Caterhams

[arun1uk]

Anyone on here a Caterham owner? Seems to be a correlation between watch enthusiasts and Caterham owners!
I picked mine up last year and currently tucked away waiting for warmer weather.

[Cat7]

I was a long term Caterham 7 owner for 15 years and had my R400 duratec for 10 years until I sold it in September last year. Fantastic cars that tell you exactly what's going on. I had mine upgraded with the CC throttle body conversion, the sound and throttle response was awesome.
There was very little that could keep up with it on twisty road.
I'll post some photos later, post up some of yours to.
As you say there are a few 7 owners and lots of petrolheads on TZ, check out the what do you drive thread.

[arun1uk]

Great car! Love an R400 - I currently have a K Series VVC. Very addictive sound and power delivery.
Glad to hear there's plenty of petrolheads on the forum, I'm very into my cars so will be good to see what others have too.

[Cat7]

The Office



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[Cat7]

My previous 7 was a VVC great choice for touring and one of the best K series setups.

[arun1uk]

Beautiful colour scheme and I bet you miss it....especially when the weather gets nicer.
Did you replace, or just sell?

[Skyman]

Ex owner here. This Superlight Twenty was mine until early last year. Sold it to get a 620S, but bailed out prior to confirming my order and bought an Exige 350 Sport. I regret the decision, and may need to rectify that!


This was the 620S




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[Cat7]

If you are going to correct that mistake Simon you should do it properly with the 620R not the 620S

[Cat7]

Beautiful colour scheme and I bet you miss it....especially when the weather gets nicer.
Did you replace, or just sell?

I sold it unfortunately with no plan to replace at present, but who knows never say never !!
I do feel they are too fast for the potholed roads that are becoming busier all the time.
I would say driver tuition and track days are the way to go to fully exploit the 7 not on the public roads although you can still have plenty of fun early on sunny Sunday mornings....

[trident-7]

I sold it unfortunately with no plan to replace at present, but who knows never say never !!
I do feel they are too fast for the potholed roads that are becoming busier all the time.
I would say driver tuition and track days are the way to go to fully exploit the 7 not on the public roads although you can still have plenty of fun early on sunny Sunday mornings....

I don't want to put dampeners on the thread but just over a year ago I was out on my bike & was one of the first on the scene of a road collision involving a Caterham. The driver had taken a left at a roundabout & had spun it coming out of the corner, hitting an oncoming people carrier on it's offside front. The driver of the Caterham had been thrown from the car & was lying on his back about 40 feet away. There were no signs of life but two of us carried out CPR for 20 minutes before the ambulance & air ambulance turned up simultaneously. The Paramedics attached a Defibrillator but the readout showed he was flatlining & already dead.

There's an occasional floral tribute on a road sign at the site these days.

[DavidL]

I've had my 21 for over 20 yrs now. It doesn't ge a lot of use but I can't see it going anywhere. It's not like I'm likely to see another on the road. They only made 48.

[casbar]

Had a Siupersport R for years, which I mostly tracked. Full roll cage, dry sumped, roller barrels. Wrote it off at Castle Combe, :) Sold the trailer and bits after that and went back to motorcycling. Loved the Sevens though. Before that one, I had a xflow, rebuilt the engine, but it was too noisy for track days.

[stiglet]

I've had 2 Westfield 7s - the first a "pre-lit" with a Ford cross-flow followed by an SEiW with a 208bhp SBD VX engine.

The latter was replaced with a 1968 Lotus7 series 3 with an all steel BDA from an RS1600.

The second Westie was great on the road, however the Lotus, being an out and out racer, was just evil, and pig to drive in traffic ( comp clutch/straight cut gears and ACB 10 cut slick crossply tyres)

On the track it was just wonderful ....and I wish I still had it.

Some of the new(ish) crop of higher powered 7s are so quick now, doubt if I could exploit half of their performance on the road. That's one of the reasons we don't use our (road legal) Radical on the public highway

Though maybe I'm just getting old

[Cat7]

ACB10's there's a blast from the past! I bet that Lotus sounded lovely with the BDA engine.
And good to see a 21 still going, as you say a very rare sight nowadays.

[stiglet]

ACB10's there's a blast from the past! I bet that Lotus sounded lovely with the BDA engine.

Yes it made a nice noise - captured on youtube.

I think I've posted this before , but re-post seems appropriate.

Quite a leisurely pace compared to the Radical (or a 620 )

[Cat7]

Very nice, thanks for that flared wings as well.
What engine has the Radical got?

[stiglet]

The current Radical is an SR3 and has a powertec 1300 'busa as did my Prosport (which was quicker) - My first one (a Clubsport) had an 1100 ZZR - all three about the most fun you can have, with a nomex suit on


(all IMHO)

[Cat7]

Sounds pretty awesome. Are they the ones that can go as fast in reverse as forwards.

[stiglet]

The Prosport and Clubbie had electric reverses that invariably worked once and then never again. Rev not required for Hills and Sprints so these were whipped out as soon as we got them.

I've not explored reverse in the SR3 yet, although stiglet jr did last time out on a double drive - when he thought he could hammer it on slicks in the pouring rain just as fast as in the dry.

Victory to older and wiser one that day

[Cat7]

Brilliant sounds like you have a lot of fun together. Older and wiser gets my vote
Sorry for thread derail....

[arun1uk]

Ex owner here. This Superlight Twenty was mine until early last year. Sold it to get a 620S, but bailed out prior to confirming my order and bought an Exige 350 Sport. I regret the decision, and may need to rectify that!


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Serious Alloy shine envy here!!! Must have been a personal obsession to keep it this clean? Bravo sir.

Great to see some more Caterham/Kitcar love. Aware of a few serious accidents (including one late last year) and slippery track tyres (ZZS/R) and cold and damp roads are a challenge.
Doing my ARDS later this year, and two good friends in the 270R Championship this year.

Did you guys go aero?

[arun1uk]

The current Radical is an SR3 and has a powertec 1300 'busa as did my Prosport (which was quicker) - My first one (a Clubsport) had an 1100 ZZR - all three about the most fun you can have, with a nomex suit on


(all IMHO)

Pictures please!!!!

[omegasteve]

great cars, had a couple and sold my grads racer (no hood, heater etc) to a nice chap from Italy earlier this year who:

1. drove it non stop to Prague
2. Uses is as his daily, inc all through the winter

Much respect!

[omegasteve]

Ex owner here. This Superlight Twenty was mine until early last year. Sold it to get a 620S, but bailed out prior to confirming my order and bought an Exige 350 Sport. I regret the decision, and may need to rectify that!


This was the 620S




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why did you move the superlight 20 on? Always thought they were a great spec.

[pauly]

I don't own one, but I'd bloody love to.

I currently drive a 2009 90 Defender csw and was contemplating selling it and buying something more comfortable and faster.....then my friend suggested keeping the Defender and buying something quick to use at weekends.

Budget wise I think I can get more car for my money if I go for a Westfield - however there's a place in the next village to me that sells Caterhams which isn't helping my decision making.

[stiglet]

Pictures please!!!!

With apologies to the OP for the radical departure

Prosport



Clubsport




SR3 with my Merlyn in the foreground

[Skyman]

why did you move the superlight 20 on? Always thought they were a great spec.

More power!😉

[Big_Malcy]

TVR Tuscan owner here, also hibernating!

[Chris_in_the_UK]

^^^^

Love the Tuscan!

[arun1uk]

TVR Tuscan owner here, also hibernating!

One of the best side profiles ever. Especially in that colour.
How do you find it from a driving and engagement perspective?
Have always hankered for one

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[Big_Malcy]

Hmmmm, it's certainly not the most elegant machine in terms of handling! I had a Clio 172 Cup a while back, and that handled so much better!

It's good once you get used to it though - razor sharp reactions - steering and throttle response are just great!

Drama, occasion, scare-factor, and real-world touring ability (been away for a fortnight in it) it's perfect!

I don't think I'll ever sell it.

...but always hankered after a Caterham!

[pembers]

Im Loving this Thread chaps, please keep the pics coming!

[pinpull]

Ex-owner in the 90s. Had an early 1600 Ford Crossflow, long cockpit version, with twin Weber carbs which gulped air from an open slot in the bonnet!

About 130hp, which was plenty for today’s roads, etc. No idea why you’d want/need the R300, etc, other than for the track!

Loved it and had lots of fun in it. Only real drawback, apart from the terror of having to look UP at bus tyres, was carrying capacity for luggage, or lack of it to be more precise! I could carry more on my Ducati!

Bought the car directly from Caterham, and subsequently sold it back to them several years later for £500.00 less than I paid for it!

The next owner totalled it on the first roundabout he came to...


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[casbar]

Ex-owner in the 90s. Had an early 1600 Ford Crossflow, long cockpit version, with twin Weber carbs which gulped air from an open slot in the bonnet!

About 130hp, which was plenty for today’s roads, etc. No idea why you’d want/need the R300, etc, other than for the track!

Loved it and had lots of fun in it. Only real drawback, apart from the terror of having to look UP at bus tyres, was carrying capacity for luggage, or lack of it to be more precise! I could carry more on my Ducati!

Bought the car directly from Caterham, and subsequently sold it back to them several years later for £500.00 less than I paid for it!

The next owner totalled it on the first roundabout he came to...


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You would want a R300 etc so you can also go on trackways. You wouldn't get anywhere near a track now with a flow. Plus if you did, you would be a rolling roadblock for the newer cars, assuming they were driven by people who could drive of course.

[omegasteve]

I bought my 1st new in 2003 and then sold it 18 months later losing about 5k.....I think I'm the only person in the world who has lost money on a Caterham!

[omegasteve]

Racing (badly) at Snetterton, great fun but talent, money and time couldn't be justified :)

[IMG]IMG_4775 by STEPHEN HASKINS, on Flickr[/IMG]

[pinpull]

You would want a R300 etc so you can also go on trackways. You wouldn't get anywhere near a track now with a flow. Plus if you did, you would be a rolling roadblock for the newer cars, assuming they were driven by people who could drive of course.

Hahah! Don’t I know it! Happy where I was though, mixing it with the commuters, did enough track work on the bike!


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[Hocuspocus]

I have Sigma125 Roadsport SV which I've had from new in 2007. I love it. Doesn't get a huge amount of use but I couldn't part with it. In the last couple of years I have started to service the car myself which is hugely satisfying. Can't wait for spring...

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[andy tims]

I had a yellow 1400cc k series Super Sport as my only car for about 6 months through one of the wettest summers I can remember. Driving a Caterham with the weather gear on all the time was pretty horrible, hence my short ownership duration.

[arun1uk]

Great to see so many owners (and ex owners) on here. Definitely correlation (or illness?) between watches and cars...

Here's mine. 1.8k series VVC. About to change the 16" wheels for 13" all round (6" and 8"). Previous owner looked after it very well and I hope to do the same too.
Also loving the fact that I can service and make it my own.

[Cat7]

Brilliant photo. I have the registration A7 SUP which continues the theme of J7 SUP.
They look fantastic on 7s


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[john.rigby]

I went out to buy a Caterham but stumbled across an R1 powered Stuart Taylor Motorsport Phoenix, 180bhp and less then 500kg
IMG_0330.JPGIMG_8087.JPG


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[pinpull]

Thanks! I was very excited to get the reg. number, it was very appropriate, as is yours!

Sadly my car is gone, along with my moustache and most of my hair! The only thing still with me is my 16800 Submariner, which I'm wearing in the pic!

I saw a picture of that road on the front of a Ducati brochure, with the bike exactly where my car is. I researched and found out that it was taken in Wales, so I went hunting and lo and behold, found the road!


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[simon-c]

[IMG]37248904615_03f48ba636_k by Simon C, on Flickr[/IMG]

My R400 Duratec sold last year for something a bit heavier and thirstier

[IMG]Untitled by Simon C, on Flickr[/IMG]

[omegasteve]

Caterham to a Stang....thats quite a change, what's under the hood?

[simon-c]

Life is about contrasts!

It was my 3rd caterham and had done the Elise exige thing

It’s got a stroked Windsor V8 to 408ci and trick cams, it’s 6.7 litres in modern money

[pembers]

I've had my 21 for over 20 yrs now. It doesn't ge a lot of use but I can't see it going anywhere. It's not like I'm likely to see another on the road. They only made 48.

Thats still a lovely looking car, carnt remember but what were the engine options for these?

[stiglet]

IIRC k series 1.6 /1.8 but could be wrong

Found another pic of my old 7 - Caterham's granddad ?

[DavidL]

Thats still a lovely looking car, carnt remember but what were the engine options for these?

The original ali bodied prototype car that went to Caterham Japan is a Vauxhall HPC engine but from the factory they were:
a stock 1.6 K series at 115bhp,
supersport 1.6 at 140 (mine),
a stock 1.8 at 118 bhp,
the vvc 1.8 engine at 145 or so
and a handful of VHPD 180 bhp cars (5 or 6)

Now there is at least one more HPC car and a 2.0 ford duratec

They are about 650kg so a good bit heavier than the 7 so I feel mine is a bit slow really. I'd like about 200bhp so keep looking for an r300 or r400 engine or one from an exige but they are very hard to find.
A trophy 160 engine is a good start which can be made to about 185 with a few goodies. Might go there one day.
The problem is that if I take the engine out then I'd have to work on the chassis which would then mean parting the body from the chassis which would inevitably mean stripping the chassis and sending it back to Arch motors to be fixed and re powercoated (well powerdcoated for the first time really, I don't think Caterham's efforts in the mid 90s really counts, it was awful). At that point I might be too old to get in, or at least get out.
It's quite snug in there(but very comfortable) as FFF on here will testify to.

[simon-c]

You may have already heard of him, but Dave Andrews is the K series guru and may be able to swap the head and cams, fit some DTH throttle bodies, and new ECU etc without lifting the engine

He got my 1.8 k series to 190hp in my first Elise

http://www.dvapower.co.uk