JeffersonRaley

I bought these motorcycle mirrors from Cycle Gear. They are designed to mount to horizontal motorcycle handlebars, but if you turn the mirrors on the ball joints they were perfectly for mounting to a vertical surface. My Birkin already had threaded female receptacles, but I think you could use the windshield mounting holes if your Seven doesn't. The size of these mirrors is really good, and they don't get the vibration blur my old mirrors had.

Getting my Birkin S3 ready for the track, and the driver's side half shaft has too much play in it. I have the Sierra diff - does anyone know which donor car (and year) the halfshaft is from? Same question for the electronic speedo sender in the trans. That part is less critical, but mine has gone nuts and I'd like to replace it. I've finally gotten the new motor broken in (Forged internals, 11.2:1 compression, Crower Stage II cams, AT Power ITBs and AT Power dry sump.) The car is now at a shop getting the Haltech tuned. It's taken almost 6 months to get it all back together. I can't wait to hammer it around the track again!

I'll take it to Cresson many times - we definitely need to hook up. Still waiting to get it back, hopefully next weekend. Then I have to break the new engine in before I can really thrash it. I am also looking at a Race Technologies Video 4 system. I like the ChaseCam hardware a lot more, but I prefer the Race Technologies analysis software. Either way I'll be posting videos of the process as I learn the car.

I had an 86 Esprit Turbo HCI. It was a great car, but not a good car. I averaged $700 per month in parts for the 2+ years I owned it, and that was doing most of the work myself. It was a fast and beautiful car, but I'd never do a 4 cyl Esprit again. My Elise was a totally different story. Faster, better handling and incredibly reliable.

Actually, I blew the motor at MSR Cresson a few months ago. I suspect that the previous owner's amateur Haltech tuning efforts caused the failure. It also could have been oil starvation under braking. Either way it is getting an AT Power dry sump on the replacement engine. Also going with stronger pistons and forged crank. I should get a little more power. More importantly, it should last well on the track. Dick Brink is doing the work because I just don't have time. Hoping to have it back in a couple of weeks.

It's too late for this answer to do you any good, but I always check out http://www.wheelweights.net/ when picking track wheels. Wheel weight is the most important weight on the car since it is both unsprung and rotating. I could tell a distinct difference in my Elise when I went from the stock sport pack wheels (13.2 lbs) to Volk CE28Ns (9.1 lbs).

It was actually listed here a while back.

On Monday I bought this 2010 Birkin originally built by Texas Motor Works. I've driven a few different Sevens on track days, and have been promising myself I'd buy one since the first time I drove a Caterham Superlight. Awesome cars. It's the only thing I've driven that is more fun than my Elise was, and I've had the good fortune to track some pretty great cars. This one has a Duratec, wide track suspension, IRS, GAZ shocks and an electric water pump. It is painted Lotus Chrome Orange, which is a pearlescent color used on Elises. Right now the car is in Florida waiting for a truck to bring it back to its new home in Austin. I thought about road tripping it back, but the Winter weather and my work schedule convinced me otherwise. Hoping to have it by the weekend for some track time at Harris Hill Road. Looking forward to tuning the suspension and tweaking the aero to lessen front lift. But all of that can wait until I get a few track hours on it.

That's brilliant

That is a very optimistic price!

I think you make some good points. I'd add that in the US we are (happily) spoiled for horsepower. Normal sedans have 300 horsepower and 400+ is not uncommon. Plus the cars are cheap compared to much of the world. So in this market Sevens are relatively expensive, and up against cheap choices with lots of power. Of course, it may also be true that Americans are hyper-competitive, overly aggressive and compensating for our small feet. That may explain the 420 bhp engine in my tow vehicle.... I would also add that the low-horsepower new Caterhams are awfully expensive compared to buying an older used xflow or Zetec.

That is the awesome - and price is great. Now I'm really interested. I know someone who is talking with Zenos about becoming an importer, so it sounds like there is definite potential.

Updated the chart to include a more reasonable power estimate for the 818, and added entries for the Stalker V6 and V8. The 818 still leads the pack per the "bang for buck" calculation. Although I have to say I've built/rebuilt a few cars and I think it would cost more than $20k to build a good one. But every number in the chart is approximate and could be argued. Heck, I'm even comparing the price of used cars to new ones. So the comparisons aren't really "fair". But I think they do represent realistic options in the uber-light crazy person car market. For me, all of the comparison analysis just reinforces that what I really want is a Seven. The 818 is cheap, but I already have a track car with similar performance. The Radical is insane, but too fast. I'd have no pressure to get better as a driver. Unless the Zenos launch tomorrow convinces me otherwise....

Yeah, I went with the stock horsepower number for a WRX donor. Obviously those can easily be tuned to ridiculous horsepower. That is definitely one of the issues with comparing kit cars. I think that's a great idea. Send me the info and I'll add. Happy to add any other data folks have - just need price, weight and crank horsepower.

Yep, there are several other factors that are going into my decision. As BigDog mentioned, the Radical SR3 is not streetable (though apparently you can import them as kit cars and make them street legal in US). And having tracked other Factory Five products, I don't have a lot of confidence in the 818. Looks like a great car though if price is the main factor. Sevens are just so much fun to drive, and have so many years of development, that they stay at the top of my personal list. Plus they exude 1960's coolness. I am leaning toward Birkin, mostly because they depreciate, so I can buy a used one for a great price. Caterhams seem to hold their value forever. I think the Zenos might be the only thing that could tempt me away from a Seven. An acquaintance/friend is talking with them this week and I am looking forward to his feedback.

Of course you're right - I misspoke and meant the 211. I actually pulled together a comparison table of ridiculously fast/light cars. It's obviously incomplete, especially since Sevens can be almost any price and power level. Also, I had to guess at Zenos' pricing.

Very interesting. Their website shows specs of 1400 lbs and 200 bhp, which is basically Elise territory. Not sure why it weighs so much with a carbon/aluminum monocoque and no doors. I definitely want to learn more about them.

Bidding just went over $20k. I think that's too high for a Zetec car that may need a new engine, so I'm dropping out.

I'm with you. I see great ones on Pistonheads all the time, and I can't imagine Caterham produces 2 different chassis. I've even thought about buying one in RHD as a track only car. I would think that any of the builders or dealers should be able to answer.

I guess it was Bill and me jumping the bidding up. Maybe someone else too. Sounds like me and Bill both have a thing for V8 Mazdas too. My current race car is an '82 RX7 with a Ford 302 in it. Double the stock horsepower, triple the torque.

I'm actually high bidder on this right now. I'm sure some will question whether this is still a good deal, but I'll actually go higher if I need too (and I might regret it!) I am not too worried about the flood damage. I expect to have to replace the engine and ECU. Hoping the trans is ok, but who knows. Some of the gauges are likely to be shot. And the interior might smell like old shrimp. On the other hand, the paint is right and I'm not afraid of doing the work. I just finished a full rebuild of my daily driver 1966 Suburban, and am fabricating new rear suspension for my race car over the holiday break. So I'll need another project soon. Heck, if I wanted to make a sensible decision, I'd buy an Accord.

I think a wet sump option would be ok, with the proper warnings. Everyone says the CSR rides much better, so it would be a good option for a road-only car. Over the years I've blown something like 5 engines from oil starvation under cornering in various cars. That includes one really bad weekend where I blew the motor in my race car, then took my tow vehicle (Subaru Legacy GT) out and blew the motor in it too. So I'll check the box for a dry sump option.

Bruce - That is exactly what I am looking for. An option for a mildly tuned 2.3 (or 2.0) with around 200 bhp would be great. Maybe cams, intake and a tune - similar to the R400. I'll want to put a dry sump on it as well. Oh - and that picture Lucky posted of the metallic gray and orange Caterham is gorgeous. That's exactly the color scheme we're planning to do. And I second Kitcat's vote for a SC option. That gives a good upgrade path for future horsepower at a much more reasonable cost than NA. I've lusted after Caterhams since I first read about them in Road & Track 20+ years ago. Driving various student-owned Sevens at track events ramped that lust up to 11. My girlfriend has finally convinced me that the only logical solution is to buy one. She wants to track it too. So now it's just a matter of getting the current race car out of my garage so that I have space to build one.

I'm in Austin, so I belong to Harris Hill Road. Great track, but it is a bit bumpy. Looking forward to getting a Caterham out on the MSR long track. I enjoy Cresson even more than TWS. My experience in the Elise is pretty much sold me on the Caterham. The Elise was just too plush and comfy. I've had the good fortune to drive a few different types of Sevens (though not a Brunton or Birkin) and they are all amazingly fun. To me, they are much more entertaining than any of the GT3s, Gallardos, Vipers, 360's, or even most purpose-built race cars.

Does anyone have experience with, or knowledge of, someone building a CSR with a normal 2.3 Duratec? I want to buy/build a Seven, and I think the CSR will work better on my (fairly bumpy) local track. Plus, I like the stiffer chassis of the CSR, and pushrod suspension is just plain fancy. But I don't want to spend the $$$ for the Cosworth motor (yet). I assume I can just drop in a mildly tuned Duratec (similar to the R400 spec). Anyone have a reason to think that wouldn't work?