McBreadhead

Fascinated to read this having suffered low oil pressure for past 4 years which I solved only last week. All I can say is "persevere" and things will work out OK. Out of interest when you say you got the Friday afternoon engine, have you had it from new and/or built by others? If so could others not have been held to account? Best of luck and hope you get it sorted. *thumbup*

RD hi yes we did meet outside my gaff a month ago. Glad to hear you passed the MoT. I always use Williams in Otterbourne, they are very 7 sympathetic and Pete or Alf take good care. Yes I did get the oil pressure sorted and a big relief too - only took me 4 years of heartache and head scratching. Now I need a new Powerspeed exhaust which I am hoping to sort on Friday. Went on a great blat route t'other day which I must share and could form a nice summer blat. Do drop in some time, you know where we are! McB

Thumbs, I noticed you are in Warwicks and would suggest you contact Nigel Keats at Cougar just south of Redditch. He has built many K series and I'm sure would be happy to share tips, plus may also be able to assist with a bit of fettling should you need it. Tel 015278 821 675 or 07860 123 074

Spotted by proxy heading down Leigh Road near Hendy Ford today about 1.30pm. Think it was a 55 plate?

Nick, Nice to hear from you. How many 7s do you have these days? Always welcome down south if you need a safe port of call - we are in Winchester. Do say hi to Malcolm in velcro land - that was a very memorable blat! McB

If you have not changed the primaries then you should not need a remap, at least for a xflow. I am replacing the std Caterham silencer with a Powerspeed one and do not propose to re-map. McB

Aeroscreens, Not sure as I think it was Nick Chan's engine running in Dave's car after Dave's original engine expired and had to be rebuilt for the 3rd(?) time. Nick took pity on him see and that's when the fun started. What I did do is discover the engine's origins back to 1992 when Paul Matty Cars built it for a hillclimbing client and used none other than - Nigel Keats. He even recalled the time when Burtons supplied the refurbished block and it arrived with a bellhousing lug sheared off. After fruitless claims against couriers et al he thought of his client first and decided to properly cast iron weld it. The legacy of that repair still holds firm and true today - a testament to doing things properly. However it did run with a dry sump back in those days and we think a steel crank and rods (ie a 9,000 rpm screamer) but those had been removed when I got it. We had the std affair balanced however and for a relatively small outlay the smoothness (and hopefully longevity of wear) will pay off.

Following 4 years of frustration, anxiety and disappointment I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Having replaced the sender I found the holy grail and got the magic number - oil pressure of 4 bar on cold. It has been a journey fraught with problems and discovery but one which has ultimately been very rewarding. Nothing has broken along the way I hasten to add probably due to my inherent nervousness and lack of faith in my own abilities. But with the help of some professionals and fellow Blatchatters, the car now runs beautifully. Thanks are due to: * Nick Chan for selling me the AX 1760cc lump in the first place, a great starting point * Dave Morris for giving me the confidence to even attempt a rebuild * Roger King and others on BC for expert advice * Tom Airey for setting up the carbs and getting 165bhp on the dyno * Graham Perry and others for donating Emerald maps * Burton for supplying new bits (cam, unleaded head, rockers, springs, valves, big end bearings, rings, hi press oil pump, water pump, gaskets etc) * Nigel Keats at Cougar for rebuilding the engine to same spec and spotting so many subtleties * SPC in Horsham for Emerald set up * James Whiting for figuring out the flywheel starter ring did not match the starter motor and sorting * Nigel Keats for sorting oil presssure by fitting correct sump * Nigel Keats for being so patient, knowledgable and hospitable, a skilled engine builder, teacher and all round good egg There have sadly been other professionals in the business who have badly let me down and delivered a car that was undrivable but I won't name them as they know who they are. So the moral of the story is if you are patient you will ultimately get rewarded. Perhaps I should have not even attempted it given my lack of skill, lack of facilities and disrupted home life and I would advise others to steer clear if any of the above applies, but hey I am through it now. It remains for me now to enjoy the bloody thing, arrange a few trips and do some track days. Thank you again to all of you that have helped me out and sorry to those I have omitted to mention. 😶‍🌫️ McB

Put the sender lead to ground and it did indeed go to full deflection Replaced sender today, started her up and got bang on 4 bar from cold. Shows 3 bar in the cruise, then 2 bar when warm idle. Guess that's it sorted then until the sender craps out again. Thanks for all the suggestions. I cannot tell you how much that is a relief. May even start doing some tours again now.

GJT - I know what you mean but sometimes I go over an unknown crest then bang, the exhaust sounds like it's ripping off. And if I'm fitting a new Powerspeed or equivalent I want to avoid damage.

May I ask the cost of having a new Powerspeed can with kinked entry pipe anyone?

Recalibration? yes that sounds a way forward then. Can't understand why it would suddently read low after I swapped old xflow for this one 4 years ago. I saw this engine had good pressure when in another car so baffled when it dropped in mine. Is it a case of the sender either working or not, or are they sensitive souls that depend on mounting nut or sthg else?

Paul I take it that this stiffens the set up quite a bit then? Problem is we tour a lot and really want to avoid a stiff set up. The Powerspeed mod sounds like a possible way to go then and may also resolve the noise issue for track days too

Friday could have been me in the vicinity but I avoided Winchester on my return trip from Redditch and came home to Chandlers Ford via Stockbridge and Braishfield around 5.30pm. So there is a mystery 7er out there....

My 1996 4 into 1 xflow keeps grounding its side exit exhaust as it has always done since new. It is a standard 5" Caterham unit that needs replacing anyway though probably with a larger can to satisfy noise regs at track days. However I am advised that certain 4 into 1 primaries were made with the exit pointing slightly 'downwards' rather than horizontally meaning the subsequent silencer will hang low. There seems to be a trick of making a partial cut in the 4 - 1 exit pipe, bending the tube upwards, then welding closed. Has anyone tried this successfully? Alternatively I am looking at having to replace the primaries and silencer together possibly requiring another RR set up which is ££££s I really want to avoid. Have other xflow owners managed to overcome this? Thanks in advance McB

Sender is mounted to large brass nut screwed into the side of the block

Virden, sorry to hijack the thread but which mech gauge did you opt for as I am having similar problems with electric one. Does it fit the standard Caterham hole ie a like for like replacement?

Had car checked over for oil pressure on Friday, sumps swapped (finally) and oil collector plate positioned correctly above sump floor. Achieved 4+ bar at idle when measured mechanically which is bang on but electric gauge (Caterham) showed half this. Any likely causes ie why would gauge only read half actual value? Replaced the sender 2 yrs ago to fix but no joy, gauge still read 2 bar at best. Loathe to go mechanical gauge unless all other possibilities exhausted so do I replace sender (again) or get new Caterham electric gauge? Engine is a recently refreshed xflow, wet sump. Edited by - McBreadhead on 22 May 2011 20:21:52

Was it GN55 ...? nice looking kawasaki green body with black wings heading south out of Eastleigh towards Southampton about 4.30pm yesterday, think you were 2 up? Great looking car

Congratulations on the new ownership! I recall those first days when a quick dab of the throttle brought a smile to your face. Problem is, it still does! I am in Chandlers Ford where there are at least 4 of us I know of. Welcome to the fold

About 7pm last night, you were 2 up (I think) and taking it cautiously travelling west then turned right towards the A34 - hope nothing was wrong. Brilliant evening for a cool down blat, maybe you were recovering from the delights of the A272?!?

Spotted by my eagle eyed other arf, GN57 EOA metallic blue with silver stripe. Nice part of the world, though New Forest ponies can make swift progress hazardous!

Green with white stripe trying to outdo a motorbike on the Hursley Road towards Hursley. Hope you had him in the bends! We were in tin top returning from garden centre in Romsey

Baz was that you in a green aeroscreened car this afternoon going west towards Fishers Pond?

if you take a wrong turn next time turn round at No 2 the first house on the left - everyone else does. But we refuse to put up the usual sign "no turning". In fact we may put up a sign that positively encourages it ("turning welcome")