So, tell us a little about yourselves

[Kitcat]

Aznatama-welcome! Bike ownership seems to be a frequent stepping stone to the world of Sevens: both are noisy, fast, intoxicating and nearly invisible to other drivers. And it mite be fair to say that their purchase is more emotional than rational.

 

There are lots of options out there, so take your time to poke around here and ask questions, explore old threads, etc.

[MHKflyer52]

I think I should post here too... :-)

 

25yrs old

Joined USMC Reserves in summer of '03 (4th LAR BN, Camp Pendleton) been on a combat deployment to northeast Africa in '06.

Graduated from UC-Irvine in fall of '05.

 

Welcome and THANKS FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY. :flag:

[slngsht]

 

Welcome and THANKS FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY. :flag:

 

ditto :thumbs:

[Avery Waterman]

I am a RI-born trial lawyer of 26 years, specializing in personal injury on behalf of victims, predominantly medical malpractice and motor vehicle accidents, secondarily in civil rights, sexual abuse and other miscellany interesting to me. (Should know better than to race about in a Se7en, let alone without a helmet!) Although my caseload centers in my state of Virginia - adopted after attending the College of William & Mary and UVA Law School - I also am licensed n DC and LA and have handled significant cases in MA, PA, MD, NC and TX - like Paladin, "Have gun, will travel".

 

I single-parent 4 children - a daughter at Harvard, a son at VCU, a son in high school, and a daughter in junior high school. Current double tuition and the nearing specter of triple and quadruple tuition for college and professional schools for all for years to come is a great motivator. Thank God my practice is booming.

 

We live at Kingsmill, site of the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open, adjacent Colonial Williamsburg. Our semi-rural locality in general and resort subdivision in paticular are cool safe places to tool around in a Se7en. The 15-mile interstate strip from home to office makes for an adrenaline-filled commute during rush hours.

 

Never really a car nut, I spent most of my driving time racking up over 300,000 miles on my steadfast BMW 5-series, which I still own along with a couple Mercedes and H2. With the death of my wife and advent of midlife, I treated myself to a 911 and then Boxster, but ultimately grew tired of the countless police stops and turned to unique smaller-engine British sports cars. A lifetime lover of long bonnets, I lately have bought a Panther Kallista, Morgan Plus 4 and, most recently, a Caterham Super - the 7 because of its rue billing as the ultimate driving rush, not to mention its introduction during my birth year.

 

 

 

 

[Kitcat]

Welcome Avery. Fellow attorney here also, for the last 36 (yikes!) years.

 

And last year, 3 kids in college, all on my dime. I feel your pain!

 

I specialize in social security disability law and VA disability law. I did a lot of civil rights, housing discrimination, etc., in my early years before finding my current niche.

 

What model Caterham do you have, what engine, year, etc.?

 

I Have been driving mine to work almost on a daily basis. Even a tedious day at the office is great if bookended by a Seven drive!

 

Mike

[Avery Waterman]

Thanks for the reply, Mike, and pardon the tardiness of mine. Often I have stretches of little more than attending work and kids. This time my chronic home internet problems delayed too.

 

Mine is a 2002 Cat Roadster with base Zetec and intake cam only upgrade - Steve T's long-time ride that I succeeded last month. (Guess I need to get some sort of photo appended to my posting name and locale.) I am debating whether to complete the full Webcon F1 upgrade to 200 HP, which I really do not need for my riding, or to reverse the partial upgrade into which I bought, as the ECU is not handling it well at and under 2500 rpm.

 

About once a decade a compelling civil rights case lands on my doorstep unsolicited, this time a NC trooper who at point blank put several fatal bullets through the driver's window of an unarmed escapee who was backing away slowing in his patrol car. But as you know, "qualified immunity" ever is a serious uphill battle, so mentally I approach such cases as my pro bono publico work . . . . Obviously he would have been better off moving forward fast in a Se7en.

 

My given name is Avery. My nickname is Sandy. Actually I answer to some other colorful things too.

 

Don't suppose you know the Giblers in Cinncinnati, a family of doctors associated with St. Xavier? My oldest dates one. Got to ride to the Virginia state high school soccer Final Four in Blacksburg.

[Kitcat]

Sandy:

 

Don't know the Giblers, sorry.

 

Qualified immunity is tough, as are juries who figure if the cop did it, it musta been right. Good luck on what will probably be a hard-fought case.

 

The car sounds great too. I have had mine for a year and am still putting things right. It is slowly getting there. My practice sucks up great quantities of time, so all the work on my car has to be hired out, which eventually adds up.

 

I wanted a Zetec engined car but ended up with a Crossflow. Both have their pluses and minuses but the Zetec makes more power which is always nice. I haven't missed the hp so far and love the sound of the Crossflow so am very happy with what I have. Now that the weather is nice, the Seven is virtually my daily driver.

 

Mike

[DeanG]

Welcome Avery!

 

Kingsmill is a mini hotbed of interesting cars. A few of the members of the Williamsburg Motoring Society live there.

 

I'm down in Newport News, VA.

 

Dean

 

 

[Avery Waterman]

Dean: I recently heard there is a British car club in Williamsburg. Is that the WMS? If not, what is the latter? Are you a member? When do they meet, what do they do, and who heads it? Ay other Se7ens? Thanks. Sandy

[solder_guy]

Welcome Avery!

 

Rob (in Germany)

[Alaskossie]

Avery,

 

Another attorney here (natural resources/public lands/environmental specialization, in both public and private sectors, with 38 years of nose to the grindstone here in Alaska). I am currently assembling a 2007 Caterham Seven S3 with Duratec 2.3 power from a kit in Colorado, and commuting back and forth to keep the law practice above water.

 

The assembly of my Seven is taking quite a bit longer than I had planned, but I am enjoying it, since it is something I have wanted to do since 1961. (As someone said today, if you are asked why you would consider buying or building a Seven, or finally undertaking some other long-desired dream, your honest answer can simply be two words: "Tim Russert."

 

I saw Steve Taylor's Seven (now yours) and met Steve, when my wife and I visited our older son and his wife and our brand-new granddaughter in Charlottesville, VA last June. (Scott's wife took one look at Steve's Seven, and told her husband, "You are NEVER going to ride in that thing!").

 

Scott and Sarah have since moved to Richmond; Scott is a UVA law graduate and works with a national law research firm in C-ville, and Sarah is a history professor at VCU, where your son goes to college. Sarah's parents are retired to a golf-oriented subdivision adjacent to Williamsburg, VA called Ford's Colony, which I believe is quite close to where you and your family live. We visited them there for the first time just last April -- a nice, quiet area with lots of rural roads, but I'm sure much too warm for me in the summer.

 

It's a small world -- welcome to Seven ownership!

 

Tom Meacham

Anchorage, Alaska

[Avery Waterman]

Tom: Indeed! Let me add a couple more uncanny overlaps. A number of my contemporaries worked at NLRG before moving on.

 

And in 1983, then a bachelor new associate in New Orleans, I flew to Alaska with my 18-speed bicycle and rode for the Heart Fund from Anchorage to Denali over the Summer Solstice. For 5 days, I arose each morning and had a hearty breakfast, hammered out about 50 miles with 40 pounds of gear on my panniers, made tent camp at a friendly river, and kicked back and hydrated with my 6-pack unto the dusk-like midnight. (Riding a bicycle 250 miles on your then shoulderless route 10 alongside innumerable double-hauling tractor-trailers actually was more a rush and mindgame than driving a Se7en on our Interstates.) The 85-degree days and world-class horseflies contrasted sharply with the world-class snowy peaks and frigid mountain streams. Hands-down, it still stands among the several best vacations of my life. My only regret: not riding on to Fairbanks after the fundraising tour ended!

 

Drop in if ever you are in the 'Burg. Regards from the "Lower 48"! Sandy

[Hyper]

I'm a Florida native, but I moved out of the heat for school and haven't looked back sense. I'm 24 and have spent the last year working for a large defense contractor in NJ as a programmer. My background is Material Engineering, but I ended working on a Mechanical Engineering project, Baja SAE at Cornell. I stuck around an extra year to get a Masters in Systems Engineering. I'm actually getting ready to move up to Kalamazoo, MI in a few weeks to start a new life designing transmissions for big rigs. I'm looking forward to actually being able to afford a house, although I really just need the garage and a bed. I'm planning on finding a Cat or Westfield in the next year or so. I'd like to build one on down the road but I don't have the stock of tools built up.

 

http://usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/934857678_170606047-L.jpg

 

Above is the last car while I was still in school. I don't know if you can, but I had a bit of an influence in the design of the nose . I was one of the founders of the team at Cornell, so I've sort of been a part of the one off car design from beginning to end. My main responsibility was suspension design, but we had a small team so I've done it all: metal fab, mill, lathe, clay modeling, composites, computer modeling, painting...and whatever else you can think of. My dad was a car nut and I got drawn into it too.

 

I've wanted a se7en since I first saw one, mind you that's probably not all that long ago compared to everyone else around here. So I figured, with some income and some time finally it's about time I did something about it. I look forward to contributing to the forum and the se7en lifestyle.

[slngsht]

Hyper, welcome aboard. Good luck with the hunt

[Kitcat]

With all the skills you have, a Seven is a perfect fit! They are wonderful awe-inspiring vehicles but are often in need mechanical TLC.

[Flasher 70]

Well, just joined your group today! I am an oilfield consultant in the Texas panhandle, divorced for 6 yrs, 56 yrs young, 2 grown sons who are also gearheads. LOL I grew up in an automotive repair shop of my dad's, and learned fractions from tools. Did some sprint car and midget racing and then a brief foray in sports cars, til old age and common sense prevailed. Started buying a playing with corvettes and still have 2 of them, then got interested in klit cars and specialty cars. I just purchased Coveland's demo car and will get it delivered in a few days. I also have 2 Manta Mirages, Manta Montage, Sterling, Laser 917, and a Gatsby. I also like motorcycles! LOL

 

:7head:

 

 

The orange mirage has a 331 ci Chevy w/ 400 hp, the black mirage is a 327 w/ 350 hp, the gold sterling has a 1915 cc Vw 110 hp, the red montage has a 1917 cc Vw about 120 hp

[MHKflyer52]

Well, just joined your group today! I am an oilfield consultant in the Texas panhandle, divorced for 6 yrs, 56 yrs young, 2 grown sons who are also gearheads. LOL I grew up in an automotive repair shop of my dad's, and learned fractions from tools. Did some sprint car and midget racing and then a brief foray in sports cars, til old age and common sense prevailed. Started buying a playing with corvettes and still have 2 of them, then got interested in klit cars and specialty cars. I just purchased Coveland's demo car and will get it delivered in a few days. I also have 2 Manta Mirages, Manta Montage, Sterling, Laser 917, and a Gatsby. I also like motorcycles! LOL

 

:7head:

 

Welcome to the group and when you get the time post some photos of your cars as we are all gear heads and will enjoy seeing them especially if you can tell a little bit about each.:thumbs:

[slngsht]

Well, just joined your group today! I am an oilfield consultant in the Texas panhandle, divorced for 6 yrs, 56 yrs young, 2 grown sons who are also gearheads. LOL I grew up in an automotive repair shop of my dad's, and learned fractions from tools. Did some sprint car and midget racing and then a brief foray in sports cars, til old age and common sense prevailed. Started buying a playing with corvettes and still have 2 of them, then got interested in klit cars and specialty cars. I just purchased Coveland's demo car and will get it delivered in a few days. I also have 2 Manta Mirages, Manta Montage, Sterling, Laser 917, and a Gatsby. I also like motorcycles! LOL

 

:7head:

 

You need more cars :lol:

 

Corvette owners are taking over this place :thumbs: ('99 C5)

[BobDrye]

Well, just joined your group today! I am an oilfield consultant in the Texas panhandle, divorced for 6 yrs, 56 yrs young, 2 grown sons who are also gearheads. LOL I grew up in an automotive repair shop of my dad's, and learned fractions from tools. Did some sprint car and midget racing and then a brief foray in sports cars, til old age and common sense prevailed. Started buying a playing with corvettes and still have 2 of them, then got interested in klit cars and specialty cars. I just purchased Coveland's demo car and will get it delivered in a few days. I also have 2 Manta Mirages, Manta Montage, Sterling, Laser 917, and a Gatsby. I also like motorcycles! LOL

 

:7head:

 

 

Welcome to the group Sonny. I am also a Manta Mirage owner.

 

:)

[Hank]

31 year old Mechanical Engineer here. I'm currently a consulting engineer with a firm that has jumped on upgrading as many refineries as possible in the current boom. I've been on the same project for 3 years upgrading Marathon's Garyville, LA refinery. Did I mention the project budget is $3.2 billion?

 

I'm a graduate of LSU. My senior project was a Formula SAE (Mini Indy) car. Married, no kids.

 

I've had a broad range of vehicles. Del Sol, Eclipse FWD, Eclipse AWD (drag / autox), Subaru WRX, '04 Mustang Cobra (free way killer), '06 EVO IX RS (autox class leader), and soon to be Westfield Megabusa.

 

Since I have a 2-post lift in my garage I enjoy working on my own vehicles as well as helping others out. I'm really dying at the moment because I got rid of the EVO in March and I haven't had another race car since.

 

Once the Megabusa kit arrives in November I hope to complete it before Thanksgiving. After that I hope to become more active in local clubs, races, and especially USA7s.org!