Photoshop

This blog's original banner was based on an Photoshopped image from www.LotusTalk.com member Chapster5. In this thread he offers to alter images for anyone who is considering buying a car in a certain color, adding decals, selecting accessories, etc. I was pretty sure I wanted a bare aluminum body with purple nose and fenders, but Chapster5 made several renditions in various shades to help the decision. Thanks Chapster5!

Spare Tire

Caterham got the order "mostly" correct. The only exception was an optional spare tire rack on the back of the car that was not requested. I have to agree that the spare tire completes the look of a Seven, but I do not intend to carry a jack, so the spare just adds weight. When specified, the tire rack is built in as an integral part of the chassis at the factory, so it cannot be easily removed and installed later. On two separate occassions fellow Seven owners commented that a giant wicker picnic basket could be mounted to the rack to provide some additional hauling capacity. (This must be an ongoing joke in the Seven community.) Instead, I was fortunate to find somebody with a spare set of Minalite wheels that just happen to match. So, for not much more than the price of one new wheel shipped from England, the car has a complete spare set of four. Come to think of it, the picnic basket would have been much cheaper.

ECU Mounted

There are many suggestions for mounting the ECU in a Seven. In this case, the harness was long enough to reach from the engine compartment to beneath the passenger seat. A mount was fabricated from aluminum and riveted to the floor. The ECU is attached to the mount with velcro. The mount is tall enough to keep the ECU dry if rain water were to accumulate on the floor. I'm happy with how it turned out. Some have warned that heat from the engine will affect an ECU if it is mounted too close to the engine.

Tachometer

The Caterham engine harness has a male spade connector that is clearly marked "Tach", however the tachometer on this car had no corresponding female connector. The solution is an aftermarket driver that is spliced into the coil to read RPM. Since I'm not keen on electrical work, I left this job to George Alderman at Mid-Atlantic Caterham. The spade connector can be seen in the bottom right corner of this photo.

Doors

The soft doors on the Caterham 7 are well designed even though on first impression they appear quite flimsey. They bulge slightly at the bottom providing room for the driver's left elbow and the passengers right elbow. Aerodymaically they seal against the sides of the car without flapping, although straps with snaps are provided inside. Plastic hinges connect the windshield stanchions to the metal frames in the doors. I am told that some doors come pre-drilled, but that was not the case here. A drill press simplified the drilling. Once hung, the doors fold completely forward to rest nicely against the bonnet when parked.

First Long Drive

One of the benefits of buying a Caterham is that the kit includes a post-build inspection by the dealer. Two weeks ago I trailered the car to Mid-Atlantic Caterham for a once over, and to remedy several outstanding issues. Mid-Atlantic Caterham shares a space with Alderman Automotive in New Castle, Delaware, pictured above. The isssues included: the alternator charged just fine, but was draining the battery when parked; the tachometer on the dash had nothing to connect to the engine wiring harness; and the speedometer didn't work. After a thorough inspection and solutions to these problems, yesterday I drove the car back home. It was a full 75 miles of pure fun. Yes, the motorcycle riders in the photo below gave thumbs up to the Seven!

Driving a Seven

Pictured above is Lyons Mills Road, not far from our house, part of my daily commute. Now the stretch is paved and the trees are taller, although the road is not much wider. This week was the inaugural drive of my Seven, a full 20 miles, to Owings Mills and back with a brief stop for lunch. Driving a Seven is dreamy, reminiscent of days when other sports cars were like this too, a sort of time machine. Enroute I pass the Oakland Methodist Church built in 1859 and wonder if this car is the first Seven to pass by. I think of my father and wonder if he would have approved. The car performed without a hitch.