Kitcat

The 2013 Caterham SV (for $74K!) is described as weighing 1546 lbs. Maybe he's charging extra $ for for the extra 200lbs:)? Other than the bogus weight and the price, I like this Cat a lot. It just needs a $30K price drop, or more. The V8 Westfield is described as being faster than a Ferrari F50! And then he adds the Westy does 0-60 mpg in 5.3 seconds....

Which Caterham Tom, yellow or orange? I am guessing orange as the Rover engined yellow Cat has been relentlessly reliable. My mechanic is slowly pursing solutions to the apparent low oil pressure I have, once warmed up. We are exploring the ideas folks like Shane and Tom P (1turbofocus) suggested in a separate post. Next track day is in 2 weeks so I will see if our tweaks helped (including checking the accuracy of the oil pressure gauge).

I drove my first Caterham, bought on this site and drove it home, a 600 mile trip. Take ear plugs and ear muffs, a hat, sunscreen, light clothes:it is very hot in a Caterham. Be prepared for lots of questions at every fill-up and traffic light. I had zero mechanical problems (those came later:)). And I had a blast:). I’ll bet you do too! Congratulations on your purchase!

Very pretty Caterham! And a SV. Jcerier: you may be right abt hp, I have no trouble keeping up with the 218 hp Zetec Caterhams on the straights. The Duratecs, on the other hand, not so much:).

Hard to know without pics, but it sounds like a great car for a fair price. The 218hp seems to be the absolute top for a Zetec (mine makes 165hp or so on the dyno and pulls very hard). Sevens and Elans built my original Cat and it was a very solid build.

I like that the newly listed Caterham features a Dedion suspension "all around." That's interesting! Otherwise it looks like a very nice, lightly used, pre-Zetec/Duratec era Cat.(Less power, offset by better sound). Probably a $20-23K car?

If that doesn’t work, call him.

It is legit. The owner has built/sold tons of Cats over the year. My first Cat was built by them and was great. The website is often way out of date, so the car you see may have sold years ago. Also prices tend to be a bit high.

Should I also cut open the oil filter and take a look in the oil filter for metal shavings/particles? The low pressure issue has been fairly recent. Not sure when it started. It was always great, so I stopped checking it (:. And the gauge is obscured by the steering wheel so it takes some effort to see it (and not drive off the track).

As a further note: pressures are perfect first 3 laps(55-70), then drop to 35-45.

Very educational Shane, thx! No valve clatter. Not 100%, but I think I have always run 20W50. My service records are off site so I will check over the weekend. I will try 10W40 then and see if that helps. We replaced the oil filter and did an oil change just before this track day. That did help pressures a bit(they were 30-40, now 35-45). Also checked oil lines for kinks, tears, leaks. Both track days were cool (40-55 degrees, cloudy). I have read that if the oil pump is worn out, the engine likely is too.... I did have a top end rebuild 2 years ago. We will probably check the oil pressure relief valve, tho it's buried in there (remove oil pan, timing belt). How do you check for aerated oil? If by looking at the dipstick, there were no bubbles, and I checked after every run session.

Never ran less than 20W50. I thought thinner oil could cause lower pressure?

My mighty Zetec SVT has been getting consistently low oil pressures at the track. I did a recent oil change and used 20X50. I have a 2 quart Accusump system. On a cool day I was getting readings of 35-45 (spec is roughly 55-75). I have a fairly new mechanical oil pressure gauge, the Caterham supplied unit was pretty useless. When my mechanic checked oil pressure at his shop late last year my oil pressure gauge was accurate. Any thoughts on solutions? Maybe try 20W60? How hard is it to access the oil pressure relief valve spring (i.e.where is it???).

Apparently I imagined the clams:). Hey 2 out of 3 isn't bad when it comes to my "memory"....

Nice work! I like the headlights, they give the car an ominous Praying Mantis look. What size are your wheels? They look big!

Great to hear from you Stewart! After you disappeared I feared the worse regarding your (non-Caterham related) injury recovery. For those that don't know this car, as others have said, its is a beauty, with clams, Brooklands and an intriguing shade of blue. And with the BDA, it's as strong as most Zetecs and many Duratecs. I have to agree with Croc, I suspect the value will not reflect the excellent engine. Those who appreciate how special it makes this Caterham are few in number (add me and Croc to the list, but we have Caterhams already:)). On the other hand, your time pulling and replacing the engine has to be factored in, as well as making the X-flow work properly once back in. Maybe put it up for sale here for a firm price ($28-32K) and see? And offer a big discount if the buyer wants the X-flow. Sadly, the first thing the X-flow buyer will want to do is add power....

The Birkin: I have to wonder about how serious someone is who puts a car up for sale, leaves it very dirty and then photographs it, and its various spares, in a dirt driveway? And he couldn't be bothered to at least put a piece of black racer's tape over the large seat rip? Apart from the poor presentation, for the $ it could be a decent car with strong engine. What problems lurk beneath is the question. At least it wasn't built by TMW. Maybe some here knows something about the reputation of the CA builder? At 12,000 miles over 13 years it hasnt had much use. Maybe he is ready to cut a deal?

I think the stock cloth Cat seats are very comfortable (once you add a lumbar pillow). I have tried lots of race seats and they are usually pretty hard/confining/difficult to ingress/egress. Given your emphasis on touring/blatting, I'd stick with the stock cloth seats, re-cover, or just buy a new set?

I have used pillows or foam at my low back area to shove my butt forward a little bit. My race seat is bolted in place so this has worked well. If you have the classic bench seat it may be less effective?

State Farm added my Caterham and Birkin for a very reasonable annual fee, around $350. It never went up. I think I had a limit of 5,000 miles a year before cost increased. I never went over that.

I like the license plate:)!

Me too Croc.

WXYWB: Destiny:)?

Shane, that is BBall's highly polished Cat. It is even shiner than I remembered!

I highly doubt they are identical. I once owned a standard sized Birkin and Catherham and when I tried to switch the Brooklands from the Cat to the Birkin it didn't come close to fitting. They are visually similar but dimensionally different cars.