What have I bought ?

[Weltmeister]

Just taken in on PX against my Exige a Caterham but not really enough knowledge to understand it all yet:

It is/was new assembled by the factory in Dec 2001 & 1st reg in Jan 2002. It has new MOT & has done 5000 miles

It says it was an K-Series 1.6 Academy Car with:-

Black paint
Black harnesses
Silver stripe
Black pack ?? wtf
Full cage
Momo quick release
Starter button
Adjustable dampers
Plumbed Extinguisher
Honeycomb tank protection
2 x Composite race seats
Side screen with mirrors, no hood but tonneau

It was set up to Roadsport "B" geo ??

It also had:- 1/2" rear anti roll bar--Why is this reqd ?
Wide track & wide track front anti roll bar kit
Limited slip diff
Mechanical Supersport engine upgrade ?? Whats this
Better exhaust & heat wrap inc headers

The bills look like someone spent c£23k on this little car. Is it good value at £13k ?? Answers on a post card please

Allan

[LukeBird]

The black pack is black windscreen surround, black headlight casing and a few other bits (my dads car has it, but can't remember!)
The Supersport upgrade kit is here - https://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product_info.php?c...
It's a £1000 upgrade....

They'll be an expert along soon

Edited by LukeBird on Monday 2nd July 19:22

[casbar]

Someone will be along with more knowledge than me. But, if its an Academy car, its more than likely been raced, and if its been upgraded to Roadsports B, its probably done at least two seasons.

Mechanical Supersport upgrade, could be changing the followers to Mechanical rather than hydralic, so may not have had the full upgrade kit as shown in the link. - Not too sure about this fact, the bills should show.

Rear anti roll bar helps handling, not fitted to all cars, it is an upgrade, although most race cars and higher spec cars have them.

Black pack, just as already stated, black headlamps and screen. If it has a screen, then the car has a Roadsports cage rather than a SLR cage, which is fitted to the Super L models.

If its 2001 and road legal, you should have also got a Cat with the exhaust, or MOT's will be an interesting challenge.

[h_____]

Sounds like a fair price for a nice clean ex-academy car.

[Weltmeister]

Just researched it a bit more. Car was new on the road in 2002 and used in beginners category that year [Academy ??] It was then upgraded with LSD/Wide Track/BHP and used for a few hillclimbs. Sadly the original owner passed away in 2005 [possibly ill for a bit beforehand]so the car changed ownership in 2004 for normal use by an owner local to me. It recently became avail from a dealer mate of mine[not Lotus/Caterham] who fancied an Exige for himself. So it was easier to swap plus some dosh for him than sell & buy.
Cheers

Allan

Edited by Weltmeister on Tuesday 3rd July 18:21

[RobM77]

Weltmeister said:

Just taken in on PX against my Exige a Caterham but not really enough knowledge to understand it all yet:

It is/was new assembled by the factory in Dec 2001 & 1st reg in Jan 2002. It has new MOT & has done 5000 miles

It says it was an K-Series 1.6 Academy Car with:-

Black paint
Black harnesses
Silver stripe
Black pack ?? wtf
Full cage
Momo quick release
Starter button
Adjustable dampers
Plumbed Extinguisher
Honeycomb tank protection
2 x Composite race seats
Side screen with mirrors, no hood but tonneau

It was set up to Roadsport "B" geo ??

It also had:- 1/2" rear anti roll bar--Why is this reqd ?
Wide track & wide track front anti roll bar kit
Limited slip diff
Mechanical Supersport engine upgrade ?? Whats this
Better exhaust & heat wrap inc headers

The bills look like someone spent c£23k on this little car. Is it good value at £13k ?? Answers on a post card please

Allan

The black pack simply means that you have black windscreen surrounds and headlights as apposed to chrome. It's generally a more modern look for a Caterham.

The geo setup being Roadsport B doesn't really mean much - it basically means that the car has had its geometry (toe in, camber etc) set up for racing, which you might find more suited to flat out track driving than road driving. This is easily changed, but I'd leave it as it is. Mind you, it's always a good idea to check geo anyway when you buy a car, especially a Caterham as they are so sensitive to changes, and this one's been raced so it may have been knocked out of alignment.

Anti-roll bars resist roll in a bend. Generally, the stiffer end of the car slides first. The front is adjusted with different thickness bars (colour coded), and the back will be adjusted by moving that 1/2 inch bar up and down it's lever mounting (four positions).

Wide track widens the front track to improve handling. It's a Roadsport mod (i.e. not allowed in Roadsport B), which is interesting.

LSD isn't allowed in any roadsport championship other than the now disbanded Roadsport A (which also had 6 speed gearboxes - does it have one of those?), so it's either a Roadsport A car or this mod has been applied after it finished racing.

Supersport upgrade just increases power. I think it takes the engine from 120bhp to 133bhp, but someone will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong.

Roadsport race cars generally go for between £10k and £13k, so yours with the extra upgrades at £13k is a very fair price indeed.

Hope that helps.

[andya7]

Always worth checking the compression as there is a 'known' problem with the land of the piston 'cracking' and causing a loss of compression... most (racers) have since had a forged piston upgrade.

[RobM77]

andya7 said:

Always worth checking the compression as there is a 'known' problem with the land of the piston 'cracking' and causing a loss of compression... most (racers) have since had a forged piston upgrade.

I believe you can check if you've got forged pistons by the sound the engine makes at tickover? CC spotted mine instantly.

[_TC]

Weltmeister said:

Just taken in on PX against my Exige a Caterham but not really enough knowledge to understand it all yet:

It is/was new assembled by the factory in Dec 2001 & 1st reg in Jan 2002. It has new MOT & has done 5000 miles

It says it was an K-Series 1.6 Academy Car with:-

Black paint
Black harnesses
Silver stripe
Black pack ?? wtf
Full cage
Momo quick release
Starter button
Adjustable dampers
Plumbed Extinguisher
Honeycomb tank protection
2 x Composite race seats
Side screen with mirrors, no hood but tonneau

It was set up to Roadsport "B" geo ??

It also had:- 1/2" rear anti roll bar--Why is this reqd ?
Wide track & wide track front anti roll bar kit
Limited slip diff
Mechanical Supersport engine upgrade ?? Whats this
Better exhaust & heat wrap inc headers

The bills look like someone spent c£23k on this little car. Is it good value at £13k ?? Answers on a post card please

Allan

That sounds like a great bit of kit. Get out there and enjoy it. if you dont keep it for long then you can always say you have had one.

I have an Academy car on order and cant wait to start blatting about in it.
Have fun.