Ruadhd2

Planning for spring. I have an inefficient hodge-podge of stuff in my 7 boot that probably adds weight and not lightness. Only cool thing is a lightweight aluminum Porsche jack and jack handle. Otherwise I seem to duplicating effort with tools that overlap purposes, etc. Anyone got cool ideas for what to carry for 1. regular driving emergencies, 2. short day trips 3. or longer tours maybe including light tool kits etc.? No smart guys with: "A cell phone and AAA card" please.

I'm kinda partial to Miss April. http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13565638/941342441/name/HootersCalendar_1pg_2011-FINAL_PDF-noBookmarks.pdf

In Orange County CA. No affiliation: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/2151825481.html I talked to the owner. 1999 build. Current owner purchased it built…1700 Ford Crossflow …5 speed T-5… Adjustable buckets with 4 point harnesses… Has top and side curtains…..One problem…..One cam lobe bad Valve Lash…..Cam needs replacement….. Looks like it could be bought well, repaired or repowered.

I just sold a fully loaded 96 Miata for $4500.00 (LSD and many performance upgrades). Here's a fully loaded MINI and it is British Racing Green. No affiliation. Its hard to imagine these days what the dollar will buy.Here's a 6 speed, supercharged car with driver ergonomics, traction control, lsd,power sunroof, performance grade suspension design, electronic everything, cold weather stuff, etc. for this kind of money. Lots of great choices out there.

Miata too low for snow and must have dedicated tires. Uses regular gas through 1999. Probably the world 's most and cheapest raced car. Tons of cheap mods. Always pleasant. Course there 's the turbo'd 2004 Mazdaspeed. I'm sticking with Minis or Civic si. Can 't go wrong and fun. Then there's an older M3. Grin (my daily driver)

Well. I can help there. I have had 3 modern MINI's (all S's) and 3 Civics and a Miata. The Miata is like driving a glove. Perfect fit. Never breaks. Always easy, but its a two-seater. Any MINI after 2004 or 2005 will be fine, especially 2006 onward. They are pretty bug free. Of course a Honda Civic Si will give you performance and fuel economy and generallt has it all (a little boring to look like). If I were to buy one econobox for everyday it would be an older MINI S. Too much fun, because the driver ergonomics are perfect. You will have a similar permagrin as a with a 7 but with four seats. Have to burn 89 or higher though.

Had three Jeeps. Not worth the arguments. Do whatever to keep the girl. Now if it were a 7....hmmmmm

Welcome aboard and thanks for sharing your wonderful website. I get the feeling that the large number of 7's over there results in a lot more fun for the 7-obsessed.

Obviously, additional properties are an individual decision and depend upon one's resources. While I pooh-poohed the idea in an earlier post, I actually have a small second home in the woods which was paid for without a mortgage and very affordable. Luckily it is very well built and is on such a simple plan with strong, reliable appliances that it only needs monitoring once a month or so. Still, you can get calls like I did from a friend who was checking on it to inform me that a pipe was leaking water into the basement! We don't rent the place out, which is a plus. I am sure there are many other forum members with multiple residences. It certainly is the dream of many. So, it is very much an individual decision, but one that should not be gotten into blindly.

Pros: 1. You have a nice place to go to. 2. You can make rental income. 3. If you are ski addict and a beach addict and don't need the rental income and can afford it and can still afford to travel other place, buy 3 or 4 places Cons: 1. You can go many other places over your life time and enjoy variation of scenery and experiences for much less money. 2. Whatever you buy today that seems like a steal could be much less to buy tomorrow. 3. If you are not a handyman and don't have the time and don't know one or don't want to pay for one or pay a management company you could be under water in more ways than one during a month when it isn't rented. 4. Lots of other people think its a bad idea, especially in places like Florida where you can steal a condo, but you have: 5. condo fees that keep increasing (that's why timeshares are risky too) 6. Out of control condo associations. 7. Condos that go un-cared for due to dysfunctional condo associations. 8. Places that look cheap until you look at the annual property taxes (in the case of Florida) 9. Places that look cheap until you realize the cost of flood and hurricane insurance (in the case of Florida) 10. Places that become an albatross and you can't sell them when you need to. 11. Your needs change for health reasons and you can't get rid of the place. 12. Drains your attention worrying about it and ruminating about furnishing it or its safety. Just one more thing with tons of little things to worry about (like a boat or Lotus 7 variant)

I need center caps for my Panasport wheels (15x7). Panasport doesn't make these anymore. Summit Racing has them, but they have logos from other cars on them. They are approximately 2.75 inches wide and snap on; and they are approximately 2.25 inches high. A little shorter or taller would be fine. I'd take them in chrome or black and prefer no logo if they aren't Panasports or Lotus. Thanks in advance for your attention and efforts.

Very interesting question about production numbers. It can be very surprising.

Martin: I have been collecting pictures of 7's by owners and have found an overwhelmingly large percentage of Stalkers among the marques that make up this variations. How may Stalkers have been produced so far? I thought members of our readership would like to know.

Thank you very much. There's something compelling about the balanced design of the 7. I don't know what it is. There are few cars like it. Kind of mean and naughty and hip looking at the same time. Have loved them since I was in my early 20's and I'm 68!!

Dear 7 enthusiasts, I continue to be gratified by the wonderful comments I am getting about the pretty 7's gallery, and even more gratified by the pictures of the magnificent 7's. I wish I had put captions on them. Some were gathered from all over the internet and some had basic data provided by USA7 forum members. This is still not an official USA7's endeavour, being a sharing of a private collection only. At this point I must say that the number of Stalkers in our membership is a big surprise. Almost half the collection is comprised of Stalkers. I would really like to slow down on adding more Stalkers, just for the sake of balance. Still looking for more early original 7's, Caterhams, Birkins, Westfields and low production oddball variations of the 7. At some point soon I will pause in the process to possibly attempt to backtrack and add captions. Also, really looking for pretty pics that are well composed, clearly photographed and placed in an artistically interesting context. Hoping someday to have a nice balanced collection of the breadth of 7 concept variations with adequate representation of the major producers of the kits, rollers, turnkey cars, and vintage ones. The gallery would make a nice screensaver and may serve other decorative purposes. So, let's hold off a bit on the Stalkers,because they are obviously so successful they are crowding out the field. I want everyone's marque to be well represented more than I want a reflection of the current popularity. Here's the gallery link again: http://picasaweb.google.com/drsms22/MostBeautiful7S02# Thanks to everyone who has been celebrating with me the magnificent 7's as rolling works of art. Steve

Dear friends: The response to this gallery listing has been great. The biggest surprise has been the number of Stalker pictures I am getting. This really shows how popular this car is. Another fact is the number of times they are actually running and in races. These are 7's that are actually running! Don't want to discourage Stalker owners (keep em coming), because they are all pretty, but could use some original Lotus 7 pics and modern Caterhams too as well as other variants, i.e. Birkins, Locosts, etc. Of course I could grab them off other sites, but that would be work.

The Rotus company wasn't in business very long and only produced 50 to 60 cars. It didn't appear in magazines all that often. I thought I'd share this eBay listing with the few folks on here who might have a Rotus.

Rob, Mazda and other Rotus owners check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310284900403&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

I've been getting an increasing number of positive responses to the gallery project and folks are submitting great pics of their cars. If you would like a pic of your ride, it is easiest to email me a jpg (Drsms22@gmail.com). I am a psychologist and very careful about confidentiality. I am also concerned about confidentiality on the web, especially to protect members and their cars. So, I prefer pics without license plate numbers and people in them. If you don't mind a photo of yourself and/or a significant other and/or with your license plate details, I will assume that the submission is tacit permission to publish it in the gallery. Keep em coming. We're building a nice collection. Check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/drsms22/MostBeautiful7S02# Note: This is not an officially sponsored activity for the USA7's group at this time. It is just a personal collection of variations on the theme of one of the slickest cars in the world that I am sharing. Stephan "Steve" Silverman

No affiliation http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2129702565.html

No affiliation http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/2135386764.html

If something is fine to experience once, then maybe it is sometimes ok to do it twice. I was going to put multiple shots of owners' cars provided, but I am kind of aiming to develop a screensaver or calendar style collection. So I think I'll try to just get one great pic of each car submitted. The 7 is a great opportunity for the use of an artistic palette in design. I have frequently thought it would make a great art school competition to design the best combination of 7 colors with or without stripes,stoneguards, hood scoops, louvres, exhaust pipes of various sizes, chrome or painted black wheels, interiors, etc. sort of like the color combination choices on the Westfield site but with more options.

I know. I loved it both ways. Frankly I feel they are equally beautiful but just a different look. Mike did a great job really, but it isn't like it was stone ugly in the first place. Steve

I think the 7 is a great looking piece of sculpture. If I had the money I'd always keep a 7 just to look at it. Fortunately, mine is running right now. I'm creating an album of pretty 7's. I've avoided pictures that reveal people's faces or license plate numbers. I have broken confidentiality of a couple of dogs pictured with 7's. Many of the photos are taken from USA7 owner vehicles. If you'd like to submit pictures of your pretty 7 for this venture, shoot me an email: Drsms22@gmail.com and I'll stick the pic(s) in there. If you see your car in this collection and don't want it there, let me know and I'll happily pull it. Cheers, Steve http://picasaweb.google.com/drsms22/MostBeautiful7S02#

Would like to tour but worry about long range seat comfort. Don't mean to hijack this thread but wonder if anyone has seats that have proven to be consistently comfortable for long trips. I realize that body types and preferences vary, but there must be a reason why some seats work better for long rides for more people than others, such as the new seats that were introduced in the 2006 Elise.