E Production Caterham

[boss351]

Are the E Production Caterhams vastly different from their road going brothers?

 

Would it take a major effort and finances to make an E Production Caterham road legal?

 

Are the roll cages bolt on or welded?

[480rider]

Sorry in advance for responding so long after the initial post, but I just happened to come across this...so, if it's not too late...

 

I recently purchased an EP Caterham from a seller in Houston (possibly the same one which precipitated your inquiry?), so I might be able so shed some light on this.

 

Although the car is a "special edition" built specifically for the SCCA EP rules, it's pretty much the same frame, bodywork, and driveline of other 7s from the era. (Mine is a MY 2002.) While my car was originally built as a race car, the original owner added lights, wipers, all switches, etc, and, I'm told, did drive it on the street. Although later stripped of most of these parts, it came to me with a title, and a reference to having once had a license plate. It appears I could re-install the above pieces, pass an inspection, and again license it for the street. Having a title of course makes this process infinitely easier. While I believe all EP Caterhams have VINs, I'd suspect few have been titled.

 

Lights and signals are no big deal, as they mount to the wingstays. It would be a bit more cumbersome to add a full windscreen, wipers, washers (if required by the state where you'd want to license the car), etc. This would require some drilling of the scuttle and bulkhead, but is still not insurmountable. In sum, adding the parts is not difficult; paying for them might be.

 

I'd suggest going to the caterhamusa site, looking at the prices for all the parts you'd need, and deciding from there whether it would be worth the cost. I'd say the only real hassle is the roll cage. The original "EP" cage has two side bars, which means entry/exit is only possible via the top. If used as a street car, I could see this becoming a big pain very quickly.