Doug Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Hi to all, Doug from outskirts of New Haven, CT and new to the forum. I've been a seven fan since I was a teenager. As a misguided youth I had a series 2 car, which was pretty much my daily driver. My parents just shook their heads thinking I would grow out of it. I kept it for about 5 years until I had to buy a real car. I recall when the car was sold I got the princely sum of $3200, wow. Now as a misguided sort of adult, 30 years later and 3 children mostly out of the house, I thought it was time to buy another. In the spring I picked up a 99 dedion from Sevens and Elans, whom I would recommend if you're looking. I go out for short rides just about every night, just to clear the cobwebs. The Caterham rides like a Cadillac compared to my old series 2 car. My parents still shake their heads thinking I'll grow out of it...I don't think so. Doug NEW RIDE http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1539750422_caterham.jpg OLD RIDE http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/91725849_series 2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 My parents still shake their heads thinking I'll grow out of it...I don't think so. Doug You'd think their necks would be pretty stiff by now Welcome aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanG Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Hi to all, Doug from outskirts of New Haven, CT and new to the forum. I've been a seven fan since I was a teenager. As a misguided youth I had a series 2 car, What was the serial number of the S2? If you know the serial number you should send that and any pictures you have to http://www.simplesevens.org/ It is my opinion that we should preserve the history of these cars. All the Se7en style cars are worthy of having their history preserverd. Unfortunately I only know of people and sites who are preserving the history of Lotus built Sevens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Well Dean, I have trouble enough remembering today's date much less a four digit number from the late seventies. I'm not too sentimental about the old car. Given the choice between tracking down my old series 2 (if it still exists) or my recent Caterham, I'll take the Caterham, the series 2 was a back breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Budlite Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Welcome Doug. Nice choice on your Caterham. If I didn't already have my Birkin, the one you bought from Sevens and Elans would have been at the top of my list. Nice enough specs and you gotta love British Racing Green! "My parents still shake their heads thinking I'll grow out of it...I don't think so." - My parents gave up a long time ago. All they say now is TRY to be careful, you're not as young as you used to be! Bruce :7drive: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew... Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 "My parents still shake their heads thinking I'll grow out of it...I don't think so." - My parents gave up a long time ago. All they say now is TRY to be careful, you're not as young as you used to be! As I was told this past weekend: "We're never too old to enjoy a happy childhood" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDingo8MyBaby Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Hello to all, Since I recently introducted you all to my car in the member rides section, I figured I'd introduce myself here. I'm a 25 year old Mechanical Engineer. I graduated 2 years ago and I work in R&D for respiratory products (ventilators, respirators, CPAP machines, nebulizers...etc). The product I'm currently working on is due out in about a year and will hopefully help some of your loved ones with asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema or even if they are post-surgery. I grew up in northern california and fell in love with cars in the passenger seat of a my dad's lotus elan. It was attending lotus club meets and the monterey historics that led me to fall in love with the 7. In addition to my 7, I own a 1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/TheDingo8MyBaby/SQD_0053.jpg The car has full coilover suspension, a full chromoly cage, TRD Group-A gearbox, 4.7 rear end with a 2-way limited slip differential. It has a 20V silvertop 4ag (which I believe some of you are very familar with). I primarily raced this car, but also did a bit of drifting just for fun. I also have a 2000 Tundra v8 to tow the corolla since it's not street legal. -Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 welcome aboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d15b7 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 hi! i own a 1991 caterham super seven super sprint dedion, which i mostly run at track events.... engine is a crossflow, moderately to heavily breathed upon (176 flywheel hp at 7200 rpm). i instruct for many DE groups (PCA, BMWCCA, Ferrari, Mercedes, NASA, EMRA, and more). i road race with NASA and EMRA (not in the Seven!). i live near Newark, DE. todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 hi! i own a 1991 caterham super seven super sprint dedion, which i mostly run at track events.... engine is a crossflow, moderately to heavily breathed upon (176 flywheel hp at 7200 rpm). i instruct for many DE groups (PCA, BMWCCA, Ferrari, Mercedes, NASA, EMRA, and more). i road race with NASA and EMRA (not in the Seven!). i live near Newark, DE. todd Welcome aboard Todd, another 7 in Maryland :thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 d15b7: As an owner of a '97 Crossflow "Supersprint" that is advertised at 135 hp and that actually pumps out 93 hp on the local dyno, I am interested in who built your motor and for how much $?. What does the dyno graph look like (Is all that wonderful hp locked between 6K -6.5K RPM?)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Ok ill take a shot here now I have put some posts on the forum. Expat Uk now in New Zealand since 1988 with a 4 year stint back in the UK 2001-2005. Served my time as a sheetmetal tradesman in the UK and continued in the trade in NZ mostly working on S/S stuff for the dairy/beer/wine industry in NZ, took a break and went back to the UK where both me and my partner ended up working for Airbus UK on the A380 project which was a fantastic place to work and had a great time back in the UK, back to NZ in 2005 and now working for Pratt & Whitney here in Christchurch at a JT8D and V2500 engine repair shop. My love affair with the Lotus 7 started when I was 16 when my mums friend took me for a spin in his series 3 Lotus, from then on I said one day I will own one and now i do, the plan in the last 2 years was to own one when I was 50 and my wife gave me the go ahead so I had 5 years to figure out what i wanted (im now 45) as it happens a good friend of mine was told he had a throat cancer in Nov 2008 and had it removed and is recovering well which is great, this turn of events changed our outlook on life and we decided to get one now as you just dont know whats going to happen too you in the future. So I started looking around at what was in NZ and found we have 3 companys makeing Lotus 7 replicas here and all are built to a very high standard Fraser 7 Genrally regarded as the best kit in NZ and built to a very high standard and are setup to the same dimensions as a Lotus 7 series 3, a turn key car on the road will cost you NZ $40k with a 2L toyota motor and full leather fit out in the cockpit, second hand cars go for around NZ $20-35K depending on spec and year. McGreagor Motor Sport The next best built cars in NZ they are a bit bigger than a normal Lotus 7 because they tend to build cars with Rover 3500 V8s in them. Leitch Motorsport Another good Lotus 7 built to close dimensions as a series 3 lotus, these cars are also sold in the US So those were the choices with a Fraser being what I was after, after looking around I saw a Birkin on Trademe (NZs version of Ebay) and did some research and found them to be a popular car around the world and also that they had a good history of building cars so I took it for a test drive and had a mechanic mate check it all out and decided it was a good buy at NZ $14k, it need a bit of TLC and the rear aluminum panel needs replacing which will be done in winter, I have cleaned the car up a bit since owning it (6 weeks) and plane to do more work over the coming winter, at the moment im haveing to much fun driving it around some of the great roads we have in NZ So thats my story and now im here Cheers KiwiBirkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 welcome aboard Kiwi. Time is the true measure of wealth. We only have a finite amount, and we're always getting poorer . As you said, no reason to wait for bankruptcy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanG Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I spent a delightful couple of hours following the NZ links. I especially liked www.trademe.co.nz where there are lots of interesting things being flogged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I went to New Zealand once in 1998... Loved it! The most memorable event was just after arrival at the international terminal in Auckland, I went over to the separate domestic terminal for a flight to Christchurch. There was no I.D. check, no metal detector, no uniformed person giving me the evil eye, no nothin'. Then it occurred to me that airports only have strict security measures if there is a need for them. The planes departing from Auckland's domestic terminal can most likely only land in one of two places: New Zealand or the Pacific Ocean! So in the end, the complete lack of security made me feel very secure. Never saw any Seven-esque cars there, but I wasn't really looking for them, either. Saw some nice rides in the Dux de Lux parking lot (or at least I think I did - their stout is STRONG!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vin_c Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hello All, Vin here. I'm new to the site and wanted to introduce myself. I'm a 27 year old IT manager living in NJ (5 mins from Giants Stadium) with my wife and two dogs. I remember years ago, I was interested in getting a MINI Cooper S. Fortunately, the MINI dealership also had a 1968 Mini in the showroom for display. To my surprise, I'd forgotten I was there for a new MINI and focused all my attention to the 68 Mini. That's when I realized that I was more interested in "classic" cars than modern cars. I test drove a "2000" Classic Mini and it was exactly what I wanted. But at that point in time, I couldn't justify getting a 30+ year old car versus a reliable, economical car for my 60 mile/day commute. I even considered a MiniTec (modern Vtec on a Mini) but cost too much. Sigh...got a 2006 Civic coupe doing 33 mpg. Got bored and traded it in for a new s2000. Yes, this is my daily driver and it's amazing how snow tires can transform your car to an all-season car. The S2000 is a great car. I love the look, performance, and simple interior design. I've been toying with the idea of getting a real all-season vehicle (like an SUV) and have a dedicated weekend summer car such as a.... Lotus Elise. But if I want a car for its go-kart performance, why not get a street legal go-kart that resembles a go-kart. Enter the Seven :hurray: Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to see a 7 in person nor test drive. Maybe I'll checkout the next NY/NJ meet to finally see one in person. I'm vertically challenged (5'5 150 lbs) and I'm not even sure if the 7 has one of those must-be-this-tall-to-ride prerequisites I really hope not. I'm happy to be part of this site and I'll be checking out the for-sale forum frequently. Vin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 welcome aboard... it's more like must-be-no-taller-than-this-to-get-in and your S2000 is a perfect donor for a WCM Ultralite :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I'm not even sure if the 7 has one of those must-be-this-tall-to-ride prerequisites Colin Chapman is widely reported to have been 5'-7" or 5'-8" (never met the man myself, so can't say for sure) and his cars tend to reflect that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 bump... it's been a while since new members posted here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wankel_locost Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) i'll take that as a subtle hint. so, ahem... i'm married to a blessing of a lady, my son's going to turn 19 soon and join the air force, i do network security, am an avid motorcyclist, and like short walks in the summer rain, and ... sorry, wrong forum. guess that's the long and short of it. oh yeah, my 7 is... um... pending. MyLady and i are currently engaged in a dedicated effort to get out of debt. therefore, my 7 is still in the mental phase. decisions being made and such. ok, i'm done now. Godspeed, dennis Edited May 28, 2009 by wankel_locost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now