Anyone know about history of P7HPC
Discussion
Hi there ,
Does anyone out there happen to know about the history of P7HPC for sale with Woodcote- 1996 blue top Vauxhall 2.0 dry sump ,cycle wings ,full cage ,tillets .Im guessing its not a genuine HPC but a post hoc conversion .
I'm assuming it has done a fair amount of track work looking at the spec -and as such i would have serious concerns that its had a hard life -having bought a track spec xflow many years back which went bang soon after i bought it and needed an expensive total engine rebuild .
Thanks
Does anyone out there happen to know about the history of P7HPC for sale with Woodcote- 1996 blue top Vauxhall 2.0 dry sump ,cycle wings ,full cage ,tillets .Im guessing its not a genuine HPC but a post hoc conversion .
I'm assuming it has done a fair amount of track work looking at the spec -and as such i would have serious concerns that its had a hard life -having bought a track spec xflow many years back which went bang soon after i bought it and needed an expensive total engine rebuild .
Thanks
Sure you know but you'd need the chassis number to confirm if its a genuine HPC or not. Odd looking transmission tunnel though with its square edges.
You say blue top. Are you referring to the spark plug cover? If blue then that would denote it is a Swindon Stage 1 (218) engine...unless the owner resprayed it of course!?
Cheers
SS
Edit to add - in fairness to Stuart, I hear he has a decent reputation and he has not described it as an HPC in the ad.
You say blue top. Are you referring to the spark plug cover? If blue then that would denote it is a Swindon Stage 1 (218) engine...unless the owner resprayed it of course!?
Cheers
SS
Edit to add - in fairness to Stuart, I hear he has a decent reputation and he has not described it as an HPC in the ad.
Edited by snapper seven on Friday 21st February 13:58
It was a my brother's car a while ago and is an HPC with a Swindon upgrade. My brother was 3rd owner (I think) and it was definitely a well looked after road car with light use then. Chap who bought it from brother put the cage and tillets in and removed the tunnel top to be a bit more functional I think. He was going to use it for club sprinting and the odd track day. I don't think it has had that much track use at all despite its appearance - well, no more than any other Caterham owned by a club member.
i might have a few photos knocking around if you are interested and wanted to see what it was like.
HTH
i might have a few photos knocking around if you are interested and wanted to see what it was like.
HTH
Edited by Tango7 on Friday 21st February 17:38
In 1996 Vauxhall cars were supplied with a refurb engine by Caterham, and still got a certificate of newness. So it was probably originally a std VX. The fact that it has a blue cam cover does not guarantee its a Swindon engine, and even if it is, Caterham got Swindon to supply the upgrades to a price, not a spec.
I do have an idea that P7HPC looked quite different to this in the past, but I could be wrong.
I do have an idea that P7HPC looked quite different to this in the past, but I could be wrong.
Thanks v much for all of this useful info ....
I'm indeed ummhing and arrhing about another 7 -currently have an old mans XKR conv as I like the comfort and practicality -but obviously still hanker after the feel of a 7 and everything it stands for -after all i had four Caterhams incl a rather nice VXE back in the day when i was younger .
Curiously I also miss pedestrians and other drivers waving and smiling as I drive by -that's really quite nice .
I take what was said about the VX lump being robust but i'm not sure if the internals would have been upgraded to take a lot of sprinting or track work -eg forged pistons ,steel bits etc . It does however seem to be dry sumped which i suppose is good to know .I ended up having to put an accusump on my VXE to stop the putative oil starvation which my oily warned me about -we also used some thick gloup to keep the pressure up -as i recall 20-60 Rockoil .
A few hours on the track or sprinting is equivalent to many more hours of fast road use -which is OK as long as its been well looked after .
I recall taking my VXE on the track at Knockhill and thought i was going quick enough ,until the instructor took me out and i couldn't believe the difference -just the way he balanced the car on the throttle was a real eye opener .
Also i see that Revolutions in Perth [who sells Morgans] are now a recognised Caterham agent -I used to take my 7 to Mike Stewart in Errol who is a top oily and a lovely bloke ,but liked to to take his time .
There is just something about the old school sound and charm of a VX on webers ,which makes me want to go back there -but perhaps like old girlfriends they should be left alone with the all the nice memories intact .
Maybe i need to take some brave pills and get back to the 7 again -or maybe do the sensible thing and upgrade my XKR to the later X150 model .
I'm indeed ummhing and arrhing about another 7 -currently have an old mans XKR conv as I like the comfort and practicality -but obviously still hanker after the feel of a 7 and everything it stands for -after all i had four Caterhams incl a rather nice VXE back in the day when i was younger .
Curiously I also miss pedestrians and other drivers waving and smiling as I drive by -that's really quite nice .
I take what was said about the VX lump being robust but i'm not sure if the internals would have been upgraded to take a lot of sprinting or track work -eg forged pistons ,steel bits etc . It does however seem to be dry sumped which i suppose is good to know .I ended up having to put an accusump on my VXE to stop the putative oil starvation which my oily warned me about -we also used some thick gloup to keep the pressure up -as i recall 20-60 Rockoil .
A few hours on the track or sprinting is equivalent to many more hours of fast road use -which is OK as long as its been well looked after .
I recall taking my VXE on the track at Knockhill and thought i was going quick enough ,until the instructor took me out and i couldn't believe the difference -just the way he balanced the car on the throttle was a real eye opener .
Also i see that Revolutions in Perth [who sells Morgans] are now a recognised Caterham agent -I used to take my 7 to Mike Stewart in Errol who is a top oily and a lovely bloke ,but liked to to take his time .
There is just something about the old school sound and charm of a VX on webers ,which makes me want to go back there -but perhaps like old girlfriends they should be left alone with the all the nice memories intact .
Maybe i need to take some brave pills and get back to the 7 again -or maybe do the sensible thing and upgrade my XKR to the later X150 model .
Hi Doclip,
According to the first owner who had the Swindon upgrade work done:
All engine work had been done by Caterham & AFAIR it included head port & skim, matched manifold, cams, solid lifters, valve springs & retainers, 48 DCOE, verniers etc. The bottom I think was standard apart from rod bolts & pocketed pistons.
Upgraded around a year later, solid tappet conversion in around
2000. Sure that the car had a steel flywheel
According to the first owner who had the Swindon upgrade work done:
All engine work had been done by Caterham & AFAIR it included head port & skim, matched manifold, cams, solid lifters, valve springs & retainers, 48 DCOE, verniers etc. The bottom I think was standard apart from rod bolts & pocketed pistons.
Upgraded around a year later, solid tappet conversion in around
2000. Sure that the car had a steel flywheel
I would imagine that with the passage of time its prob putting out circa 180 bhp ,which would be enough . HPCs seem t have held their value quite well -seems to be quite a decent bang for buck in terms of the overall package and power/weight ratio .
Does having the full cage add to the rigidity in terms of handling -quite nice to have for feeling of safety i would imagine ,although it does look a bit OTT for road use .
As i recall the VX block is quite heavy and it tends to understeer quite a bit ,which is ok for road use -i don't think id be going on the track -just for pottering around on sunny days .
Does having the full cage add to the rigidity in terms of handling -quite nice to have for feeling of safety i would imagine ,although it does look a bit OTT for road use .
As i recall the VX block is quite heavy and it tends to understeer quite a bit ,which is ok for road use -i don't think id be going on the track -just for pottering around on sunny days .
I have a 218 spec engine and I can confirm power was in low to mid 180's when I had it running on carbs, now it's on Throttle Bodies it is 195. My understanding is only physical changes inside the engine where cams, ARP bolts on the rods and that is it. All the other changes were to the carbs and the ignition. At least that is how it will have started out. I have been told that adding a dry sump would release more power but I have no direct evidence to support this.
So i would suspect in an older engine it's realistically going to be nearer to 160 bhp running on carbs
-without having it dynod its hard to know where you are really .
I cant really see how having a dry sump would change the power output .
I'm now actually thinking this example is rather over-priced although I guess that's the dealer margin factored in -ie its 2k over the mark IMHO cf a private sale .
From past experience with my VXE ,BDR ,Twincam and Xflow examples I probably need to put aside around 2-3K for a 7 of this vintage in terms of ongoing maintenance .
So i think on balance i'll give this a swerve -don't want to upset SWMBO after all with another money pit -been there done that too many times with 7s and TVRs ,tempting as it may be .
Also in terms of geography this isn't going to work -without knowing the dealer i would want to have it inspected on a ramp by a trusted oily ,not to mention driving it myself .
-without having it dynod its hard to know where you are really .
I cant really see how having a dry sump would change the power output .
I'm now actually thinking this example is rather over-priced although I guess that's the dealer margin factored in -ie its 2k over the mark IMHO cf a private sale .
From past experience with my VXE ,BDR ,Twincam and Xflow examples I probably need to put aside around 2-3K for a 7 of this vintage in terms of ongoing maintenance .
So i think on balance i'll give this a swerve -don't want to upset SWMBO after all with another money pit -been there done that too many times with 7s and TVRs ,tempting as it may be .
Also in terms of geography this isn't going to work -without knowing the dealer i would want to have it inspected on a ramp by a trusted oily ,not to mention driving it myself .
I doubt if it would be as low as you suggest, my car was nearly 20 years old with 30k on the clock when it showed 180+. See he quotes 210 have you asked why he says that because he may have documents to support that figure. It is not a number that matches any of the "standard' specs if there actually is such a thing as standard.
If I ignore spend on upgrades I have not spent anything like the number you suggest on maintenance.
If I ignore spend on upgrades I have not spent anything like the number you suggest on maintenance.
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