Another: does anyone know this car?

[gianlu]

I know you are going to be tired of this, but does anyone know this car

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...

I spoke with dave @ dva (well, emailed) who confirmed some details about service interval.
Most likely cambelt is due so a service might be done at the same time.

So:
1) does anyone knows anything to share
2) anything special to look out for?
3) can anyone suggest where to go for service around ipswich area?

This would keep company in the garage to the (yes i know, hairdresser) Elise. But in my defence it's a special elise, audi engine and 320bhp.
I'd just like to have the same 400/ton ish both in n/a and turbo version...


Thanks all for any advice

Edited by gianlu on Sunday 25th August 18:33

[Mellow7]

I trust you didn't tell Dave "it's the yellow one..." as he told me he's colour blind (unless he's pulling my leg!). He thought mine was orange...

[gianlu]

i just gave him the link to the ad. No mention about color. And on that note: how many yellows has caterham been doing?!?

[Grubbster]

I don't know the actual car but that looks like a hell of a spec for the money, certainly worth looking into!

[Tom7]

I built that and owned it for 8 years.
All the mechanical spec is mine and it's had a bit of carbon bling added, but the advert is the one I wrote when I sold it.
What do you want to know?

[Tom7]

I built that and owned it for 8 years.
All the mechanical spec is mine and it's had a bit of carbon bling added, but the advert is the one I wrote when I sold it.
What do you want to know?

[gianlu]

Tom7 said:

I built that and owned it for 8 years.
All the mechanical spec is mine and it's had a bit of carbon bling added, but the advert is the one I wrote when I sold it.
What do you want to know?

Hi Tom and thanks. I think just generally if there is anything I need to check. I believe the last cambelt might have been done by you, other than that regular oil change/service has been done.
I've seen the picture on your profile, did you race it?

Thanks

[Tom7]

The engine is great and very strong, Throttle bodies can be a bit temperamental at low rpm whic is a 'feature' of this type. If the cambelt hasnt been changed since 2006, that would be a good idea.
The torque this engine produces matches the close ratio 5 speed really well.
My profile pic was taken at Curborough during a round of the L7 Club sprint series that I competed in for 2 years.
the car is a great drive, and really worth a closer look.

[gianlu]

Well, thought I could just as well follow up.
Tom, I bought the car, I had a full service (and cambelt) done before collection. Some scar on it, but the price was good, liked the colour and was very rust free. So I decided I can do some maintenance over the winter to make it spot on...

Unfortunately was in between flights in and out of the country so not a change for any good pics or anything else other than a 150mile drive back home

I love it, I need to adapt a bit from my other 'toy' (audi engined elise) but I do love it. Amazed by the insurance, followed another topic in ere, went to f.pickles (some £150/year!!)

here the worst pic of the forum:



A couple of questions if anyone can answer:

- clutch: it bites really high, but no slip, and I cannot really adapt to it...can It be easily adjusted or is it a sign of a 'gone' clutch?
- oil pressure: the gauge moves when I start the car, from the rest position to somewhere between red and 2, and does not move anywhere else, up or down. Any easy trick to see if a fault with the gauge or to actually test oil pressure?
- last: can anyone suggest a specialist (or at least a good mechanic who knows seven) in the Ipswich/Suffolk area?

Thanks

[Tom7]

Congratulations Gianluca, I hope you really enjoy the car. It's nice to think it lives on in the hands of an enthusiast. It's been too long for me to remember the details about pedal adjustment or the oil pressure readings, perhaps someone else will chime in.
I would suggest getting over to www.blatchat.com for all manner of technical expertise and knowledge of trusted mechanics.
Had I have not bought an S2 Elise 135R just before it came up for sale I may well have been tempted to buy it back.
cheers Tom

[Dr Slotter]

gianlu said:

- oil pressure: the gauge moves when I start the car, from the rest position to somewhere between red and 2, and does not move anywhere else, up or down. Any easy trick to see if a fault with the gauge or to actually test oil pressure?

Almost certainly a faulty sender.

[Manchestergas]

The curse of the dodgy sender!
All I can tell you is after asking on here the same question as you and After buying one i put a new sender unit on my k series and it lasted for...........
Well it did not last even one minute if I'm honest.
Exacctly the same as yours hovers over the red when warm. This was brand new from caterham and my gauge still did not work as it should. Then replaced the gauge having been kindly donated one off the lads on here and still the same.

This post reminds me I need to ring caterham about it and also sort the man a drink who sent me the other gauge.

[gianlu]

Manchestergas said:

The curse of the dodgy sender!
All I can tell you is after asking on here the same question as you and After buying one i put a new sender unit on my k series and it lasted for...........
Well it did not last even one minute if I'm honest.
Exacctly the same as yours hovers over the red when warm. This was brand new from caterham and my gauge still did not work as it should. Then replaced the gauge having been kindly donated one off the lads on here and still the same.

This post reminds me I need to ring caterham about it and also sort the man a drink who sent me the other gauge.

should I just get worried when it goes on red I'd like at some point to put an AIM dash, I know it's not the original look but arguably does a better job than all the other gauges, and I like to have alarms if required

[Helluvaname]

Pull the off the sender and, with the ignition on, touch the wire to the chassis/negative. The gauge should go to full deflection. If it does you either have a dodgy sender (95% likely), low oil pressure, or a wiring fault.
You can get a mechanical gauge that fits in the same dash hole.