Mr Locust

Foam filters from ITG seem to work OK but have started to 'break up' on the outer surface after approx 12 months. UV exposure perhaps. Currently looking at replacing with KN or similar.

Sounds like you should have put a new clutch plate in too.

Undo the large nuts holding the ball joints which are located under the rack boots and slip on spacing tubes / washers. Dont go mad - you could end up with something as manouevreable as the bismarck!

Without the cat! Sorry, someone had to say it.

I took frame + old glass to a windscreen specialist (probably auto windscreens?) who also does plant glass (diggers etc). He said old gass (if in 1 piece) or frame could be used as a template. Theoretically, to pass the mot, it should have a kitemark on the glass somewhere visible -check they can do this either with a sticker or etch. A few years ago I think it was £40 or therabouts.

Is your manifold stainless? I used this on a carbon steel item and the trapped moisture corroded it through in about 12 months.

I had a similar problem with poor idle etc on Triumph 4 cyl engine fitted with 2x 40dhla dellortos. Are the spring washers on the mounting plates broken or overtightened? If the carbs are locked solid the idle characteristics can be v. unpredictable & impossible to set up for smoothe idle. If the problem is at idle, look to see if a noticeable 'shake' seems to set in on the carb(s) when the problem starts. I found that rubber isolating bobbins from aldon auto were crap and that zinc plated thackery washers were brittle - black finish thackery washers seem to work fine.

You say that the needle valves were changed recently. Have you checked for debris in the needle valve on front carb? i.e. is it not shutting off fuel supply at the correct level and causing massive overfuel problem?

How exactly has it failed?

Do your piper x filters stick out through the bonnet? If so, is the outer layer of foam 'cracking'? I have this phenomenon on ITG filters fitted to 2xDHLA dellortos.

You seem to have hit a nerve there Bri

Does anyone know if a Caterham rack still based around triumph herald/spitfire components? If so, this rack has a spring and shims providing preload/damping on the pinion which can be adjusted by removing shims. Also, a source of clunking can be the guide tube bearing bush at the nearside end of the rack tube which wears and play becomes evident.

Have you checked that the electric fan is cutting in. Short bursts followed by standing still are more likely to cause overheating if the fan doesnt cut in. Once you lose some coolant, the engine will tend to overheat more easily. Likewise I echo the sentiment regarding the faulty caps loosing coolant. Make sure you get the right length if a conventional (old fashioned!) cap is fitted.

Have you checked that the electric fan is cutting in. Short bursts followed by standing still are more likely to cause overheating if the fan doesnt cut in. Once you lose some coolant, the engine will tend to overheat more easily. Likewise I echo the sentiment regarding the faulty caps loosing coolant. Make sure you get the right length if a conventional cap is fitted.

This product is good if you are using a non crossflow engine i.e. exhaust under carbs (like the Triumph fitted to my car). It vastly reduces fuel vapourisation etc. due to heat convection. But beware - if you have a carbon steel tubular manifold, it absorbs moisture and holds it next to the tube causing premature corrosion of the steel and the need for a new manifold - ouch!

I use a random orbit sander fitted with a foam polishing mop and fine polish like brasso. It's still a pain in the arse though! Welcome to the black hand gang.

My Locust uses Triumph front uprights as per the Caterham and is fitted with a set of 5 Compomotive ML in 5.5" x 13 ET 12 mm offset Triumph/Marina hub fitting with 185 x 70 r12 tyres. The silver finish is excellent and has proved durable for the last 3 winters without a blemish (daily driver all year round until last year). With any alloy wheel manufacturer I would suggest you look at the quality of the back of the spokes as well as the finish on the front - when I collected the Compomotive wheels, one had a surface breaking pore in the casting on the back of a spoke at the junction with the rim - they made a replacement pretty quickly and were vey apologetic! As regards offset, I can only comment that when I borrowed a set of 6 x 13 ET 19 mm offset wheels (whilst waiting for the Compomotives to arrive) the steering felt totally different becoming heavy, overly sensitive to road camber changes and kicking back through the steering wheel on bumps as small as cats eyes! The front wheel offfset you require is determined by geometry of the top and bottom pivots on the front upright in relation to the stub axle and this is fixed unless you modify the upright - from experience, only deviate from the standard offset if the wider tyre you intend to fit will foul the wishbone on full lock and keep the deviation to the minimum. Measure the existing gap as a starting point and see if half the extra width of the wider tyre takes up the clearance. If there will still be a gap with the wider rubber fitted specfy the offset as per existing wheel. Beware - excessive offset will ruin the feel of the steering! Remember that as an alternative to increasing the offset you can fit shims to the rack restricting the steering lock to stop tyres rubbing on wishbones. Within reason, offset on the back wheel is easier as it is more a case of keeping the wheel under the arch to achieve the desired track width. Failing that - if you dont want to work it all out for yourself by experiment - talk to the lads at Compomotive who were very helpful. Though strangely it was cheaper to buy through Larkspeed than direct from the factory. Compomotive website has a reasonble explanation of how to determine offset values for a wheel see http://www.comp.co.uk/. Hope these inane ramblings are of some help Best Regards Ian