looking for 7

[bart7]

Hello,

new member here,

I am looking to buy a 7 but I need advice on it.

I'm kind of stuck on Caterham since it's the 1st I saw as a kid.. now there are lots of replicas out there that look nice.

Anyone could tell me about the brunton stalker or Birkins?

that said,if someone knows of a Caterham for sale, preferably aluminum (unpainted) with small fenders in the low to mid 20's. i'd be interested. cosmetic exterior/interior with minor issues ok since I want to do some mods on it..

thanks

[solder_guy]

I'm kind of stuck on Caterham ...

The UK £ exchange rate alone would make me choose a US manufacturer like the Brunton Stalker ... Think about the cost of spare parts ..

1 British pound £ = 2.0378 U.S. dollars! :cry:

Rob

[Whittaker]

If you elect to go with a Stalker, I can promise you wouldn't be sorry. Good quality car and the track record speakes for itself. Did extremely well at Run-n-gun last weekend.

The one i have for sale is a very good quality build and we can talk about the $.

Tim Whittaker

[jbanker]

Caterham is obviously a great car and the benchmark in many purist minds.

I personaly own a Stalker V6 and very happy with my choice. I have Chassis #10 which is about 4 years old and have had zero problems with it after over 17,000 miles on it which includes normal street driving, monthy autocross and just did the Run and Gun event at Gateway Intl Speedway in St. Louis.

If you have not been to the Stalker web site you should take a look. We have a very active group of Stalker owners that get together often.

You can build the car for use with the GM 2.8L, 3.4L or 3.8L NA or Supercharged V6 power plant. Spare parts are easily found at any autoparts store.

www.stalkerv6.com

Dennis Brunton and Justin Sims own the Florida based company.

Jack

[Boxologist]

Hello,

new member here,

I am looking to buy a 7 but I need advice on it.

I'm kind of stuck on Caterham since it's the 1st I saw as a kid.. now there are lots of replicas out there that look nice.

Anyone could tell me about the brunton stalker or Birkins?

that said,if someone knows of a Caterham for sale, preferably aluminum (unpainted) with small fenders in the low to mid 20's. i'd be interested. cosmetic exterior/interior with minor issues ok since I want to do some mods on it..

thanks

hello to u 2. telling someone about se7en doesn't work. u just look wacky. se7ens have to be seen and sat in and driven. While the same, they are different, and while different, they are the same. what state is newburgh in? if ur in NY, come down and meet me and my SV at either of next weekends autoXs at Nassau Colesium. even among caterhams there are significant differences. just as witnessed with the 3 7s at the Philly SCCA this past saturday. spend ur time reading and researching over this winter and then begin a half hearted search before u regret spending any money.

[WestTexasS2K]

Gary Slutz lives on Ohio and has a Birkin that he is considering selling. It has a very nice build quality along with Ztech with individual throttle bodies. He is in Colorado for a little bit but I am sure he will chim in here soon he partcipates often on board.

[gjslutz]

Thanks for the heads-up.

Bart7, is it Newburgh, NY or In.? I have a 2004 Birkin S3 I’m thinking of selling. I live in Ohio and will be in Colorado through the 20th. You can reach me at:

gjslutz(at)gmail.com

330-704-5686 cell

Gary

[bart7]

Hello everybody,

It's Newburgh NY. I know the Caterhams pretty well, it's the others I don't.

my Ideal Caterham woul be all Aluminum, Motorcycle fender with a five speed.
I missed out on the one with 4 speed on Ebay a couple weeks ago....

the Stalker and Birkins look attractive but the opinions I heard and read as far as what is a "real" 7 are pretty stern on both side of the argument.

the bottom line is I want a car that I can take anywhere in the area where I live. I go to NYC 3 times a week and with nice weather I want to be able to do that with watever 7 I get.

any imput on personal experiences with any type of 7 used as described would be welcome...

[Whittaker]

My Stalker was built for the weather in the NW. I drive it on winter days when the sun and road conditions will allow. Has two seperate heaters and stays reasonably warm if dressed right. The Stalker is as much a -7 as anything else out there that isn't produced by Caterham or Lotus. Will seriously out perform alot of them as well.

[Davemk1]

I bought my Birkin from Dick Brink in Texas. He was great to deal with and very honest. I see he has a Birkin for sale right now in the low 20's. Scroll down on the page to find it.

Dave


http://www.texasmotorworks7.com/racoca1.html

[sdca7]

Just as an example, I bought a 98 caterham superlight this summer in the $20's. It had a lot of miles on it, but looked like a great deal, with a Zetec, and many options. I took it to the shop after buying it and found that the valves and cylinders were leaking pretty bad. So, I decided to rebuild the Zetec. $12,500 (upgraditis) and four and a half months later the engine still doesn't run. Between that and all the expensive suspension and chassis parts I've replaced and upgraded, I'm coming awfully close to the price of a new one! I am sure I'll love this car, but in hindsight I probably should have bought a new Caterham, or at least a used one in better shape. I'm setting it up for the track, and therefore am spending a lot more than I would need to drive it around town. My advice is to decide what you want, and figure the cost of making whichever car you buy into your car.

It looks like there are some cars out there that have a lot fewer miles and are in much better shape than the one I bought. One factor in my decision was that I wanted a California registered car that I could take to the track this summer, so I kind of rushed into a car that wasn't the best deal for me. If you want a Caterham with the latest suspension and drivetrain, they don't come cheap!

Justin

[Al Navarro]

the Stalker and Birkins look attractive but the opinions I heard and read as far as what is a "real" 7 are pretty stern on both side of the argument.

the bottom line is I want a car that I can take anywhere in the area where I live. I go to NYC 3 times a week and with nice weather I want to be able to do that with watever 7 I get.

Bart- While we all have our particular preferences and prejudices, the spirit of the forum and club is to be "marque-inclusive". Most of us don't fret so much about what a "real" 7 is...although there is definitely respect from all camps for the original Lotus cars like Dean G.'s and John G.'s. The cars are fun, they're fast, and the people are great.

If you truly plan on bringing it into the city with any frequency, I'd probably opt for something other than a live axle car...also, you might want to consider a car that already has a patina on it. Too mint a car and you'll probably choose to drive something else into Manhattan. I used to live there and still go in with some frequency...but never in the Seven. Not to say I wouldn't, but the conditions would have to be right. Another thought is to get a car that isn't too high-strung/highly tuned. For Caterhams, that means a normal Zetec with 5 speed or even a Crossflow.

[breezy7]

A Caterham just showed up on ebay. It is a 2000 with Zetec , De Dion and less than 1000 miles. It is painted, BRG with yellow stripe and has clamshell fenders. Is located in Oregon.

[Kitcat]

My experience has been a bit like scda7's. I bought a Caterham sort of cheap ($22.5K) and have spent a lot bringing it back to spec, including upgrades for more serious track use. At one point I had the chance to buy a 4 year old Caterham Superlite w/220 hp etc, all goodies for $32K, a price I am fast approaching in my 93 hp Caterham.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Caterham lover-think they look just right, etc. But the Dragon meet convinced the the alternate cars are just as nice. And, if reliability is an issue, and if my car is at all representative, you will spend a lot of time fiddlin with every kind of mechanical problem imaginable. In 4 months of ownership, my car has had more mechanical snafus than all my other cars combined, over the last 20 years. Not that I don't love it:)!

[11Budlite]

Welcome Bart,

If you want to check out a Birkin in person, I have a 2001 model with low miles that I just recently registered. :) I'm still having some issues with the driveability (new TB injection Emerald ECU set-up) so I'm not quite ready for any long drives, but I'm getting close. My car is bare aluminum, BRG cycle fenders, with a yellow nose cone. I live in Wolcott, CT which is about a 45 minute drive from the NY border on rt84 if you want to check it out. Once it's running better I'd be more than willing to meet you someplace in between.

By the way, one of the reasons I bought a Birkin was I prefer the traditional Lotus 7 look. It's not an exact duplicate and it doesn't have the Caterham's lineage, but it's pretty close. But, I've seen some Stalkers, Ultralites, Locosts, etc, that were beautifully built and FAST, and I like them all!!! :d

Let me know, Bruce

[KENLUDE97]

Here is a Caterham. I know that it is out of your price rage.... ( i thought it was lower) but i figured that too much info is better than not enough

http://www.lotusowners.com/ForSale/Vogel%20Seven/index.htm

Good luck.

[DB's seven]

We have a 2007 Westfield for sale with about 1000 miles on. The car has been off the market for a few months due to our test drive / demo schedule but is up for sale again now. We have reduced the price down to $26,800.00. the car got rave reviews by www.jalopnik.com , check out our website.

[Boxologist]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&item=330177296106
u should consider this instead:hurray:

u better call about that 7. i beleive its missing alot of what u require. u may be spending another 3-10k for the car to do what u want.

[bart7]

Hi, nice ride but can't go on open road.. am bidding on their 7 though!!

[bart7]

Actually, anyone has any imput on that Caterham on ebay? it's a 2000 anyone knows the type of rear axle on it? How hard would it be to put small fenders on it? I don't know why I'm stuck on those but they work so much better with the look..

It's probably the most impractical car I could ever take in NYC, it's so low cab's won't even see me (not that they look anyway) and parking attendants will look at me like I'm mad.

I forgot to mention I came to the Seven at age 5 via the Prisoner. so my fantasy is 30 years in the making, I hope I won't be disapointed when I do get one....

[yellowss7]

The ad states that it's got a DeDion Rear. Also indicates it got the AP Surtrac Limited Slip Diff. Thats was a pricey option in 2000. I know as that's what I ordered on mine. :d As for changing the clams for cylce wings. You will need to get the correct wing stays, and wings. then fill the holes in the side skin where you removed the bolts and then repaint. Tom

[Robert O. Urfer]

[quote=Boxologist]http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&viewitem=&item=330177296106
u should consider this instead:hurray:

I think I just wet myself. that car is badass!!:thumbs:

[Boxologist]

and i don't see that much of difference between how much a 7 will be on a cruise and the 340r. though i don't know if a 340r can be plated in the USA.

back on topic. if u want to get more utility out of the caterham, u will need to weatherize. the full weather gear( hood, sticks, and side screens). doesn't even appear to have a tonneau either. and i can tell u that those tyres suck. SUCK there's not even a center mirror. u can have my old one if i still have it.

that thing will have to be shipped to you. without the weather gear, u'd be hard pressed to go coast to coast. u'd lose points in mine and Cherick's book.:crazy:

it does have the alloy fller cap, nice ignition wire cover. and don't worry clams are fine. u just may want to eventually mod them to what Norm beaver has done to reduce lift.

i stand by first post. find me next weekend.

[soareyes]

It doesn't seem to have a heater either - not something you would miss out here on the west coast, but you might want one in New York. It's a very pretty car though, my favorite color combo.

[solder_guy]

u should consider this instead:hurray: I think I just wet myself. that car is badass!!:thumbs:

I remember seeing one of these on the internet before .. I thought that they were street legal :confused:

Rob

[bart7]

Hi, the ad on the 340 states "track only" although driving that on the road would be awesome...

it's probably an emission thing, too bad though... I see real pieces of s..t on the road that have plates and have nowhere near that level of technology onboard!!!

[breezy7]

Bart, The Caterham on ebay has the DeDion rear end with a limited slip differential. Putting on cycle fenders would not be too hard,a little disassembly on the front uprights to install the stays that hold the fenders. Looked on Caterham USA website and fenders are just over $90 each. They don't show the wingstays in their parts catalog but the UK Caterham site has them and they are around $90 each as well. You would also end up with a few holes to fill where the clamshell fenders attach to the body. I waited about 30 years to get my 7, that seems to be fairly common!

[Al Navarro]

Graeme G. did the clams to cycle conversion, and his car was one of my favorites at the 7-7-7 meet. You do have the mounting holes, but I think Graeme put a rivet or something in each hole and it looked fine.

[JBH]

Not to say I wouldn't, but the conditions would have to be right.

I wouldn't...the car has maybe 2.5" clearance - I think you would have all kinds of problems driving around the city. I used to live in Fishkill, There are many many great roads in the Hudson Valley that are better choices for this car. You also have several tracks in proximity if you are inclinced to exploring the performance and handling of the car more at its (and your) limits.

If you haven't already, get a ride in a member's car so you can experience it first hand.

[slomove]

..........If you truly plan on bringing it into the city with any frequency, I'd probably opt for something other than a live axle car........

Hi Al, I don't agree. I know that is long traded wisdom in Caterham circles but comparing my life axle car with a few DeDion Sevens I drove (or was passenger in) I must say I did not really feel much of a difference in ride quality. I have no serious complaints about "corner-hopping" or an uncomfortable street ride (believe me one road on PNW2007 was a pothole festival, not to mention some city streets in L.A.)

I suspect it may rather be a proper suspension setup that makes the difference, life axle or not.

Now you may call me a numb-ass that I don't feel the obvious......:d

Gert