My Caterham 7

[Andy Bell]

Thought the other thread was an apt way of saying hello so I had been looking for a while and eventually saw a package that I thought would be ideal. It had a decent amount of spares, trailer and vbox - all things which I thought i would get long term. Decided to bite the bullet at the same time as purchasing car and got it upgraded from tracksport spec to supersport from McMillan Motorsports who I found excellent. Due to living in Glasgow the expense of going down and getting it done meant that might as well take the hit earlier on.

Anyway picked it up yesterday and trailered all the way home (which took ages due to 2hrs managing 20 miles *shakes fist* at M6 closure). Due to me not sorting V5C & it being sorn'd not had a chance to go for a drive Unpacked everything and now realise how little I know about cars - have to figure out what all the random spares are

Some pics:




Anyway the spec is (in spoiler):


2010 Academy upgraded to Tracksport and now
2013 SuperSport conversion
- new gearbox rebuild 4 races ago
- new clutch at time of gearbox rebuild
- lowered wingstays
- AP Racing brake bias valve
- AP Racing uprated brake master cylinder
- high effort brake pedal
- braided brake hoses
- Castrol SRF brake fluid
- Pagid RS15 front brakes
- Mintes M1144 rear brakes
- wide rack (22%) rack
- Real Essential resin bead seat
- Aces shift light
- lowered race wingstays
- half side doors
- lowered floor
- removable Momo steering wheel
- Limited Slip Diff

Fully installed VBox data logging system;
- Racelogic VBox Lite
- 4 additional CAN Channel Unit
- additional brake pressure, throttle and rpm position sensors
- 3.5" preview monitor

Spares Package
- additional 2 sets of spare wheels and CR500 tyres - (Caterham retail approx £2000!)
- set of brake discs (Caterham retail £100)
- set of Mintex rear brake pads (retail £65)
- set of Pagid front brake pads (Caterham retail £182)
- new rear hub including grease and oil seals (Caterham retail £75)
- assembled front anti-roll bar (blue) - (Caterham retail approx £50)
- assembled front anti-roll bar (orange) - (Caterham retail approx £50)
- x3 air filters (Caterham retail approx £31 each)
- oil filters and oil
- steering rack (original ratio) - (Caterham retail £300)

Previous upgrade parts;
- x2 Tillet fibreglass seats (Caterham retail @ £840 including runners, etc.)
- weather gear & side doors (Caterham retail @ £500)
- original Academy/Roadsport front springs/dampers (removed for conversion) - (Caterham retail @ £1000)
- original narrow track upper and lower wishbones (Caterham retail @ £400)
- original headlights and brackets (removed for conversion) - (Caterham retail at approx £260)
- windscreen, stanchions, etc. (removed for conversion) - (Caterham retail at approx £530)
- car cover

Edited by Andy Bell on Tuesday 26th February 17:29

[DCL]

Great to see you've got it home Andy! Looking forward to seeing it - if you need any help let me know.

[downsman]

Looks good

If you don't need some of those spares you could easily sell some.
It might be worth waiting before you drive anyway, there's loads of salt on the roads at the moment.

[Andy Bell]

thanks for offer DCL my g/f thought it was hilarious when I started taking spares/upgrades out and didnt know what stuff was I did figure out the air/oil filter but think that was a cheat because it said it on side Had a chance to drive it about 1 minute to get it into garage (dont tell dvla) and really need a good run in it as it hasnt really been used for a year properly - I am guessing thats why it struggles at idle atm? If i give it a little gas its fine.

Cant wait

As for spares definitely going to sell all the upgrade parts and will see about anything else once i get better feel for it.

[cambuscat]

Hi Andy, looks good glad you finally got sorted. Looking forward to seeing you out.

David

[Andy Bell]

ye going to post office to sort V5b now and with luck get some tax at same time (crosses fingers) Yay car is tax'd and then need to get windscreen replaced Its got an aero screen atm but would be good to have windscreen as I have bits so just need new glass.

Cant wait just a shame didnt get few weeks ago as weather is awesome

Quite a few have warned of the dreaded salt but if its 100% dry is the salt so bad - guess you could go for drive and then clean the underside? (I have a pit in garage)

Edited by Andy Bell on Wednesday 27th February 16:30

[dgsr777]

Andy, if you want to sell the bag seat the car had (if it is still with the car) could you let me know, it fitted me a treat! Regards, David

[Andy Bell]

Decided to go for a 'short drive' yesterday in lovely sun and it ended up being 1.5hrs. Taking the most random route in world (denny/fintry past carron valley reservoir) and nearly running out of fuel was certainly an event.

Having never even sat in one before purchasing (mental eh I decided to go on true petrolheads experience rather than a wannabe like me) I now see *exactly* what people are talking about. I was accelerating from 20-45 on the back roads and it felt amazing and so involved - I do that in my normal car and it doesnt feel like anything.

Only down side is the 1.5hrs worth of vbox was ahem ruined by me not noticing the guy I got it from had left lens cap on. Still managed to find the point on it where i accelerate to 60 and it wiggles about in 3rd gear.

If you are ever considering it then do it

[timrw81]

Looks fantastic. I'm sure it drives really nicely. Just out of interest, does it have race dampers all round or is it like the Supersport road car that appears only to have them on the front? If all round, what's the ride like?

Tim

[Andy Bell]

sorry missed this so being honest I am absolutely the worst person you could ask on this forum - about anything Caterham related. However this is giving me the opportunity to learn so much! I bought this to go through a massive journey of learning and chose Caterham based on people that have had many years of true petrolhead knowledge. I could check but honestly would need to know what to check

So apologies I cannot answer the question directly but I would say that on my run I drove over an absolutely shocking road and I definitely felt every bump but honestly it wasn't a problem. I spent too much time watching the tyres stick to the road and chuckling too myself. Its a raw experience for sure but you smile so much it doesnt bother you - the fact its so raw makes it so much fun.

Its (as in my version of car) definitely a race car primarily that you can drive on road but i find it nothing but a pleasure. In my first run i planned on 10 minutes and 1.5 hours later just about finished my drive.

Edited by Andy Bell on Wednesday 13th March 14:37

[anonymous-user]

I'll buck the trend and say that's the fugliest colour scheme ever.
Each to their own though. A long as you like it, ignore everyone else.

[Andy Bell]

indeed it is its like everything in life each to own but thanks for contribution I drive the car for how it feels as ultimately when it comes down to it i dont see what it looks like when driving. Typically it would have decals which would make it appear less weird - e.g. big white random spaces.

Edited by Andy Bell on Friday 15th March 16:09

[Digital]

Looks like a nice car and spec

Any plans for what you'll do with it, do you plan on using it as a track car, or are you looking to compete with it? I bought an Academy car last year for this year's sprint and hillclimb championships, your car would be just about perfect for that

[anonymous-user]

I know it's been painted for the track but I'll buck the tread and admit I find that colour scheme a bit minging. Just looks a mess
Enjoy the car though, and do what I do....ignore people who don't like the colour of your car

[Andy Bell]

so I will drive it as much as possible on road and also Knockhill. Presuming I like the track aspect (dont see why I would not) then I would love to try a season of racing in graduates or something like that. Have to save my pennies for that and alot of driving down south to races!

Obviously anything is an option and as I look into things then so many ways to go. Being up in Glasgow does mean dont have quite as many options as dawn swath but starting to look into what all is available up here: knockhill, crail etc..

This whole experience is a journey for me

Yeh I guess beauty eye of beholder and If I were choosing a car from scratch would probably have gone different route - but the package was a really good deal. but how much fun are they to drive!

Edited by Andy Bell on Saturday 16th March 14:00

[Digital]

http://www.scottish-sprinting.co.uk/

You can enter individual events to get a feel for it, some of the sprint/hillclimb courses are almost designed for a Caterham

If you were to join East Ayrshire Car Club you can also sign up for test days at Kames for not very much money.

[Andy Bell]

Cheers for that very helpful