Kitcat

After spending a bit of time looking at the BAT/CAT, I count nearly $30K in recent upgrades after looking at his paperwork. Maybe that's why the bid just jumped $5K (to $30K)? I suspect the price has a long way to go before this auction ends. Time for a strong comeback mrmustsang, we are rooting for you:)!

Hey Paul: I have a '19 Miata that came with 17" wheels and there is an amazing assortment of tires for it. At the 13" size, there is little choice (tho the choices are excellent). Given the performance advantage of 13" wheels on Caterhams, as reported by Croc, I am a fan. And, as mentioned, if reducing un-sprung weight is a goal, it is hard to find a 17" tire that doesn't weigh more, by itself, than the 13" wheel/tire combo my Caterham came with (not counting the wheel which is typically 15-20 lbs more).

Minilites come in many sizes, including 13". As the size goes down, unfortunately, so does the tire choice. FWIW-my Cat came with a 13" wheel/tire combo up front that, together, weighed in around 19 lbs.

My 2.0 Zetec SVT, shown above, is totally stock, including intake, no ITB's, no bonnet cutout (all per SCCA rules and regs, to make it less competitive). No catalytic converter, but that's it as far as mods. I still prefer the sound of my X-flow Cat:).

I vaguely recall R&T reporting bright cars have 50% less accidents than dark cars. What little I have found on-line says black cars are the most dangerous and white are the safest (by 12%). Gray and silver are also more dangerous. And it gets worse at dawn and dusk when lighting is marginal. And there are subtleties: an orange or yellow car "swells" and is perceived as larger while a green or blue car "feels" smaller (so the car behind may start to tailgate). I can say that I put 10K miles on my original midnight blue Caterham with zero close calls. My problem was people losing their minds on first seeing it and trying to get close enough to take a cell phone picture:). Also, my motto was tread softly, but carry a big horn. It didn't hurt that my X-flow was always blasting, sort of how you hear a Harley before you see it. And, as others have mentioned,biking and cycling experience is good practice for developing better situational awareness. The bikers' motto of "assume you are invisible" is good advice in a se7en.

Great video! Great car! Great roads! I posted about traveling through Rabbit Hash in my then street legal Caterham on this very Forum, back in '08:).

Talk about a thankless job, so here's to all of you guys putting this together: THANKS!

As yet another Zetec powered se7en owner, welcome. I just had mine tuned and it made 152 hp, 140 lbs torque at the rear wheels on a "conservative" chassis dyno. Relatively flat curves as well. It feels very fast, even though it is not as powerful as current Duratec powered se7ens. Mine is the SVT version, which I believe was only made from 2002-2004. So likely yours is the earlier version which could make similar power with various mods. It will be a challenge for you to match the prior owner's accumulation of 60+K miles. What a die hard. Higher mileage se7ens always seem to have fewer problems as they are so well sorted. Enjoy your new ride!

Those tires would be excellent candidates for use in building the track's tire wall! Or, for storing the car. Or, for starting a fire (put a little gasoline in them to get started). Tire swings would work as well. Maybe obstacles on a fitness course? The possibilities are nearly endless, but clearly do not include track use: I am amazed you escaped undamaged.

As noted above, the dealer lists the Mitsuoka as sold. If interested, visit the dealer's "All" on-line inventory. Who else has 100+ used Figaros for sale, along with lots of Honda Beats and Autozams and other odd-ball, hard-to-find Japanese cars?

Ditto the under-the-dash placement of the external mic (wrapped in a sock).

Sounds good to me! I wonder who gave me the moniker:"Sir Spinsalot"? Any guesses, CROC????? BTW, the BAT Caterham seller says he has sold 10 Caterhams over the last few years, 5 of which remain in Cincy: Do I see a Cincinnati Caterham Club in the future?

No argument Bob, it shows risky driving, with the risk being born, in part, by folks just out running errands. In defense of this fellow Cincinnatian, tho, I'd note it was only 3&1/2 minutes long and was made to convey to potential buyers what the Caterham driving experience can be like. Also, he seems to be an excellent driver who was operating well within his skill level. And it was a mostly deserted road and he typically had clear sight lines so he was able to get over if and when needed. I agree a race track would be a saner venue, but it wouldn't give a sense of what the car is like on the street. IF this is his general street driving style and not a one time thing (which I doubt), then it is way too risky and he deserves to be criticized for it.

That is one clean shop! I had my Zetec tuned recently. The dyno shop had a "clean room" set apart for engine assembly that was not nearly as clean as Bruce's general shop.

Sounds like a great plan, thx Shane! You already know how to drive: not many of us could successfully handle your Stalker without a steep learning curve. But, you will learn how to drive differently(use every square centimeter of track/curb, brake later than ever, accelerate sooner than ever, etc.). You will get there. And dont be surprised if your much younger son starts posting faster times than you. Apart from the advantages of youth, he doesn't have to unlearn as much as you:).

Shoe design is as important as shoe size. My size 8.5" running shoe is way to big for my S3. Drivers shoes shrink the shoe size: My driving shoe is 1" shorter and 1&1/2" narower than my running shoe. It makes all the difference. As far as height goes, the S3 can take a fairly tall person (6'3", as long as they aren't too wide). Even a short person who has the now common BMI of 30+ is likely going to have issues fitting into the narrow cockpit. A removable steering wheel helps. So does having healthy knees and an absence of low back problems.

Wow! Shane! Is there a new project? Are you "settling down" etc.? This is an incredible amount of car for a extremely reasonable price. I can't believe it won't quickly sell.

The BAT Cat is offered for sale by fellow Cincinnatian, JonnyDutt. He has sold several over the last few years and always seems to have extremely well preserved, or well maintained, Caterhams. This current Caterham is a prime example. Rt hand drive, Vauxhall engine, it will be interesting to see how it does on the BAT auction site, which has been especially kind to Caterhams of late.

Why not contact Mark IV? He obviously has experience importing Caterhams. As I recall, someone here bought a new, turnkey Caterham 620 from his place for $75K recently.

I have a nearly identical setup with the same issue. I eventually realized I could see the shift lights being reflected near the top of the inside surface of the wind deflector (Caterham's version of "head's up display"....).

Eight hours from Cincy. Nonetheless, the local track day club, 10/10ths Motorsports, is planning to do track days there, inspite of the long haul. I can think of 15-20 tracks that are closer to us, just off-hand. It's about 100 miles shorter than NJMP from Cincy but that translates to about 4 hours less driving, thx to I-95, bridge bottlenecks, and the resulting massive and endless traffic delays, that are a feature of the annual drive into NJ from the west for the 7's event. I think on one trip I averaged 4 mph for over an hour in one section thru Philly. This new track looks interesting-many configurations and nearly 4 miles long at its most expansive. Hopefully it will feature some elevation changes.

rccsr: sounds like a X-flow Caterham would fit your needs: drive it flat out all the time, lift before corners, brake only if absolutely essential. All that frontal area + clams serve as an air brake. Very hard to over drive it, or lose rear traction.

Very exciting to watch! Although, I should add that your competition in the 240Z consistently displayed superior "straight line driving skills."

I think it sounds simpler than it is. The replacement glass must be laminated to be safe. That is different than tempered glass, which can shatter into a million shards (pointed at your face, even tho it's not supposed to). Our tempered shower door glass shattered and it was painful and ugly. And typical laminated glass for sale here in the states is too thick to fit in the Caterham windshield frame, as I recall from the last time this issue came up here.

Thx Panamerica, I just paid via PayPal's guest option, using my credit card.