BOUGHT ONE!

Before I left for the UK it already looked like it could be THE weekend. Since July last year I'v been surfing different UK-sites looking to see what was on the market and if there was something that suited me. The big plan always was to buy one in February or March 2007.

I made a short-list before I left with only three 7's on it. I send the list to Angus and asked when I could pop over to try a couple of 7's. He said the first weekend of February was OK, so booked a train and left on the Fridayafternoon after work.

First stop on the Saturday was Caterham South to have a look around their pre-owned-stock. And to test a couple of different 7's, especially different seats and SV's. I had to be sure that I could fit every centimer of my 1,91m (+6,2 feet) in the car and could still use the steering wheel. :-)

Caterham South had three cars there that had some potential to become my 7. I testdrove one of them. Didn't drive it myself because my shoes were to wide and I didn't wanted to drive it without shoes on :-).

While we were driving water appeared on the windscreen coming from under the hood. Once we arrived the car was still steaming and water was still dripping. Appearantly the next thing that could go is teh head gasket!?! And the windscreen had a big chip out of it (almost an inch). So tempted but didn't buy it.

Next stop should have been one of the cars on my list, but when Angus called the owner he told us the car was sold that morning. Angus put a thread on Blatchat asking for any cars on the market. There were a couple so on Sunday we were on the road again.

First stop looked very promising. A black Roadsport 1.6K, 2003, for a very friendly price. Originally owned by a Frenchman who lived and worked in England. Returned to France last year and tried to take the car with him but finally gave up. So the owner sold the car to another clubmember as a quick sollution.

Next step was an independant dealer with another 2 "high potentials", especially the one on the left (photo's below). But they couldn't compete with the great package that came with the black Roadsport (photo on the right). 
On the way back to Egham (home of Angus&Tessa) I decided it would have to be the black Roadsport including the aero-screen and carbon half doors but it also comes with the standard windscreen and doors. 
The car has a kind of an intercom: for the passenger it has a set of headphones and mike, for the driver it comes with a helmet, although too small for my head ;-). The intercom has two extra plugs that I can use to connect a radio or a MP3-player.

I do want some changes to be made: The floor needs to be lowered so I have room enough for my legs; I want a yellow nose-band and bonnet stripe to increase the chance of being noticed on Belgian roads; The roll bar will become a FIA-one, also in yellow; and of course different lenses for the headlamps made for continetal roads, a third brake light. It may need a different speedo as well. Now it has a combined one (mph and km/h) which I like (makes driving in the UK easier). So I will only change it, if it's a problem for the importprocedure. When all of that's done, I can start with the import and homologation for the Belgian roads. That might take from 6 weeks untill 6 months. What ever time it might take; it will be too long. :-)