Kitcat

I have test driven 2 Caterhams owned by brits. I bought the 2nd car I tested. Both owners pronounced it Kate-trum (Hence K8-rum7). Who wants an obvious vanity plate?. When I called the first owner, after seeing an ad, I said I was calling about the Cat-tur-ham. He had no idea what I was talking about. After many amusing miscues we finally connected. Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said US & Briton were 2 countries separated by a common language?

Scratch my car from the list of availables. I went to Putnam Park racetrack yesterday and ended up with a dead engine and had to mooch a trailer ride home. Probably nothing terribly serious but it's at the only shop in this area with experience working on 7's, Crossflows, Webers, etc and there is a long line of other charming old Brit cars ahead of it. So it doesn't look like we will be cruisin the Dragon this weekend after all.

Nice article. They are trying to imitate "Evo" magazine's top car tests. Most cars that Evo test end up at the same track. Currently the Caterham 400 is in 2nd out of many cars on the Evo list. I am waiting for C & D to test the CSR w/ the 2.3 litre Duratec putting out 260 hp-the 'Vette's going down!.

My goal is to get K8TRUM7

What's the gas station situation at the Tail? My Caterham holds a mere 7 gallons and spirited driving can use that up pretty fast.

Anyone wanting a ride/drive in a '97 Classic Caterham DeDion Crosssflow should contact me. As a new owner, I am happy to share the love. I am sure I will have the only midnite blue with a red flash on the nose, so feel free to grab me at the event. I leave Sunday AM so this offer is only good from expected arrival on Friday around 1:00 (hopefully) til late Saturday. Prospective drivers and passengers should know that it helps to be short and skinny. I think anyone with more than a 34" waist is going to have trouble fitting. Even if you get in, you may never get out! My guess is that length is less of a problem so up to 6' tall should be do-able. Also upper torso is important. I wear a size 40 suit and man, this car feels like a size 38 in the shoulder area. Also, bring driving shoes if you have them. My size 9 feet don't work well with tennis shoes so I bought driving shoes and even with them the fit is tight. See you there, Mike

It's mostly a weekend/track car. Heavy traffic is a bit unnerving because the car is hard to spot. I am always one gear low so the engine is blating away, and I have the lights on.

OK: 60 y/o lawyer. Not the type that sues people. Instead, the type that helps disabled people, including veterans, obtain their disability benefits from the government. I have a lifetime love for all things automotive but especially 7's. I started reading Road and Track in '62 and soon saw an article on the Lotus 7 (thinly disguised race car or, TDRC). Back then the kit ran about $1.2K, so there has been a slight upward adjustment in cost over the years. I always liked its giant-killer reputation. I also thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw, especially with the top (aka "hood") up. When I was in law school in Champagne-Urbana in the late '60's there was one tooling around & I thought: "some day!" every time I saw it. It never seemed to slow up going around 90 degree turns and it drove right under the parking lot arm without stopping. Research showed it to be incredibly fun/unreliable, perhaps not in that order. So I have been on the sidelines for 45years or so. I have read everything I could about it , including books, car mag articles and various build diaries. Although slightly partial to Caterhams, I love all LISS's. I was very attracted to the Ultralite for its amazing level of power & reliability combined with very high content for a mid-to high 30's price. I have avidly followed the build progress of the FM Miata powered Westfied. My ardor cooled a bit when they announced the 15% price increase due to the sagging dollar. The 'Busa powered Damaen cars were also tempting but I never really figured out their website and decided that while I was willing to live with primitive, a reverse gear was a necessity I stumbled onto this forum about a year ago and it really is responsible for my now having a 7. I asked many questions and always got friendly, helpful answers. I ended up buying a '97 Caterham (wh/I learned from this site is pronounced Kate-trum) for $22.5K. What a deal! It may actually gain value over the ensuing years, or at least not depreciate the way my other sports cars have. And, as my nom 'du forum (Kitcat) suggests, I had always hoped to have a kit Caterham. So here I am: In 2 weeks I have put 1K miles on it, met tons of people who just flip out when they see it, have signed up to do a track day this Monday with the Lotus club at Putnam Park and am headed to the Dragon in a few short weeks to chill w/the rest of you Seven lovers. Pretty neat. Mike

Yesterday I weighed the spare tire : 30 lbs for a 15" prisoner wheel w/195x60 tire; 10 lbs tool bag/jack, 8 lbs top/tonneau; 5 lbs fire extinguisher, so about 1230 lbs net for the car. I am impressed. I always assumed the low Caterham weights advertised were "underestimations" () and predicted about 1350lbs would be the actual weight.

My '97 Caterham crossflow weighed 1275 lbs when aligned today. That was with the spare tire, jack, soft top, fire extinguisher, 2 gallons of gas, etc. It would be closer to 1225 without that stuff. Without me, the weight was almost evenly distributed. With me in the car, the right front side was 40 lbs lighter than the left front, the rears were still even.

Go to work for yourself & you'll discover you have a slave-driver for a boss (like I did:).

I think the 1M mile warranty only covers the original purchaser. Also I suspect mine were rarely re-oiled in their 10 year history and a little maintenance is also required. Thanks to a post on the se7ens list, I located just what I need at Pegasus & they are on their way. Next week I get it aligned & weighed. Then a tune up & a visit to the chassis dyno to see if I can break 100 hp at the wheels (I am betting mid-90's). First track day is 7/1:)

Classic webers with cutout in bonnet for air filters. Two oval size: 4 1/2 x7", 3 1/4" deep.

The K & N air filter elements on my newly purchased '97 Caterham 1700cc Kent Crossflow are shot. The filter material is missing in spots and can not be "recharged". I have been to K & N's site but can't locate anything that seems like it would work. Rocky Mountain Motorsports wants $85 for the air filter and bracket, which seems a bit steep. Any idea what the proper size/part number is for a replacement K & N filter? Thanks, Mike

Snopes.com (Urban Legends) says this piece has been floating across the Internet since '00 & is untrue. Go to their website and search: Congressman and social security, to find out the details. There is still plenty of other stuff Congress has done to be indignant about tho.

Just finished the second leg. I have made a LOT of new friends. Talk about an ice breaker: people see the car and lose all inhibitions, they want to know all about the car. Rain-hey I discovered that's part of the fun: open your mouth wide, just like when you were a little kid and running around in the rain because you didn't have the sense to come in. I decided it needed windshield wipers on the inside of the windshield too:). I appreciate all the info I have gotten from all of you over the last 9 months. Your input and answers gave me the push I needed to take the plunge. Thanks to Al too for putting me in touch with the seller, who was a delightful person. Now, on to the oil issue. It is definitely more than a leak, it seems to shoot way out onto the passenger side clam shell, covering about 1/2 of it. I will start by exploring some of the theories mentioned above.

A mere 45 years after deciding I needed a 7, I have finally taken the plunge! Last night I bought the '97 Caterham listed in the for-sale section here and drove it 1/2 way home today (380 miles, 360 tomorrow). I finally realized that if I waited much longer, I would be too old to get in & out of it. Impressions: tho the pictures of the car make it look lovely, they don't do it justice. It has a purpled hued paint that is wonderfully set off by the red "lipstick" on the nose cone. Lots of shiny chrome too. Room-it's a bit tight, but no more so than the commercial airliner on which I flew to get the car. And, there was no fat guy in the 7, hogging what little extra space there was. I brought a lumbar cushion and it really made the stock Caterham seat (no rake) comfortable. Heat-jeez, that little sucker makes the heat. It was like I was sitting IN the engine bay, not next to it. I drove with the side curtains in place. The only way it was tolerable was to shove my elbow out the bottom 1/2 and bleed off heat & let in cool air. Wearing chinos (seller's suggestion) was very helpful-no leg burns and they seemed to shield me from some of the heat. Noise-jeez, that little sucker makes the noise too. I used ear plugs and they were very helpful. The engine & exhaust make wonderful music, and running it up though the gears to redline was very enjoyable. Speaking of which, anyone know what the redline is in a stock 1700 cc Kent Crossflow??? I used 5500 to be safe. Top speed?. about 105-110, slight downhill, in 5th. Maybe faster in 4th, but since I didnt know what redline was, I didnt want to push it. The hollywood factor: its hard to fade into the background in a 7. Tons of compliments, small crowds every stop, etc. Issues: one scary moment, soon after I hit the interstate (where I cruised all day at 70-75 and got 27 mpg). The engine died out: I slowed hit the flashers(Actually turned on the windshield wipers since I forgot what button did what) and then realized I had bumped the igntion off with my knee and turned it back on. How about that boulevard ride? The car is so bouncy it was hard to put the Coke bottle in my mouth. But in a 7, as you know: you are immersed in the driving experience: the sky, the green hills, the clouds, the smelly dead deer next to the road, the incredibly responsive steering, light short gear shift throws. And for those who said that driving it back was insanity, I have 1 word: wimps:). What's the point of having a 7 if you are just going to tow it around??? Roll bar question. Is the non-FIA roll-over bar purely cosmetic, or does it add a measure of safety? It seems to attach to the car with just a few bolts and the whole enterprise looks pretty fragile. Only serious issue. Lots of oil streaking out the side of the engine (apparently evacuating out of the carburator cut-out in the bonnet). The fender was doused as was the rear wheel arch. The car only has been driven 14,000 miles in 11 years, and most of that early on, so I assume some seals have dried out. Who knows? I didn't have time to troubleshoot. Lost maybe 1/3 of a cup of oil. Added some miricle gunk that is supposed to stop leaks, we'll see when I get home. Overall impression: what a blast, I should have done this 20 years ago!

Bought it:)! Drove 380 miles today, 1/2 way home. What a blast!

Seller advises me that this sold last weekend (for well above the asking price). As noted elsewhere on this forum, I made a serious effort to purchase it but could not close the deal. Things are looking up on another car tho. Stay tuned.

Is this year's lesson that reliability trumps power?

Thanks Al. I am actively looking for a 7 and this one is on my short list. Price seems a bit high for a crossflow car, but if price is negotiable....? I am checking out Birkins too which offer a bit more bang for the buck: nice Zetec cars are listed @ $22K, so we'll see. Mike

Is this car still for sale? The e-mail I sent yesterday has not been answered & my effort to PM Al has been unsuccessful. If it is still available, please PM me. Or, email me: mjmooney@fuse.net. Mike

Thanks for the feedback and PM's, very helpful. I have heard back from Hayes Harris at Wire Wheels abt the yellow car they have for sale for $22K , no word yet from Dick Brink. Soareyes has pointed out that the WW Birkin was just purchased by them from an e-bay ad for $12K. So I am going to start monitoring e-bay too.

My quest for a 7 has turned to Birkns. I noted in my "tow dolly" post that I thought I had a deal on a Caterham but learned today that I was outbid. Birkins appear to be significantly more affordable than Caterhams for what, on the surface, looks to be the same car (less cachet & resale value maybe). Wire Wheels has a lovely yellow Zetec engined '02 for $22K, Ditto Dick Brink at Texas Motor works with a aluminum '05 for $22.5. Is there a good/bad year, issues specific to Birkins, anything I should be concerned about. I have read nice words about Dick Brink, what does anyone know about Wire Wheels? Are there any other Birkin dealers on the web?

It has the full weather gear (It's advertised in the cars-for-sale section of this site -'99 Caterham).