Name plate on early Caterham
Discussion
David Wakefield and Graham Nearn were directors of the company and the early Sevens from Caterham were virtually indistinguishable from those made by Lotus, largely because all the parts were provided by the same suppliers.
Can't comment on the value, you may get some idea from someone at the Lotus Seven Club.
Can't comment on the value, you may get some idea from someone at the Lotus Seven Club.
You could also check the chassis number against the list here
http://7faq.com/owbase/ow.asp?ChassisNumbers
Cheers
SS
http://7faq.com/owbase/ow.asp?ChassisNumbers
Cheers
SS
It looks real to me. The early caterham built cars have the Lotus Big Valve engine and they are sought after, so value will be good. David Wakefield ran production and Graham Nearne owned the company. I bought my car from them in 1985. So it looks like you have an early car - very nice too.
Eric Mc said:
I never realised that there was an actual company called "Seven Cars Ltd". I always that that the manufacturing company was Caterham Cars Ltd.
Very possibly; when I was dealing with them their headed paper had "Caterham Car Sales and Coachworks Ltd". Maybe, just like Lotus, they split the operations for financial reasons.
280i said:
i think the car was built in 1976 but sold in 77. The interesting thing is that the car came with a number of letters from the person that had it built. All of them from Sevens cars limited were from David Wakefield and GB Nearn i wonder if they still work for caterham (were they sales people). The motor is also original to the car as it was specified in the build sheet. How is the value holding up for these early Caterham cars? I had someone once look at this car and he almost thought it was a series 3 lotus as he said it was almost exactly the same.
Just out of interest how long have you had the car? I find it difficult to believe anyone with a vintage caterham has not heard of G Nearn! 10 seconds on google tells you all you need to know. Lovely looking car.Acording the the 7 club, your chassis number translates as:
CS3 = Caterham Series 3, so it is a Caterham, not Lotus
3689 is the chassis number, I think series three started at 3539
TC = Big Valve Twin cam
L = live axle (which you have) OR left hand drive.
I believe there was an SS car... very rare. I will try and remember to check tonight.
Hope this helps... Andy
CS3 = Caterham Series 3, so it is a Caterham, not Lotus
3689 is the chassis number, I think series three started at 3539
TC = Big Valve Twin cam
L = live axle (which you have) OR left hand drive.
I believe there was an SS car... very rare. I will try and remember to check tonight.
Hope this helps... Andy
More info (from the book The Magnificent 7).
It is officially a Caterham 7 Series 3 Twin Cam. Chassis numbers ran from 3550 to 4164 with TC suffix. They were made between 1974 and 1983, and were the FIRST cars produced by Caterham following the fibreglass Series 4 which was soon dropped.
AVERY significant early Caterham!
Strengthened version of the Lotus chassis, much better able to handle the power. New nose and bonnet created to clear the engine cam cover lettering!
Cheers Andy
It is officially a Caterham 7 Series 3 Twin Cam. Chassis numbers ran from 3550 to 4164 with TC suffix. They were made between 1974 and 1983, and were the FIRST cars produced by Caterham following the fibreglass Series 4 which was soon dropped.
AVERY significant early Caterham!
Strengthened version of the Lotus chassis, much better able to handle the power. New nose and bonnet created to clear the engine cam cover lettering!
Cheers Andy
It is seldom that one sees a reference to this particular Seven model (Caterham S3 Twin Cam) and I think equally seldom that such a car appears for sale.
According to the responses to this owners enquiry about his name plate they would seem to be relatively rare but does this mean they are considered particularly desireable or, alternatively, less so because of the many newer, quicker versions with more bhp, gears etc?
They do not seem to feature in the 'Buying a Seven' valuation guide table and I would ask what range of value they might come into, if in good original condition?
According to the responses to this owners enquiry about his name plate they would seem to be relatively rare but does this mean they are considered particularly desireable or, alternatively, less so because of the many newer, quicker versions with more bhp, gears etc?
They do not seem to feature in the 'Buying a Seven' valuation guide table and I would ask what range of value they might come into, if in good original condition?
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