Outbound

Cars getting loaded on the boat. Only a few more weeks. Mine in orange, and my buddy is getting the blue one.

So my new-to-me Superlight R will be here in late August. Arriving at the Baltimore port along with another Caterham that my buddy bought with me. My first plan was to have both cars shipped to my place in Chicago, and go from there. Then found out that relatively easy to get a Special Temp Registration Plate, and can easily pick up the car from the Port after it clears customs. So why not turn this into a bit of an adventure? Our tentative plan is to fly into Baltimore with a duffel bag of whatever stuff we need, a few changes of clothes, and plan to spend 2-3 days meandering our way back to Chicago via the backroads. We are both used to transiting for hours and hours in fully caged rally cars, and I used to daily drive and do road trips in my Lotus Elise a decade ago. So not too worried about "it'll suck" since the suck is part of the adventure. My question to the forum though. What would you pack for a trip picking up a Caterham sight unseen? I have confidence in the reliability as its coming from Sevens & Classics in the UK, getting a full inspection, good tread depth on the tires, all fluids changed and checked, etc. My tentative list is: Flat tire kit (can steal this from my GR86) Variety of wrenches/screwdrivers/hammers in case need to adjust or tighten something, maybe? Speaking of, what sizes would I need to adjust the steering column? Sunscreen Hearing protection, though we may get those Husqvarna Bluetooth headsets for hearing protection/communication Enough changes of clothes in case it rains Is there any other suggestions? Or specific wrench sizes I should pack for items that might need attention along the way?

Ehhh, about two months or so? Honestly i read Sam Smiths story about his adventure with his kid in his Seven ( https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/smithology/smithology-it-was-your-dream-not-mine/) and related immensely as i have a 6 year old daughter who’s just getting interested in cars at the moment and it reminded me how much i loved the rawness of my Lotus Elise, but an exige and Elise is a bit too hardcore at the moment. I’ve always enjoyed these kind of cars, and it reminded me that life is short and fuck it, let’s let sensibility go out the window and find a bright orange coffin to drive around! My other cars currently are a Taycan GTS Sport Turismo (wagon life yo), a GR86 being converted into a gravel rally car, and a GD Impreza and a GC Impreza rally cars being restored. Had a Lotus Evora GT for a few years that i tracked a few times for fun. looking forward to some blatting and some tracking occasionally in this Seven.

Well to update this, I have a 1998 superlight R getting loaded on a boat at the end of this month after a fresh repaint and reprep from the guys at Sevens & Classics over in the UK. Really excited for it, and excited to make some things for it. I’ll be sure to start up a thread when it arrives.

Certainly fair questions. I am kind of all over the place. Don't really care much if De Dion or Solid Rear No SV needed (just a normal 5'10" dude here). Budget is anywhere from $25-40k for the right car. Might be willing to splurge more later on in the year if my business continues to do well. If anything, I am looking to dip my toes in the Seven world and maybe upgrade in the future. I found my amazing modded Lotus Elise 10 years ago through a WTB post on LotusTalk, owner reached out, didn't want to deal with listing it online, dealing with tire kickers, taking a ton of pictures, etc. so he was happy to find the right buyer. I flew halfway across the country to buy the car sight unseen and it was perfect, owned it for 2 years and miss it a lot. I know when I go to sell a car I'll sometimes browse the WTB ads of whatever forum I am on to see if potential buyers that would want a first shot. So hoping for the same here. Ideally would like to stick with a Caterham, something about the designs is just a lot cleaner looking to me.

Willing to transport or go anywhere in the USA. Looking for a decent Seven for anyone thinking of selling. Already following the weekly sales thread.