Lotus 7 Alfa Romeo

[Caterhamfan]

Well, after more than 7 years without one, I will soon have another Seven I am in the process of importing this http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/3840062.htm Alfa Romeo-powered Lotus 7 from the UK. I'm waiting for the history file to be sent over but, from scanned documents I've been sent, it seems the car was owned and raced in NZ by Wyndham Gray of Amberley between 1974 and 2002 when it was sold back to the UK. Does anyone on here know anything about the car?
Thanks!

Edited by Caterhamfan on Friday 7th September 23:10

Edited by Caterhamfan on Friday 7th September 23:32

Edited by Caterhamfan on Friday 7th September 23:33

[mickrick]

I don't know anything about the car, sorry. But just wanted to say it looks interesting! Hope the buying/importing goes O.K. for you.

Shame the thread got closed on the Caterham bit, as I don't think it's very busy over here.

[Caterhamfan]

mickrick said:

I don't know anything about the car, sorry. But just wanted to say it looks interesting! Hope the buying/importing goes O.K. for you.

Shame the thread got closed on the Caterham bit, as I don't think it's very busy over here.

Yes, it does sound interesting. I've had some replies about the car on another online forum (The Roaring Season) and will find out more once I get the history file
I'll update here as the importing progresses.
I posted on the Pistonheads Caterham and NZ forums as well to maximise my chances of finding someone who knew the car but the moderator wanted discussion kept to this one.

[marshalla]

Caterhamfan said:

I posted on the Pistonheads Caterham and NZ forums as well to maximise my chances of finding someone who knew the car but the moderator wanted discussion kept to this one.

You fell foul of the "no cross-posting" rule. This thread could be moved to the Caterham forum though.

[Caterhamfan]

marshalla said:

You fell foul of the "no cross-posting" rule. This thread could be moved to the Caterham forum though.

Yes, that would be it but, in my defence, I wasn't sure which forum was most likely to generate useful (optimistic, I know!) responses given that the car in question ticked all 3 boxes (Lotus, Caterham and New Zealand)

[Caterhamfan]

Thanks very much for moving this thread. Fingers crossed for some useful information

[mickrick]

Having spent a bit of time on the North Island, and enjoying some of the fabulous roads you have there, I'm quite envious !
My most favoritest place on Earth !

[Caterhamfan]

Caterhamfan said:

Yes, it does sound interesting. I've had some replies about the car on another online forum (The Roaring Season) and will find out more once I get the history file
I'll update here as the importing progresses.

Well, I've got the history file now, which raises as many questions as it answers. The chassis number shows the car is an early Caterham, which is straightforward enough. It was registered in New Zealand as a 1974 Lotus Super 7 in 1975 (with 300 miles on the clock), with a note that it was previously registered in the UK. It had a 1498cc engine in 1977 and 1983 but a 1968cc engine (presumably the Alfa one) in 1994. There's no clue in the history as to exactly when, or why, the engine was changed, or which engine it was. There are various racing programmes (including Pukekohe March 1983 - when it is shown as 1498cc - and Wigram February 1994 - when it is shown as 1962cc) included in the file, all of which show it as a 1968 Lotus (Super) 7. So it looks as though I have a bit of research to do. On the plus side, I have addresses for the previous owners - as long as they haven't moved! It also looks as though the most recent UK owner has spent a lot of money on it, including replacing the Alfa engine with another one and putting a "proper" bulge in the bonnet. Plenty of work to do while the car makes its way to me!

[Caterhamfan]

Caterham Cars have confirmed that the the sales invoice for the car, a Super Seven Series III, is dated May 1, 1974. They also told me that the car was supplied to a customer in Yorkshire, England, in component form, less engine and gearbox, for the price of £1042.96 and that the customer was about to move to New Zealand. This confirms the information that I got from the "Skidding the Tyres in Classic Style" book

[KMF]

I see it was for sale with Lotus Racing. Nice people to do buisnes with. They bought my Seven from me for cash with no quible. Happy all around (the gulf coloured 7 in the sold cars section)

[Caterhamfan]

Well, the car is now in my garage I drove it home last Friday afternoon in the rain with no roof or side-screens and didn't get as wet as I expected. It's great to drive - you can pootle around at low revs in a high gear or you can boot it and make it really fly. The previous owner in the UK seems to have spent most of the time he had it re-building it, I've got bills in the history file for nearly as much as I paid for it! I don't think it's done many miles since it went back to the UK - the records that came with it show it's done about 1,000 miles since 2008 and the teething troubles that have shown up so far are, I think, as a result of that. I've already got a list of things to do and no doubt there will be more as I drive it and it gets used to being driven again after its long repose. I also want to get on with tracking down more of its history, so plenty to keep me busy when I'm not driving it

Edited by Caterhamfan on Wednesday 28th November 23:28