IanWatson

Got four viewings this afternoon - but even so thought I'd just bump it up to see if there's anyone who missed the ad. cheers Ian

thanks Graham.

Will do, Andy.

Whoops - I'm after £13,995 for the car and trailer combined! Thanks Jerry. This isn't a haggle-me-down starting price, it's seems to be a very reasonable price for a decent car/trailer package. Yep, it is a shame, cost me well over a grand to track down the ECU problem and then source/fit the ECU and the various other bits that were required, and I'm not going to be covering my costs in the purchase price. Wasn't quite the 'free' motoring I'd promised the wife, but it seems to be a weak point on cars this age, so should make it a little easier to sell. Not keen on splitting the various bits and bobs at this point, Andy - we'll see how things pan out.

I am looking for a good home for my much-loved 1992 HPC - due to a double whammy of imminent third child and a recent business start-up. edited to add: I'm after £13,995 for the car and trailer combined I purchased this car two years ago via BlatChat classifieds from long-standing member Mick Burrell (original owner/builder). I have done just under 4000 miles in that period. The car has been garage-stored throughout its life by me and the original owner. I have all the original purchase/build documentation and invoice/delivery notes confirming HPC status. Much to my shame I never took this car on a track. All the miles I've covered have been on the road - sunny day and weekend usage. Standard 175 HP 2.0l Vauxhall on Weber 45 6 months tax MOT due Sept 2011 Mileage currently 24100 The car drives brilliantly - bags of torque at any revs. The XE engines are pretty much bullet-proof, no head gasket concerns with these! Trailer: Brian James Minno with tie down straps, winch & HD jockey wheel Car also comes with: 5x16" HPC wheels plus 4x13" Minilites with Yoko 032s Leather adjustable seats Standard windscreen plus Brooklands Aeroscreens on stanchion for easy change Limited slip diff FIA roll bar & strut Heater and full weather equipment/tonneau Under-car exhaust Autocom communication set Since I bought the car I've had the following work done. Replaced original ECU with new MBE 9A4i 3D mappable ECU plus all new ignition components (Coil pack, leads, crank sensor, throttle position sensor) and MBE cut-down distributor kit (modern ECU with TPS provides much better part throttle response and economy compared to original 2D ECU) Complete major service including water pump and cam belt change (7 Workshop) Replaced lightweight Raceline Battery 4 x Hanook EVO 12 tyres on the 16" HPC wheels (about 250 miles ago). In the last couple of weeks I've had the nose cone resprayed and the aluminium rear wing protectors replaced with nice shiny new ones. Changed registration plate to K 20 HPC (previously K 7 LJB) Photos are here http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d148/maturin23/Caterham/ Any additional questions please get in touch. Edited by - IanWatson on 26 Apr 2011 15:14:37

Thanks for your comments, chaps. I'll double check the wiring this weekend, but the guys at MBE weren't surprised at all that it wasn't working.

Hi all, I finally have a functioning 7 after 6 weeks of mucking around. A pal fitted an MBE 9A4i ECU this morning (also new coil pack etc) - the car fired up perfectly, but the VDO rev counter doesn't work. A phone call to MBE suggests this is an expected problem and there is a circuit diagram on their website to adjust the impedance, but the chap at SBD didn't seem confident it would work and I'd 'probably need to send the tacho back to VDO to have it converted'. I'm more than a little irritated that this issue wasn't raised when I bought what was sold as an £800 turn-key solution (ECU, TPS, looms, blanking plate, coil pack and bracket) plus they failed to mention that the TPS will foul the coolant return pipe. Irritation aside, does anyone have any experience of trying to get the tacho on a 1992 HPC with the original gauges working with a modern ECU and coilpack? Edited by - IanWatson on 30 Sep 2010 16:40:02

Hi all I've got someone fitting the new MBE 9A4i kit to my XE HPC - just found out the the throttle position sensor kit I was supplied with fouls the coolant return hose that comes out of the front top of the inlet manifold. I'm hugely disappointed, given this was sold as a plug-and-play kit (I bought the ECU, pre-made looms, machined dissy housing, TPS and fitting kit etc) but obviously need to find a solution other than just sending the 3D parts back and sticking with the basic 2D setup. Has anyone experience this before? Does anyone know of an easy solution (90 degree metal take off?) Thanks in advance ian

Thanks Andy - I'll get the kit back to you with a cheque and a bottle of red. I think it's worth the expenditure for the peace of mind - a non-functioning Caterham in August is a frustrating thing...

Quick update - I've bitten the bullet and ordered turnkey 9A4i package with the additional TPS and wiring so I can run the 3D map. I managed to squeeze SBD down to an all-in including VAT and carriage of £750 (down from £810). I'm fed up with it sat there doing nothing, and even if I'd fitted a period replacement I'd be worrying about reliability. Plus I'm hoping to see an improvement in economy and driveabilty. thanks for all the help everyone - particularly Andy (btw you still haven't let me know if a bottle of red for your efforts would be appreciated!).

Hi Allen No joy calling Chris this morning, I've used him in the past so he was my first point of call. I spoke to Richard at Ratrace, he suggested sending the ECU back to MBE for repair. I called MBE just now - what I have is a 905 (andy_h has the 904) - both of these were gel-filled to prevent tampering as they were produced for Formula Vauxhall use, plus the components are no longer available, so no chance of repair. I had a quote for a OEM-looking turn-key solution including MBE 9A4I ECU, standard map for carb'd XE, wiring harness, coil pack, fixing bracket and machining the dizzy cap of around £680 inc VAT. This is a 2D map, would need to add a TPS and another £100 for a 3D solution. Given this solution need not involve a rolling-road set up, does this seem to be a good value solution? cheers Ian 1992 HPC on 45s 205 GTI Mi16

Update time. Despite Andy's best efforts (huge thanks!) I've not been able to get a replacement ECU that fits to double-check the existing one - seems like there were more than one standard fit ECU loom and Andy's is not the same as mine. I'm sick of the car not being used - it's been over a month now, so can someone assist with the possible aftermarket solutions? Obviously this will be needed for the ignition-map only as I'm sticking with the Weber carbs, so a full fuel/spark solution seems like overkill. My mechanic has suggested Megajolt too (as above) - are there any good-value alternatives perhaps with a standard map for an XE on twin 45s?

Without doubt the sensible thing would be to upgrade the ignition management at the very least. In fact I'm fairly sure I'd see at least a 50% improvement in fuel efficiency if I moved to a mapped fuel injection too - but that involves spending a significant amount of money I would be unlikely to recoup on a car that I was planning on selling in the short term. In that context (which I hadn't made clear previously) I'd rather keep the car standard - working well and in excellent condition, but without incurring the cost of significant after-market modification.

Hi Andy Thanks for your offer - a Blatmail will be with you soon. In terms of the FIA switch, my pal has checked and double checked the switch in his process of elimination.

Just to shed a little more light... A few piccies of the offending items here Any assistance will be a summer-saver