bstark

Can someone please tell me if my theory is feasible, or are my worst fears (head gasket) the most likely explanation? The car is a 1700 Supersprint, and the engine was fresh 3000 miles ago. I have only driven about 100 miles since the 3000 mile service last week and she is running the best I can remember - zings round to 6000rpm, more power throughout the range than before the service, sits at 80 degrees, even in traffic, idles properly and sounds great - really smooth. I had a look under the bonnet for the first time since the service after a glorious blat today and the oil breather pipe is covered in greeny yellow slime from the contents of the catch tank - which contained about 3mm deep of this stuff (smelt of oil). PANIC! Pull out the dipstick and the bottom 3mm or so has some white goo on it with clear fresh oil above all the way to the max mark. Clean it off, re-dip, and there's just oil. Slightly less panic. Wait for engine to cool down, and remove oil filler cap - no sign of any goo, just remnants of fresh oil - inside of the rocker cover, and what I can see of the tappets all looks clean too. Now just confused. My hopeful theory is this: During the service, car was left out in the rain with the bonnet off. 2 or 3mm of water fill the open topped oil catch bottle. Subsequent driving adds some hot oil from the breather pipe which mixes with the water and creates horrible slimey greeny yellow stuff that gives me heart attack. What do you think - is this feasible? Like I said, the car feels better than ever to drive (and the passenger carpet is still damp - it was dry before the service). If not, any other ideas? Or am I about to fork out some cash and lose the car for a while? sad.gif Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I've also recently done this - although I was only replacing the old tonneau with a new one to suit an FIA bar so I didn't have to make any more holes in the car. The lack of instructions are bloody stupid... I got a lot of help from this site so there should be a fairly recent thread on it. The most important bit for me was being told that there is a special tool that Caterham provide to stamp the poppers into place on the tonneau - and it doesn't come as part of the bits they send you. mad.gif Good luck with it! Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Parp! Can anyone tell me the best place to get some suitable foam for my FIA bar? I'm based near Maidstone in Kent. Thanks! Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Hmmm... they do seem to be a bit variable, don't they. Mine still sings to about 5500rpm and then it just seems right to change up rather than force it. At the rolling road session last year, the guy who tuned it mentioned that the compression test figures were very high on a couple of cylinders and that could cause pinking - which would also limit the revs. Any thoughts on this? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Mine runs at around 80 most of the time but rapidly climbs to 90 ish around town. In traffic it will rise to 95 before the fan kicks in and brings it back down to 90. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Thanks Brian, Now it suddenly makes a bit of sense - unlike Caterham's policy on providing instructions.... Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Thanks Mark, Has anyone got any clues as to the number of parts I have been supplied with / how many I should have for the boot cover as normal? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I have replaced the std roll bar on my 7 for an FIA one, and have had to replace the boot cover to suit the new bar. I've fitted the bar and the front section of the new boot cover to the car (ie. the bit with the metal strip in) but I have a few questions about the remaining poppers. Caterham didn't supply any fitting instructions (I gather this is normal, if bloody irritating / perplexing practice?) but they did give me a parts list for the fixings. They provided: 6 rivets (1/8 x 0.39") 6 Durable Dot Fasteners 14 Durable Dot Fastener Sockets 14 Durable Dot Fastener Buttons (as well as 8 Veltex fastener bases and 6 screws) Is it just me, or do these numbers not add up? The old cover that came with the car had 14 riveted fasteners on it but if I only have 6 rivets I can only fit 6 fasteners. If I need 2 for the opening flap, that only leaves 2 each side - is this right? If so, which are the preferred hood poppers to line up with? I have also never riveted anything before so can someone tell me if there is a specific rivet gun I should look for? Do I need a specific combination of the above parts for each fastener? Where can I buy a gun from (and more fasteners / rivets if necessary?). Any help is much appreciated! Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I have just upgraded to FIA Bar so if anyone needs these bits they are both in excellent condition: Standard Roll Bar - £40 Boot Cover to suit Standard Roll Bar - £20 Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Many thanks Phil - it sounds like it should be OK. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I've also got a 1700ss and you do notice the weight of a passenger - it's simply down to him/her being a relatively high percentage of the overall weight of the car. The lighter the car the more you will feel the difference with a passenger, unless the limiting factor in acceleration is traction. If its any consolation, a 1700ss is normally plenty quick enough for the passenger! Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I've just finished fitting an FIA rollbar to my '92 Live Axle Supersprint, which involved removing all the upper mounting rubbers and nuts from the rear dampers to allow it to fit. Never having done this before can someone confirm I have re-fitted these correctly, and that there are no special torque settings etc. that I should have used? To remove the upper mountings I put the car on axle stands under the front A-frame mountings, and supported the axle with a jack under the diff. When I bolted it all back together, the upper mounting rubbers are now on top of the rollbar base plate and I simply screwed the first nut down to compress the rubber until I couldn't turn the spanner any more without serious effort. I then put the second nut on and tightened it. I did all this before lowering the car back to the floor so no load was on the axle. Does this sound correct? (sorry if it is an idiot question...) Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Chris, That's what I wanted to hear! Frankly, on the road I haven't felt the need to use much more than 5000 - 5500rpm as the engine is so tractable. I was just concerned that there may be something wrong with the engine as it didn't give the impression of wanting to fly up to 7000 as a lot of people are suggesting. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

When the car was rolling road tuned, the final figure that came out was 120bhp at the wheels at 6000rpm, and at the Brooklands day I forced myself to use 6000rpm on the 0-60 runs, but the car just doesn't accelerate that urgently above, say, 5500rpm. It might just be a case of the engine still being tight and that it will improve once I have used these revs a few more times - I'm also used to Honda 16v engines which simply pull harder and harder the more revs you use (as opposed to the xflow which I'm guessing has a flatter curve, and certainly feels much torquier lower down) so it may be psychological now. I don't want to steal the thread but seeing that more than one person has mentioned this, what are people's experience of a 'standard'1700 supersprint? Do they love to rev to 7000? At what revs do they seem to be 'pulling' hardest? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

My car did exactly the same thing - right down to it being 5200rpm. It was originally a 1600 sprint but I had it upped to a 1700 supersprint engine when I bought it. The block was new but the carbs etc. were bolted on from the old engine. Once I had run it in, I found it flew up to 5200rpm and then just stopped revving. I assumed they hadn't re-jetted the carbs so I took it to a rolling road to get properly tuned. The basic problem turned out to be the ignition timing being way out, resulting in massive pinking at high revs. After the tune, the car seems fine - but it still seems a bit tight above 5000rpm (its done about 2500 miles on thenew engine). I hope this helps - I'm interested to hear about the valve springs, as my engine (built by Steve Parker Racing) shows no sign of racing up to 7000rpm. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Apologies to John, but it was £32.50 plus £3.85 p&p. I have to say, I thought that was steep, but it's a seller's market! The book was in very good condition, with a very slight creas to the front cover but otherwise perfect. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Thanks Jonh, but Collectors Carbooks came through first time. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Back to the top in case anyone else can help... Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Michael - thanks for that, it's a good starting point! Elie - 'bodge repair' is probably an accurate desription. I just need it to spray the replacement number plate cradle that should be arriving any day (see Chitchat thread 'Bloody Rabbits'), so an aerosol finish in the correct colour would be fine. If anyone has found a good aerosol match for 'Post Office Red' can they let me know? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I am trying to find out the exact colour (ie. Ford Blaze, or whatever) of the standard 'Caterham' Red that my 1992 Supersprint is painted, so I can get a spray can. Can anyone help? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Thanks Mark, I'll give it a try. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

In case anyone gets a similar problem and reads this thread, the advice was right - it is an earth problem. Connecting the light back plate to the chassis (with a jump lead - all I had to hand!) resulted in all lights working normally again. The earth itself is connected to one of the rear wing mounting bolts, next to the fuel tank, and looks like a right pig to get to - one for the weekend. Thanks for all the help. Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I imagine this is something of a long shop, but does anyone have a copy of Tony Wheale's book that they want to get rid of? Lotus Seven: Preparation, Restoration and Maintenance, by Anthony Wheale, hardback, ISBN 185532153X, I can't find it new anywhere! Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

Thanks for that - I'll give it a go. One thing, though - why would the Rear Light work OK when as far as I can tell they share the same earth? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer

I've had a poke around inside the rear light unit and I'm still puzzled. Here are the exact symptoms if anyone can diagnose for me: Passenger side lights all work fine. Same indicator symptoms on rear drivers side if either turn switch or hazards used. Drivers side rear only: If all other lights are off, then indicators do work, but both filaments in the brake light/rear light bulb flicker in time with the indicator. If the headlights are on, then the indicator flashes faster, but more faintly at the rear, whilst the brake/rear light filaments pulse out of phase with each other as the indicator flickers. (sounds the same with the brakes on but couldn't check as on my own tonight) If you take out the brake/rear light bulb, then the rear indicator doesn't work at all, whilst the front goes double speed. All the connections in the light unit look clean as far as I can tell, and I bunged in some WD40 just in case, to no avail. There is some rust coming in from the bottom of the unit, but the actual bulb holders ar OK. (is there supposed to be a gasket on the unit, 'cos mine hasn't got one?) Do any budding / actual electricians have any ideas? Bob Stark Supersprint first-timer