aerobod - near CYYC

The R888Rs are comparable to the ZZS with OK wet grip and good dry grip. For the better dry grip of the ZZR, but limited wet grip, the Nanking AR-1 is the comparable tyre.

It is only a nominal 1.6% diameter difference between the 205/60-13 Toyos vs the 215/55-13 Avons, 9.5mm diameter difference overall (although the actual value may be 17mm compared with the nominal value, from the listed specs). The R888Rs only have a tread width of 185mm vs the 200mm of the ZZSs, though.

Besides the need for Windows for tuning software, a tablet device with a drop resistant case for garage use is highly recommended. With my engine rebuild using an iPad for all documentation (stored on my Google Drive) and capturing measurement directly into spreadsheets and documents besides taking photos of the build, has made the process so much more efficient. At the end of the day wiping the oil and grease off the device is a lot easier than cleaning a physical keyboard, too.

This is the ex-VAT list price of the Raceline parts, besides adapting the throttle cable and any sundries. I would expect with tuning time it will be about £2,000 plus VAT: You might already have the ‘green’ injectors, but the lower capacity ‘blue’ ones were fitted to my R400D from the factory and will max out with any increase above the standard Caterham 210bhp on the plenum system. Part Notes Quantity Ex-VAT Price Raceline DTH Throttle Bodies Set (Ported) 48mm, ported, with seals Set £595 Throttle Linkage inc Bracket Jenvey CLS1 1 £127 Throttle Linkage Mounting Bracket Jenvey LBU2 1 £24 Throttle Body Mounting Capscrew Set 1 £8 Ram Pipe 48x90mm 4 £160 Fuel Injectors Bosch Green 4 £260 Injector Port Blanks 4 £20 Air Filter + Backing Plate 1 £97 Throttle Position Sensor Jenvey TP1 1 £77 Jetronic female to Uscar male adapters Various Amazon sellers 4 £20 Total £1,388

Virtualbox 7.0 now supports ARM processors, so if a spare Windows licence can be found, Windows from XP to 11 can be installed as a client on MacOS with Vitrtualbox as a host 0, too. A Bluetooth RS232 adapter would also be needed for machines without a physical port.

For future reference, I have compiled a list of all Ford and Mazda part numbers for the bucket tappets / cam followers. Duratec Bucket Tappet Part Numbers Thickness Tappet # Ford Part # Mazda Part # 3.000mm 000 CP9Z-6500-AAB LF01-12-541 3.025mm 025 CP9Z-6500-ABB LF01-12-542 3.050mm 050 CP9Z-6500-ACB LF01-12-543 3.075mm 075 CP9Z-6500-ADB LF01-12-544 3.100mm 100 CP9Z-6500-BAB LF01-12-545 3.122mm 122 CP9Z-6500-BBB LF01-12-546 3.142mm 142 CP9Z-6500-BCB LF01-12-547 3.162mm 162 CP9Z-6500-BDB LF01-12-548 3.182mm 182 CP9Z-6500-CAB LF01-12-549 3.202mm 202 CP9Z-6500-CBB LF01-12-551 3.222mm 222 CP9Z-6500-CCB LF01-12-552 3.242mm 242 CP9Z-6500-CDB LF01-12-553 3.262mm 262 CP9Z-6500-DAB LF01-12-554 3.282mm 282 CP9Z-6500-DBB LF01-12-555 3.302mm 302 CP9Z-6500-DCB LF01-12-556 3.322mm 322 CP9Z-6500-DDB LF01-12-557 3.342mm 342 CP9Z-6500-EAB LF01-12-558 3.362mm 362 CP9Z-6500-EBB LF01-12-559 3.382mm 382 CP9Z-6500-ECB LF01-12-561 3.402mm 402 CP9Z-6500-EDB LF01-12-562 3.422mm 422 CP9Z-6500-FAB LF01-12-563 3.442mm 442 CP9Z-6500-FBB LF01-12-564 3.462mm 462 CP9Z-6500-FCB LF01-12-565 3.482mm 482 CP9Z-6500-FDB LF01-12-566 3.502mm 502 CP9Z-6500-GAB LF01-12-567 3.522mm 522 CP9Z-6500-GBB LF01-12-568 3.542mm 542 CP9Z-6500-GCB LF01-12-569 3.562mm 562 CP9Z-6500-GDB LF01-12-571 3.582mm 582 CP9Z-6500-HAB LF01-12-572 3.602mm 602 CP9Z-6500-HBB LF01-12-573 3.625mm 625 CP9Z-6500-HCB LF01-12-574 3.650mm 650 CP9Z-6500-HDB LF01-12-575 3.675mm 675 CP9Z-6500-JAB LF01-12-576 3.700mm 700 CP9Z-6500-JBB LF01-12-577 3.725mm 725 CP9Z-6500-JCB LF01-12-578

All successfully ordered from Burton Power now, with the addition of a new brass gear change saddle while I was at it. Unfortunately $456 vs $224 from the Canadian online Ford dealer, but expensive available parts are preferred over cheap unavailable ones!

Thanks for the offer Neil, Burton are showing all the sizes I need as in-stock, just need to confirm the Canadian supplier hasn’t shipped anything yet and has cancelled my order.

Hi Neil, I will see if I can back out of the payment I made for the tappets yesterday. I should be able to order from Burton Power, as they ship to Canada. I need 2x 3.282mm, 1x 3.302mm, 1x 3.362mm, 2x 3.382mm, 1x 3.422mm, 4x 3.442mm, 2x 3.482mm & 3x 3.502mm.

Hi Chris, I’m upgrading my R400D to around 250bhp spec with Raceline Direct-to-Head 48mm Jenveys with 90mm ram pipes and Pipercross filter. An unlocked ECU (or a Tuner who can work on the locked Caterham MBE ECUs) and remapping will be required, of course. https://www.raceline.co.uk/products/part_section.asp?SectionID=13&CategoryID=1

Unfortunately 3 of the 8 tappet sizes I need are going to be at least 3 weeks before delivery. I tried multiple sources both local Ford dealers and online dealers, and received the same message. I can’t re use old tappets in those sizes either, as I don’t have enough of them. Was hoping to have the engine back in the car in March, but that might not happen now. Will have to see if I can get a better ETA in the next week, otherwise will have to chase aftermarket parts or see if I can find the equivalent Mazda part numbers.

You can also remove the spring/damper lower bolt and level the suspension arms before tightening.

Things are now starting to look a bit more complete, rather than a scattered set of parts waiting to be put together. I started with the head assembly, initially the valve keepers were slow to fit, but a bit of practice and using a magnetic probe to place them made the task a lot easier: Besides organizing the valves and other components in plastic fishing tackle boxes, redundancy in case of upset by numbering all components that have to go back in specific places with a permanent marker, is worthwhile: The head is now ready for fitting to the block: The clearance checks to the #1 piston at TDC gave the following results: Inlet valve (closed) to piston pocket - 8.5mm Exhaust valve (closed) to piston pocket - 7.0mm Spark plug well to piston crown - 11.0mm Spark plug ground strap to piston crown - 6.5mm Before fitting the crankshaft, a basic check of the main bearing clearances using Plastigauge was done. I didn’t fully torque the bolts to avoid using up a stretch bolt life, but used the seating torque of 45Nm, followed by the first 90 degree rotation: The clearance for all bearings was around 0.045mm, so should be within the max 0.035mm range when the final 90 degree torque of the stretch bolts is done: It is important to ensure all the bearing shells and surfaces they are fitted to are fully degreased and carefully fitted accurately, relative to the reference surface at the rear of the block: The big end bearing shells also have to be accurately fitted. They need to be 2.5mm from each side of the connecting rod enclosure. I found a washer 2.5mm thick and used it against a straight edge to accurately position each shell: I applied Redline assembly lube to all the bearing surfaces and edge of the connecting rod bearing housings. As the engine will not be fitted to the car and started for at least a month, I didn’t want to rely just on engine oil for the initial start: Before torquing the engine bolts, I did a quick check on the torque wrench calibration, using an airline bag scale, which I had checked with some weights to ensure it was accurate enough, within a few percent: The main bearing cradle has to be aligned to the back of the block within 0.1mm, before it is torqued. Using some aluminium blocks and a clamp, it was placed in the correct position: After the 45Nm jointing torque, an angle gauge was used to apply 2x 90 degrees of torque to the main bearing bolts in the correct sequence: After the crankshaft was fitted, endfloat was checked and measured to be 0.13mm. This is below the reference spec, but is completely controlled by the #3 upper main bearing thrust surfaces and should be sufficient, as the only thermal expansion that could close the gap is just across the width of the #3 bearing: The prep of the piston rings took half a day to do accurately. I had a cheap Amazon ring grinding tool that worked well. I have gone for ring gaps that are at the large end of the range, as the engine will spend half its life on the track flat out. The Wossner Piston spec for a road car is 0.35mm and 0.50mm for forced induction, for the top ring gap, I picked 0.45mm as appropriate. They also specify larger 2nd ring gaps to avoid back pressure on the top ring (0.55mm in my case) and a slightly larger oil ring gap of 0.60mm: I used an old piston with zip ties around it as a depth stop to ensure that the rings were placed at a consistent depth and square to the bore: Accurate and frequent measurement of the ring gap is needed to grind it to within 0.02mm accuracy: After fitting the rings in the correct orientation, tape was used on the outsides of the connecting rods to protect the bores from any scratching, then the pistons were fitted using the tapered ring compression tube I machined previously. It is important with floating connecting rod small-ends (as mine are) that the bearing shell position is checked before the big-end caps are fitted, as the big ends can catch on the edge of the crankshaft when being fitted. I had one move and had to remove the piston again and re-align the shell. Only hand pressure was used to fit the pistons, with slight movement of the tube against the rings as both thumbs pressed down on the piston crown: ARP 2000 big-end fasteners were used, along with the ARP molybdenum lubricant. The end float of the big ends is 0.25mm on #1 & #4 cylinders and 0.20mm on #2 and #3 cylinders, both around the middle of the reference range: The pistons all fitted: While the head is fitted and before basic timing alignment is done, the pistons are all set to mid-bore to avoid any risk of valve to piston contact when the cams are fitted: The head was then fitted. Due to the compressibility of the head gasket, I found that I had to repeat the final jointing torque sequence on the head bolts twice to ensure all bolts had reached the top 45Nm jointing torque. The bolts were then given the two-stage 90 degree torque. To ensure I didn’t miss a bolt or if I lost track of the tightening sequence, it was important to put a mark on all bolts facing towards the back of the block. After correct torquing, each mark then faced the front of the block: After the head was fitted I then measured each bucket tappet to confirm the thickness matched the marked value. Before disassembly of the valves on the new head, I had checked all the clearances and selected the closest tappets I had to each position, as the head originally was set for Ford clearances, but the Kent cam clearances are different at 0.25mm. After checking the clearances again with the head torqued, all had decreased by about 0.05mm (clearances have to be set on the bolted down head). I then did a second rearrangement of the tappets and remeasured again to get the final clearances I need to purchase tappets for. Most of the tappets need replacing to reach either 0.25 or 0.26mm clearance (0.02mm steps in the 40 available part numbers): My final list of replacement tappets is: 2x Tappet 282 (3.282mm) CP9Z-6500-DBB 1x Tappet 302 (3.302mm) CP9Z-6500-DCB 1x Tappet 362 (3.362mm) CP9Z-6500-EBB 2x Tappet 382 (3.382mm) CP9Z-6500-ECB 1x Tappet 422 (3.422mm) CP9Z-6500-FAB 4x Tappet 442 (3.442mm) CP9Z-6500-FBB 2x Tappet 482 (3.482mm) CP9Z-6500-FDB 3x Tappet 502 (3.502mm) CP9Z-6500-GAB Hopefully I will be able to get them all within a week or so.

From the failures I’ve seen photos of so far, it isn’t a material deficiency (6061-T6 machined components are very consistent with well known properties). It looks like the problem is the tapered steel collet causing a hoop stress in the aluminum collar that is likely then fatigue cracking. Poor and unnecessary design using the tapered collet, in my opinion.

I think the Drexler option should be available for about €2,000 (£1,700) if you can fit it locally to an existing 168K casing with pinion and crown wheel. https://www.kmpdrivetrain.com/product/lsd-drexler-model-request/

I think the answer to street parking or in long term car parks that many will need to use, is to have a charge meter at every space that has at least a standard 3kW supply (installed in a similar manner to an old-style parking meter). This can at least use the conduit for existing street lighting to reduce infrastructure installation costs. I can see regulated rates for this type of supply being similar to home electricity rates.

Sounds like about £1 / kWh, if not a bit higher, about 11 times higher than a tariff such as the British Gas off-peak EV tariff at £0.0895 / kWh.

Ensure you have the engine locked from rotating before undoing the crankshaft pulley, best with all pistons at mid-cylinder, although if you have the alignment tool I list below, set the cams to #1 TDC and lock the flywheel/crankshaft in that position, don't use the crankshaft alignment pin when undoing though, as the torque required will bend it if the crankshaft rests against it, and it may require major surgery to remove. Once it comes loose there is no key on the crankshaft (one-use friction washers only), so valves can hit pistons if the crankshaft is rotated and the crankshaft pulley is loose. You can lock at the ring gear (the bolt is at several hundred Nm, so best to engage in several teeth to avoid breaking a single tooth). There is also a special crankshaft pulley tool that I purchased from Amazon, mine was from amazon.ca at $59, but this is the equivalent tool on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elf-Bee-999-7128-Crankshaft-Compatible/dp/B07TJQ7YYD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3N6ZZWB3P52L7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pyF50aq1vWSwzgpYxzk_3Q.k0rrPENUuV8vd085ZW96zXEsV31g16A8aBgAXVypnhI&dib_tag=se&keywords=999+7128&qid=1708548393&s=automotive&sprefix=999+7128%2Cautomotive%2C327&sr=1-1 For reassembly, you will need an alignment tool such as this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/kweiny-Camshaft-Alignment-Timing-Engine/dp/B0992HQWXC/ref=sr_1_3?crid=181G6IF5N4EO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-fbpn5chPI2da16ek4KPxYxpYX9JF1HwunIF2Muw5Zz2MqLzoXla9tWdMmixOCjijRxRrR8UOijuT4RgOSkXiXYfuhjXUpzQjhKu5mLsKhDFKjCQqTCtwu1akzkIBC6Ajt954_SuzhnjbLK5mfTGWEx-WzfK8gKsjVI3KhvvCSUK1Wv8-qFsd2ubuTPoyO_xosSV8J0CWoUN3MRqh-DS-qMAqaAUnSbP9wWYtNNm_CMAAzKN1RSmQYxGC1ELvD0ZsKnIhPfnKBYQHfi89YGJys7zDgP8MFNoXmnjH-cEMnA.low00wTwhqEaPz_xR4UXQps5j0IZ7aPZmKQuSBgOgtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=kweiny+Camshaft+Alignment+Timing+Tool+Kit+for+Ford+Mercury+Mazda+Engine+Some+Models&qid=1708548724&sprefix=kweiny+camshaft+alignment+timing+tool+kit+for+ford+mercury+mazda+engine+some+models+%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-3 2 new diamond friction washers should also be needed (part numbers - Ford 1S7Z-6378-AA or Mazda L3H5-11-407) and the crankshaft bolt is single use (I'm using an ARP replacement from Raceline).

Ian, if there is any indication the noise is from the valve train, it is worth removing the cam cover and pressing down on each bucket tappet to see if there is any difference in the spring tension between them. My current R400D engine rebuild is due to failed inlet valve springs, where all inlet valve springs fractured (all exhaust valve springs were fine), one inlet valve spring double fractured and the valve fell in at high RPM and made a horrible mess.

The copper drain plug washer is 10mm (3/8” will fit, too). 15Nm torque on that drain plug and a new washer each time has kept me away from the ‘cheese limit’.

The front increases with weight, back with deDion stays the same.

Back from holiday this week, so while SWMBO was otherwise occupied, the bathtub in the guest bathroom seemed like a good place to thoroughly clean the major components. 4 hours of careful cleaning and lots of checking after blowing everything dry with the air line. It was surprising how much fine debris was cleaned out: I put in all the new oil gallery plugs and oil squirters, re-assembled the dry-sump baffles, oiled the cylinder bores and put the block back on the engine stand:

1mm of axial deflection on the bush size used by Caterham is about the most they can take before tearing, as is often found on the A-arm to deDion bush when under track use with worn limiter washers.

With 1% water content (assuming sampled from near calipers) a high boiling point high performance fluid will have degraded to that of an average fluid, losing about 50C of it’s boiling point: https://epicbleedsolutions.com/blogs/faq/what-is-meant-by-wet-and-dry-boiling-points-of-brake-fluid. For this reason, any track that I have attended in Canada requires fluid to be no more than 6 months old when used from a sealed container, when self-certifying the tech inspection of the car.

If the brakes have been used in any "sporting" way, the fluid near the calipers when bleeding will be darker than the new fluid. If the reservoir is emptied with a syringe or baster before bleeding and filled with new fluid, 125ml bled at each caliper (500ml total new fluid) will flush the system completely.