Caterham R500 Purchase

[zetecherb]

Good Afternoon

As above i am looking at purchasing a Caterham R500 from Caterham, i was wondering if anybody knew of any history regarding the below car, any help would be appreciated

http://uk.caterhamcars.com/pre-owned/953-superligh...

If anybody could help with things like what i should look for to incase i have missed anything that would be fantastic as it's my first Caterham.

Thank You for the help

Tom

[zetecherb]

HurryUpAndWait said:

Good work!


That is all.

I like how peoplease judge without knowing that person . Who says I've not driven them before.... that is all.

Thanks for your replys guys it has helped, few things mentioned that I hadn't checked which I will add to my list. Engine wise on the car it had a full refresh 1500 miles ago

[zetecherb]

I have driven R500s.

I viewed 3 caterhams today 1 nice one at sevens and classics and 2 at caterham south branch.

I spoke to 2 pprevious owners regarding that orange one, a big no unfortunately.

[zetecherb]

rubystone said:

Firstly, have you ever driven an R500? Have you ever driven any Caterham? If not, please make sure you drive several different types. Don't buy an R500 without trying it first.

On this car, find out what the 'refresh' constituted and who did it. It's an early car too...what production number is it? I might be able to dig a bit on if for you. I also don't understand the 'Minister' tag.

Hiya, I've only driven a r500 and r300 I plan to drive a super sport in the next couple of weeks see what it's like as I haven't driven a slower spec one yet.

That orange caterham has a bit of history so I intend on staying away

[zetecherb]

The R300 is Duratec, but to be honest it's a little out of my price range, the car i'm test driving today possible (weather dependant) is a Supersport so im looking forward to trying out the lower power end to see the difference.

I saw that orange R500 on pistonhead, put me off slightly that it use to be a race car, you'll never know what that car went through and being someone who races cars on the same weekend as Caterhams lol i wouldnt wanna know haha.

[zetecherb]

clarkey said:

I've owned a couple of R500s, so I'm probably qualified to comment!

Remember it's an old Caterham - it's going to need some TLC, either now or in the next couple of years. Expect some corrosion between the body panels and the chassis. Get them to lift it on their ramp so you can have a really good look around.
Expect the diff to be a bit clunky and noisy. Expect the gearbox to be notchy from cold, and maybe a bit noisy. Probably budget to spend some money on diff/gearbox within a couple of years.
Engine - in my experience bomb-proof, but the problems are well documented. My advice would be to limit your revs - use it as a top spec 7500 rev engine and you'll get on well with it; use 8600 revs regularly and you may have some work to do. You need to understand the history of the engine - has it been refreshed, what was done, by whom. I found the roller barrels to be really sensitive to set up, and get a bit sticky after a while too.
All the other bits are standard Caterham - brakes, suspension, tyres, etc, etc are all easy to do and relatively cheap.

I'd have one again if I had the time to drive it......

Hello,

Thanks for your reply it's much appreciated. I purchased an R500 last week. The yellow r500 at caterham south. 1 owner from new, full service history. Had a little look at the history of the car and found nothing bad so couldn't say no. Caterham are sending it off to have the weather equipment added from me as this wasn't added at the beginning.

I've been told that the previous owner was very safety concious always made sure the car was warm before driving etc and didn't rev about 8500. Of course I'm sure theRe has been times where it has gone above that haha.

Body work wise, needs a little bit of tlc but I like that as it gives me something to do .

Hopefully pick it up around the 24th Feb

[zetecherb]

Mines number 26 so I'll get it added today .
The car does currently have an aero screen but I'm debating keeping the aero stuff for the summer .

Thanks for the replys guys some useful info regarding the revs .

The head on yhis one hasn't had a refresh but I have been told it has had a very gentle previous owne. I've still demanded caterham to remove the head for me and check it which they have agree too.

[zetecherb]

BertBert said:

oh dear. The proper R500s didn't have a wiper motor mount so were aeroscreen only.

Yours must be one of the lardy versions

Bert

Lol, i'm being a chicken so i have paid extra to have all the weather equipment fitted. The currently has no wiper brackets, no holes in the scuttle panel for the wipers, the wiring loom was never made to allow for the window wipers, heated screen etc.
Car is very original

[zetecherb]

mic said:

It was only the very early cars that had the proper R500 chassis. I had the wiper motor mount welded onto my chassis before I built it.

Hi Mic,

Likewise, i'm having this done at the moment as it's never had them.

Tom

[zetecherb]

BertBert said:

Ruining a proper R500!

If we didnt live in a country where we had sudden down pours i would have loved to have it with no screen, I'm keeping all the aero equipment anyway because i would have to try it out.

I'm going to be fitted a 12v socket also but will be hidden underneath the dash, i dont like the look of them held in the dash.