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Yes, overall I was. The ad was a bit generic and not as detailed as I would have written, but you have the opportunity to write anything in the comments. I thought paying the $250 for the professional photos was worth it. It took a little while to get organized and then to go live, but overall, I would use BaT again if I wanted to sell something interesting.

Thank you - I agree!

Bring a Trailer auction is live - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2005-caterham-7-superlight-r/. Hope the car stays in the family!

Exciting news, my car has been accepted for listing on BAT, so it's no longer for sale on this site. As soon as I have details of the auction, I will include them here! James

Thanks for the offer re the rollbar - is it the FIA bar with diagonal support (not petty strut, just a diagonal on the loop)? I did drive the car on slicks which make a difference, but when I have instructed with NASA, most of the work is normally on minimizing weight transfer to enable higher corner entry speed, as the long straights are huge multipliers positively and negatively to corner speed!

Vovchandr, the cage is bolted in rather than welded, but it is not a trivial task to remove. When originally received, it required some 'persuasion' to fit to the mounting points, and the one time it has been removed to be powder coated again, took a lot of effort to re-fit. I also sold the FIA rollbar, so have nothing to put in its place. I realize the market is small for a Caterham, and even smaller for one finished with the cage, but for someone who wants this, I hope they 'must' have it. Ideally there's more than one of these people watching the auction!

Kitcat, thank you for the kind comments, I have never received more compliments than when driving this car, and I agree, I think the license plate create exactly the right impression to those who understand it! IIRC I would run a best of around 1:35 on the pro course, add ~2 seconds for the club course. It's my local circuit and I have a lot of laps there now, including racing there 3 times per season now. I agree on the price, Caterhams really don't depreciate very much, and the market for all cars, specialized ones even more so, seem to have risen a lot recently.

Yes that's right - Focus SVT in mine. Somewhat easier to get replacement parts in the US than my previous Vauxhall engined car!

Some more pics...

Hi everyone, I have reluctantly decided to sell my 2005 Caterham Superlight R. This is the 4th I have owned between the UK and the US, and since I started racing in 2019, I just haven't driven my car very much. It sounds cliche, but I seriously would like someone to enjoy driving this car with enthusiasm, just as 'Colin' would have expected! It has a Ford Zetec with reportedly approx 200hp according to the paperwork I received when I bought from the original owner in 2013. 6 speed Caterham gearbox, Tillett bucket seats, full Caterham roll cage, carbon arches, nosecone, dash and door sills. 2 sets of wheels, one with Toyo R888Rs, one with Avon slicks. Some spares, including a windscreen and full length (rear exit) exhaust section. The car has been well maintained, and recently had new crank and cam sensors, plugs, coil. Front wheel bearings were replaced along with new pads in the last couple of thousand miles. I have driven mainly on the road with it and it is completely docile and usable (once you climb in through the roof!), but also instruct with NASA Great Lakes and have taken students out in the car at Mid Ohio a few times. I have videos from various sessions on my youtube channel if anyone's interested. Car has not been on track since 2019. Mileage is 11,644. I plan to post the car on Bring a Trailer, should they accept it. I have been watching the sales, and in this crazy market, I would expect my car to bring $45k+. I know BAT has a 5% buyers premium which could be avoided if anyone is interested before I put the car online. Happy to chat on the phone, I adore these cars and have owned or driven them on and off for the last 30 years! Thanks, James (Columbus, Ohio)

Thanks for your help guys - I will try NAPA first. Question - what are your thoughts on extending this hose with appropriate clamps - up to 50psi pressure, my gut says no, but wanted to ask your thoughts.

Thank you John - these ones should be .jpeg

Hi guys, I am replacing my fuel hose that runs from the hard line in the engine compartment to the stock Zetec fuel rail. I was encouraged to buy the Duratec hose from caterham as the most likely to fit as the Zetec is not an official build engine, but warned the hose may be too short. Guess what? It is! So now I am back to square one looking for a solution. This is what the Duratec hose looks like - it just needs to be about 8" longer. Anyone have suggestions for the best thing to do here? Could i have one made, or could I extend? Any assistance gratefully received! Thanks, James 814AAB1F-6610-4A25-8C5A-E2F43B7348A7.heic

All, Thanks for all of the help with this. I am happy to report that when I removed the fuel pump from the tank and ran a separate power feed to it, it worked as normal. I re-installed and re-connected, and the car has been running perfectly ever since! Reluctantly, I think I will soon be putting it on BAT as my 'fun weekend' plans have moved to racing in the last couple of years and I use a different car for that. Someone else should enjoy my Caterham...

the saga continues... I received the new coil, installed it and the car would crank but not fire. I tried the old coil again and same result. I tested the plugs for spark and all were good. I bought new ones and installed anyway. Still would crank but not fire. I connected jump leads as battery was running out of juice - same result. I disconnected fuel hose at injector rail and cranked, no fuel! My fuel pump is in the tank I believe, on the lower right hand side as you stand behind the car. I am working on running a wire from battery into the first connector block on the cable from the fuel pump (it has a brown and blue wire). Brown to +ve, blue to -ve terminals? This will tell me if pump will run. There’s so many cicadas here in Ohio that i honestly can’t tell if the pump runs, I’m 95% sure it is not running. I have an inertia switch which is depressed, I could bypass that. Car also has the typical immobilizer chip that’s zip tied to ignition column, and no amount of wiggling makes a difference, and I believe it will let the car start and then will shut down. Next plan is to pump fuel out of tank and then remove the side panel to get the pump out. Does fuel tank need to be removed to do this? I have a full cage and I’d rather not remove the cage to get the tank out! Any thoughts gratefully welcomed! James

dallasdude - that's a good suggestion too, thank you. Still awaiting the replacement coil, which was just shipped to me yesterday. I'll update after that.

Excellent help everyone - thanks very much! John - keep enjoying the PNW!

Thanks John - I am not sure - I believe it is a stock Ford ECU, and I do have an OBD port, but not sure if that means data logging is feasible. I will research, unless you happen to know? BTW - I see you are in 'Seattle-ish' - I was just there with the wife, absolutely gorgeous. Rented an airbnb above Alki beach with the most amazing sunsets over the water.... must be why even a small place is 7 figures! Your 7 must be fun in those hills! James

Thanks guys - no recent changes to the fuel lines or under the hood, but not ruling that out! I've just ordered a new coil - I'll let you know how that goes...

Hi everyone, I am after some suggestions for what may be causing some very intermittent running issues on the SVT Zetec in my Caterham. When I first start the car after it has been unused for a few days, it starts 1st time, settles to a smooth idle and will cycle through the fan coming on and off when the car is up to temperature. Apart from different cams and lighter flywheel, engine is stock and has been used regularly without issue for several years. This was originally a Rocky Mountain built and supplied car that I purchased from the original owner several years ago. However, recently, if I drive to the gas station or a destination, and then turn the car off, when I restart the car it frequently either won't start, or will start and then sounds like it is running very poorly, won't rev cleanly, and frequently cuts out. Repeated attempts to restart are typically unsuccessful, but if I leave the car for some time - more than 30 minutes or so, the car will start again and run normally. I am not particularly mechanically minded, but have some enthusiastic helpers! Has anyone experienced anything similar, or has any suggestions for how to determine root cause, or in what order to start replacing things?! Thanks for your help, James

Kitcat, Have you already tried 10W40? That's what I use in my identical engine on track - no accusump and running a Raceline baffled wet sump. Rocky Mountain apparently recommended this to the previous owner of my car if the track oil pressure got too low on 5W30. James

Yeah, sorry about the photo’s - they were ok when I uploaded them . Glad you like the plate... tickled me too!

Wanted to share some pictures of my imperial frame Caterham with the new Caged cage on it - sorry they’re upside down for some reason! Have been doing more track days with NASA Great Lakes (can’t say enough good things about that group, by the way) recently and decided to upgrade my FIA bar to a full cage, just in case.... The whole process was a little bit of a leap of faith. Choosing the cage I wanted, figuring out who the manufacturer was, as Caterham in the UK was out of stock, then confirming through Arch that mine was imperial (I have the AM stamp on my car, and Arch doesn’t make Metric frames,apparently). Then waiting for my frame to be built, powder coated then couriered to me, complete with additional unexpected costs. Then I had the unwrapping at Christmas process to see if my car had the bosses welded / braized on the frame for the cage bolts to go through, including through the skin of the car! After removing way too many interior panel rivets, I found that I was in luck... everything was there ready for the cage. Now I’m knowledgeable enough to be dangerous, but for this, I wanted a pro. Luckily Craig Chima is a couple of hours from me and was willing to do the job with me. Lots of fitting, and trial fitting, then holes drilled, and fitting began. Not sure why the laser built cage from Caged didn’t fit, and the rear stays needed persuasion to fit, but I couldn’t have done this on my own, and Craig’s workshop has underfloor heating, so we even stayed warm in the snow! First track day of the year was this past weekend at NCM in Kentucky. Car was noticeably different with the cage, and provided smiles for multiple people who experienced the car up close... Many thanks again to Craig... top bloke! Hope you like it!

Funny that I'm looking for a battery to fit the exact same battery box!! Which model BMW motorcycle battery did you choose? Thanks!