Ian Macquarie

I've no direct experience, but isn't CAN receive a paid for option? Does your DL1 Club have CAN enabled?

Now that time has passed on a bit, can anybody answer Chris' question regarding piston size?

Sorry Ed, He thought it was really bad. The exhaust port on the left should really look much more like the inlet port on the right. (ie no vertical step before the angled valve sealing surface. Ian

I used Valvemaster plus for every fill since leaded petrol was withdrawn. When I had the X/flow rebuilt last year the amount of valve seat recession was commented on by Steve the engine builder. (All 8 valves now have hardened seats.) Ian

What spec should that be? What markings should we be looking for? Ian

Looking at the Ford Rods that came out of my Caterham supplied Supersprint:- 1/64" (1.58mm) drill will not pass through the hole 1.5 mm (1.48mm) drill will pass through the hole. (numbers in brackets are measured with a digital caliper.) The hole is stepped - larger on the inside of the bore and also countersunk. My best estimate of the larger diameter is 4mm. The overall length of the hole is approximately 12 mm 8 at 4mm dia and 4 at 1.5mm dia. though these last measurements are not very accurate. When my engine was rebuilt with steel rods, I know that the rods arrived with no holes and that Steve at Vulcan drilled holes in them before fitting, though I have no idea what the diameter was. A call may be worth while - he may be forthcoming with information - on the other hand he may feel that his knowledge is what people pay for and be reluctant to give details. Ian

Vulcan Engineering supplied me with some thick gaskets when I had my engine rebuilt by them. I'm not sure whether he sell them separately but it's worth asking. Ian

I think you'll get a lot of different answers depending on who you talk to and what you use the car for. The Assembly Guide for my 1990 De-Dion has an equivalent page to the one shown above with the following figures: Toe-in 0 degrees front and rear Camber 0.5 – 1.0 degrees negative front and rear Castor 5 – 7.5 degrees (6.5 optimum) King Pin Inclination 11.0 – 13.0 Ian

The original supplied with my kit was a Valeo - 45 amp I believe. The last one I bought from Caterham was a magneton 55 amp. When that failed I took it to my local Alternator / Starter Motor repair place and he laughed saying that it was poor quality and unrepairable. He sold me what I believe was one of these: ebay item no. 231167694218. It is larger than the Valeo and a bit close to the exhaust but seems to have survived for over a year. Ian

Burton Power have a 90° one here:- http://www.burtonpower.com/water-union-3-8-npt-90-deg-elbow-fp478.html and a 45° one here:- http://www.burtonpower.com/water-union-3-8-npt-135-deg-elbow-fp479.html However they are listed as 3/8" NPT not BSP 3/8" NPT has 18 threads per inch and 3/8 BSP has 19 threads per inch I bought one of the straight ones fairly recently (for the water pump) and it does seem to be 18TPI - so NPT. I think I decided to re-use the old one rather than force the new one in. Depending on how desperate you are, you might be able to "make it fit" - though I'm sure the purists will shudder at the thought. Ian

I think you will also need to remove the anti-backout plate from the other side of the connector before the terminals will slide in. With any luck, this link should tell you more than you ever want to know about how to do it. https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjerIO9kdTMAhWjIsAKHYReCuMQFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.te.com%2Fcommerce%2FDocumentDelivery%2FDDEController%3FAction%3Dshowdoc%26DocId%3DSpecification%2BOr%2BStandard%257F114-3040%257FD%257Fpdf%257FEnglish%257FENG_SS_114-3040_D.pdf%257F345806-1&usg=AFQjCNGbkwY_HKi2-AQlHFc1tMMftaRFHg https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjerIO9kdTMAhWjIsAKHYReCuMQFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.te.com%2Fcommerce%2FDocumentDelivery%2FDDEController%3FAction%3Dshowdoc%26DocId%3DSpecification%2BOr%2BStandard%257F114-3040%257FD%257Fpdf%257FEnglish%257FENG_SS_114-3040_D.pdf%257F345806-1&usg=AFQjCNGbkwY_HKi2-AQlHFc1tMMftaRFHg (Sorry about the formatting - if that doesn't work try a search for 114-3040) Ian

Red button;- I suspect it may be connected to an "Innovate LC-1" wide band lambda sensor. The button will be to initiate a calibration event (sensor needs to be in open air) and the led indicates sensor status. Web search for a LC-1 sensor manual for more informative (and accurate) details. Ian

I'm surprised you've not had an answer to this already. The thread will be 3/8" UNF. Less sure about the length but I think it is 1". Remember two new copper washers (each side) Regards Ian

A quick look found this which claims to be equivalent. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-PRELUDE-79-90-1-6-1-8-2-0-EXPANSION-RADIATOR-CAP-/300438730455 I'll see whether I've any other notes. Ian

They look like standard brakes to me: Girling Type 14. Replacements / spares usually available from Rimmer Bros. amongst others. Ian

My empty box ha the following: Motorcraft ERS 38 1 613 292 If that doesn't help I may be able to find some other cross references. Ian

There is a method that involves feeding string into the plug hole then rotating the crank until the piston compresses the string and holds the valves in place. (Similar to the compressed air but without the need for an air compressor and the risk of leaks.) A steel bar with suitable holes can then be used to compress the valve spring and remove the collets (Sp?). I have done this successfully with a home made bar - I'm not sure whether there is a commercially available equivalent or not. Ian

Below the R/H one Ian

Yes, for a 1989 /1990 supersprint there are two fuses. One for L/H side lights (5A) and one for R/H side lights and instruments. (7.5A) Ian

On my 1990 car (1988 wiring diagram) all of those things are indeed fed from the "Heater" fuse. So is the ignition light which gave me the strange effect of.... Ignition on, engine not running = no ignition light whilst Ignition on, engine running resulted in the ignition light illuminated. Regards Ian

I've used T.A. Spares at 6, Ordnance Street, Chatham (01634 813355) recently. He was "old school", seemed to know what was what and specialises in Starter motors and alternators. He was happy to supply an exchange unit or refurbish mine (for a X/Flow). - I think it was about £69 either way. Regards Ian

Hi, My Haynes Manual for Sierra 2.3 and 2.8 says the following:- 14 "To dismantle the caliper further it is necessary to have a tool capable of compressing the return spring. The Ford tool for this job (tool number 12-007) appears to be an adjuster nut reduced in diameter and fitted with a handle. However, it is possible to utilise the actual adjuster nut on the caliper (photo) or a suitable piece of tubing positioned over the threaded pushrod." Note:- I've not actually done this job so am not sure how fiddly it would be. Regards Ian

I've been using Comma Motorsport 5W50 - I won't claim the engine is "dry" but I'm not sure that is the fault of the oil. My reasoning was that when hot the oil would be at the traditional 50 end of the scale but when cold it would have less viscosity than a 20W oil - As I run a laminova heat exchanger I was worried about excessive back pressure when cold. Ian

I had the same problem recently. Corrosion inside the bullet connector beside the fuel tank - I remade the connection (eliminated bullet connector) and all was well again. The voltmeter gave a good reading of 12V but this was with no current flow (open circuit). With the bulb in place the resistance in the corrosion prevents any significant current flow and the voltage at the bulb drops resulting in "bulb not working" Regards Ian

If the Boot cover fits the older type FIA bar with the single diagonal, I will take it. What do I do about payment and delivery? Regards Ian