How does this Caterham look?

[Gibbo205]

Hi there

So in my hunt for a 420R I’ve come across this:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/14080356


Now mileage, age and modifications has never scared me and I’m capable of modifying and working on cars myself.

My question is will the car above drive similar to a 420R or will it be nothing like one?

I ask because Caterham S3 chassis has been around for a long time so wondered if the above car will drive, steer, handle as nice a 310/420R S3 chassis car would?

If so would I be able to do stuff to the above car such as fit Apollo wheels, lowered floors, removeable steering wheel etc and bucket seats?

[Niponeoff]

I sold my 270hp duratec Westfield with AP brakes, Elite sequential , cage etc for that much. One of the cars I regret selling the most.

200hp won't be that fast, depending what you are used too of course. But you really want a throttlebodied high revving screamer. Well, I do.

Edit: I see it has bodies, needs 54mm duratec is a great base though, but gets expensive.

Edited by Niponeoff on Saturday 11th February 21:51

[Gibbo205]

What do you mean by needs 54mm?

I drove a 310R loved how it rode and handled but felt just a little more power would be nice as that was 152HP Sigma.

So I think 190-220HP be ample for me and this car has the 2.0 Duratec.

[Niponeoff]

54mm bodies. Raceco made them. The sound.....

Does seem a bit low spec for the price, but at least caterham holds there money better.

200hp from a duratec seems low rent to me.

[Gibbo205]

Niponeoff said:

54mm bodies. Raceco made them. The sound.....

Does seem a bit low spec for the price, but at least caterham holds there money better.

200hp from a duratec seems low rent to me.

They are only 210HP stock in the new cars.

I found 150HP fun so I think I’d find 200 more than enough.


Be good to hear from others how they think it would compare against a modern 420R?

I believe the chassis in this car is imperial so stuff like wishbones from a modern metric chassis won’t fit.

[BertBert]

Looks very interesting. I'd want it to have big brakes and LSD. But in terms of handling of also want widetrack front. That seems to make quite a bit of difference to the way they handle from the few narrow track ones I've driven.

Then overall there's the quality of the conversion to look at and the current condition.

200 bhp is plenty in my view. It's wet sump, no idea if that's a problem for the engine on track.

Must be known on blatchat too I imagine.

[Gibbo205]

BertBert said:

Looks very interesting. I'd want it to have big brakes and LSD. But in terms of handling of also want widetrack front. That seems to make quite a bit of difference to the way they handle from the few narrow track ones I've driven.

Then overall there's the quality of the conversion to look at and the current condition.

200 bhp is plenty in my view. It's wet sump, no idea if that's a problem for the engine on track.

Must be known on blatchat too I imagine.

Cars owner is on Blat Chat or was many years ago is there a Caterham specialist in the North West / Midlands?

It’s an imperial arch chassis car would I be able to do stuff like:
- fit lowered floors
- wider front track
- LSD
- AP front brakes
- Apollo wheels
- Maybe Bilstein shocks

Is probably where I’d want to take it mechanically depending on how it drives now.

I’m guessing the above is 4-5k worth of work?

[Drumster]

Whilst not the same engine I have a 200bhp Raceline Zetec in a 1993 chassis. My thoughts:

-Raceline wet sump is very good
-AP front brakes (Not entirely necessary IMHO)
-Wide track & lowered floor easily done with parts from Arch (makers of original S3 chassis)
-Already has a ZF LSD
-Dampers and wheels easily done (your wallet being the limit)
-Bucket seat (typically Tillett) and removble steering wheel, all pretty easy.

I've sprinted and hillclimbed my car with the Raceline wet sump, standard brakes, wide track and ZF and had no issues (other than driver ability!)

To be honest there's not much you can't do to a Caterham in terms of work at home if you're proficient with a spanner. I have rebuilt mine from scratch and modified it over the years and it bears very little resemblance to the car I purchased in 1999.

As for price I must be out of touch, I'd be more than happy if mine was worth any where near that. As someone once said to me "no matter what you do to it it's still a 1992 car".

However, for something that has been modified it is always worth considering Agreed Value for insurance purposes. Mine is currently on an Agreed Value of £30k but I think I'd do well to achieve half that on the open market.

[Hard-Drive]

Regardless of what had been said earlier on this thread, a 200bhp Caterham is VERY fast, almost getting too fast for the road. Mine was lighting up the rears in 3rd the other day on a damp road, and unless you are on very good roads the opportunities to give it full beans for a few gearchanges are few and far between, which can actually be a bit frustratin Obviously it's a bit different on track.

That car does look like a lot of performance for the money. As a guide I sold an immaculate 2008 Sigma Roadsport (125bhp) for similar money. It was a much newer car with a huge amount less mileage, but if I'd wanted to tune it for more power it would have cost a lot. An older heavily modified car like that will always be a bit "niche" but if you want bang for buck then it looks good.

Not sure what you are coming from but 200bhp is big power for a first Caterham, I would say drive a few and make sure you are happy with that as an entry point. I'm not questioning your driving ability, just more do you actually want to be able to give it the beans more, and will it be too "raw". But the brake horse power per pound sterling ratio is hard to fault on that car.

[boombang]

That car linked to looks alright value. Put on a private plate and most wouldn't know it was an older car, although you can say that about most Caterhams.

Resale is impacted with mods and mileage, but that's reflected in the price, if you want to resell it might limit buyers questioning anything you might be right now. As depreciation isn't big and on the right car doesn't exist at all, if I wanted a 420R I'd spend the extra and get a 420R, and it would likely cost similar to run as that one.

My preference was an R300 D, it ticked all the right boxes (6 speed, wide front end), and I just had a wait for a nice one to come up . That said I have it tenatively up for sale (not advertised) as looking to go racing in Caterham Graduates next year, and I've unfortunately no space for 2 cars. At some point I have to part with it so I'll drop you a PM.

Hard-Drive said:

Regardless of what had been said earlier on this thread, a 200bhp Caterham is VERY fast, almost getting too fast for the road.

Absolutely agree. 175bhp from an R300 on 'fun' twisty lanes it's more than enough power - I rarely use full throttle and most of the time can short shift and still make incredible pace. The one thing that stands out versus heavier cars is the lack of needing to brake hard, use the throttle and light braking to keep the car balanced and flowing.