CO2MAX

Protection overkill (perhaps) on my 420S engine installation but it’s now in place without any damage (phew!). Next question is what torque settings for refitting the starter, alternator and plenum (although I’ll not be re-fitting the last item until after some plumbing) - the old and new build manuals seem to offer little guidance here. Chris Collins reports finding 35Nm for the starter motor in the Duratec manual. What have recent builders used? Cheers, Craig.

Problem solved! The bolts pulled through using a plain nut. Thanks for the other useful tips which I’m sure will come in handy to tomorrow🤞

Problem solved thanks Ben - I’m not sure why I didn’t think of using a plain nut to try and pull them home yesterday (possibly because the other side went in easily). I’m slowly learning that there’s a fine line between “won’t fit” and “tight fit”.

I have an engine hoist lined up for Thursday this week and was hoping to drop my engine/gearbox assembly in that day. However….. I tried dry fitting the gearbox mount to the chassis and found that, whilst the bolts could be fitted from the top on the RHS (photo 1) on the LHS (photo 2) they refused to drop beyond the waisted section below the bolt head (photo 3) even using an Allen key to try and thread them through. Both sets of bolts will go all the way home when fitted from the bottom and I’m pretty certain I’ve cleaned out any heat tape excess. In my background reading I seem to remember reading that one IVA inspector insisted bolts should go through from the top but the new manual (Duratec v2.3) shows them from the bottom. My question then is: does it really matter which way round they go and, if they have to go from the top, can I afford to just run the Dremmel round the holes? Cheers, Craig.

Thanks everyone. I was concerned about maintaining the integrity of the weld and/or the mount. I’ll take your advice and file down the mount just enough to get a good fit.

My 420S SV build is coming along but it seems I’ve got many of the same issues as others have experienced. I haven’t found anyone mention this problem however (or maybe the solution is too trivial to blog about🤔): I got as far as test fitting my engine rubbers today only to discover that the RHS rearmost section sits on top of a weld and won’t level out onto the chassis - also whilst the bolt doesn’t actually foul on the vertical chassis member it does appear very close. Before I contact Caterham for their input, has anyone here come across this or have any suggestions? (the photos show where the engine rubber fouled on the weld and I managed to remove some powder coating before realising I had a problem🙄). Cheers, Craig.

Thanks everyone! A combination of all your suggestions means both my headlights are now completely assembled and ready to mount tomorrow. What a great forum this is! Cheers, Craig

Cheers Pete, it’s good to know that perfect alignment and some force may be required. I’ll have another wiggle with them but I really couldn’t get any more purchase out my hands/fingers (and they’re not the weakest).

I commenced my 420S build in January and, amazingly for someone with no previous automotive or engineering experience, I’ve made it through the first month without seeking help here😂 However, I have a bit of an issue with one of my LED stainless headlamps. I removed the two retaining screws on each lamp but, having done so, one of the bowls was more difficult to separate than the other. As I was successful after a bit of wiggling, I thought nothing more of it and proceeded with wiring in the indicator, applying heat shrink and threading through the indicator pod and mounting arm. I can't however get the two parts of the bowl to re-engage fully (photo 1) On examination of the chrome rim of the lens there are flattened areas adjacent to the screw holes and the inner part of the rim here is lifted upwards and inwards (photo 2). Can anyone think of a way to remedy this without damaging the chrome or is my best bet to disassemble the headlight wiring and return it to Caterham for repair/replacement? (I have asked the same question of Lee at Caterham but thought I’d try here while I wait for a response). Cheers, Craig.