Thursday 15th October 2015

Caterham 270R: PH Fleet

The build begins!

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Caterham says it takes 70 hours to build a car. Easy, right? I've built a kit car before so I had some idea of what to do. I thought. Waiting for delivery of the 270R kit was painful; my eagerness was killing me.

Luckily it arrived on a Friday and I'd booked the following week off work; all was looking good. But there was no engine - not that important, is it? That was partly my fault though, as Caterham was still building Supersports and the 270 wasn't officially being produced yet; I was the guinea pig.

Ah yes, engine. We'll need one of those

I'd asked a friend to help me with the build, and truth be told I really would have struggled without his help. Unless you have four hands or a very good ability to balance car parts on your knee, face or chest, a lot of the build is made easier with a helping hand. We couldn't wait to get stuck in, and were also fortunate enough to be offered a rather nice garage for the build. Delivery day was spent putting the chassis on axle stands, then working through all of the boxes to identify parts and place them around the car in a logical (or not) sequence for fitting.

Although the thought of building your own car may seem quite intimidating, as long as you're fairly logical and patient it isn't actually that difficult. You only really need a small single garage and a handful of tools to get the job done. I'd already bought my tools from my MK Indy R build, but I pretty much made it through with a drill, decent ratchet set, torque wrench and a few other bits and bobs that I'd picked up along the way. An engine hoist is handy, but they can be rented or bought and sold at not much of a loss.

Ben ropes in some support

Lesson one is to heed Caterham's advice and actually read the build manual before you get started. Most won't - I didn't - so it's quite frustrating when you've fitted the steering rack to then read that you shouldn't fit the steering rack until after the engine is in. Handy. Oh, and that differential you've just spent an hour fitting with your fingers bleeding? Make sure you put the prop in first. Great. Again with a bit of logic and prior experience you can avoid calamities such as these as I was able to mostly, but I can see how easy it would be to get something wrong before throwing a spanner across the room in annoyance...

Lesson two is to push a ratchet or wrench away from you where possible instead of pulling it towards you, as it turns out that a torque wrench to the face is actually quite painful and gives you a cracking black eye. At least everyone at PH HQ found it amusing on Monday morning though when I came back to work.

Kit is supplied with 20 hours of work done

Caterham actually provides each kit with around 20 hours worth of work already completed, with the body panels fitted and prepped for wheel arches, fuel tank, fuel and brake lines, and wiring loom in along with the dash and some interior panels. With all of that done, you very quickly see the Seven start to come together as you build up the front end with wishbones, suspension and front brakes going in. As I had to wait a couple of weeks for my engine, we cracked on with everything else, moving from the front end to the back fitting the roll bar, DeDion rear axle, differential, drive shafts, suspension and rear brakes. And this was all after just three days!

We moved onto the engine bay fitting the heater, washer system and various ancillaries in preparation for the engine and 'box to go in. The timing was spot on and it turned up ready to go in, but we hadn't anticipated was how much work it was going to take to manoeuvre into place. Four hours later after much adjustment and blasphemy we got there and it was starting to look like a real car. The wiring loom was plugged in, throttle cable fitted, and we really felt like we were getting there with only the interior and front headlights left to fit. Then it took just as long to rewire and adjust the front headlights as it did to fit the engine and gearbox. The smallest of jobs can take a lot longer than expected and can really drag out the build process.

Easier than it looks, apparently...

At this point, the IVA test was booked so we had to pull out all the stops to get the car finished. Another good friend and ex-Caterham colleague was roped in to get the finishing touches done and to ensure we'd actually done a decent job of bolting my car together. The interior flew in, however the final set up and IVA prep took us into the early hours of the morning before IVA. I shot off home to bed for a few hours sleep before the trip to VOSA for 0900h sharp.

We'd done it. Over the space of five weeks and just over 100 hours of manpower, my car was finished and ready to hit the road. The first Caterham Seven 270R in the world. And by heck was it damn good fun along the way! Would I do it again? Absolutely. Despite any hurdles that you may encounter throughout a build, they will all seem like a distant memory that first time you sit behind the wheel. It's a truly rewarding experience and something you'll never forget. Will it make it through IVA? What's it actually like to drive? I'll let you know!

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2015 Caterham Seven 270R
Run by: Ben Lowden
On fleet since: April 2015
Mileage: 0 (to be addressed shortly)
List price new: TBC
Last month at a glance: It's finally built, time to drive the damn thing!

Previous reports:
To the factory for spec selection

[Photos: Michael Topham]

[g7jhp]

Looks fantastic, was it 5 weeks or 5 days?

'Over the space of five weeks and just over 100 hours of manpower, my car was finished and ready to hit the road.'

Do you have a list of things you'd have done differently?

Certainly looks like you'd be in a much better position to maintain the car yourself going forward.

[Gandahar]

You should have done what Evo did and was give up after a few hours and send it back to Caterham to finish off, ahem ...

[Ben Lowden]

g7jhp said:

Looks fantastic, was it 5 weeks or 5 days?

'Over the space of five weeks and just over 100 hours of manpower, my car was finished and ready to hit the road.'

Do you have a list of things you'd have done differently?

Certainly looks like you'd be in a much better position to maintain the car yourself going forward.

Thank you! It was around 100 hours over the course of five weeks, but that was due to waiting for a few parts and the engine mainly. If we'd had absolutely everything to start with we probably could have had the build done in a week! But then there's no need to rush these things.

To be honest my main frustration was with myself for not taking the time prior to the build to go through the manual properly. Luckily I didn't have to undo any work, but I could see how it may be easy to get caught out if you don't follow it.

I wouldn't change anything about the process or the build though, it went really well and we had a great time in the process. Probably the most important thing to do is keep a list of anything outstanding, any unfinished jobs, or anything left to torque up and then to cross through it as you go. You're right too, after putting the car together yourself not only do you get the enjoyment but it'll also be easier to maintain and identify any issues in the future.

[smilo996]

On the To Do list, though I would definitely get someone competent to take a look before actually driving it. Some of the best fun that can be had in motoring.

[Ben Lowden]

smilo996 said:

On the To Do list, though I would definitely get someone competent to take a look before actually driving it. Some of the best fun that can be had in motoring.

Agreed! Caterham actually provide a free post build check service to ensure your Seven is safe for the road, which is reassuring for anyone worried about their competency to bolt one together.

[jcl]

So jealous.

In all seriousness I'd rather do this and have this car than the McLaren above.

[Luca Brasi]

Nice work! What kind of engine has it got?

[Ben Lowden]

jcl said:

So jealous.

In all seriousness I'd rather do this and have this car than the McLaren above.

You and I both! I'm yet to find anything that gets me more excited than a Caterham.

Luca Brasi said:

Nice work! What kind of engine has it got?

It's got a Ford Sigma 1.6 engine, producing 135bhp. Might not sound like much, but the car only weighs just over 500kg. Full road review coming soon!

[nigelpugh7]

Ben,

Great to see this build from Evo.

I have ordered one of the first Caterham Superlight Twenty kits for delivery in Feb/March next year.

This will be my 6th Caterham and my 5th as a kit build.

But I am confused about your comment about the steering rack, as to me it seems that you must put it in before the engine, as it would be too hard to get at, and I know from experience that's it's all a bit tight at the front!

Also Caterham Cars have a suggested build sequence in the build manual, and the steering rack is the very first job, and well before the engine?

[patmahe]

Awesome and something I'd love to do. My wife has said a few times 'I could see you driving one of those', driving something you built yourself must be incredibly rewarding.

Some day I hope.

[nigelpugh7]

patmahe said:

Awesome and something I'd love to do. My wife has said a few times 'I could see you driving one of those', driving something you built yourself must be incredibly rewarding.

Some day I hope.

Whenever the wife makes a statement like that, you need to seize the opportunity quickly, and get that order placed!

Well that's what I always do anyway!

Good luck.

[Ben Lowden]

nigelpugh7 said:

Ben,

Great to see this build from Evo.

I have ordered one of the first Caterham Superlight Twenty kits for delivery in Feb/March next year.

This will be my 6th Caterham and my 5th as a kit build.

But I am confused about your comment about the steering rack, as to me it seems that you must put it in before the engine, as it would be too hard to get at, and I know from experience that's it's all a bit tight at the front!

Also Caterham Cars have a suggested build sequence in the build manual, and the steering rack is the very first job, and well before the engine?

Hi Nigel,

You've caught me out there, as I should have said steering column, not rack. However it wasn't an issue even when fitted, as I managed to manoeuvre the engine in around it.

Congrats on the Superlight purchase, and sounds like you're far more seasoned in building a Seven than I am! Good luck with it.

[nigelpugh7]

Ben Lowden said:

Hi Nigel,

You've caught me out there, as I should have said steering column, not rack. However it wasn't an issue even when fitted, as I managed to manoeuvre the engine in around it.

Congrats on the Superlight purchase, and sounds like you're far more seasoned in building a Seven than I am! Good luck with it.

No worries Ben, was not trying to point out that you had done it wrong, just wanted to check that it had not changed, as we know Caterham have a habit of doing that!

I would not say I am that experienced, just been playing at building them for almost 20 years now, so you would kind of hope that I might have learnt a bit!

I think you have finished your 270R now, so we all look forwards to more reviews of the process and the drives and track outings too!

Have fun together!

[lfsv8]

Excellent & very interesting account, well done Ben; the way you described the build is a definite encouragement to others, similarly interested but, perhaps, not experienced mechanics (amateur or otherwise)...
A couple of decades ago I had a similar experienced putting together 100% new parts for a Westfield SEiGHT: the build manual hadn't been fully completed; itself "in build" we were faxed sections as our build progressed/queries arose.
All part of the fun though, what was theoretically only a nut & bolt check back at the factory prior to SVA, extended to sorting the fuel injection wiring & set-up (that part of the manual wasn't then ready) & fitting exhaust systems down either side of the V8. Result: happy & satisfied customer; the initially-estimated factory build time (>100 hours), actually extended to almost to-the-day, a whole year; by which time my build pal wanted the other half of his garage back!!
Must be time to tackle another build; this time Lotus 7/Caterham "real McCoy"...

[k-ink]

Great article.

Now you can enjoy a finer drive than most supercars.

[Ben Lowden]

nigelpugh7 said:

I think you have finished your 270R now, so we all look forwards to more reviews of the process and the drives and track outings too!

Have fun together!

Thanks Nigel, I'm glad you're enjoying the articles. Certainly more to follow in the future so keep an eye out!