Steve Robinson Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 I've now begun the process of hunting for the right car, but the budget is looking tight to say the least. It seems that I won't be able to stretch to a superlight (unless Alan does decide to sell his 46,000 mile superlight which may just scrape inside what I can afford) One of the cheap(er) options is to go for a mega grad but these are all 5 speed boxes. Is this going to be a major drawback in terms of being competitive in class 3 do you think? Your thoughts as always appreciated Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david nelson Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 I would think the 6 speed would give you an advantage. Only drove my 5 speed on the road and got realy fed up with the ratios. If i had kept it I would have got a close ratio box but this does not save you any money. Keep looking for the right one, if you leave it till the end of the year prices will be down a bit, if you leave it till Feb you may see prices further south. go for a 6 speed David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 I would also go for a 6 speed and agree with David that if you wait until later in the year I'm sure you will find something that will meet your specification. It is worth keeping in mind that it is cheaper to buy the car with the right spec rather than paying for upgrades later. If you cannot afford a Superlight a good spec Roadsport fitted with either a 1.6 or 1.8 SS K will be just as competitive. Mark D Su77on Se7ens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Steve, I've got a mega Grad, run in class 3 and not on the pace. Have a look at MIRA, Curborough or Llandow results I run on AO48's med as well which doen't help. I think you do need the 6 speed box ( or change the ratios in the 5 speed), LSD...oh and ACB10's MikeW Mega Grad Race No 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 16, 2005 Author Share Posted July 16, 2005 Changing ratios was my other thought. Would it be cheaper to get a 5 and then change the ratios to the same as the first 5 from a 6 speed box? Even with softening prices the budget won't get me a superlight or roadsport with 6 speed, LSD, adjustable dampers and wide track that i would ideally need. I see it as I need to comprimise somewhere to save money, it's just a question of where. Budget for the car is ideally around the £11k to £12k mark. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Richard Price Posted July 16, 2005 Area Representative Share Posted July 16, 2005 Would it be cheaper to get a 5 and then change the ratios to the same as the first 5 from a 6 speed box? Steve, It's not as simple as that! The Caterham ratios are very close in comparison to any of the Quaife/Tran-X ratios, whilst retaining a relatively low 1st gear. the closest alternative box's, have quite a tall 1st gear. It really is worth hanging on to get a Caterham 6 speed - the ratio's, as you know, suit the K very well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Steve, If you are going to compromise then cut out food, housing or other non-essentials 😬 I still reckon your best bet is a Roadsport A which will have anything on you need and be a bit cheaper as an ex-racer. Given the guys are running on the back of the R400's this year I would have thought there would be a few for sale later in the season and they should jusy about be in budget. MikeW Mega Grad Race No 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 16, 2005 Author Share Posted July 16, 2005 I tried a roadsport A this morning and have uncovered a problem with them. It seems they have uprated springs in the gearbox which makes the change much stiffer than the standard box. This is an issue for Sally who will also drive the car. I'm talking to Caterham about their blue and yellow roadsport A that is up for £12,500. They have offered to swap the leather seats for tilletts for the same price which isn't bad and are looking into changing the spring back to a standard road one to make the gearbox easier to use. This could make quite a nice option: for £12.5k I get the 1.6k with supersport, 6 speed box, LSD, wide track and already on ACB10's (unknown compound though). We'll see what they say about the gearbox on Monday when their technicians are back. Steve Edited by - Steve Robinson on 16 Jul 2005 17:14:58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david nelson Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Steve springs are cheep the RSA has 250 front and 215 rear. Swop the 215 for 150 and job done. I have a pair of 150 around some where. The gear box. When Graham drove Rob's and mine on the same day he said the gearboxs were very diffrent. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Steve IIRC there are three different rates of stiffness of springs for the 6 speed box but how easy they are to change I do not know. Give Phil at Road & Race a call for confirmation/advice. Mark D Su77on Se7ens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 Cheers guys, I'll call Phil tomorrow to see what he says. So what do you reckon to the yellow and blue Roadsport at Caterham (in the used section under race cars)? Looks like a good spec to take sprinting to me, but would you pay 12.5k for it? Personally I don't like the looksm(colours) of it much but am more concerned with it having the right spec than how it looks at this stage. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david nelson Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Its the rigth spec, colour: if you think the blue is ok, then it would be cheep to spray the yellow wings,and nose either blue or a colour you think will go. if you do not like the blue well then it gets expensive. What history do you know about the car? has it had a hard life at the front of the pack, was it maintained by the owner or a race team? Any bills to get an idea about how well it was looked after? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 It's the shade of blue I'm not keen on. Best option I guess would be to re-spray once funds become available at some point in the future. I don't know anything on the history yet, i'm hoping to get down to Caterham to have a look in detail on Thursday. I did go and check out the red with silver stripe roadsport A at Caterham Midlands. That was the one with the ridiculous gearchange. Also a good sprinting spec but it looked quite tired, got the impression it has had a very hard life. The blue and yellow one looks like it has had more TLC from the picture I would say. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Williams Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Looks like good value to me Steve, are you going to SVA it so Sally can use it on the road or will it be competition only. Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 When Graham drove Rob's and mine on the same day he said the gearboxs were very diffrent. I have never been happy with mine (it was a replacement one as the original failed ) and most people who have driven it have complained about the poor gear change compared to other 6 speeders... the plan this winter is for it to go to R&R with the diff for a rebuild.... rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 Adrian - it is already road registered, it just doesn't mention it on the website. Caterham have just come back to day that the cost to change springs in the gearbox will be £650 😳 Takes it a bit close to the top end of the budget, but am going to see it Thursday to see if it is worth paying the money for. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C7JFM Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 If the car is good other than the springs, it may be worth buying and getting R/R to refresh the box in the winter rather than shelling out £650 to CC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 I suspect a lot of that cost is there time to take it out and put it back in... I am sure a bunch of us would help in both operations for little more than food and beer rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C7JFM Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Are you sure you want a 1.6 ? The fastest cars are 1.8 's *wink* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Steve R&R charged me £350 to refurb my 6 speed which included replacing 3 synchros and an uprated 5th gear which was over £100 on its own, so if your gearbox already has this £250 should cover it. As Rob says a few beers etc should be sufficient for the labour 😬 Mark D Su77on Se7ens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 Rob- you're sport on. The cost of the spring change is £70, the rest is labour for getting the box/engine in and out. If a couple of technically minded people are willing to help me get the engine and gearbox out and back in for some food/beers/coffee that would be great. I'd be happy to put a slug of what I would have paid CC to NTL as a thankyou. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 just make sure the beers stay in the fridge till after the work 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmar Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 sounds like a plan of sorts then... anyway that might give you time to try the box and see if it is an issue for you or Sally.... of course we wouldn't accidently swap it for a rusty type 9 when you weren't looking 😬 rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Robinson Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 Rob 😬 Just thinking what a fantastic club this is. Whilst without a seven people are generous enough to let me compete in theirs, and when I'm trying to get a seven people are happy to come and help me get it sorted *thumbup* Unless of course helping me get a car sorted is the best way to ensure I don't keep nicking your cars next year *tongue* Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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