Track car for £15k?

[Oujew]

Hi everyone - great forum....

After an off on my bike last year I'm considering hanging up my leathers and switching to a Caterham primarily for track days - Donington is my local track...

Using all the excellent information on here I've narrowed my ideal model down to either a R300 (or R400) with a LSD...

Unfortunatley however my current budget is £15k, so do I wait a year or so and save the pennies or purchase another model now, then trade it in for a R300 when I have the money - What I want to avoid is buying an old car now for £15k then spending money repairing it?

Really appreciate your advice, pariculary from people who have been in a similar situation...

Thanks in anticiaption of your help,

Dave

[Andy Bell]

look forward to responses on this as my head is in same place The more I read the more confused i become

[timrw81]

Ammo of Raceco is currently selling his old car with a 263bhp 2.0 duratec engine, used as a development vehicle. I think the chassis is fairly old but a bargain it is. £15K.

See here:

http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=223128

Tim

[Steve Campbell]

..and with that spec....even as a biker it will scare the living daylights out of you for a 4 wheel vehicle :-)

[BertBert]

I'd expect to find plenty of decent and fun Donington capable Caterhams for 15k. I did many track days there in my 1600-k supersport caterham and had a blast.
Bert

[Andy Bell]

interesting and I think death may follow purchase of that. My biggest issue is living in Glasgow area and really bar Knockhill not much else close.

[Agent Orange]

As an ex biker myself I think a Caterham is a wise choice. I stopped riding when my son was born and the Caterham has sated my needs for bike like thrills and feel.

I "only" bought a 1.6 K-Series ex Academy car and whilst its not as quick as a bike it still feels like a bike and it presses the buttons in my head like a bike.

Maybe ex racers are an option for you?

[Oujew]

Hi, thanks for the responses - keep them coming...

Had a look at the car recommended but given the age & all the mods reliability may be an issue...

Keep finding myself looking at this one although it exceeds my budget (isn't that always the case) - what do people think would it fit my bill. You never know he might be open to offers...

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Dave

[BertBert]

I would have expected with Ammo the exact opposite. Reliability will be very good indeed!

[tomwoodis]

Oujew said:

Hi everyone - great forum....

After an off on my bike last year I'm considering hanging up my leathers and switching to a Caterham primarily for track days - Donington is my local track...

Using all the excellent information on here I've narrowed my ideal model down to either a R300 (or R400) with a LSD...

Unfortunatley however my current budget is £15k, so do I wait a year or so and save the pennies or purchase another model now, then trade it in for a R300 when I have the money - What I want to avoid is buying an old car now for £15k then spending money repairing it?

Really appreciate your advice, pariculary from people who have been in a similar situation...

Thanks in anticiaption of your help,

Dave

Firstly, the good thing about buying Caterhams, particularly those with a few years on them and at the lower end of the market, is that they hold their value quite well. This being the case, there wouldn't be too much issue in going through with the idea of buying a lower spec now and then upgrading later. I suspect the market is quite small when selling a car on so shifting it could take a while compared to your average vehicle but when it does sell you should do quite well.

That said, there are still quite a number of decent options open to you for £15k. Yes the car will be older than perhaps your ideal but that doesn't mean to say its going to fall to bits every 5 minutes.

I started up a thread last week enquiring about older cars that have undergone Zetec engine conversions. Not sure if you saw it but the general consensus was that as engines go, it's a good reliable engine. It also has the benefit of R300 type power and can be easily tuned up to R400 type levels.

So thats one option open to you immediately at your budget....

Another option would be to go for a 1.6 or 1.8 k-series in that's been well loved and fettled with. There are plenty of 1.8s out there making a reliable 160 bhp which is not far off R300 level. It will feel decently quick, perhaps not motorbike fast but quick nonetheless. You should also be able to search one out with lots of trick bits already added at that sort of money (6-speed box, LSD etc)

Edited by tomwoodis on Thursday 1st November 23:12

[jackh707]

You will get a very good car for that money, look at Specific specs of the car rather than if it's actually an r300 etc.
We paid £9k for ours and have probably spent 1k getting it right. Gearbox refurb, toyo r888s, skim the flywheel, you can do a lot yourself, there dead easy to take the engine
out of, and the wiring is simple.

I'd look for fuel injection, good tyres, good suspension an LSD if possible, and 180hp.

[HustleRussell]

My first thought when I read the brief was Ammo's car. Give it serious consideration!

[Some Gump]

HustleRussell said:

My first thought when I read the brief was Ammo's car. Give it serious consideration!

I saw that advert - just can't get why there is no LSD involved!

OP, just get one. Any one, they're all fab. IMO you're best not getting tricky adjustable dampers, the standard widetrack billies with decent roll bars will give you a well handling car - just learn to set it up / tweek ride height to suit.
Having tricky dampers is all well and good when you get to the point of being able to set them right - but IMO thats racers not track day people. On a track day, you want to turn up and enjoy, not lose 1/2 the morning tinkering because it's handling wrong.

Also, CR500's are a must. Other tyres are available, but IMO the 500 can't be bettered for track days. Just make sure you have 1.6mm left for the drive home =)

[mnrvortxf20c]

another option may be.like im doing, is to buy a cheap de dion 7 with small engine and strip and sell engine,box,bellhousing,prop,gearbox etc.and i may get shot down for this,but fit a bike engine.
i bought a supersport k series with lsd for £8750 and sold engine.box,bellhousing,stack dash(as tacho only read to 8k) for nearly £2500 so the car as it was only stood me at £6k ish. i am part way through the build of a dry sumped hayabusa powered car which will be absolutely astonishing im sure!

[BertBert]

But clearly what you need to put in is the Powertec V8!!

[Andy Bell]

HustleRussell said:

My first thought when I read the brief was Ammo's car. Give it serious consideration!

As i hijacked the thread as similar mindset I guess my problem with a car such as this (other than scary power) is the sheer amount of options on it. Given my car technical skills (currently perhaps should do some courses at night college) currently end with putting fuel in it then whilst it suits the person that build it (who by sounds of it knows everything about doing that) I would be left confused.

Now i understand that a caterham isn't exactly your audi (you just put fuel in it) but would it make more sense for someone so lacking in car skills to stick with something a tad more off the shelf (I know not exactly perfect description of a caterham) or see the car as a great learning journey?

I think there is a caterham place in Perth that has been mentioned on forums (name escapes me and im in glasgow) but I guess its useful to have a garage reasonably close that knows something about them?

[BertBert]

I'd think that in terms of mechanical simplicity there would be little difference from an off the shelf car and one like Ammos. I agree that a heavily modded car might not be well sorted (perhaps a poor engine map), but If I were in the market for that kind of power caterham, I'd not bat an eyelid regarding mechanical complexities as I wouldn't think there will be any.

bert

[Oujew]

Went over to CC midlands with the wife at the weekend to see what chassis type we could fit in - standard S3 was fine with lowered floors & composite race seats so at least that's one decision made...

I'm also investigating how much it would cost to tune the 1.6 sigma engine in the Supersport to 175hp, as the basic kit looks good value at £21k - I'll let people know just in case anyone else is interested in taking a similar approach...

[framerateuk]

Would it not be better to just get a Duratec in the first place if you're aiming for 175 bhp?

It would probably work out cheaper, and getting 175 out of the 1.6 block would be squeezing every drop of performance you can get (if it's possible?), while the Duratec will do 175 easily, without stressing the hell out of the components.

[cambuscat]

Andy, Dreadnought Garage in Callendar is who you are thinking of but only service not sales. Am in Glasgow if you need any advice or a fitting.

A lot of people, because they come out of more powerful cars, think they need higher powered cats but if you look at the power/weight ratio of even a humble K or sigma it is circa 220bhp/ton.

David