Caterham Supersport - finally back in a Seven
Discussion
Right then... It's all been a bit shuffle and move these last couple of weeks.
As some may have seen in my other threads my SL500 went to a new home which freed up some cash to go in the Caterham fund. Ever since selling my old 310R I've bitterly regretted doing so. You can read about that car here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... I did everything in it. And I missed it dearly.
Probably the image I have in my head of Caterham ownership I loved was the quiet lanes you could enjoy in Kent where I live. It's this image below that I kept thinking about
Anyway with the budget set I went out looking for ex race Sigma engined cars or a later K series car...duratecs were out of my budget but that was fine as I was happy with the pace of my Sigma before.
So yesterday morning I booked an appointment with GP Sevens in Sevenoaks to see if they might find me anything. It was also a lovely excuse to get a day out with my Dad in his 205 which is running so well at the moment
Anyway we got to GPSevens and were greeted by Anthony who was so accommodating and helpful in listening to what I was after and my use case. Ultimately I still want to do trackdays but it's more about using it for some adventures as well.
With that in mind he had two cars, one am R300K series in Kawasaki green which I loved but he said might be a bit extreme for a drive to Switzerland with the 6 speed box doing over 5k at 70. My heart said I could tolerate it however my experience with the short box in the S1 Elise 111S I had said I couldn't really..
So what's the second option, well they had just had a Supersport ex race car traded in, however unlike a lot which have had some lights chucked on, wrap changed and another seat this car had been properly rebuilt and apart. With a full repaint, recarpet, new dash etc. And so this is what I've gone with...
In terms of spec:
-metallic blue
-supersport fixed cam sigma -140bhp
-13x6 wheels all round (rears look awful but do drive better than the 8s)
-comfy leather over fillets
-13k miles
- track day roll bar
- LED front lights
- heater
-ford 5 speed type 9 gearbox
Things id like to change over time
- LSD unfortunately this car doesn't have one
- Tiller bucket seats
- Probably a set of 8 inch rears.
The car will come with 12 months MOT and a fresh service so that sets me up for use.
During the test drive it all immediately came flooding back why I regretted selling my other one, they just make you happy even at 40mph.
The car should arrive in two weeks after prep and then I've got summer to get back up to speed before a roadtrip in September.
In terms of the MX5 as this will have to go... Luckily I offered it to a friend round the corner at a good price and he's taking it.
As some may have seen in my other threads my SL500 went to a new home which freed up some cash to go in the Caterham fund. Ever since selling my old 310R I've bitterly regretted doing so. You can read about that car here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... I did everything in it. And I missed it dearly.
Probably the image I have in my head of Caterham ownership I loved was the quiet lanes you could enjoy in Kent where I live. It's this image below that I kept thinking about
Anyway with the budget set I went out looking for ex race Sigma engined cars or a later K series car...duratecs were out of my budget but that was fine as I was happy with the pace of my Sigma before.
So yesterday morning I booked an appointment with GP Sevens in Sevenoaks to see if they might find me anything. It was also a lovely excuse to get a day out with my Dad in his 205 which is running so well at the moment
Anyway we got to GPSevens and were greeted by Anthony who was so accommodating and helpful in listening to what I was after and my use case. Ultimately I still want to do trackdays but it's more about using it for some adventures as well.
With that in mind he had two cars, one am R300K series in Kawasaki green which I loved but he said might be a bit extreme for a drive to Switzerland with the 6 speed box doing over 5k at 70. My heart said I could tolerate it however my experience with the short box in the S1 Elise 111S I had said I couldn't really..
So what's the second option, well they had just had a Supersport ex race car traded in, however unlike a lot which have had some lights chucked on, wrap changed and another seat this car had been properly rebuilt and apart. With a full repaint, recarpet, new dash etc. And so this is what I've gone with...
In terms of spec:
-metallic blue
-supersport fixed cam sigma -140bhp
-13x6 wheels all round (rears look awful but do drive better than the 8s)
-comfy leather over fillets
-13k miles
- track day roll bar
- LED front lights
- heater
-ford 5 speed type 9 gearbox
Things id like to change over time
- LSD unfortunately this car doesn't have one
- Tiller bucket seats
- Probably a set of 8 inch rears.
The car will come with 12 months MOT and a fresh service so that sets me up for use.
During the test drive it all immediately came flooding back why I regretted selling my other one, they just make you happy even at 40mph.
The car should arrive in two weeks after prep and then I've got summer to get back up to speed before a roadtrip in September.
In terms of the MX5 as this will have to go... Luckily I offered it to a friend round the corner at a good price and he's taking it.
SpudLink said:
Congratulations. Hope the fantastic weather continues all the way to next winter so you can make the most of it.
Your dad’s 205 looks gorgeous.
Thanks sir, yes 205 is a peach that has had a glass out resto then just been subtly enhanced with Bilstein B6s all around and then a gasflowed head, fast road cam, and then a full classic super sprint exhaust. So it's about 150bhp now and just is that bit sharper. Your dad’s 205 looks gorgeous.
Lovely looking car and a bit of a different experience to the SL!
Is the road trip to Switzerland two people in the car? I was chatting to a couple of Caterham owners at a car meet and they spoke of long road trips which isn’t an obvious thing to do when you look at the car. It will be epic when you are in the Alps though!
Is the road trip to Switzerland two people in the car? I was chatting to a couple of Caterham owners at a car meet and they spoke of long road trips which isn’t an obvious thing to do when you look at the car. It will be epic when you are in the Alps though!
TV8 said:
Lovely looking car and a bit of a different experience to the SL!
Is the road trip to Switzerland two people in the car? I was chatting to a couple of Caterham owners at a car meet and they spoke of long road trips which isn’t an obvious thing to do when you look at the car. It will be epic when you are in the Alps though!
No just me in the car but going with a few others including an identically specced Caterham. They're actually quite comfortable on the motorway if they're not pure track weapons and if you asked me if I'd rather be in an Elise or a Caterham on a wet motorway I'm saying Caterham all day long. Is the road trip to Switzerland two people in the car? I was chatting to a couple of Caterham owners at a car meet and they spoke of long road trips which isn’t an obvious thing to do when you look at the car. It will be epic when you are in the Alps though!
However one thing you do have to watch out for is your heating - ear plugs are a must and then on the motorway passing lorries with spray is a bit scary!
Joehow said:
No just me in the car but going with a few others including an identically specced Caterham. They're actually quite comfortable on the motorway if they're not pure track weapons and if you asked me if I'd rather be in an Elise or a Caterham on a wet motorway I'm saying Caterham all day long.
However one thing you do have to watch out for is your heating - ear plugs are a must and then on the motorway passing lorries with spray is a bit scary!
Tours like that are fun and hopefully, not much motorway on the trip across. Noise can be a thing. I am frequently reminded of a tour deep down in to France with a load of TVRs with the good lady wife and how noisy it was!However one thing you do have to watch out for is your heating - ear plugs are a must and then on the motorway passing lorries with spray is a bit scary!
Enjoy the car
TV8 said:
Joehow said:
No just me in the car but going with a few others including an identically specced Caterham. They're actually quite comfortable on the motorway if they're not pure track weapons and if you asked me if I'd rather be in an Elise or a Caterham on a wet motorway I'm saying Caterham all day long.
However one thing you do have to watch out for is your heating - ear plugs are a must and then on the motorway passing lorries with spray is a bit scary!
Tours like that are fun and hopefully, not much motorway on the trip across. Noise can be a thing. I am frequently reminded of a tour deep down in to France with a load of TVRs with the good lady wife and how noisy it was!However one thing you do have to watch out for is your heating - ear plugs are a must and then on the motorway passing lorries with spray is a bit scary!
Enjoy the car
Thanks dude I hope to!
Been doing a bit of prep for the Caterhams arrival, hopefully next week. Garage is a long way from the special things on here but it's perfectly sizeable. Tarted up with a few of those rubber / foam floor tiles and then just chucked a bit of white paint on the two main walls.
Also with my old car I always wore race boots to drive but you feel a bit of a dick when you get out at a petrol station. So I followed the pattern of many other Caterham owner and got a pair of puma speedcats. However I'll still look a knob as I got red ones...
Typically weather looks shocking next week but I'm still excited.
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