Vovchandr

Same

Now that it's been some time, what's the long term ownership like?

I think this counts. Car cover

Thats a very nice offer! Somebody might take you up on it.

Shouldnt be try this https://www.ebay.com/itm/176348066248

These? https://www.ebay.com/itm/176348066248

Caterham @ Tokyo Auto Salon 2025 #tas2025 #tokyoautosalon2025

Caterham | 2024... That's a wrap

Can you give details on what engine and ECU you're wiring? Can you give estimates on how long does it take at quickest vs your detailed work? Any advantages to having a military style quick disconnect that was popular a long while ago in the wire tucking community? Is re-pinning an option for most people. I have considered either going to a different ECU or even an an engine swap but the daunting task of rewiring is a big barrier even though I have a harness for the new ECU (already own an Omex but not married to it).

I will add one quick thing. With used cars you're not buying the car per se, you're buying the seller. (Same identical cars with two different owners will give new owner very different experiences) Triple so with the cars put together by the owners. I would test him with some very specific questions to see if it stumps him or if he answers direct that he doesn't know or lies etc. He's likely competent but it's good to double check. Old Russian saying goes "trust but verify"

A lot depends on the car. Relatively new and used on the regular? Mostly risk free. Older model and seldom use? Lots more questions. You're doing the right thing by asking here for any local to check it out. According to the FB group map there is one owner of Westfield in Fresno, and one in Santa Cruz. Those appear the closest that marked their locations. Not certain on member locations here. I personally had a friend check mine out in Socal before I flew out. Agree on form of payment before flying out and get your ducks in a row with storage and look into transport. If the car is in good shape I'd recommend driving for a trip of a lifetime but Michigan weather can be tricky. If he can hold till spring or you can arrange storage (I put mine into local pack storage before shipping could take care of it before I flew back) I'd do that. Mine was in no condition to drive such a distance but I wish it was.

How to quickly break a Caterham 7…🥲 #c

I only had one experience with anybody so it's hard to compare but I also used Intercity and was very happy with them. Besides good service they were some of the only companies willing to entertain bringing extra things that came with the car separate for a charge and it was far cheaper than shipping directly. Extra motor, tranny, super charger etc.

Consumer reports isn't something that I've been finding valuable due to their measuring rubrics and weights on issues.

Noted. You're correct I haven't been in either. To be fair my standards are pretty low. I'll try to arrange a drive in either in the future but back to drawing board in meantime. Maybe a 2010 Tacoma/4 Runner

How To Fit Caterham Harness

Classic Carbon Parts for your Caterham

well said You're certainly a man with experience to contribute to this discussion as somebody who owns a fleet of obscure cars that are in various forms of restoration. The reason behind the thread is that it's one thing to have an obscure fun project car down for 6 months waiting for some part but that can't happen to a daily driver but both will face the same problems in the long term. A Defender while works on paper, it is practically a tractor for the road and is certainly not safe or good for long distances so unfortunately that's out as far as I'm concerned. What are the arguments against a W463 G Wagon? Modern enough to be safe with creature comforts. Long enough run span (28 years?) to have parts and options available globally. Not too sure on the V8 on the G500 but likely shared with other Mercs and I've seen people do LS1 swaps if needed. Body on frame. Built tough. Major manufacturer. Priced cheap. Talk me out of this being a good idea for long term. ~2005 for like $35k?

Matt Farah did all the legwork for you and did a test on just this He had a whole ownership series throughout the 2024 for this car. If I recall it was rock solid beyond a few small issues that got fixed with a window regular or similar.

The fact that he recently released all the data from the cyber truck explosion AND all the charging station data and pictures is way over the top for me.

For most people who drive A to B in their appliances it's a perfect car. Its not at all for me, whether financial or practical. I don't want to own depreciating assets nor do I want to deal with problems that used ones present. See above parts supply and troubleshooting. Used ones can be had for pennies and there are reasons for that. It would make a perfect second daily in addition to the main forever daily.

ITB's can be either roller barrel or butterfly valve. TWM's above (now owned by Borla if you need a rebuild) are butterfly type that are commonly used state side. Roller barrel talks I've mostly seen when people discuss things on the other side of the pond for K series or Rover engines and the like. I don't believe you have an idle air control valve for idle so your ITB's are likely setup to hold butterflies slightly open with an idle screw. Your manifold had ports for IAC valve but they are plugged (each runner has a nipple on it past injectors) On an old car like yours when it runs funny is to do full maintenance/inspection on all mechanical items that could have worn down over years and miles. Full engine health test > compression + leakdown. (can be rented) Sparkplugs replaced and regapped Coolant system pressure test (rent it at autozone/advance for free) Get a vaccum reader for each one of your runners to see if they are all pulling similar vacuum https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMC57R0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Ideally get a wideband air meter mounted as well Check the health of your air filter covering ITB's (mine disintegrated) Get a fuel pressure guage mounted to make sure you're getting around 40psi going into the ITB's You need to know all your mechanicals are solid before you want to dive in troubleshooting ECU or whether you need to Lots of these things have been learned by me the hard way over the years and are documented in my looong thread.. I'm slightly jealous of the people who have either modern engines or regular zetecs on stock ECU but unreliable cars make good stories so I have lots of those I suppose..

Very regular. Same ITB setup as most of us have state side with Zetecs/Pectel combos. Your biggest saving grace for having a Zetec is having @1turbofocus not too far away from where you are. He's not too familiar with Pectels while we messed around with mine but if you can have data logging sorted out, wide band installed, adjustable cam gears setup and software on your laptop then he can tune it just like anything else.

I've been battling this myself. One on hand I'm a big fan of not fixing something if it aint broken. On the other, it's been a wild card of issues throughout my ownership of 5 or 6 years now? I know if I get into swapping to a different ECU its going to be a long down time and it's not worth it for me as the "improvement" doesn't change anything in the day to day operation (IF things are working now). Improvement is in the troubleshooting and tuning for if/when that time comes. What is your induction exactly? ITB's? If so I personally wouldn't get rid of them. I love mine and they are really a defining characteristic of the car as it sits, thats why I kept them even throughout the issues. With that said, if you want to keep them you need to keep a standalone ECU of sorts and you can't go to stock. Going to stock regardless is a big undertaking with little to no gain other than sanity and you'll lose performance with this "upgrade". Committing to a new standalone is the right choice but it's expensive. Hardware alone will be thousands of dollars between wiring and a new unit. Not to mention labor if you're not doing it yourself. Hence the dilemma and why I and most people and up "stuck" with these units and keep limping them along. Last summer I thought I fried mine when I reversed the terminals on the battery and left the car dead. That lead down a long and expensive path of partitioning, getting a new unit and wiring harness, sending both old unit and new unit to CT for testing etc. Months of panic and a bill with a comma in it just to discover a 3.5A inline fuse that I couldn't find. Big problem is it's an old unit with very few active users. The few of us that have these units can stick together and make sense of it all and then it won't be nowhere near as much of a headache. We collectively now have some understanding of it, have the software, some of us have datalogging figured out etc Post here with questions/problems.