Vovchandr

For what it's worth, I've had this setup and the front to back size difference in side wall and width combo makes the car looks a bit stupid. Rear wheel is too small compare to front 60/R13 vs 45/R13 13x6 Track DOT Toyo R888 185/60R13 Medium 21.8 551 7.3 185 13x8 Track DOT Toyo R888 225/45R13 Medium 21.0 532 8.9 225

Quick comment in regards to Hagerty and track use and jacking up rates. They won't care because they simply won't cover it. Almost no regular insurance coverage covers track days. You'll need a special policy for the specific track days bought for those specific days to be covered in addition.

That surely means they will be supercharged 4 cylinder aka 620R from now on? Right???

If you want reliability I personally don't recommend buying a 2001 SLR that sat around for almost 20 years with few miles. Otherwise you should be good

I think you're very reasonable with your needs and expectations of value and reliability and you should be safe on both of those. At the current market rate it seems that ANY running Caterham of any age or spec goes for $25k easy. Newer specs tend to go for $35k or higher depending on the spec with and miles. Without having a crystal ball I expect the values only to become stronger with the bleak future for enthusiasts. Reliability should be of no concern for the platform with the only caveat of people who put it together. In this case is was in good hands. It looks like a great trim with a great amount of add-ons and in your perfect color. I say stop worrying, commit and start enjoying it. Don't know what state you're in and whether you will have registration problems however.

The Caterham

Lotus Seven: 60 years of lightness and precision

Caterham R400: Carbon Dreams come true & Fully closed undertray

Caterham 7 at Car Barn Beamish

The Academy Racer | Episode 2 - ARDS Course & Academy Track Day

Does Size Matter? Half Hood and Shower Cap Caterham 7

In my experience all the widebands I've seen are 6 pin. With that said if you have a downstream o2 sensor you can just pull it out and plug the wideband into that bung without having to do any welding. I've done that for a while.

Not after somebody buys it for $17k!

Major question is whether it's under 25 years old or over. Over 25, just about anything goes. Under 25, pretty much impossible* (with minor/rare/extreme caveats that aren't worth it under normal circumstances)

My only advice in regards to OEM hood is rather crude but it's simple and consists of two steps 1) take it off 2) throw it out Never had one for my car and can't imagine a situation where'd if need it where half hood doesn't provide the same results but better

GBS Zero walk-around and drive (Caterham, Westfield, Lotus 7)

Caterham 420R - Deep Clean.

HE ONLY SELLS FUN! | Lotus, Caterham and Agile | House Of Speed Tour

Can you DAILY DRIVE a CATERHAM?

In my experience the heater cable is very similar to a USB stick. It takes 3 clicks to get it right while you're trying to remember whether pushed in should be "on" or "off" Overall on our type of cars I find it makes no difference in regular temperatures on Zetec cars as drivers footwell is already hot and makes a mild difference for passengers. Nothing beats a good blanket for the lower body. With a windshield/doors/half hood its a completely different beast for air flow management vs simply aeroscreen in which case you don't manage the air flow, it manages you.

To be fair putting on miles is easier if you want to avoid the pain of getting in and out and just keep driving instead..

Found my old thread on this matter Time to blow the dust off it https://usa7s.net/ips/topic/12529-usa-total-owners-count/#comment-112521

Lesley the archiver at Caterham might know the real figure but there is some napkin math. At the optimistic high range Caterham sold 500 cars a year globally for last 20 years and likely close to half that for the other 30 on average. Less than 10% a year go to USA now that it's an established famous fast see desired brand after Top Gear and in Internet in general. So 20x50 and probably 30x12. Maybe 1300 cars total here. Likely close to half that in reality. @Croc has anymore scientific number from experience and decades in this world.

I assume we need more people?

Oh no. No no no. I don't think I could afford basic service on one. Its just the perfect example that popped into my head. There is a pretty universal ethos about it where it's cool to look it but a "horrible" car to drive by all the accounts and it's essentially a workout during a boot camp. Sitting position is off set with pedals, shifter takes 50lb of force to shift, clutch is hard, visibility is none, headroom is minimal, comfort features are few, getting in and out is hard, backing up is impossible, steering is heavy. Etc. But nobody gets out of it after a ride and says it was boring. A lot of modern super car owners and collectors buy them thinking it will be tame and civil like their modern super cars and are in for quite a surprise when it's anything but. Many end up not driving them much or selling them. Edit: @Croc would be surprised if Croc didn't have a first hand experience with one.