Joespeeder v2.0

Hey Guys, I have the wide track front end and have been running the stock 185/60/14 ZX3 tires till now. After looking at what's available over here my choice seems to be the Falken AZENIS RT-615 195/60R14. Any comments on the tire? More importantly, will that fit without hitting my Wing Stays? Thanks for any insight. Joe www.thecaterhamproject.com

Morning All, After seeing your posts and feeling really dumb, I went to the WH's web site and according to the rules it's 75db at the property line which my guess is about 30 yards away. Waterford installed a giant noise fence this past year so that should help things. Sorry to be misleading, I've never had a car that was close or ran a side exit system that points toward the meter, so I've never worried about the limit before. I've got some emails out to find out what really passes as too loud there. I'll let you know what I find out. It would be a shame not to run there. Sterling Moss is reported to have called it the "Most challenging short road course in North America" It's great fun and better yet only 1/2 an hour from my house. It's 1.3 miles and 13 corners with evevation changes. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3514282252117912619&q=waterford+hills My concern is ear comfort. Should I expect the switch to side exhaust to be a major pain in my...ear? I have visions of unmuffled RX7's ouch.... I currently have the standard Caterham Zetec rear exhaust with cat. I was going to get rid of the cat and go to the standard Caterham Zetec set up which is a side exit. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 19 May 2006 14:45:39

Hey All, I'm about to order the side exit exhaust for my Zetec minus the cat. I was wondering about noise levels both for me and for the track. Any idea on db levles on the left side of the car for a side exhaust Zetec? Waterford Hills has a 75db limit measured from the left side of the car. You can thank the local courts and people bulding houses next to a race track only to figure out that cars make noise for the low limit. And so it begins.... Upgrades!!! Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - Joespeeder on 18 May 2006 20:00:57

Hi All, Looks like I had air trapped somewhere.... I fittied the "t" joint mod last night and had a mechanic friend look everything over. He gave it a clean bill of health. Refilled and bled it and it all works normally again. Now I have a new point to vent any trapped air from. I should have doone this earlier. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Hi All, I haven't done anything with the cooling system since the initial fill/bleed 5,500 miles ago. It worked perfectly till last blat. I mixed the antifreeze before filling the system so the mix was correct. That's when I noticed the level being down after the heat changed. It was at the high mark in the tank until this. Now it's just below the low mark. An airlock that moved would be great. When we filled it and bled it all the hoses and all of the radiator felt hot but air could have been in there somewhere. I bled it by lifting the nose rather than doing the t fitting mod. I'm going to have it looked at, just to be sure. Somethings a little wierd. Hope it's just and air lock that moved. BTW, it's a Zetec. Thanks for the help I'll keep you posted as to what I find. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Hi All, Went for a blat last night and the heater seemed to get cold on the way home. Turning the fan to high didn't help. In fact it felt cooler. This morning the coolant in the tank is at the minumum mark. I didn't see any drips anywhere and all the hoses seemed hot last night. Should I be thinking about the head gasket or is there something else I might be missing? Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Steve, I just went through this on my car. I don't have good photos of this bit so I describe it the best I can. I used EMGO Euro Style mirrors here's a link. Any motorcycle shop should be able to get these for you. http://www.cyclepages.com/ProductGroupDisp.aspx?ProductGroupID=4001100 I got two of them for $18 US total. To bolt them to the car I bought some "L" shaped aluminum, cut it to about 2 1/4 inches in length. Then I used a dremel tool to cut a slot about 1 inch down the joint of the "L" so that I created two flaps. I opened up the slot so that I could "fold" each flap down at 90 degrees, one over the top of the other. Now you have an "L" shaped piece with a top on it. Trim the top flaps so they are square and tidy. Use the plastic hinge mount to mark the new bracket for drilling. Drill one of the legs of the "L" the same size as the hinge holes and then drill the though the top of the flaps that you bent the proper size for the mirror stalk. Oh yea, I trimed one side of the "L" so that it tapers to look nice. Mount the bracket on the wind deflectors outboard of the hinge. So you have the bracket, the hinge, the deflector, then the washers and nylocks. Here's the trick.... Take the fancy nut that comes with the mirrors off and cut off the cover that covers the threads. You only need the nut and it's smaller than a standard sized for a 10mm 1.25 thread. Buy a standard nut for that size, put it on the mirror and put that through your new bracket. Use your custom wizbang small nut that you cut down for the bottom. You have to spin it on by hand till you see the threads poke out. Now run the top nut down and tighten the mirror using the top nut. You have to do all this to clear the bolt heads of the hinge. After all of this you've spent $20 and now have mirrors that come off when you take the deflectors off. They are small and look like SPAs. Try this link http://www.thecaterhamproject.com/CaterhamMirrors.html Since only the hinge pin secures them, I thought they might flop around but so far they haven't. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Sigh..... This is going downhil fast. I was going to buy the tool as a gift but I'm starting to think it's going to be too costly and/or hard to find. Thanks Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 13 Apr 2006 19:51:19

Hi All, Anyone have any experience aligning the rear of a 993 ? I have never seen the special tools needed and a google search dosen't turn anything up ohter than a brief discription of them. Here's what I've found. Aligning a 993 should not be done without Porsche's special tools (9549 an 9550) for measuring and setting kinematic toe on the rear axle. It is very possible to set the rear camber and toe with resultant "quirky" handling since the multi-link rear suspension is designed to change toe when cornering, it is essential to use these tools. They they are essentially curved bubble gauges that clip onto the wishbone and toe control arm and ascertain that they are parallel to each other. It is imperative that they read within 1.5 scale units of each other. Thanks in advance for any guideance or help you can give with a source for thes tools. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - Joespeeder on 13 Apr 2006 14:23:18

James, I used obsurde amounts of cheep masking tape on my build. I did strip it all off and retape it about half way through the process. Any residue was cleaned easily with some WD-40. I also used flannel cloth(with a cool print) to protect the side skins and large areas from any damage durring the build. I even used masking tape over the entire surface of my wings. Since I was having them coated with truck bed liner at a local shop I didn't want the shop to scratch them. The tape ment they could handle them with no worries. Tool marks from mistakes I made durring building drive me insane. I can take you around my car and point out the little scratches(three of them) I made durring assembly and it's like someone's cutting off a leg. However, Stone chips, rub marks, or other stuff from driving including the little dents in my rear wing protectors don't bother me in the least. The mistakes I made on my build were due to my trying to rush something. I should have known better than to work on something close to a finshed surface with out taping over that surface first. Tape would have protected two of my slip ups. Take your time and enjoy the process. You can see my protection and 98% of my build here www.thecaterhamproject.com I need to update the site. BTW... Great colors !!! Have fun.... Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 9 Apr 2006 15:45:52

Guy, Now those are cool I'll have a look at the local bike shop. Thanks. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Ozzy, Guilty as charged 😬. In this case, I was just posting too quickly and didn't "translate" it in my head before I typed it. Although, I always wonder when posting how much to convert with out sounding like a fool. H***, I'm happy just to be here. Correct me anytime When building the car the only bit I couldn't figure out due to "translation" troubles was when it called for an "anti slip" washer in the break line assembly. Even a good friend who grew up in London didn't know. After a bunch of staring and one reassemble I found the correct style of "lock washers" they wanted Since mine is the only car I see for months at a time, I never know if what I'm seeing is unique. Is it common to get little saw tooth marks in the skin from the spring? Or do I need to address this? Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Hi All, I noticed my right front hood spring has rubbed on the ali skin and put somne slight notches in the skin. Is this normal or am I just being a polisher by noticing ? I have them mounted correctly, spaced away from the body with those thick washers. Should I bend the clip a bit? I guess I'm wondering how common this is... Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Those are the figures from the graphs and line by line print outs of the results. I guess I don't know enough to say the torque is measured at the rear wheels. Can't wait to drive it and feel the results. Joe

Nick, Not much in horsepower (4 hp increase), but I got an additional 10 ft lbs of torque at the rear wheels and the tourque curve is higher all the way up the band. The clearing of the codes was a big change. I have 85% of max torque at 2,500rpm. Looks like we have another day of snow here. Then some warming and three days of rain comming up. Cool !! I can't wait to get out and try the new mapping for real once a good bit of the salt is washed off the roads. After I drive it I'll contact the shop to say thanks and see if they did a run down test. Joe

Hi Nick, I don't know about a run down test. Here's a link to the shop and thier equipment. http://www.paulshp.com/ The guys at Paul's were great to work with and I have to say I'm very glad I took it to them. I have a standard motor as delevered from Ford for the Focus SVT. In my installation the speed sensor isn't used. Beyond that I cant really speak intelligently. Paul said I had 13 codes in the ECU due to the computer looking for the sensor and the emissions canister among other things I guess. All I know is he corrected the faults and reset the ECU so it wouldn't run in a defualt mode as it had been doing. He then remapped my ignition, valve timming and richened the low rpm air/fuel. Yup, I have an standard Ford ECU and they flash programed it with all the new settings. I haven't driven it yet. But when loading it on the trailer it ran smoother than ever before. We are getting snow here right now so a test drive is a treat for another day. With 144hp at the rear wheels what do you think is a reasonable horsepower I can tell people when bragging? I have the Type 9 5 speed and the ZF limited slip. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 23 Nov 2005 21:00:40

Hi All, Just got the call from the Dyno guy's at Paul's Performance here in Michigan. After remapping my motor I have 4 more hp and 10 more ft lb's of torque at the rear wheels !! I wont be able to collect the car till next week but they were very happy with the results. The low rpm was too lean and now the air/fuel ratio is much flatter and richer overall. The final numbers at the rear tires are 144hp and 139ft lbs of torque. Oh yea... It's a 2004 Ford Zetec SVT... Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Happy to report a slightly reduced oil level and now no signs of fogging from the tail pipe. I did learn that the SVT motor has a different oil separator than the standard motor. After checking to be sure I had the correct one, I replaced the PCV valve just because they're cheep and it's the only other part in that system. I took the car to Grattan raceway yesterday for a Lotus Club track day mainly as a test. I had a great time and met a bunch of local seveners. Got to run about an hour of hot laps in total till I realized I was having too much fun and forgot to keep on eye on my fuel level. So I called it a day and came home. The car ran well. I really need more seat time driving it in anger. I found myself running out of revs and shifting in places I have never had to in the Porker. Plus it was strange to realize I was 1,000lbs lighter than I'm used to at the track. It was a great day and loads of fun not to see clouds behind me Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

I used 5.28 US Quarts or 1 US Quart = .95 Liters. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Hi All, I seem to be thick headed. I have a Zetec with a Raceline wet sump. What is the correct oil level for this set up? Currently I filled it with 5 liters of oil, new dry filter, ran it a bit, then marked the dipstick. It worked out so that the mark is dead center on the "U" of the word "FULL". Does this sound like I have it too high? I'm getting smoke on right handers when I have the car loaded like on expressway ramps or last weekend on it's first hot laps at Grattan Raceway. I confirmed that I had oil in the hose that returns to the plenum from the breather/PCV assembly. Help. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Hi All, As of yesterday my car is back to full power and dosen't die after 45 minutes on flat terrain. 😬Yeaaaa !!!! The bad news is I now have a standard gas tank in it. The fuel cell is sitting in the garage getting ready to go back to be replumbed. Ever since I built my Seven I've had wierdness going on witht he car dying and then it was down on power intermittently. The dying was a lack of check valves in my surge tank inside my cell. The fuel in the surge tank wound get used up and with out a way for the gas to refill that portion of the cell the car died and left me waiting for a flat tow home. The only way that portion of the tank would refill was in hills or really twisty driving. Gas would slop over the top of the tank wall (inside the cell) and refill the surge tank. I figured all of this out when I removed the fuel line once when the car was dead and it blew air at me!!! I opened the fuel cell and the surge tank where the pump sits was dry, the main compartment in the tank was full of gas!!! It just didn't have a way to refill with out the valves. I was sent the valves and instanlled them myself. I did a bad job. Oh it was tidy, they worked great and they were as low and close to the pump as I could located them. However they impacted the pick up screen and it had to be reformed and cruched in some areas. This is where I screwed up. It was my first time working on a tank/pump/cell and I followed the phone directions as best as I could but I just should have sent it back for Fuel Safe to do this bit. Well, the valves fixed the running out of gas Yeaaaaa.... But the car seemed down on power. Nothing I could demenstrate to others cause it still felt quick to them. But it sounded different and didn't feel right to me. I had a Ford dealer look at it. They are a performance center and do lots of hipo stuff. After looking at it, the mechanic asked about the gas tank. He indicated that the Escort SVT had a recall on the gas tank. It seems Ford had set the pump to close to the bottom of the tank and by installing a spacer in the pump it raised it off the bottom and the car ran a lot better. He also said this was not a problem that would set a code in the computer. That sounded like what I had going on. So I ordered a standard tank and converted the cell back to a standard tank. Ta Daaa !!! Everything works and the SVT runs strong again !!! So if you have a custom cell built like mine here are some tips to avoid the flat tow. 1. Build the car with the standard tank first, install the cell after. It would have been much easier to diagnose if I had gone this route. 2. Open up the cells access port and go though the operation of all your check valves and rollover valves. My vent port for refulling was installed with the valve closed (wrong) till I pulled a spring out of it to let the ball fall to the open postion. The vent only closes now in roll over or if the cell was hit in an accident. The way it was delivered made for some very slow refueling. 3. Seems simple, but be sure you don't have anything interfering with your pick up screen. Even though there seems to be a lot of screen it does effect the way the car runs. So now I have some great fall days ahead of me with a stong SVT motor to blat around with.... 😬 Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

Well... For all you Pirsig fans, on you own personal Chautauqua, then the hot thing to shim with is a Beer Can cut down. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

See the link above. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here

MAK, I just went through this on my car. I don't have good photos of this bit so I describe it the best I can. I used EMGO Euro Style mirrors here's a link. Any motorcycle shop should be able to get these for you. http://www.cyclepages.com/ProductGroupDisp.aspx?ProductGroupID=4001100 I got two of them for $18 US total. To bolt them to the car I bought some "L" shaped aluminum, cut it to about 2 1/4 inches in length. Then I used a dremel tool to cut a slot about 1 inch down the joint of the "L" so that I created two flaps. I opened up the slot so that I could "fold" each flap down at 90 degrees, one over the top of the other. Now you have an "L" shaped piece with a top on it. Trim the top flaps so they are square and tidy. Use the plastic hinge mount to mark the new bracket for drilling. Drill one of the legs of the "L" the same size as the hinge holes and then drill the though the top of the flaps that you bent the proper size for the mirror stalk. Oh yea, I trimed one side of the "L" so that it tapers to look nice. Mount the bracket on the wind deflectors outboard of the hinge. So you have the bracket, the hinge, the deflector, then the washers and nylocks. Here's the trick.... Take the fancy nut that comes with the mirrors off and cut off the cover that covers the threads. You only need the nut and it's smaller than a standard sized for a 10mm 1.25 thread. Buy a standard nut for that size, put it on the mirror and put that through your new bracket. Use your custum wizbang small nut that you cut down for the bottom. You have to spin it on by hand till you see the threads poke out. Now run the top nut down and tighten the mirror using the top nut. You have to do all this to clear the bolt heads of the hinge. After all of this you've spent $20 and now have mirrors that come off when you take the deflectors off. They are small and look like SPAs. I will try to get some photos for you. I do have some taken with a PDA so they're Cr*p... but you'll get the idea. As we speak I'm loading them to my site but since my software insist on loading the entire site at one time it will be about 20 minutes before I can give you a link. Stay tuned. Try this link http://www.thecaterhamproject.com/CaterhamMirrors.html Since only the hinge pin secures them, I thought they might flop around but so far they haven't. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 9 Jun 2005 21:21:57 Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 9 Jun 2005 21:38:09

Thanks All, I don't think I'll ever have the need for a helmet set up built into the 7. I already do alot of track stuff and have to jump from car to car. For that, I use a chatter box which is mounted to my helmet and hard wired for my mic and speakers. It has a earpiece and mic on one stalk for me to give to the person I'm riding/driving with. I can give that bit to them and off we go. In the 7, I need a way to listen to music and chat. I have the full windscreen(airbrake) and will be using some sort of heatset with a boom mic. In that configuration VOX dosen't sound like too bad of an idea. Since I probably won't use this in a helmet what is everyones preferance. Autocom or Starcom? As far as I can tell, headsets are legal here in Michigan. I've asked both local cops and the Post Commarder for the State Police in the Thumb area. I got a thumbs up from both. Will I get pulled over in some small town? Dunno... I was going to meet the Post Commander again today, but that didn't work out. He's a British car fan and just wants to see/ride in my 7. I'll ask again and take an example of a PTT racing headset for him to see. Joe TheCaterhamProject.com - Build site with photos here Edited by - JoeSpeeder on 7 Jun 2005 14:51:59