Taking the plunge.....
Discussion
Dear All,
I'm seriously considering taking the plunge on a Caterham and would really appreciate your collective input and advice!
I have my eye on an early HPC, I'm a fan of the Vauxhall engine, I've had a number of cars with the red top derivative motor and have always found it to be a strong and reliable unit although I haven't driven a Vauxhall powered Caterham yet. (I have driven more recent k-series powered cars but only on the track)
I have my eye on the following car:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3046871.htm
....and would appeciate any input you may have on the following:
HPC model, good or bad in terms of an overall package? (reliability / power / any major weaknesses)
I guess the one I have highlighted here is quite long in the tooth age wise, any specifics to look out for over and above the usual for a low volume specialist brit sports car. Is rust an issue etc?
Does anyone know the car I have listed? Seems top end money but if it's mint then I could be tempted.
In terms of everything else, i.e. living with a Caterham etc I'm pretty comfortable with what I'd be letting myself in for, so really my request is about the HPC model, it's reliability, any specifics to look for and how the HPC fairs against the other variants of the breed!
Thanks for any help and advice you can give.
Simon
I'm seriously considering taking the plunge on a Caterham and would really appreciate your collective input and advice!
I have my eye on an early HPC, I'm a fan of the Vauxhall engine, I've had a number of cars with the red top derivative motor and have always found it to be a strong and reliable unit although I haven't driven a Vauxhall powered Caterham yet. (I have driven more recent k-series powered cars but only on the track)
I have my eye on the following car:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3046871.htm
....and would appeciate any input you may have on the following:
HPC model, good or bad in terms of an overall package? (reliability / power / any major weaknesses)
I guess the one I have highlighted here is quite long in the tooth age wise, any specifics to look out for over and above the usual for a low volume specialist brit sports car. Is rust an issue etc?
Does anyone know the car I have listed? Seems top end money but if it's mint then I could be tempted.
In terms of everything else, i.e. living with a Caterham etc I'm pretty comfortable with what I'd be letting myself in for, so really my request is about the HPC model, it's reliability, any specifics to look for and how the HPC fairs against the other variants of the breed!
Thanks for any help and advice you can give.
Simon
Simon
I would suggest finding your local area meeting and going along and speaking to some of the owners.
There is normally plenty of choice to look at and getting some knowledge as what to look for when viewing 2nd hand
Another vx one here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Caterham-7-Lotus-Vauxhal...
I would suggest finding your local area meeting and going along and speaking to some of the owners.
There is normally plenty of choice to look at and getting some knowledge as what to look for when viewing 2nd hand
Another vx one here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Caterham-7-Lotus-Vauxhal...
I think the first thing you may want to ask yourself is what do you want to do with the Seven. I.e. road use only, mainly road use with the odd track day or be heavily focussed on track work.
I say this as the injection Vauxhall you have linked to probably won't be the most inspired choice as a track day car...but if you want it for touring and fast road you would be hard pushed to better it. Of course that is a biased view because I own an HPC and an injection one at that!
Cockwomble7 is right. You will never be short of power with an HPC and in terms of reliability, these C20XE engines are often referred to as 'bulletproof' - they certainly don't attract the same sort of histrionics like the 'dreaded click' or the head gasket issues associated with Rover K series cars.
No doubt about it, I love my HPC and I had always wanted an HPC. Firstly it was the daddy of its time (like the R500 is today but I would agree that that car is in a different league!) and secondly I love the grunt and torquey character of this engine. You don't have to wring its neck to make very fast progress, particularly if like me you 'suffer' from mechanical sympathy
Other things regarding the vauxhall lump is just making sure the foam baffle is replaced regularly, when I bought mine I found it had never been replaced - the car is '94 vintage and I bought it when it was 10 years old. The foam had turned to seaweed but I was lucky and got away with it.
It'll be a good idea to do the SBD mod to the cam cover too if you go down this route.
One final thing, if you are stickler for genuine HPCs then make sure the car is an HPC and not a starter kit with a separately sourced C20XE lump. You can tell this by the chassis number. It will have an H as the 7th digit if genuine. If the latter then it will have NS as the 8th and 9th digits denoting 'engine Not Supplied'. For some it makes a difference, price and otherwise.
That HPC you have linked too is extremely stong money. Particularly as it has the less desireable rear exit exhaust. It really would have to be mint to command that. As mentioned above, you would do well to get involved in the club and local meets where you will get lots of good advice and maybe the opportunity to source a decent car at good money.
Feel free to PM me if you wish.
Cheers
SS
Edit to add. Generally Sevens dont rust. The chassis are powdercoated and unless you have a car from the dodgy period of 96 and 97 when the quality of the powder coating was very poor causing it to flake off and allow the chassis to rust, you won't have any issues there.
The other known problems can be the grot trap areas which are where the footwells run alongside the side skins. Muck and stones can get lodged in the tiny gap and then of course will start to trap moisture. This causes the ali side skin to start corroding. If you look at the car car in your link it would be roughly where the trailing end of the flared arch sits but at the bottom of the skin.
I say this as the injection Vauxhall you have linked to probably won't be the most inspired choice as a track day car...but if you want it for touring and fast road you would be hard pushed to better it. Of course that is a biased view because I own an HPC and an injection one at that!
Cockwomble7 is right. You will never be short of power with an HPC and in terms of reliability, these C20XE engines are often referred to as 'bulletproof' - they certainly don't attract the same sort of histrionics like the 'dreaded click' or the head gasket issues associated with Rover K series cars.
No doubt about it, I love my HPC and I had always wanted an HPC. Firstly it was the daddy of its time (like the R500 is today but I would agree that that car is in a different league!) and secondly I love the grunt and torquey character of this engine. You don't have to wring its neck to make very fast progress, particularly if like me you 'suffer' from mechanical sympathy
Other things regarding the vauxhall lump is just making sure the foam baffle is replaced regularly, when I bought mine I found it had never been replaced - the car is '94 vintage and I bought it when it was 10 years old. The foam had turned to seaweed but I was lucky and got away with it.
It'll be a good idea to do the SBD mod to the cam cover too if you go down this route.
One final thing, if you are stickler for genuine HPCs then make sure the car is an HPC and not a starter kit with a separately sourced C20XE lump. You can tell this by the chassis number. It will have an H as the 7th digit if genuine. If the latter then it will have NS as the 8th and 9th digits denoting 'engine Not Supplied'. For some it makes a difference, price and otherwise.
That HPC you have linked too is extremely stong money. Particularly as it has the less desireable rear exit exhaust. It really would have to be mint to command that. As mentioned above, you would do well to get involved in the club and local meets where you will get lots of good advice and maybe the opportunity to source a decent car at good money.
Feel free to PM me if you wish.
Cheers
SS
Edit to add. Generally Sevens dont rust. The chassis are powdercoated and unless you have a car from the dodgy period of 96 and 97 when the quality of the powder coating was very poor causing it to flake off and allow the chassis to rust, you won't have any issues there.
The other known problems can be the grot trap areas which are where the footwells run alongside the side skins. Muck and stones can get lodged in the tiny gap and then of course will start to trap moisture. This causes the ali side skin to start corroding. If you look at the car car in your link it would be roughly where the trailing end of the flared arch sits but at the bottom of the skin.
Edited by snapper seven on Monday 3rd October 19:27
Guys, thanks for your responses and especially snapper seven, spot on advice just what I was looking for.
I'm looking to use the car for fast road use with the occasional track day thrown in (i live close to Thruxton :-)) So I'll definitely give the HPC listed the once over as a start as it's close to where I live too.
I'll keep you updated with developments.......starting to get excited about it!
Cheers,
Simon
I'm looking to use the car for fast road use with the occasional track day thrown in (i live close to Thruxton :-)) So I'll definitely give the HPC listed the once over as a start as it's close to where I live too.
I'll keep you updated with developments.......starting to get excited about it!
Cheers,
Simon
Thanks John for your very kind offer, I may try and make it down there at some point. I have a slight logistical problem in that I work in Luxembourg and only get back to the UK every other weekend.
I'm back this weekend and am hoping to get to see the HPC i listed at the top of the thread. I'll report back as to how it all goes.
Naturally I'll be viewing the car on a high from a famous England victory over France........
Simon
I'm back this weekend and am hoping to get to see the HPC i listed at the top of the thread. I'll report back as to how it all goes.
Naturally I'll be viewing the car on a high from a famous England victory over France........
Simon
I sold my HPC last year after 6 years and still miss it.
The first Anniversary colours (BRG /Yellow) car is the less desirable injected engine and has flared wings.
The second eBay car looks nice but doesn't sound like an original HPC. I wouldn't pay a premium for a non-HPC Vauxhall engined car.
Personally I'd look for an HPC on carbs with cycle wings.
Fantastic cars nothing like the sound of Carbs popping away and the odd flame on overrun.
The first Anniversary colours (BRG /Yellow) car is the less desirable injected engine and has flared wings.
The second eBay car looks nice but doesn't sound like an original HPC. I wouldn't pay a premium for a non-HPC Vauxhall engined car.
Personally I'd look for an HPC on carbs with cycle wings.
Fantastic cars nothing like the sound of Carbs popping away and the odd flame on overrun.
My advice is to take your time don't rush out and buy the first car you see , get a few rides in different models , Your heading into the winter now where quite a few cars come up for sale ,
Be clear in your mind what you want the car for may sound a bit stupid but the ratio between track and road is paramount.
If touring and road driving is your main objective then there's no need to spend the same amount as a track focused car , Its not only about how much you wan to spend but also how much your prepared to loose, A car between 12-15 K if bought correctly will loose you very little money compared to a 30 K+ car , The balance between
a track and road car is a very fine line , Its easy to take a road car and upgrade it and create a more track focused car that becomes a total pain to drive on the road for more than half an hour at a time ,a lot of us have been down this road including myself.
Good Luck
Be clear in your mind what you want the car for may sound a bit stupid but the ratio between track and road is paramount.
If touring and road driving is your main objective then there's no need to spend the same amount as a track focused car , Its not only about how much you wan to spend but also how much your prepared to loose, A car between 12-15 K if bought correctly will loose you very little money compared to a 30 K+ car , The balance between
a track and road car is a very fine line , Its easy to take a road car and upgrade it and create a more track focused car that becomes a total pain to drive on the road for more than half an hour at a time ,a lot of us have been down this road including myself.
Good Luck
Thruxton in an HPC might be a little tricky on the noise regs 
Disagree slightly about rust not being an issue, used enough you get chips in the powder coat on roadside chassis members ... Nothing a little hammerite won't sort. But then my chassis is nearly 20 years old !
Proper spec HPC would be a great car to own. And plenty fast enough for the odd track day.
Disagree slightly about rust not being an issue, used enough you get chips in the powder coat on roadside chassis members ... Nothing a little hammerite won't sort. But then my chassis is nearly 20 years old !
Proper spec HPC would be a great car to own. And plenty fast enough for the odd track day.
PLUNGE TAKEN!
Forget the rugby, buy a Caterham was my mantra at the weekend....
I went to see the HPC at QV500 and the car presented very well, certainly the condition bears out the 9k mileage, don't get me wrong it's not perfect but with some very minor TLC it would very easily be 100% cosmetically, it's easy to forget that its an 18 year old car.
It's not a factory built car, it was supplied as a complete knock down with new engine etc. I was impressed with how well it was screwed togther and I'm no stranger to Brit low volume cars.
Drove as tight as a drum, very strong and suprisingly civilised, no knocks or bangs engine was very well behaved, everything worked as it should.
Overall a very nice example with just the right amount of scope to make it perfect very easily. It needs that sodding rear exit exhaust loppin off though, far too quiet!
I made an offer this morning.......and it's just been accepted, I wont pick the car up for 3 months or so as I need to move another car on to make a home for it! Happy days!
Can't wait to get my hands on it!
I'll have to get myself down to some club meets etc.
Simon
Forget the rugby, buy a Caterham was my mantra at the weekend....
I went to see the HPC at QV500 and the car presented very well, certainly the condition bears out the 9k mileage, don't get me wrong it's not perfect but with some very minor TLC it would very easily be 100% cosmetically, it's easy to forget that its an 18 year old car.
It's not a factory built car, it was supplied as a complete knock down with new engine etc. I was impressed with how well it was screwed togther and I'm no stranger to Brit low volume cars.
Drove as tight as a drum, very strong and suprisingly civilised, no knocks or bangs engine was very well behaved, everything worked as it should.
Overall a very nice example with just the right amount of scope to make it perfect very easily. It needs that sodding rear exit exhaust loppin off though, far too quiet!
I made an offer this morning.......and it's just been accepted, I wont pick the car up for 3 months or so as I need to move another car on to make a home for it! Happy days!
Can't wait to get my hands on it!
I'll have to get myself down to some club meets etc.
Simon
Thanks again for all of your input and welcome to the fold.
So much for not buying the first one that comes up eh!!! Seriously though it's a cracking little motor so didn't see the point in hanging about!
Just about every car search i've ever done has resulted in me going back and buying the first one visited!
So, i'll let you know how I get on when i get my hands on it!
Simon
So much for not buying the first one that comes up eh!!! Seriously though it's a cracking little motor so didn't see the point in hanging about!
Just about every car search i've ever done has resulted in me going back and buying the first one visited!
So, i'll let you know how I get on when i get my hands on it!
Simon
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