Kitcat

Sounds like a perfect match (and excellent price!) for someone ordering a roller Caterham or Birkin. The dry sump and Mazda 6 sp are perfect matches for Caterhams. Does the 11.3:1 compression ratio require race fuel or can it run on 93 octane?

I love that the seller of the "steam roller" V-8 special explains the sale by saying: "downsizing parents." The less we know about that the better:).

Thx Steve, we missed you at the se7ens fest at NJMP this summer!

Again, wonderful write up! And somehow I previously missed that your Stkr has clams, which I consider one of the signature features of the original se7en. The pix are great, the color is great, the trip was great and kudos to Mighty Mike for building the perfect Stalker (OK, it ties with Shane's).

I like to say that the only thing I haven't had to fix/replace on my Caterham is the battery. Of course I am kidding-sort of.... So today's question: IF I have to take my engine out again, obviously the transmission will some along for the ride. My Caterham 6 sp has been exemplary (tho not as wonderful as the battery), except that it pops of first if I accelerate in first and then lift off the gas. No big deal for a track day junkie, but it is a loose end that has bothered me. If i decided to auto-X more, which is where I discovered the issue, it would be a problem. So today's question: is this something an above average mechanic can fix, or is there someplace that folks with Caterham 6 speeds are sending their transmissions for refurbishment (on this side of the pond)?

"Somewhere west of Laramie". (The opening line of a car advert that changed advertising for ever). Looks like it is still relevant:)! Great car, great write up. So many people buy these and park them, great so see you taking it on the road. I look forward to hearing about more adventures, including total track domination???

Welcome back Al! Aren't you our president for life:)? Hard to believe you have a girl in grad school, your kids were munchkins back when I met them at Tail of the Dragon in '07. Weren't they into fencing then? Ted Wentz is THE MAN when it comes to restoring, rebuilding these engines, he is a BDG guru. Gotta love the wobblies. Don't want to brag, but I have a 21 gallon tank (Fuel Cell) in my car. Only set me back $5K to refurbish:). And I think that was just parts....

With only 700 miles in 5 years, it doesn't look to have been on the road much. Nice car, decent BIN price, assuming it was well constructed. Hillbank didn't have the best reputation.

Hypothetically (of course:)), how much $ if you assemble with 200 hp spec engine added? Is it possible to go higher than 200 hp (say a nice 2.5 Duratec)? And what spec/cost is the gearbox: 5 sp T9? Miata 5 sp? Caterham 6 sp, if you supply/install? And speaking of rainy days, and things going wrong: does it include top, side curtains, spare tire, horn, turn signals, windshield, wipers etc., etc.? Gotta say: I love the BRG+ Brooklands lurking in the background!

Thx Sloanie! Croc is the master decoder and, as far as I can tell, no one knows more about Caterhams than he. But I enjoy hanging out at BAT and commenting on occasion: it's one of my retirement hobbies:). I continue to learn more about Caterhams there-like how the "long cockpit" Cat was developed, I literally had it backwards.

A very basic '98 Caterham just sold on BAT for $23250 (+5% commission). It had a 4sp, live rear, drum rear brakes, 100 hp 1600cc X-flow. Not Dedion, not 1700 cc X-flow w/35 more hp, not 5 sp overdrive, etc. Cars of this spec were selling for $16K when I started looking (11 years ago). Everyone wanted the high hp, high spec versions. There were nearly 700 people watching the sale and it had 12K views. That's a lot of attention.And this is an excellent price. IF I ever sell mine, BAT will be the venue.

They just keep coming (Croc, anything you want to say:))?

Thx Croc, I like that they have it in my size....

We have really been under assault! I appreciate how hard the admins are pushing back. Keep it up guys!

Per a thread on a Camaro forum, Chevrolet recommends 15w50 for track use of ZL1 Camaros because the thicker oil doesn't slosh around as easily and the engine will, therefore, be less likely to experience oil starvation in high-G track sections. I hadn't thought of that issue. They recommend changing back to 0w40 for road use after every track event (right:)).

Yes pix (incl of dyno sheet:)). Interesting that a '13 Birkin has a Zetec, I guess the build was started earlier than '13? Birkin switched to Duratecs in '09 or so. Does it run on pump gas with 11.25:1 compression ratio? What is a quick-shifter kit(shorter throws?). All cool stuff.

Wish I could, but the 1300 mile round trip pulling a trailer limits my visits (most years:)) to one trip to NJMP. Look forward to hearing if the wildshield delete adds top speed to your Cat. It made a 5-7 mph difference on the straight at Lightening in my little X-flow powered Cat, years ago, not sure your mighty Duratec will notice its absence? YellowSS is a regular, so I wouldn't be surprised if he made it. Croc seems to be a very busy man these days, tho not so busy that he can't tour the grand tracks of Europe. Maybe Jeff or Simon? They are also members. But their cars may be both getting hp infusions so as to stay closer to your se7en:). Ya never know. Myself, I like having a hp deficit as an excuse for not being super competitive. (It's pretty fast: for a Zetec, etc.)

That is interesting and seems counter to conventional wisdom. Although my highly stressed, 4.0 BMW V8 used 10 quarts of 10w60. Maybe they knew something? The hp differences here are pretty minuscule, tho every pony counts. Perhaps the difference in the test is in the additives put in by the oil mfg, not the weight? Best test wld have been different weights from same mfg. My mechanic swears by Schaeffer oil, which rated 2nd best in the test, next to the Klotz (wh/I have never heard of). I would have loved to have seen Redline oil tested. This seems like a great topic for Grassroots Motorsports Magazine to explore.

As I recall, the last time this came up here the solution was to Google motorcycle mirrors and choose from the hundreds of motorcycle mirror options (complete with arms/stalks:)). At least for side mirrors. Yes, you still have to attach them, but drilling thru the Caterham's aluminum and attaching a washer on either side (or just on the inside inside) seemed to work reasonably well.

No experience selling but I am a near-daily visitor to that site. Typically, they have Caterhams but other se7ens sell there as well. IMHO, the best place to sell a Caterham as they tend to go for $5K-10+K more than my semi-informed opinion suggests they should. Take lots of pictures. Even better, hire a photographer or use a friend who loves photography. That can add many thousands of $'s to the final price. So many great cars are shot with the photographer's image reflected in the photo, which is set in the driveway, in poor light, next to the garbage cans. In other words, the car is presented in the worst possible way to generate $ and interest. Since your car is in unassembled kit form that makes the photos that much more challenging.

A BDG sold last week on BAT for $19.5K. It made 288 hp/188 lbs torque (Rev limit was 9K). It had been refreshed by Savanna Race Engineering, experts in these engines. So the barnfind engine could be salvaged and rebuilt likely for less $ than the BAT motor, esp since the BDA is less formidable than the BDG.

Thx Blaine. I suspect your mpg theory is correct, tho thin oils also add a bit of hp. In the super competitive C stock Auto-X category, where I ran my Miata 25 years ago, thin oil AND low oil were hp tricks as each added a few ponies. With all else being equal, that was deemed to be an advantage (Not for me, I was too slow to be helped....). What do you run in your 2.0 Duratec Birkin?

The "smoke" was actually oil dry. Most drivers steered around it, a few(cough, cough) blasted thru it.

My Accusump has an off/on switch. So when the 2 qt Accusump tank is full, I can shut it off and the oil stays put. If I switch it on, the psi valve releases the extra oil when psi is below 30 (like on start up or extreme cornering) until psi increases, at wh/point the oil is returned to the Accusump tank. Better to just have a dry sump, but $$$.).

Thx Ferdl. My Accusump kicks on when oil pressure drops below 30. I tried using a 50 psi valve and since pressure was frequently below 50, all that did was flood the engine with oil, which then poured out of the breather vent all over everything. I am starting to believe 42-49 (my on-track operating range) is sufficient. I replaced the oil pump when I had the engine rebuilt earlier this year (due to oil pressure of 42-49). But the rebuild changed nothing, except I lost abt 10% power and spent a considerable sum of $. I will add an oil cooler. My X-flow had one mounted low on the front of the radiator but there was more room in front of its radiator than in the Zetec. So I will likely mount like yours, a coupla inches behind the radiator.