mikestifel

definitely looks like a 1600 BDR motor. Engine number will be stamped on the back of the block. That VIN matches the one published in Chris Rees's book for the first BDR engined car, but I'm always suspect of those plates. Check the VIN number stamped on the chassis. Unrelated, I think I bought a CBR250R (MC19) from you a while back. Small world.

The key to changing that belt with the engine in the car is choosing the correct curse words and applying them liberally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11OUPwT_dYY&ab_channel=StephenMorten There's a part 2 as well.

Hose clamps are indeed a deep rabbit hole. There are some good publications out there if you look, but you can definitely overthink it and go overboard. I've got a copy of Carrol Smith's "Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook" which is a really great resource if you can find a copy somewhere. Those extended hose clamp pliers are very interesting, I've got some motorcycles that they would be very handy for.

It's all fun and games until you encounter the BA hardware in the windscreen.

iirc the marks on the back of the pulley line up with a notch on the cam cover and are used for ignition timing. i'm sure there are people here who know a lot more than me though.

Do you know what cams you have? The pulleys should be marked.

What are your goals for the car? There's considerable overlap in performance between 40s and 45s depending on chokes etc. If you're on the track and need absolute WOT performance the 45s might be the ticket. If it's a road car you can probably get very good performance out of 40s. Just be careful and think about what you want from your car. DCOEs are great when they're set up correctly but the cost of jets and other parts can add up in a big hurry. Finding someone who knows what they're doing can make a world of difference.

242 or 243. 243 is preferable.

The chokes and auxiliary venturis will be numbered. It's pretty easy to see the numbers on the chokes, so you should be able to tell what you had and what was installed.

I switched mine from the split lock washers to nylocs. Split lock washers are basically worthless for preventing things loosening and I trust the nylocks much more. It's inside the air filter so no one else needs to know it's there.

FWIW I was able to obtain a shifter direct from Quaife.

This little gem was in my T9 when I got my car. I was able to get a new plug with a 5/8" square drive on it. Much better, but still very troublesome to get at with the gearbox in the car.

#5 mechanical

This is the fuse block from my '87. The empty spot is the heated screen, which my car does not have. the other fuse locations are consistant with the diagram in post #2 if my memory serves.

PM sent. Thanks for the replies. I was ready to give up hope.

I've never really looked closely at the carbs on my car. It's always run "well enough" so I didn't want to go down that particular rabbit hole. Anyhow, during this years spring carb tune I was having an unusual issue so I dove in a little bit. It turns out that my 45DCOEs have 38mm chokes in them which strikes me as a bit much for that motor. I'm wondering what people use as a baseline for setting up carbs for that motor. I can do the fine tuning but it would save me a lot of time and money if I have a good starting point. Where I am I can get lots of advice about small block chevys but not so much with BDs. Here's what I have right now, where should I go with it? Engine: Unmodified 1700cc BDR. Carbs: 45DCOE 38mm chokes 5mm auxiliary venturis 145 main jet 175 air corrector jet F16 emulsion tube 60F9 idle jet 45 pump jet Right now I'm thinking 36mm chokes with 45F9 idle jets and 40 pump jets. Sound like a good place to start or would I be better off going down to 34mm chokes?

edit: decided to start a new thread

Another thought occurs. My 45 DCOEs have 38mm chokes. That seems a little big to me. Is there conventional wisdom about choke sizes for a 1700 BDR?

Thanks. It's pretty happy at 1000 so I'll just set it there.

After quite a while I've got my engine back in the car and everything seems good so far. I'm curious as to where people like to set their idle speed. My timing is dialed in and I've been over the idle mixture but it isn't happy idling below about 950 rpm. The information I can find for the BDA says 800. I can go over the idle mixture again but I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts. oops, the engine is a 1987ish 1700 BDR with 45DCOEs.

When I pulled my motor last year quite a bit of the transmission oil came out the tailshaft during removal. I sucked out everything I could get to but when I went to refill it didn't take as much as I think it should have. I just got the car back on the road today so my plan is to drive it a little and top it off. I think a fair amount of oil lives in inaccessible places in the T9. I'm not worried about contamination but if you are there's probably a way to get all of the oil out of it. Flip it upside down and spin it or some such.

I tried that and my turn signals, windscreen wipers and headlamps stopped working. I'm hoping that someone has been through this and has an elegant solution. I can probably figure it out eventually but the Caterham wiring diagram is not the most helpful document I've ever encountered.

I've got an '87 De Dion car with a 1700 BDR motor in it. I'm assuming that the car was originally equipped with a Lucas electronic ignition which has since been replaced with a Pertronix distributor. The ignition amplifier is still in the car but is no longer involved with the ignition. Looking over the wiring diagram it looks like a lot of stuff goes through that amplifier. Is there an elegant way to jump a few pins or replace it with a relay or am I better off just living with it in place? Here's the amp. I took a quick look inside and although I'm no electrical engineer it seems to be all passive components, so nothing terribly fancy. Any thoughts appreciated.

definitely make sure all of the bolts are out, the two in the back are pretty well hidden. a few good whacks with a soft faced dead blow hammer should get it moving.