Jim 123

As previously suggested measure the distance between chassis hole centers and ask Derek to send you a bar that he has pre matched to your car.  Sometimes getting somebody to hold the bar loosely near the upper end of the chassis apertures and you getting both fixing bolts initially into their thread is a first step.  Then screw the bar into position by working the bolts half a turn each side at a time.

Tony should still have all the paint mixing formulations and will be able to knock you up a quantity. 

Just trying to understand what you are wrestling with and see if we can help Mark.

When you had the bar ends resting in their recesses and unfixed, are you saying that each side was 3mm misaligned? If the misalignment was in the same orientation i. e. Both sides were 3mm off line outboard, or ditto inboard you have 6mm of misalignment.  Or is the misalignment 1.5 mm per side giving 3mm in total?

Whatever,  if you are understandably reluctant to persevere, as suggested I would provide Derek the dimensions between your chassis hole centers and he can then match a bar to fit your chassis before shipping. 

When you get your 3mm hole misalignment is that on one side with the other side bolted through?

In my experience this issue is not unknown with the FIA Bar and is probably down to tolerances build up. From the description it is unclear, but I'd assume that the misalignment is across the lateral axis.  It might help if you measure the space between the chassis fixing hole centers and send this to Derek.  He can then ensure that you are shipped a dimensionally compatible replacement Bar.

Sump plug washer? On my Sigma it's a rubber item and always worth changing.

Never heard of a Trackday Bar being failed on an IVA.  Rear mirror vision requirements are satisfied.  CC will no doubt send you a replacement bar.  Meantime does the damaged item that they sent you fit your car? 

If you can't get the prop out because of the diff, there should be grease nipples on both prop UJ's which you may want to consider giving a squirt?
 

Re advice to the garage. If the mechanic is not Caterhamised you might want to refer them to the Club Guide re where to trolley jack the car and placement of axle stands.  I would also ask them to make sure to protect the chassis where the De Dion contacts it with axle stands fitted.

Possibly helpful comments... I wasn't keen to not have a washer between bolt 4 and the chassis, and I  fitted one on each side to protect the powder coat.  Whether this has done any good I have no idea but it hasn't done any harm. The other thing I have noticed on a few Caterhams is that the A Frame can be inadvertently fitted upside down.

Thanks Tazio, I think I'll give your solution a try.

I do know that BMW have issued Service Instructions on their diffs to reduce the originally specified fill level to eliminate leaks.

Tazio your solution is interesting.  Have you had any problems with the glue that fixes the foam going soft due to the bonnet suffering heat absorption from the sun when the car is sat out in summer weather?

David on most Caterhams you see will that the foam goes on the car and not the bonnet itself. You fit the foam on the nose cone and the windscreen scuttle.

On my car, when the bonnet is fitted it does not make touch contact with the car nose cone or windscreen scuttle. I fitted the foam so that the painted fold on the inside of the bonnet does not press down on the foam when the bonnet is fitted. This stops the paint on the fold of the bonnet getting rubbed away by the foam. The main purpose of the foam is to stop water, road dirt, etc. collecting inside the engine bay when you are driving. Therefor the foam should sit close to the bonnet fold. Check your car with the bonnet fitted to see if it is in contact with the nose cone or scuttle at any point.

TazioI re #2 and CC's in house team, do I read your comment correctly that TSK are no longer doing the painting of factory cars / kits?

4.5 litres for oil and filter change according to the CC Owner Handbook.  Available on line.

Giles in an idle moment before heading to the pub I did a Google on "H7 bulb retaining clip" with a few results coming up. You might get a handed match for the one you have in safe keeping.

On my Sigma the dipstick is a flat strip of steel and it rests diagonally into the sump oil. All of these dipsticks are intended to drop vertically into a standard Ford sump. When I take a reading the oil leaves a diagonal trace on the flat face of the dipstick along a 45 degree angle. This may explain why your Duratec is showing max on the curved face. 

Giles chances are that the clip is a generic item that the part supplier uses in all of their headlamps.  The part will be designed around the H4 bulb.  Why not go to your local car breakers yard where you should be able to pick up the part from a wrecked headlamp before it goes to scrap?

What about elongating downwards the 4 existing chassis mount holes with a mouse tail file? This would mean minimal and possibly invisible touch up to the powder coat.

Whilst it may not be significant,  might bending the chassis mounts down then render their front mounting faces off vertical which would tilt the top of the rad back towards the inside of the nose cone.

With the nose cone option, given what I think you have said about the car you might want to apply a few checks and balances particularly as your car is Lotus Toxic Green.

The nose, wings and bonnet are likely to have been placed on a Caterham specific jig when TSK originally painted them.  When it comes to colour match on adjacent parts (e.g. nose to bonnet); and specifically with mica and metallic paint effects; the jig is important as it ensures that the small sparkle effect flakes within the drying paint film are in exactly the same concentration, and  all they orientate in the same horizontal plane before setting,  If you are shipped an alternative nose cone you may notice a mismatch.  Normally with an aftermarket repair to the nose, it would be painted and the new coating would be "blended" into the bonnet.

If your car has a bonnet stripe going on to the nose, alignment and uniform dimensions may need to be referenced to the existing bonnet.

You should also check how the Caterham Toxic Green is achieved.  I read somewhere that Lotus use a tinted clearcoat in this application.  The issue with coloured clearcoats is that the depth of film does have a bearing on result, esp with hand spray application.  In the aftermarket, the nose clearcoat would be blended into adjacent panels. My guess is that TSK have a formulation that does not use coloured clear, but worth asking.

Don't be put off the new nose cone option it just need thinking through to avoid unanticipated frustration.  You might want to consider an unpainted nose to get you through the IVA.  The assembled car could then be given to a bodyshop, who would get the as new result you expect.

That point touch condition will stress and damage the fibreglass. Although an alternative race rad may very well do the trick.  

Have you got good clearance between the rad lower and the nose cone? Elongation by 5mm of the chassis mount holes, or the rad bracket holes where the bolts sit, would eliminate the touch on the top corners. You will need to think about the LH upper chassis bracket top radius for hose fit as you would be lowering the rad. 

Also what if you loosen off the lower bobbins  and remove the top bobbins, would the cone fit OK if you wire  back the top of the rad by say  8 to 10 mils to bring the rad top further rearwards.  That would suggest a thinner depth full set of bobbins could do the trick and might also improve top hose fit.

Are the bottom nose cone fasteners both securing OK.  How far away from position is the top fastener that will not engage.

Just speculating Mark, but if the original CC supplied heat shrink went floppy, do you know  is your heat source is delivering the required heat level uniformly along the target. From memory you should be applying about 120 C to get max reduction, and the starting diameter of the replacement wrap can be a factor that has more bearing in this situation than anywhere else. The grommet will still be a pain to fit, and you probably used up your weekly quota of luck with the side that worked.

With the grommet that does not fit on one side, have you got all of the wires inside the shrink wrap running parallel and not slightly twisted.  Also have you got maximum shrink or the wire wrapping. It sounds possible that there is a little excess circumference with that length of wiring that is reducing space in the mount aperture for the grommet.