druddle

Hello

My Dad sold his RX8 last week and is buying a Fiesta as a runaround and wants to buy a Caterham.

Anyone got any good advice or good sites so look at ? Or if you know of any for sale for around 15-17k that are worth looking at in the South East then let me know.

Dave

rb5_336

should be able to get a half decent caterham for that, id start with caterham cars first, then go onto www.blatchat.com
sean

druddle

Any advice about which engines to go for/avoid ???

Dave

Brendan Hughes

I think blatchat people claim the Vauxhall is stronger than the K-series if you want to really tune it - but it's heavier. (Note - I may be talking complete crap here). I got the impression it's a bit like the old discussions on here about whether to get a P1 or a JDM Type R.

Lucky bugger

rb5_336

you are correct Brendan, the K Series are not know for being strong, or being able to cope with serious tune without frequest rebuilts. However, for a road car/occasional track they are perfect. Ive had 2 K Series caterhams and loved them, especially the 1.8 with 6 speed and dry sump..boy did that fly!

I'm sure i'd have Gutmann Pug flashing me out the way on a track in his 8v 205 though

Sean

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Does it have to be a Caterham?

For that money he could get a factory built brand new Duratec Westfield.

SJJ84

Go to the factory in Dartford, Kent. They normally have a few for sale there and obviously have all the contacts to get you a good one. For that money you should get a relatively new one, or if you went for a smaller engine and fancied a challenge you could buy a new one and build it yourself.

darren f

Dave,
Firstly. a few places to look:
Caterham's Site http://www.caterham.co.uk/showroom/preowned/index.htm
Millwood Motor Co http://www.millwood-mc.com/sales.htm
Woodcote Sports Cars http://www.racecar.com/woodcote/
Paul Stephens http://www.paul-stephens.com/
UK Sports Cars http://www.uksportscars.com
I think you'll find Blatchat is down at the moment

Advice so far has been good, it depends what you want it for. £17k (or even less) will get you a mega-power (>200bhp) or very well cared for (HPC?) Vauxhall engined car. This will have most further tuning potential. It will also get a very good clean K-series car. Most of these are fine, just steer clear of mega-tuned or heavily-tracked cars- the k-series head gasket issues come into play very quickly .

If you go for new, self-build you'll be looking at a basic, low spec 140bhp k-series car- do remember it only hauls half a ton. So it will be basic but will still go like stink. Only go for this if building the car is part of the attraction- I built my own R300 and it can be a trumatic experience at times!

Jay's point is valid- Westfield's (and others) are a cheaper option and worth considering if performance per £ is the thing. Having said that, the Caterham is the purest form of Seven (it is the only direct decendant of Chapman's original design) and it has a thriving Owners Club and community.

If I had £17k to spend on a Caterham my choice would depend on the usage:

For mainly road work / occasional track stuff I'd look for a clean unmolested 1600 Superlight. This is the best compromise. There are a couple of good 'uns on Caterham's site now.

As a project to get my hands dirty, I'd look for a cheapish, striaght and clean car of any sort and drop a 2.0 or 2.3 Duratech in it (an easy 200bhp +).

For pure and simple bonkers track action, I'd look for a track orientated Vx engined car, preferably one which hasn't been in an armco. These are around for the £12-£14k mark. In my case I'd use the left over cash left on a bit of chassis setting up and more than a little track driving tuition!