yellowss7

Thanks Sean. A 130hp engine for a grand is a good deal. I'm sure it could be loaded up with new Thottlebodies, hotter cams some porting, etc. for several additional grand. You know the answer to the old question. "How much Horsepower can I get out of this engine?" Answer "How much money do you have to spend?" Tom

Nicely optioned car! Looks like you got a nice one. Only problem I see is that it's never been Autoxed, or on a track, spent most of its time in a nice garage, and probably never saw more than 4000 rpm on a nice Sunday drive around town. Make sure that you correct those problems ASAP!!!! Good luck with it!! Tom

I'm curious... Could you explain Cheap? I've seen the prices on the Cosworth site for a 2.0. at 10K plus. Where do you get them for $3500? What level of Hp? What other ancillaries are needed and at what cost? ECU,Mapping, TB's etc. Tom

Pksurveyor wrote: ???? Which seven? the Birkin next to the ultralight has cycle fenders not clams. However, if you mean the ones on the offroad seven... then I stand corrected. Tom

Easy answer is "it depends on the year, condition, spec" Some models are highly optioned, some have big Horsepower, some are in pristine condition, some aren't. I think you have to determine what you want, and what your price range is. If you can find a nice car, specced in the manner you want, in your price range, that's your car! In my experience, no two Cars are exactly alike. I've been to the Stoneliegh show in the UK, and with over 225 Caterhams parked next to each other, I didn't find any two exactly alike. What are you going to do with the car? Track days, street only, autox? All three? That will also have an impact on the spec you want. Bottom line, wait for the best car that best fits your needs. Otherwise, you can order a new one and pay upwards of $20-30K more to get exactly what you want. Carbon, Magnesium, and Big Horsepower are sexy, but costs big money. Do you need it? Personally, I think $25-35K for a nice well maintained car is a bargain. :yesnod: Tom

Jeff C wrote: You will fit a standard Caterham just fine. Just pull the bottom seat cushion out and put a thin piece of foam in. You will fit in perfectly and be able to see right thru the center of the windscreen. Tom

Jeff, I built my Caterham in 2000. I spent 5 years reading everything about them and finally ordered the car speced the way I wanted it. You are correct, the Caterhams are more expensive than some other makes. I love my car and wouldn't change anything. That said If I were to do it over, I would probably buy a nicely speced USED Caterham and then take it apart and rebuild it to make sure that it's done right, and to learn it inside and out. You would save at least 20 grand that way. IMHO. Just for clarification, you don't really "build a Caterham" you assemble it. It's nothing like what the Locost guys do. No welding, mostly just putting bolt A into slot B, type stuff. I logged 80 hours to build mine, and I have No real experience or skills. As for the other makes, I'm sure the others here who own, Birkin's, Westfields, Stalkers, and Ultralights will chime in shortly about their cars. Check out the Used market vs building from New. It will be hard to justify buying new, if the used market has some nice examples available. IMO Tom PS, if you Autox, then the 7 is the only car for you!!!!

Al, How about, " my Lotus handles better than your Lotus" as a logo? Or "My Lotus is lighter than your Lotus" Or of course the old standard "too fast to race" Either of these with a 7 on it would work. Tom

Hey Al, your not seriously going to tease us like that. Well, did you buy one of the Levante's??:yesnod: or are you still going old school? I know MoPho isn't selling you Orange back. And if you do bring a new se7en to Birmingham, I hear that the Autox course is 1 mile long. (Hint..take an instructor along :rofl:) If you're trailering down to LOG29, lets talk. Tom

Always loved the Elan. But 1500 pounds and only 160 hp, what a porker :rofl: . Tom

I would have thought that your buddy that built it and had it so long would have helped you get it registered, since he's been in business so long. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Sorry couldn't resist. Tom

Supersportsp wrote: Ahem. I beg to differ. I'm 6'1" and 225. I fit snuggly and comfortably in my standard sized Caterham. I have removed the seat bottom and fitted a foam pad to get a better view thru the windscreen, but I was certainly drivable without that mod. The SV is much wider and althought it is very roomy, the only thing I really like about it is the wider pedalbox. Here's two shots of me in the car. The first is driving the second is as a passenger. The Passenger seatbottom is in so you can see the headroom difference. http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/308285931_autox cbp 3.jpg http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1633068205_autox 10 19 08 g.jpg

My Bad. I had assumed that my FIA rollbar would be fine. I plan on fitting the Petty Strut as well to be extra safe. I will ping Jim re: my seven. However, having never done a track day, I plan on being in the Novice group and getting passed alot. Tom

Dean, where are you finding this info? The only reference to 'Open Cars" was that they are allowing those Factory Convertibles with pop up roll bars to participate. I haven't seen anything that is a 'Sevens' only track run group. As for the autox, I'd love to run with the street tired 7's but running on Hoosier Slicks is just too much fun. Do I read the tech inspection form correctly in that it requires an independent mechanic to inspect and sign off on the form? Other than my hotel reservations, I haven't reqisterd for Log29 yet as I'm waiting to see what events the USA7s group may be running that may conflict with the Log events. Tom

I have 2, was going to Log only originally. Tom

I believe that the Birken and the standard Caterham S3 are the same size. The Caterham SV is wider and slightly longer. Don't know about the Westie. Tom

Take a look http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/403131879_sizecomparison.bmp

Dean, I have a question. My cousin is going to make the trip with me. He's family but not immediate family as defined. If he's not going to participate in the driving events does he still have to have a Lotus membership? I assume that he will have to pay the $75 fee as opposed to the $25 family one. Is that a safe assumption? Tom

Good luck Skip! Make sure they do the correct one. :ack: Tom

DB6 wrote: It stands for SumoVersion. :rofl:

I tend to agree with Martin. Check the driveshaft U joints. tom

Looks somewhat like a cross between the superformance S1 and the Panoz roadster although that had a v8 and was much bigger.

Jon, I'm open to suggestions on the route. What I posted is from Google maps. I am thinking that we might plan to leave very early on Wednesday, like 3am early to beat the Philly/DC traffic. 3 hours or so past DC by 6am and we should have clear sailing. Towing, I will be alot slower than you guys that will be driving. I figure that with stops it may take closer to 17-18 hours of driving. So the plan would be to get as far as we can the first day, (without beating ourselves up too badly) and then try to arrive around 2pm or so on Thursday. (check in for LOG29 is noon to 6pm. Hotel checkin is 4 pm, according to my confirmation. Again, I'm open to suggestions. Let's see who is interested in heading down and then we can go offline and discuss the options. This is going to be a blast. Tom

Thanks Martin! Great Job. :hurray: And based on the calendar I don't see any rain in the forecast. Tom

Yeah, I was torn about going to the LOG29 and not going to the USA7s event, but the extra couple of days towing to and from the track event was a turn off for me. This is good news IMO. I just booked my hotel reservations. Looking forward to seeing you guys. :party: Tom