Potential next purchase, few questions

[paulm3]

Hi guys,

I'm currently selling my Z3M Coupe and have got myself a run around so after a Caterham/Westfield for track days/fun/weekends etc.

Which is a good one to get? I've been looking at 2.0 Zetecs and Red/Black top Vauxhall engine ones as I don't think I could live with a 120bhp one even though theyre light as my friend has an series elise and runs out of puff on the straights/hills etc.

What is there to look for in common faults? Check build quality etc?

The prices seem to be hit and miss sometimes with them as an almost identical pair of westfields, with same engine, same millage, and a build year apart are £4k different in price!

My budget is £8-10k, so any help with looking, buying guide, or if you know a good one for sale please help me

Thanks guys!!

[BertBert]

you might get an answer to westfield questions on a westfield forum.

[JeffC]

At £8-£10k If you wanting something circa 180-200bhp and road registered you are prob going to be looking at a Westfield as I haven"t seen many Caterhams drop into that price range although there has been the odd track/race car around the top end of your budget.

£10k plus will get you a Duratec Westy and on that budget my first choice they are a good car, not going to blow you away in a straight line as standard they are only around 175bhp and they dont have the best gearbox fitted for ratios, they have an MCT75 fitted which has a short first and a tall 5th not ideal for this type of car, but well driven on track will be quicker than most things and no slower than a caterham . 2.0 zetec would be my second choice, these can be tuned easily to 200bhp plus or if you can find a good one a red top Vx again very tunable but engine showing its age now.

If your looking at doing trackdays It would be cheaper to buy a track focused car than upgrade it yourself try and find something with a decent gearbox, (bgh, spc) Lsd and decent shocks .

if you dont get response on this tsection of P/heads there is a kitcar section or the Westfield sports car club (wscc) is a very friendly place to be , I believe you can register free and you get 30 days free to see if you like the place ,it has some very knowledgeable members and they are helpful at answering newbie Questions , Despite owning caterhams for 5 years I have been a member on there for 11 years .

[V7SLR]

Don't worry about the low power, go for a Caterham Roadsport A. It'll be track oriented but road legal and you'll be surprised how much track speed you can get from a low powered car. It'll also suffer virtually zero depreciation if you want to sell it on and be easier to sell than a Westfield.

[dapearson]

Caterham road cars will be a bit over your budget, unless you go for a v old one.

Ex-race cars are worth a look. They do tend to be well looked after and are much cheaper for the equivalent spec of road car.

Cosmetics are easily sorted.

For example, check out some of the cars for sale on http://www.graduates.org.uk/forsale.asp

The advantage is that you'll get things like spare wheels, which can be handy when switching from track to road. Brake bias valve, full cage, etc, etc.

It depends whether you want something to polish, and/or whether you might be tempted to race at some point.

[dapearson]

Oh and on track, a 120bhp caterham will destroy an elise.

The 1.6 k-series is quite different to the 1.8 k-series fitted to the elise. Both 120bhp, but the delivery is more revvy in the caterham. The elise's tends to run out of puff once beyond 5.5k-6k rpm.

[dapearson]

This place deals in ex-race caterhams: http://www.blueskysportscars.co.uk/

This looks interesting. You could spec your own car for far less than the new price: http://www.blueskysportscars.co.uk/detail.asp?carI...

I don't work for them BTW!

[Zagster]

dapearson said:

This looks interesting. You could spec your own car for far less than the new price: http://www.blueskysportscars.co.uk/detail.asp?carI...

"It is already road registered with a V5, build it to whatever spec you want" - I think you would have to be careful on that one if using it on the road to make sure you have enough points for original components otherwise!!!! Might be OK as you have the original chassis!?

[BraddersCat7]

dapearson said:

Oh and on track, a 120bhp caterham will destroy an elise.

The 1.6 k-series is quite different to the 1.8 k-series fitted to the elise. Both 120bhp, but the delivery is more revvy in the caterham. The elise's tends to run out of puff once beyond 5.5k-6k rpm.

Totally agree.

• Bangs head on desk* 120 bhp in a Caterham is NOT slow. You are talking 240bhp/ton in a track orientated one, and that doesn't include the way they can carry speed through corners. Talking about straight line speed is just missing the point.

The weight difference is massive compared to an Elise(don't get me wrong they are nice cars) but its like dumping a motorbike in the passenger seat of a Caterham.

Yes, a Caterham goes mental over 5k, and it's where it should be driven.

[downsman]

A 120 bhp Caterham/other Seven style kit is quick enough to have a lot of fun, especially on the road where you can use more of the cars performance more of the time

Having said that the original post wanted a track day car for 8-10 thousand, and if he already thinks he couldn't live with 120 bhp, the suggestion to buy a duratec/zetec 2 litre alternative like a Westfield is good advice to my mind.

There is a drawback to 1.6 Caterhams, and it is the lack of straight line speed on trackdays.
I tend to only do one trackday a year and it is frustrating to be all over an Elise for example in the corners, but to find they have the straightline higher speed acceleration to stop me passing on the straights when allowed.

[Grubbster]

This could be a great start point into 7 ownership http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...