Kitcat

Bartman: I have been fantasizing about chosing your Raceline options since I got my Zetec Caterham:). They have the highest spec Zetecs going. Adding the sequential transmission will make you extremely competitive on track. But race gas only, no?

Looking great!

I test drove a Evora GT 3 months ago at Gator Motorsport, 100 miles from me. Loved it, but it's a lotta $ for track work. (And no faster than my Caterham, per Gator, at Putnam Park racetrack, not far from Indy, where we both do trackdays).

Cem: What a great Caterham track:all turns almost no straight. It reminds me of the Waterford Hills track in MI. I'd love to see how a well driven XFlow did in comparison, given all the slow turns and 100 mph straight stretch. Croc: I am looking forward to the video of you and Cong playing with this 620R (which I suddenly feel I need-or at least its transmission:)).

The hidden message here is that your BAT sale is now finalized, so congratulations! Hope you and your desired Evora 400 soon meet. And that you post here and tell us if its really all that great. Back on message: great price for such a lightweight, usable se7ens trailer.

This topic pops up here periodically. It never ends well.

I think the Duratec also is 30 lbs lighter than the Zetec.

I will email it, if you give me your email address. I’m at mjmooney@fuse.net. Cost doesn’t include shipping.

As far as I know, it’s in great shape. I’d replace the oil pump as that’s a weak link as well as a wear item($250 for an upgraded one), but that’s it.

I didn’t realize you had access to the camera on my computer Vlad! Back on topic (hopefully), a full rebuild of the Zetec to achieve 200-220 hp can approach $10K. When I approached Quicksilver about doing CarlB’s build for my Zetec SVT engine 2-3 years ago, they said they were no longer doing them. They would rebuild to stock spec only. Maybe that is no longer true? I owned a mildly tuned Duratec Birkin for a couple of years. It didn’t feel any faster than my current SVT Caterham, tho the dyno figures said it made about 10 more hp. The Zetec is very tractable, it has a nice fat torque curve and makes great power over 4500 RPM’s. FWIW, I have a spare SVT engine core(block/head). The head was reworked to optimize flow. Happy to sell if interested.

Thx, Vlad. My comments were actually meant as a response to the original post....I didn’t realize this new forum was a bit more complex than the old and that I had misdirected my post.

If you want a Duratec, it likely would be easier to sell your Cat and buy one with that engine. You need a new every thing: ECU, wiring harness, engine mounts, exhaust,etc. You can make all the power you need to hang on the track with your Zetec. Quicksilver is great. I’d say spend your $ on safety stuff: harness, halo seat, Fuelsafe tank, FIA bar or full cage. if you are going to run super sticky tires, maybe add an Accusump or dry sump.

The Tesla is super fast, short distance, like at an auto-x. Ask Brightonuk about it’s brakes during a track day though.

Congratulations Birkson, what a beautiful se7en! You are a patient man:). What are your car's specs(XS, Hp, street focused/track focused)?

What about posting your dilemma on the FocusFanatics Forum? They have tons of experience with Zetec SVT's. And a word search for Pectel showed a number of threads.

Looks good! I would have bet $ that the windblocker would be useless:). Bigger side deflectors have been tried and also seem to work. Keep us posted on your progress. Nice looking Caterham and very stout cage.

Good point Taber10, tho I read Croc's comment as totally tongue-in-cheek rather than as a statement of actual fact. To me, what is amazing about Tom Carlin's current position as Birkin entrepreneur, par excellence, is that it all started with the desire to assemble a single kit, which he did, AFAIK, and was thence bitten and has not yet recovered.

As I recall, from my few years of owning a '09 Birkin, it was supposed to enhance handling to have the suspension set for about an inch of rake. Having multiple breathers on the engine was needed for hard track work, as was having a trap-door added to the otherwise track competent Raceline wet sump. I blew an engine due to oil starvation and then learned of the necessity of this mod for heavy track use. Probably not needed for auto-X?

Bruce Beachman (Beachman Racing) installed the fuel cell on my Caterham, so may be a useful resource. I recently had it rebuilt. All customized as it is a 21 gallon tank. Not cheap. For instance, the top of the tank alone, with the filler cap was $1,800. I think the total cost, including installation (2x as there were glitches), was around $8K. That included a new tank, liner and foam. It does not include the cost of redoing the fuel system which was a separate adventure ($$$$) Off the shelf parts would have helped.

Long time Forum member/Caterham owner, BBall, lives it St Louis. Maybe he will share his experience regarding your titling questions? Beautiful Cat and great spec! In all honesty, in spite of my worshiping at the alter of "more power", the 310 R seems truest to the balance of the early-and mid-cycle Caterhams with their X-flow engines. Forum guru, "Croc" (Mike Johnson) who Caterham dealer, Bruce Beachman, swears has a black belt in Caterham, highly recommends the 13" wheels as they, apparently, are what the car was designed around. I think his is a more track oriented focus though, so....? I can certainly second your enthusiasm for working with Josh at RMC. He has always gone above and beyond in helping me. As has Bruce Beachman.

A 2011 salvage title Tesla Roadster(Lotus Elise with a 1,000 lb., battery) sold for $130K on BAT today. Maybe there is more hope for this electric Caterham concept than I realized. Even with a 1,000 battery pack, an all-elec se7en would still be a feathery 2,200 lbs, light by anyone's standards, apart from those of the members here.

We just had this topic here and someone posted a shot of their damaged windscreen that saved them during a deer strike. I used Brooklands on the street, unless I was headed out on a long trip. Car ran much cooler in the cockpit and, as Vlad notes, there was much less buffeting. I always wore a full face helmet with the clear plastic shield in place. The windshield (air brake?) is a giant barn door that knocked about 5-10 mph off top speed in my X-flow powered Cat. Getting to top speed was noticeably faster with the Brooklands in place as well. And marginally better gas mileage occured.

My Caterham came the way you have modified yours. Some only have side mirrors if the "doors" are in place, which seems pretty dangerous. I drove my street Caterham, door-less, most of the time. These little, low, nearly invisible cars are already compromised from a safety aspect, why make it worse? Glad you have remedied this on yours.

I think someone shrunk your Caterham

BruceK: I have been reading car magazine writers struggle for the words to capture the se7en driving experience forever. Some of the greatest auto-scribes have done their best to put it into words. No one has done better than your comment about a warm, sunny, top-down day in a se7en : "....that's a feeling like you could lean back and drive right up into into the clouds." I wouldn't be surprised if I start to see that in future descriptions (including my own:)).