Nocturnal005

Your experience was my initial experience with the DMV (they were ready to issue me plates on the spot, registered like a new car I bought off the lot), until I specifically requested to use SB100 exemption process. I actually had to prove to the DMV agent that the SB100 process existed in the first place by showing the agent the DMV website online re SB100. The whole point of the SB100 is it allows you to be smog exempt in the future based on a one time inspection...if you pass you are provided with an underhood sticker that shows the car is exempt from smog inspection. You just need to show that the car meets the requirements circa 1957, which only requires a closed PCV setup. I don't mean to scare you but it will be interesting to see if you will need to do a smog check in the future since I assume you did not receive a smog exemption sticker. I'm not sure when that time arises what smog standards the car will be held to, since it appears you are registered as model yr "0000". The car is definitely cleaner than an original lotus, since it has a cat, etc., but it also doesn't have things like EGR, charcoal canisters, etc that are required these days w modern cars. Will you report back on your experience when the time arises? I really hope that you've found an easier way to register these cars. The SB100 process was not fun to go through. https://asktheref.org/services/unusual-vehicles/

As of last week I've 100% completed the grueling SB100 California reg process. For reference I started registration in mid April and finished the last week of August. Most of that time was spent waiting for appointments: safety inspection shop, CHP Vin verification, BAR virtual and in-person appointments. The DMV caused me some time by giving inaccurate information regarding VIN verification (5+ hours at the DMV wasted). But now I have a crookedly applied sticker that says my car is smog exempt for life, and a license plate! If any of you are struggling through the same process I can offer some advice and moral support. I can say having gotten to the other side it was totally worth it. All in all my Caterham build adventure has taken me 6 months (a month to build, and 5 months to get the car legal for the road). Hopefully smooth sailing from here on out!

I got a quote this am, see below. Sharing in case this helps others. Was always curious how Hagerty or other car insurance compares so if you are willing to share that would be great. For reference I live in the bay area, CA.

thanks for all of the insurance tips! I asked state farm for a quote for one way. Let's see what they come up with. My thoughts on the one way. Car won't be left anywhere, chances of theft and damage hopefully low. If I end up hitting someone, i'll end up repairing the car myself anyway and it's my mistake that I should pay for. If someone hits me, their insurance will pay (unless uninsured). Likely any mishap would be on the track, which would not be covered anyway. So, wiling to take my chances to have a lower monthly recurring cost. Let's see what the savings diff would be. I added this finishing touch today, inspired by Caterham's 620R demonstrator.

Who are you guys using for insurance? Looking to get liability coverage only. Anyone have issues with state farm? This morning I was able to go to the BAR inspection and now have a crookedly placed, but official SB100 exemption sticker! One more trip to the DMV and this entire reg process should be DONE!

I finally corner weighted the car. With 1/2-3/4 tank of gas the car weighs in at 1206 lb, which is 548kg. Since the curb weight is supposed to be 560kg, I’m pretty happy with this!

Ok, I'm ready for a bit more power and a little less weight. I think I want to do a decat pipe, but am thoroughly confused by the parts website. My guess is this is the correct fitment, but they don't seem to have a polished version. Also, anyone have luck with custom mapping? The factory maps seem to be rich. I would like to know what gains I might expect; it's been a while since I've had an NA car. If the gains are ~5hp or so I'll not bother, but if double digits can be found I'm all in.

i agree w WDB. it's just squeeze out; you'll be fine.

Look for this. Located in a random box no where near the steering wheel or hub.

There's just zero clearance for the trans in some spots, particularly near the bellhousing. My bell housing is touching the insulation foam particularly on the left side (it was hard to remove the thin cardboard I used for tunnel protection at some points). No amount of pry bar, loosening bolts, etc seemed to help. Glad to report that there seem to be no ill effects after ~1000 miles. There seems to be no metal to metal contact in my case, but the padding definitely is compressed in spots.

I ran into the same issues (weeping adapter and mushy pedal). I solved the weeping by replacing the washer and trying again. The old washer certainly looked like it should have sealed properly given the crush observed when I removed it. The pedal did not become firm until i had a couple of drives and then a re-bleed. Now the pedal is super firm with not a lot of travel. I suspect there are hiding spots for air bubbles that you might not be able to purge w the car static. As long as it's drivable i'd take it for a couple of laps around the neighborhood and try rebleeding again.

I would be concerned with a cage in conjunction with the three point belts...

thanks, that’s useful. I’ll weigh the car myself mid June and will report back. Re the spring rates, I did look but I don’t think they are marked. Curious myself. Will let you know if I find out more or get them measured.

Anyone weigh their aeroscreen 420R yet? I'm wondering how close I'll end up to the 540kg stated weight. I'm definitely getting used to the car. I'm glad I went with the 420, I don't think I'd want less power. In fact, 30 more would be nice. Open to ideas! =) I am second guessing the choice of the 5 speed I chose vs the sequential, but I don't think there's a right answer here. The cup shocks seem like a pretty versatile upgrade. I think I'd recommend them if you are in the market for a 420r. The adjustment range is huge, prob too large to fully use all 10 clicks actually. On a setting of 6 front, 4 rear (out of 10) the car has a reasonable sporty ride on rougher roads. On settings of 9 or 10, the car feels like it has no suspension. Prob best on a super smooth track. Each click makes a discernible difference from the cockpit. I'd also recommend the scroth 6points over the standard harnesses. the lap belt buckles are slimmer and end up above the sides of the carbon buckets. It's easier to slide down into the seat since you aren't trying to slide down past the bulkier luke buckles which also happen to want to occupy the same space as the seat sides. Tthe scroth belts are way more supple and 2" vs 3" which makes a comfort difference. This car is absolutely the most fun I've had on 4 wheels, and I've been fortunate enough to try plenty of others. Perhaps I'm in the honeymoon phase but I can't recall having more fun than this. Can't wait to take her to the track!

It's definitely not slow, although it's tough to tell how quick it really is due to the onslaught of wind. It's a different character to the last few cars that were all turbo charged and had endless torque, but those motors didn't have the same responsiveness. Its also been a while since I had a stick shift so that's a treat!

Went on a shakedown yesterday, finally got the rev upshift light to turn on, sounds great!

Are Caterhams competitive in D-Mod? What's required to be competitive besides fat hoosiers?

I measured it. In the farthest back location the front of the seat (carbon bucket) is just behind the cross beam on the floor. From that position it is able to slide 3" total towards the front. I also noticed I cant' really get the seat further back than it is because the headrest of the seat is already getting close to the trackday roll bar. Hope that helps

Mine also moves back and forth more than 2". I can measure it later. Initially it didn't, more like one or two clicks max. What I found was that one of the screws attaching to the rails (don't recall if it was the rail to seat or rail to chassis) was too long and interfering with the rail movement. Once I fixed that i got a larger range, however i can't get the seat further back than the fixed position of the passenger side. I can get it much closer to the wheel, but that doesn't help me. When it's all the way back it's about perfect (i'm 5'10"). However I'd like to explore one click back to see if it would even be better. A project for later.

Yes, 888R and 18psi cold as a start point. Are you running the stock de-dion ears in the back?

absolutely! Just ordered a new “ABP” lid. Once the car gets some more wringing out on the back roads she’s headed to Laguna. speaking of which I am looking for track alignment recommendations. The research I’ve seen so far is 135mm front ride height, 15mm rake, red front bar, 2.8-3 front camber, max caster, and about a 1.0-1.5 front toe out. currently I am at about -1.8 front camber, zero toe, 135 front height, 15mm rake, and on the orange front bar. Shocks are set at “7” all around (cup 420 shocks). handles ok but tends to push a bit w more steering input (only backroads driving)

Very close to being completely done. At this point I've stopped counting hours. The last big job on the list was to cut the bonnet for the RBTB...I've been putting this off for a while, and driving the car without the air filter. Figured I shouldn't do that too much longer and finally got the guts to go for it. Used a combination of dremel, tin snips, and a file, Think it turned out ok! Also took off the central mirror (blocked vision) and installed the two side mirrors instead. Much better for being able to see around RH corners.

Re the tach, I got these instructions from Richard over at Kampena (where I purchased the kit). Hope someone finds this helpful. Basically, depending on what the tach is set to, just do the opposite ;). Mine was set to 1,2,8 = 0n. I switched it to 8 = On, all others off and it seems to have worked. "Each tacho can be calibrated/programmed manually by setting a combination of eight switches located underneath the grommet on the rear of the gauge. When you remove this grommet and look inside, I expect that you will find that switches 1,2 and 8 are all flicked upwards. If this is the case then could you please switch down both 1 and 2, leaving only switch 8 flicked upwards. Alternatively, if you find only switch 8 flicked upwards, then you will need to flick up switches 1 and 2. "

The flash must be 100% the issue. Thanks for chiming in. For the tach, it reads, but extremely low. (200 rpm when it should be 1100) Worked prior to the flash!