Graham King

Fil, you are essentially correct, the used oil enters the bottom of the Apollo, it is "spun" round the tank cylinder. The oil (less air) exits through the top hose whilst the air bubbles are vented into the crankcase. There is no need for a catch tank with an Apollo. Graham.

GG, I run a modified 1.8k and do track days. You should regard an Apollo as the minimum you require to do trackdays, a dry sump is the best option but is expensive and difficult to get hold of now for a k. I wouldn't be doing trackdays without an apollo. On right handers you will suffer oil surge away from the pickup and the oil pressure will drop. The apollo does not stop this but will remove the air bubbles from the oil that result from the crank thrashing the oil as it sits in it. I certainly don't have a catch tank so I'm not convinced you need one but it won't do any harm, the only time I have seen oil smoke is when it is overfilled. I agree setting the level is difficult but I always try and run mine at the maximum as otherwise the pressure drops both on right handers and under heavy acceleration as the oil goes away from the pickup which is exacerbated if the level is low. Graham. Edited by - Graham King on 26 Sep 2013 15:58:22

Andy, as an alternative I recently bought one of these, it's 1.5 tonne rather than 1.25 tonne, has a lower entry and higher lift than the Clarke jack. It's a nice bit of kit. Graham.

Andy, Emerald are generally regarded as the best way for a K-Series because it is a well trodden route, it is open (so can be easily programmed) and there are a large number of people that can support you. Assuming that you will be buying new then why would you not buy the latest version (K6). As the car has had a DVA makeover have you spoken to Dave Andrews as he will be able to supply and fit and will no doubt have a suitable map that he could load for you. If DVA is too far and assuming you are in Surrey you could try Andy Belcher at Tech7 (Redhill area) as he should be able to fit it. Ultimately a rolling road session is advisable as every car is different and so the maps will be subtlely different as well. It depends on what you are trying to achieve but I understand that Z+F Tuning are able to modify the MEMS ECU as well if you were looking for other options. Graham.

Martin, I guess it depends to a degree on what problem you are trying to fix. I've not got experience of the Pace rad (or it's cost) but I have a RadTec (not the extreme version) on my k-series (210BHP), it's been there now for approx 5-6 years and I've had no problems at all. Graham.

Jon, Southern Carburettors look ideal, thanks. They are just down the road from me. I'll pass on the details. Graham.

Hi, wonder if any of you guys that run on carbs are able to assist here. My neighbour is rebuilding a Tiger Cat that he bought as a project, it has a 2 litre Pinto engine running twin weber 45's, he has asked if anyone knows anywhere (preferably in Surrey/Sussex/Kent area) that he can get the rejetted? Thanks for any advice anyone has. Graham.

Assuming you don't have to drive there and back on them then the old A032's will be excellent. The other thing to consider is the weather on the day, if it's cold and wet then the A032's could be a little slippery, so then I would use the R888s. Graham

Dany, would also be interested in your experiences as their prices look extremely competitive (read 25% of Caterham prices). I notice they also offer a 7 day no quibble money back guarantee. I also notice that they state their carbon nosecone has GRP front edges as "they can't bend the carbon round that tightly", shame as that is also extremely competitively priced. Graham.

Rob, excellent, I'll have the cash with me. See you on Saturday. Graham.

GR, on the assumption you have an emerald, you could always speak to the 2 steve's and get a map developed specifically for motorway cruising and using the emerald 3-way map switch, I discussed this with them when they mapped mine (which sounds a very similar spec to yours). Graham.

Rob, it looks like I will be needing one of these for Dunsfold (marshalling) on Saturday, if we can find a way getting it to me in Lingfield, Surrey (maybe meet half way?) before Saturday then I'll take it. I'm not sure what size 42 equates to, I am 6' and of slim/medium build, I assume it will fit? Graham.

As Sim implies, may be easier to change your wheels and tyres, what size are you currently running?

Grim, I can't actually see the photos from work but I had a similar situation with oil coming out of the headers, mine turned out to be failed piston rings, I guess it could also be the valve stem seals. Whatever it is you shouldn't have oil in the combustion chambers. Graham.

Exactly what I do. Although I watch the water come up first, check it stabilises then flick the switch to watch the oil come up. When it's up at 80 degrees, I flick back to water and monitor that to check it's not overheating. Yes, I know it's a little bit anal Ah when I said I wasn't anal I meant about the rpm, I do exactly the same as you, but until water is up to temp the oil won't be anyway, so water temp stabilises flick across to oil, when oil up to temp go back to water. 😬 Maybe I am anal after all.

I have always used 4 in any car, to be specific in the 7, I use a limit of 3-3500 RPM until the oil temp reaches ~ 60 degrees, then 4500 until it reaches approx 80 degrees, then I give it full beans. I'm not anal about it but use those as general guidelines. Water temp is largely irrelevant in all this. Graham.

Andy, you won't be able to recalibrate the speedo easily, the older speedos didn't have any adjustment built in. I suspect that moving to 185/70 will actually make the speedo more accurate than it is currently. I believe that the older speedos were calibrated for 185/60 * 14 wheels and tyres, 185/70 * 13 is almost the same rolling circumference. I've never used 185/70 tyres so can't really comment on their performance vs 185/60 I'm afraid, but lots of people use them. I guess in general you will get a slightly more compliant ride vs a slight degredation in handling (as the tyre wall will flex more). Graham.

Folks, just to bring this up to date, I ordered the jack linked to in my post above, one of these, ordered Friday afternoon, arrived yesterday. First impressions are very good, it is well made, gets under the 7 with ease, and lifts higher than I would be comfortable working under on 4 axle stands. It is quite sizeable (I'm not sure you could fit it in the 7 for taking to track days very easily, it definitely wont go in the boot). But for use in the garage it appears ideal. It has a 2-piece detachable handle (it must be 4 foot long in total) that locks into the lifting point and also acts as the lock/unlock mechanism via a simple twist of the handle. The bottom of the handle is also padded to stop it damaging the car whilst lifting. This is all only based on a quick 5 minute trial last night but for £106 delivered I am happy so far with the purchase. Graham.

Andy, was good to meet you as well yesterday. Can confirm that the brakes were the Caterham 4-pot items and ventilated disks. The powder coating on some of the older cars wasn,t that great but I suspect, as John says, a little rubbing down and a lick of hammerite will sort that out. Graham

EMW, I'll take angle drive and cable please. Let me know how much P&P comes to and I'll sort payment. Graham.

Andy, if you drop me an email with your return email, I can send you a spreadsheet that will allow you to work out the change in RPM at various speeds plus the in gear speeds based on diff ratio and wheel sizes. Graham.

Agree with what Alan said re widetrack, I suspect the diff will be 3.92, I think 3.62 was only fitted where the 6-speed was standard (e.g. Superlight) or if it was specifically requested, I also very much doubt it will have an LSD but again agree with Alan certainly not a deal breaker, also it's not really needed on the road, nice for donuts though 😳. No real way of telling the diff ratio unfortunately. as Alan says a nice spec for a first Caterham.

Andy, not sure how much the widetrack conversion would cost, to a degree it depends if you could do the work yourself, but I suspect it could all be done for < £1k. I would drop Stuart an email and ask him if that car is widetrack or not. Happy hunting. Graham.

Andy, the 140BHP (SuperSport) option was sold as an upgrade to the standard 1.8K 120BHP engine. It cost about £1000, it included different camshafts, an updated ECU map and a different colour (red) cam cover insert, so that's an easy way to tell. That car also has an FIA Roll Bar (thicker gauge and stronger) which was another cost option, I can't tell from the photos if it is widetrack suspension at the front or not but that is another worthwhile upgrade (but can be done fairly easily post purchase). In short that car has most of the nice and costly options already on it so looks like a nice car. All cars have a heated windscreen as they have no heater vents on the screen so have to have a way of clearing it for the MoT. I've owned 2 * 1.8K's over the last 10 years (the current one for 8 years now) and they are a very nice car. If you decide to look at others then from my experience I would say the one option to make sure you have is a 6 speed box, the 5 speed does not match the K-Series that well (I've had both) in my opinion and to retrofit a 6-Speed is costly, the box itself is approx £2500 (available 2nd hand for approx £1500) and that's without labour. A 5-Speed car will be cheaper than a 6-Speed car, everything else being equal. The rest is all doable should you decide you wish to. Let me know if you do need a hand. Graham.

Andy, for what's it worth that looks like a reasonable spec car and from the photos looks in good condition. It is also 6 speed, which on a K-series is a very desirable option, the advert doesn't say if it is a SuperSport engine (140BHP rather than standard 120BHP), so I guess it is standard. Stuart (owner of Woodcote) has been in the Caterham business for many years and is well regarded, I know someone who bought a car from him and was very happy with the way he was treated both during and after sale. I don't think Woodcote would sell a "clunker" so I wouldn't worry about that. If you get stuck on Saturday I am fairly local to Woodcote (about 10 miles away) and would be happy to help if you want. If the Surrey area come back with someone more knowledgeable then excellent but if you get stuck drop me an email. Regards. Graham.