CharlesElliott

I'm sure Darren F(oulsham) had this problem as well. Have a look at his diary and see if there are some handy hints... Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

You can adjust the cable at the throttle end - but not enough (at least, not enough in my case - pedals on middle setting). The fact that the build guide says you 'may' have to bend the pedal tends to mean 'in 99% of cases, you will have to bend the pedal'. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Guy, Sounds like the same as mine. When the assembly guide says 'to take up the slack and gain a good pedal position, you may need to bend the pedal', what it really means is 'the throttle cable we supply is far too long for the application. You will need to set about the pedal with a screwdriver and a large block of wood and bend it a lot to even have a chance of it fitting properly.' At least that's what I found. 😬 Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

The headlamp bowl should have a threaded shaft underneath that goes through a hole in the stay. Loosen the bolt on the shaft and you can then move the bowl. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Here's a pic of mine. The car doesn't have any carpets 😬, but you should get the idea... here Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

2 pin plug, not needed. Black wire near to temp sender - agree with Guy; this is an earth for the Stack dash. Two black wires near Apollo. Is this actually a bundle of three wires, one of which is black/yellow, coming from the alternator? If so, none of these are needed. The black/yellow wire you want to connect to the Apollo oil temp sender is wrapped in heat shrink in a spiral around the upper near side chassis rail. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Yes, it's here. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

And as has been said, do have the handbrake fitted in the tunnel (ot at least, do on my 2004 Academy car). Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

One difference is that the battery is down low in the chassis - taking some length off the passenger footwell. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Guy, The copper washers on the banjo bolts aren't very good at sealing - are you sure it's not coming from there? I know from his diary that Darren F had this problem. I had it briefly, but I just did them up tighter and it seems to have solved it 😬. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Ian, Sorry for the complete lack of detail/info, but I've seen previous discussions elsewhere saying that ULS petrol has caused poorer performance and less efficiency - the reduction in mpg being greater than the saving in cost! So your experience doesn't surprise me. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Mine (2004 car) were M10 x 1 (at the caliper end, which I don't think is what you want). 3/8" UNF at the other end from memory. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Edited by - CharlesElliott on 3 Nov 2003 09:31:03

Glad to see it went in fine. It is pretty straightforward (only problem with mine was getting the propshaft and gearbox output shaft splines aligned). The picture text says the starter motor needs to go on - why did you decide not to fit it before the engine went in? How long do you reckon before you're starting it up then 😬 😬 Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Guy, Sorry to hear about the missing top hat - hope the engine went in alright. Given that Steve replaced his oil seal with everything in situ and said that it wasn't much of a problem, getting the top hat and circlip in should be pretty straightforward. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

I lost a lot of points for not having painted the garage floor at all. But regained a few when I told Malcolm it was better than painting 5sq/ft and then losing interest which is what would have happened if I'd started. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

I chose my approach because given that I'm racing next year, wing replacements could be a common occurrence 😬. Therefore I wanted some way of removing the broken ones that didn't involve having to cut glue away etc. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Thanks for the mention Guy. I got my fixings FOC from Bigheads as well 😬. Here's a direct link to my pics and a pdf on fitting them. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

4. Try here for an electronic version of the assembly guide. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Guy, Have you tightened the cable yet? Mine rubbed on a few things until it was tightened up. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Guy, I've got to fit mine as well. Is it obvious where it goes? (No holes pre-drilled from the looks of it) Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Guy, Especially with by black/ali colour scheme the orange ones don't look great. I've ordered the clear indicator lenses but have already fitted the repeaters (which might have been a slight mistake!) so was really after lenses that would fit the existing repeaters. Oh well, first time out I'll smash them off no doubt so that might solve the problem Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Looking through the archives, Vehicle Wiring Products sell clear indicator lenses and orange bulbs but they don't appear to have clear repeater lenses/bulbs (the ones that go on the front wings). Has anyone found a source for these? Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary

Thanks all. I've already adjusted the pedal to put the bite point in a better positioin and that makes it easier. Just the speedo to sort out then.... Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Edited by - CharlesElliott on 19 Oct 2003 18:52:58

So, I finally took my almost built car out for a short drive today. A couple of observations and then the obligatory questions . - The clutch feels like an on/off switch. I put this down to the fact that the car is so light and as soon as it starts to engage the car moves. - The brakes are rubbish. But everyone says that and then also that they get better. Had a small coolant leak but couldn't see any other problems. A couple of questions of course though: - the speedo 'waves', oscillating all the time whilst telling you your speed. The last car I had that did that was an MG Metro in 1992. Do 'they all do that, sir'? - there seems to be a lot of gearbox noise which is very noticeable in neutral when not moving. Dip the clutch and it goes away, raise it and it comes back. I wouldn't normally notice this, but after my 'how much gearbox oil does it take' fiasco I'm paranoid. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Edited by - CharlesElliott on 19 Oct 2003 17:48:17

Pat - YHM Good luck for tomorrow. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary