Seven - The magic number

 It should be no real surprise, but I LOVE the aesthetics of the seven. The stripped out, racy look of a clean seven is a great thing and I'm a massive fan. Raptor seem to have created a little identity all of their own, with the standard "look" for a RR235 being something along these lines: Predominantly orange, black stripe, black cycle wings, black cage, carbon wrap on some of the exposed parts, aero screen. Colour: As it so happens, I really like the Orange, so I am going to stick with it for mine. However, I am going to change a few bits and pieces to make it more individual. Stripe : Going to keep the colour a surprise for now, but this is the main cosmetic change for me. I may then wrap a few other things on the car to match. NOTE - IVA . As part of the process of getting the car legally on the road, you have to get it certified via a process called IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval). What this does is basically check that the car is safe and roadworthy, you then g...

As I said in my previous post, I have a deposit down. What I have actually ordered so far is a chassis, with a half cage, powdercoated. On addition, I have decided to pay the money for Raptor themselves to fit the floor, and all the copperwork for hydraulics. Given that I have decided to get my engine from them as well, Andy has said that they can fit and wire the engine before I take delivery.  I've mulled this over and gone back and forth in my head. On one hand, dropping the engine in is a big step in any build and I was quite looking forward to it. On the other hand, doing it this way gives me a load of benefits.: I get a chassis where I should be able to handle everything else to get it fully ready for IVA and registration. I don't risk making a hash of hydraulic tubing. From working on bicycles, hydraulics is one of my least favourite things to do, and if I split tubes or do joints badly, DOT is horrible stuff. I will obviously still need to plumb in the brakes but thats ...

 Well - it should be pretty obvious I chose Raptor. So - what were the reasons? Firstly its important to say that every company I contacted has been incredibly helpful. Neil from MK particularly deserves calling out, and had I been living in the south east, MK would definitely have been on the shortlist In short though, one of the biggest single factors for me was proximity. As you can see from the map, MK are not exactly local, and even GBS are a few hours away. This is the first time I have done this, and the ability to drive over and see the company, ask them stuff, and in an emergency get the car to them for help was too big an advantage to pass up. That said, there are also a bunch of other things that I took into account. The other main thing was that Andy was equally as helpful and enthusiastic as any other manufacturer (or possibly more!), and spent considerable time with me working out my options. Firstly the main downside - This is going to cost me a fair whack more than ...

 In July last year, I went to visit a friend as part of a work trip. He'd warned me to pack light because he was picking me up in the Caterham he'd recently finished building. First impressions - wow this thing was small, he wasn't kidding about packing light. Secondly after a "spirited" 45 minute drive home (direct I think it should have taken about 15 minutes but we may have gone a slightly indirect route), I NEEDED one of these.  I've always been aware of "Seven" type cars - I used to go to hillclimbs with a girlfriend whose dad and brother raced a Ginetta when I was younger so I had seen plenty of them, and always liked the look, but had never had a ride before. There are a number of manufacturers of them, but Caterham is the industry standard, and if you are picky about these things, the most direct descendant of the original Colin Chapman car. If you have never ridden in one, do so. The best way to think about it is not as a car, but as a pract...