Buying back my old Caterham
Discussion
I have the option of buying back the car I built in 1990.
Trouble is I sold it 12years later as the TVR I had, did everything better or at least in more comfort and was more practical as a daily driver.
The car was/is a 1700 Crossflow, 4 speed, live axle with LSD. I loved the simplicity of the car, the engine etc but it needed lead additive and never managed more than 20mpg.
Is it worth doing an engine swop to get better mpg and possibly performance, althugh the engine that was in it was incredibly torquey and a pleasure to use or am I adding complexity and reducing its originality
Or should I decline the offer as they always say, "never go back"
Trouble is I sold it 12years later as the TVR I had, did everything better or at least in more comfort and was more practical as a daily driver.
The car was/is a 1700 Crossflow, 4 speed, live axle with LSD. I loved the simplicity of the car, the engine etc but it needed lead additive and never managed more than 20mpg.
Is it worth doing an engine swop to get better mpg and possibly performance, althugh the engine that was in it was incredibly torquey and a pleasure to use or am I adding complexity and reducing its originality
Or should I decline the offer as they always say, "never go back"
Buy it I reckon! Pop on some Bike or 4AGE throttle bodies if the budget won't run to Jenvey. Use a megasquirt or similar, doing the ignition as well. I know someone who has done this on an xflow 7 and his economy has increased hugely - not to mention drivability. Power is up a bit too. Even just a Megajolt on an engine with sidedraughts gives a noticable economy and driveability gain I've been told.
If you do buy it back and keep the x-flow (no reason not to) you could always have a head upgrade to stellite seats to allow unleaded.
Switching also to throttle bodies and engine management will yield a much more driveable engine even in high states of tune, with much better economy...
Have a read of an article by Dave Walker in a past issue of Track Driver Magazine on throttle bodies and FI vs Carbs (He of emerald fame)... Very informative from a Guru in the field...
Alternatively as mentioned above a swap to a zetec will advance the engine technology by 20 years, provide a bullet proof engine and with throttle bodies and management, ±170bhp out the box
Switching also to throttle bodies and engine management will yield a much more driveable engine even in high states of tune, with much better economy...
Have a read of an article by Dave Walker in a past issue of Track Driver Magazine on throttle bodies and FI vs Carbs (He of emerald fame)... Very informative from a Guru in the field...
Alternatively as mentioned above a swap to a zetec will advance the engine technology by 20 years, provide a bullet proof engine and with throttle bodies and management, ±170bhp out the box
Skyedriver said:
I have the option of buying back the car I built in 1990.
Trouble is I sold it 12years later as the TVR I had, did everything better or at least in more comfort and was more practical as a daily driver.
The car was/is a 1700 Crossflow, 4 speed, live axle with LSD. I loved the simplicity of the car, the engine etc but it needed lead additive and never managed more than 20mpg.
Is it worth doing an engine swop to get better mpg and possibly performance, althugh the engine that was in it was incredibly torquey and a pleasure to use or am I adding complexity and reducing its originality
Or should I decline the offer as they always say, "never go back"
Hi Tony,Trouble is I sold it 12years later as the TVR I had, did everything better or at least in more comfort and was more practical as a daily driver.
The car was/is a 1700 Crossflow, 4 speed, live axle with LSD. I loved the simplicity of the car, the engine etc but it needed lead additive and never managed more than 20mpg.
Is it worth doing an engine swop to get better mpg and possibly performance, althugh the engine that was in it was incredibly torquey and a pleasure to use or am I adding complexity and reducing its originality
Or should I decline the offer as they always say, "never go back"
J889***? I've seen it quite a few times in recent years and it's still going well. I think I sent you a photo of it parked next to mine; if not I have one or two in my archives. Go for it!
BTW, I used my 6-speed Supersport almost every day for a fortnight in the recent good weather. On a rural commute, limited to gentle driving by other traffic (and the odd overtake!) it averaged 48.4mpg.
Regards,
Alan
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