No_6

Yup, local. Convenient for everyone all around. BTW, the bench seats were fine...since I was strapped in with 4-point harnesses. Had I gone for longer drivers, the lack of lumbar support or a head rest would have been an issue. Oh, and the plank they called a 'seat. However,' a gel insert for the seat and a lower-back oad could have been fashioned fairly easily, and headrests can be added with a bit of work.

Car is sold. BTW, you'd probably be fine with a 34" inseam. I had a little bit of room to move around, either sitting low, with my hips forward or bolt upright with my spine straight against the seat. A 36" inseam on the other hand would probably be right out.

I don't know if it is the long or short cockpit, but I have a 32" inseam and it fits me about perfectly. Drum rear brakes, and yes, 13" wheels. My insurance picked up the tab for tearing down the engine. Total butcher's bill came out to around $4,000. About 20 hours of shop time, and $2 in parts ($2's an exaggeration, but valve guides and gaskets don't cost much). They did check the clutch, transmission and suspension as well. I would have thought they'd have sorted the carbs also, but they didn't. It isn't bad, and it's certainly drivable, but it's something I notice because I know what it's supposed to feel/sound like.

More pictures, that I took earlier tonight.

1700cc Crossflow, 147hp built by Jay Ivey. Dual 40DCOE Webers w/K&N filters. Ford Sierra T9 5spd, Quaif LSD, 4.1 gear ratio, live rear axle. Fully adjustable rear struts were put in less than 1,000 miles ago. New Westco AGM battery + spare. Comes with tonneau, wind deflectors, some spare parts, spare tire mounting hardware (but no spare), and a fitted California Car Cover. Stock heated windscreen. 13" wheels. As some of you know, this car fell victim of theft/joyriding last year. Upon getting the car back, I had the motor torn down and everything checked out. They installed new valve guides, but other than that, the motor and transmission/clutch were fine. My only gripe is that after putting it back together, they didn't bother re-adjusting the carbs, so they're a little off. Other than that, the motor's in great shape. There are some chips in the rear right wing, but other than that and some minor rock dings on the body, the car is straight. Needs new tires. I haven't replaced them because I was considering getting 15 inch wheels, and now that I'm selling it, I figure you'd rather go with your preference than whatever I'd put on there. Contact: Terry Available: now 10,000 miles Registered in WA as a 1967 Lotus Super 7 w/collector's plates. Seattle car. email: lohenbrau@macpunk.com Phone/text: 206-612-5395 Full documentation. 2nd owner. $20,750 OBO PM me for the VIN # Addendum: The previous owner tracked the car, but I never have. He put 4.6k miles on the car, the rest are mine. It started life with a different motor. The current motor has 6,000-7,000ish miles on it or so. The previous owner had a racing cam in there, which I lived with for a couple of years. I had Jay put in a milder cam, which made the car much, much happier on the street, and ironically, only lost 2HP off the top, while flattening the power curve. Also, I had Jay install a manual choke, which is low left on the dash. Handy when starting the motor when it's cold. Pull it out, one pump of the gas pedal and start. I also named the car "Gee Bee" which is on a small silver name plate low center on the dash. It's stuck on there with double-sided tape, so will come right off. Oh, and in that first picture, you can see the soot mark on the wall from the exhaust. Yup. She runs rich, always has, but much more so when that hot cam was in there.

Okay, first off, no stuck/bent valve on the motor. Turns out I'm getting some blow-by and it's fouling my plugs. I feel like an idiot. Should have checked that first--but I've had so much work done to the motor, that I didn't expect this (but then again, that's what I get for choosing the wrong shop to work on the car--live and learn). So anyhow, I was wondering if anyone has switched to an aluminum head for their Crossflow and if there are any advantages to doing so. I'm mainly interested in improving reliability. My head does have the hardened valve seats, but I still add Marvell Mystery oil to my fuel (on the advice of my previous mechanic) to keep things slippery. I was hoping an aluminum head would run unleaded without the need for such improvisations.

Any tips for getting the thing unstuck without pulling the head?

Hmm... I'm thinking the RA1's might be the winner then. Very reasonable price, and I can get them from IL, so shipping costs are very good.

That's very interesting. Yeah, my A032s when cold were a handful. Of slide. Sudden and surprising slide. p.s. one other thing, I currently have 175/60 13's on my car, and with the A539 and RA1's, I'd need to go to a 185/60--would they require noticeably higher steering effort?

Well, I was fairly happy with the A032's I'm replacing, though I had a couple of scary instances of the back end breaking loose on me. So something that can warm up more quickly on cold road would be really nice. I really don't think it gets warm enough (or stays warm enough--seldom over the 80's during the summer--6 weeks, no kidding) for the 888s. Besides, while I can be... spirited... I've never driven hard enough to drift the 032s, so I think the 888s would be overkill. Love what you've done with your car, BTW.

or is the RA1 worth considering? This is for my 1996 Classic live rear-axle, 13" wheels. The A539 is about half the price, but from what I gather the CR500 is a better dry-weather performer. Primary use is spirited drives on back roads in the country (so 20-30 freeway miles to get to the destination) as well as the occasional autocross. Late night drives are a favorite as well, so something that can heat up well when it's 50-60 degrees would be nice. Never in the rain (I have no weather gear :/) Would either of these tires be appropriate? Am I asking too much of a single set of tires?

The shop that rebuilt my diff last year put a bug in my ear. They said that they thought it might be possible to replace the live rear axle in my '96 classic with a Ford Escort unit for around $5500, parts included. They talked about the fragility of the Moris/Italia, and I experienced first hand how hard it was to get spares for it. So replacing it with something stronger with much greater parts availability is appealing. But is $5500 too good to be true? Or is that too high?

Heh, well, looks like I'm going to be missing this summer. The joy-riders revved the living crap out of the motor. You should hear the clatter from the valves. Sounds like the tympani section of the Longhorn marching band. So ignition is the least of my concerns right now. Oh well. My insurance should cover this. Also, they finally fixed the garage door. Now that my car is in the shop. Talk about fixing the barn door...

Looking for a set of 15" wheels that will fit my '96 Classic live-rear axle car. Can anyone recommend a good shop? If I can get a great price for the wheels + tires fitted and delivered, that would be even better. Want to go with Bridgestone RE-11's. Thanks!

The fuel pump cut-off switch is a great idea, and that would be significantly cheaper than the keyless ignition.

Thanks again for all the kind words. It's much appreciated. Some of the wiring was torn up under the dash, and they broke a switch, but nothing too bad there. I think the motor is ok, though it is running hot even though it was relatively cool out when I picked it up (water temp was about 200, when it normally runs 180 under these conditions), it's idling about 300RPMs high, and there was a bit of engine run-on after I switched off the ignition. Also more than a bit worrying is the fact that gearbox was noticeably notchier. The front tires looked like they'd seen a track day, but I haven't looked at the back. The rear wheels had a heavy coat of brake dust on them, though. I really haven't had time to go over the car with a fine-tooth comb, but that is something I'm going to do over the next few days. Doesn't look like they stole much out of the boot--most surprisingly the toolkit was still there--but I have yet to do a complete inventory. Overall, very happy to have the car back. I am looking into keyless, push-button ignitions, though. Not sure where I'd install the button...

Great news everyone, the car has been recovered! Now I just have to get the car back and figure out what all (if anything) has been done to it.

Actually, the officer, while polite, was totally nonplussed. I believe QA has one of the highest incident of auto crime in the Northwest.

Thanks for all the kind words and help everyone. It is very much appreciated. Here is the incident # 12-181124, Seattle Police Department.

You probably have seen me. I'm on the south slope of Queen Anne, right on Aloha and Queen Anne Avenue. I'm surprised I haven't seen your car around. About 10-15 years ago, I remember seeing more 7's around, not just driving around, but for sale. Now there's virtually none. It's weird. And yeah, the parts may be hard to get, but they're all relatively cheap. And what isn't cheap is proprietary, or will only fit on this car... I reached out to Sovrn today, but my guess is that the police will find the car on the side of the road sometime in the next couple of weeks. My apartment manager is checking the security tape (there are two cameras in the garage, one of which is almost directly across from where my car was since my spot is next to the door, and another at the exit), so it'll be interesting to see if there's anything of use.

I do. I'll post that up when I get home. Thanks!

Thanks for all the help, guys. As far as I can tell, there are no used Caterhams for sale anywhere, and only a handful of Birkins. This really has to have been a joyride. I'm going to contact the local vintage racing club this week as well, as those would be the only guys who would by the engine parts.

It's got a 5-speed transmission, and Quaif transmission case, but it's not a Quaif transmission. Quaif LSD, with 4.1 ratio differential.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty much unstealable myself. I'm guessing it's a joyride, but who knows. Here's a few pics. The picture of the interior is out-of-date, though, as the drive shaft tunnel is now covered with carpet. Another distinguishing feature is that the dash lights aren't current working, I had a manual choke installed, which is low on the left side, the center rear-view mirror is currently in the boot, there are two small dings in the windshield on the driver's side right at eye level that have been filled, and a couple of the adjustment knobs on the carbs have been wired so that they can't be twiddled with.... hm, and the rear shocks are brand-spanking new adjustable units.

Stolen from my garage in Seattle, WA some time last night. The car: 96' Caterham Classic live axle, yellow nose, bare aluminum body and bonnet, green clamshell wings and rear fenders, chasis # SDKLLKANSV0020637, black bench seats. 13" steel wheels, no spare, side exhaust. dual webbers, 1.7l crossflow. Other identifying features would be the ceramic coating that is flaking off the exhaust headers, missing driver-side carpet, and red 4-point driver's harness (passenger side is the stock 3-point). Seattle Police Department, Incident #12-181124 non-emergency (206) 625-5011 online reporting: http://www.seattle.gov/police/report/default.htm So please keep your eyes open for anyone trying to sell parts, and PM me if you have any information. Thanks!