Andy Best

If I were building from scratch I would make it a cavity wall with insulation and a pitch roof, reduces condensation and damp and the roof provides extra storage. If possible I would also make the space at least 6 ft wider and longer than the cars you plan to keep in it. The boys toys can be added later but only if its big enough. Andy

YHBM Could be interested depending on the design can you mail me some pics Andy

Most sevens are well looked after and general condition is a better guide than age. 1. This is about the same age as mine so powder coating on chassis there were a bad batch around this time easy to spot as all the paint will be coming off. 2. The dedion tube around mountings for rear dampers is a bit of a weak spot 3. The floor rivits have be know to fail so check floor still rivited in 4. Oil emulsion in the header tank indications of head gasket failure 5. General condition of mechanical bits alignment of chassis 6. Talk to the owner go through the documents, all items can be fixed on a seven just make sure you get it at the right price, understand its history and upgrades. Oh and try and make sure it drives right, if you have,nt driven one before its should be one of the sweetest cars you have ever driven 😬 Andy

Sorry SLR spec in caterham sales brochure 1999/2000 show max revs as 8000 but with shift light at at 7400. May explain the myths. This set up had 3.62 LSD and 140 top speed. That would give about 140 at 7400 - 7500. Andy

I have a home brew VHPD none SLR car, it has Caterham 6 speed box, 3.92 diff and 205/60 rear tyres. I have set the electronic speedo against my GPS and plotted the max speed in each gear, if I set the rev limit at 8000 I will hit a shade under 138 in 6th, dropping the rev limit to 7400 would only see 127 this suggests that you have a similar gearing set up to me. Worst thing is limiting to 7400 you are losing over 10% of the available power according to my dyno plot 😔. This may explain why yours still going strong 😬. The same V max speeds using a 3.62 diff are 138 and 150 respectively, oh and by the way when my engine was on Dave Walkers RR he reckoned the engine was good for more than 8000 rpm, but its a Scholar block, Vibration Free balanced and DVA built so not quite out of the box. I run at a rev limit of 7600 most of the time to prolong the life of the engine but know I can go into 'race' mode at the flick of a switch with the latest version of emerald ecu . Hope this info helps. Andy

Speedy Cables, also known as Green Gauges are both part of Caerbont. They will make dials to match a sample you provide. I've had a new speedo made and they did a good job . I don't know if they do mechanical versions though, if you find they do, I would like some. Let us know how you get on. Andy Edited by - Andy Best on 25 Nov 2007 22:54:19

From what you have posted am I right in thinking you have suffered smoke damage from your neighbours home. If I am right the next course of action should be to contact your insurers, most polices provide legal advice these days at the very least they should be able to advise you on the course of action to take and which parties insurance are liable given the detailed information about the loss. There is no doubt here that you have suffered a loss and your insurance co will not want to pay out to rectify the situation if the circumstances can be proved and it's not their liability. Andy

I did the 5 - 6 speed upgrade in 2002 on my then 1.6ss and kept the 3.92 diff, there was a plan to upgrade the diff to LSD at a later stage that I have not done yet spending the money on engine mnods first. After three trips to lemans and many 300 mile blats I will be keeping the 3.92 when I evetually upgrade. My engine probably makes more noise than yours now (VHPD on Jeveys) but to be quite honest I don't notice it and the extra acceleration puts a big 😬 on my face. Andy

YHM *thumbup*I will get the Rad out tomorrow and take some pictures. There are a few sprinters around these parts so I will see if I can find one who is going to the awards. Andy

Adrian, I have one off my 97 supersport the radiator is in fine working order, taken off about 5 years ago when I upgraded to a three core SLR radiator. Its was used a few months ago when one of the local lads rads broke, so its still OK. If you're interested let me know what its worth, would need to work out how to get it to you though. Andy

Hope you're sorted now Gary 😬 RiF I didn't know you did the nose cone now and I thought your front wings were a different width/profile to the CC ones . Glad to know the range is improving I was impressed with the items on display at your stand at the 50th celebrations. Sorry for misleading anyone it wasn't intentional. Andy

I think the old CC carbon was 2*2 twill however they changed to the linen type some time ago. the earlier 2*2 type give a sort of diagonal effect where the later gives a straight effect. The Mog site has some more detailherealthough the pictures are difficult to see the exact difference. Andy

CC From my experience Caterham Carbon has been supplied from a number of different sources the latest of which has come in for a fair bit of stick on here for the durability of its finish. Mog (who supply fluke) use wet lay ie make it up using resin, you get the look but not the weight saving plus you have black gel coat around the edges of some parts. Looks well made and durable though. RiF stuff looks good but some items are different profiles to Cater hams own and he doesn't do the full set yet. But as other posters have said he does a good match for the caterham weave match. For me its something you need to make your own judgement on by seeing the various suppliers finished and then choose the one you like the cost and finish of. Andy

Stu, Assuming it will fit my car can I have first dibs, tried to start the car at the weekend and it didn't go again. ☹️ Andy

Ozzy, I recently faced the same dilemma as you. Whilst you don't say what you want to achieve from this upgrade ultimately a ported 1.6, TB's Airbox exhaust and a mapping session will need similar work to that I have recently undertaken. Like you I acted on feedback from BC and the local meets and plumped for the exhaust first. To be honest I liked the sound and felt I had a more punchy mid range, but performance wise I didn't feel much was gained. I then had the bottom end rebuilt as 1.8 with forged pistons, new big valve ported head TBs airbox emerald and verniers, again well pleased with the result a superbly smooth engine and a big boost to mid range this time as you would expect there was a noticeable improvement to performance. My last upgrade was a full proper mapping session at emerald this was the best single investment I made totally transformed the engine and driving characteristics of the car and put a really big 😬 on my face. Like you I couldn't do this all in one go if I were doing it again I think I would go TBs Emerald and mapping session, your head should be able to take a lot more in than the standard plenum can provide and yes the exhaust will release a few more BHP but only those that are there to start with. When you get more money fit the exhaust, air box & Verniers but you will need to have a remap again unless you save up and do the whole lot in one go, but hey where's the fun in that. Andy Edited to add in step one pick up a cheap secondhand foam filter for the TB's Edited by - Andy Best on 16 Oct 2007 18:43:20

Rials got the 7" & 8" versions on a dedion well made product and look good imho.

If I was buying again to a budget I would try and get as many as the hard to come by and expensive upgrades on the car to start with. I believe these to be LSD, 6 speed box and for track work dry sump or Apollo & possible a decent exhaust. The actual spec of the engine would not concern me too much a decent set of cams verniers and a new/mapped ECU can all be added latter at relatively low cost in comparison to the items above, nost of which you have to buy new or expensive secondhand. Andy

Simple answer is yes you can notice the difference, the SS engine really sings especially with the six speed box and making use of the higher rev limit. This is both noticeable on the road and the track. 0-60 time reduce by about .5 second for SS against standard engine though top speed is not that different maybe a few MPH more. The 6 speed box also adds to the driving experience when compared to the 5 speed so watch out for this if you start comparing different cars. I started with a 1.6 5 speed, upgraded to 1.6ss (picked up a kit second hand for £200 in the for sale section) added the six speed box and now have a DVA built 1.8 Scholar/VHPD engine 😬. I really enjoy the tinkering for me its part of ownership but you certainly add to your outlay getting the car you want this way. You don't say what you plan to use the car for and how you feel about a bit of engine DIY, the comments above I agree with however I also know a few who have standard and ss versions of the K and are happy with them but all for different reasons, lets face it there's not really a bad choice which ever way you go.

Mine are 800-188 and 800-189 so yours are slightly different. Duncan Fraser was the contact at Eibach. Like you say they are very light I think the ones you have differ from mine in that they have smaller spring lengths. So we still both have unique setups! The rears were an 🙆🏻 to fit as they are a little bigger diameter than the standard items fit the adjuster at the bottom and remove the rivets for the ally turrets in the boot otherwise you will never get them to fit. When fitted the turrets can be riveted back but with use you will get a small bump that is made by the top of the damper. Andy

Alex I have the ERS setup on my k-series I hope these figures help however, the springs are nothing like I have Front has no tender spring the main spring is 200-60-40 Rear has tender spring 30-60-30 main spring 300-60-35 This suggests my rears are set up to provide a Ci of 16 the car certainly handles OK and I still have my teeth 😬 These were designed by Eibach for the seven back in early 2000. I recently needed then rebuilding and found the european Eibach specalist in Barnsley, Russ at Mick Gardner Racing 01226 240099. He seemed knowledgable I don't know if he can help but I would give him a ring, he works long hours but races most weekends. BTW you got a bargin, the dampers without the springs cost £180 plus vat each. If you need to change the springs they are the cheap part of the set up

I have just done the Scholar VHPD upgrade but kept mine 1800cc. I would say it is worth porting the head, balancing the internals (if you are planning going to 8000rpm)and fitting some verniers. I stayed with the existing VHPD cams as funds ran out, following the visit to Emerald last weekend I am really pleased with the result really usable torque and great to drive on the road. I guess you need to ask what you want from your engine to decide which cams to use. If you are stopping at 8000rpm I suspect that the two cams above are probably a bit too hot as you will loose out lower down the rev range, though someone will probably tell me I am wrong in a minute. I used oily for the engine assembly and porting and vibration free for the balancing, I really questioned the benefits of balancing the engine but I am really glad I kept the existing cams and put the money into that piece of work.

This morning at 8.30 red going into Manchester, not seen it before is it you? Andy

What a great day turned up at 9.30 Dave and Leoni were great hosts. I didn't realise the only good petrol near Daves place was an hour round trip so I ended up mapping on 95RON, in itself not a bad thing means I can always use poor fuel if I can't get the good stuff. The Swiss and Irish guys added to the fun and we had some good banter even though I chickened out of uping the rev limit above 7900 - well it is only a standard crank and rods. Andy 😬

OK brave pills obtained, just sorting out the recovery cover and ear defenders 😬 Thanks Andy

I would leave it closed ISTR in the emerald manual there is a way to force it shut. You could do this prior to disconnecting. Andy