Graham Hutton

IMG_3494 2.HEIC Roger - This pic shows the Radtec radiator fitted on my SV. It is the aluminium mounting bracket on the right hand side that needs bending to ensure the flange to which the bobbin connects is parallel relative to the radiator. This may then mean that you need to elongate some of the holes in the bracket so they line up with the rad. Once done, there is no torsion in the radiator which helps to stop it leaking. I'll upload pics of the bottom hose route in a moment Graham

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow but the bottom hose on my 310R is different to that one. It doesn't run parallel to the steering rack but goes back at an angle. Mine is an SV chassis though so perhaps the hose is different because of that. I'm not sure that makes much difference but I can definitely support the view that it is really important to ensure that there aren't any twisting forces in your radiator as a result of either the bobbin fixings or the two hose connections. I have had 3 Caterham radiators leak and in the end have fitted a RadTec one to solve the problem. I found that the aluminium mounting brackets for the radiator needed twisting get the bobbins to be perpendicular to the rad mounts and some of the holes needed elongating. Well worth the effort in getting this right. Have fun in the garage 🙂

BigCol - I've sent you a private message:-)

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the advice. I'll probably wear my crash helmet mostly Dan as to be honest I quite like driving in it.....dunno why....but preferable to a pigeon in the face I guess! Those motamec mirrors are really cool, much nicer than the race tech ones I have on my windscreen at the mo. Not sure if I want to buy your original ones BigCol. They are a little bit of an odd shape. Do you have any pictures of them on the car?

I'm going to take the plunge and have a go with an aero screen and would really appreciate some advice with regards to mirrors. Santa Claus is going to buy the meteor motorsport clear perspex screen but I need to sort some mirrors. Firstly, on my normal setup I have the flat centre rear view mirror and convex 'door' mirrors which are great for visibility but a nightmare for reversing. Was thinking about maybe a convex centre mirror and flat side mirrors. Secondly, which mirrors to buy. The Caterham ones only cost a trillion pounds so does anyone have recommendations that would work with the meteor aeroscreen? I'm quite excited to have a go and see what it's going to be like 🙂

I've never heard of these before this post and it looks such a simple idea. I have one of the pressurised bottle type bleeders and to be honest I don't like it very much at all. I'lll try these this winter.

Well spotted! The catch tank was driving me nuts because there was always a thin film of oil on that side of the engine bay and drips from the bottom of the standard vent tubing which made my car messy!!!! This little crank case breather filter has worked a treat in tidying everything up. It is really close to the top hose though, hence the rubber tape to make sure it doesn't cause abrasion. Eventually I'll fit a better catch tank but for the moment it works great.

I guess it depends on how much you want to enjoy the process and agonise over details. I took just under 120 hours total to build mine. Could've done it quicker but I enjoyed all of it. I built it with my 12 year old son over a period of 3 months and it was wonderful! All of it is doable on your own apart from when putting the engine in. Also really good to have some help for the diff too if you can. Enjoy yourself!!

and it seems that iPhone images don't load up without being converted to jpegs first so here are the old pics....

and here is the shiny new one!

Following a previous discussion on here, I have just replaced the radiator in my 310R with a new 60mm RadTec unit. What a difference to the standard unit! After 3 lead radiators, this looks like the business and certainly feels a heck of a lot more robust. I spent a good while to ensure there s no tension in any of the mountings or hoses too and am v pleased with the result. Just a quick note for anyone doing the same, you need a new top hose ideally as the RadTec unit stands a little bit further away from the engine and my existing one was a bit marginal on length. Anyhow, as a side effect, I now have tow genuine 310R Caterham radiators and a fan unit all packaged up in a box which I am happy to sell to anyone interested. The only problem is that they both leak!! Minor sweating on the welds on the top corner for both of them. If anybody on here is an expert in welding up aluminium radiators and wants them, let me know. Thanks to everyone that contributed to the original discussion! IMG_3495.HEIC IMG_3496.HEIC IMG_3497.HEIC

They look perfect, that's just pickup from rubber on the track. Looks like you tried nice and hard :-)

I have a pair of apple earpod Pro witht he noise cancelling facility and I use those when I am driving on motorways. They are perfect, you can still hear everything you need to but the overall sensory onslaught is reduced to a comfortable level.

Well done! Mine looked very similar after Brands Hatch this year.

I found a copy of the IVA checklist here https://310build.com/caterhambuildmanual/ The collapsible steering wheel boss was necessary when I did mine and Williams Automobiles lent me one which I swapped back after passing and returned to them Good luck. Mine went fine, biggest priority was to make sure the brakes were working really well and bedded in on the way there. They do check them pretty thoroughly.

I think my ride height from chassis rail is about 110mm at the front but will go and check tonight. I run the ZZS tyres with 16psi btw. The digressive fronts are terrific!

I've got the CORE one way adjustables on my SV from Meteor and they are great. The front with the digressive piston option feels terrific, much less crashy but still stiff for the track day. The rear is better than the bilsteins but it took a bit of experimenting before I found a damper setting I liked. He put softer springs on the front of mine but similar ones on the rear. I can't remember the rating to be honest but it was great on the way to brands hatch and great on the track too. I think the ride height/corner weight settings are important too. I have 15" wheels and about 85mm clearance under the sump and 10 to 15mm rake. Feels fab every time I drive it :-)

Thanks for that Jonathan. A very interesting set of reading. So, on my 310r I am going to fit a 60mm radtec with 11" fan fitted super carefully with shims if required, and stick with the orange OAT coolant that Caterham specify. i guess my logic is that I'll be providing the best cooling system and protecting myself against any failure risk to the relatively cheap rad rather than the engine etc. I think I'll also add a full coolant drain and flush both the engine and rad to my winter service schedule. I wonder how long it'll be before I'll be back on here talking about a rad failure...... thanks for everyone's contributions in this. It's been an interesting thread

Any idea where that is in the archives Jonathan? I've done a search but come up blank.

Thanks everyone. A new radtec and some blue coolant looks like a smart purchase. Did you guys go for the 50mm or 60mm one?

I'm on my second radiator failure now on my 310R and I've only done 7500 miles. The first was replaced under warranty and the second has blown in exactly the same place (top corner where the cores meet the top section. Anyhow, got me thinking if there are any decent alternatives to the standard Caterham one. I see there is one by Radtec where the cores run horizontally rather than vertically. Anyone have any experience of this one or indeed any advice on other alternatives. I have been pretty diligent in fitting it to make sure there is no tension in the bobbins causing a twist in the radiator. Do your thing blatchatters.....

I have the SGS tool cabinet and a load of their other gear. All of it is excpetionally good quality, arrives in next to no time and pretty cheap. I'd recommend for certain

oooo! Where did you get the titanium ones? I'd be up for a set of them!

Hmmm,, I have been thinking of doing a premier power job on my 310R but this could be even better value.... Does it come with bellhousing too? Graham

Thanks Alan. Very interesting. I much prefer driving mine without the side screens and on track days I do just that. I should've mentioned that I have lowered floors but then again, I am 6'3" which doesn't help. I think I might try and find some half doors and give that a go on the road. G