Caterhams

[dreamer75]

Hiya

I'm currently driving an S2000 as my daily car, but having done a couple of track days and tried a Caterham, I am smitten

Hope to keep the S as the daily driver (dependent on mileage etc.) but want to get a Caterham for track time and the occasional fun fairweather drive.

Problem is, I don't really know anything about them. I've tried the usual web searches etc., but as i don't really know what I'm looking for, I cant' find anything !

Budget is likely to be the 6-9k mark.

Can anybody point me at a good link (or explain!) to the various types of Caterham so I know roughly what I'm looking at !

Also - how much do you REALLY need to know about getting your hands dirty - I'm keen to learn about the car, how it works etc., but I have minimal experience so it'll be a steep learning curve. Do you think this would be a problem?

Thansk in advance
Jo

[percy]

Hi there
Best place on the web for all things Caterham is www.blatchat.com although you have to join the club to be able to post on the site. If you're serious about buying one, the membership is worth it (IMHO) and you also get a decent monthly mag. Details of membership can be found on www.lotus7club.com (also has a good FAQ section that deals with the car variants)
For £6-£9k, you are looking at the older cars but there are still bargains to be found. I've been driving an 1800 crossflow car for 4 years now and have had no major probs (touches biggest lump of wood!). You don't need to be too mechanically minded (I'm not) as there are loads of willing helpers within the club.
Hope this helps

>> Edited by percy on Monday 30th January 09:33

[Eric Mc]

If you are willing to spend a few quid on books (remember them?) there are quite a few out there on the Lotus and Caterham 7. Although not absolutely up to date on the most recent developments I hould highly recommend Chris Rees' book "The Magnificent Seven". It goes through every mark and permutation of the car from 1957 right through to about 2001.

[h_____]

7500 to 8000 should buy you a nice Xflow car, that has been well looked after. Apart from regular servicing and knowing a friendly garage you should be fine. Not sure I have seen cars that dont need work for less than 7k.

Now is a great time to buy, just before the season picks up! they will be 500 quid cheaper. As suggested join the club - its a must, there are usually a decent selection of cars for sale in the mag (low flying).

[Eric Mc]

And get along to your local Seven Club meeting. You will find enthusiastic owners - many who will be willing to take you out for a spin.

Check out the Local Area details on Blatchat - I'm pretty sure you can access these details without being a paid-up member.

[dreamer75]

Thanks guys - it looks like I might delay the purchase to save up a bit more cash. It seems worth it to get a newer car less likely to need as much work - and its worth it to wait for the right car.

In the meantime I'll check out those books, and the blatchat forum!

Thanks

>> Edited by dreamer75 on Wednesday 1st February 14:42

[rhubarb]

Have a look here: www.graduates.org.uk/forsale/default.asp. If it's mostly for track days and the odd blat and not everyday use then you could pick up a good ex-graduate car - there's some on there at the moment for around 7k. Again they'll be older crossflows, but they're likely to have been reasonably well looked after (as they've been raced).

As for getting your hands dirty, I'm a complete novice when it come to mechanics, never really been under the bonnet of a car until I got mine. It was then a choice, as everything is so accessible I thought I'd give it a go. I've not done much, changed throttle body, added cigarette lighter, changed clutch cable, altered pedals etc, all of which were hour long jobs. It's nice actually to be able to see how it all hangs together as well.

[dreamer75]

Hi guys

Well I upped the budget, and on Sunday agreed with the seller a price for a Roadsport A; it's 135bhp 1.6K, and I'm dead chuffed!

Won't get it for a few weeks, as I have to release some of the funds, and the seller is fixing the fuel gauge and a misfire before I pay for it (will sort a deposit out, he's away at the moment).

Can't wait !!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to source some seats though, as at the moment is has one seat, which is a custom one for the current owner.. any recommendations!

[john7]

Have a look on blatchat.

[casbar]

I should have a couple of leather S Type seats available in 2-3 weeks, I am changing to Tillets. I was going to advertise them on Blatchat, once my Tillets arrive.

[dreamer75]

Ooo well I have to send off my membership form for Blatchat - do you have any pics of the seats (I'm not familiar with all the variants!)

[casbar]

Seat variants, roughly as follows:

Bench seats, older type S Type, new s type (mine, came in cloth or leather with or without headrests) Tillets, grp and carbon. Have a look on caterham.co.uk, in the online store, I think there are pics, or look at the cars for sale, then you should be able to see the difference. You first need to decide whether you want tillets or S Type. S Type sometimes come up for sale, tillets almost never. The last carbon set went for £750 on ebay, they are around a grand new, with runners etc.

[mchammer89]

This would take a lot of work but how about buying the 7 chassis and body,then taking the S2000 running gear,and you've got a F1 car for the road

[motco]

S2000 lump fits a Westfield very well. There's a thread on Blatchat about it today.