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Tuesday, 27 July 2010 19:07

30th birthday treat 1997 Caterham

Written by  Mankee Cheng
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30th birthday treat 1997 Caterham

As a treat for his 30th birthday, Mankee bought himself a car that he'd been promising to own for years. It's a 1997 Caterham 7 Supersport built on a race chassis and powered originally by a faithful 1400cc K-series. Unfortunately, it was stolen in 1999, disappeared for a couple of years minus the battery and ignition barrel, and the previous owner discovered it as part of a police horde in 2001. The DVLA weren't too convinced about the car's history as it had gone missing for so long, so they kindly removed identification plates and the car became a dedicated track toy.

It is now powered by an 1800cc K-series from a Lotus Elise and has a set of Jenvey DTH throttle bodies fitted, all controlled via one of Dave Walker's Emerald ECUs. Currently fitted goodies include an LSD, adjustable suspension, plumbed-in fire extinguisher and full roll cage in case things go a bit wrong, a whole horde of tyres and wheels and, of course, lightness, which is true to the ethos of Colin Chapman, the designer of the Lotus 7.

After a string of front-wheel-drive cars, or wrong-wheel-drive as some folk like to call it, Mankee is having to relearn how to drive properly in the safe environment of track-days. With no doubt, the tinkering and itching for more power, better handling and higher speeds will take over.

Find out how he gets on by reading PPC magazine every month.

Last modified on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 20:38
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Published in 1997 Caterham 7 Supersport
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Mankee Cheng

Mankee Cheng

Has swapped more Peugeot-Citroën engines than Kev's finished projects. Currently trying out rear-wheel-drive in a Caterham

Website: www.ppcmag.co.uk/mankee-cheng.html

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Practical Performance Car (PPC) is a monthly magazine aimed at real car enthusiasts interested in affordable performance tuning. At PPC we pride ourselves in providing the most entertaining, informative and inspiring features for petrolheads everywhere. Each month we feature an eclectic mix of affordable performance cars, great driving adventures and world-class technical features for the DiY tuner. Our editorial team is headed up by well known Will Holman who has a deserved reputation for 'stick a V8 under the bonnet' attitude to life. His editorial team is stacked with experience including Dave Walker (speciality engine management), of the sadly missed Cars and Car Conversions (CCC) magazine, David Vizard, the legendary engine tuning guru, and Kevin Leaper - ex technical editor of Practical Classics.

Have a look at the online Staff Cars section to give you a flavour of PPC but for the real thing go to your local newsagent, WHSmiths, Asda, Tesco or Sainsburys - PPC is on sale the last Thursday of every month. Better still visit our subscriptions page for the latest offers and discounts to have PPC delivered direct to your door at a fraction of the cost.

Examples of magazine features: brakes uprating, suspension improvements, engine transplants, buyers guides, ECU management, kit car builds, car event coverage (including PPC's own show, PPC in the Park) and much more. Examples of some of the staff's cars: 27 litre Rover SD1, 5 litre Capri, track day Rolls Royce, MK1 Transit and more.