Croc

A search of the past threads may be of help here - I definitely remember someone buying Caterham clams and installing them on a Birkin. There were a few mounting issues but it was eventually done.

Mike - I assume the Brooklands will have the scuttle bracket in addition to the two little Brooklands windscreens? If so then I think I want first dibs subject to checking it out. I know it is S3 sized but I have a nefarious plan. :smash: I know Mario is bringing a bunch of his laser cut 7 grills (or is it grills?) for sale. I do have 2 cam covers ready for a new home: 1 x Duratec Ford version with the carbon fiber Cosworth insert to cover the coils. Came off my CSR 2.3L Duratec but will fit a 2L. Essentially brand new as they came off my car at 1000 miles. 1 x Zetec 2L in a rather fetching shade of yellow. It is famous and was featured in a Caterham photo in Car & Drivel magazine. :cooldude: I also have: 2 x front shocks and 1 x rear shock off a Caterham SV. Used but in decent condition off a 10000 mile car. 1 x blonde mannequin model. Used to model clothes in a department store. I also have 5 x 16inch HPC wheels in excellent condition with road tires in reasonable condition and plenty of tread. I have not thought prices yet but will consider reasonable offers at the NJMP event and what does not sell will come onto this forum for sale later. I probably have lots of other stuff too but my garage is a disaster zone and who knows what other things lurk within there (I think I still have a 1965 Mustang in there somewhere....). I may just open up the garage door at NJMP and see what people want to buy...lol I am looking for a Caterham SV FIA roll bar to replace a standard if anyone has one?

The organization does take time but it is not too bad. Having Tom to share the organizational burden helps when there is a bimbo eruption in my office that I need to fix. Also we are not having to organize a whole day - just a session on a day organized by professionals. So that lightens the organizational effort. This is our 4th year. The aim all along was to get numbers up to our own run group (20 max) because that is a good number for a social event and makes for a great driving experience on track. The other aim was to keep the cost reasonable (as possible) for what I know is an expensive hobby/event.

Nothing like my 2.5 hour drive up the NJ Turnpike to NYC taking 4.5 hours. :svengo: It could have been much worse - I could have been heading south! It was a very good meeting. We sorted out a bunch of coordination items, signed off on the days schedule, sorted out locations and timings plus breakfast/lunch details. There will be a private sign up page on Motorsportreg which will be emailed individually to you once it is finalized. It will have all sign up options - track, karting, dinners, visitor numbers, etc., so you can do it all at once and pay with a credit card with one transaction. I have a draft to work on tomorrow. I have a bunch of trophies already engraved for awards. Karting trophies are organized. The swimming pool construction was inspected and it looks good and will be finished in time. The only missing link is Garage Mahal which has not progressed at all in the last 2 weeks....oh well....where is that drink?

I guess whoever bought it from Ohio is flipping it in FL now?

Its all very well to ask for a certain price but will buyers pay it? I will be very interested to see the success or failure of this new business model.

Hard to guess value - mid to high teens depending on condition. Maybe into the 20s if in exceptional condition (with that gorgeous ali nose cone! :drool:) They are just as good as the Caterhams of that era. Much harder to source parts though here in the US! Depending on what you find out you may want to PM SteveS on here. He and his brother built a similar spec Donkervoort and sold it a long time back. There are so few of these out there it is a high possibility it is his old car!

Video planning has begun. I will be borrowing people's cars to mount videos on and probably borrowing people's footage to weave into a nice video. I am a firm believe in the porn movie approach to video production - lots of angles and cameras in high definition to catch you guys at your best while....errrr....:conehead:performing.... I will need to decide on a video theme. I was thinking about "Lightweights do Lightning" in the style of Debbie does Dallas but then I remember we have Storkers present.... I do have to talk with someone about a drone for aerial shots this year and this post has just reminded me (thank you Coffee Break!) that I need to talk to the NJMP official track photographer about getting a group photo and getting photos of us all "performing" on track. Edited to add - Tom and I are meeting with track management today to go over plans and organization. The only thing that is not behaving in the organization are the builders on Garage Mahal - it is unlikely it will be finished by the event other than for possible overnight storage. Oh well....

You are on the right track but your comparison is distorted by a few factors: 1) The inflation rate is not a good measure of true underlying inflation for the analysis you are aiming to do. Its composition excludes and diminishes certain elements of price increases that are important. Inflation is actually much higher for the average person. Commodity prices have increased over that period at closer to 5-6%. A car is heavily influenced by commodity prices. Look at the increase in rubber and steel costs. Energy has increased by more than 3% per year over that time. The wage inflation to employers (i.e. cost of production) is far higher than wage inflation as received by an employee as the costs of social programs, safety nets and payroll/employment taxes are born much more by the employer than the employee. 2) Interest rates at record low always inflates asset prices - bonds, stocks, art, homes, cars, etc. People have more disposable income and there fore feel wealthier driving up prices as they acquire or load up on debt and acquire. This has the most potential to crater asset prices. 3) I believe there is a bubble effect on asset prices from baby boomers aspiring to their youth dreams at a stage in their lives when they can afford it. Will 1960s muscle cars be as heavily priced as a proportion of new cars in 30 years from now? My expectation is not. I don't expect prices to plummet from this effect but I expect they will plateau and move sideways. Roughly 17-20 years after production a classic car (if it is any good) will stop depreciating and start to move upwards in value. Think of BMW E30 M3 or Ford Sierra RS500 which have taken off in recent years and compare to when the prices of Ford Escort MK1 started to take off.

I would be calling for a mechanic! You call for a tranny up this way and you get something you really really don't want! :willy_nilly:

.....and Birkin and Brunton (Stalker) and....

A few more cars for sale have appeared on the LOONY site. No affiliation to me - just reposting for the benefit of forum members looking to spend money. A Caterham Classic - crossflow, live rear axle. $25,000 http://www.lotusowners.com/ForSale/Caterham_For_Sale_BB/index.htm A 1997 Caterham Classic which was upgraded to a decent sounded spec Raceline Zetec. Asking $32500 http://www.lotusowners.com/ForSale/Zetec_Caterham_For_Sale/index.htm

Its back again but with someone I would deal with - Dave LeBrun. Sold on Ebay at $27500 and reappears on the Loony site for sale at $32500 http://www.lotusowners.com/ForSale/Caterham_For_Sale_91/index.htm

Never used these guys personally but I have known of them for years. http://www.empirerac.com/trailer-rental/ or a google around the Tristate area showed up this: http://www.thetrailerdepot.com/rentals.php http://www.cttrailers.com/trailer_rentals.htm I would also look at any place that sells trailers and phone them to ask if they have a rent before you buy program to try one out.

There are 2 towing eyes on a current Caterham - CSR, SV or S5. They are front right and rear left. They are fairly simple looking chassis black powder coated hooks. The front one is so hidden as to be invisible unless you scrabble around on the ground under the nose cone. Even if the front was painted yellow for the UK or red in the US it would not be easily seen The Caterham towing strap attaches to this hook and then drags around under the car or more ideally is zip tied to something convenient to keep it up and more importantly, visible. The Caterham product is here: http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_product=5033 There are a ton of alternative straps that will work instead of the Caterham one and they are cheaper. Demon Tweeks has a page of straps: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/towing-eyes-straps I bet there are some in the US local somewhere but not sure where. The conventional metal towing eye really does not attach anywhere safely on a Caterham hence the reliance on the strap. Hope this helps!

Yes, and its a $100 fee to stop me wearing a speedo! Otherwise you will see lots of things you cannot un-remember.... :jester:

Hi Jude - It is nice to tape up headlamps to stop glass dropping on the track from stone hits, etc but it is not required or mandatory from anywhere I have seen. I run headlight covers more to save me money from the inevitable stone hits. And there are stone hits and debris hits. I can think of the time MichaelD's exhaust bolts dropped off and took out 2 brand new slicks, 1 performance tire and a Caterham windscreen across 4 cars.....

Who me? I am innocent! :rofl:

Sadly, Bessie is no longer a member of this forum. :nopity: However, I have invited Dolores the Donkervoort to attend the July 4 event. We will see if she turns up. More humorously I did send an invite to Simon Cowell's agent and PR representative!

Should we have a "Let's Help Slngsht Build His Cars" Day? I for one am like Steve, I have never driven a 3 wheel "thing" before. I have a strong suspicion that it would be a hoot. Will there be any registration problems in Virginia (or are you in Mary Land?) or does it come under motorbikes and slide past all the problems?

Give him a decade and it may be working by then! :jester:

Tom has it right on the karting program. We have a special program worked out - just for us. Non-drivers are invited to join in. So we could see spouses beating husbands. Daughters whipping Daddy and so on! An initial practice. A qualifying session. Then the race. Trophies are awarded and bragging rights on this forum are guaranteed. They are plenty fast enough and have suitable "nerf" bars in the event that you accidentally on purpose take out your fellow competitor. There is a ton of run off as I found when I went "mowing" and you can pile head on into the special barriers they have and not even break a sweat (I was able to). I was pissing myself with laughter the whole time - I forgot how much fun karts can be! They have booked 2 karting tracks for us so if our group gets over 15 karts we can split into 2 groups on 2 of the karting tracks simultaneously. For karting they provide you with a kart, driving suit, neck noodle and helmet or you can use your own (helmet, driving suit, neck noosle). You cannot bring your own kart - nice try though! I like Lightning - its a nice fun track. Really nice emphasis on momentum. If you get a good run off the bowl then you can really crank up there on top speed by the end of the straight. Just remember on Lightning, gentlemen rules apply. Pass bys only in the correct zones with a point. Use of middle finger is only for those in Noith Joisey. Given I am planning another video, my car will be modestly circulating with enough cameras and angles to beat a porn movie so that I get all of you on "film" at some point. I am happy to have someone follow me for a few laps to get a feel for the lines.

That is a very interesting build thread that just occupied a chunk of my time. :bigear: So is it currently road registered? Will I get to see you in it in July if you head north now that you actually have wheels that operate?

Looks a really clever idea. Wonder if they do an enclosed trailer?

June 15 is actually better for me. Need to check on June 22. I got a major break this week. My car should be a go for driving by June.