Actually nothing to do with the new site! After fitting the little upgrades, and passing the MOT, and enjoying a really great day out at Dunsfold hooning about and doing donuts, it's all over in the blink of an eye. My little brother had a coming together with a gate catch, which clipped the sump, pushed the whole drivetrain back three inches or more, and mangled the chassis in the process. Andy Belcher at Tech7 was a bit of a hero in accepting the car so late on a Sunday and on assessing the da
After collecting the diff from Phil, it sat around for a bit, not doing much, until my brother offered his services to help get it ready. Taking him up on his offer, and knowing that presented with a challenge he'll always accept, I got him to bench press the diff in to position while I sorted the hardware, and, half an hour later, it was in! A few other bits we tackled there and then, but called it a day as we both had other things to get up to. A week or two later and it's time to put everythi
I've been busy with exams so not had a lot of time to get in the garage unfortunately. However, I did manage to get hold of another cam cover to replace the original one which I drilled on the nearside as per the imperial chassis apollo tank set up, but, as the metric chassis sits the tank in the middle, the offside makes more sense. So rather than have too many nuts and bolts floating around the cam cover, I thought I'd just get another and drill it on the other side. An eBay bargain later
Deciding to stick with the monster Ramair filter, I bought a couple of bits to help make it fit. They were a silicone elbow, an alloy joiner, a couple of clips and a bracket to support it from something... The idea was to get the air filter under the higher part of the bonnet and angle it down slightly to aid clearance. I think it came out alright! http://distilleryimage1.ak.instagram.com/de826956a20211e397a10eb94f794f39_8.jpg I am tempted to do a little bulkhead shuffling at some point (maybe w
I started Monday night by trying out the new fancy Ramair filter that had arrived in the post. Initial impressions were that it's big! The foam looks to be finer than the Pipercross version, and it seems to be well constructed. After trying it on the car, though, it was apparent that it would not fit straight on the throttle body - not only did it foul one of the connectors, it also sits too high to go under the bonnet. Darn it. http://distilleryimage9.ak.instagram.com/2ede59829dad11e386250e4caf
I managed to sneak in to the garage for a few hours this evening. I thought I'd finish the handbrake lever and get that back in, and start dropping the diff. After filing down the lever, I managed to get it to a point where the collars slid on. So the rear one didn't slide too far, I filed a step in to the lever to stop it. http://distilleryimage3.ak.instagram.com/c51e1e2c9ce111e3a08e12e91b67ee2b_8.jpg As you can see quite a bit of material had to come off to make it round enough! I then gave it
Now my aluminium bolts have arrived from Pro Bolt, I could finish up the removable scuttle project. A little aluminium washer for each, nipped up hand tight, et voila, done. The paint finish on the scuttle retaining channels isn't perfect, but it's good enough for under the dash, and those went back on with a stainless washer and new nylocs. I whipped off the mirrors quickly and placed the screen stanchion on the scuttle and drilled an access hole so I could adjust the mirrors without removing t
Haven't had much of a chance to get in the garage as things keep getting in the way. I managed to sneak off last night though and pack up the last of the parts I am selling and take them home. While I was there, I decided to do a bit of weight saving. The scuttle retaining channels are steel. Heaven knows why, aluminium would have made much more sense - it doesn't need to be that strong. Anyway, the standard retaining channels are heavy. The captive nut retaining channels are heavier still! Thos
It's quite nice to do things how I (or Caterham) should have done them in the first place. For example, the scuttle comes from the factory riveted to the bulkhead. When I came around to removing the windscreen wiper mechanism, I managed to get the two screws retaining it out, but the tube connecting the spindles was ziptied to absolutely everything. The only way not to risk snipping the loom was to whip the whole scuttle off. Not a major problem, as I wanted to make it removable for the future (
First up was getting the washer bottle, pump and hose out. The hose relented eventually after much tugging and swearing after it got caught in a ziptie somewhere way back in the tunnel. I just need to get under the car with the drill and get the bracket off the footwell, and I'll have shaved a good few hundred grammes off. Now to find a grommet that fits the washer jet hole... Next up was getting the windscreen wiper mechanism out. It's held in by two bolts, the spindles and numerous zipties. It
With a whole pile of 2CV and Caterham parts under the tree waiting for me, I just want to get cracking and fit them now! I now have all the parts I want for the Caterham (for now anyway) to make it a lean mean fun machine, so after my exam I'll be popping the diff out of the car and giving it to Phil at R&R to work his magic in the New Year. While he's working on that, I'll be fitting the Apollo tank and I have new seals and a temperature sender for that purpose. It's always hairy drilling h
So now the wheels are collected and the Apollo is in the post. Just the ATB diff to sort out, and then to work! My sister has thrown me a curve ball though, in that he has got engaged and requested the 2CV as the wedding car! Should make for some cute pictures, but as Bugsy has been used as a daily runaround, is not in wedding condition! This means some time and resource has to be thrown at the deuche - on the cards are new seat covers, new wheels, new rear lights, spruced up mirrors, and a bit
So this year I vowed, in fact made it my New Year's Resolution, to drive the car more. I did that, and even made it out on a blat! I still didn't drive it enough though. As such, I have insured my brother on the car, and he has taken it on a couple of runs around the countryside to keep it warm. Highlights for the year are probably listening to my brother scream as he was driven around at the Dunsfold Handling Day, and seeing his smile when he drove it at the Handling Day! Closely followed by a
Apart from the odd run around the block, the car has basically sat idle in the garage. The starting issue has persisted, with the engine barely turning when firing up. First port of call was to do the relay mod. At less than £10, bypassing the relay in the MFU is a good upgrade whether it's needed or not. With some slightly beefier wiring and a bigger relay, the engine should start more strongly. Ian (and then Elie) came over to lend a hand, and it was fitted in no time with minimal fuss (apart
A couple of days before, I took a look at the rear shocks, to see if I could raise the back to maintain ground clearance. It turned out that the difference between the highest setting on the lower groove and the lowest setting on the upper groove was over a cm - so I put that idea to bed and lowered the front a couple of turns! Waking up at 6:30am, I looked out the window and almost called in sick. Finally getting on the road at 7:15am, with the rain coming down, I'd reached the M25 before I rea
After the understeering mayhem of the Dunsfold Handling Day, I decided a few minor adjustments were required to improve turn in and front end grip in preparation for Dad's Day Out in June. Armed with some googled facts, I set about the car with some spanners! To do: 1. Increase negative camber - the theory is that the harder you corner, the more negative camber is required to maintain a good contact patch. 2. Add a little toe out - I didn't measure it, but I had a feeling there was a little toe
The day started well, I woke up, packed the car, dragged my guest driver out of bed and hit the road. About half an hour later, I realised we'd forgotten the sandwiches that SWMBO had very kindly made us, and the pump! At least someone would have a pump at the event, but no one could replace the sandwiches...! It then went a little bit wrong, as, in my tiredness, I had decided that (although I know Dunsfold is near Gatwick) the best way to get there was down the M3 and not the A3. Fortunately we
When an email came around asking if we wanted to have a dyno run in return for a donation towards Joe's new wheelchair (he has muscular dystrophy), I jumped at the opportunity. The brakes were working, I thought the car was ready for a run. The Thursday before, I pottered about the garage, checking and double checking... And I noticed that one of the tabs on the radiator that hold the tanks to the core was not even folded over! It looked like it had never been bent. Ah well, big pliers time! I g
With the master cylinder obviously a goner, I managed to find a known working second hand girling. I also managed to find a high effort brake pedal at the same time, so got that as well. The high effort pedal has a slightly long bit above the pivot to give more push for your push, so to speak! I found it strange that the lower part was significantly shorter, but no worries. The hole for the clevis pin was a bit small so I opened it out with an 8mm drill bit and got that all ready (I had to butch
The day of the MOT came around quickly. I'd managed to get some garage time in the night before to check it all over. It appeared fine - lights worked, battery charged, nothing too obvious to me. The morning started well - I was up on time, out the house on time, and with little traffic on the roads, made it to the garage in good time. Then it started going downhill. It started with me not being able to open the garage door - it got stuck on something, and only gentle persuasion with the righ
I fitted the Brooklands over the weekend, and will be doing a write up for the website in due course. It was fairly straight forward, but time consuming - before I could even drill any holes I spent some time getting the best profile for the strap across the scuttle. Then it was screwgun time! I started with the guide holes that come pre-drilled in the centre of the strap. Using a countersink bit, I made it so the screw heads couldn't touch the scuttle. It was then a case of tightening everythin
The overheating issue turned out to be a stuck stat. Rather than replace it, I was lucky enough to pick up a PRRT setup for nothing. I ordered an extra bit of hose and some new jubilee clips, and carefully drained the coolant in to a *very* clean bucket. I had to butcher a couple of nice silicone hoses, but at least they were found on the cheap too! Butchering the stat was straight forward enough, using a hacksaw blade and a file made light work of that, and saved a useful tenner over buying a s
I took Talloulah out for a run on a very hot day and she didn't overheat until we sat still. Which is half way there... It wasn't opressively hot so I suspect there's either some air in there or the stat has stopped working. I hope it's the former! Though, I've massaged until my arms felt like they were going to fall off... The brakes are still not great. I'm going to replace the pads and see if that makes any difference - they may have been contaminated with all the work I've been doing, and th
One evening last week I decided that it was time to get the front crank seal sorted. With the 2CV off the road as well, I was without motorised transport and relying on my trusty single speed mountain bike. Everything came off quite easily, even the crank pulley! No screwdrivers required this time! On removing the pulley, it was immediately clear where the leak was coming from. A lip of seal was protruding, and, on removing the old seal, it was well and truly mashed. So in with the new seal! It
After running the car up to temperature after finishing all the little bits that needed doing, we noticed a little drip of oil. I nipped up the sump plug and the screws holding it on, just in case... However, after running it up to temperature again, I noticed it was coming from behind the alternator pulley... Suspiciously like it would from the crank seal. Given it was coming out at too high a rate for me to feel comfortable driving it, and that putting oil on the track at Dunsfold would make m
