Things I learned about driving a 7

[jimrankin]

We get the same thing here in NorCal about October of every year. Go up into the lower Sierra for the really fun twisty back roads and they (tarantulas) are everywhere. Kind of adds an "autocross" event to the drive by missing them but hitting one of these "cones" cost more than a one second penalty when you go to clean up the car, messy little buggers!!

I was told that the female tarantulas stay put their entire lives but when a male get to be fully mature he will go on a "walkabout", stop eating, start walking and just mate with as many females as he can come across until he drops dead. Not sure my informant had it right but if so they are obviously REALLY dedicated to preserving the species.

[seafarer]

Got to thinking about the "hot rod" comment made by several people. To the average person the 7 looks very much like a '27 Track-T. Might have to go to one of the local rod runs and see what reaction I get there.

[xcarguy]

Over the years, I’ve morphed from being a car show hound to just simply wanting to drive (and sometimes, drive hard). I don’t do car shows very often anymore, but when I do, I never stay for the entire show. I’ll usually pay the entry fee to support the host, look around for a bit and then leave.

 

In early May, I took my car to a local a car show. When I arrived, I supported the host by paying the $25.00 ‘entry’ fee, collected my t-shirt and goodie-bag and moved on without filling out the entry form. Curious, I sat down and pulled the blank form from the goodie-bag and began to look over the entry classes. It was then that I realized that the most fun car I have ever owned in my life no longer fit the mold of car-show enthusiast thinking. The classes at the show were:

• Antique—okay, my car is registered as a 1964 Lotus &, but really, am I going to fit in with the 1931 Willys that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor or with the little MG whoes owner has built and polished it with his heart and soul?
  
• Classic—classic what?
  
• Muscle—yep, and lots of it in the power-to-weight class, but not a Chevelle, Charger, Mustang or Z-28.
  
• Street Rod—ah, no; I suppose I could have removed the fenders and entered it as a hi-boy Lotus.
  
• Trucks—well, my car does have straight-axle S-10 rear end, but . .
  
• Best of Show (only first place)—no shiny pieces on my car; how about a Best of Go class?
  
• Best in Show Interior (only first place)—what interior?
  
• Best in Show Engine (only first place)—nothing shiny there, either.
  
• Best in Show Paint (only first place)—it does have red paint (somewhere) but I’ve recently nicknamed my car ‘Stickers’.
  

:seeya:

[seafarer]

The rod runs in this area seem to all be at a restaurant of some kind. Don't like to polish anything but "meet & eat" is a great thing to me. Cruise-ins is what they call these. Most seem to be at decent restaurants with only one or two at fast food places.

[HOTTTCAR]

I get this alot.......Sir can i take a picture of your car? I don't think i could discribe this to anyone. What is it? I finally stuck a BMW emblem on the bonnet......amazing how many questions that stopped.

[CarMan]

This is a fun thread. And I would like to add a few things too.....

 

I have raced my 7 in the rain. The only time I get wet is waiting for the race to start. Once we are moving.... only my helmet gets wet. The little wicker works great! Until we have a yellow flag.... Then wet again.

 

I have given up telling people it is a Caterham.... They have no clue. And it takes longer. However, telling them it is a Lotus..... they think I have Big Bucks. (If they ever heard of a Lotus)

 

 

I am taking the car to a car show Thursday nite as a favor. My co-owner wants to "Really Spiff it up" Take off all those black tire marks and "blacken" the Slicks...... Uggh! I like the "warhorse" look.

 

I am sure that the other E Production BMW's, and Honda's, and Miata's and MG's at Lime Rock will gravitate to the 7 because they can't believe how fast that "old" car is.

 

The 7 is a curiosity to most non car enthusiasts. They have no history to relate to this car.

 

But I never appreciated this car either....... until I ran it in anger on the track.

Now....... I'm "that guy" they hope doesn't show up at the next race, so they can have a chance.

 

:smash::smash::smash:

 

George

[WestTexasS2K]

Hottcar I wonder how many hours people have spent online looking for a model like yours.😀

[rikker]

"The little wicker works great!"

what is that?

[seafarer]

I think I am going to choke the next person who asks me if it is VW powered

[locost7018]

Seafarer, I'll drink to that!!!!!

[nicholastanguma]

 

- If you want to feel like a rockstar then drive a seven into the middle of Times Square on Sunday afternoon. You will cause a traffic jam. You will also be abused by New York's finest police.

 

 

 

Old thread bump.

 

Abused how, specifically? Totally curious about stories of custom vehicles in Times Square.

 

Holy Moly. You drive your 7 in NYC? Balls of steel, yours, sir. That's dafter than riding a moto in NYC. At least on a moto you have some vertical presence.

[James A]

Hey these cars are great in the rain!!!! It's only a matter of having the right tires for the rain, I don't know about snow though.

Little kids love to use the muffler guard as a step and promptly bend it.

When its parked people feel they have a right to reach in and flip switches and even sit in the car????

The top being up only changes where the water hits you

If you didn't build your own car you missed 1/2 the fun!

[mrmustang]

Old thread bump.

 

Abused how, specifically? Totally curious about stories of custom vehicles in Times Square.

 

Holy Moly. You drive your 7 in NYC? Balls of steel, yours, sir. That's dafter than riding a moto in NYC. At least on a moto you have some vertical presence.

 

Have you ever watched the movie "Gumball Rally", imagine if you will the early morning scene where the race starts in Manhattan and winds it's way through the mid town. Now imagine if you will a certain Cobra replica owner reliving the scene of the "Bannon" team going through Times Square at 5/6am on a Sunday morning just as the sun rises.......I'm certain a 7 would elicit the same amount of post 9/11 attention that I did 10+ years ago:smilielol5:

 

 

Bill S.

jump ahead to 1:30 and watch the rest, keeping in mind this was filmed on site, and at actual speed

Edited July 25, 2013 by mrmustang

[Croc]

Old thread bump.

 

Abused how, specifically? Totally curious about stories of custom vehicles in Times Square.

 

Holy Moly. You drive your 7 in NYC? Balls of steel, yours, sir. That's dafter than riding a moto in NYC. At least on a moto you have some vertical presence.

 

 

I will not make that mistake again. I had never driven a seven in Manhattan before, but was coming back from Long Island local Lotus car club cruise and thought I would take the midtown tunnel and then head south to pick up the Holland Tunnel as that was quicker than going home the long way around on the Belt Parkway and Verrazanzo Bridge and back up through Bayonne. I then thought it would be cool to show off through Times Sq. Dumb!

 

Within the first block of Manhattan I realized I was monumentally stupid as all the taxis were changing lanes on top of me as I was 1) below their window sill height 2) they dont use mirrors for changing lane 3) they never look anywhere changing lanes and 4) they don't use indicators

 

So I trundled down Broadway, using the horn all the time to keep other cars away and got stopped by a red light at 46th - front row, dead center. So everyone stopped on the crosswalk and crowded around the car to take photos, shake hands, more photos, chat/yell, etc. Light goes green and nothing can move - gridlock. NYC's finest cops wander up (complete c%^&s), abuse everyone, abuse me for disturbing the peace, accuse me of driving an unregistered car, the crowd abuse them back, .....you know the usual scene in Times Square. Eventually I squeezed through and on my way....until I found the red light at 45th street...oops!....repeat again.

 

BTW, the Holland Tunnel was epic for driving a seven through...just great acoustics! :cooldude:

 

Jon (Boxologist) on here regularly drives through Manhattan in his Caterham. Somewhere on this forum there are some very arty photos of his car around Manhattan very early in the morning in various states of broken down following a similar Gumball re-enactment to Mr Mustang. :flag:

[BirkinBernie]

I take the Birkin to a few car shows every year. My favorite reactions are from kids. More than one has run up to the car yelling "Daddy, daddy look, I could drive this one!".

 

One lad asked if he could sit in it. After sitting for some time, steering wheel in hand, his dad decided it was time to move on. Nothing doing. Dad finally had to lift him out of the car and carry him away, crying and screaming that he wanted to get back in the car!

 

One evening there were several people around the car including one little girl about 8 standing next to the driver's seat. She inspected the cockpit for a few moments, then looked over at her mom and declared in a loud voice "This thing isn't safe!".

 

Bernie

[Taber10]

Xcarguy's post a couple of pages/months back lets me add this without being too "off post": I took my Seven to the local British Car Club's car show, not cause I am a "car show" type guy, but because that is what we as a club were doing that Saturday--and I was working as a volunteer there anyway. My 2007 Cat was in "Class X--The New Millennium" any British car produced after 2000, except Minis, who had their own category, and one of the new Morgan 3 Wheelers, in the Morgan class. I placed second in class; right between a McLaren and a Bentley GT. The rest of the category was very nice Jaguars, all sedans.