MN Munky

Looks great. Interested in what the logo will look like and size info please

Thanks for all of the insight everyone. It might just be one of those creature comforts that makes life in the humid Midwest of the US worthwhile. I was thinking of asking Sevens and Classic to put one in my car while they had it. They have them for £468 fitted. https://www.sevensandclassics.com/used-parts/windscreen-glass-heated-for-s3-and-sv/

Other than an occasion place to warm your hands on a cold morning, what is the general opinion of the Caterham heated windscreen? Worth it’s weight in gold? Always use it? Got one but not sure even where to switch it on? What’s a windscreen? Is it worth the extra sheckles if you don’t need to replace the existing windscreen? I had a quick look in search but couldn’t find any opinions after hunting through the first 8 pages... Thanks :) Kester

They have been very helpful and understanding (of my situation) so far. During my visit, I also saw how much focus they put on customer service, as another customer was going through the process of buying a car there. My Uncle is also getting excited, as once the car is ready, it’s going to live with him for a couple of months, before it’s 25th birthday!

Holy moly! That car sold for $29k!!! Anyone wanting to start up in business with me... My car works out to be $16k, $1k to get to the shipper in Southampton, $3k for tax and title and Atlantic crossing, then another $1k to ship from Baltimore to MN. (I’m hoping to drive mine). Only joking about the business (sort of) but I did think if I bought a rhd 7 I would have to own it until the end of time (or have to give it away)!

Thank you. The engine was rebuilt back in 2015 so that should be good, though they are flowing the head and putting in a faster cam to bring me up to around 120bhp. Excited!!!

That sounds like great fun. Lets hope I don’t hit too many hurdles so I can write it from an ‘I succeeded’ view point!

One day, she will be mine...

Thank you for the kind comments gents! It will be some time yet before I can ship it and get behind the wheel, but I’m really looking forward to it! Thanks for the kind offer Johnathan. I’ll send you a message straight away! Thank you. Kester

Well, looks like I can close this thread :) After much soul searching and thought, I’ve put a deposit down on a 94 crossflow Caterham from Severns and Classics. Not the fastest car I looked at, but has a few of the luxury options I was hoping for... okay, so I went with the car that had a heater - I’m getting old! Thanks to all for their comments, thoughts and insights. Kester

Hi Andrew I recently passed on an original HPC 7. I think it may have been a race car in its former life and has a dry sump etc. It was a very good price though and I’m not sure it has been publicly advertised. Had a claimed 200bhp and new MOT was offered. If you are interested I could put you in touch with the owner. Drop me an email if you are. Kester

Thank you. :) I’m off to see an HPC Caterham this Friday. Fingers crossed it’s a good one!

Thanks so much Blokko Yes, I could be found in Brits Pub from time to time - especially when the rugby is on! The bowling green on the roof is a fun place to gather in Summer but agree with you that it’s pretty much out of bounds in winter! I've had a bit of a look for sevens in the US but not been very lucky so far. You are right about the risk of limited mileage. Hopefully I can work with or around that. This weekend, I’m going to head to Sevens and Classics to see their blue car and I’m also hoping to see the eBay car this week (I’m working in Cardiff for the week). If you end up in Minneapolis again this winter drop me a line. It’s always fun catching up with fellow petrol / gas heads!

GJT Thanks. I think I need to hone my negotiating skills pretty quickly! Finmac Thanks for the kind offer. At the moment I’m struggling to find the right car :)

Any thoughts (pros and cons) of the following? https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/caterham/all-models/caterham-7-1600-sprint/9902663 https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/caterham/all-models/caterham-7-supersprint-1700/9020360#&gid=1&pid=9 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Caterham-Seven-Plus-1800-Roger-King-Special-1989/293199768983?hash=item4444116d97:g:iU4AAOSwl41dYTFJ Obviously the eBay car seems the best, but I would have to do some hard negotiating to make that one work! Not sure about an all white car or clam wings either. Thanks

Thanks GJT. I read on here (before I joined) that the Caterham built 1700s were a little over stressed. Seems like you have gone about it the right way and made one from a trusty 1600. A great way to go! Hopefully I do do something similar in the not too distant future

Hi Finmac Different States have different requirements for when you have the car registered. California for instance requires a smog check on cars built after ‘75. Other states have either similar or in some cases no requirements. I currently live in Minnesota. In MN, there is no annual check, no exhaust check or even something that checks that your brakes work and your car isn’t rotted in half! I couldn’t believe it when I first moved here! I haven’t gone through all of the process yet with a finished car, but have imported kits of various types. These can be brought in but in my state, the engine and chassis can not be from the same place and also the chassis must not have been previously registered. Docs from the supply company help etc. For a Caterham, I’m thinking it’s going to be under similar scrutiny as the Land Rover Defenders have been. So, no new chassis allowed (defenders with replacement galvanized chassis are not permitted any more) and the car has to be 25 or more years old, with original engine (as stated on documents) include the number plates from the place of origin (so make sure you keep the UK number plates on the car) and by its very nature, a Q plate states there are questions about the cars age, so that is a big no-no. Defenders are lucky here as they don’t state the engine number of the documents, just the engine type, allowing some latitude. People were bringing 15 year old Nissan Skylines into the US by taking the engine and trans out, shipping them to the US and reassembling them with one cars engine in another cars body. The importers got lazy and started putting the original engine back in and then the Feds started sending letters to the owners informing that they would be coming to collect their illegally imported cars. One of the more public cases, related to some Defenders that were ‘back dated’ which was obvious to the inspectors. Those cars were crushed! All imports are subject to random inspection when they arrive at port. If you share a shipping container with someone, then expect to pay $3000 for the shipping and then some more for taxes. Both Federal taxes (around 1.5% of value I think) and then local taxes to the state you live in. Those are variable and depend on what you classify the car as. In my state, you can call a car historic and pay around $120 and never have to buy a license plate again. You are restricted from driving the car anywhere other than car meets and personal cruises. Driving it to work every day is not allowed. Normal use in MN, all cars get taxed on their value when they change owners, even used cars. Then you also have to pay a yearly license or ‘Tabs’ fee. Some states don’t have this (such as the Boston area), where they just tax you more on your house! probably more info than you wanted... there is more though, but hopefully that should give you some idea.

Nothing as nice as a 996 I’m afraid. I have a couple of old 911s. One early 70s project that is going to make space for the 7 (I hope), the other an 80s 3.2 Carrera unrestored and peachy which is my pride and joy. Stridey Thanks for the comment. It seems like Roger King engined x flows are pretty special. They certainly seem to command more money than stock. I’ll have to keep my eye out for those as well. There is an 89 Roger King engined car on eBay right now but it’s just a little out of my price range. I should probably contact the seller to see if there is any OBO in his price... I guess it can’t hurt to ask!

Unfortunately it is pretty low. I have to factor in shipping (£2500) and tax leaving me in the lower end of the market. £12 - £13.5k is about it. Still much less than buying a US Caterham kit, but I’m swapping out my 911 project car for this, so the home accountant is making sure I don’t blow the food budget for the next couple of years. :D

Hi GJT Thank you for your input. I was a little put off by a thread I read about Caterhams own 1700 due to using 1300cc pistons. Probably sacralidge but I’m not looking to use the car as something that gets thrashed every day but occasionally... Is your car an original Caterham 1700? 126,000 on the clock is pretty amazing! Thank you for the UK sports cars suggestion. I’ll keep an eye out on their website too now! Wrightpayne, thanks for the advice. My old X flow engined car was great fun and would happily have one again. I think the fuel injection is a slight swing point of the two, but only just. Thinking about it, I’m more likely to be able to get parts for a x flow in the US (thanks to the racing the engine has been put through over the years) compared to a 1.4 K series. Thanks again for the thoughts both! :)

Hi there. I’m a new member here and also a displaced Englishman, banished to the US for the crimes of marrying a lovely American girl. About a million years ago I owned a pre-litigation ‘W’ car that looked very much like a Lotus 7 but wasn’t. I used it as my daily driver for two years before moving on to something a little more practical. I’m now trying to relive that ‘youth’ and import a Caterham to the US as a sunny day driver. Because of the import thing, I have to have a car that is at least 25 years old (so 1994 or earlier) with the original engine so that I can import it easily. It can’t be a Q plate either, but that seems very rare on Caterhams. It must have a windscreen and either come with or should accept weather gear. I would prefer the following but negotiable - nothings ever perfect (except my lady wife, so I’m told): Cycle wings (the swoopy wings on my last car made the front end go light at speed), heater, 5 speed, and preferably a K series 1.4 (1.6 don’t seem to be available on models of this age). I would consider a x-flow as my last one didn’t seem to have the troubles some seem to mention here (but was a 1.6) and also a 4 speed but my preference would be a K series. GP seem to have the perfect car in BRG with Lotus stripe for £12k, but someone beat me to it and have a deposit on it. They have a second car with a 105bhp K series, but that is also on deposit. Sevens and Classics have a couple of X flows that fit the bill, but one is a 1700 and reading these hallowed pages seems to indicate that this might not be the most reliable of engines. They also have a 1600 which I hope to fly over and see, this weekend. Does anyone have any leads or a car they are looking to sell that fits this description? Thanks so much! Kester