newbie 7 fan - advice on purchasing

[leon68g1]

Hi,

 

I've been a fan of the 7 since seeing them race at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. I've decided to invest in a Japanese Market car and have a RHD specialist dealer that I'm working with. I'm limited to importing a car that's at least 15 years old (94 or older). The choice in Japan in the 91-95 vintage are the Caterhams, Birkins and Westfields. Obviously, I will have my dealer do a full inspection prior to bidding on a car, but considering the age, I would like to avoid some dodgy issues...corrosion being one of them or engine failure. Some suggestions for models to look out for are appreciated. I'm familiar with the dealer sites for all 3 makes but am uninformed when it comes to aged vehicles.

 

Thx

[MHKflyer52]

leom68g1,

 

Why buy a 7 from Japan and not one that is already here in the USA if you’re in the USA. Their are a number of good 7's that are RHD that you could most likely go and inspect for yourself and not have to worry weather the dealer is just selling you a bill of goods or a car that might be questionable. Do you pan on racing this vehicle or driving it on the street as a car imported from Japan might have some issues with being able to register it here in the USA. Some states here in the USA are very hard to get a 7 registered in to start with so why compound the issues you are looking at.

[leon68g1]

I'm from Canada and the 15 year vintage rule applies to RHD imports unless one is readily available from the U.S. There is a definite price advantage to buying from Japan even if one were available from the U.S. and due to the onerous rules regarding vehicle maintenance in repair, the vehicles tend to be in excellent condition with low mileage. To answer your question, this will be a road only vehicle however. However, if the price is right, of course I would buy from the U.S.

 

I suppose to start, in that 91-95 vintage, is there a roadster model that is preferred in the 3 marques? Which engine lends itself to durability, reliability and performance.

[slngsht]

leon, if you have the opportunity, you should sit, and look at the models in person. IMO, if built right, all are very fine cars. It's more a matter of taste and fit.

[leon68g1]

Thx...I'd like to try and sit in one....hardly any in my area though...except for a homebuilt replica that's toyota powered. Guy is selling it for $9k I'm going to check it out anyways

[Sean]

Maybe these guys could offer some advice: http://www.super7cars.com

[kennyrayandersen]

Actually, I’m a bit jealous of everything but your healthcare and taxes (lol). Your 15 year rule, as opposed to our 25 year rule, would REALLY open up importing a lot of cool cars from Japan [and elsewhere] (Honda Beat, Suzuki Cappuccino, older Porsches, 2CVs, Minis etc.) – man! Dream a little dream!

 

The Caterham folk in Canadia might not be too bad of a choice since they are likely familiar with the ‘community’ (sometimes known as a cult). Cars come up for sale all of the time (mostly when you aren’t looking). I suspect now is a pretty good time to be looking.

 

There were likely VERY few Caterhams or other 7’s sold to Japan. Now if you want to MAKE one, they have tons of good donors (think Skyline etc.) – 220 HP Nissans and the like, but as far as already built 7s, my guess is that this would be a VERY collectible car in Japan and once in country, it ain’t leaving again.

[KiwiBirkin]

Hi my Birkin came from Japan and was imported in to new Zealand Nov 2008, there wasn't much wrong with it when it was imported except it need a good tidying up from genral wear & tear with it being a 11 year old car, my Birkin was factory built in SA and then shipped to Japan as was the same spec as sold new when I purchased it. I would be happy to buy another Birkin that was from Japan.

[JohnCh]

Have you considered buying from the UK? Assuming you are on the left coast, shipping will likely be more, but I imagine the purchase price will be quite a bit lower due to the increased supply. I frequently hear of people taking their older Caterhams to Arch for reskinning and chassis repair, so you could have the car fully refurbished there before it is shipped to Canada. I imagine that Westfield would offer the same service if you went that direction.

 

-John

[scannon]

 

There were likely VERY few Caterhams or other 7’s sold to Japan.

Japan is a fairly large market for Caterham. Not sure about other Se7ens.

[Sean]

I was in Japan for most of August. Five separate Seven sightings in that time.

[MoPho]

Yeah, I almost always see Sevens in Japan when I am there.

 

A few Sevens for sale here AC-Minds & Co

[leon68g1]

The auctions are way better way to go....here is the local site for the cdn dealers that can bring them in

 

rightdrive.ca and terra2imports

[kennyrayandersen]

I'm surprised there are that many in Japan! I was there for four days -- never say a one. I saw one on a Japanese internet site once -- that's about it. They have ALL kinds of barriers set up to thwart cars from coming into the country, so it seems unusual that a specialty manufacturer would get that many in. Hmmm, makes me wonder if they aren't pulling the standard "it's a 1969 Lotus" shenanagans.

[MHKflyer52]

I am surprised also as I lived in Kedena Town in the Nakagami District for a couple of years (83-84) and at NAF Atsugi actually Yamato City for a year (85) in the Kanagana Prefecture and I do not recall ever seeing a Lotus 7 while I was there or traveling in the country.

 

I did how ever know of a couple Europe’s and Esprits S1/S2’s in Yamato City and I am aware that there were a couple of 7’s imported into Japan but I did not think there were a lot of 7’s in Japan due to the tariffs and taxes that are imposed by the government on vehicles from outside Japan and a kit car is even harder to get registered in Japan than any other place I know of to the best of my knowledge but maybe things have changed a lot since I lived there back then.

 

Thinking about it any car coming out of Japan that is not an off the shelf Japanese make would most likely be a good sound car as their inspection process is very tough and through to the point that it cost more to have an old car that a new car because of the inspections that must be complied with and anyone with the capital to maintain a specialty car such as a 7 most likely would care about the car and be a collector or very avid auto nut like most of us.

[1-t]

Hi there,

 

I moved from Tokyo last year after living there for four years. There are a number of different brands of 7s in Japan. One that I ran across often was a copy of an S3 built in Canada and exported to Japan. They were built with Toyota motors. Cannot seem to recall the name right now.

 

Decide on what you want. In Japan the range of setup on the cars is amazing. You will find everything from traditional 950cc motored cars to ones with so many electronic gadgets you can measure the number of g's you are pulling while you adjust your fuel curve.

 

Look for references on the shipper and it will be painless bringing the car over

[Mondo]

Hey, that might of been my Europa;) Our State was making it too hard to find someone who would "pass" my car's smog test, especially with my dual sidedraft webers (looked cool). This guy from Japan came to look at it and sent it back to his country, coincidentally it was '83-'84 time frame.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Mondo

[1-t]

Here is a link to a website that lists a lot of cars for sale in Japan. If you can read some Japanese it is helpful but not necessary.

 

http://www.gooworld.jp/php/search/bodytype_search.php

 

Here is one that I found interesting. Look at the car behind the lotus

http://www.gooworld.jp/usedcar/spread/goow/14/903009082709030475672.html

 

It is amazing what you can find in little corner shops in Japan.

[sparecr]

As a matter of fact the were some Japan only Caterham models. And they bought the bulk of the JPE cars.