hahuang65

@williamwashere I think that the form guarantees you get a custom vehicle plate like @240mentions...but also, please get a cool vanity plate!

ASVEs (Custom Vehicles) do not require the annual smog check.

Exactly what @empti said for all points. I had to get a new tach although you can check your dipswitches. Rich had sent me a document but I can't seem to find it. If he's your dealer ask him about it. Definitely get the fuel gauge correction module. I also had to get a new wiper switch though I haven't installed it yet because I switched to the aeroscreen. Yeah run the engine until it gets hot,then the fan will start. In fact let it cycle a few times...the fan will cool the radiator enough to shut down,then it'll get hot enough to turn back on.

@IamScotticus both. It wasn't bolted down fully and it was leaking. It's possible I caused the leaking when I attempted to bleed the clutch because it wasn't dripping when I filled the slave.

Yeah suspension is relatively easy, especially if its just dampers. If you gotta swap out the wishbones and everything else, I can see that being a pain. My optioning logic was 1) will I regret if I don't do it more or if I do it more? 2) what will be more than 5 hours of work to upgrade in the future?

She's gonna be a beaut. If you're mechanically inclined, it'll go quite smooth for you. Just don't make my mistake and not double check the throwout bearing for the clutch before mating it to the engine. Long story short, I finished the car, fired it up and then had to pull the entire drivetrain to replace the throwout bearing. Added an extra month (diagnosing, sourcing parts, re-installing) to the build time before I could drive it. Basically double check EVERYTHING. I see you opted for the 13" wheels... EVERYONE says they're superior to the 15s. I went 15s cuz of the look. Very curious. You're not gonna regret the nose and the dash. I'm VERY glad I opted for those. Did you go S3 or SV?

@williamwashere oh didn't realize you'd ordered one! May is coming up right quick.... but more importantly what did you spec!!! I'm in Spring off 99 and 45, so I'm close enough that I'd be happy to help if needed during the build. Just give me a shout ahead of time as scheduling with kids can be difficult. Obviously, will try to help remotely as possible if requested as well. We'll have to get the TX (at least Houston) fellas together for a drive perhaps.

@williamwashere I think @IamScotticus knows a place in Houston that might be able to help with regard to being a dealership of sorts? He's told me once, but I've forgotten the name. Are you in Pinehurst, Montgomery County? For what it's worth, I used to live in CA, so I worked with Rich Kamp over at Kampena Motors. He had it shipped to me in Texas (I moved before my order arrived) and I had absolutely no issue with building in Texas with my dealer support remote. If you're considering a dealer build, I know that @240 is in Texas but had Rocky Mountain build for him. I'm sure he'd be happy to share some experience too.

Tacking onto this comment, this is also a dealer in Florida possibly worth reaching out to https://www.christopherjohnltd.com/caterham

Anyone here know who this is?

@KnifeySpoony on mine, it was actually opt-in. But I figured for the yearly $70, it was fine.

I've done this for the very reason you mentioned. When I finished building my car, I did State Farm because it was very easy to get insured and I had existing policies with them. However, I switched to Hagerty within 2 months because of Agreed Value. State Farm does not offer them for our cars. My Hagerty policy is $50 less per year than State Farm (pretty negligible if you ask me) for the same coverage + Agreed Value.

@IamScotticus so far, not too much attention. Hardly approached or spoken to, but lots of eyes....which I'm fine with.

@Croc I thoroughly enjoyed your Spa-Francorchamps write-up. Thank you for that. I will be there....one day... hopefully sooner rather than later, but I will be there.... Mark... my... words...

For what it's worth, Everyday Driver offers a similar yearly trip: https://www.everydaydriver.com/pilgrimage

I've got the CaterLEDs that work a treat. They're mega bright as well and plugged right into the taillight connector and the LED tailights now piggyback off that connector. It's really well thought out. Would be cool to be able to change the colors of the individual lights. I should ask them what they used to program the lights. Why do you need to sync time?

Looks fantastic! Are those CaterLEDS or something different? I'd love to do that with mine if they are, my wife would love it.

A visit to the grocery store. A little girl and her mom ran up and asked to take a picture next to the car!

I haven't. I'm just doing a magnetic home clipped to the top of the dash for now. The solution I was contemplating was a few RAM mounts connected under the dash with the X style holder in front of the shifter in landscape... But that set up would have been close to $200 and I wasn't willing to spend that just to try it. It would be ideal if it works cuz it shields my phone from the sun. My phone over heats quite a bit. I'll let you know if I end up trying it. I would love to just get a Beeline but I'm not sure how I'll want to mount it. I don't have easy access to a 3D printer.

@IamScotticus yeah turfed up a few more TX owners. We should do some get together after everyone gets their cars set up.

Oh this is true. My level of anxiety was high from like 2024 until yesterday.

@Gene_W I actually have not had an unpleasant interaction with the tax assessors here except for the one overzealous employee who decided that the DMV didn't do their job right in issuing the letter. The DMV is actually where I had the most trouble. I was tempted to also just go to a different DMV with my MSO instead of get the VIN inspection from the sherrif. But given that it has to be a regional service center for this particular matter, and the next nearest one is almost 2 hours away, I decided that it wasn't worth the trouble to possibly also get turned away there. I also had the 30 day permit, so I could drive the car anyways.

@240 I've titled. Wrote up a full guide here Lemme know if there are any other questions you need answered

Why are you worried? I'll be around to help answer questions if needed.

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