Progress!

I finished, to the 99% level, the engine tuneup today. Yesterday I cleaned the air filters and let them dry overnight, and today I oiled them. After mounting them I started the engine. The carbs were out of sync, so one of the filters must have been a lot dirtier than the other. I also went over the carb mounting nuts and made them evenly tightened. When that was done the revs didn't change when pushing and pulling, gently, on the left carb. They changed, of course, when I did the same on the right carb because it is slaved to the left carb throttle. The idle mixture also needed to be richened because the dirty filers had a choking effect.

Yesterday I also found the timing notches in the front crank pulley. They were almost impossible to see, but I used a screw driver to expose the metal in the notches. I broke out the timing light and checked the timing. It was set at 10 degrees at idle. The Weale book is a bit confusing on what the advance should be on the 1700 Supersprint. I interpret it as depending on the distributer, whether it is Bosh or Caterham. Correct? Decided to set it to 12 degrees at idle and then give it a test run.

A marked improvement. Smoother running at medium revs, a bit of gentle popping out of the exhaust on throttle lift and next to no spitting out of the carburetors. Made the run a longer one. This could be the last warm (60's) day before late March/early April, so time to just enjoy the car. On the test run I took the side curtains off. Big mistake. From 60 MPH and up I get so much wind buffeting that I worry about losing my hearing aids and glasses. On my next run I'll see how well the plastic wind deflectors work, have heard not too well. I'll wear a beanie so I don't lose hearing aids and glasses.

It is amazing how many admiring looks the Caterham gets. Our Porsches get some, but not nearly as many.

After the drive today it is time to put the car up on axle stands and attach the suspension and body work.

I should have mentioned that I made the mistake to check the compression with a cold engine. Will do a dry and wet compression test later on a hot engine. The fact that all cylinders show the same compression tells me that I don't have any broken rings, which would be my biggest worry.

So much for the wind deflectors. Since yesterday was the last warm day in this spell I took a longer trip and drove up to Chelmsford to show the car off to my friend Bill. On the way up I took the smaller roads and all was fine. On the way back I thought it would be a good idea to take it out on the highway (motorway) and let it stretch out. After my earlier run without any wind deflection I knew to wear a beanie that would cover ears and glasses, but at 80 MPH the buffeting was so high that I had to hold on to the beanie with one hand to prevent it from blowing off and steer with the other.

So, so much for the fun. This week the car will go on jack stands and I'll finish working on the engine and move on to the suspension.

It is interesting to write posts on a UK board. My upbringing was to a great extent Brithish english. I was born in Johannesburg, lived there until I was seven, then seven years in Denmark, followed by four years in Tanzania, followed by a return to Denmark. My high school certificate is an Oxford/Cambridge A level. At the age of 30 my wife, two young girls and I moved to the US where we gained permanent residency. After 5 years there we spent 3 years in Sydney, Australia and then returned to the US where we have been ever since. I am now 71, so it has been over 40 years since we moved to the US, and all the British english has been replaced by American english, with the exception of a trace of accent. So I know how to write bonnet instead of hood and hood instead of top, but it doesn't feel natural any more.

Based on advice on BlatChat I have ordered an Aldon distributor with an Ignitor. By the time I return from soaking up some sun in Florida I should have the distributor and the new mounting kit for the carbs. Tackling the two jobs at the same time makes sense since access to the distributor is so much easier with the carbs removed. I have the Lucas electronic ignition system, but have read horror stories here about the beam breaker going lose, so the Aldon will give me peace of mind. I considered going full ECU, but I have a lot of projects ahead and need to be somewhat conservative with spending.

The aldon reps were really helpful selecting the right product for my specific engine and the fact that the highest octane fuel I can purchase in a regular gas station is 93, and 91 in some states.

The carb mounting kit arrived today. Great!

I am off to Florida for a month a week from Thursday, and by the time I return I hope to have the new distributor and electronic ignition in hand. Replacing the distributer most easily done when the carbs are off, so those two jobs should happen at the same time.

I found a wet of cycle wings and stays at a Caterham dealer in Denver Colorado. They are black. I'll see how they look when I put them on. If they don't look right I plan to paint them the same red as the rest of the car.

Our first autocross is on May 3rd, so I should be able to get the car ready by then.