rcollum

My wife gave me a 'Soft Bits' half-hood for Christmas. Just got around to fitting it today. I like that you can easily see out the back, even with the panoramic rearview mirror. Who else got Seven stuff for Christmas? --Bob Collum

I was out of town on 12/12/15, so it was nice to get back to see what's happening at Katie's. A cold but clear morning, less than a week before Christmas - a really great turnout!The first picture is of a Callaway Z06. The Carrera GT was brought by Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth. --Bob Collum

For some reason, I never posted pictures here of our event back in September... Norm B and Michael D drove Sevens, and joined mine at the event. That's Kevin in the Fisher Fury. We will hold GYLO 11 this coming spring. --Bob Collum

This venue has been up & running since July. Dulles Landing is a new shopping mall in South Riding, VA. This Cars & Coffee event happens every Sunday morning at the Dunkin Donuts, from about 7:00AM - 9:00AM. This C & C has a slight tilt towards hot rods and American muscle, but it's a big event, and there is something for everyone. --Bob Collum

Congrats, Jay. Maybe we can get together at a British car show next year - maybe in Richmond? --Bob Collum

A friend asked me to go to the Dulles Landing cars & coffee event for a couple of hours, followed by a quick stop at Velocity Wings in the Eastgate Shopping Center, about 2 miles from Dulles Landing. The early-morning temperature was below 30F, so attendance was not as high as usual. (You can see a fair amount of frost on the grass in the pictures.) I'd guess there were about 40 of 50 cars at Dulles Landing, and a little less at Velocity. Some interesting vehicles at both. As long as I am dressed properly, and the doors are on my Caterham, this isn't bad! --Bob Collum

More from today... We had two Lincoln Zephyrs there today, one an amazing custom, the other original. Of course, we had a Christmas tree! --Bob Collum

Contrary to the thread title, no Sevens at Katie's today - I drove my Elise. A cold morning, but a good crowd at Katie's anyway. Here are some new ones to us. It's still amazing how we have cars showing up that we have not seen before. --Bob Collum

My in-laws, who are in their early eighties, got their first rides in the Seven, with their daughter driving. The smiles say it all! --Bob Collum

Of course, there were other nice cars there today, too... --Bob Collum

The temperature early this morning was mid-forties! Great for the end of November in Northern VA. A great story today - I'll try to get my facts straight. The 'founder' of this event, Bob Morris, has a neighbor. This woman, Polly, who is now in her eighties, bought an MG-TC new in 1957. The car has sat, unused in a barn on her property since the late 1970's. Bob pulled the car out, and sent it out to be restored for her. It was completed this week, and Bob M arranged for Polly to come up and see the car, restored, for the first time. Here are some pictures of her re-introduction to her car. This was great to see! We got some pictures of Polly, with Bob M, and Polly's daughter, posing with the MG. Not exactly a barn find, but it WAS in a barn! --Bob Collum

The 'wind wings' on my Caterham broke shortly after I bought the car, and my friend Jim Hurd asked if I needed replacements. He fabricated replacements out of polycarbonate, and also laser-etched a Lotus logo in the corner. Jim's work is really nice - I have a set of his laser-etched bar glasses with several Lotus cars on them. If you'd like to contact Jim to ask about a particular project, let me know. He has access to the laser etching machine, as well as a 3D printer, and almost anything else you can think of. --Bob Collum

A cold morning at Katie's still brings out lots of people, and as long as it's not raining or snowing (and it wasn't), the turnout of amazing vehicles is still very good. Three Lotus there this morning... I took the elements into account - it was an indicated 33F when I left home - and put some 'weather equipment' on, for the first time. It turns out that, with the doors on but no top, the 20-minute drive to Katie's was NOT BAD! --Bob Collum

I am in Fairfax, VA. I have an '06 Caterham. Let me know if it's convenient, and you can stop by! Just PM me... --Bob Collum

Skip: Honestly, the Zephyr was very quiet. Here are some shots of another hot rod that arrived with the Zephyr (might both be owned by the same guy). I don't know what the engine was, nor anything else about it - but it's beautiful! --Bob Collum

Here are a couple of engine compartment, and an interior shot. This thing is PRISTINE! --Bob Collum

What a great morning in Great Falls, VA! It was cool and overcast, but we had a good amount of new-to-us cars, including some great Lotus... Only one Seven there today (mine). That's a Lincoln Zephyr-based hot rod, running a flat-12 with three carbs. This car was just finished. There is a pic of the mechanic, crawling into the trunk, to hydraulically drop the car. The switches inside the cabin were not yet working. They had a separate button to retract the rear license plate first, so the plate didn't get crumpled when the car dropped. --Bob Collum

My experience in Northern Virginia was as follows- Before I purchased my Caterham, I visited the largest DMV in the area. They described a procedure that involved going to the one VA State Trooper barracks in our area set up for physical inspection of cars. The paperwork the DMV office gave me described a pretty thorough going-over, and left me wondering if the officer was going to find fault with no bumpers, no backup lights, etc., etc. Luckily, I listened to a friend who used to work at a DMV. Their advice was, as long as you have a legal title, take it to a local DMV, as small a facility as possible, and register the car. The huge DMV had plenty of people with 'second opinions' on everything. The one I ended up going to had two clerks, and the only question I was asked was 'would you like an Antique plate?'

Jay: My car came with a Michigan title, listed as a '1965 Caterham', but had no mention of replica, rebuild or reconstruction. I had no problems, but I can imagine that Virginia would put you through the wringer with mention of any of those. Where in Virginia are you located? --Bob Collum

My wife, Debbie, was unamused by the broken passenger-side wind deflector on our Seven. Here she is, effecting repairs with packing tape supplied by the restaurant before driving home. Mind you, I sat in the passenger seat while she drove the Seven here two weeks ago, and aside from minor frostbite and the occasional sinus-clearing wind gust up my outboard nostril (Note to self: DO NOT try to look out around the windscreen!) - it was not a big deal for me... Mark Franke advised me that I am, at best, second place in car repairs in my two-person household! (Keep in mind, Mark... that's still a 'podium' finish, bud!) --Bob Collum [Photo courtesy of Brenda Franke, whose hands were obviously NOT frozen from the ride out!]

Now, THAT is some SCENERY! Thanks! --Bob Collum

We had great weather for our drive to lunch at the Blackthorne Inn. It was a great turnout: 18 people, and 10 cars. Not just a lot of fun cars - a great variety, with 4 Elises, but also an Elan, a Europa, an S1 Esprit, an S1 Elise, a Caterham 7, as well as Dermot's Miata. When we arrived, there was already a Morgan in the parking lot. --Bob Collum

Our local Lotus car club had a 'drive to lunch' event on Sunday, 11/8/15. When we got to Blackthorne Inn, there was a Morgan parked there. It was a slightly cool, very clear day - perfect for a blat! Oh, my wife was annoyed by the broken passenger-side windblock, so she jerry-rigged it with packing tape for the drive home. Yes, she's an engineer! --Bob Collum ~

As of right now, I have 19 people (and 9 Lotus, including my Caterham) going to our lunch at Blackthorne Inn. There's still time to join us - just let me know! Thanks, Bob Collum

This Sunday is looking like a great day for a drive out west - come join us! Enjoy the drive, the lunch, the cameraderie... (Don't let me be the only guy in a Seven!) --Bob Collum