Nut and bolt strip down and rebuild

[Robert Cadiz]

After an increasing number of failures I've decided I've two options left for the caterham:

1. Torch it and take the insurance money

2. Start from scratch.

After much deliberation and pressure from the wife to take option 1 I've decided on a nut and bolt rebuild once the summer is over.

 

Does anyone have a jobs list?

 

What are the suggestions for nice to haves?

Things like: rivet nut the scuttle, connector blocks in the bulk head for the loom, brackets in the frame so a cage can be added later, removable chassis bracing for ease of propshaft removal.

 

Thanks for your help and ideas.

Robert

[Jonathan Kay]

What's the intended future of the car?

Jonathan

[TomB]

As ever how long is a piece of string? You could could reduce it to component parts, clean bits and rebuild. Or you could strip down to the chassis and have it blasted, recoated, panelled and painted, and then rebuild it from stripped components. 

[DJ.]

Unless you are very attached to the car, it may well make more sense to sell it and buy another that better suits your requirements.

[Robert Cadiz]

I'm in that love hate it place, I want to keep it as I'm slowly starting to get it where I want it.

It will be road and track use but track biased.

Because of winter use its getting rusty and electrically it's not trust worthy. So it will be panels off and chassis powder coated, new panels and rebuilt from original parts.

 

It's that rebuild part that I want to put in the nice to haves.

[DJ.]

I know what you mean. I really wanted to build my Seven from new, and so I have got it pretty much as I wanted (fortunately, I didn't want loads of power, because I couldn't have afforded it!)

 

However, from a dispassionate, head over heart point of view, it was clear to me that I could have got more performance second hand. Upgrades, do seem to cost a lot more to fit, than they add to the value when the car is sold.

 

Duncan

[Jim 123]

Robert, when you add up all of the costs for labour and material to de-skin, prep/repair the original chassis, powder coat, re-skin, plus costs for the multiple handling and transport; is there much of a cost gap if you bought a new chassis with the non moveable panels fitted instead?

[Drumster]

Robert,

I was in a similar position to you many years ago but having owned the car for some 8 years and following a rear end shunt I decided to put the £3,000 insurance money to wards the cost of a full nut and bolt rebuild. I never regretted it as it taught me so much about my car. I literally knew every nut and bolt etc.

I found it a very rewarding experience and finally a great sense of achievement. Full story here.

But BEWARE costs can and do easily mount up as you decide to buy a new shiny bit rather than re-use the cleaned up old bit! Despite the insurance money received I reckon I spent the same again and that was with myself and club members doing most of the work.

Things to consider:

1.as mine is a 93 chassis I had the diff mounts strengthened and extra hoops added to the tunnel area

2.threaded bosses added for cage mounts

3. if you want to change the dash layout then consider what you require in the way of switches as Bruce at Arch can provide a blank dash 

4. rivnut the scuttle using half the number of current rivets

5. Honeycomb protection for fuel tank

6. I changed my warning lights to LEDs

7. Extensive re-wiring of loom

8. Heatshield for footwells

9. Remove heater and put ECU behind dash to keep the area in front of bulkhead clear, neat and tidy

10. remove inertia seat belt reels if still in place

11. Fit battery master switch

Good luck