Re : Caterham Seven | PH Used Buying Guide

[Gulf7]

Really interesting article and accompanying thread. I can't wait to pick up my 310R at the end of the month

For the record I'm 5'11" and went for the S3 chassis with lowered floors. I test drove an SV, but it just didn't have the same appeal as Chapman's original.

[Olivera]

autofocus said:

I have never really liked Westfields, I have found the design not really to my taste and dismissed them pretty early on in my search.

The aesthetic design or engineering design? Do tell!

Your Zero looks great!

[Murph7355]

DoubleD said:

blearyeyedboy said:

How overweight powerfully built do you have to be before you don't fit in a standard car and need an SV?

I'm a hair over 6 feet, 100kg (yes, I know, that's the New Year Resolution!) and I have size 11 feet...

Sounds like you would better getting an SV

Don't.

Make sensible tweaks to an S3 and that sort of size is eminently accommodatable.

I'm 6'4", have been up to 120kg (quit significantly less now) and have size 11 feet. Have always been able to drive the car.

I've been in SVs and the sense of intimacy is, IMO, lost. Yes, compared to a normal car it still feels intimate...But if you're going to be putting the latex suit on, you don't want it baggy around the knees and arse (apparently).

[Murph7355]

PS useful adjustments:

- lowered floor
- removable steering wheel
- foam seat
- plenty of time experimenting with pedal positions (farthest setting not always the best)
- FIA bar minimum

[Murph7355]

Julian Thompson said:

A1VDY said:

With such low weight all that's needed is the 660 three pot.
Over 100bhp with something like this is pointless..

I most strongly disagree with you. Yes, you can have lots and lots and lots of fun with <100hp in a seven.

But, with more power you can experience something quite remarkable that’s entirely different in both character and the “point” - go and drive a 200hp caterham around your favourite track in the dry and come back and tell me it’s “pointless”....

This.

Biased, but 200bhp and stripped of fat is the sweet spot for a 7 IMO. 90s SLR spec...SL if you're a bit squeamish.

[anonymous-user]

Murph7355 said:

Julian Thompson said:

A1VDY said:

With such low weight all that's needed is the 660 three pot.
Over 100bhp with something like this is pointless..

I most strongly disagree with you. Yes, you can have lots and lots and lots of fun with <100hp in a seven.

But, with more power you can experience something quite remarkable that’s entirely different in both character and the “point” - go and drive a 200hp caterham around your favourite track in the dry and come back and tell me it’s “pointless”....

This.

Biased, but 200bhp and stripped of fat is the sweet spot for a 7 IMO. 90s SLR spec...SL if you're a bit squeamish.

Not to mention the fun of acceleration. My V8 westie was the fastest accelerating car I've had. Proper nuts (250bhp). My 150bhp westie was no where near as quick, but was the easiest car to drive hard.

[SidewaysSi]

Everyone has a different view of what's enough power in a Seven depending on what they look for.

All are driftable with a LSD and it does depend on how wide you want your rear tyre and how important straight line punch is for you.

A bit old but here's John Barker's view in EVO:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.evo.co.uk/caterha...

[coppice]

A1VDY said:

With such low weight all that's needed is the 660 three pot.
Over 100bhp with something like this is pointless..

Trust me . it really , really isn't . Double the power isn't twice as good but it does make a huge difference. Sevens' light weight helps acceleration of even a 100bhp car to 60 but it does flatter to deceive as barn door aerodynamics make even a well powered Seven slower than many would expect at higher speeds . If I were buying another I'd go for about 180bhp but wouldn't need much persuading to go 40bhp higher. You might not use it all the time but when you do...

[jason61c]

YouTalkinToMe said:

What is that based on?

Based on looking at factory built cars in detail.

[jason61c]

Also reminds me of when I built this.

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/driven-...

[AndrewGP]

I love mine. It's an R300 in Renault Liquid Yellow, with loads of carbon bits, all the usual superlight bits like close ratio 6 speed box, adjustable suspension, race master cylinder, AP brakes etc and has a dry sumped 2.0 180bhp Duratec with a lightweight flywheel.

The handling, acceleration, sense of occasion, immersion, low cost of consumables, ease of maintenance and trackday ability are all amazing and I can't see me getting rid of it for many years, especially as cars get heavier, less involving and move to electric power.

Comments about the L7Club are valid but the FB groups are great and I'd urge anyone who's remotely in to driving to try one out as they're utterly sublime to drive

[anonymous-user]

The guys on the WSCC forum are no better. I raised the issue that the vast majority of the membership fee goes to a stty magazine with articles from Ron about a 3/16 tap and die set, and that modern consumption is via the web. I suggested a free forum and a mag sub - didn't go down well, and they dug their heels in and told me if I don't like it, to leave. So I left.

Went to one of the kit car shows where they had a stand and it was so 'cliquey' that I didn't introduce myself. Just avoided them . All hail the chairman, etc etc.

[CABC]

autofocus said:

Hi there,

Superb to see this extensive article up on PH.

I was lucky enough a couple of years ago to have the funds to make a purchase of a '7' style car. Having driven Caterhams before (and really enjoyed it), I look long and hard at what this brand had to offer. I found that for the spec I wanted it was going to cost around £40,000 which was quite a bit over my budget.

I have never really liked Westfields, I have found the design not really to my taste and dismissed them pretty early on in my search.

I look at a few other options across the kit car industry and finally settled on Great British Sportscars. Their Zero allowed me to build my car from chassis to finished vehicle and gave me the opportunity to go for even more bespoke features (digital dash, steering wheel controls etc) and still be well within budget.

All told my car has cost me a few pounds under £28,000 and 18 months into it being on the road I absolutely love it.

Its built from all new parts (and as such is registered as a GBS Zero on a new plate). Its a 2.0 Ford Zetec engine with throttle bodies. Weight is dead on 600kg and the bhp has been measure with the car having 1000 miles on the clock as 170bhp. This gives a power to weight ratio of approx. 280 bhp/tonne.





Regards

Tim

Edited by autofocus on Saturday 4th January 22:34

the old Robin Hood was much slated but i've heard good things about GBS. new chassis i believe.

[Bobo W]

blearyeyedboy said:

gregf40mark2 said:

I completely disagree.

I'm 98kg, 6 foot 1.5" with size 13 feet and my 420R S3 is absolutely fine.

You will need to tick the lowered floors option though.

LateStarter said:

I am 6'2" was 115kg (now 100) and size 12 feet and have an S3, because I track and race it so regs say it has to be an S3 and driven SVs
You'll fit in an S3 but will always feel cramped, which is a good sensation on track but not so much for a fun Sunday drive.
Biggest frustration will be foot space in my experience, really hard to work your feet properly at rack pace in that limited space, which can lead to cramps in legs and the occasional unnecessary bit of excitement catching edge of foot under the brake as you lift off. At road pace it isn't really an issue.
Get an SV if you have the choice and obviously lowered floor is essential.

Edited by LateStarter on Saturday 4th January 09:52

Thanks both. I didn't realise about the lowered floor; I now. Cheers.

Lowered floor, tillets, removeable steering wheel and puma Speedcats is all you need up to about 6ft 3" - thereafter a bag seat for taller people. Funnily enough I think the SV is too big!

[Gulf7]

Another reason to go for lowered floors and the track day roll cage is so that when you have a helmet on it isn't the highest thing in the car!

Edited by Gulf7 on Sunday 5th January 18:41

[Julian Thompson]

This is my Caterham Seven. 200hp blackbird motor on DTA through some Jenvey bodies, nova gearbox and a live axle. Every bit of it is carbon and I built it up from a bare chassis - I weighed everything and modified most of it. It’s less than 400kg ready to run. Gearbox is sequential. The lever you can see in the tunnel is the brake bias. Even the headlamp bowls are carbon!

Edited by Julian Thompson on Sunday 5th January 20:27

[Rick101]

WOW You should go into car design!

[Julian Thompson]

Thanks Rick. The chassis was heavily modified for me by Bruce at Arch to incorporate the later rack table, stiffening in the footwells and then some seat mounts (caterham are presumably still riveting seats into the floor using those daft U channels?) - along with some special gearbox mounts and a decidedly non standard centre tunnel. The fuel pipes are alloy, bonded to the frame, and then the rest of it is carbon fibre panel. The wiring is also (I think) really cool because it’s all beneath the removable scuttle so it looks tidy:

[autofocus]

Olivera said:

The aesthetic design or engineering design? Do tell!

Your Zero looks great!

Hi,

I thought the engineering offered by GBS was far superior but aesthetically the rear of the Westfield just doesn't do it for me.



Regards

Tim

[autofocus]

CABC said:

the old Robin Hood was much slated but i've heard good things about GBS. new chassis i believe.

Hi there,

Yes GBS came out of the ashes of Robin Hood. The two cars are so far removed from each other its almost untrue.

Heres my chassis when I first got it.



Plenty of metal in it that's for sure.

Regards

Tim