Having had an amazing drive in a hired Caterham one glorious autumn afternoon, I was determined that building one was going to be Retirement Project No 1.  Retirement meant moving back from Australia to the UK in 2022.  Knowing this was going happen well in advance, I was able to plan ahead and get an order in about 8 months beforehand.  I went through Krazy Horse who were incredibly helpful throughout the process – advising me on options, providing advice (and an engine crane) through construction and dealing with the registration paperwork.

I decided to go for a 170S.  I found on my drive that the sense of speed that comes from sitting down so low meant that I didnt need a lot of horsepower in order to have a lot of fun.  The joy of driving around with the roof down through our amazing landscapes was quite sufficient for me.  And I also had a bit of twinge of eco-guilt, knowing that I had done well more than my fair share of flying because of work and wanted something that would be more economical and less polluting than some of the bigger-engined cars.

I spent some time playing around with the configurator on the Caterham website and eventually chose the standard green with yellow strips and orange pinstripes.  To that, I added the leather interior (choosing tan seats and dark brown tunnel cover).  At the time, it was tricky to know how things would turn out as the colour samples on the order form were tiny. Now I can see the finished article, I can testify how good the configurator is (at least for the body colour I choose), although it is not able to deal with the added complication of the non-black interior and the battery switch.  I do like the outcome. [The website has now been updated and shows the interior options for seats etc in colour]

The other key additions were a lowered floor, LED lights, removeable steering wheel and the electrical cut-off switch – the latter two being more about security than anything. I dithered a bit about having a spare wheel but ultimately decided not to. The cost of the spare wheel carrier seemed to be outrageously high for what it was.

Like many others, my order was delayed and eventually delivered in mid January 2023, almost a year to the day since it was ordered.  That gave me time to get the garage prepared which required a fairly major clear-out. 

Whilst I was waiting, I made a couple of visits across to Krazy Horse in Bury St Edmonds and took out their 170S for a brief drive which confirmed to me that I had made the right choice. 

I also took the opportunity to photograph as much as I could, in case I got stuck in the build.  And of course, when I did get stuck, I found that none of the photos were actually of the bit that I need to understand.  Sods Law is a very universal principle.

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