Dom Williams

@Jonathan Kay it was the HEIC format of an iPhone-generated image. Screenshotted and cropped the photo and it now works…

Bonjour! C'était toi? Reims Ring-Road (Bétheny) at 12:48 today

@Gridgway thanks for the idea re: pedal type. The pedal gets soft on the second compression (when stationary), it doesn’t go quite to the floor but almost. I would guess that the fluid is going past the seal between front and rear circuits - so it is not leaking out, but rather leaking from one chamber to another. Just for some context, my father (mentioned above in one of my previous posts) actually owned this exact Seven (although there were a few owners between him and me). Unless one of said owners changed the pedal type (I have what I think are all of the invoices and there’s nothing), the pedal type will be exactly what he had (with no issues). I will regardless check the pedal to make sure. Thanks!

@SamC I definitely renamed the file to hide that 😄 Clearly the old filename is still a parameter somewhere in the PDF! Thank you for the info re: typical tolerance, I will have a think about the honing - you have me now wondering whether I can get it bored and honed to 13/16" and buy the Race M/C piston to fit 🤣 (sure that's some useful weight saving too )

@Nigel B thanks for your comments - it sounds like the new standard master cylinders might not give quite the same pedal feel as those fitted to our cars 20+ years ago...I would like a "Race M/C" (13/16" bore) but they are £440ish new...which is a lot! I have a couple of options lined up for a second-hand one, I suspect it makes sense to just go down this route and put this to bed. @Guy Lowe thanks for your input - my father used to have a standard M/C in his Sevens (1996 and 2001) before he upgraded to the Race M/C, but he also agrees that the pedal feel I am currently getting does not match what he used to have.

If the rust is merely superficial and the bore is within tolerance, perhaps new seals are sufficient(?) Should it need new seals after just 4 years and so few miles? A new M/C might solve the issue, however it's not exactly a cheap consumable...so rather than spending proper money on a new one, I would like to first ascertain that it is the root cause. I have bled the brakes a few times in my ownership (doing usual tricks of pulling the handbrake for the rears, removing the rears and turning upside down and tapping with a rubber mallet, trying to dislodge any other air bubbles in the system with a mallet, with someone operating the brake pedal, also using a pressurised Easibleed system, together with someone who has owned Caterhams for years and has never had issues with bleeding their brakes...) - I don't think that's the issue.

Good afternoon all, after having had a terrible brake pedal last year, I have finally found time to revamp the brake system and look for the root cause. Everything looks sweet (despite the car being 28 years old now)...the only thing that doesn't is the standard AP Racing M/C. This component was replaced by the previous owner in 2020 (I have the receipt from Caterham Parts); I believe the car to have done circa 800 miles since then (796 of which were on the road and did not require much braking at all). I could see some rust at the entrance to the chamber (hidden underneath the rubber boot), but decided that was unlikely to have an impact on sealing/performance due to its location "outside" of the sealed volume. I decided to get the inspection department at work to pop it on the CMM and measure the bore diameter along the length of the M/C so I can see if it is outside of tolerance; the results are attached for anyone who is interested. 63 microns between (measured) largest and smallest diameters; I suspect that it is absolutely fine... AP Racing have refused to give me a tolerance on the bore diameter as the know-how belongs to Caterham and it would breach their contract (I fully understand and respect this); tomorrow I will call Caterham and ask them for an engineering drawing/a nominal diameter + tolerance and see if they can help...alternatively if I send them the results they can tell me if it is within tolerance (but I won't hold my breath) 🤞 I cannot see any "wear" on the seals/piston, although I must admit I do not know what a worn M/C seal would look like. I then asked the inspection department run a boroscope into the M/C to get some photos; it looks utterly horrid... 🤮 (photos attached). Has anyone else had this happen to their M/C (particularly if purchased in 2020!)? I can only imagine it was stored in a humid, damp environment (with no plastic plugs to seal it) before being fitted to the car...whether that was Caterham themselves or the previous owner who can say. Hopefully I can get some useful feedback that I can use to make a decision on where to go/what to do next! Thanks in advance. Yours, Dom 220403 Master Cylinder Measurements.pdf

Hi Thomas, I spoke to Luke themselves to get hold of these. They were very kind and went digging to find old stock and send me a pair. But they did say that I was very lucky and that I had the last one! They are officially out of stock. Prior to speaking to them, I had heated the sticker up, peeled it off the QR (very carefully), scanned it into the computer and was going to get a batch of new stickers made up…but then they sent me some stickers and I saved myself the aggro. Dom

(I have a column switch for sale if that is useful)

Hello both, yes I am interested! thank you very much

BUMP Price drop to £40

BUMP Price drop to £10

SOLD

SOLD

Hi, yeah they are currently £435 + VAT - 10% from BG…circa £470 Currently circa £440 from Caterham. I was hoping to spend rather less than that and get one second hand! If anyone has one…please let me know! Thanks, Dom

BUMP

Good afternoon all, thanks for your further feedback! @7 wonders of the world added to the to-do list @Mick Day thanks for the tip - I have a pretty decent history for the car and cannot see any fuel pump-related purchases (at least since 2003) @revilla thank you for the suggestions - I will check the spacing; it may be rev-dependent, but I don't have enough data to go on; that's very interesting to know about the ECU-reboot time...I remember the issue occurring at low revs (it also cut out a few times whilst trundling up the hill to my house and when approaching junctions slowing down to a stop/setting off again) @Toby S the barrel ignition switch was removed last year and replaced with an aircraft-style toggle switch on the dash - however next time I am out I will try the indicators and see if there is some sort of correlation 😉 @john milner thanks for the comment; unfortunately it won't be that in my case as I removed the FIA isolator switch last year (my car is now very stealable!)

BUMP, price dropped Please someone take it off my hands so I can put an end to the nagging at home for taking up too much storage space 🥲

SOLD

Good morning all, https://caterhamparts.co.uk/other/1497-cooling-submarine-1-outlet-for-rover-dry-sump.html Submarine removed from cooling system and replaced with new as part of a recent engine rebuild. Due to tight timescales I was not able to have the original powdercoated (as this was the preferred route). In full working order (although would indeed benefit from a powdercoat), selling simply because I have no need for it. Price from the Caterham Parts site is £45.48 Components located in Chipping Norton, happy to arrange postage and/or collection. Please do PM me if anything captures your interest; prices are negotiable. Thanks in advance. Yours, Dom

Good morning all, https://caterhamparts.co.uk/brackets/1112-cycle-wingstay-lh-13-14-wheel-road-use.html https://caterhamparts.co.uk/cycle-wings/7873-cycle-wing-black-grp-standard.html These came off my car after having covered circa 500 miles; I have given them a quick polish and they came up quite wonderfully (as you can see in the photos). The only reason for removing them is because I changed to body-coloured wings on some slightly-lower race stays. Caterham Parts price for the wing stays is £92.09 per stay Caterham Parts price for cycle wings (unpainted) is £91.66 per wing Total price from the Caterham Parts site is (92.09 + 91.66) x2 = £367.50 Components located in Chipping Norton, happy to arrange postage and/or collection. Please do PM me if anything captures your interest; prices are negotiable. Thanks in advance. Yours, Dom

Good morning all, https://caterhamparts.co.uk/nose-cones/6845-nose-cone-black-s3-420-race-with-large-oil-cooler.html Nosecone has covered circa 500 miles since purchase, all of which it was covered with a wrap (since been removed). Fits any S3 chassis, not just the 420R. Price from the Caterham Parts site is £392.68 Components located in Chipping Norton, happy to arrange postage and/or collection. Please do PM me if anything captures your interest; prices are negotiable. Thanks in advance. Yours, Dom

Good morning all, https://caterhamparts.co.uk/switches/4410-inertia-switch-ford-sigma-duratec-engines.html Link above points to a Sigma/Duratec component, however this one is from a K-Series. Comparing the two images, they look very similar if not identical and I imagine work in an identical fashion…2 wires with a broken/un-broken circuit… Removed due to desire to remove any “excess” weight from the car and clean up the engine bay (I didn’t want to have to make any unnecessary holes in my new bulkhead). Price from the Caterham Parts site is £46.24 Components located in Chipping Norton, happy to arrange postage and/or collection. Please do PM me if anything captures your interest; prices are negotiable. Thanks in advance. Yours, Dom

Good morning all, https://caterhamparts.co.uk/switches/6567-steering-column-lock-all-cars.html Removed due to desire to remove any “excess” weight from the car - in this case the car will only be used on track and as such is not needed. The necking bolts have never been torqued to the point at which they begin to stretch (as pictured). Price from the Caterham Parts site is £128.11 Components located in Chipping Norton, happy to arrange postage and/or collection. Please do PM me if anything captures your interest; prices are negotiable. Thanks in advance. Yours, Dom

Good morning all, thank you very much for your feedback. @TomB I will check the TPS - however I would have thought that this would result in the engine stalling as I engage the clutch without revs - I wouldn't expect it to "regain power" a few seconds later(?) It's an easy check though...so I will definitely have a look. @Skipper555 I will have a look but I doubt the problem is earths/power supply as I went over the entire electrical system last year and cleaned it all up. @Mick Day that's very interesting - I know the fuel pump is on the list of "consumables" for this car. I don't fancy this job, but think I might have to check this. @Shaun_E Hi Shaun, it is the one bolted to the block - I can't go wasted spark with the MEMS (unless @revilla knows differently) - when the engine came out last year to go to Dave everything obviously came off and had a damn good clean - it didn't look "old"/"worn" but who knows what it looks like inside. I can recheck the connections just in case. As per my comment to Mick Day, I will check the fuel pump and see what that looks like. @Englishmaninwales Hi Malcom, when I re-did the engine loom before Curbs last year I redid that line completely - new spade connectors on both sides that slot together with a nice amount of friction and the whole thing was then heatshrinked so it can't come undone - thanks for the tip though! @Jonathan Kay I have all the car/engine loom diagrams yes; no drowning (it lives in the garage and never sees the rain); I must admit I didn't check the dials to see what happened when I lost engine power (I was too busy trying to see what might drive into me); I didn't ever "restart it" - engine power would come back of its own accord a couple of seconds later. Re: your second message...thanks for the tips. I will re-check all connections just in case however everything is definitely clean (I did this job thoroughly last year and the car has done maybe 250 (sunny) miles since then); I will check battery voltage too, however I have a voltage reading on the dash and I don't remember seeing anything strange in normal driving (both on and off load); ECU fuses are the standard/originals, situated underneath the ECU - I gave this all a clean last year...but there could be something loose. I still can't imagine that if the ECU lost power due to a dodgy connection it would then come back to life and start firing cylinders after a couple of seconds? Spark plug wells are definitely dry; I can check for seating...but as you say, it is definitely not just 1 cylinder causing an issue! @Klunk The FIA switch and its many kgs of wiring all came off last year!