Croc

Feeling sensitive are we? :rofl: In fairness, I was more referring to the prior owner of your orange car. That said, your lovely wife does have a closet full of shoes sized like half my modest home. I suppose that gives you bargaining rights for spending money on your toys/bourbon collection! :cheers: Your yellow car has been fairly economic when you think about its lifetime.

Probably. I guarantee I will be slower than an F1 car!

I see a Caterham R400 is signed up for the same event? Anyone on here? I brought my Caterham too since I suspect Ray will be hard to extract from the BMW....

Second engine was eventually built - took forever to source the rare period correct internals. I think I have waited a collective 3 years just for camshafts from Schrick in Germany - two lots! Dyno’ed the 3.5L straight six makes 350hp at 8000 rpm. Exactly where I expected it should be. So now it’s test day for real. Doing the VIR Club event Friday to Sunday. I am giving first drive duties to Ray Korman, who has raced these and so knows what they should drive like. Slightly apprehensive to throw something this expensive out on track.

At this point then a correct gearbox was found with the close ratio 2-5 gears. An LSD diff was sourced. A few test sessions took place at this time to see where we were. Engine was known to be sick so it was more to assess progress on what we had changed There was a pretty big list - steering, suspension, and engine. So it went to Korman Autoworks in Greensboro NC to get the engine built and installed. Sadly the first one melted down on the dyno thanks to a faulty batch of dry sump pumps.

Many of you know I have been pursuing the restoration of a BMW CSL race car for the last 6 years. It started like this when I pulled it out of storage in Australia It was then a complete back to bare metal body shell strip down Taking it back to bare metal allowed us to work out what previous colors the car had been to decipher it’s history. The BMW Heritage folks were very helpful in this respect. The CSL aluminum panels had to be fabricated from scratch. New fiberglass body work.

Let me console you with some kind words: (a) You have not spent the most on a seven. That achievement goes to the owners of a certain orange Caterham that started life as an R400. I wont mention how much into six figures that car has gone. (b) I don't have to do the precise math to know I could probably buy two Caterham 620Rs today with the accumulated total I have spent on maintenance/upgrades/parts/rubber/fuel on my 2010 CSR over the last 10 years. © I vaguely suspect what I have spent on my various sevens over my entire driving history could buy me the Caterham factory. (d) I have found women more expensive than cars. Certainly they have better brakes at stopping me in my tracks, are more cantankerous in daily life and are harder to fix. I would not share your costs with your wife unless she shares how much she has spent on shoes and dresses. However, if you decide otherwise, I do want to offer that it has been nice knowing you. Do you want me to read your eulogy?

Someone on here did that - just need to remember who?

I have them on my Caterham. For road use they are good at keeping some of the shrapnel out but not all. With windscreen and Perspex wind wings then they stop a lot of buffetting. But they make it challenging to get in and out of the car. I used to pop them off while belting up which was annoying. Never stayed on properly at track speeds.

Can we rename you “Porkey”? :-p

Holy crap! It’s an amazing build and only $9500. Sensational value.

Please no swapping belts in the hotel parking lot at midnight this time.

Karting booked out the accommodation? Wow That’s a first. Never seen that happen in 10 years.

Vlad - I am shocked if it is sold out. I think the booking engine on the NJMP website was turned off for COVID and I dont think it was turned back on. I would call them in person. Failing that then you should find reasonable prices at Fairfield, Holiday Inn, or Hampton/Summerfield in Vineland - its off season. I looked up the calendar for that weekend. Nothing on the Tues to Thurs. On Friday there is Drivers Club and Classic Car Club of Manhattan plus some karting. On Saturday, it is Drivers Club and NJ PCA. Sunday is NJ PCA and Riders (Bike) Club. Most will be close enough to not bother staying overnight. PCA folks stay at the Fairfield or Hampton Inn. Riders Club live in camper vans or tents. One good thing of checking the calendar, the Thursday at TBolt is open for me to book a test day.

Perfectly sensible approach - thats how it should be.

NEW Stuart Taylor https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2003-stuart-taylor-seven/ Stalker https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/d/carmel-1962-lotus-super-7/7173691388.html REPEATS Birkin https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/cto/d/fort-collins-birkin-s3-lotus-7-lotus/7163087830.html Stalker https://olympic.craigslist.org/cto/d/carlsborg-stalker-6-lotus-7-replica/7164845686.html Caterham http://britauto.com/portfolio-view/201216-nos-caterham-sv-roadsport/ Caterham http://britauto.com/portfolio-view/2000-caterham/ Lotus 7 https://vintageracecarsales.com/portfolio-view/lotus-7-america-vintage-race-car/ Mitusoka Zero https://www.duncanimports.com/used/Mitsuoka/1994-Mitsuoka-Zero1-cb265bd50a0e08b907465681642548f8.htm Lotus 7 S2 http://www.motorcarcompany.com/1963-lotus-seven.html and here https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/lotus/super-seven/2409828.html Caterham https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/lotus/caterham/2416012.html Caterham http://www.beachmanracing.com/inventory Caterham http://sodo-moto.com/listings/caterham-7-2/ and here https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/d/seattle-1979-caterham-super-seven-lotus/7167346391.html Caterham http://rockymountaincaterham.com/inventory/ Lotus 7 S2 https://www.fantasyjunction.com/inventory/1964-lotus-super-7-series-2/overview Lotus 7 S2 http://thesmiekelcollection.com/1967-lotus-super-seven/ Stalker http://www.race-cars.com/carsales/lotus/1437589044/1437589044ss.htm Caterham https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1363082/2004-caterham-seven-for-sale-in-newport-beach-california-92660 Wharton 7 https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1299993/1978-lotus-seven-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601 Stalker https://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Replica-Kit-Makes-Brunton-Stalker/303647971069?hash=item46b2d456fd:g:FwsAAOSw4dxeD8lq Lotus 7A https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/lotus/7a/2388210.html Lotus 7 S2 https://slo.craigslist.org/ctd/d/san-luis-obispo-1962-lotus-super-seven/7158619394.html Diva https://prescott.craigslist.org/cto/d/prescott-1962-lotus-roadster/7171309214.html Westfield https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/cto/d/pompano-beach-1992-westfield-sei-lotus-7/7172051183.html CANADA Replica https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/oshawa-durham-region/fast-and-fun/1507773740 Westfield https://www.kijiji.ca/v-autos-camions/laval-rive-nord/westfield-replique-lotus-7/1514071520 MCC 7 Project https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/mississauga-peel-region/mcc-super-7-unfinished-car-detailed-version/1503983466 Replica https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/city-of-toronto/lotus-7-replica/1508403000 Replica https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/portage-la-prairie/lotus-supper-seven/1510217779

For the Odyssey PC680 there are a couple of case options http:// SRX_PC680_BattHoldDown / Vertical Horizontal Mount [sR] Battery Hold Down Tray Battery Box Mount for PC680 Odyssey Mounting Bracket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D84BXD9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_A3ZlFbTGWAWVF or Odyssey Battery HK-PC680 Hold Down Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045G4VZK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_X5ZlFbB9TJESE If the Earthx is the same size as the PC680 then these cases should work.

It’s complicated Mike. It’s a Driver Club VIR event three day weekend - I am eligible to participate. There are 4 cars going down with TJ and Ian. There would have been 3 more but their drivers ran out of talent into walls last weekend. So I send the Caterham down. The BMW is at Korman Autoworks in Greensboro NC. They did the engine build and installation plus the last of the suspension work. That is 1 hour south of VIR. Since Ray drove CSLs in period I am having him drive it Friday at VIR to set up the handling. It will save me days of testing and tuning. So they will truck it north to VIR. I get to drive the Caterham and BMW at VIR. We then trailer it back north as it is finished it’s long restoration.

Sadly the Carlisle show is a sad shell of its former greatness. However, I do get the desire to escape to something in these times. Apologies but I will be at VIR next weekend shaking down/setting up the BMW.

Stuart Taylor Motorsport Seven, powered by a Honda bike engine https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2003-stuart-taylor-seven/

A nice write-up. It is brief and misses some things but makes up by having a good array of photos. https://silodrome.com/lotus-7-caterham-7-history/

What about something like this design? https://caterhamparts.co.uk/headrests/3855-12-cloth-headrest-eu4-approved.html?search_query=Head+rest&results=190

I will say upfront the owner has been very clear in his knowledge of the the car for sale - to his credit. I never talked with the owner in my two encounters with the car. The reasons that made me think it was not an S2 were: - The chassis was the later type - more bars and bracing. - It had a lot of the fiberglass bits from a later Caterham - nose cone, rear wings, clams (the side repeaters came in 1970s) - The dash is the 1970/early 80s Caterham version. - Front suspension was using Caterham bits. Its clearly been restored at some point and thats where these newer bits could have arrived on the car. Chassis was painted gray. It has been reskinned. Bonnet is from a later Caterham. Lots of little details are Caterham - steering wheel for example. None of this is a concern as it presented as an honest little driver that had been happily driven. It has lovely patina. If it was me purchasing (and its not since I have enough thanks) I would follow up on two things: - first is the nose cone. Is is just mounted wrong or is there something deeper to investigate? - second, in the Hemmings as, the only photo of the engine seems to show a non-crossflow Cosworth cam cover. Not a lot to work with with images which is a problem but if it is a Cosworth engine then that is bonus. If it is just the cam cover bought separately then not.

Really? I always thought it came from the same company that helps me turn out great steaks and burgers when I am properly supplied with beer? I like my Weber grill. Can be just as fiddly as a carburetor as well when you want to start them. Requires the careful combination of burnable fuel, air and alcohol for the food disappear really quickly. Life would be so much less stressful if they just put down their politics, picked up a set of BBQ tongs and a few carefully chilled brews and started cooking some great food. :seeya:

A bit of extra history. It was auctioned Aug 22, 2009 at the New England Classic Car Auction at Owl's Head ME. I was there and saw it cross the block. I again saw the car on August 2, 2016 (photo dated) at Owl's Head ME, at the very good transportation Museum there. Based on both of those inspections, I think it may be an early Caterham. Few of the details are from later Lotus S3/Caterham S1 cars. It could have been restored heavily at some point which is where the later stuff came from? It was in nice condition when I saw it last. Owner clearly maintained it well. Its a tall roll bar so I assume it was autocrossed or raced at some point. Only thing that annoys me is the nosecone looks to be warped. Edited to add - car did not sell at auction. Original 2009 post is here http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?4035-Owls-Head-ME-32nd-New-England-Auto-Auction&highlight=Owls