Gloucestershire AR

Drop some oil down the outer a few times and see if that helps. If not, remove the cable and give it a good oiling. If not - replace! The cable can dry out and 3 in 1 type oil seems to do the business. Good luck getting it sirted. Andy

I had a tax disc holder with similar looking fasteners. They used a torx type fitting - quite small - just in the centre of the round bit. Not sure what size but if you have a big Halfords type socket set there may be a few to try. Andy

We clip ours on the top of the passenger door Dave. Mind you, we've had issues making it work so maybe that's not a good recommendation... Andy

Hello to whoever was in the very smart black S3 that was behind my silver Discovery 3 (and then ahead of us) yesterday morning. We have a 7 Club sticker in the rear window, but don't know if you were close enough to see that! Nice car - couldn't stop as we were off to have a go in a hovercraft (great fun), but it looked like you were enjoying a great blat. Best. Andy

Thanks Jonathan. Yes, mine's very similar except in brown. It's very touchy feely and has a good solid 'click' when you operate it. The lamp flashes at the same speed as the indicators (so I guess would also run faster if you have a blown bulb too?). It's bolted onto the dash and as it has screw electrical fittings I just removed the old bullet connectors and connected the two bare wires to the switch. On my to do list is learning how to attach pics... Just tried on another post but it rejected it as the original file was 9.7mb. Sorry! Andy

I repaired a carbon nose (big crack and some grazing) using filler and glassfibre matting/resin. As it's fully painted the repair is pretty much invisible and the nosecone is still much lighter than my glassfibre 'best' nose. Not great if you want to show off the carbon pattern though and the weight is inevitably a tad more than an unpainted carbon nose... Even so, worth having a go and using it as a spare or selling on if you replace rather than repair? Andy

I run CSR front wings on my S3. They're glassfibre and you have to run their unique wing stays too so it's a biggish job. On the upside the wings shouldn't fly off if the glue comes unstuck (don't ask me how I know...). They're a bit too wide for 185x60x13s (still work but aesthetically not great), but if you cut (hacksaw or Dremel) a 3cm strip out of the middle of the wing, you should get down to about the right width (but do measure and check first!). Then just glassfibre the two parts back together, add a bit of filler, re-shape the front edge of the wing with a file and repaint and Robert is your brother's sibling. That sounds simple but I had put off that job for years. In the event, it was much simpler and easier than I had feared and the finished wings look good. You can run the leading edge very close to the tyre, which helps stop air getting under the wings (one of the issues with standard S3 wings). Then, because the wings are quite short at the back and air is channeled to the outside edge I believe the aero effect is quite good. I think the shape was developed originally by Axon for Caterham and those guys had Cranfield University aerodynamic input - hence the unusual but effective shape. Other than Caterham wings may work too but I think quite a lot of work went into the Caterham shape so other designs may look good/better but not sure how well they'd work. Good luck! Andy

Proper 1950s old fashioned Bakelite indicator switch (with red light) replacing the toggle switch that I kept hitting accidentally. A few quid from somewhere like the Kit Car Show. Now have two visual signs that I'm indicating and it just looks so right! Andy

Is the bonnet a very tight fit front to back as well? And are the rear clips difficult to get on? If so, if it's possible to move the scuttle back a couple of mm that might sort your drooping. If not, maybe some ali angle iron type material araldited to the bonnet and running front to back might help. Good luck! Andy

Thanks all. Spare sensor ordered and I'll have a play around to see if I can get it going again. Andy

Yes, for the 7. The current BC1200 has been on there for probably a decade and until last year worked well. I have a second unit too and neither now works, having been through a period when they only worked sometimes. Standard wired connection, using a magnet araldited to one of the front disc mounting bolts. I did read somewhere that magnets can become demagnetised and wonder if just changing the magnet would be a sensible first move. The other option would be replacing all the wired bit - which is a bit of a pain as I don't have a spare! The BC1200 is cheap enough to leave permanently attached but has no night light. Once calibrated, it was very accurate (when cross referenced against the Tom Tom) and especially useful if the Tom Tom lost its signal for any reason. Using my Android phone would work but water is an issue and so a simple lightweight and accurate cycle speedo has always seemed like a good option. Andy

What's the current thinking on the best cycle speedo to fit? My old Sigma BC1200 seems reluctant to work these days (not sure if it's the wiring and/or possibly at the wheel/magnet end - any experience of that?). The model looks to have been replaced and I'm not sure what's recommended now. Or is a smartphone a better idea? Andy

Pleasure. My man who recommends them uses them for engineering work. He has or looks after a number of ex-works Honda bikes (including their first TT winner) so I tend to trust his judgement Neil! When I went into their workshop recently (they replaced my inlet valve guides a few weeks back), there was some very tasty vintage machinery being worked on so they're trusted by others too. Fingers crossed it all works out OK - I'm sure it will. Andy

Bear in mind that windscreen to roll bar measurements depend on: - where on each you measure from (middle of each?) - the position of the scuttle on the body - it can be a bit forward or back of what the engineers specified - the positioning of the holes in the scuttle. A slight angle can make the windscreen more or less upright and so also affect the distance to the rollbar - the roll bar too may have 'tolerances' but I suspect that's more likely to be in roughly the same place. My softbits half hood (can't remember which size!) fits really well. If they have both in stock would they allow you to order one and return it if it doesn't fit? The 79cms one sounds most likely to fit (the windscreen surround must also be about 1cm wide so does this explain the discrepancy?). Good luck! Andy (Big fan of both SBFS and Oxted)

I have a Supersprint head and it has hardened inserts. It runs standard exhaust valves and big inlets. The work was done at F J Payne & Sons in Eynesham. They came recommended by my garagiste (Bernard Saunders in Bourton-on-the-Water) and know their stuff and their pricing looks reasonable (no one is ever cheap are they!). Personally, I'd be nervous of what your guy says. Don't know if he's right or wrong but getting a second opinion from Paynes (is that anywhere near you?) might be useful. Give them a bell? Good luck! Andy

My filler cap is within the boot (directly on top of the tank, so no external cap) and I run a hose from the tank to a one way valve and then more hose and the lot sits just under the top tube at the rear of the car below the boot cover. The theory is it lets air in but not petrol out. It's not knocked about by anything in the boot and seems a neatish solution. No hissing noises on refilling either so don't think the tank gets pressurised. Have I missed anything? Andy

This may be a daft question, but can you cross the shoulder belts to get them closer together at the helmet? Andy

The BDA/R engine was pretty much the 'ultimate' before the Vauxhall came along and an alternative to the simpler, less powerful and less expensive Ford Crossflow (Kent) on which it was based anyway. The HPC designation recognised that many owners would be new to 'hyper' cars and so offering the John Lyon course would help them, enable them to get the best out of their car and (perhaps) lower their insurance costs too. It was also a good marketing wheeze. ISTR that some owners didn't fancy being told what to do and were the world's best drivers anyway (ahem) or else lived too far away so wouldn't do the course (not sure if they got a discount for that). To confuse matters, anyone could buy a kit car and add their own engine so making it identical to HPC spec. I know too that James Whiting built some incredibly fast BDR(?) engined cars - once had the pleasure of a short drive in one (Andy Rowland's car) and it was quick! Confused yet? I'll go on...The head on my own crossflow engine is from a Caterham built car where the owner converted their Kent engine to BDA/R (I'm never sure of the right BD suffix to apply!) by using the head and other bits to convert it. So I got an almost new Kent head at a good price back in the 90s. A few cars were also built with Hart engines, which were even more powerful but a similar design. I suspect, but don't know, that 'true' HPC cars might have their own chassis number series and certainly any new documentation would have mentioned they were HPCs and the car would have had HPC badges from new (although other cars could have the badges added later). Ideally, if your car's owner kept the original paperwork that would tell you but of course such things were of no matter at the time and so rarely kept or passed on. I wonder if John Lyon kept records too? Good luck with the detective work Anthony and I look forward to reading the Lowflying article in due course! Andy

A few years back I replaced the big 7" headlamps with smaller units. They're actually tractor units and a tad smaller than the conventional 5 and 3/4 inch headlamp units. Anyone else run these (they have a 'flatter' bowl shape at the back and were originally black in colour)? I'm looking to replace the reflectors if I can and have no idea where to start looking! Thanks. Andy

I think I used a right angle plumbing fitment from a local plumbing store when I did this some years ago. The alternative is to fit a Ford breather cap with provision for a hose to be attached. Burtons do these (not expensive) and and even nicer all ali one (£40ish from memory) which, tart that my engine is, she has just had fitted. This option has the advantage that it's quick and easy and of being reversible too. Good luck! Andy

No, don't have a Duratec. Think they're great engines and very well suited to the Caterham though. I understood the Mazda units have a steel crank and rods as standard, whereas the Ford ones don't. Hence the preferred option for engine tuners was my understanding. I wondered, as Caterham now use the Mazda gearbox so buying both units from Mazda would seem to make sense. Ford is probably the stronger brand and not even sure the Mazda's are branded as such but anyone have actual experience of both units? A quick online check suggests Mazda designed the engine initially but as Mazda is/was part of Ford, not sure how relevant that is either. I'm still with the ol' crossflow. Love it to bits, not least because these days it's kinda out of fashion but still works. Andy

Yes, I believe the crossflow block is still made. Burtons still sell the block and bits and ISTR that Ford started making them again for Formula Ford, where many still prefer the old engine. So despite its age(!) it is actually a current engine unlike the Vauxhall 2 litre, K series and Zetec (and is the Ford Duratec still made?)... Tee hee. Seriously, on the subject of engines, do Caterham use Mazda or Ford 2 litre Duratec engines? Hopefully the former. Andy

Fuel pump? Or maybe a loose wire/connection somewhere? Andy

Actually had a pin come out on an SV when a bunch of us went through France a few years back. None of us had a spare... They can slide up a little and just get pushed back down when you remember. If you don't, I think they rise up even more and can eventually leave... I wonder whether the nylon buses expand more than the brass or get soft (or both) in hot weather and under higher speeds. The solution may be perhaps a dab of glue on the top part of the pin (so you can still take the doors off)? Andy

I made one up years ago using plywood. It covered roughly the lower third of the grille and was secured using the little plastic 2 part shelf fixings you get from places like Homebase (I use the same things on my sprint timing strut). Always concerned about traffic though and potential overheating, but this was a reasonable compromise. Andy