BoxheadTim Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) Been lurking for a couple of years here and finally decided to post as I may be getting serious about buying a 7. I used to live in the UK and apparently the rain there led to the sort of brain rot that makes me desire a Caterham and consider a reasonable mode of transportation during the summer . Anyway, I'm thinking about making an offer on a Caterham (the white one with the red stripe for sale at Kampena that's been cluttering up the "Sevens for sale somewhere else on the Internet" thread for a long time). Before I pull any sort of trigger, I've been trying to read up on potential issues from track use and have a few questions: The car has a Zetec engine, from what I read it's not necessary to add a baffled sump or dry sump system for occasional track use. Most likely the car would see about 7-10 Auto-X events and 5-7 track events, is the consensus to just run the engine as is? With the climate out here and the heat especially at the courses I'm likely to run at (Sonoma, Laguna Seca, Thunderhill), is it sensible to add an oil cooler? Any recommendation for performance brake components? The 7 stopped OK when I test drove it (plus I haven't drive a car without power brakes for about six years since I sold my S1 Elise in the UK...) but I wasn't exactly impressed. The car has stood for a long time so I'm guessing that didn't help, but I would not track it as is. Any help or comments would be appreciated. PS: It's this car: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/5095702796.html Edited July 16, 2015 by BoxheadTim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Do a search for "ubiquitous" for a recent similar thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxheadTim Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Do a search for "ubiquitous" for a recent similar thread. Kitcat, do you mean this thread? I actually had a couple of specific questions in my original post that started this thread. This wasn't a general "which Seven should I buy" thread, but for some reason the original post seems to have disappeared. It appears that someone beat me to the post on this specific car anyway, so the questions may be moot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxheadTim Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Budget? Ideally, mid- to high twenties. I'm really only interested in a Caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Whoops, double post, see below. Edited July 17, 2015 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Crossflow powered Catehams seem to run from low 20's to mid 20's. Much depends on spec and condition. Zetec and Duratec powered Caterhams seem to go for high 20's to mid 50's. Again spec and condition are factors. Keep an eye on the for-sale section here. There are a couple for sale at Sevens and Elans outside Boston. Mite be some on e-bay, haven't checked. Also see the thread here that is updated semi-regularly by Croc listing all sorts of se7en variants for sale. Its called Ebay and Craigs list ads-Lots of Sevens for sale. We have a member named Tony Vaccaro who, for $500, will put you together with the Caterham of your dreams, assuming he can find it for you. He seems to know the folks interested in selling theirs. Happy hunting. Edited July 17, 2015 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxheadTim Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 I've actually got a line on a couple of Caterhams (pity that it looks like my original post in this thread is still stuck in moderation as it was mentioned in there) out here. One of them being a Crossflow with a rebuilt engine and another a Zetec that seems nice and low mileage. The Zetec was the one I had some questions about, but I just got an email from the seller that someone else put an offer in for it that I'm not willing to beat as the car is already at the top end of my budget. My wife is not enthused about the Crossflow one (it's an 84 RHD with a fair amount of miles on it) so it looks like that might be off the table. I'm occasionally checking the ebay/Craigslist thread, been lurking for a little while on the for sale forums as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokko Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 General (UK) advice is to go for condition over mileage. Engines can be repaired / replaced in the US, but you do not have the option of sending the chassis back to Bruce @Arch for e refurb and new skin (this is a common action in the UK). Not sure how fresh the Sevens & Elans website is. I enquired about one of the cars near the top of the list over a year ago and was told it was sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnr Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 If you are willing to go non-Caterham I'll be listing my WCM Ultralite (S2000 engine) in a couple of weeks. Fully sorted out for track/auto-X and with 240 hp is pretty damn fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 As far as the WCM car goes, I drove one at the gathering at NJMP 2 weeks ago and it made my Zetec Caterham feel incredibly slow. Easily the fastest car I have ever driven. Shifting was quicker, more width in the cockpit, forward visibility over the hood was worse (the bodywork rises to form a bit of a windscreen). It stopped great and turned great too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGTorque Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 kitkat, ill toss in a booster seat and let you take it out again to be fair, i am taller and my seat was positioned for me. i have a TON of visibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hangten Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Ideally, mid- to high twenties. I'm really only interested in a Caterham. I have a freshly restored Caterham in the S.F. Area, give me a call. Mark (808)638-8920 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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