Croc

This is a very sensible question - most people do not understand their liability exposures until they have a claim that exceeds their car/home policy upper limits. The big caution for you here is that insurance is state dependent. I work in the insurance field so I get to see this mess every day. For example, Allstate and Met will not touch our Sevens in NJ but will in other states. Safeco is another company that is very helpful with insuring our cars but only does so in about 30 states (unfortunately not NJ but does CT). I have agreed value comprehensive car insurance on my Caterham through State Farm. The agreed value is subject to an annual indexing at my option at time of renewal. However, that was only after I had extensive negotiations with the State Farm NJ underwriters. I also have an umbrella policy via Chubb Insurance masterpiece product. They only sell via agents but you can find a CT agent on the Chubb website close to your zip code. If you have problems I can get a referral via my NJ agent (they are not licensed in CT). State Farm also offerred an umbrella to me but it would not cover my overseas assets. Chubb also insures Sevens on an inflation adjusted agreed value basis but they were more expensive than State Farm. Another option instead of Hagerty is Grundy. I found their Grundy's NJ policies had better terms and conditions and allowed more driving flexibility and usage. Hagerty policies in NJ hardly allowed you to drive the car for anything but a car club event if you read the fine print.

I think I recognize the symptoms of an automotive orgasm! lucky its not my keyboard and screen.... I think owners of all Sevens - Westfields, Birkins, Stalkers, Ultralites, etc, would all agree with your sentiments, not just the Caterham drivers. Congratulations on your new Seven and welcome to the very exclusive Seven owners club!

I just sent my form off - will be there for the reception Fri night and the Sat evening dinner. I also signed up for the autox - never done one of them before so it should be entertainment for the crowds watching. Unfortunately now that I have a new job on the horizon I will be unable hang around for the Sunday night or Monday track day since I will need to be back at the office - bit of a pity. For those arriving early on Friday, any interest in getting a small USA7s scenic run (or "spirited drive") together?

Congratulations on your purchase Twobone! She looks lovely! Being a Japanese car it probably came from a fanatic so the car is probably perfect in everyway. Happy driving! It will be easy to drive RHD on Canada (or even US) roads. Just takes a short period of adjustment and concentration. I drove an old RHD Jag across the US and apart from watching intersections and turns it was fine. You can also see a similar situation in the US Virgin Islands where they drive LHD on the left hand side of the road.

Thank you for resurrecting this posting. While I was not there....I wish I was...it looks like it was a great time for everyone. Another 7 years to the next one?

Look for obvious signs of chassis rails being repaired from a hit. Did you take the nosecone off for your inspection of the engine bay area? Very easy to do and gives you good view into that area. As Slingsht notes, electrical gremlins are common....but sortable. There are lots of loose connection types of issues that should not stop you purchasing but you should expect soon after purchase. Expect to need to fettle the car after purchase.... anyway that is half the fun of owning your new toy - setting it up just the way you like it. Good luck!

Putting aside my wind up of Jon :jester:...the CD/book was very good for understanding the Gettysburg site as you visit the various stops. Even without the sound you can use the book as a map guide of each stop on the battlefields. Gettysburg is a deeply moving place when you put it all in context with a guide like that. Send me a PM with your address and I will mail a color copy of the book to you end of next week when I get home from Cambodia. I may end up joining you to tour the battlefields again - very moving.

Confirmed - they are Type S. When I was last visiting the factory I found you can still buy them from Caterham at about $1000 a seat. They are very comfortable but not at that price!

On a Sevens run last year, Jon (Boxologist) brought along these nifty little walkie talkie thingys. Great for communicating between cars especially at an intersection when there is a debate on which way to go.... We only used them sporadically - it was not a tool for chatting - just to keep the group together on back roads. None of us were wearing helmets so no problems hearing them.

Skip - Thanks for this. How many miles did your balls do before they wore down to this?

I am out until late July. I am also out nearly all of September prowling in Spain and Portugal. October is LOG but we may be able to fit it in then.... Life is just so busy without a job! :jester:

Maybe it is justice that you burned out your circuits because you do not have a noisy beep like my car to tell you that your indicator needs to be turned off! :jester:

I think you are right. Maybe the LEO group for a few select people. Also in one of my "extended" 6 hour lunches with a client the other day he and I managed to bet each other that our respective "vehicles" will be faster. As he has a Triumph bike of some fuzzy spec (and he thinks I drive a fiberglass kit car powered by a Lada engine) then I have a way to even the odds in my direction by using this place... We may end up booking a few slots for this grudge match to take place. The moral of this story is never agree to a bet after sitting in the sun for a few hours drinking too many beers and margaritas. First action will be to inspect it the track - I am curious about how bumpy it is... I will have time in 2 weeks once I wrap up this weeks last work and survive Cambodia next week...

I just love the idea that you can design a car on a napkin, in a restaurant probably over a few beers!

This was not true for me in NJ. I had a 67 Lotus 7 title out of florida and it became a 2004 salvage/reconstruct title for a 2004 Caterham in NJ. I agree with the NJ DMV (plus confirmed it with an attorney) that this was the correct treatment under NJ regs that were in place when I went through my titling/registration process. We have a state-based regulation system for car titling/registration. There is no way that you can assert that sweeping generalization across all states. Some states are always going to be different.

Finally after much phone tagging, I reached Nick Goldman at Raceway Park (732-446-7800). A weekday all day event (Mon, Tues and Thurs) costs $2500 + $400 for EMS. A weekend event costs in the range of $6500 (subject to date) plus $400 EMS. The track takes 6 cars are any one time well spaced out. Nick said the surface is rough/bumpy in places and we should inspect the track in person (test drive it....he said he would unlock the track for us to check it) just to make sure we are comfortable using it with our cars. He said there have been no problems but recommends it anyway. I figure it cannot be any worse that the roads around NYC (NY/NJ/CT) and it is still safer there. Safety inspection is not quite the same as if it were an open track day - they can take into account that we are not running regular road cars plus we would be a private event. To make a booking requires 25% down and an agreed date. He said it is best to agree about 5 dates in advance and then compare it to his bookings register to find one or two that work. Some editorial comments from me: - $6500 for the weekend seems steep but Nick did note that they are always busy nearly every weekend. - For a weekday event the cost is pretty reasonable but it will be harder to draw people in - 10 people at $300 each - can we get that number of Sevens or "club" cars to justify a private event? - What is the right price for a track day and what is the sweet spot for number of cars/length of sessions? - I wonder if he would let us use the dragstrip on a weekday... - Yes the track is tight and but running at 8/10ths, less cars and with some common sense it could be a fun day.

What!!!! You plan to drive it???? I thought you were going to display it on your coffee table to show off to guests? :jester: In all seriousness...I will be looking forward to seeing it, especially since I used to own (and abuse) a sister car from the same year. :driving:

From an educational point of view, at what oil temp do you think it becomes wise to instal an oil cooler? I have been having this debate elsewhere off forum....

I hope the driver made it out ok with no injuries or problems ?

Yes and at a full moon the driver howls too!

Great photos! Does the Lancaster bomber still fly or is it just a grounded display piece?

I have not really named my current car other than call it "Seven." However, my first Seven (1965 Series 2) was called "Elvis" by my father, because it had so many hits on the racetrack from my driving.

Great photos as always Kiwi! Makes me really want to go there again.

Is there much difference between the ZX1 and the ZX3? I thought the power output increase was only marginal. Does it make sense to go for the SVT Zetec and then use that as a base to step it up?

I have a CD driving tour of the battefields from when I toured them last year. You just pop the CD in and then it tells you all about what you are seeing as you drive along. Will that help you? :jester: