Kitcat

On my track-only car I dont have a speedometer. If I get really curious, I take my Garmin GPS with me to remind me what RPM is 70 mph, etc. I have a progressive series of shift lights that I depend on to decide when to shift, but watch the analog tach as well. I couldn't function without the shift lights. They are bright enough that they reflect perfectly onto the top edge of my wind deflector so serve as a sort of poor-man's heads-up display. Very handy when racing, where looking down at the tach isn't always convenient.

NS = engine Not Supplied. I don't have the decoder but it's been posted here before. Maybe Croc will add it?

Sorry for the further hijack Bruce. Many of us here seem to have a mild case (or worse) of ADD. Back to this lovely 310SV. How hard (or, how much $) is it to add power? Are there any standard upgrades to the 1.6 engine? Or has that already been done by bumping it up from a 280 to a 310 engine? It seems to have plenty of power for normal use, but maybe is a bit shy of having enough to be a track threat. The ready-to-rumble price is excellent/amazing for a new turn-key Caterham of any spec, and esp for a SV with a bit more power than the base engine supplies.

Interesting Croc. I have to say I am not impressed with the Caterham cage. It hugs the contours of the car so there is no "crush" zone. My Caterham's custom cage sticks out 6-8" on the driver's side so, if hit and deformed, it still stays out of the narrow driver's seat. The Caterham cage is better than no cage (where, basically, your left elbow is the barrier to intrusion), and I am sure is decent in a roll over or, "climb over" (where another car lands on top of your car), but still, the driver's left arm is at risk, even with arm restraints. I think the odds of something catastrophic happening at a track day are very minimal, given the point-by rules and policy against aggressive driving. I'd be much more concerned in competition.

Shane: You must be referring to the massive 4 wheel, flat spotting lock-up I applied, to the accompaniment of clouds of blinding, billowing tire smoke, in an effort not to be mowed down by Croc's careening Mustang behemoth right in front of me at the '18 NJMP event? I was so terrified I think I even put the car in reverse and tried to back up:)!

Lotsats: I don't think so. Based on my ever worsening "memory": the Caterham FIA bar weighs 31 lbs, the standard bar weighs 11 lbs. I weighed both on my bathroom scale many years ago. So, it is much stouter than the stock bar. An occasion where adding lightness is not a good thing. A knowledgeable Caterham pro once analogized the protection provided by the stock bar to being similar to that afforded by a Kleenex box.... This was for a '97 Caterham, so its very possible that the current "stock" roll-over bar is far superior to the flimsy unit offered in '97?

I DO deserve more power Croc, ask anyone who has raced with me:)! And I agree that the price for this 310 SV is a deal. I recall when you paid that much for a Caterham kit, that you then had to assemble AND then had to add the cost of the engine and transmission on top of that $.

It seems Caterham sells 2 types of belts and the FIA belts, with their expiration date tags, are required by many track organizers. The belts you reference may not have expiration dates on them. If not, you risk flunking inspection. Typically the bigger the organization, like Porsche Club, the pickier they are. For instance, the folks at NJMP, where we have our annual event, won't let cars on track with expired or no belts tags. Others, like the small clubs I run with in the Midwest, never check belts. To be safe, I'd say use the FIA belts. As you will discover, once assembled, it is a huge PITA to change belts out in a Caterham.

Hi Bruce: What is a ballpark price for a turnkey version of this (you supply the 310 version of the 280 Sigma 1.6 engine, and have your supplier install it and you do all of the other assembly and fettling, with no upgrades or improvements on the above spec)? Thx, Mike M.

Skip: Caterham, Morgan, Ginetta, etc., have been using the MX-5 gearbox for a few years. Apparently it was a combination of the T9 becoming scarce and the MX5 being both available and more reliable than either the T9 or the Caterham 6 sp,which I think is no longer available. I wonder who it was that first thought of using a MX-5 gearbox in a Caterham:)?

Nice to see that Croc isn't the only one having bucket list experiences. What a great write-up!

I like the custom cone-collector/storage unit combo. Original thinking. A whole lotta car for someone.

And on a se7en, that penultimate lap will be years (decades?) after you buy them. For street use or as a rain tire for track work, use them as is. If you want them to be primarily for dry track use, have them shaved (or shave them naturally with many miles of street/track use). Typically, they are shaved so that only the 2 deepest grooves remain. That should be worth 2-5 seconds a lap and 1-2 seconds on an auto-x course. But then they are useless in the rain.

Actually, I mis-spoke, they are Toyo RA1's. They are still available, AFAIK. They last forever and seem to get more grip, not less, with age. The Toyo R888Rs have become more popular than the RA1's, not sure they are better tho.

Wow, +10lbs! So what was your final cold pressure level, 28? Was it all 4 corners? I had R888's which I credit for putting me in the tire wall at Mid-O. I loved the Toyo R1's, I have a set of R888R's for the front but haven't tried them yet. They have a fairly deep tread pattern so shd be good in the rain.

Shane, we bald guys never turn down a chance to add hair:)! But, I think your daughter was actually the one who put it on my head. The apple didn't fall far...., etc. Again, since much drink was involved, including Tom's 150+ proof bourbon, my memory is a little vague....

There was more than one blonde at that se7ens event who'd had too much to drink.

Lots of dubious choices here. No Jeep? No Ford Explorer (which started the SUV revolution that continues), no Dodge mini-van (which started that seismic automobile trend). The Opel GT but no 'Vettes after the C1? The lotus Elise, Morgan Trike, but no recent Mustangs or Hellcats etc., wha??? I think the Toronado was based on the same platform as the Riviera, which did make the top 100, justifiably as it helped start the whole front wheel drive trend in the US for high end cars (for a while).

So true. My old Zetec SVT engine, which made more power than my just-rebuilt SVT, now has a new, high-end oil pump. Since low oil pressure was my motivation for replacing it, I might put it back in to replace the rebuilt one. Decisions, decisions, we shall see. Of course, that still leaves me 100+ hp shy of what others here are looking for.

Thx Jim. I was unable to locate a pre-wired connector and the dealer told me there was none. But, based on your post, I just now googled some more and found a how-to-find-it guide on a Touareg forum. Who knew? The poster said it took him 4 hours to find, it was buried deep behind the dash. At least his dealer knew it existed. My bluetooth system works seamlessly. I mounted part of it on the trailer tongue and have a controller that plugs into my 12v outlet. How does it work tho? I have no idea, magic???

Blue BDA: I think you will need a coupla more feet on the trailer bed. Otherwise it will be hard to strap your car down securely. I use a chris-cross pattern with my straps each of which hooks into D rings a foot away, fore and aft. But maybe there is some tie down trick that would work? BBall's trailer is perfect for Caterhams, but is mega $$$.

Right, the slick brake controller you reference Vlad is built to plug and play. But if your tow vehicle is like mine, there is no place for the controller to plug into, even tho mine came with the optional tow package. When I explored adding one to my Touareg, VW said no, ask the trailer place. The trailer place said they knew nothing about VW wiring and wouldnt touch it. And added that my Touareg, which is rated at 7700 lbs towing, would never be able to pull the 4000 trailer/car combo I had, showing how little they knew.

Right Vlad. I have had every mechanical issue with my trailer short of fire, and was close to that once. Just keep those wheel hubs greased. And upgrade to radial tires immediately, and carry 2, not 1, spare tires, and a trailer wheel ramp for tire changes, and .... BTW, I have a spare brand new, Prodigy RF proportional trailer mounted brake controller system (model 90250) if you need one. I plugged it in once and it works as advertised. It operates via blue tooth so no wire splicing is needed. Mine has worked flawlessly for 7 years. I had to get an adapter plug so it could read the trailer signal-apparently the trailer's LED lights confused it. That adapter cost $15 maybe. My buy-it-now price is $200 including shipping, about $100 off internet price, last time I ckd.

This event prompted my decision to buy an enclosed trailer 8 years ago. The thought of the typical rush-hour take-no-prisoners traffic on I-95 pushed me into it.For the previous 4 years I had driven to all events, far and wide, and always somehow made it home. It makes life easier, tho trailer ownership its not without its own trials and tribulations.

It lives!!! Good work Tom and Croc! Things weren't looking so good for this event continuing last summer.