Engine change/upgrade?
Discussion
I'm looking at a 1993 1400 which has had the engine changed to an 1800 VVC. What concerns should this raise for me?
Will it have been a straight in-out job or would there have had to be lots of hacking about?
New to this Caterham thing but looking to buy one for trackday fun at a much cheaper ptice than my Noble is costing me. And to add a 3rd car to my line up with no roof.
Will it have been a straight in-out job or would there have had to be lots of hacking about?
New to this Caterham thing but looking to buy one for trackday fun at a much cheaper ptice than my Noble is costing me. And to add a 3rd car to my line up with no roof.
Yes, Murph's right...and they aren't that tuneable either - you have to chuck away the VVC bits for starters. Conversely, that car with a 5 speed 'box makes a great tourer - VVC has more torque that (say) a Supersport 1.6.
Check out you aren't paying over the odds for the car - does it have a 6 speed 'box?...the engine change has been done for about £1k by others.
Car ought to be no more than £10k, and if it has a 5 speed 'box, you might not find it's best suited as a trackday car. I'd recomend you look for an ex racecar if you want it for trackdays - Roadsport As can be bought for sub £10k - Tango 7 has one; he can give you some advice on them - he may even be selling that car/or has sold it....
Check out you aren't paying over the odds for the car - does it have a 6 speed 'box?...the engine change has been done for about £1k by others.
Car ought to be no more than £10k, and if it has a 5 speed 'box, you might not find it's best suited as a trackday car. I'd recomend you look for an ex racecar if you want it for trackdays - Roadsport As can be bought for sub £10k - Tango 7 has one; he can give you some advice on them - he may even be selling that car/or has sold it....
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/184908.htm
Its this one here.
It has a 6 speeder.
I'm happy to spend some cash on upgrades as if I bend it, the upgrades are still there, even if I need to buy a new chassis and build the car up again it will still cost half what the excess is in the Noble!!
I want a trackday and the odd sunny day blast car that is great fun and cheap enough to only insure TPFT and not to insure on track. I'm guessing that a brush with a tyre wall won't cost the earth to put right, especially compared to my Noble which is £200 per day to insure witha £5000 track excess!!
Whats the best engine combo for track fun at under £10k? It needs to be brisk after coming from a Noble too.
Thanks for the help btw.
Greg
Its this one here.
It has a 6 speeder.
I'm happy to spend some cash on upgrades as if I bend it, the upgrades are still there, even if I need to buy a new chassis and build the car up again it will still cost half what the excess is in the Noble!!
I want a trackday and the odd sunny day blast car that is great fun and cheap enough to only insure TPFT and not to insure on track. I'm guessing that a brush with a tyre wall won't cost the earth to put right, especially compared to my Noble which is £200 per day to insure witha £5000 track excess!!
Whats the best engine combo for track fun at under £10k? It needs to be brisk after coming from a Noble too.
Thanks for the help btw.
Greg
It's a pretty common conversion these days with the availability of Trophy engines from crashed MGF's. Physically the engine is a straight swap so no hacking of the chassis but there are changes to the loom amongst other things - as said a search of Blatchat will give you the full story. A six speed box would be preferable for track work.
The VVC is in fact a good place to start for tuning the engine as the valves are bigger than a standard K16 (same size as on the VHPD/MS2 head in fact). Yes you junk the VVC mechanism and camshafts are slightly more expensive (larger diameter) but Piper do a blanking kit for where the VVC mechanism went. My 227bhp engine uses a VVC head!
Take a look at DVA Power for upgrades.
The VVC is in fact a good place to start for tuning the engine as the valves are bigger than a standard K16 (same size as on the VHPD/MS2 head in fact). Yes you junk the VVC mechanism and camshafts are slightly more expensive (larger diameter) but Piper do a blanking kit for where the VVC mechanism went. My 227bhp engine uses a VVC head!
Take a look at DVA Power for upgrades.
Edited by Shaun_E on Thursday 12th July 09:34
What did you have to do to the engine to get 220+ Shaun?
Another numpty question, (i'm learning)......
Are all the chassis the same on all cars up to the change a couple of years ago?
What makes the differences between a roadsport and supersport, superlight and non SL?
What also does the HPE model do?
Thanks guys.
Greg
Another numpty question, (i'm learning)......
Are all the chassis the same on all cars up to the change a couple of years ago?
What makes the differences between a roadsport and supersport, superlight and non SL?
What also does the HPE model do?
Thanks guys.
Greg
I'll have a go.
Two main type of chassis, De-dion and live axle. Most of the xflow and 1600 VX were live axle cars.
The rest were De-dion (different kind of axle) There were also long and short cockpit cars.
There have been various mods to all chassis over the years, such as removable chassis members in the engine bay, different suspension mounts etc. Bruce at Arch Motors (the chassis builders until recently) can give you chapter and verse on the differences.
Now we have the standard car S3 and the SV, model which is a larger version. This is only a quick round up others will have more specific details. Most of this stuff can be searched and found on Blatchat.com
Two main type of chassis, De-dion and live axle. Most of the xflow and 1600 VX were live axle cars.
The rest were De-dion (different kind of axle) There were also long and short cockpit cars.
There have been various mods to all chassis over the years, such as removable chassis members in the engine bay, different suspension mounts etc. Bruce at Arch Motors (the chassis builders until recently) can give you chapter and verse on the differences.
Now we have the standard car S3 and the SV, model which is a larger version. This is only a quick round up others will have more specific details. Most of this stuff can be searched and found on Blatchat.com
Engine cost about £6k but worth every penny.
spec is as follows
Scholar 1900cc EVO2 block
Forged pistons (Pistal in my case but I'd probably go for Omega now) and single tang rods.
VVC head fully ported by DVA Power and the VVC mech junked. Hydraulic lifters retained.
Piper BP285H cams plus VVC blanking kit.
Lightweight flywheel
Jenvey DTH Throttle bodies
Bernard Scouse airbox (keeps the induction noise down)
Emerald ECU and car mapped on Emerald's rolling road.
Caterham 4-2-1 race exhaust with 7" silencer.
You can get another 20-30bhp quite easily with solid lifters and a wilder camshaft (1227 or 1444) but then you are looking at a regular top end check/refresh as well a peakier power delivery. Take a look at my power/torque curve here - dead easy to drive in traffic but still a stormer when you want it to be.
Quick overview of the models:
Classic - basic car, 100ish bhp either 1.6 Vauxhall or 1.4 K series
Roadsport - " your average Caterham" usually with 1.6 or 1.8 k series
Superlight - track orientated, 6 speed box, adjustable suspension, LSD, big brakes, widetrack, some carbon, etc. K-series powered (until very recently). 135bhp as std. My car started life as a Superlight.
Supersport - not a model but an engine upgrade often applied to Roadsports and standard on the superlight.
Superlight R - 190bhp superlight using VHPD K series engine.
More recently R300 and R400 available with 160bhp and 200bhp respectively plus all the superlight goodies
Before the K series there were Ford X-flow powered cars with 100ish bhp or 135ish in "Supersprint" guise.
HPC was originally Ford BDR powered and then later Vauxhall 2.0 XE engines with around 160-170bhp.
Hope this helps.
spec is as follows
Scholar 1900cc EVO2 block
Forged pistons (Pistal in my case but I'd probably go for Omega now) and single tang rods.
VVC head fully ported by DVA Power and the VVC mech junked. Hydraulic lifters retained.
Piper BP285H cams plus VVC blanking kit.
Lightweight flywheel
Jenvey DTH Throttle bodies
Bernard Scouse airbox (keeps the induction noise down)
Emerald ECU and car mapped on Emerald's rolling road.
Caterham 4-2-1 race exhaust with 7" silencer.
You can get another 20-30bhp quite easily with solid lifters and a wilder camshaft (1227 or 1444) but then you are looking at a regular top end check/refresh as well a peakier power delivery. Take a look at my power/torque curve here - dead easy to drive in traffic but still a stormer when you want it to be.
Quick overview of the models:
Classic - basic car, 100ish bhp either 1.6 Vauxhall or 1.4 K series
Roadsport - " your average Caterham" usually with 1.6 or 1.8 k series
Superlight - track orientated, 6 speed box, adjustable suspension, LSD, big brakes, widetrack, some carbon, etc. K-series powered (until very recently). 135bhp as std. My car started life as a Superlight.
Supersport - not a model but an engine upgrade often applied to Roadsports and standard on the superlight.
Superlight R - 190bhp superlight using VHPD K series engine.
More recently R300 and R400 available with 160bhp and 200bhp respectively plus all the superlight goodies
Before the K series there were Ford X-flow powered cars with 100ish bhp or 135ish in "Supersprint" guise.
HPC was originally Ford BDR powered and then later Vauxhall 2.0 XE engines with around 160-170bhp.
Hope this helps.
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