Description
This is an eye-catching S3 Caterham Seven with a raucous old school Kent 1700 cross flow in Supersprint tune.
Purchased from Caterham dealer Williams Automobiles who took it in part exchange and recognised as a high quality example of traditional Caterham motoring and decided to retail it rather than disposing through an auction.
They serviced it before delivery but it was down on power and over-fuelling so I have undertaken further work:
- Cleaned and rebuilt the Weber 45 carbs
- Replaced the failed fuel filter and regulator to stop over-fuelling
- New spark plugs and leads
- Changed gearbox and differential oils (a job so awful nobody does it)
- Replaced the battery
- Replaced the thermostat and water temperature sender
- Replaced the fire extinguisher
The lack of performance was due the original Lucas distributor. This has been replaced with a top of the range 123 ignition unit which is Bluetooth programmable. This allows full customisation of the advance curve, real time monitoring and even adds an immobiliser all through an iPhone or Android app. It has transformed the car's performance.
I have also added Soft Bits for Sevens tunnel storage and storm cover. Finally, as I prefer driving with the doors off, there are single seater mirrors fitted to the windscreen pillars. All the original parts have been retained and are included.
It is is generally excellent condition for its age, with some slight chipping at the base of the front mud guards and some slight crazing where they are attached. Otherwise cosmetically and mechanically very good.
See my YouTube video of one of the tuning runs last summer as I was refining the advance curve. The URL does not display correctly so search under "Caterham 1700 supersprint lbftc"
Comes with a thick folder of receipts and documents from previous owners.
It has just passed its MOT with no advisories (valid to June 2025). Ready for a summer of motoring.
Tillet fibreglass race-seats and harnesses and a stronger FIA roll bar are fitted. Comes with full Caterham wet weather gear in good condition in addition to the above mentioned storm cover. Four excellent and ludicrously grippy Toyo Proxes R888 tyres add to the go-cart handling and road holding.
Runs perfectly (after the typical lumpy and sneezy start you get with cold Webers with no choke) with all temperatures and pressures as they should be.
Plenty of support is available both for the car and the engine but it is also simple enough for a home mechanic to work on and fettle.
Although I am a constant tinkerer and improver, there is not much I had planned to do to the car other than enjoying it. I have set the carbs and ignition up and honed them over last summer, however, a professional tune-up would probably be recommended to squeeze the last ounce of performance and tractability out the car.
I have probably put in £1k the last 12 months but just asking for my original investment back. I bought this a year ago as I wanted another project to tinker with. This clearly was a very solid and high quality car that just needed a bit of fettling to get the performance and snap back. I am, however a Lancia man and this was only going to be a temporary custodianship until the next Lancia project came along, which it has done. Much as I would love to keep it, I know it's now going to get little use so it needs to find an owner who can fully enjoy it.
This turns heads wherever it goes due to its eye catching Firecracker Yellow paint scheme and the sheer wall of noise it makes as it goes past. You really can't blend into the background in this.
