museum, mechanics, car, mechanical, Lotus, Elise, Caterham, Seven, Super Seven, Sands, Mechanical, automobile, race, assembly, suspension " />

My car is a 1963 Super Seven, 1500cc Ford Cosworth (correct pre-cross flow). I vintage race it, and ran in last years Monterey Historics, Laguna Seca. The car weighs 1052 pounds, and the engine was dynoed at 147bph. While I only occasionally drive it on the street, it is currently licensed and registered in California.

The car currently has a 4.4 rearend ratio with a Hewland limited slip (magical). While I never have measured the cars 0-60 capability, it is brutally fast. At Laguna Seca, with vintage legal 5 inch wide tires, it runs the same lap times as Shelby GT350 Mustangs (530bph) and 289 Cobras. The tighter and more technical the course, the bigger the advantage. At the 1997 Los Angeles Vintage GP, we qualified 1.8 seconds per lap faster than the fastest 427 Cobra.

The color in the photos is right on, I think it is called Allegheny Maroon. I had it completely apart and repainted a couple years ago.

As far as ride height, it is low, the oil pan (which is really a dry sump / wet sump) only clears the ground by 1.5 inches. Overall ride height is about three inches. All suspension is original and correct in geometry, however, the car is very highly developed. In other words, "It's a damn fast pig."

With my 201 pounds in the car, weight is balanced within .5 of one percent front to back, and on both diagonals. Leeson strait-cut gears, and the ultra-rare Hewland LSD balance out the package.

Now, this car meets the HMSA rules, and is highly developed within those rules. If you are not trying to meet a stringent rule set, a Seven can be made as fast as you want by going to independent rear suspension and double A-arm front susp. Also, it is possible to get up 200 hp out of a finely tuned Crossflow motor, it won't have the longevity of a twincam, but the power potential is there.

Greg J. Bennett

(Racing photos by Bob Dunsmuir)

Also from 2001 Historics at Laguna Seca ... this is the beginning of the straight ... I get first gear going into the hairpin (turn 11) and see redline in fourth before breaking for turn two ... it's moving around a little bit as I go under the bridge and over the crest of the hill flat in 4th.... Serious fun.