Z3MCJez

Have you got all the gearbox oil out? Otherwise, be prepared for it to come out when you angle the whole lot. I've got a Sigma, and the whole thing goes in with some care (down a bit, forward a bit, down a bit etc.) - I think the K should be similar. Jez

If you've got a red one, I'd be willing to part with cash for that (or donation to NTL, if you'd rather). I've got an orange at the moment, and it's one of about 3 things that you can change in the Acadamy. Jez

I love threads like this. I have no idea what you're talking about , but it ends with success, having had 3 or 4 different approaches first 😬 Jez

I've only just seen this, as I don't check spotted. OMG. I was building my car that afternoon, within about 150 yards of the bypass. I can attest to many blue lights, and the temperature being about -3. My hands were freezing, but I'm glad you're both alright. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Jez

Well I'm not taking them off now that the 10 rivets are in place! Jez

> The sill protectors 😔 My 2p worth: 1) Get a new 4mm drill bit for this 2) Make sure you drill relatively slowly with pressure 3) Don't try and drill through the sill protector while it's in place - instead: mark position of holes (10), remove, make an indentation in the middle of each mark, drill 4) Replace and put rivets in place (I got 7/10 in when I finally got the sill in the right place, which took 4 attempts in its own right!) 5) Complete drill-out of remaining holes (while in situ) I used this method for the second sill protector. The first, I tried to drill in situ. After 4 holes I gave up (2 of which I had to enlarge to 5mm later). Jez

I've also bought a kit from RiF too. It's curing at the moment BTW, and it was done to death somewhere else recently, but RiF - very easy to deal with and stuff arrived very quickly, exactly as required. Jez

Steve - what car are you building? If it's got a sierra 5-speed box in it, the box isn't symmetrical, and with the clearances from the box to the side of the transmission tunnel equal on both sides, you won't have the gear stick in the middle of the transmission tunnel - it will be slightly offset towards the right (drivers side). At least, mine is, anyway Jez

Mine was tight, but didn't require force to get it in. It does need to "mesh" obviously ... Jez

Did the kit mentioned by RiF ever get put together for this? This is where I'm at in my build, and I like the sound of this rather than the bolts or attaching directly to the wing-stay. Jeremy

I've seen it variously stated, that if the battery master switch is turned off, then the immobiliser doesn't work. Well, nor does anything at that point, so I'd consider the car to be immobilised therefore. My question, however, is whether when the battery master is turned on again, does the immobiliser come on in the "mobilised" state? If so, wouldn't simply turning it off and on again at any time "mobilise" it? I appreciate that any alarm would not work, which would be an issue if someone was going to tow the car away (rather than try and drive it away). Jez

Thanks both. As long as it's not just me ... Jez

Hi Fitting the front mounting points on the roll cage and it requires 2 bolts on each side - one from the inside and one from the outside. 20mm M10 bolts are supplied for this. The manual says "take care that the bolts don't ground on one another". Well, I've measured the gap at 36mm (even before putting any tension onto the roll cage) and with washers my bolts are 38mm in total (19mm each). Before I make the executive decision to go with a 20mm from the outside and a 15mm from the inside, what have other people done? Jez

Not interested in the swap, but having just fitted and unfitted and fitted and unfitted and finally fitted my tillet seats, they've got scratches on the bottom / side before they've done any miles! Just something to consider ... Jez

Dammit, dammit, dammit. I wish this thread was posted last week. I might have been more careful last night if I'd already read this. I think I've managed to destroy one of my threads too, but I gave up and won't know for sure until I get the seat out again and have a proper look at the thread. If it's not too bad to get bolts going downwards (a la Geoff) I might try that ... Jez

Who you calling a wimp? TBH, I did think that I would be able to lift it with the trolley jack and then put the screwdriver in, but then a call to SWMBO seemed an easier solution ... I'm much too much of a wimp for that ☹️ And while it took a bit more than 15 minutes, it took a lot less than the 4hrs that my mate took, and I'm pretty happy that I've got it in the middle ... Jez

FRONT SUSPENSION TOP MOUNTS - NIGHTMARE!!! I've not finished the build yet, but nothing has come close to how hard that was. I got them in from the inside (and in hindsight, I think that the front top mounts should be done before the wishbones to allow a bit more access) but my mate who is also building an Academy car deformed the Ali skin inwards and got them in from the outside. Quite a bend ... I also took a very thin layer off the fixing spacer on the inside, to let the bolt through more easily. I couldn't push the bolt through by hand before doing this. Total time for top mounts 4-5hrs ☹️ Re: gearbox oil, I spoke to Caterham about how they do it, and they fill it before it goes in to the car, and then plug all the holes up. My mate put the oil in before locating the engine/gearbox while I cut down a straight 1cm piece of 10mm allen key and then used a ratched spanner onto the cut-down piece, which was pretty easy. Other struggles have been in relation to the diff, but I followed the advice on here, and suspended with screwdrivers at the top while locating the bottom, and didn't find that any harder than most parts of the car! You need someone to locate the first screwdriver while you are lifting the diff though Jez

*eek* Cadwell is a *LONG* way for me, (4+ hrs from Kent with the car on a trailer) but as I'm going to be doing a sprint there a few weeks later, I wonder if I can convince the other half to make it a long weekend to Skegness 😬 and then drive up in the Caterham ... Hmmn Anyway, got to finish it first. If there's a day at Brands on the Indy circuit, I'd be very interested! Jez

How right this is. Not just in relation to water ingress either! Jez

If you were coming back from the Spotted Dog, I probably saw you. There was a good deal of popping as the three Caterham's slowed down for the roundabout onto Quarry Hill. Sounded great! If I see either a Caterham or an MC (I assume it's a Z3, not a Z4) around Tonbridge I'll flash. I'll be either in an A3 or an MC. Jez

Simon & Jon - you're both owners of MCs and Caterhams? And there was me thinking I had a pretty unique pair of cars ... And Simon seems to be in Tonbridge too!!! What's the chance! Anyway, horribly off topic - sorry 😳 Hope you have some luck finding a buyer. Jez

SM25T - using plenty of coppaslip! Whether I'll ever want to take the suspension off, once I've got it on is a separate matter ☹️ Polisher / Adcatman - thanks - I was attacking it from the wrong side (from the inside). I'll have a go at moving it a *LOT* from the outside tomorrow. Adcatman - I got the light stays on without a problem! Jez

Day 1 of my build - I've reached this point, and after 2 hours have got back to where I started. The sleeves that I've got to fit into the shock absorbed is *EXTREMELY* tight into the bolt (the bolt needs to thread to get through it) and I've kinda reached the point where I can't see how to get this in place in the car with so little space ☹️ So, I intend to wind the bolt in an out of the sleeve until it's loose enough to push through, and then attack it again tomorrow. Any better suggestions? Also, when the manual says bend the aluminium gently inwards, does it mean outwards? Thus fixing the bolt from the inside? Or does it mean bend it *miles* inwards and get at the bolt on the outside of the bodyshell? Was quite enjoying it up to this point - wishbones and steering rack attached. Jez

I'm sitting at home waiting for mine to arrive *wink* Told to expect it about 2. Come on!!! Jez

Anyone out there with a garage that they are willing to rent or sell in Tonbridge or the surrounding area? Jez