Croc

No reason to prefer being felt up over being scanned. Scanning is quicker and less intrusive. Sure the TSA guys usually are sniggering at the images but so what...let the muppets have their jollies - they have nothing else in life to look forward other than flipping burgers.

Stewart - I think you may have stumbled onto the Caterham Drive Experience guy who is doing a large import to set this up on the East Coast in 2012. Is he affiliated with NASA (National Auto Sport Racing)?

Having travelled recently and found the nude-scan machine out of action I had to submit to one of these searches. I can only say what a bizarre and surreal experience it is having your crown jewels "polished" through your pants by another guy. :bs: My lisping wisecrack to the very unhappy TSA guy at the time was not taken well "oooh Sweetheart - are we married now?" So who is flying for Thanksgiving? :leaving:

Welcome to the US. As a fellow expat (Aussie), I can relate to the strangeness the US must seem like upon first moving here. However, it is possible to find decent beer here - just ask for microbrews and don't drink anything called Bud, Coors, Amstel, Miller, Pabst, or Rolling Rock and you will be fine. The locals are very friendly and don't bite much. I also recommend getting a gun rack fitted in your vehickle just to fit in when you are at the local mall shopping. Camoflage is the latest fashion accessory these days too! :jester: Seriously I sent you a PM with my contact number if you want to chat over a beer (or 5) on the pain and sufferring it takes to register a Seven in NJ and the alternative options available to you. This will significantly influence your choice of Seven for purchase. I am located in Jersey City NJ and will be around this weekend if you are lost for the 4 day holiday weekend.

Geez guys - I go on a business trip for a few days and the world ends! Seriously - thanks for the nice comments. :blush: The deal is still coming together which is why I am being quiet - I do not want to jinx myself. If all goes well I will end up in another Seven - final spec to be determined. Give me some time to pull this together and all will be revealed. Start placing bets on whether I can pull together a Seven quicker than than our wonderful club prez - Al! :rofl:

I notice most were VW Beetles or their related Type series for sedans/wagons - not exactly a paragon of handling virtue. As for the driver popping out of the door during a roll - Despite the spin, I thought the Seven driver looked quite smooth - it looked pretty greasy

Would you believe me if I said I bought a certain still born project from Cat USA that a certain owner was unable to complete? I don't want to pre-empt Al from announcing first.

FOR SALE – 2004 Caterham Seven SV A 2004 kit first registered on the road in 2005 with two owners since new. Professionally assembled by Scuderia Sylvestri, the Caterham dealer in South Florida. I purchased this car in December 2008 at 1815 miles and brought it to the New Jersey (NY metro area) where it is titled as a 2004 Caterham on regular NJ vehicle plates. Drivetrain is a 2L Zetec SVT engine package (new crate motor at time of original assembly) with 5 speed T9 gearbox (standard ratios), LSD. Caterham USA had this to say about the engine at the time: "Caterham USA is proud to announce the release of the Ford Zetec SVT engine package for the US Caterham market. The release of the SVT supersedes the previous Zetec engine line-up. The Ford Zetec SVT engine package is derived from the Ford Focus SVT. The package uses the same robust Ford Zetec design, but with the addition of a Cosworth designed cylinder head, larger cams, variable intake runner lengths and a variable injector system. The SVT package produces 185 hp at the flywheel in stock tune.” Engine has been kept completely stock standard due to NJ inspection regulations. Other specs and relevant information: Painted in Caterham Yellow with a Caterham dark green noseband and yellow cycle & rear wings. Car has less than average stone-chipping for age – only 1 noticeable chip on nose cone. Rear wings still are in very good condition however Caterham chrome rear wing stone protectors do show the usual expected pitting from stones. Cycle wings do have some evidence of star cracking although it is not very noticeable until real close. Edges of bonnet and related scuttle/nosecone show the usual expected marks (paint rubbed off) from rubbing of bonnet to scuttle/nose cone. SV chassis so accommodates those who live life large (like me! ) or just appreciate extra comfort space. This has an extra 4 inches in length and width over a regular S3. The big improvement is a pedal box that accommodates those with big feet. Caterham big brake kit (ventilated discs with 4 piston calipers and braided hoses) 5 x 16” Caterham 5 spoke wheels with Sumitomo sport tires (spare is mounted at rear). Spare wheel has a noticeable paint chip. Caterham S-type seats in black cloth. Driver’s seat has Caterham 5 point harness with Caterham padded shoulder pads. Passenger seat has Caterham 4 point harness with padded shoulder rests and facility to add extra 5th point if wanted. Tonneau Heated windscreen with polycarbonate wind deflectors Heater Chrome sills and headlights Caterham car jack and wheel brace Sidescreens with arm rests While the photos below show the hood and hood bag, this is not available with the car. Additions/Modifications I have made since purchase: New battery Honeycomb shielding under and behind fuel tank Sump guard/skid plate Front number plate bracket High rear brake light mounted on roll bar Clutch pedal stop Replaced all Caterham coolant hoses with silicone type hoses. Also re-routed cooling hoses and replaced all hose connectors for better security. Replaced all non-coolant Caterham rubber hoses with new higher quality rubber hoses from Pegasus Racing. Mid mount exhaust point to stop unsupported flexing New brake light switch All plastic dashboard toggle switches replaced with rubber coated metal toggle switches 12v power socket installed under passenger side dash. Racetech dual mechanical oil pressure/oil temperature (sealed capillary unit) gauge installed Racetech voltmeter Omex shift light Fire extinguisher mounted on passenger side floor Full 4 wheel alignment, bump steer, corner weight check. NJ-required exhaust shielding Soft Bits for Sevens Tunnel bag Soft Bits for Sevens Half Hood with driver side easy in zipper Soft Bits for Sevens half doors – not yet installed on car but included in sale. Mirrors for Sevens rear vision mirror. Regular maintenance/modifications have been carried out by me – usual fluids/oil change/filters/etc. A professional mechanic with experience of Sevens was utilized immediately post purchase to give it a thorough going over and again annually for full mechanical check up. I have kept detailed log book of service history and when the above mechanical modifications were made. It has never tracked by me or the previous owner (based on my inquiries to previous owner’s mechanic). Mileage today: 9873 miles. This Seven has been very reliable and is a very comfortable touring vehicle. I normally store the car in a heated storage facility from December to mid-March; otherwise it is garaged at my residence. Photos of the car: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/DSC_2782_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/DSC_2767_edited-1.jpg Additional pictures can be seen at http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/ and in the lower level galleries from that directory. For pricing I looked at all known Caterham SV sales (10) in the last 2 years comparing specification with known sales price. Prices have ranged from $40,000 to $62,000 based on varying spec levels with an average sales value of $49,600. I believe my specification/mileage/condition is mid-range compared to these other Caterham SV sales. Original asking price was too high so REDUCED TO $36,000. Serious inquiries please contact Mike via PM here at USA7s Car is located in Jersey City NJ for inspection. Vanity plates "Lotus 7" can go with sale if you want. I am selling as I have another Seven project in the works. SOLD 4/19/2011. I will let the new owner on this forum make an announcement as to his happy purchase. He is currently driving the seven from NYC to his home, roughly 4000 miles away. I have asked that he make a post on the journey as it will be a very interesting read. I for one have huge respect for his sense of adventure - just brilliant!

Not surprised to hear about the mud - I still have not fully cleaned it off my shoes or the trousers I was wearing - it is strong stuff with the consistency of axle grease. Despite the light fun we are having with you (ok..at your expense), I for one am very relieved that you came out unscathed. For a long moment on Sunday I was freaking out thinking the worst - I figured there had to be pretty significant damage given what happened. Luckily not. Anyway, I know all about going off road - after all I used to own a Series 2 Seven nicknamed Elvis (because it had so many hits) and was referred to the gardener when I was racing as I was always off track digging up dirt. Its so nice that I am not the only one anymore!

For those of you who are a member of Lotus Limited and receive Lotus Remarque, the newest edition just out last week featured Boxologist's Miata. Jon was written up in the LOG 30 Autocross article as being the winner of his auto-x class against his only competitor, a horse (called Dobbin) and buggy. Admittedly the horse and buggy had a massive weight handicap called Brunhilde (the driver) compared to the relatively svelte Jon. Given it was 1 hp compared to over 130hp in the Miata a slower time was always expected from poor Dobbin who was pulling close to a ton behind him. However, the time difference of 57 seconds to 31 seconds was unreasonably close given the massive power advantage of the Miata. In the interests of a fair competition next time, I would like to see what time Brunhilde (or even Dobbin the horse) could do behind the wheel of Jon's Miata. Then again, I would like to see a rematch between the Miata and the horse & buggy in the boggy paddock that Jon's found himself comfortably situated on Sunday - see here http://usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=48471&postcount=6. I think the horse would win comfortably over the Miata on that course! :jester:

Hi Karl, That is a great quality video - nicely done and it took you no time at all. What brand is the unit you are using? Also does it have a facility for a remote mike to eliminate the wind noise. Cheers

Then the drive kicked on for lunch. So off we head from the airport with Jon leading and a daisy chain of Sevens behind. Jon disappeared around a left hander in front of me, I hear squealing tires, a crump and I come around the corner to see empty road except for a Europa a fair distance ahead of me – WTF! Pull up at a drive way and run back and there is Jon’s car sitting in a fairly muddy paddock. He had gone left off the road over a ditch, hump and through a hedge/trees. Very luckily he was unscathed as 6 feet to the right was a power pole. View from the road into the field http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00451_edited-1.jpg Looking back from the field to the road http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00452_edited-1.jpg The immortal lines were said - it will buff out! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00453_edited-1.jpg Car survived its ordeal pretty well – radiator pushed back onto the anti roll bar, some fan shrouding messed up, new bumper needed along with a paint job and a leaf blower for the interior would be useful. While the car ran, it was unable to make any traction in the greasy mud so a Toyota 4wd came to the rescue: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00455_edited-1.jpg Sorry I missed Karl at the end – the misadventure separated us. I hope Bruce and Nancy made it home safely to CT without Nancy freezing herself to death. Despite Jon’s misadventure it was a great day with a great bunch of people from LEO and probably the last run of the season. Bring on 2011 good weather!

And the airport: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/vansantis_Panorama1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00446_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00449_edited-1.jpg

Midway stop was Van Sant airport with a couple of hundred (it seemed) biker friends to check out the planes, enjoy the views and generally chat cars, bikes, performance or whatever. L to R here is Bruce, Stewart, Karl, and Ron. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00434_edited-1.jpg Steve’s S1 and my car: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00435_edited-1.jpg Karl – the proud father! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00438_edited-1.jpg Jon and Steve sharing an intimate moment http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00436_edited-1.jpg

A panorama of Bill’s lawn – sure beats a few garden gnomes, a flamingo and a fountain: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/WTRlawn_Panorama1.jpg The drive was through the back roads of NJ and PA. Very scenic and peaceful. There was an entertaining moment when the group broke into 3 and eventually got lost. I think I went over Beaver Creek at least 3 times. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00428_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00429_edited-1.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00432_edited-1.jpg

JPS Europa and another Seven. This owner picked up his car the day before this drive – bought it second hand from Hemmings and lives next to Alan and Kathy – there are 3 sevens within a mile of Bill’s place. If you add a few miles to the radius then Bruce Bowker’s Seven comes in. Al Navarro might also be counted if he gets another Seven! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00418_edited-1.jpg Steve’s S1 – nice to see you brought along Betsy for the drive – it was great to meet her. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00421_edited-1.jpg Bruce (budlite11) doing a Cheshire cat impersonation as he drives across the lawn – thanks for allowing me to the chance to meet Nancy: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00422_edited-1.jpg Other exotica: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00423_edited-1.jpg

The annual Lotus Enthusiasts Organization (LEO) Group of NJ/NY/PA/CT held its annual November Spirited Drive yesterday in Frenchtown NJ. As was the case last year, we started at William Thomas Roadsters in Frenchtown NJ. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, fresh coffee and cake was available and there were lots of tasty cars arrayed on the front lawn. Very impressive turnout of cars, not just Sevens. Here is Bill’s anniversary Seven next to Alan and Kathy’s BRG Seven. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00416_edited-1.jpg From right to left – Stewart’s Crossflow, Ron’s Vauxhall powered S3, Karl’s insanely desirable R400 (as an aside I now know why white spots form on carbon fiber over time – they are drool marks from other owners!) and mine. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00419_edited-1.jpg MG, Austin Healey and Triumph were well represented. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00417_edited-1.jpg Even a pair of Miata’s made an appearance. At this stage the green one was fairly unmolested by its owner…. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/LEO%20Drive%20Nov%202010/DSC00420_edited-1.jpg

That looked like great fun. You even looked good in curly hair!

We shared the south circuit with Silverstone’s own drive experience program where you turn up and pay your money to drive a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Audi R8 or Lotus Exige for a few laps and then get taken around by a pro. There was also an R300-400 Caterham Seven running around with an insanely crazy talented driver scaring the hell out of paying passengers. It is an amazing facility dedicated to driving. The South circuit was nicely challenging – a nice mix of flat out corners and slow tights turns. Abbey into Farm was my favorite although intellectually the hardest was Stowe – much faster than you would expect from an initial drive. Despite the lack of power the Sevens were extremely competitive with the exotics as the straights were not too long and so it was only Hangar straight where a small power advantage came into play. The R300/400 seemed to obliterate anything else on the track – no straight line power disadvantage was apparent. Naturally the exotics could not beat the Sevens for general handling and braking nimbleness. The instructors were all professionals. Mine for the day was Bradley Ellis who has carved out an impressive list of racing achievements in a relatively short space of time. His you-tube video of hanging the tail out of a Porsche Cayenne medic car at the British Touring Car Championship Silverstone race meet: Initial drive session started off just circulating the course in 5th gear to simplify learning. Later sessions introduced more gears, later braking, etc. Despite being initially underwhelmed by the 1.6L engine, I was proved wrong. It was a wonderfully tractable little unit that revved freely up to 7000rpm and sounded great going down the straight. Speeds were not that high – I was seeing 7000rpm briefly in 5th gear at the end of Hangar Straight, before dabbing the brakes into Stowe corner. Later, Sudsy said that was about 110mph. Interestingly Brad was doing about the same in his demo laps. The only criticism I could make was that these cars had a small throttle opening jerkiness that made it sometimes difficult to feed power in gently plus the different pedal heights made it difficult for me to heel and toe. This was not just me as other participants made the same observations. Practice makes the problem go away as the pros did not have the same problem. The role of the instructor is critical – to push you at times to go harder and hold you back when you are being a little too wild. Brad was excellent at pushing me harder all the time - he knew exactly my issue and how to make me overcome them. For example, there was a Audi R8 V10 that was pretty slow around corners that I ended up being strongly encouraged to overtake going down Hangar Straight as the Audi V10 started to hit stride - a drag race I assumed I could not win. Not only did I find I could keep pace up to about 100mph, I ended up passing the Audi as he started to brake at the end of Hangar Straight. As for the little wild, Silverstone has a 2 spins and you are out policy – something I was not prepared to test. However, Sudsy had a group of Eastern Europeans to instruct and from appearances they had never driven a car with a steering wheel before. If coming around a fast corner to find a Seven mid racing line facing you after it spun is unnerving then think about Sudsy in the passenger seat of the spun car thinking how do I control this student! Sudsy was heard to utter later in the afternoon “I thought I was going to die today.” Fair assessment based on what I saw from that group. The SV model I started with in the morning was retired by 11am with cooling issues – a small leak in the radiator allowed the remaining coolant to boil itself into froth. This was the only breakdown of the day. Bonnets did not come up on any of the other cars that I saw. Pretty impressive for cars that were being thrashed all day on a circuit. Spare car coming up: Overall, I thought it was a great day. By the end of the day I was feeling respectably fast again - able to keep up and pass many of the exotic road cars and the other Circuit Experience Sevens circulating. I certainly felt more confident and secure in my abilities and know what I need to work on going forward – I can see that my transition from braking to acceleration was not smooth enough and needs working on, I struggled finding the right gears at times (I kept on being confused by the 6 spd gear layout compared to my 5 spd T-9) plus I could see that I was sometimes misjudging the entry by apexing too early. The width of a F1 circuit is staggering compared to any other circuit I have been on – many of the corners were flat out accelerating in a Seven. Even Village corner which felt relatively slow was still a 70mph corner(so I was told). Here is a Caterham midway through Stowe corner: (Apologies for grainy pics - I only had a pocket camera and I was a fair distance away.) Aside from my failings, the day is an impressive showcasing of the abilities of a Caterham Seven. All prospective Se7en owners should consider a day like this if it is available as it is only in this environment that you truly understand what giant killing cars Se7ens are. These days are not cheap and will never be when you consider we had a car provided, fuel, tires, full professional instruction, pit mechanic backup, spare cars, and un-crowded circuit hire for a whole day. When you consider the cost of a regular track day, the cost of this Circuit Experience was within proportion given the extra inclusions. Even if it was not a Seven event, having the professional coaching was worth it for me to correct old bad habits and help me find a groove. From my earlier discussions with David Ridley and from the Caterham Circuit Experience team, some cars have been set up for shipping to the US to kick off the drive experience program to be operated with the assistance of a US motor sporting organization. This is different to what I went through as the drive experience focuses on auto-x style slalom driving around cones. They seem to be looking closely at the New York metro area for now. They are aiming for an announcement in early 2011.

My guide was David Ridley, Caterham’s International Development Manager, who showed me the various models, features of the entire range – something we just don’t see with our smaller Seven market in the US. I was able to sit, study, admire, drool and generally be a nuisance while checking things out. It was intriguing to see the CSR with its inboard front suspension, IRS and curvy dash: I was also able to discuss David’s plans for the Caterham Drive Experience coming to the USA in 2011 (hopefully?). While I was there, a proud owner brought in his new Seven race car (I think it was an Academy). Just to show that the English have a well developed sense of humor, the Caterham sales guys were calling it the fried egg car – as it was a yellow and white color scheme (white body, yellow nose cone, cycle wings, and rear wings). To fill in time while I was there on the weekend, I had arranged to join a full day session of the Caterham Circuit Experience at Silverstone Circuit. These are a fairly big event held regularly in the UK. Other variations on the theme are the Caterham Drive Experience (an auto-x/slalom style of event) and the Caterham Drift Experience. The format for the day is to turn up at 8am, wake up with coffee and breakfast and have a 30 min briefing on the circuit, safety factors, and generally how the day will progress. Then you are turned loose on the circuit with your instructor who takes you on an initial 3 lap demonstration to point which way the track runs, the basic layout, the racing lines and give you some basics on safety protocols (i.e. when to overtake, etc). It worked out that I shared a car with 2 other guys in the morning and in the afternoon it was sharing with just 1 other guy. You ended up with roughly 3 x 15-20 min sessions in the morning and after lunch another 3 x 20 min sessions all driven with the instructor next to you coaching you by intercom. The final element of the day was the instructor taking you out to show you how a Seven can really handle in the hands of a pro instead of a ham fisted hacker (like me!). Some of you know that I had a large incident on a track many years back and lost confidence so I figured this was my way to get back in the saddle gently and regain some confidence. The cars were a mix of S3 and SV chassis. The engines were Sigma 150 which are Ford 1.6L 150 FWHP standard engines matched up with the Caterham 6 speed gearbox and no LSD. Standard seats and interior with 4 pt harnesses and an FIA roll bar. From my scrutiny they looked completely stock other than no ignition key and the speedo was deactivated (so no telling how fast you were going). Tires were the standard Avon SV3 road going tires with full tread – lots of squealing. The Caterham crew was quite large. Six cars were there of which we were using four. There were 4 instructors, a coordinator, and two mechanics all led by “Sudsy” as chief instructor. We were using Silverstone’s south circuit (i.e. the southern end of the F1 circuit). The National circuit had a race meeting on and Stowe was being used by a Drive a Formula Ford for a day program. South Circuit is the top half of the circuit in this aerial image of the full complex

Last week I was in London for another business trip. To make life fun I paid a Friday visit Caterham South showroom to check out the floor stock, buy some goodies and generally have fun. I had been to the factory about 5 years back but this time the factory was not available for visit. Not a real problem as there was plenty to explore at the South Showroom. In the lobby area was an original Lotus 7 on loan from the Nearn family (no photo sorry). There was also a bare CSR chassis to see how it differs to a regular Seven chassis. There was also the new Monaco Seven model. Inside was red carpet trim – not necessarily my cup of tea when it comes to style but I appreciate the effort to keep the designs fresh. Out back in the warehouse was where they keep the jewels. There were more Sevens in one spot than I had seen in my entire life. We think it is an achievement in the US when we get 10-15 Sevens at a major meeting. Not having been to 7-7-07, I clearly missed a major meeting but even so, the garage below was impressive:

What about a drag race down the runway? :drool:

I was concerned that it would be too cold to participate in the drive. Good to see temp is heading up again.

I found it fun too for the first day then the reality hit: - Getting the ticket out of the machine at the pay parking lot - paying a toll on an interstate. oops! The worst combination has to be the US Virgin Islands - you drive on the lefthand side of the road with an LHD car. Visibility on left turns is terrible!

Great photo Gert!