wdb

LOL -- if that's a 1958 Lotus 7 replica, I'm the king of England!

For reference, here is a picture of the current seats.

My Caterham has nifty looking aluminum "race" seats that probably weigh nothing. They also have zero thigh support due to the bottom section stopping just after one's butt; the result is leg discomfort on even the shortest drive. I'm considering biting off a chunk of wallet and sending it over to Caterham for a pair of their cloth seats, but I'd like to try them on for size before committing. So I'm reaching out to see if there is a forum member somewhere within reasonable distance of Kutztown PA, who has these seats or their equivalent. I am perfectly willing to do all the driving to meet up, and will toss in a meal and some friendly chat to sweeten the deal. Finally, if anyone is looking to part with seats please feel free to reach out! Thanks in advance. Here is what Caterham is offering on their site, and what I'm considering: https://caterhamparts.co.uk/seats/4561-seat-cloth-s3-including-runners.html

It's probably indication of some sort of affliction but I always enjoyed tuning SU carbs back when I lived by the wrench. A high idle that does not change with idle screw adjustments could be several things. Yes it could be the piston hanging but that would cause a bunch of other issues. Also it could be the throttle plate not being allowed to close fully due to mechanical misalignment or perhaps debris. It could also be air leaking past worn out linkage shafts and bushings. Finally you didn't mention the choke cable adjustement -- you want to ensure that the cable is not holding the choke open. A wee bit of free play in both cables is what you want.

Oh I am sure it is fun to drive! I had a 2008 Honda Fit that I commuted in for 100K miles. That car was a full-on hoot to toss around. I put a skid pan under the engine bay to get rid of its tendency to wander at the slightest hint of of sidewinds, which worked quite well and added 5MPH to my favorite exit ramp velocity. I also found some Mugen rims from the 1990's that weighed just 9.5 lbs. apiece, which really made the car feel nimble. Lamentably it was destroyed in a violent hailstorm.

Ah, the Alfa 4C, which I someday hope to use to check "own an Alfa Romeo" off the list. Very nice! I was out and about in the Caterham a couple of days ago, giving my son his first ride (he lives 2200 miles away). He was commenting on how the car boils the act of driving down to the very essentials. Which got me to thinking about the newest car in our little fleet -- a 2015 Mercedes Benz S65 AMG Coupe -- which is basically the direct antithesis to the Caterham. If you've ever wondered what picture they should put in the dictionary next to "wretched excess", wonder no more. Mercedes already had an S63 AMG Coupe, with a 557 HP, 645 lb/ft twin turbo V8 and enough luxury to satisfy a sultan. But apparently enough customers cried out "where's the V12?" and so they made this. 4 more cylinders, just as many turbos, 621 HP, and a mind boggling 742 lb/ft of torque. (The AWD was left off, presumably because it didn't handle that torque.) That's diesel dually pickup truck territory. And if you look at the torque curve it jumps up instantly, and at 2200 RPMs it levels out to a perfectly flat line until it reaches 4500 RPMs. The effect is like nothing I've experienced before. In any normal driving situation all I have to do is *think* about wanting to hit a gap or get around another vehicle, and it has already happened. It's addictive. Corruption by torque. Naturally enough Mercedes also had to layer even more luxury features onto the V12 variant, resulting in a car that has every luxury option known to man -- plus another six or seven. Swarovski crystals in the headlights? But of course; will 45 per light do? We'll plop a few more in various places inside the car while we're at it. Massaging seats? Hopefully 6 different massage modes are enough. Mercedes dumped enough extra foo onto this car to charge an extra $100K over the already expensive S63. The car is ridiculous. There is no other word. It's enormous, longer and wider than our E-Class wagon, and yet the back seat is cramped. The brakes look big enough to stop a jumbo jet. The digital fuel gauge reads in percentage and the simple act of starting the car seemingly causes it to drop 5%, although the noises it exudes at startup almost make it worthwhile. Even the windshield washers are special, with the fluid being pumped out to the blade itself and exiting right next to it. Heaven forbid one should suffer a splash, I guess. Ridiculous. Let me be very clear: we don't ordinarily move in these sorts of circles. The most I've ever spent on a vehicle purchase is well under $50K. I buy used, and I try to find bargains. But we had a death in the family, and there was an estate, and when the division of assets came to pass, NOBODY wanted this car. Can't say that I blame them, honestly. It is a pit into which money vanishes. But I waved my hand anyway. How often does one get the chance to live with a 620 HP V12, after all. And so we have it, and we'll enjoy it for a short while, hopefully take it on a few trips because it's as comfortable as you would imagine. A very soothing place to spend miles. But then we'll send it along to its next adventure.

I’m not familiar with newer cars but on my 1995 the bolts are attached to the frame for the bottom fasteners. The “S” springs are on the nosecone. The top fasteners are the opposite, more or less.

The 996 is very similar in terms of performance (although quite different in personality) and it's going to have a fresh engine to go along with its fresh suspension. I plan to use the 911 regularly and, whereas the zed *can* do that sort of service, it is markedly less happy about it. Besides, I think my time was just up with the car. I was driving it less and less. The new owner is over the moon about getting it so I think it's a good match.

Aaannnnddddd it's gone. I got to chatting with a fellow on a BMW forum and next thing I know he's written me a check.

I'm extraordinarily late to this thread, apologies. I live near Kutztown and have a 1995 Caterham S3. No lowered floor.

I always thought the "raging sedans" series in England, Europe and Australia were just the bees knees. Especially compared to what passes for same in the US.

I bid on the original eBay offering, not high enough I guess. I saw it relisted but now I don't. May I assume it is sold?

As a driving experience I agree. Sadly both a saddled with the high front haunches mandated for the 12 pedestrians/decade any one of them will ever actually hit. I look at the front half of the S2000 and long for that time.

In no particular order, here is another member of the flock. 2007 BMW Z4 M Coupe in Interlagos Blue. I bought it on Bring A Trailer in 2017 from someone quite local, which was nice because I was able to see and drive the car prior to committing a bid. It has an interesting history, having been in a hailstorm and essentially reskinned. I have done a bunch of drives with it to places with outrageously fun roads such as Dragon this and Back Of that, plus countless roads that have not been named. It's a true BMW M car to my way of thinking; it tolerates being driven sedately but it is always prodding the driver to get cracking. It's powered by what many consider to be peak BMW 6-cylinder, the S54 with its 7K redline and rowdy mechanical noises. I've never been happy with the gearbox and spent some time and effort trying to improve the shifting. A very nicely designed short shift kit plus stiffer motor mounts have helped, but it still is not to be rushed. At least it now does honestly have 'rifle bolt' action. Handling is very good, it likes a bit of manhandling and the front will push if provoked. I also owned a Z4 3.0si coupe, which had the wonderful and oh-so svelte N52 motor which shaved ~200 pounds off the front axle compared to the M. That was a lot more nimble feeling and tossable. Interior is cave-like with all of the black surfaces; even the headliner is black. There is plenty of room however. The layout is very simple inside, very little in the way of distraction; I really like that about the car. The hatch makes it a capable weekender, longer if one packs light. Fuel mileage is pretty abysmal. Now that I've run out of space I've been thinking about selling this car. But then I look at it and think, maybe not.

Jealous! I looked and looked for one of those in the same spec. Never found "the one" and now the herd is at maximum. I too have no interest in the turbocharged motor and agree the car doesn't need it. The 1M gets all the press but the 128i is the true sweet spot. It's truly the descendant of the 2002.

Just doing one at a time. I hope. I do have a few more spaces as well, cough cough. Still nothing as exotic as some of you. It's quite possible your Trojan lift is the same hardware as my Challenger, especially considering that the "Challenger" decals were in a bag along with the rest of the assembly hardware. (I never put them on.)

Would that my workshop looked so tidy.

Thanks for all the comments, and for noting the connection to mom and dad. The kombi sports PA license plate "L8R G8R", which dad got in 1985 for his then-new Mustang GT and transferred to every subsequent vehicle. I wrangled with the commonwealth to have it transferred into my care after dad passed. Speaking of garages, I do in fact have a 4-place garage within the 3 bays. The leftmost bay has a vaulted ceiling and and a lift. I also have the good fortune of being able to rent space from my neighbor -- although my wife might argue that it is indeed good fortune! Even so I'm essentially out of space at the moment. The lift is a Challenger 9K lb. 4-post unit. I added two trolley jacks to give it more utility. I thought long and hard about a 2-post but it is primarily for storage and only secondarily a service lift, so I decided to live with the service side compromises. My only real complaint is some space limitations when working in wheel well vicinity, and I've been able to find ways around that thus far.

Wow, this is some heady company. I'll start by saying that nothing I have ever owned comes anywhere close to most of this collection. Here's my 'daily' as it were, a 2013 E350 4Matic kombi. (There is another fleet member that probably sees more miles.) I picked it up in June 2020, in the throes of the pandemic. It replaced a GS350 Lexus. I was toting my nonagenarian mother and dad around (at least I was until COVID locked them down), mom was using a walker, and dad was getting close. The Lexus' trunk just wouldn't do anymore. I wanted a wagon for ease of ingress/egress for those two 90-somethings, and heaving up into SUVs wasn't my idea of how to do that. Plus it had to be roomy and safe and whatnot. Plus to be honest I've always liked longroofs. The irony of the story is that I never used the car to haul my mother and dad anywhere. Dad passed in October of 2020. All things considered he did pretty well to get that far, what with all the stents in his chest and surviving cancer and the byzantine cocktail of meds he took. Mom went the following year; they had been married for 71 years, so I was not surprised that she did not relish life without her man. Back to the car. It's a CarMax find, had 37K miles on it when I picked it up. Came off lease from the first owner. Lived on Long Island and appears to have been used as a kid hauler. It has evidence of less than tidy parking maneuvers on every corner, which is perhaps why MB didn't turn into a CPO. Or maybe it was because it was replaced with a Tesla Model X and they just put everything on the auction block? Not sure. MB Tex interior which I specifically wanted, after all it is a station wagon first and foremost. "AMG" styling package, which is a bit humorous but I do think it is a smart looking unit. It's also a stupidly useful piece of kit; rear facing third row seating, combination car cover / cargo space divider, and all sorts of clever useful little thingies wherever one looks. I am constantly amazed by just how much it will swallow, and how large. It's no sports car but it is competent, quite comfortable, more than fast enough, and will return 30+ MPG on the highway without even trying. Combined with the 22 gallon fuel capacity that makes for quite a long time between fillups. I toy with the idea of parting with it and getting something smaller and more fun, but then I get in and turn on the massage function (did I mention that it has a 'dynamic' driver's seat?) and I think, nah, I'll keep it a while longer.

The windshield? Problematic? Oh I get it. That other windshield.

Jimi and se7ens. Good fit.

This is timely. I received 3 of these wheels with my Caterham and was hoping to find out more about them, possibly even procure a fourth. They're steel, labeled "Weller Racing". 13" x 5-1/2".

Thanks all!

I'd like to find out if there are stateside parts sources for Caterham-specific items such as side doors, mirrors, windscreens, and other body parts. I'll also be looking for parts to reseal my Cortina 4-speed gearbox and big valve twincam engine. So far all I've found is overseas, with the attendant high shipping costs and duty fees.

COVID so they wrote it off? Must be nice I guess but then there are a surprising number of people these days to whom that amount is worth a shrug of the shoulders. My bet is the real story has a lot to do with that weedy picture. Someone in the family said, "No mas!"