20 yr old caterham unused on EBAY

[Hoonfest]

Hi chaps,

Just looking at this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CATERHAM-SUPERSPRINT-170...

Anyone know anything about it?

Cheers

[tight fart]

Not a lot of pictures, bore wash after 25 miles?
I get the feeling there's a lot of copy and paste in the listing.

[anonymous-user]

"I believe the seats are leather and all fittings are correct Caterham items for the year"

Why wouldn't they be?

I don't know, may be genuine but tread carefully, anyone who's interested.

[Hoonfest]

Thanks for the reply. I agree that something feels a bit off but maybe it's genuine. I do wonder why it has not been advertised elsewhere such as on this site or Classic Car sales etc. Would be good to see some more pics and info.

[kenny.R400]

It could do with more pics. The front suspension does not look like a de dion chassis car in that pic. It looks like it has the cast top link with a thin ARB which would indicate a LA car to me..unless 86 cars were like that, I can't remember.

But as I say it's hard to tell from one pic you can't blow up.

Edited by kenny.R400 on Friday 30th January 11:05

[Tango7]

kenny.R400 said:

It could do with more pics. The front suspension does not look like a de dion chassis car in that pic. It looks like it has the cast top link with a thin ARB which would indicate a LA car to me..unless 86 cars were like that, I can't remember.

But as I say it's hard to tell from one pic you can't blow up.

Edited by kenny.R400 on Friday 30th January 11:05

Kenny,

The earlier de-dions were exactly like that. Basically they were live axle cars with the mounts fitted for the sierra diff. Hence the same through the chassis rear shocks as the LA cars and the single top link set up on the front.

OP - The important bit about this car is the registration and getting it ready for the road. I would expect it to be pretty difficult for a caterham of this age and engine to get through without considerable effort. if the car is road registered as part of the deal that;s fine but I wouldn't touch it without it being road registered. A friend of mine had a similar car from 1988 vintage that was built in 2006 and registered in 2008. CC did the SVA in 2006 and said it was difficult.... not sure IVA would make things any easier.

[NuisanceFactor]

kenny.R400 said:

It could do with more pics. The front suspension does not look like a de dion chassis car in that pic. It looks like it has the cast top link with a thin ARB which would indicate a LA car to me..unless 86 cars were like that, I can't remember.

Very early de-dion cars had that LA front and they had drum brakes on the rear.

[kenny.R400]

Never seen one. A rare beast then. Thanks guys, always something new to learn!

[DCL]

Whether it turns out to be a good buy or not will depend if it is accepted as a 1986 manufacture date and is exempt from the IVA. I bet that it'll take quite a bit of negotiation to cut through the red tape. But I'm always suspicious of any auction that has so many bids in the first hour of the listing. Would you bid on that listing as it stands??

[ajroberts]

It seems the original listing was ended now this one is up...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CATERHAM-7-SUPERSPRINT-1...

Exactly the same wording but added a few more miles on to it.

[BertBert]

And this....

Hullo and welcome to the auction - again. Apparently, I upset the delicate sensitivities of eBay and PayPal in my previous listing.... The result was that I could not add more photos, edit the listing in any way, etc. etc. so my apologies to you all. There were about 400 watchers, 20 bids with bids to £7,900 and many questions.
You are encouraged to come and view the car and you will be very welcome.

[sjmmarsh]

It looks to be genuine, but caution is advised particularly as there is no guarantee you will be able to get it through the IVA - probably failing on emissions (it is a crossflow!)

Steve

[Toaster]

Looks like a hood popper missing on the screen (second from the right)

Has a Lotus 7 badge on the nose, not sure this is a de-dion as the rear suspension struts are poking through the boot cover (I could be wrong but I think these are only on Non De-Dieon cars)

Edited by Toaster on Saturday 31st January 16:37

[tight fart]

Just looking over the pictures.
Doors are wrong for year,
I thought the rocker cover had 1700 Super sprint on them ?
Cycle wings odd for year,
Rear lights wrong for year,
Back then to not get a Q plate I think the kit was a CKD all new parts.
Looks a nice car if not a scam

[IBDAET]

Correct TF. Not a Caterham supplied engine. Caterham did not fit an oil cooler on the 1700ss.
Same for wheels. It should have KN Jupiters if anything but a base kit.
Dampers are correct for pre 1991 DeDion.
The early DeDions did not have an enclosed pedal box or Lucas electronic ignition as this car has. In 87 they still had the open top pedal box.
Foglights are wrong for the claimed year - they are much later.

So as its a base kit it will not have a certificate of newness, so it'll have to go through IVA, and this I think it will fail due to many non-compliant parts.

Edited by IBDAET on Sunday 1st February 00:25

[tight fart]

An oil cooler was on the options list for a Super Sprint engine as was the Luminition.
By 88 the pedal box was enclosed, not sure how long before that though.

Edited by tight fart on Sunday 1st February 08:04

[NuisanceFactor]

Toaster said:

..not sure this is a de-dion as the rear suspension struts are poking through the boot cover (I could be wrong but I think these are only on Non De-Dion cars)

Early de-dion cars did have the rear damper tops protruding.

tight fart said:

Doors are wrong for year
Cycle wings odd for year,
Rear lights wrong for year.

I think that they were possibly all in transition at that point, lights look ok to me, that's what mine of the same era had. I also had the choice of cycle wings but chose flares, and I do remember the rounded-edge rear wings being introduced at about that time too along with elbow-bulge doors. VDO gauges were just coming in that time, so I would think it's a late 86 car.

IBDAET said:

Caterham did not fit an oil cooler on the 1700ss.

It was an option; mine had one.

IBDAET said:

Same for wheels. It should have KN Jupiters if anything but a base kit.

4 and 5 spoke Revolutions were options too.

IBDAET said:

The early DeDions did not have an enclosed pedal box or Lucas electronic ignition as this car has. In 87 they still had the open top pedal box.

My early 86 car had the Lucas, but not the 'Little House on the Prairie'

IBDAET said:

Foglights are wrong for the claimed year - they are much later.

Are they? Mine looked very similar, what are the differences?

[curley]

He says in the advert that it had an MOT in 2013 , i asked him why and he said it was because it needs an MOT to be registered .

so here we are in 2015 and he says it has another MOT but its still not registered.............


Bargepole comes to mind . And a long one at that ....

[DCL]

Having built a car in that period, all that used to be needed for a Q plate was an MOT and perhaps a simple check of parts by the local police or local DVLA office, or what we now call a 'certificate of newness' (ie. evidence it is built from new parts) for a new reg.

In theory, if the car is accepted as being built in 1986, an MOT is all that is required. But this thread has raised a few question and the owner has hinted at not having the original paperwork. Therefore, most likely, it will need an IVA and is going to end up with a Q plate as I can't see Caterham supplying a certificate 20+ years on, or the DVLA accepting it, as anything could have happened to the parts in those years.

Edited by DCL on Sunday 1st February 19:51

[mickrick]

It's a nice old thing isn't it. personally, I think a Q plate would be ideal. No emissions testing
Although I think the fellow would probably get more for it if he got it registered before putting it up for sale.