catflap

Know nothing about them, but would love one, after being taken for a spin at the BIG ONE inone, it was awsome, made my 240bhp uk look like a um??? well realy slow

Lets have some thoughts, some pros and cons

They aint comfy thets for sure, but not what i want one for

Anyone know what 11k gets i the caterham second hand world? (possible value of my uk99)

Cheers catflap

catflap

Moderator, an you kill all the duplicates, computer went funny, sorry

David1965

I sold my 7 2years ago. was 3years old had 42,000 miles and got 10k
It was a 1.6 K serous @138 bhp.

loved the car still miss it.


A must for drivers

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

Catflap, £11k gets you less of a Caterham than it would a Westfield

Having one of the latter I can state that you will need to learn to drive again as they are completely different to a Scooby. If you are planning on using the car as every day transport: don't, make sure you have got something (anything with a proper roof) to use on days when it is wet, as well as getting soaked you will not be able to accelerate or go round bends safely, insurance companies are also a bit of a problem, hardly any specialists would insure me with it being my only car

They are a huge amount more enjoyable to drive than a scooby, every journey is entertaining, not advised if you are shy though as everyone looks / waves at you

There is a link to the westie bbs on: Westfield Sports Car Club you will finda for sale section in there.

Neil Smalley

Deleted repeated posts, hope that's ok.

catflap

Yes, sorry neil, my plate was on the keyboard LOL i was wondering why my screen was flickering heheh.

Thnx for the advice dudes, this is exactly why i want one. My scoob is just for weekends (i work to hard in the week to use it).

The thouht of learing to drive as a skill thrills me, as it did on my bike, i never stoped impriving my skill levels and awairness, something that many car owners dont realy ever feel, they just whach more bhp and mods on. not where i want to go.

What westys shouldi look for, it will have to be faster than my scoob, i dont want to move sideways (you know what i meen lol)

David1965

Caterham insurance is cheap.shop around Only £400 unlimited miles.

My 7 kept me dry even in the wet.

If it rained with the top off just keep above 60.

catflap

lol keep above 60

The more i think on it the more i like the idea of one. But what are they like to live with?

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

Power wise it is difficult to say, 130bhp@wheels should give scooby performance up to 90ish (depends on gearing, weight, etc, mine is geared to top out at 114mph Obviously a bike engined one will need less power for the same performance as it is a fair bit lighter) unfortunately their aerodynamics are on the wrong side of terrible (a brick with rounded corners would have a lower cd rating ) so you need lots of power for small improvements in top end acceleration.

chris p1

I've just brought a Cossie Westfield for just over £10000,280bhp- 600kg the thing is mad you have to learn how to drive all over again,but makes a great partner to the Scoob on sunny days.I would go along with the other view's and say that they are better value then a Caterham,that sort of power would cost you twice as much.
Chris.

chris p1

Forgot to say insurance is £280 fully comp and doesn't cost the earth on track days as tires&brakes are a lot less stressed so last longer.
Chris.

catflap

Chris can yo utell me a little more abouth the westi, why did yo uchoose that over the caterham.

In a drag tst how would it fair against an sti? the power to weight looks awsome

thnx

darren f

My two-penneth worth..... (a bit long, sorry)

The old Caterham .v. Westfield argument is of epic proportions (makes Scooby .v. Evo look tame ). It basically boils down to:
1) Caterham hold the design copyright on the old Lotus 7, so they have the USP of being the 'purist' Seven, thus have a price premium to suit.
2) Westfield, Dax, Birkin etc all produce Lotus 7 'variations on theme', pretty much similar design wise, but will offer a wider choice of engine types / outputs.
3) Many people feel that the Caterham offers the 'purest' form of the Seven, both in looks and handling, BUT
4) Most Sevens are individual cars and are 'non standard' in some form, be it suspension set-up or engine power, so its debatable how valid the 'Caterhams are best' argument is.
5) It is said that the Caterham is easiest to put together if you are self-building.

If you want some opinions beyond this forum, try the Lotus Seven Forum
or for the opposing view, the Westfield forum Robertio mentioned above

£11k will get you good X-flow or Zetec Caterham, or you might find a basic spec oldish K-Series one, try:
Caterham Cars
Woodcote Sports Cars
Millwood Motor Company
UK Sports Cars

£11k will get you a storming Westfield, probably newer or with significantly more power- there are some nice Vauxhall 16v jobs about, try:
Terry Nightingale Cars

As you can tell I have a bit of an interest in Seven type cars, I actually sold my Scoob to get one, but cannot decide what to go for. I have only driven Caterhams thus far (both on road and track), but am told that all variants are very similar. You cannot put the driving experience into suitable words- you know how much fun a go-kart is, just multiply that by a factor of 10!! Just remember to forget about having any creature comforts- its all about being as close to the driving experience as you can get.

johnfelstead

you could always buy mine and rebuild it.

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/threa...threadid=90956

SCOOBERATORS

I have always like them but there the sort of car you use at weekends but I think the weekend is worth waiting for,go for it.

catflap

That’s the thing, i never use the scoob in the week, cept for a quick blast around the twistys, i am paying almost 2k on insurance, along with running costs, i feel would be better spent on a 7 (or similar)
I want to do track days, this was my intention for the scoob, but to be honest im to afraid to. The price of rubber/breaks and the fear of giving it a nock, i know ill have the same fears in any car, but such expenses are less.

GaryC

£11k would buy you a 12/18mth old bike-engined westfield. The same car with a Caterham badge would cost £20k+

Depending on engine, Power-to-weight ratios that start at 'Diablo' and end with 'Mclaren F1', 6-speed sequential gearbox, 13,000 rpm red line, F1 engine note and rediculous overall weights which are between 30% and 50% lighter than 'car engined' equivalents. The lighter the weight, the better she goes, but also the better she corners, the better she stops, the less the tyre/brake wear....

A 'baby' fireblade engined '7' has done the n'burgring in less than 8secs Granted on slicks and even more stripped out (c50kg less than road versions)

I bought a fireblade engined westfield 6 months ago...motoring fun just can't get any better. Truly awesome machine, every drive an experience, and brings whole towns to a standstill ..and only £300/yr fully comp and £100/yr road tax

The 'car' engined 7 has had its day...a new king is here

SCREAM IF YOU WANT TO GO FASTER


Oh and against the sti? beat it in reverse Seriously - they go as fast (ie can use all gears) in reverse, and with over 50% greater PWR.....

Chris L

I take that as less than 8 mins Gary

I've always had a soft spot for Caterhams. Probably something to do with growing up in the Caterham area and always seeing the cars out and about on test drives and the fact that Graham Nearn (who originally set up Caterham Cars) used to go to my school and so he would come back every now and again and give talks on the cars and the company. Not surprisingly, he'd always turn up in a very tasty Caterham

I would love to get hold of one as a weekend / trackday car, defintely not as everyday transport I know the JF did drive his Westie all the way down to Nurburgring - but then he's a nutter (no offence John LOL )

At one point I did seriously think about getting a 'sensible' car to do the commute and buy a Caterham / Westie for track etc. I still might do this one day, if Sal let's me sell the Scoob (no chance )

Chris

Edited to say Wow! - 3000 posts - what I have been doing??

[Edited by Chris L - 4/28/2002 8:04:20 AM]

GaryC

Sorry, yes 8mins

Chris - you are a man after my own heart. My Westie 'blade shares the garage with a 330d touring Getting it past the 'rev limiter'? The running costs on the 330d PLUS Westie are less than the scoob Fun factor - no contest

SCREAM IF YOU WANT TO GO FASTER

Cheeky Jim

Also take a look at this site....plenty of Caterham/Westie type cars for sale, plus links to most of the known manufacturer's websites.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/kitcar/index.php3

(sos - dunno how to link it properly).

Other options are:

Tiger Super Six (or bike engined derivative)
Sylva Striker (variety of engines - upto V8 power)
Robin Hood (bit on the cheap side)
Locost (On the very cheap side!)
Vindicator

etc

Jim