the segment on YouTube or on the CBC site. You should also read the text as there is some info in the video not in the text and vice versa. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-classic-car-theft-ring-1.7336571

Removed

As I’ve mentioned in other threads the wife and I have been attending a Ducati rally in the area since 1999. https://usa7s.net/ips/topic/14607-tail-of-the-dragon-with-an-interesting-friend/#comment-138333 I agree, far too many crashes. If you wish to enjoy the drive do it early morning mid-week. There are so many otherer roads with less traffic within 1 -2 hours of Robbinsville. Our group usually stays in Murphy and goes in a different direction each day. We had hoped to get a trailer hitch and light trailer for the wife’s Crosstrek Wilderness to take our purple pocket rocket back down this coming weekend. However, the sister-in-law has been in and out of hospital and we figured it was just a matter of time. The funeral is tomorrow so we made the right call. But next year we plan on making at least one trip down that way with our seven. I may have shared this map before but here it is again. Its not to scale and nearly 30 years old but gives a good idea of all the other routes open to explore.

I know I’m late to this party but I thought I’d share what the Original Owner of my car had done about electrical outlets. He sent a three page letter of instructions for changes, additions and corrections to George Alderman et al. He wanted the assembly people to add, fix or change things which included the following: Auxiliary Electrical Outlets. Please mount (2) outlets on the inside of the firewall on the passenger side to accept detector and phone. These are up against the box between the heater vents and the fuse panel. I find them very easy to use whether I plug in an old style cigarette adapter, (like on my old Garmin) or one of the new style USB adapters to charge phones.

I guess someone else designed the HPC 16” wagon wheels as my car does not have that problem.

Most of you probably know nothing about this story or may have seen a brief news report about it. However, its big news in the Canadian car community since the story first broke back in May. In late 2023, OPP in Lambton County in southwestern Ontario launched an investigation after receiving a complaint of stolen vehicles with a combined value of approximately $3 million. It’s important to note that no number was released as to how many cars were stolen just that the total was estimated at $3M. This came about when an employee of Grogan Classics went to Service Ontario to change the registrations on some 100 vehicles from one Grogan Company to another. OPP say their extensive investigation led to a search warrant being issued on May 14 at an address in Stirling, a rural community 25 kilometres north of Belleville and approximately 450 kilometres east of Lambton County. I live just 10 minutes south west of Stirling Ontario. Investigators located several of the reported stolen vehicles, including some classic cars. Police also seized 16 vehicles from the two accused as proceeds of crime. Robert Bradshaw, 54, and Gary Leblanc, 55, both of Stirling, Ont., were arrested and each charged with theft of motor vehicles over $5,000, fraud over $5,000, using forged documents and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. Leblanc was also charged with uttering threats. However, here’s “the rest of the story” so far. Many of the stolen cars were owned by Grogan Classics of Watford Ontario. It’s believed that Robert Bradshaw had some arrangement for the buying, selling and/or storing of vehicles for Grogan Classics. Somehow a large number of cars changed hands supposedly without Grogan’s knowledge. Many of these cars were sold and legally registered to new owners between 2020 and 2024. Now, years later Grogan Classics claims they were stolen and wants them back. There is proof that a few owners notified Grogan of problems when trying to register their vehicles. In one case Grogan Classics couriered revised paperwork so the registration was correct for the new owner, or so they thought. In another case Grogan Classics bought back a vehicle with incorrect paperwork. So far many other cars have been seized by law enforcement including the one that Grogan supplied corrected paperwork for. Plus, in some cases these seized vehicles have already been returned to Grogan Classics. This seems to be in direct conflict with current laws that require the vehicles be impounded until such time that their status is verified. It also means those people whose cars were seized are out of pocket not just the original purchase price but also the thousands of dollars spent repairing, restoring or upgrading. Those affected are looking into their legal options. https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a60898832/police-canada-recover-stolen-classic-cars/ https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/warmington-couple-left-stunned-after-legally-registered-car-seized https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-classic-car-owner-latest-to-have-legally-registered-vehicle-seized https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2024/08/police-allege-larry-grogan-is-rightful.html?m=0&template=default

The only Seven content here is that we (along with about 40 other vehicles) were asked to participate in a “by invitation only” car show. It was in conjunction with a fly-in at a private air field. So I thought this was the likely place to post this story. The variety of cars, trucks and military vehicles was exceptional. From WWII jeeps through customs and muscle cars, sports, grand touring and the star of the cars, the Ferguson Super Sport. Same goes for the aircraft. There were old and new, home built, experimental, float and water planes, a helicopter, and the star of the aircraft our hosts P-51D Mustang. I wasn’t able to get a photo of Purple Reign with the ‘Stang as it was surrounded by Ford Mustangs and that gorgeous Ferguson Super Sport. You can read more about the Ferguson here: https://driving.ca/feature/the-ferguson-super-sport-was-a-homemade-sports-car-built-from-the-avro-arrows-ashes Oh that dual track device that the P-51's tail wheel sits in is a remote control tractor. That is how they move the plane around and into, out of the hanger.

Hoooolleee crap! They only built 17 T202’s. You should (if not already) join the Lola Heritage forum. http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/index.html

I’m colour blind and didn’t understand the first photo with the white pick-up or why you chose to mount your flag at the front. I've seen them on the rear one even added a light on the top. Then I went back to the first photo and saw the flag and now understand why it needs to be at the front.

We have now driven through three major rain events. (The last one just a week ago that produced an EF1 Tornado with winds of 165KPH. It was some distance to the west of our location as we hightailed it east.) Our car hasn’t missed a beat do to water. However, there is a leak somewhere that allows water to drip down into the interior from the shelf. I’ve been meaning to look into getting some sort of filter to prevent objects getting into the engine via those large mesh screens on the velocity stacks. I’d say that “itg” form filter makes your car much better off than mine.

It’s interesting when you mix in quirky British sports cars with old North American Iron. You get some really strange questions. It maybe your first time but not the first time a Seven has been in the mix at such an event. This year we’ve been to dozens mixed car shows. Funny, we have yet to win a prize. Got beat out by cars like a '63 VW Beetle and twice by the same '78 Honda Civic. Oh well, still a lot of fun to attend.

I read a good post about this spring thing on the C&L7 Club BlatChat. Funny, in any of the books or manuals I have read I found no mention of the need to preload the release bearing with a spring or two. Another thing on the ever growing list. Check your email. ta

Yep, 50 years last month. With all the cars, motorcycles, racing on two and four wheels we have done she knows her stuff. Not to mention she was in the motorcycle/automobile industry for over 45 years.

Yes, I admit it’s my own dang fault for not being prepared. Also, yes to the one thing you don’t have being what you need. We have owned many British sports cars like my Europa and the wife’s Austin Healey Sprite so I knew better than to venture out without the basics. Funny, I never left the driveway on a motorcycle that wasn’t packed with tools and MacGyver-esque materials for any type of misadventure. In my motorcycle roll I found zip ties, safety wire, electrical wire, electrical tape, aluminum foil tape, racer tape even two sided tape. There was an array of nuts, bolts, washers, grommets and even some fabric plumbing washers. Not to mention shop cloths, hand wipes, folded paper towel and vinegar packets. Before our next outing there will be a roadside fix-it kit.

We had our first breakdown yesterday, Sunday 11th. We left our house well before 7a.m. hoping to get to the Brits on the Lake car show in Port Perry by 9:00a.m. I was exiting the super slab (highway 401) and when I went to down shift to slow down for the off ramp, NO CLUTCH! The pedal was just swinging in the breeze. First thing I thought of was the dreaded “broken clutch cable”. But when I pulled onto the highway after getting fuel I ran it through the gears with no problem. I hadn’t touched the clutch until I went to pull off. What had happened while blasting along the motorway? I drove the car around the off ramp and up to the stop and was able to pull it out of gear but no amount of blipping the throttle would get me into a lower gear so I coasted around and up to the entrance of the first service station. The car was off the road but was blocking part of the entrance so the wife and I pushed it up to a safe place. First thing was to figure out which end had let go and if it was fixable. To pull the pedal box cover off you need a Philips head screwdriver. We had nothing. The wife walked to four different stores and nobody had anything. Of course being Sunday the car dealers and other shops were all closed. I went back into the gas station we were stranded at as Linda called a good friend to ask if he could come rescue us. There in the store I found a screwdriver worth about a dollar with multiple tips for the small sum of $15:00. Fine I paid it and went back to the car. Took the cover off but everything was as it should be. So, the problem had to be at the other end. Now, the only things I’ve seen or read show or talked about the cable connecting to the adjustment mechanism on the lower side of the bell housing. Well I crawled around and I couldn’t see the cable anywhere. Meanwhile the wife was tracing the cable’s route around the front of the engine and then back ending on the upper right side of bell housing. We removed the rubber boot to find the ball end of the cable intact but not connected to anything. Strange, no adjustment mechanism, no fasteners, just the standard light bulb shaped socket in the clutch arm that allows the ball to pass through and then the wire to slide up into position. BUT what holds it there? Did something fall out, break or otherwise change? I don’t know but I’m searching for the answers. In the meantime our friend had agreed that if we could not get it fixed that he’d hook up his trailer and come get us. The wife suggested we reconnect the ball end with the clutch arm and then use a small machine screw and a couple of nuts to fill the larger opening that allowed the ball to pass through. I said a couple of zip ties would do the trick. No sooner had I utter the words then she was off to the gas station’s office to see what she could find. Minutes later she returned with two zip ties and she proceeded to complete the fix. I got in and the clutch seemed to work. I fired up the car, selected 1st and eased out the clutch and the car moved forward. I tried reverse with the same result. Happy our little bandage fix worked we called our friend to tell him what we had done. He was happy and since his shop is near the event venue he said he’d drop by to see us. If the fix failed he’d be ready to come get us. Well it held together all the way to the event and back home. We’ll see what we can do about a more permanent remedy this week. Question is, how does one adjust the clutch cable on a C20xe Caterham? I’m thinking of moving the pedals to the closer position for my short legs and it along with brake and throttle will require adjustments. In the section of the Owner’s Manual under Ford Engine & Transmission it shows the adjustment mechanism, a threaded portion with a large nut to make the adjustment and a smaller one to lock it into position. But what keeps the cable ball end locked into the clutch arm, tension? First photo shows the car with the bonnet off as the wife tried to find a screwdriver. Second shows the pedal box. The third shows the clutch arm sans cable. We were in a hurry so forgot to take an after shot of the fix but… I took one out in the garage this morning. The next is Figure 4.3.11 out of my owner’s manual Ford Engine & Transmission section. The same figure 4.3.11 is listed in the section for the Vauxhall Engine & Transmission section. The last photo is the car at the very poorly attend car show. The weather fit the British theme as it changed every half hour to 45 minutes.

Oh, they are there. You can see them better in the auction photos form 2019. Here are two snips, one from the old and one from this auction.

Just listed: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-caterham-seven-super-sprint/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_2648441

I learned a long time ago that if a person makes a suggestion they’d better be ready to volunteer to carry it through. If a person makes an observation of something that they feel needs to be addressed or fixed then they had better be ready with a solution. AND… They must not take it personally if their suggestion is not the one chosen. Yours Respectfully theDreamer Past president of a profession race series, past executive member/vice president of a national club for a famous marque. One time “Clerk of the Course” for an FIM sanctioned international race.

Music credits?