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graemesmith

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Blog Entries posted by graemesmith

  1. graemesmith
    It moves under it's own power!  Minor coolant leak, handbrake cable needs P-clip moving (again) and the speedo doesn't register anything.  Apart from that it's just the boot cover and mirrors and I can PBC and IVA it.
    The biggest challenge was getting it back off the mobile axle stands.  Once I'd got a jack that could reach up that high I found that I couldn't get the jack close enough because of the stands.  I had to gradually move it onto some lower stands then repeat with a smaller jack until I finally got it onto the floor.  Must have taken an hour at least.
    Unfortunately I'm missing one four point harness.  When I checked the boxes I had assumed that they were both in the one box.  Nope.  Derek is on holiday next week but so am I so no major hassle, I can fit the boot cover and have checked that the harness can be bolted in with the seats fitted albeit with a bit of contortion!  Only issue is that Caterham appear to be out of stock at the moment.  If they don't get any soon I might opt for blue or red ones as they appear to be in stock.
    The speedo will probably just be the sensor too close to the axle.  I'd misread the manual and got it under 1mm clearance.  It does say that you might need to move it out past 1mm to get a reading.  Oh well, back onto some (smaller) axle stands.  The coolant leak is very small so might take a bit of finding but I've got plenty of time.
    It's booked into BookaTrack for the 24th of April for PBC and 310 upgrade.  They will also do the IVA presentation and any remedial work as I'd have to do a 500 mile round trip to pick it to do the work myself and then another 500 mile round trip to drop it off again for the IVA.
    Unless there are any major hiccups with the paperwork or IVA that are worth mentioning that's the end of my abbreviated build blog.
    Hope to be driving it around mid May. 
  2. graemesmith
    After finishing the front suspension I redid the headlight wiring yet again.  With modern cabling I managed to get an extra lead through for future use.  So instead of the factory supplied setup which I found impossible I've got 6 wires, all high current capable, fully encased in heat shrink which can easily slide back and forth through the light stalks.  No plugs on either end yet.
    Next up I prepared the engine and gearbox.  Fitting took about 2 hours on my own then spent the next day tidying the wiring. At first I wanted to complete the engine install then tidy up but it was easier to just do it as I went along.
    The only issue I have is the cable to the front RH lower sensor (Oil Temp?) is very long.  I've tried a few different approaches but have it wrapped round the oil cooler for now.  I'll have to find a neater solution eventually.
    Minor panic. When I prepped the engine I couldn't find the clutch release bearing.  Eventually found it already fitted to the bell housing.   After installing the engine and tidying up the wires I suddenly realised I hadn't checked if it was properly fitted or just placed in situ!  An email to Derek confirmed that it is now fully fitted at the factory so I didn't need to pull the engine back out after all.  And relax......
    Every day sees a new order on Amazon or visit to Halfords/Screwfix for some little bit or other but I'm used to that now.  I bought the Caterham toolkit as it had everything required to build the car.  As we say in Scotland - Aye, right!
    Spent 3 hours with my wire strippers and bespoke crimper fitting econoplugs at both ends of the headlight cabling.  Very pleased with it now.  If I need to upgrade anything I just need to fit a suitable plug and it will pop in to the existing bowls (talking about LED headlamps/DRL's etc)
  3. graemesmith

    270S SV Build

    By graemesmith,

    Well it's been a while but my kit is due for delivery next week (27th February).  Started thinking about it seriously over a year ago and went firm on the spec in the Summer but it still seems like ages.
    Last few jobs to do before it arrives revolve around clearing the rest of the junk out of the Garage.  Along the way I've ended up with a new, larger, garden shed, a converted vegetable patch (converted into a storage area for my new trailer) and various large items that I never thought I'd need but decided they would be invaluable in the future.  At least that is how I justified the engine hoist and mobile axle stands to my other half.  So far she has been very tolerant of my Caterham shopping habit and is very pleased with the LED lights in the garage.  Probably went a bit over the top fitting three of them as you need sunglasses when working in there now.
    Anyway, back to clearing the garage.....
  4. graemesmith

    1st few days...

    By graemesmith,

    Kit arrived in good order on Monday evening as promised.  Doesn't seem to anything missing and the spec was all as ordered.
    Started with the IVA trim around the front bodywork apertures as recommended by most blogs and fitted the wishbones and steering rack.  I decided to follow the factory recommended build order and moved on to the headlights....
    After 2 days solid I'm just about there.  On version 4 of how to put the lights together and I'm happy with one and almost finished the other.  There are various opinions on how best to wire up the lights and where the grommets should go etc but in the end I did it my own way.  The loom in the engine bay that the lights plug into is only about 5mm in diameter despite having an extra wire for the repeaters.  The Caterham supplied headlight, when sleeved with shrink tubing is about 8.5mm and considering the washer hole is only about 5mm when fitted to the entry on the stalk and about 6mm diameter on the exit grommet in the engine bay I decided I could do better.
    Modern cars use very thin wall insulated wires, as per the Caterham engine bay loom.  The headlight cables are the 1950's version.  After a trip to the local car electrical specialist I had a variety of wires of the correct core diameter for each function.  Still not the thin wall stuff but good enough for now.  I discarded the Caterham wiring and completely redid the whole assembly and now it sits at 6.5mm which can be squeezed through both grommets with only a bit of effort.  I plan to fit LED headlights and proper DRL's (ones which dim when you go to sidelights) after the IVA so I reckon I'll need another wire running through the stalk unless there is a really clever way to wire them up.  I'll rip the whole lot out and fit thin wall cable when I get to that stage.
    The only major controversy seems to be the grommets.  You definitely need one at the exit into the engine bay but there are varying opinions on the one at the other end where the cable enters the stalk below the indicator.  My version of the IVA Checklist has this grommet fitted, a previous version didn't mention it.  I've seen it argued on the occasional build blog that this grommet is not required if the wires are sheathed and I've seen photographs of the stalk with and without the grommet.
    In the end, after getting the diameter of the cabling down I could fit the grommet anyway so the argument went away.
    Going to have a day of rest tomorrow to let my fingers heal.
    Graeme
  5. graemesmith
    Spent most of last week tidying up wiring and hoses so it looks neat enough.  Fairly pleased so far.  I managed to get the Diff in on my own by removing the wooden boot panel and lifting it by some straps onto a couple of axle stands.  I tried putting it on a jack but it wasn't high enough.  The bolts went in relatively easily and it was done in a couple of hours.
    When I moved on to the rear suspension I came to a complete stop at step one.  The brake pipes needed bending at the outside ends and after a few seconds of trying it with my hands I quickly gave up.  No one in the West of Scotland keeps a stock of Brake Pipe Bending Tools.  While waiting for Amazon to deliver once more I moved on to the boot carpet and front wings.
    The carpet went much better when I removed the alloy boot base although I was very disappointed when I discovered that the contact adhesive I'd bought was the odorless version.  Its supposed to go from White to Clear when its ready to bond.   I haven't seen it change colour yet but it seems to work.
    I've used the Tyrap Cable Tie solution for the front wings with Sika 292i adhesive.  Some people have problems at the IVA with these but I'm using 12mm stainless steel cable ties which I can replace with nylon after the IVA so I'll see how that goes.
    Thinking forward to the IVA I've contacted Dreadnaught Garage, the local Caterham dealer round here but they don't offer a presentation service and I don't fancy going to the Glasgow IVA centre myself as no one seems to know much about them.  Also Dreadnaught have not had the training required yet to do the 310 upgrade which I'd like done at the PBC.
    Still waiting from a reply from BookATrack who are the nearest convenient dealer who can do the lot.  I seem to have to email everyone twice before I get a reply - maybe its just me.
    Anyway, back to the garage....
     
     
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