Vovchandr

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.

I do not. I was planning to use this as a solution for my cooling issues so I contacted them. After them being helpful and putting an order together they just kind of stopped replying. After 3 follow up emails from me to them and my cooling issues so far sorting themselves out I didn't feel that my wallet was too heavy and needed any lightness added to it. ITBs are a huge commitment with a pretty big payoff. That's why many people bear the pain.

ITB's will likely be your best bet to clean up and simplify the engine bay and get more HP. However you'll need standalone ECU and a tune afterwards. You can also do Raceline water rail to clean up cooling Wrap your headers. That's about it. Ironically it would look very similar to the second picture you posted.

There are about 3 different Zetecs in US (2.0) Regular Zetec with no timing VCT (Variable Cam Timing) Zetec with cam timing adjuster (the sensor you see) on Exhaust cam (for emissions now HP, typically gets disabled, mine is) SVT (Special Vehicle Team) Zetec that you have is quite different in almost every single way (tell tale is the hills and valleys/chocolate bars style valve cover) and you having variable timing on the Intake cam. Not sure if its for HP or emissions as well. Likely HP

Agreed. Track only cars are a very hard sell in a field of competitor cars that are essentially track only cars as well with blinkers that you can drive on the street. No matter how good of a deal it is the equation becomes a car you get to use maybe 10 times a year tops with serious commitment and planning and cost for track days vs something you can take out every single day you desire to enjoy on the street. This limits potential buyers to a very small group of people who don't mind it being a track only car and are actually looking for a similar configuration. If you live in an easy to register state getting it road legal and registered will pay off considerably. Most people love a track car or track oriented car on the street.

Yes my setup is "extreme" by design. I wouldn't have it other way. On a rare occasion when I'm in "winter" mode with doors/windshield/half hood it really feels like too much of a toned down experience and I'm not enjoying it. It just feels like a tiny regular with many more handicaps. Sort of like a Goldwing vs a Supersport. Same principle but very different experience. One is extreme/track oriented by design and that's what makes it so appealing. Other is made for people to ride across country. Fine for some but not for me. I don't drive this car to get somewhere. I drive it to get the experience along the way. It certainly provides that. Even if it's overwhelming. (Every Lamborghini Countach owner liked the statement above)

Yeah I plan on taking my time cleaning them up for a while once I find the time. Found them in the UK on the FB group. I think I found an old listing that nobody was a buyer for. Seller didn't want to ship to states but was willing to drop them off with Chris at Redline. After talking to Chris and him being no stranger to shipping big boxes to me he was willing to act as a passthrough to box and ship them with a few other small things I needed from him. When they arrived the boxes were so small and light I genuinely didn't know what was in them at first. Debated on shipping with tires for safety of handling and some use but the tires were old and cost outweighs the limited benefit. Very hard to find these SLR wheels with the updated rolled edge beads in decent condition with a seller willing to ship here AND with center caps. I'm quite happy. Some of the only other center caps wheels I've seen were on a yellow BaT car that was a member here from FL. I posted on BaT that I want the wheels and then found them on YouTube and posted there that I want the wheels (they were a spare set) and had no feedback from them. The one member making center caps himself stopped responding too. Not sure what happened there.

And the true creme de la creme Impossible to find. Double so stateside. For some reason most US SLRs don't have the center caps. Very very few do. I assume they either get lost or broken

Been a little quiet here so I have some news to report. I have finally gotten my hands on the unobtanium (no that's not getting my motor issues solved, that's another mission impossible all together) Today arrived 6 SLR wheels with rolled edges as my back up track wheels (no more need for my 15s! Hence the sale thread)

I've used that excuse before... Glad you got it sorted out

1996 Jeremy Clarkson Supercar Drag Race - TVR Cerbera

A lot of it is due to Aeroscreen but a bit of it is just due to pure nature of the car. If you've ever ridden bikes it's as close to a bike experience as you can get in a car. You're right though setup does play a factor. There are people on goldwings who can ride across country and there are people on supersports that hurt after 50 miles. I have Aeroscreen, sequential straight cut transmission, fiberglass seats, no doors or half doors. I'm in the extreme of self abuse. Otherwise suspension is stock and 13in tires. Quite a bit of it is mental wearing too. Most of my long hauls are on the highway and it's not relaxing one bit. You need death grip on steering wheel as a bump on the road can steer you off the road (tires tracking, that's my alignment setting) and nobody sees you so you drive like you're invisible and then they see you and they really see you and start taking pictures and now you have to mind that on top. Mentally it's a lot. I'm sure I can relax more on a nice back road cruise but I haven't done many of those. City commute and highway otherwise.

All fair points. Even in my 30s the car BEATS ME UP when going out on longer drives. 60 to 100 miles a day is plenty!! Most reminiscent of me riding my on/off supermotard Drz400SM. Putting 100 miles a day on that is a challang. Hands are tingling, back is tired, body is beat up etc. That's all in moderate NY heat. Very fair points above. It wears you down (aero screen).

As somebody from Cold York who's never been to Texas, can you explain how weather wasn't conductive? Unless you mean the landscape with "environment"

These were backup wheels for a track day to make a blow out didn't ruin a weekend. Never used by me Square setup. 15x6.5 I believe Tires are like new in wear but could be aged out depending on what the rule is. Can drop off in NJ this fall at NJMP 7's event. Very good condition Tires are 195 CR500's $950 w/o shipping. Located in NY I have brand new center caps for them as well.

Spring bump