The Other Cars of USA7s Members (Non-Se7ens only)

[Bruce K]

5 hours ago, das76 said:

Here are my other 2 fun cars!

 

1979 Austin Mini: I have had this car for 30 years, since I was 17. I completely stripped it down shortly after getting it and rebuilt it all with my dad. It's priceless to me.

 

Last spring I picked up a 1991 Porsche 911 Turbo (964 generation) which was imported from Japan.

 

This spring I picked up my 2005 Superlight R: 

 

Great cars - love the blue you chose for the Mini.  As you rebuilt it together with your Dad, you can never sell it - in your garage, it is a rolling monument to Pop.  In anyone else's garage, it is just a pretty little car.  The Porsche's silver color is both sexy and cool - looks like it was carved out of polar ice.  I'm curious about your excellent Superlight R (just sold one - an incredibly exciting sports car).  I have never personally seen a Caterham without a rollbar, and your bar appears to be missing.  A Cat will not rest comfortably on the seat tops and windshield frame.  I also do not know of any Cats that have landed in that manner, but I'm sure it's happened.  What is your reasoning regarding the absence of a rollbar?

[das76]

17 minutes ago, Bruce K said:

Great cars - love the blue you chose for the Mini.  As you rebuilt it together with your Dad, you can never sell it - in your garage, it is a rolling monument to Pop.  In anyone else's garage, it is just a pretty little car.  The Porsche's silver color is both sexy and cool - looks like it was carved out of polar ice.  I'm curious about your excellent Superlight R (just sold one - an incredibly exciting sports car).  I have never personally seen a Caterham without a rollbar, and your bar appears to be missing.  A Cat will not rest comfortably on the seat tops and windshield frame.  I also do not know of any Cats that have landed in that manner, but I'm sure it's happened.  What is your reasoning regarding the absence of a rollbar?

 

Thanks for the kind comments. yes, the Mini is priceless - will definitely never sell it.

 

The Caterham came with a cage since James tracked it a lot before me and he sold the bar. The cage had to be removed to pass road inspection here. The track day rollbar arrived from Redline the same day as I picked up my car (2 days ago!) and I just hadn't installed it yet. But here is it with a minimal install: top bolts, but not the bottom bolts for now - but will remove the suspension this week and get the bottom bolts installed. Thank you for thinking of my safety! And of course Cat's look better with the rollbar too!

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by das76

[Bruce K]

1 hour ago, das76 said:

 

Thanks for the kind comments. yes, the Mini is priceless - will definitely never sell it.

 

The Caterham came with a cage since James tracked it a lot before me and he sold the bar. The cage had to be removed to pass road inspection here. The track day rollbar arrived from Redline the same day as I picked up my car (2 days ago!) and I just hadn't installed it yet. But here is it with a minimal install: top bolts, but not the bottom bolts for now - but will remove the suspension this week and get the bottom bolts installed. Thank you for thinking of my safety! And of course Cat's look better with the rollbar too!

 

 

My!  A car as tiny as our beloved Caterham is safer WITHOUT a roll bar?  Don't mean to be political, but that seems like unreal government interference and foolishness!  Are those Tillett carbon fiber seats?

[das76]

16 minutes ago, Bruce K said:

My!  A car as tiny as our beloved Caterham is safer WITHOUT a roll bar?  Don't mean to be political, but that seems like unreal government interference and foolishness!  Are those Tillett carbon fiber seats?

 

well, maybe the cage would have passed, but then i'd have to have the aeroscreen on and then that wouldn't pass - i can't recall the specifics since the mechanic at the garage did it and the inspection. It wasn't the type of cage that accommodates the windscreen. 

no, unfortunately not carbon seats. 

[Bruce K]

@das76 - I was referring to the roll bar only - did your authorities insist that you not have a roll bar in order to give you street legality?  Is so, more like street lethality!

 

Carbon fiber did save a few ounces in my car, but Cats like yours are so powerful, and already so light, the performance difference could never be felt - more of an appearance thing IMO.

[Croc]

20 hours ago, das76 said:

Last spring I picked up a 1991 Porsche 911 Turbo (964 generation) which was imported from Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not normally a fan of 911s but I am really liking the color on this one plus the RUF wheels are my all time favorite (or are they the Momo Heritage wheels?)

 

 

[das76]

13 minutes ago, Croc said:

 

 

I am not normally a fan of 911s but I am really liking the color on this one plus the RUF wheels are my all time favorite (or are they the Momo Heritage wheels?)

 

 

thanks. It’s a Paint to Sample (Porsche’s wording for ‘we are going to charge you a $h!t load extra money for this’) colour called Linen Metallic. I have only ever seen photos online or 1 other Turbo in this colour so I’m quite lucky to have a very rare colour. In the sun it’s just amazing and it really pops. Yes they are RUF wheels. Good eye!

[slowdude]

Just now, das76 said:

thanks. It’s a Paint to Sample (Porsche’s wording for ‘we are going to charge you a $h!t load extra money for this’) colour called Linen Metallic. I have only ever seen photos online or 1 other Turbo in this colour so I’m quite lucky to have a very rare colour. In the sun it’s just amazing and it really pops. Yes they are RUF wheels. Good eye!

PTS is the way to go, if going a 911.

 

Otherwise the normal colors get lost at a cars and coffee. 

 

I also like that your color isn't a typical green/orange/blue that everyone else has as PTS. It's refreshing.

 

What color is the interior?

 

The only 911 that I have seen / actually wanted was a PTS stone grey turbo S (2013) with a dark midnight purple leather interior. I like that your 911 isn't like the rest of them. 🙏

[das76]

A few more showing the sunlight playing on the beautiful hips and curves 

 

@slowdude

Thanks!!  Interior is full leather in black

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by das76

[Croc]

1 hour ago, das76 said:

A few more showing the sunlight playing on the beautiful hips and curves 

 

 

I like how it changes in the light.  It looked a little champagne, a touch of green, then silver in other photos.  Really distinctive color choice that pops as you say!

 

 

[theDreamer]

Not my car but a huge part of my life. As I mentioned in my long winded bio, my father had a collection of antique/classic/collectable cars. His favorite and ongoing restoration project was his 1934 LaSalle.

He was a wheeler dealer who rode mostly motorcycles until after the war. In the late 30’s, while dating the girl who would become my mother, he used to borrow his boss’s 1934 LaSalle convertible coupe. He made her a promise that he’d own such a car one day. In the late 50’s he traded a home built TV for a 1932 Frontenac and joined several old car clubs. Looking through one of the club’s newsletters he found a 1934 LaSalle project for sale. A couple of young guys were in the middle of making it into a hot rod. They swapped out the straight 8 for a Cadillac V8, (Held in by wood 4x4’s for motor mounts.) It took over two years but he, (with the help of my three older siblings and a very understanding wife) did a complete stripped down, every nut and bolt, restoration. Well, sort of… as somethings got left unfinished once he started driving it. One of the car’s biggest claims to fame was the fact that it was shown at the 1964 New York Auto Show in a special exhibit entitled “Cavalcade of the Car”. Sports Illustrated magazine sponsored this display highlighting the top ten cars, as chosen by an esteemed group of designers, engineers and journalists. It covered the first 50 years of the automobile and the 1934 LaSalle convertible coupe was picked for being the first car designed by the use of freeform sketching and a hand sculpted clay model. It showcased such now recognisable elements as; the long hood, short rear deck and low roof line. A look that the Mustang and other pony cars of the 60’s are famous for.

After my father passed the car was kept in running condition so that if mom wanted to go for a ride one of us would be able to drive her. Eventually the 35+ year old, never finished, restoration needed a complete redo. My brother purchased the car from my mother and started to do a second body off, nut and bolt, back to factory original restoration. It was now his car and he decided to change things to his liking while still keeping within what was available from the factory at that time. He commissioned Durham Classics to make a die cast copy of the car. They made many variations with a special, limited number version, painted using the last of the original yellow lacquer created by C.I.L. for our car.
http://www.durhamclassics.ca/view_mo...sp?modelNum=30
Unfortunately, the years, his and his wife’s health as well as the same financial problems we all face took their toll. He had to sell his big house and move into a much smaller more manageable place. With no big workshop to finish the car he was forced to sell it.
The new owner (90 years young) took about 6 months to finish the restoration. He made a few changes from what my brother was going to do. For example he went with a black cloth top versus the beige top my brother had made. The new owner also retained the original style bench seat. My brother had painstakingly research and acquired a pair of period correct bucket seats. The car is spectacular! So good that it won an award at the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance this past September. (It's Canada's top automobile show.) https://www.cobblebeachconcours.com/
I’ve attached a few photos. The first is eleven year old me with my father in the parking lot of the Canadian Automotive Museum circa 1964. A photo of the Limited Edition die cast model in “London to Brighton” Yellow. There’s one of my brother helping to load it up showing how close, yet how far away he was from finishing it. The others show the finished car.

Edited May 14, 2023 by theDreamer

[Bruce K]

Very pretty car, in a very Viper-like color.  As you noted, forward-looking proportions and beautiful curves.  The Die Cast model is great, and I am contacting Durham Classics now to see if they can fill in several missing 1/18th models in my collection (I have a collection of 1/18th models of the sports/race cars and "sporty" vehicles I have owned over my lifetime (I consider my former Ford Lightning and Chevy SSR with Corvette motor to be "sporty" vehicles).

[panamericano]

Outstanding story and car.  Perfect for our drizzly Sunday with my afternoon coffee.

[theDreamer]

22 minutes ago, Bruce K said:

Very pretty car, in a very Viper-like color.  As you noted, forward-looking proportions and beautiful curves.  The Die Cast model is great, and I am contacting Durham Classics now to see if they can fill in several missing 1/18th models in my collection (I have a collection of 1/18th models of the sports/race cars and "sporty" vehicles I have owned over my lifetime (I consider my former Ford Lightning and Chevy SSR with Corvette motor to be "sporty" vehicles).

Bruce, thanks for the comments. FYI, Durham Classics only does 1/43 scale.

[Bruce K]

theDreamer - I saw that on their website, so I wrote them an email, inquiring if they could model in 1/18 for me.  If they can, I will inform the forum members.  It has been difficult to find modellers to craft these cars for me.  If anybody knows somebody who can help, please direct me to them.

[bball7754]

@Croc Assume you’re following this?  https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-bmw-3-5-csl/

[Croc]

3 hours ago, bball7754 said:

@Croc Assume you’re following this?  https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-bmw-3-5-csl/

 

 

Yes I saw it but I find it confusing.  Its not a well written ad.  They should have run the provenance to ground with research and documentation.  That would have a huge effect on value.  The other thing is that it seems to be only driven a short time in 2017 - so is it sorted or not?  HP seems 50hp and 0.1L displacement above what should be expected from the engine description?  Lots of questions that I need to go back and review again.  

[11Budlite]

My latest addition is an Exocet 1.8 Turbo that I part own with my son. My son, and his friend and YT channel partner Quinn, had purchased this as a wrecked project with the goal of using it as a dual-purpose track and rallycross toy with an Exocet/Paco motorsports kit. More details of their build here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSlipAngle 

I just bought out Quinn, and my son and I are going to be converting it into a strict track car to have as a back-up car for Matt and I, and that my youngest daughter and son-in-law can also use to get involved in track days. Our first track day will be at LRP on 7/3 and it should be interesting with the suspension setup that's on it now. Thankfully we'll be taking off the rallycross wheels/tires and have another set of more appropriate wheels and tires to use for the track day. 

Not the prettiest of cars to look at, with similar aero to a Caterham, but they do have the benefit of having the whole spectrum of upgrades that's available to the NA/NB Miatas. They have a ton of interior space compared to a Caterham and are very easy to work on too. Future upgrades could include a K-swap but for this year we're going to concentrate on the suspension and getting it dialed in.

It should be fun but my Caterham is not going anywhere!

Edited June 11, 2023 by 11Budlite

[S1Steve]

Good Morning Bud, I personally love your new toy. May not be for everyone, there’s a tread going discussing wind buffering. I would think it could be a super fun track car. If you leave the rally tires on it, you could beat Croc by cutting across the grass and jumping a few corners…  Enjoy it..🍻

Edited June 11, 2023 by S1Steve

[Croc]

23 minutes ago, S1Steve said:

If you leave the rally tires on it, you could beat Croc by cutting across the grass and jumping a few corners…  Enjoy it..🍻

 

Too late - I discovered that trick in another of my cars - one I have not listed on this thread yet.

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, 11Budlite said:

Our first track day will be at LRP on 7/3 and it should be interesting with the suspension setup that's on it now. Thankfully we'll be taking off the rallycross wheels/tires and have another set of more appropriate wheels and tires to use for the track day. 

 

Calling @xcarguy  You are not alone with an Exo.

 

@11Budlite  Are we going to see you at NJMP this year with your Caterham?  Exocets are allowed as well!