hairball29

Thanks, guys Honestly, I had expected more interest in it, aside from its wrinkle on the side it's a really good car. Anyway, it's gone to a new home now with an enthusiastic owner. Sad to see it go, but you can't keep them all. Hope you're all doing well. Steve

Hi, I had the car on eBay, but it failed to sell so if anyone's interested I've created a page with videos and images https://ashevillecaterham.blogspot.com/2020/07/2005-caterham-for-sale.html It's a 2005 SV model with an SVT motor. Overall in good shape, but for damage to teh skin around the suspension. Description int he link above as well as may photos. I'm located in Asheville, NC Hope you're all doing well Steve

Hi, Thanks, all. I've been thinking about the photos, I'm sure I can find a pro. I live in Asheville, so locations are available so if i do put it on the likes of BaT. I agree with the keyboard warrior point on BaT and honestly it's a disincentive to use them, a few (often) rich guys humbly bragging the time they had to use their Carrera GT as their daily because their kid didn't like using it for college, and so many picking apart the tiniest details to show off their knowledge. You're right, my panel damage will be the talk of the comments for the whole auction. It grates me, but I acknowledge that that's partially pettiness and exaggeration on my part. I experimented on the twisty roads with my go-pro style camera yesterday. The content was good, but the quality was not. Perhaps I'll see if my videographer cousin wants a little side work There are a couple of places near me that have offered to quote on the work to repair the side, including a custom car shop, so i'll see what they say. Honestly I'd like to repair it just out of pride, but it might not be worth it. If by George you mean Alderman, then yes it was. It even has the shadow of the GAR sticker very, very faintly visible on the nose, unfortunately. It is not registered as an old vehicle, and I had a hell of a time getting it on the road in my county in GA. Registering was easy, getting the emissions was not. I had to get the clean air guy to come and meet me and still he could do nothing. They refused to do a tail pipe test, and because there are codes in the ECU related to missing Ford hardware from the donor Focus, and it does not have a physical CEL, they wouldn't sign-off. They had asked me to get a CEL installed! Had i lived in a non-emissions county or state, it would have been fine so it's not a huge problem for everyone, but I dare say it will be CA unless they also exempt kits from emissions as they did here in NC. I had no problems at all when i registered it and got it on the road here. Safety inspection, but no emissions requirements for kits. That green one on BaT was a real outlier, price wise and I found that difficult to explain. The video was fun, the photos are very well done, though a bit 80s wall poster to my eyes, but people buying these often grew up in the 80s! I couldn't even discern its actual build year from the listing. i see the Ford Sierra gear knob, and the 5 spokes, so I'd guess it's a similar year to mine (mine was shipped with those wheels). For me the aero screen added some appeal. i use a Caterham carbon aero screen for a while, but it didn't take me long to get sick of being hit by bugs, gravel and rain so I went back to the glass. I put the original headlights back yesterday, too. Makes it look a little older/classic, but the shape is much better and overall appearance is improved. Anyway, thanks again, everyone. i appreciate your input.

Actually, i just checked and they're not sealed lights. I'll see if i can pretty them up.

Thanks, Vovchandr You're right about the LEDs not being a great fit, though they're SO much better than the OEMs mine came with. I do have them, still, but they're in bad shape. I think vapor or water got into them and made the lenses milky, plus they're sealed so I can't do a lot about it other than replace. I have not dyno'd the car with Tom, he's a couple of hours away and I never find the time. The feel of it before and after suggests it added a few hp, but I have no supporting numbers. I'm inquiring with local body shops about the repair, but being and odd construction and aluminium, it's a little slow. Thanks

Thanks, I think you might be right about BaT. I sent it to Carsandbids, and whilst they're interested in marketing it, they want me to agree to a 20k reserve which seems low. that might be fine if bidding gets up there, but it might not and I'll end up paying. Anyway, the device on the dash is my cellphone holder. I used one intended for a bike as it clamps hard to the phone, and i made an L bracket to hold it and avoid drilling the face of the dash.

Hi, all I hope you don't mind me asking for a little input on my decision. I have a 2005 Seven with a Zetec SVT motor and 4800 miles. It's basically as I got it, but for an ECU tune (from Turbo Tom in NC), Team Dynamics wheels, new Yokohama tires, LED headlights and an AF gauge. It came from the factory to Mid Atlantic Caterham DE with a 6 speed, LSD, aero front control arms, 4 piston calipers, aluminium flywheel, removable steering wheel, oversize radiator, heater and weather gear. The documents I have for it also state stage 1 cams There is some damage behind the left wheel, it got dented and the metal between the holes for the control arm and the steering arm has split. It's not very obvious, but it's not easy to fix short of welding the metal and repainting the side, so I'm considering selling it as-is. The only other problem I had with it was a frustrating electrical problem related to the Ford immobilizer sensor that was resolved a Lotus dealer in Atlanta. Over all it's in very good shape inside and out and runs and drives well I've found I barely use it, so am considering selling it, though with a heavy heart, and getting a different fun car, perhaps one my 2 and 4 year olds could also enjoy. I wonder what opinion you have on the best place to sell, on its value. Some images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CjGTmBL6iH9SzAoy7 I hope you're all keeping well and enjoying your vehicles. Thanks

I've not used tirerack personally, but I've heard good things about them.

Many thanks. I'm both happy and not to be correct there! I thought those tires were a bit lively, especially when cold, so I've just ordered some new ones. Thanks for your input and for the reference links

Hi, folks i was doing some bits of bobs on my car and I got thinking about age of the tires. They're Avons and in very good shape, but i wondered if they were getting old. I found the little oval label that indicates the week and year. Mine have 0600 molded on there suggesting that they were made in week 6 of 2000. Seems very unlikely given that the car is an 05, they're in good shape with no signs or cracking, rot or even much wear. I feel like I'm misunderstanding the tag, perhaps? I've added a picture, can someone enlighten me? Thanks, all http://www.usa7s.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=15277&stc=1

When I had to replace my rotted hoses, I went to the auto parts store and they let me go through their collection of hoses until I found ones that matched. You might get lucky and find one the right shape and size locally.

Thanks!

Thanks, Craig. I'll get that over. Steve

Hi, I'm in need of an upper spring retainer for my 2005 Caterham. It has Bilstein shocks with 1.9inch internal diameter springs. The part looks just like this one https://caterhamparts.co.uk/dampers/592-upper-spring-retainer-225.html but mine's a bit smaller I've called every vendor on the Caterham USA website and got nowhere since they either don't sell parts or don't respond to messages so I'm getting a little desperate! If anyone knows where i might get this item, please let me know thanks Steve

Hi, i wired the gauge into a switched live under the dash, and back to my grounding post (the condition of which i will check thanks to previous comments) and it started fine. so i think the moving and shielding of the PATS wiring has helped. Now, i only started it once, but that's once more than i would have got prior to the repair.

Hi, all I think it's finally fixed, so I want to record the outcome for now and for any future sufferers of this vexing issue! The car went to Motor Cars of Georgia, the Lotus, McLaren and other expensive cars dealer in north Atlanta. Their mechanic diagnosed the issue as related to the PATS (passive anti-theft system). Since he's used to Lotus and even McLaren earthing issues (even new McLarens have these) he found that during the non-start at least one of the switched earth pins on the ECU was not switching to earth meaning the coil wasn't functional. This was intermittent so it took a while, but long story short, something about the aluminium chassis being used as earth was interfering with the PATS 'halo' (sensor) and triggering the system. His solution was pretty easy, he moved the sensor as far from the under-dashboard wiring as he could, shielded its cable with aluminium tape, and fixed the sensor to a clean area on the bulkhead. It has not 100% fixed the issue when the AF gauge is on, in that half the time it won't start, but it has 100% fixed it when the gauge is off. Previously, the car was often hard to start when the gauge was off so I'll call this a win. Turbotom helped out so additional thanks to him. So the moral of the story, is keep your PATS sensor away from wires if you're using Focus hardware!

Looking forward to it!

Well, I'm moving to Asheville in a few months, so I'll be a bit closer to you. If it's not fixed by then, I'll come by.

I changed the starter motor since that's been a recommendation elsewhere from another Caterham person saying a bad starter pulled so much juice that it reset the ECU on cranking. I wasnt very hopeful, and it made no difference. The problem appears to be getting worse. It's often failing to start with nothing connected now. So, if anyone knows a place in Atlanta i can bring it, I'm happy to hear your recommendations? thanks

I back probed the ECU cables. I used the ford green book wiring diagram to figure which was which. Tested them and learned that they go to their own cables that are attached to the battery. + and - have their own. If the - is disconnected, it doesn't affect the start, so it must be getting it's - connection some other way. The manual says there's more than one - I cranked it with the probes on a volt meter, and it dipped as low as 7.5v whether or not it started. As usual the no-start was caused by the AF gauge being powered up. Still don't know what's pulling it the ECU voltage down so low, but I've about reached my level of competence and am wondering if anyone can recommend a place in Atlanta that would take a look at it? Most mechanics panic if i mention kit car, so I'm looking for someone who might want to have a go. Thanks

Do you mean the 12v? if so, that resistance was basically nothing. As far as I could tell, it's sound.

Looks like the 12v is coming a fused connection directly from the battery. The cable goes into the loom, but the permanent 12v on the ECU definitely ends up at this cable according to my continuity test. Next test is to backprobe the earth(s) on the ECU and see if i can see a voltage drop or some other poor connection.

Hi, I inserted a pin in to the back of the permanent +12v cable on the ECU connector and measure the voltage at cranking both with the AF connected, AND without. In both cases it dipped to about 8.8V. Without the AF on, it started ok. When i tested the battery during cranking, it dipped to about 10.5 V. Not sure where my 2V are getting lost. I'd like to look up where my ECU permanent live comes from, but no wiring diagram. The next step is to start trying to trace it so if i get anywhere, i'll update you.

2005 Superlight R in California https://www.ebay.com/itm/122846685410?ul_noapp=true