FE07

Scot gave me a ride in his Superlight R around Summit Point a number of yrs ago. Yellow-orange. Believe he lives in Northern Virginia. Trying to track him down to ask some questions about his car. Appreciate it if anyone has any contact info for him. Thanks, Jim

I bought the Superlight R which was for sale in Virginia last week. Thanks to Chip Bond who was holding the car for the owner who is currently in Germany. Chip was extremely helpful and very gracious with his time. We corner weighted it before I put it in my trailer-1388lbs with me in it and a little gas. Chip rounded up some extra wheels for me for the track and gave me the rundown on the car. It looks great and was already registered in MD which made it easier for me to switch the title. Went for my first drive today. First impressions??- OMG whats with the wind?? It's ok up to about 30, tolerable at 40, at 60...... I had so much air blowing up my nose I thought I was gonna hyperventilate. Forget the earplugs, I needed nose plugs. Sure couldn't have sleep apnea in a Caterham!! Didn't have the side curtains on, I'll try that tomorrow. Feels pretty quick. Speedo doesn't work. I've ordered a GPS based speedo from Speedhut. Can't get any real sense of handling until I get it on track. It quickly exceeds any sane speeds through the turns on the road and I'm not gonna push it until I gain a little more familiarity with it. Needed my racing boots and I've got small feet! Don't have the SV chassis so kinda tight down there. Anyone with any suggestions for a dead pedal? Maybe a small strip of aluminum right angle mounted on the floor to put your heel against?? I'll try to give an update as I get some more seat time. Saw the discussion about another round at NJMP. If it's gonna happen please let me know and I'll try to make it up there. Would be nice to get together with some other owners and learn a little more about the car. Suggestions for track tires for the 13" wheels?? Thinking Hoosiers but need to make sure they'll fit under the fenders. Thanks to everyone on here for all the posts I've read the past year as I've been looking for a car. Thanks to Mike for his info and thoughts on the Caterham market. Hope to see you at the track, Jim A.

Thanks Rick. Your a little farther than I was hoping. Will see if you still have the car in 3-4 weeks when I might have an opportunity to get up there. Pretty car. Thanks, Jim

Rick, Where are you in NJ? Jim A

I've driven one a friend of mine bought. Basically a toy. Very loud. Can't really give you any idea of how it handles as I didn't get a chance to push it although I can tell you its easy to light up that rear tire. Very cool to look at and nicely finished. Thought I wanted one until I drove his. Jim

Hey Jim. Must have moved from Atlanta. Still have the elise and looking for a 7. Ever get your CSR? PM me with your contact info. Jim A.

I have a 2010 Touraeg Tdi. Use it to tow an enclosed trailer with race car wheels, spares and tools. Probably 4600 lbs. Tows great and fine as a daily driver. 12-13 mpg towing. 22 with mixed city/hwy driving. No electrical issues although did have problems with EGR coolers that are an apparently known problem with that engine. Fixed under warranty although in shop an awful long time to diagnose and obtain parts. Kit Kat- if your towing 4000 lbs you really ought to install that brake controller. You're gonna wear your brakes out much faster on the Touraeg. Have only had to slam on the brakes once while towing but I wouldn't want to do it without using the trailer brakes. Keeps both the SUV and trailer much better controlled. If your car came with the trailer package its probably already pre-wired for the controller. Jim

Mike, Thanks for the reply. Have never heard of them but look like a great outfit. My wife wants to go to Paris. I've got no interest. Course she has no interest in Spa. Sounds like a deal in the making! Maybe catch you at NJMP one day. Thanks again, Jim

Mike, Slightly off topic but Spa is on my bucket list. Wondering how you drove on it, got a car to use etc... Have seen RSR spa rentals. Gotta get to Eau Rouge!! Jim

I used Horseless Carriage to move my FE from Oakland to Baltimore. I'd recommend them highly. They'll give you contact info for the driver so you can check progress. The key is to call around and see if someone already has some cars in somewhat the same locations. If so. you can save a lot of money. I don't recommend a broker or open transport (certainly not this time of year) Jim

Bruce. When will Caterham let us know exactly what there model line up will be in the US? Inquiring minds wanna know. Jim

I like the "uber-light crazy person car market" Too true, probably of everyone on this forum. Jim A.

2:02 at the Glen for that car seems awfully optimistic to me. Driven by Vettel?? I race a Formula Enterprise. Nope, I'm not at the pointy end of the grid but I hold my own and I have a tough time breaking 2 minutes regularly. Thats in an open-wheel, winged formula car, 1250 lbs/180 HP. 2:02 sounds a little fishy. Having said that, I think the 818 is pretty nice looking and appears well engineered. Not even close to a Caterham however. Jim A

I didn't bid but had thought about it. At 22K plus another $1,100 in fees thats 23.2K. I felt too much for a flood damaged car that may be just fine but has the potential to be very needy upon arrival and/or later. OTOH- the Kirkham might not be such a bad deal. Not sure what engine it had in it but these can be an easy 110K and they're works of art. Have had the pleasure of driving a friends and they're pretty hairy. I call his Brutus! Congratulations on whoever got it. Hope they'll share how it turns out. Guess I'll have to keep looking. Jim A.

Thanks for all the replies. Guess my main question still is (although a moot point if can't take relatively current car and import)..... can you convert a RHD car to LHD and what is involved?? Jim A.

43 Caterhams for sale currently on pistonheads in UK, all RHD. Seem to be good prices. What, maybe 2 cars for sale here? Has anyone ever imported one from UK to US and changed it to LHD? Hard to do? Whats involved? Expensive parts needed? Yeh I know you can drive RHD car here but not looking to do that after 35 yrs of driving. Gotta screw up your sight lines in a car with significant enough vision challenges already. So, has anyone here imported one? What was involved with shipping/customs etc? Thanks ahead for the replies, Jim A

Bruce, Thanks for all the info on wet vs. dry sump differences. Any idea of approximate difference in price between Duratec/Zetec with wet sump/accusump set up vs. same engine with dry sump? I know for me since the car would replace a race car and definitely be tracked, I'd probably want the dry sump set up. Pretty impressive however that the accusump protected the engine so well for 25 hrs! While I'm asking, approx. difference between one of the above engines dry sumped and the 2.3 Cosworth? Thanks to everybody for all the info, Jim A.

Wow, I'll second this entire post. Have been racing a Formula Enterprise with SCCA for past 3 seasons (had a Formula Vee prior) but feel I'm spending too much $ for the track time I'm getting. Considering just going to track days and would like a CSR also without the Cosworth if possible. I like the cleaned up aero of the front pushrods and 200 HP should be more than adequate. Won't give me the same lap times as my FE but definitely more tracktime with less $. Not quite the thrill of single seater racing though. Still thinking about it. Thanks for asking the question before I did. Jim

I believe it was $60-65K. There basically bespoke cars. His is BRG/tan leather. No stripes or fancy paint. Jim

Have been a lurker and meaning to register but reading this post caused me to sign up. Had the opportunity to drive one of the new Morgan 3 wheelers about 6 weeks ago. A friend bought one and asked if I'd like to drive it. Very well made and put together. Piece of art but as much a toy as a Caterham is, the Morgan is more so. Can't imagine driving one (or riding in it) for more than a 1/2 hr. Felt relatively stable although did not have the chance to push it at all. Very small and tight on the inside. Made my elise feel like a limo. Only drove it for a couple miles. Lets put it this way, when I saw they were first coming out I thought it would be really cool to have one. After driving it for a couple miles, I knew I could cross it off my list. Jim