For those interested in old cars.

[Moxy]

23 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

This was outside the local pub today. Obviously a kit car, is it a Caverham? A company called Birkin here distribute several UK kit producers products, I guess its something from up there.

 

 

I think it's a Caterham 7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterham_7

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

This was outside the local pub today. Obviously a kit car, is it a Caverham? A company called Birkin here distribute several UK kit producers products, I guess its something from up there.

 

If the badge is to be believed, it's an original Lotus 7, rather than a Caterham, though the wheels and possibly the rear mudguards look wider. Infinitely customisable whoever originally made it!

 

Lotuses (Loti?) and older Caterhams were obtainable both in kit form and ready-built. Not sure if Caterham still do kits.

 

I occasionally used to get to drive a 1968 Series 3. Road spec with a warmed up 1600GT Kent engine, lightened flywheel, C/R "Bullitt" box and LSD.

 

Almost as much fun as can be had with ones trousers on from a mere 110 bhp. Caterham now offer one with 325 bhp, in a car that weighs little more than a Reliant Robin. Spare trousers advisable, I suspect!

 

John

[Sidecar Racer]

This could throw some light on the car shown .

 

 From Wiki .

 

 In 1973, Lotus decided to shed its kit car image and concentrate on limited series motor racing cars and up-market sports cars. As part of this plan, it sold the rights to the Seven to its only remaining agents, Caterham Cars in England and Steel Brothers Limited in New  Zealand. At the time the current production car was the Series 4, but when Caterham ran out of the Lotus Series 4 kits in 1974 they introduced its own version of the Series 3, as the Caterham Seven. The modern-day Road sports and Superlights (in "narrow-bodied chassis" form) are the direct descendants of this car and therefore of the original Lotus 7.

 

Also from Wiki .

Steel Brothers also assembled and exported Mark 4 Lotus Seven sports cars from 1973 to 1979.

 

So it could be Steel Brothers Limited build , hence the Lotus badge . And it's easy to deduce

it's probably an import from the two main islands down there .

Edited November 26, 2023 by Sidecar Racer
Double entry text removal .

[PhilJ W]

@Sidecar Racer your keyboard seems to have an echo.😁

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Almost as much fun as can be had with ones trousers on from a mere 110 bhp. Caterham now offer one with 325 bhp, in a car that weighs little more than a Reliant Robin. Spare trousers advisable, I suspect!

 

The base 660cc 84bhp Suzuki turbo sounds more like uncomplicated fun. I think the original Lotus kit was designed for a 950cc A Series?

[MJI]

Kn the UK we also have Westfield, their most bonkers model was the Seight.

 

When overtaking put on a high gear before going.

 

With 8 carb barrels sticking out of bonnet.

[Northmoor]

A late friend of mine had a Westie which he bought nearly finished but roadworthy, with a standard 1600X-flow.  As he got involved in club competitions, he installed a 1700 Vulcan Engineering-modded X-flow, going from 80 to about 140bhp in the process.  After that he rarely drove it to work as he said unless it was completely dry, roundabouts were a liability.  Having had a couple of short trips in the car, I would describe the Seven replica experience as probably the nearest thing to a four-wheeled motorcycle.

[Jol Wilkinson]

2 hours ago, 30801 said:

 

The base 660cc 84bhp Suzuki turbo sounds more like uncomplicated fun. I think the original Lotus kit was designed for a 950cc A Series?

IIRC, the Lotus 7 kit, like the Mark VI before it, were originally intended for the Ford 1172 side valve engine. They were cheap, re4adily avail,able and there were lots of tuning bits available.

[Kickstart]

On 26/11/2023 at 15:27, MJI said:

Kn the UK we also have Westfield, their most bonkers model was the Seight.

 

When overtaking put on a high gear before going.

 

With 8 carb barrels sticking out of bonnet.

 

A long time ago my boss and her partner did a lot of running of the Westfield owners club. This was around the time the Seight was launched and they had a go. Her comments were that you just had to look at the throttle for it to spin the back wheels up.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[Oldddudders]

Many years ago I recall an ad in Exchange & Mart for a Lotus 7 "complete with brown trousers"!

[steve1]

The Lotus 7 in kit form. Note magazine date.

 

steve

 

 

 

[Nick C]

It looks like you can still buy new kit cars as well - such as this one for under £5k - I was surprised, I'd expected to see that modern legislation would have made them impossible to get road-approved...

[big jim]

Not sure whether to put these in ‘old cars’ or ‘modern classics’ as the pics were taken 30 odd years ago!

 

first one was Calais I think, me and my dad went for a day trip from Dover on the hovercraft

 

2nd one is Switzerland 1985 with was was probaly quite a new Suzuki SJ410, a Ford Granada and a Renault? 

 

and finally one for @russ p look at all those BL/Austin products, also a rather nice 205 gti lurking to the right, is this Bridgnorth? 

[alastairq]

51 minutes ago, Nick C said:

It looks like you can still buy new kit cars as well - such as this one for under £5k - I was surprised, I'd expected to see that modern legislation would have made them impossible to get road-approved...

For the UK, there are several categories of vehicle built from a kit. The category will depend on the type of kit supplied or used.  The SVA [as was] isn't too onerous to meet....

 

This site may help categorise 'kits?'

 

https://www.theukrules.co.uk/rules/driving/vehicle-registration/kit-built/

 

There is a definitive difference between a 'kit-built' vehicle, and a 'kit-converted' vehicle.

Not forgetting ''re-builds?''

''Reconstructed classic vehicles?''

''Radically altered vehicles?''

 

All depends really on what one has had for breakfast....seemingly?

 

30-odd years ago, I was lucky with my Cannon when turning it into  a 'road-legal' vehicle. Or rather, i timed it well....Squeezed everything in before the original SVA test rules came into force.

Thus,  the basic vehicle was ''inspected'' by a suitably qualified Police Officer.....who issued [or sent off for] a 'chassis number'' for it.

Once the chassis number [the vehicle's actual, new, identity]...was received [ and stamped out & secured to a prominent chassis member]..it could all be insured....then I could drive it to a pre-booked MoT test station, where it underwent a proscribed 'MoT' test. This also involved another drive to get the vehicle officially weighed. this, for the MoT tester's brake testing equipment. 

Thus far, no registration number.......which confused a local bobby no end.

Once the test certificate wa issued [a pass, obviously].....the relevant paperwork could then be sent off to acquire a registration number.

This was for a Q plate, as the components of the vehicle, when inspected, came from a variety of different [old] vehicles , so no one particular vehicle identity could be found.

All very easy...didn't even have a windscreen!  But it had to have seat belts fitted, and dual circuit brakes...Plus the C&U regs applicable at the date of registration. Which in my case meant some thoughtful measuring of the rear light positions so that the arcs of visibility weren't fouled by stuff like spare wheels, etc.  For the rear, easily-found trailer light units met all the requirements [E numbers, etc]

Really stuffed for fixing the front number plate in accordance with the regs, however...So I did 'cheat' on that one.....and did much the same as many old Jag E-type owners ended up doing.

 

However, today the process is somewhat more tedious....

 

 

 

 

 

[russ p]

52 minutes ago, big jim said:

Not sure whether to put these in ‘old cars’ or ‘modern classics’ as the pics were taken 30 odd years ago!

 

first one was Calais I think, me and my dad went for a day trip from Dover on the hovercraft

 

2nd one is Switzerland 1985 with was was probaly quite a new Suzuki SJ410, a Ford Granada and a Renault? 

 

and finally one for @russ p look at all those BL/Austin products, also a rather nice 205 gti lurking to the right, is this Bridgnorth? 

 

Fantastic.  That blue HLE metro has got some strange accident damage 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Nick C said:

It looks like you can still buy new kit cars as well - such as this one for under £5k - I was surprised, I'd expected to see that modern legislation would have made them impossible to get road-approved...

 

£5k?

Must think money grows on trees!

[big jim]

10 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

£5k?

Must think money grows on trees!

In suspect the follow up was ‘craft a coffin for a tenner’ 

[big jim]

46 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

Fantastic.  That blue HLE metro has got some strange accident damage 

i think it’s just be a shadow from my hand as it’s a photo of a photo, I’ll check the original in a bit! 

[jcredfer]

2 hours ago, big jim said:

Not sure whether to put these in ‘old cars’ or ‘modern classics’ as the pics were taken 30 odd years ago!

 

first one was Calais I think, me and my dad went for a day trip from Dover on the hovercraft

 

2nd one is Switzerland 1985 with was was probaly quite a new Suzuki SJ410, a Ford Granada and a Renault? 
 

 

and finally one for @russ p look at all those BL/Austin products, also a rather nice 205 gti lurking to the right, is this Bridgnorth? 

 

This seems to look like Dunster, looking towards the Conygar Tower.  I just noticed, the reflection from the inside of what looks like the inside of the windscreen, above the cream buildings, on the right.  That line on the Metro might be more of the same effect.

 

 

[Sidecar Racer]

4 hours ago, jcredfer said:

 

This seems to look like Dunster, looking towards the Conygar Tower.  I just noticed, the reflection from the inside of what looks like the inside of the windscreen, above the cream buildings, on the right.  That line on the Metro might be more of the same effect.

 

 

 

 I thought that at first glance , but it's not as everything is on the wrong side .

 

 As per .    https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Number+29/@51.1849118,-3.4442398,3a,57.5y,202.19h,95.55t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX7S74ruZzMukTPtK4R6Dwg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DX7S74ruZzMukTPtK4R6Dwg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D185.87181%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x486de76f6ab4fd17:0x8729f4df5b6f4b1c!8m2!3d51.1846466!4d-3.4445867!16s%2Fg%2F1tfptpx4?entry=ttu

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Sidecar Racer

[Sidecar Racer]

t

5 minutes ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 I thought that at first glance , but it's not as everything is on the wrong side .

 

 As per .    https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Number+29/@51.1849118,-3.4442398,3a,57.5y,202.19h,95.55t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX7S74ruZzMukTPtK4R6Dwg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DX7S74ruZzMukTPtK4R6Dwg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D185.87181%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x486de76f6ab4fd17:0x8729f4df5b6f4b1c!8m2!3d51.1846466!4d-3.4445867!16s%2Fg%2F1tfptpx4?entry=ttu

 

 

 

 Then I looked from the other side ,

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.1841746,-3.4441366,3a,49.4y,12h,103.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVbNGlRnkYS_9qIUGMYK2Xw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[BernardTPM]

9 hours ago, big jim said:

and finally one for @russ p look at all those BL/Austin products, also a rather nice 205 gti lurking to the right, is this Bridgnorth? 

And for contrast, Dunster from the other direction, but back in 1934:

[big jim]

If that’s Dunster then it would have probably been when my dad had a trip to launceston in Cornwall to see the guy who ran the steam railway there (James someone or other) as he’d just bought Alice and went to get some bits for her, he would have called in at the west Somerset railway en route, I’m sure I’ve spotted some pics from there in the same box this one came from 

[monkeysarefun]

14 hours ago, Nick C said:

It looks like you can still buy new kit cars as well - such as this one for under £5k - I was surprised, I'd expected to see that modern legislation would have made them impossible to get road-approved...

 

Kit cars were big here in the 70's and 80's but the complexity of the registration process in NSW at least  has increased to such an extent that they are pretty much extinct. One major  requirement is access to a venue to perform high-speed testing and lane changing. This cannot be done on any public road so the only option are airstrips or Eastern Creek motor-racing circuit. Essentially you need to book the race-track for an entire day to do the track testing. Tests include high speed emergency brake testing, lane change tests, brake heat fade tests, drive by and static noise tests, speedo calibration tests and others.

 

In addition the other major cost would be the engineer, these charge from $5000 up to crazy prices.

 

Before the engineer will even look at the car the following needs to be confirmed

 

Australian Design Rules (ADR) compliant seats

ADR compliant seat belts

ADR compliant dash padding

A Passed Emissions test

ADR compliant steering wheel and Boss.

Proof of legitimate purchase of all the major components. Chassis, body, engine, gearbox, diff, seats radiator, fuel tank etc.

Your vehicle needs to be above the minimum ride height of 100mm.

All lights must be ADR compliant and carry the necessary markings

All wiring in engine bay must be double insulated and supported at least every 300mm.

Brake fluid, fuel cap and passenger seat must carry the necessary warning labels

[Hobby]

Definitely not Bridgnorth, their building isn't as posh as that one!