jturrell

I don't know anyone with this one, but I expect it to be somewhat similar to the Quaife sequential in my old Radical.

It's not this one: but rather this one: http://www.quaife.co.uk/catalogue/products/qbe60g-0 Here's what it's going to go into: (when it arrives in a few months) Caterham R400 (narrow chassis - Caterham blue w/ white stripe and noseband) Lowered Floors Dry Sump Titan Plate-type LSD Avon ZZR's w/ 13" Wheels Track-day roll bar Battery Master Switch R500-style switchgear (Standard on UK R400's now, but an option for us in the States.) R500 Tunnel Cover (has a slot for the sequential transmission instead of a "boot") Aero Filler Battery Master Switch Stack Dash (not the race one w/ data logging - just the regular display) Quick Ratio Steering Rack I'll build most of the car myself, but will ask Jeff Sloan at British Auto (where I have purchased the kit) to build the engine. Engine internals are a bit out of my mechanical comfort zone. Can't wait to get started. The next three months are going to be agonizingly slow.

It was a bit pricey, but not quite that bad - even with all of the ancillaries and shipping. I made a few frugal decisions in other areas that allowed me to fit it into my budget. For example - I have no weather gear or windshield. I'll be building the car myself. I'll probably purchase a low mileage duratec from a salvage yard, rather than going the $3800 dealer route. (There are 2010 duratecs out there with less than 500 miles on them for under a grand. I suppose it's a risk, but I can make two or three big mistakes and still come out ahead.) In the end, the sequential was more important than a lot of other options for me.

Yup. It's the Quaife 60G. I went with the Helical version. My understanding is that the straight-cut gears may be stronger and provide better power transfer, but are really noisy. I'm not sure the extra strength or performance would mean much to me - I'm not a competitive racer or anything. The helical gears seemed like a good compromise.

It'll be several months before the car shows up (and probably a couple more months to build it), but until then I can torture myself by staring at this . . . it arrived a lot quicker than I would have expected. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/jcturrell/Quaife_Sequential_Small.jpg

I have to admit, I enjoyed watching it. But it's not my kind of track day. Not only are the cars diverse in their performance capabilities, but what really made me nervious about it was the diversity in their weights. You have a super-light vehicle going wheel to wheel with heavy four-door sedans. Guess who loses when these two cars get mixed up? I guess everyone has different risk tolerances. If I were that aggressive (and I'm not), I'd have a full cage, HANS device, and a heck of a lot of life insurance. While it's not my type of track day, I applaud this guy for posting his video. I'm sure it'll draw a lot of criticism. It takes guts to put yourself "out there" like that. I hope he lives to post many more.

YouTube - Caterham R500 Duratec @ damp Bedford trackday 23/10/10

Bummer . . . I thought I might be getting a completely unexpected upgrade! They do look sexy.

Very cool. Are the Nitrons standard? I also noticed that you went with a flat-bottom steering wheel. I've always wondered when you buy one of these Momo's, do they come pre-drilled, or do you drill them?

More pics please!!!!! I recently ordered an R400, so I'll be living vicariously through you for the next 4-5 months. (hopefully not longer than that)

I'm looking at similar trailers. Something small (6x12 or so) & relatively inexpensive I can fit into my garage. A lot of the trailer dealers advertise on Craigslist. I'm finding dual axle trailers with brakes in the $1200 - $1600 range. Be careful as the trailers get much cheaper. Even new trailers will come with used tires when you go really inexpensive. A couple of places I'm looking are: wsstrailers.com trailersplus.com Both seem to have specials on Craigslist that are cheaper than the offerings on their websites. I've had a large enclosed trailer in the past. While it was nice, even my suburban struggled to tow it at highway speeds. A v-nose might have helped, but mine was not very aerodynamic. Paying for storage, getting it in and out of storage, etc was a pain. It all depends on your situation.

Here's a link to the original EVO article the quote came from: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/37431/caterham_r400.html I'm looking forward to hearing more about the turbo. Was the stock MBE ECU retained?

I believe it's a narrow chassis. Looks like the first USA R400. It was later for sale at Aston Martin Orlando: http://aston-martin-orlando.ebizautos.com/detail-2008-caterham-r400-superlight-used-4011672.html

Lots of good options on the Automotix site. Thanks! One tip when searching for these motors on Ebay . . . search for Ford "Transit Connect". It's a little cargo truck that uses the exact same motor (2.0l Duratec) as the Focus. More engines seems to come up when searching for that vs. just Focus. Thanks again for the info.

Thanks! I remember reading a post about the Kansas Racing Products deal somewhere (it might have been a post from you?). I'll follow up with them just in case they still have a deal going. You never know. When I specified "the States", I should have said "North America" - sorry about that. The reason is that the engines in Europe are "HE" Duratecs, with slightly higher compression. I'm still not sure if that difference matters. Anyone else have a good source? Thanks!

For those who have built sevens (in the States) with a 2.0L duratec, where did you source your engine? Caterham have recommended a "Remanufactured Service Engine" sourced from a Ford dealer (part # 7S4Z*6006*AARM), which runs around $3900 with the core charge. They used to recommend a "Field Dress" option which had this part number: 8S4Z6007B. I'm seeing engines on Ebay with 2000-4000 miles for around $1000. Where did you source your engine, and why? Thanks!

That Cosworth motor is awesome. What do you do about the ECU when you buy a Cosworth engine? Do they provide you with the correct "tune" for a seven, or do you have to have it tuned yourself? Did they provide the dry-sump tank, or is there some sort of "kit" they provide with all of the seven ancilliaries? Awesome car.

Saw this on Pistonheads. Almost loses it at around 2m 13sec when he catches air.

George - just out of curiosity, what is the lead time on purchasing a new Caterham these days? Ordering a new Caterham has been a long-term goal for me for a while (okay - a long while . . . ), and I'm curious how long it takes from order to delivery. Can't wait to hear about your build. - Jake

I can't imagine there are many CSR's in the states, which may help with your sale. This is the last one I saw for sale and it wasn't available for that long: http://www.sevenselans.com/cars_for_sale/2006_caterham_csr/index.htm There's an R400 for sale at Orlando Aston Martin. It's not the same as a CSR, but might help you with pricing. It was originally for sale at Caterham USA (back before May?) and has been for sale since at around $65k. http://www.astonmartinorlando.com/preowned-inventory.html Caterham USA has an 06 Roadsport for sale at $47k, but it's a Zetec, so it's probably not as good of a price comparison. http://www.uscaterham.com/showroom/available.html Caterhams really seem to hold their value. Good for sellers . . . . bad for folks like me. : )

Looks like Caterham USA's R400 is now for sale at Aston Martin of Orlando. http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/search/DRauSearchDetails.aspx?itemid=619435 http://www.astonmartinorlando.com/our-inventory/our-inventory.html

Looks like Caterham USA sold their R400 demonstrator. Anyone know who bought it?

Here's my dream spec: - R400 kit (narrow body) - Lowered floors (I have a long torso.) - Push button start - Trackday rollbar - Battery master switch - Caterham blue paint - White bonnet stripe - White noseband - 13" wheels (6" fronts, 8" rears) I'm not planning on getting a full windshield, wipers, heater or weather gear. This will primarily be a track toy, although it will get registered and driven on the road on occasion. I'm debating the dry sump and heater. I'll build the car myself. Hopefully the IRS will be nice to me this April. Pending this and a reasonable exchange rate discount, I hope to take the plunge. If the IRS is NOT nice and the exchange rate discount is insignificant, I'll start thinking about a Birkin or a Westfield. The Caterham is my first choice, but the price premium is not trivial.

Well, if $60k won't cover the car you'd like to order, you could always buy the Sliver R400 on the Caterham USA site. The asking price I was quoted was a bit south of $60k. It's not an SV, but it's built and ready to go. But I'll bet you can get exactly what you want for that price, given the exchange rate and your willingness to paint, etc.

Just out of curiousity, how are you getting a loan for a Caterham? (unless you're taking out a home equity loan) I'd have one by now if I could finance even a fraction of the cost. As it is, I have just a bit more to save. One other point of clarification, customs duties are now included in the prices on the Caterham USA site. Here's the line from the site: "Prices include all shipping, customs and fees for delivery from Caterham factory to Caterham USA in Denver, CO. Price does not include domestic delivery charges."