SanderGA

Checked with the shop that has maintained the car. They say on reliable authority that the car has a clutch plate with very aggressive material that causes the noise. They service a car that is basically identical and it makes the same noise. Meanwhile the clutch cable snapped and the shop had a spare that they installed in less than two hours. I must be living right.

Thanks Mike. i found the same test you described online. With it in neutral, no bad noises. With it in gear, squealing. Based on that, I’m guessing it’s the pilot bearing. Transmission and clutch work great otherwise. End of this week I’ll put it back in the shop, have the clutch and pilot bearing replaced along with the belts and then it should be ready for a trip home. Thanks for the input.

Throw out bearing was my first guess. But the inter web said a bad throw out bearing produces a grinding sound whereas a pilot bearing produces a squealing sound when the shifter is in gear and the clutch is released. But I only know what I read online. Assuming it’s one of the above, will driving the car another 200 miles cause further damage?

I got my 93 HPC today and I love it. What a car. I get a squealing when I let the clutch out. It’s mainly in first or second when I ease the clutch out. Sounds like I’m squealing the tires. If I put the shift lever in neutral and let the clutch out it doesn’t make the noise. I’m guessing I need a new pilot bearing. Anything else I should check first? If I need a new bearing I assume the protocol is pull the engine and transmission and replace the bearing. Replace the clutch and upgrade to a lightweight flywheel while it’s open. Any other things to consider? Is a complete transmission rebuild required or can the bearing just be replaced? Car has 10k miles which were mostly HPDEs.

Thanks JohnCh. The carbs are perfect...for 5,000 ft. of elevation so I probably can't determine much from those settings. Regardless of the settings, it's not producing 218hp at a mile high. My next step is collect all the documentation that comes with the car and see what that says. I'll be surprised if that doesn't convince me that it's a 218hp engine. Options after that in order are, get the carbs reset for local conditions by someone with a dyno because I have to do it anyway and get a dyno readout, call Caterham, call Swindon, or pull the valve cover and see what cam is in the engine. Honestly, I trust the seller and have no reason to think it's anything other than a 218hp SRE engine. Just fell down a rabbit hole of trying to prove it.

Thanks Mike. I tend to agree with you on the disadvantages of the larger wheels and I’ll likely go to the smaller wheels long-term. I put the large wheels on for transportation and breaking in purposes more than anything. I gotta get the thing from Salt Lake City to Atlanta and I’m considering driving it and shipping all the spares. The 14” wheels have track tires so I’m shipping those and will ship or drive the car with 16” wheels as they provide a bit more clearance. Sounds crazy but until Covid I had planned a round the country motorcycle trip so this is in that range of crazy. The big thing missing from the interior compared to every HPC photo is headrests on the seats. And until our exchange I thought the seats were vinyl based on the sellers description but I believe you are correct that they are leather. The funny thing about the HPC question is that there is only a question because there’s a Lotus badge on the nose. We know the Lotus badge isn’t original and we know the nose isn’t original. Ultimately I’m more concerned with the specs than the model designation. The biggest unknown is the engine. I’m going out to see the car next week and I’ll probably get that nailed down. I’m surprised Caterham or Swindon didn’t put a permanent mark on the upgraded heads or blocks. is there going to be a NJMP gathering this year?

Thank you very much Mike. Like any 30 year old car that has been equipped for use on the track it doesn't perfectly match the description of any of the OEM models. In particular, the interior of mine doesn't seem to match the upgraded interiors I see in the original HPC photos. I had the original wheels reinstalled and I believe those are the 16" HPC KN Wagon Wheels you refer to. There's a photo below. So basically, it seems to have all the HPC specs except the steering wheel and perhaps the interior specs as you pointed out. The engine is the more interesting question. The seller says it's a 218 hp engine from Swindon. I haven't seen all the paperwork but there is correspondence from years ago when they were trying to get the carbs set up for life at 5,000 feet and that refers to the Swindon modifications. That causes me to think the engine has some sort of Swindon modifications. But there's the red spark plug cover which indicates it's a 175hp Vauxhall engine. Interestingly, Rees's book describes the EVO engines as having a blue (218), green (225) or black (235) spark plug cover but the photo of the engine in that chapter has a red spark plug cover. Even more interesting is the fact that of 20 Evo engines produced 25+ years ago, not one but two have purportedly been sold on BaT in the last month and both have the same red spark plug covers rather than the correct blue ones. So I'm not yet convinced one way or the other on that question. I'm guessing that when I see all the paperwork it will be clear. It seems that claiming a Vauxhall is a Swindon engine might be an easy deception but I don't think that applies in my case for other reasons I won't go into here. Regardless, I know I have a Caterham with a dry sump Vauxhall with Bilstein shocks. Beyond that it's just a question of what flavor of wonderful I actually have. We shall see. Thanks again for your input. Sander

First, let me say that I understand there is debate as to whether a car is an HPC if it doesn't have H in the VIN. Not really interested in whether a particular car is or isn't something based on a letter in the VIN. I do have a couple of HPC questions though that are tangentially related to the VIN. And to be clear, I don't really care if I have a "true" HPC or not. If I have a Clubman with some of the HPC components that's perfectly fine with me. Just trying to learn a bit about all the nuances. @croc is kind enough to decode the VIN of Caterhams listed on BaT. Here's the decoding of the last one: SDKLDKCVXP0265300 SDK = Caterham as the manufacturer L = Left hand drive D = De Dion chassis K = Kit built C = Chassis Type = Clubman VX = Vauxhall on carbs P = 1993 Chassis number = 0265300 I bought the one before that and the VIN is identical but the last three numbers are 500 rather than 300. Both cars have a Vauxhall engine under the bonnet with a red spark plug cover and a pair of Weber 45 DCOE carbs. Both are claimed to be HPCs with an uprated 218hp Vauxhall engine. The one above has the HPC badges and mine has Lotus badges. Every article I have read about HPCs indicate they have the Vauxhall engine which distinguishes them from a non-HPC of that era. Is a car originally equipped with a Vauxhall necessarily an HPC? Are there cars other than HPCs that were supplied with the Vauxhall engine? The Chassis Type in the VIN decode above is C for Clubman rather than H for HPC. Is there some difference in the chassis of a Clubman versus an HPC? If so, what are the differences? Finally, it sounds like an originally supplied Vauxhall with Webers can be stock and produce 175hp or be upgraded to 218, 235 or 250. I've seen some people write that the level of tune is indicated by the color of the L-shaped spark plug cover but that seems very unreliable as those are cheap, easily swapped out and seem to be changed with impunity. And most seem to be red or obviously not original. So, ignoring the spark plug cover which doesn't seem very reliable, how does one determine the original state of tune of a Vauxhall engine? I think the first clue is the size of the carbs as I've heard it said that the 175hp stock engines have 40 Webers and the upgraded engines having 45s. However, one can change the carbs after the fact also. I'm guessing that to really know what the engine is it's necessary to either find original documentation, ask Caterham or take the valve cover off and see what's marked on the cams. Thanks for any input. I'd apologize for delving into such minutiae but that's what these forums are for aren't they?

I took a pass on a Seven about a month ago and regretted it and said well I'll keep an eye out and when the right one comes along I'll buy it. I suggest you continue watching the used car auctions. Last week, I bought the silver and red Caterham that preceded the one you bid on at BaT. It had a big collection of spare parts that included the exact same fenders and wheels you like. I could mount the fenders and wheels that came in the parts bin with my car, pay $4k for a paint job and have virtually the same car for less than $34k by September. That's not to say the car I purchased is superior in every respect. My car is titled in Utah as a 93 Caterham. The California, 67 Lotus title is a good thing to have if you live in California. My car has a 218 hp Vauxhall engine with performs better than the Zetec but is about 30 pounds heavier and is difficult to find parts for. Mine is Red and Silver rather than Green and Yellow. Otherwise I got essentially the same car for 40% less money. The concerning thing about the green and yellow car was the lack of provenance. The listing didn't explicitly say it was a Caterham and it didn't say the production year. There were no records prior to 2015. People following the auction concluded there wasn't even a Caterham maker's plate and the seller didn't refute that conclusion. If a buyer is paying the average price, those things can be overlooked but the buyer paid 60% over average price for comparable cars. The car I bought came from the original owner and has all records since the start of the build. That car sold for 60% more than comparable cars because of the photographs. Objectively, it's not 10% better than other cars sold in the last year but it sold for 60% more because the seller hired a professional photographer. You know the fenders you like and the wheels you like. Decide what engine and title you need and keep an eye out for those things at auction. It will come up within the next few months. Pay $29k for the car and set aside $5k to set it up the way you like. You'll be in a better car for $10k less money by November. And hit me up if you want to buy some clamshells or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fenders as I call them.

Thank you all for the tips. Very much appreciated. It sounds like I have a lot of transferable skills from motorcycle trips that will serve me well. Can't wait to fly out and see the new car.

So you are looking for the silver insert with the Super 7 logo which you are then going to pop into the larger center piece which is black in the first photo and red in the others? Or are you searching for both the silver inner piece and the black or red outer piece? If it was me, I'd have someone do a CAD drawing of a single piece to replace both and have it 3d printed or CNC machined and then have it painted as you like.

Thank you all for the input. One thing I’m still wondering is whether the top just folds back like a standard convertible top? Also where can I get the half top? I’d been thinking that was a must have.

I just purchased a 1993 Caterham HPC, long chassis, non-SV with the Swindon Vauxhall on Bring a Trailer. The car is equipped with dual 45 Webers which I understand are well-tuned currently. The car is at 5,000 feet elevation in Utah and I'm in Atlanta at 1,000 feet. I was planning a round the country trip on a motorcycle this year to be taken in stages. I don't really want to ride cross country but I want to ride around out west. The motorcycle was the plan but covid messed that up and now I have a Caterham out west. So the Caterham it is. I'm definitely going to see the sights in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Whether I ship it back or drive it back afterwards is an open question. I expect I'll drive it at least 2,000 miles and perhaps 4,000 before October. I have two questions about an extended trip in the Caterham. First, how much difficulty will the Webers create as I move from 5,000 feet to 9,000 feet plus, to sea level. I know they won't like it but will I be able to soldier on? I have zero skills in the carb tuning area and I'm wondering if that's a problem. Once I get the car home, I'll have a Weber expert/sorcerer get it set up for this environment. Second, I know I need the top and the doors during a multi-week trip but I plan on using them sparingly. Does the top fold back into the boot like most convertibles if I don't want to use it? Can I fold and stow the doors somewhere in a long-body HPC when I want to take those off? Thanks in advance for any input. Sander

Are spectators allowed? I know some tracks are allowing events but not spectators.