So, what with a milestone birthday looming this year and having missed my promise to myself by ten years to have either an Elise or a Caterham (for the last big birthday), I decided it was finally time…!
After a little to and fro, I decided to go with a Caterham, mainly thinking back to my late teens when no less than three school friends built kit cars and the seed having been sown. Plus (with the sensible hat on) the ability to DIY a lot of things on a Caterham appealed, with none of the awkward access and expensive clamshells on an Elise. Budget set to £16k - nothing to break the bank and limiting myself to the “lower” end of the Caterham market. Much research was conducted and I located this lovely thing through the owners club for £12,500.
It’s a late 90s car, 1600cc K-series supersport, 138hp with the stainless 4-2-1 exhaust, LSD and 6 speed box.
Few little bits to sort out - there’s a perished steering rack gaiter to replace, an MOT advisory for a dust cover on an upper suspension ball joint (I’ll probably replace both ball joints at ~£40 a side), and the seller included some new chromed rear arch protectors he’d not got round to putting on, along with a new pair of front cycle wings, as the ones on the car are a little tatty. But no bother - I didn’t want an immaculate garage queen (and nor could I afford one), I wanted something to enjoy, drive and tinker with.
First journey home round the M25 and up the A1M was… fun(!), but went out for a first proper little drive during the good weather last weekend. Absolutely love it!
