Brucey

Ian, On longer trips, we usually plug our I Pods in. It's great, we don't talk to each other for hours sometimes! Any ideas where I might obtain some mesh? I was thinking about using the 2 poppers on the boot cover as the lower fixing points. I'm a bit worried about squeezing perspex in as the head rests intrude into the roll bar area. Maybe time for a cardboard cut out trial! Bruce.

Having got fed up with my wife sticking her finger in her right ear every time I go over 50 mph I decided to enquire about fitting a draft reducer. I spoke to Soft Bits for 7's but they say their current product only fits 7's with the later (big headrest) s type seats. Has enyone fitted one to an early car similar to mine? Did it work with the lower headrest? (I cant raise my headrests much as they hit the FIA rollbar). As I have an FIA roll bar (with diagonal) I was thinking about just fitting a piece of perspex to the roll bar between the head rests. This would also be a cheaper option. Any experience or advice welcome. Bruce.

Cheers Peter, I won't waste my money on the Ally consumables. How about the ally soldering/brazing rods on e bay? Bruce.

Has anyone used a home workshop mig welder to weld ally body panels on a Caterham? I have my clamshell holes to fill and a couple of places need patches to repair corrosion. I see Halfords do Argon gas and 0.8 ally wire. Is it worth a punt or should I pay someone with a tig welder? Any advice would be appreciated. Bruce.

Don't have to be perfect as I will probably have to adapt and paint them to fit onto the car (which is starting to look really good!) Still also looking for a Kart Suit or similar. Any help appreciated. Bruce.

Rather that look a complete knob by wearing my Trials Jeans (also a bit of a squeeze when attemping to fit into the Kart Seat!) and a Sammy Miller Sweat Shirt with a full face helmet, does anyone have an old racing suit I could use for my charity race end at the end of August? I'm 5'8" and weigh 15 stone (all the better for going down hill!) The racer is starting to look really slick. I am currently trying to get sponsorship from Hitachi (who I work for) so want to appear as professional as possible. All money raised at the event goes to Pilgrims Hospice in Ashford and other local charities. I don't mind paying some money for it and it doesn't have to be perfect or fire proof! Any help would be appreciated. Bruce. Edited by - brucey on 6 Jul 2009 13:21:46

Hello It's no good, I'm not prepared to compromise (yet) about having a real steering wheel on my soap box racer. I have a 260mm Racetec wheel and upper steering column which I should be able to marry up to my GoKart steering column. I just need Caterham a steering wheel boss to suit. As I'm going this route, I will also need a foot brake (maybe one each side for skid steering) to operate my cable disc brakes. Any ex Karters out there? Any help appreciated before I start searching on e bay again 😔

Passed you on my way to get my hair cut in Sandgate. Saw you drive towards Folkestone as I left the hairdressers. Mine was the green/yellow one parked. Bruce

I fitted a Caterham silicone hose set about 2 weeks ago. My J hose was the worst one to fit but I managed it after a bit of a struggle and 2 cups of coffee! Remove the o ring from the stat housing if still fitted. Use a lubricant I used a bit of fairy liquid. Get the top bit of hose started, carry on pushing and use a small flat bladed screw driver to guide the bottom over the stat housing lip. It's a bit fiddley but I did it from underneath (car on 4 axle stands) on my 3rd attempt! be careful you don't push it off again when fitting the other end! Good Luck, Bruce.

Cheers John My Son is picking up a Trials push bike for me tonight (in an attempt to improve my poor motorcycle trials riding!) so may be interested in the HS33's anyway! At 50, I may find I'm getting too old to learn this bunny hopping stuff! My fear with having the wheels dead vertical is the way the side forces will act on the wheel (which doesn't usually take anything like the force I will be subjecting them to) Also, when I watched The Gadget Show, (with Gail Porter 🥰), the front wheel rim wobbled like mad under hard cornering. I recon this was a geometry problem caused by no camber. I was working on the principle that a 2 deg camber should have little affect on a road going BMX tyre footprint. I have also pumped the tyres up to 80psi . That should keep the rolling resistance down! Bruce.

O.k, I've spent way more than I ever intended and have now aquired the following for my Soap Box Racer. 4 x Kart steering arms, bearings and chassis brackets 2 x 20" BMX wheels (36 spoke) with discs and cable operated calipers 2 x 20" BMX wheels (42 spoke) 1 x Kart Steering column, track rods and rose joints. Lots of square hollow and round hollow steel. I intend to have front wheel braking and adjustable tracking on the rear wheels (the tracking and steering arms are similar to Graeme Smith's soap box). I have cut off the kart stub axles and adapted them to accept the M14 x 1 BMX wheel axles and mounted this assembly to the steering brackets (usually a fixed part of a Kart chassis) My questions are: As I don't have suspension (similar to a kart), should I put camber on the front and rear wheels? I can't think of an easy way to make this adjustable so was thinking about fixing 2 deg negative camber per wheel to allow for tyre movement. What effect does castor angle have on steering (self centering?) and what would be considered a good value? Please bear in mind I want minimal drag and rolling resistance at all times. Any advise would be appreciated before I start cutting metal! Bruce.

Thanks Stuart & John I have told my friend who is a L7 Club member but hasn't used this forum. He is definately interested and is going to register with Blat Chat to respond himself. I think he has 1981 long cockpit Live Axle car. I don't know if there any differences in Roll Bars on Caterhams of this vintage. I'm assuming yours will fit or can be easily modified to fit. Bruce.

Stuart, I have a friend just down the road with a LA 7 and no roll bar at all! I gave him my Dedion std bar when I fitted an FIA bar but I think it needs too many mods. Where abouts 'South' are you? We would need to get it to Hythe (Kent) area prefably before Dunfold at the end of May. Best Regards, Bruce

Hi Ian Yes I've read most of the history regarding leaking water rails. I invested in a small torque wrench last weekend and nipped up the 2 bolts on the water rail. this seems to have made it worse I also nipped up all the sump bolts in the hope it would stop the tell tail oil drip from the back left of the sump but it didn't of course. Can anyone confirm what sealants (if any) I should use for the Rear Crank Seal (outer) and either side of the water rail gasket? Bruce.

Thanks Dave A cross flow isn't looking a bad option right now! 😬 Bruce

Further to fitting my 1800K engine last year and having to take the engine out again to replace a leaking rear crank case oil seal, I seem to have the same problem again 😔 The last time, the seal was leaking around the outside and the housing so I put the new seal in with some sealant (as reccomended by Dave Andrews) before pressing it in. Now I have to take the engine out yet again to repair this . Is it just my bad luck, or am I doing something wrong? I also seem to have developed a water leak where the water rail fits to the engine near the exhaust at the back of the block. I will replace the gasket and put some silicone on both sides. Although I'm 90% sure this is where the water is coming from, could this coolant be coming from between the head and block in this area? Should I be worried about the integrity of the head gasket in this area? I'm tempted to stick my leak free 1400 engine back in now! Any advice would be appreciated. Bruce. Edited by - brucey on 22 Apr 2009 21:22:04 Edited by - brucey on 22 Apr 2009 22:05:32

Simon, I did the same conversion (and also got a 1400 block in the shed). Out of interest, does your 1800 start off rich and lean off when the lamda sensor kicks in? I've got a full CAT mot due in the next couple of weeks Did you change the log book (one of the reasons I decided to hang onto my 1400 block). Bruce.

John, I certainly would be interested in anything at the moment as I can alter the designs to suit the bits I have. I noticed the racers on the Gadget Show were sporting disc brakes. How much are you looking for? Will you be going to any Kent club do's in the near future? Bruce.

BTTT This could be the ideal opportunity to get rid of all that biking and karting stuff that you don't want but is too good to throw away! (Kids stuff included!) I'll even put a 7 Club sticker on the side (if I can get one) as I will effectively become a sponsered driver Anything considered. 8mm rose joints, kart track rods and chassis bits, 25 x 25 square hollow bar, 20" or 24" wheels, 19 - 25 mm diam steel tubing, 1.6mm ally sheet, carbon fibre Bruce.

I'm looking for the following to start my soap box racer build: Kart steering (column, track rods, axles, pivots etc) ideally a knackered Kart chassis. I've looked on e bay but the bits are too good/expensive. I have 4 off 26" mountain bike wheels but if I could source 20" wheels with 14mm axles (BMX?) would probably design the soap box around them. Alternatively, Plastic 20" BMX wheels may be an option if I can modify them to take ball races. A couple of cable operated disc brake assemblies (discs, calipers & levers). I need to put 1 on each rear wheel. Any plans, advice, bits would be appreciated. As you can probably guess, I'm doing this on a bit of a budget! Bruce. Edited by - brucey on 24 Mar 2009 18:17:58

Philip, Put some injector cleaner/emmisions reducer in with a tank of posh petrol, Take the car for a good thrashing up and down the motorway. Make sure the engine is nice and hot when they check the emissions (ask them to do that test first). The worst that can happen is that it fails, but the above usually works for me. Good luck, Bruce.

Darren, If I pay postage and/or a donation to NTL, can I have the Karsher jet wash gun & nozzle? I have a Karsher pump but one of my Sons broke the gun 😔 Bruce

Andrew, Can I have first dibs on this please! Where abouts in Surry are you? O.k found it Just off the M3 south! Bruce. Edited by - Brucey on 1 Mar 2009 22:59:57

Atinod, As no one else has replied, I'll give you a 'long shot' suggestion! Make sure you have disconnected any battery charger or conditioner as this effectively shorts the battery when the engine is running and so the ignition light stays on. Hope this helps or promps a few more suggestions. Bruce.

Just to add my 2p's worth; Having just fitted an FIA Roll Bar with diagonal brace, I was wondering if anyone has fitted a round (high intensity LED brake light?) unit to the diagonal bit of the roll ber (in the centre). This wouldn't cause any more intrusion when looking through the rear view mirror and could still be seen with the hood up. Any ideas or products welcome. Bruce.