WCM Ultralite S2k - New First-time 7 Owner

[reid.duff]

Evening! 
 

I’ve been looking for a 7 of some sort for a few months, to go alongside my 05 Honda S2000 I’ve owned for 11 years. The Caterham 420R is sort of my ideal performance. At 6’2 & 200lb I have been looking for an S3 with lowered floors or something similar more accommodating my frame. I’ve not yet gotten to sit in a 7 and am not in a point in life where building a kit makes sense.
 

I’ve considered the WCM ultralite as I’m fairly well versed on the motor/transmission combo and followed Rahul Nair through his blog while he owned a similar yellow WCM. I stumbled across this car a couple hours from where I live and had a good initial conversation with the owner who bought it as part of an estate sale. The car is a bit of a head scratcher, with a poor idle that shouldn’t be too hard to sort. It’s missing a muffler and the NOS bottle is a big red flag (which I’d remove immediately). The title states rebuilt which is how the owner claims the local dmv insisted a kit car be registered. The price seems fair as the rest of the car seems to be in good shape. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/602082594249779/

 

I’ve requested to be able to run a compression test as they’re a good baseline for f20c engine health. The car is drivable, but I’d be traileringit home. Anyone have a good what to look for list, either for 7s in general or specific for the WCM?

 

Thanks,

Reid

Edited December 17, 2021 by reid.duff
I bought it!

[mrmustang]

Do not jump in with both feet so quickly, find someone who knows what they are looking at, be it this car, or any others you may run across. You could either be getting a great deal (not likely o0n the web these days), or a real money pit. I tell people all the time, stop, look, listen. You came here looking for guidance, this is your first of what may turn out to be many.

 

 

Bill S.

[reid.duff]

For sure! Sorry that I may have made it seem like I was leaping. I fully intend to do my due diligence and was initiating this post as part of that. I have been watching the recent BAT auctions including a recent WCM and gathered there was a good amount of information that was perhaps gathered on this site. 
 

That said I grew up a fan of Caterhams and Westfields, became a mechanical engineer, got the S2000, took driving schools and track days, and have been reading and learning about these cars for years. Appreciate any and all feedback, thanks!

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by reid.duff

[Croc]

 

The ad has the usual classic red flags that make one pause - as you did by posting here first.  

 

@rnr @powderbrake Jerry/Rahul - as experienced WCM Ultralite ex-owners, any input on what things to look for when buying one?

 

 

[rnr]

Main thing for me would be the engine as new blocks are NLA and junkyard ones are pretty pricey. I'd also verify that the tuning system is something you can actually use/understand.

Mechanically the WCM is pretty simple to work on and at that price I wouldnt worry about things like the brake bias and diff bracing as they are easy enough to add on later. When looking at the car I would make sure that the footbox is large enough for you to use as it becomes smaller as the pedals go deeper in and can be a problem for folks with large feet. I wear size 14s and could only drive with driving shoes.

 

I had mine for several years (as you found on my blog) and had a great time.  The Ultralite has the right level of power for me and is very accommodating of taller/larger drivers. All the best with your search.

[reid.duff]

Thank you for the feedback, it’s greatly appreciated. No doubt, this isn’t a well sorted example like you made yours, and the ever-tightening inventory of these motors bears repeating (I supposed it’d be a relatively easier to swap a k24 Honda motor should it fail).

The Ga kit title process is nutty as well, they go through the rebuilt/salvage dept. This one is written as a 2008 Ultrasport 4dr “*Kit” model with exempt mileage as part of the being identified as rebuilt. 

 

I’m also weary of the current state missing a muffler, idle issue, and big nos bottle, but not afraid of a project and figure it’s worth a couple hour drive to check out.

 

thanks,

Reid
 

[reid.duff]

Good Morning,

 

Went and saw the WCM over the weekend. The engine had good compression, but was throwing a lot of codes related to misfire and the lack of O2 sensors. Additionally the motor was flooding 2 cylinders and we couldn't get the car to turnover (the owner had videos of it running/driving last month). Bummer. 

 

The body was in great shape, but overall the car was in fair shape, clean but needed tlc (new CV and steering rack boots), some light corrosion on the headlight chrome, and suspension could benefit from a refresh. 

 

Overall I'm not overly concerned with the misfire, I've been running & trouble-shooting Honda motors most my life (getting the injectors serviced and new coils would be job one). I fit well in the car, but without running it there are many questions (transmission, diff, suspension, brakes, steering, electrical) that remain unanswered.

 

Pros: The marketplace here in the SE is few and far between for Se7ens, reasonable price, familiarity with Honda motor/transmission, fit in the car, body in good shape. 

Cons: Unknowns, motor/ecu could require quite a bit of work, could use new header/exhaust, could use quite a bit of refreshing.

 

Summary, not nice enough to pull the trigger, not bad enough to write-off completely...

Edited November 9, 2021 by reid.duff

[fastg]

I like the WCM Ultralite, Roman was at a couple of the NJMP events. It's just about the only 7 that will take the Honda engines. I am having real problems with a K24 in my Locost because of the height on the engines. I think they look good and have good proportions.  It sounds like you have the necessary skills, so it sounds like a lowball offer might be the ticket. 

 

Graham 

[RGTorque]

i love my ultralite, even though its cost me a butttttload to fix a previous owners mistakes. we have a manual for the car now that lists a lot of detailed info. if you have any specific questions id be happy to answer them, if i can, but Loren, the current owner of the company is still around and is very generous with details.

[Croc]

@reid.duffThe build and user manual can be downloaded here

Build & User Guides - USA7s

 

 

@RGTorque Good to hear from you Roman.  Hope all is well and it is great to hear that you have your se7en back together again!

[Davemk1]

I own a Westfield Mega S2000 that runs the Honda S2000 engine and trans and I have a friend that has a WCM. One thing that I think could cause as issue with the WCM is that there is no provision for fitting a sway bar front or rear. This can make it harder to fine tune the balance of the car at the limit - so if you are tracking or autocrossing the car it could be a real frustration. You can get pretty far into chassis tuning with springs and shocks but that last bit of balance can be very hard to find without the ability to adjust a bar.

 

Have you considered a Westfield? I'm 6'4" and 185 lbs and I fit very well in the Westfield even with a narrow Tillet seat. My guess is that at 200 lbs you might favor the stock seats as they are wider and you should slip right into place.

 

It could be an alternative if you've not considered it.

 

dave

[RGTorque]

1 hour ago, Croc said:

@reid.duffThe build and user manual can be downloaded here

Build & User Guides - USA7s

 

 

@RGTorque Good to hear from you Roman.  Hope all is well and it is great to hear that you have your se7en back together again!

 

Hi Mike, definitely feels good to be back into the swing of things.

 

regarding chassis tuning there have been guys who put sway bars on ultralites. though most who have competed with them have not found a need.

[reid.duff]

Well I've got myself a very fun looking new(to me) project. It's in need of TLC and the list of projects is substantial even before reading all the great content in the WCM Manual @Croc was kind enough to share. 

 

Up first is getting it running, so the battery is being charged up and I've got new fluids / filters on the way. 

 

So far I've:

- Insured it through Hagerty after reading USA7s members reporting good experiences with them.

- Given it a good wash/clay/single stage polish which seems to have brightened her up quite a bit.

- Adjusted the pedals to fit me and found that my 32" waist gets lost in the generously wide driver's seat (the passenger seat fits me well). I've always liked Tillet seats, so those will likely be in the future. 

- Pulled the highly questionable NOS bottle and disabled the wide-open-throttle sensor that triggered the wet shot (gas/NOS) into the intake. (seems like the last thing a lightweight VTEC enabled car needs is an instant extra 50hp?)

- Positioned my workstation in the garage to have a constant view of the 7 in the mirror. 

 

I definitely need to find an exhaust. Any insight if someone produced exhaust for these (i.e. commercially available) or an exhaust / fab shop is the best bet?

 

2021-12-17_14-36-32_150.heic 2021-12-14_09-25-12_888.heic

Edited December 18, 2021 by JohnCh
Converted unsupported .heic files to .jpegs

[reid.duff]

On 11/9/2021 at 7:00 PM, RGTorque said:

i love my ultralite, even though its cost me a butttttload to fix a previous owners mistakes. we have a manual for the car now that lists a lot of detailed info. if you have any specific questions id be happy to answer them, if i can, but Loren, the current owner of the company is still around and is very generous with details.

Gorgeous! I'm sure this will be a long and not inexpensive process, but should be a fun journey. Your dash and interior (and whole car) is stunning. Appreciate everyone's feedback and will try to document as much as I can on here. Thanks!

[Croc]

That shined up quite nicely.  Looks great.  Plenty of work to do to spanner check everything and make it your own but all quite achievable.  You will be ready for the Spring.  

[rnr]

21 hours ago, reid.duff said:

 

- Pulled the highly questionable NOS bottle and disabled the wide-open-throttle sensor that triggered the wet shot (gas/NOS) into the intake. (seems like the last thing a lightweight VTEC enabled car needs is an instant extra 50hp?)

I definitely need to find an exhaust. Any insight if someone produced exhaust for these (i.e. commercially available) or an exhaust / fab shop is the best bet?

Congrats - you will have a fun time with the car when its done. 

 

Its amazing how quickly you get used to the power. When I first drove it I got wheelspin in 3rd and felt that was more power than it would ever need. But a year later I was plotting how to add more power. :-)

 

For the exhaust I just had a off-the shelf Hushpower welded to the collector and it worked fine. It would not pass the 92 dB at Laguna Seca but was under a 100 dB. 

 

[reid.duff]

On 12/18/2021 at 4:43 AM, Croc said:

That shined up quite nicely.  Looks great.  Plenty of work to do to spanner check everything and make it your own but all quite achievable.  You will be ready for the Spring.  

Thanks! The to-do list is long and progress is slow, but it's great to have sitting there in the garage regardless. I'd like to be ready to take it with my S2000 buddies to our annual NC/TN Cherohala Skyway & Tail of The Dragon meeting in April. 

 

On 12/18/2021 at 1:25 PM, rnr said:

Congrats - you will have a fun time with the car when its done. 

 

Its amazing how quickly you get used to the power. When I first drove it I got wheelspin in 3rd and felt that was more power than it would ever need. But a year later I was plotting how to add more power. :-)

 

For the exhaust I just had a off-the shelf Hushpower welded to the collector and it worked fine. It would not pass the 92 dB at Laguna Seca but was under a 100 dB. 

 

 

 

Thanks! I've been sim racing / reading Evo / Pistonheads / following 7's most my formative life, and always found it interesting how the character seems to change as the power varies in these cars. I wanted something that was a significant different from my S2000 in terms of dynamics. Think it should those boxes, but nice to know its got a path for more power. And thanks for the exhaust recommendation!

 

[RGTorque]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:20 PM, reid.duff said:

Well I've got myself a very fun looking new(to me) project. It's in need of TLC and the list of projects is substantial even before reading all the great content in the WCM Manual @Croc was kind enough to share. 

 

Up first is getting it running, so the battery is being charged up and I've got new fluids / filters on the way. 

 

So far I've:

- Insured it through Hagerty after reading USA7s members reporting good experiences with them.

- Given it a good wash/clay/single stage polish which seems to have brightened her up quite a bit.

- Adjusted the pedals to fit me and found that my 32" waist gets lost in the generously wide driver's seat (the passenger seat fits me well). I've always liked Tillet seats, so those will likely be in the future. 

- Pulled the highly questionable NOS bottle and disabled the wide-open-throttle sensor that triggered the wet shot (gas/NOS) into the intake. (seems like the last thing a lightweight VTEC enabled car needs is an instant extra 50hp?)

- Positioned my workstation in the garage to have a constant view of the 7 in the mirror. 

 

I definitely need to find an exhaust. Any insight if someone produced exhaust for these (i.e. commercially available) or an exhaust / fab shop is the best bet?

 

2021-12-17_14-36-32_150.heic 2.16 MB · 12 downloads 2021-12-14_09-25-12_888.heic 4.06 MB · 7 downloads

 

 

 

flowmaster makes a great exhaust for our cars.

 

 

 

[reid.duff]

Well, what a month! I'm slowly learning about the car and getting it roadworthy. 

 

Replaced the 17 year old Hankook's with a set of "matching" 225/45R17 Falken RT660 200tw tires at all corners. I use quotes on the matching, as 225 seems to have grown about 1" wider since the early 2000's. Massaged the front fenders a little bit and seems to fit fine, but will likely try and find a set of lightweight 17x8 rims since these roll over the 17x7 Enkeis on the car.

After an oil change Valvoline VR1 10w30, the first couple neighborhood test drives were a great success, despite the lack of muffler. 

First time I took it out of the neighborhood the car seemed mildly psychotic above 30mph. I got some toe plates and sure enough it turns out the rear had around 0.25" toe-in and a similar amount on the front. After adjustment to 0" all around it seems like it will be stable enough to get the 5 miles up the road to my alignment shop. I've ordered some 450lb fr 200lb rear springs to throw on and we hopefully will be aligned soon.

 

Just discovered a small leak from the rear differential and to my surprise there is a ford 8.8 rear end with an open differential... Confirmed in fact with wheels spinning in opposite directions when jacked up. Oops. The diff code is hidden on the top of the unit but it appears to be a 434A 3 27 88 out of maybe a Lincoln MK8. And 3.27 gearing, yikes. So I'll be looking at learning all about limited slip diffs and what may be the best path there. 

Other thoughts: Stones/Pebbles everywhere! Definitely need to take the PPE seriously with these cars and am looking at eye/head/hand protection options.

Will see where the next month gets us, cheers. 

 

 

[reid.duff]

Also on the To Do list:

-Changing the rear brake master cylinder as the sizing causes the rears to lock up way before the fronts. 

-New / Extending the windshields. Full face helmet for neighborhood drive pictured below. (Lol, no idea why its upside-down)

Edited January 24, 2022 by reid.duff