phatcat

Thanks for the offer Matt, I've had a rethink though. I think I'll just get Caterham to do it when I drop it off at the PBC in a couple of days. I'm sure it'll only take them a couple of minutes (or anyone else that knows how it's supposed to look!), and I think my time is better spent getting the sidescreens bolted on and the rest of the SVA stuff finished.

(Academy car - new build). Just read the hood fitting instructions, and can't make sense of them (at all). The assembly guide suggests that there are pre-drilled holes in the boot chassis rail to screw the hoodstraps into, but I can't find any. Also, I can't work out which part of the strap I am supposed to screw to the rail. I'm totally lost on this one. Does anyone have any pics showing hoodsticks/straps correctly fitted to a (recent) car? Has the design changed? Thanks.

Quick one: I've got "doors" on my seven. Do I fit the wing mirrors to the doors before the SVA, or do I have to fit the mirrors to the side of the car for the SVA, and then move them back to the doors later? Thanks.

Yep, but it's the principle. The paint really does look terrible. I shouldn't need a respray before the season even starts!

Wow, that was easy. However, the nose cone has horrible circular marks all over it, presumably from the bubble wrap, and they won't come off. I'll have to have words with Caterham at the PBC about that one...

I was over-thinking things as usual. Didn't even need the high-lift jack. I had thought that the suspension would have more travel. Anyway, I just loosely tightened up the A-frame/dedion bolt. Then jacked up at the dedion/A-frame point, moved the axle stands to under the dedion, lowered it down on to the stands and then torqued up the A-frame bolts. Easy when you know how. Thanks for help.

He did have a high-lift jack, so I'll go out and try that now... If not, I'll give you a bell. Thanks.

>>Why do you need to have them under the de-dion, they're usualy in the way there. In the assembly guide, Section 6, Para 52 states: "Place the axle stands under the De-Dion tube such that the weight of the car is taken up through the spring damper units. Ensure that all the suspension securing bolts are tightened as detailed in Table 2." Now, if you've been following the assembly guide text to the letter, by this point, the only thing you won't have torqued up are the A-frame bolts. I would assume therefore that the purpose in the above para is to ensure that the A-frame is set at the correct angle before you secure it. I'll try jacking under the dedion - I think my neighbour has a high-lift jack...

>>When I'm this situation I jack underneath the corner where the A-frame bolts to the chassis. May be mis-understanding this, but wouldn't that only jack up one side of the car? >>A length of thick wood can be used across the width of the car between the jack and the chassis - this spreads the load. What happens if the wood slips out while you are moving the axles stands under the Dedion? Doesn't sound safe to me. >>I jack on the de-dion where the A frame bolts then put axle stands under chassis rails in front of front A frame fixing Don't really get this either. I need to put the axles stands under the dedion, not under the chassis rails. Edit: But this might work if the jack goes high enough to lift the car off the axle stands. More confused now Edited by - phatcat on 29 Jan 2005 17:53:34

Situation: I have one axle stand at each end of the chassis rail that runs along the bottom of the fuel tank. I need to jack up the rear of the car so I can move the axles stands under the Dedion tube to get the correct angle on the A-frame before I tighten up the A-frame bolts. I started jacking it up in the centre of the chassis rail, and as expected I saw it start to flex upwards, which suggests to me that this would permanently bend the rail if I continued. Where should I jack it up? Should I put something between the jack and the rail to stop the bar bending? Doesn't seem like a good idea from a safety perspective...

I can't seem to find any nose cone fitting instructions in the assembly guide. Looked through 3 times now. Is it just so easy that they don't tell you, or can someone point me to the correct section How does it secure to the car? Am I supposed to have a fastener pack? How many fixing points are there (new Academy car)? Do I need to dremel anything to allow for suspenson movement / fitting? Thanks.

Thanks Myles. Heading back in to the garage now with my woolies on I really should invest in another heater (the last one broke when the frost got inside it), but hey, the build's almost done now...

LOL! Nice photo james! 😬 I thought you might mean track rod ends, wasn't sure.

My high-lift trolley jack arrived today, £30 inc. p&p brand new on eBay! So I can finally take my car down off its axle stands But... In the assembly guide, Section 6, Para 52 states: "Place the axle stands under the De-Dion tube such that the weight of the car is taken up through the spring damper units. Ensure that all the suspension securing bolts are tightened as detailed in Table 2." Now, if you've been following the assembly guide text to the letter, by this point, the only thing you won't have torqued up are the A-frame bolts. I would assume therefore that the purpose in the above para is to ensure that the A-frame is set at the correct angle before you secure it. This would suggest that having the A-frame loosely bolted in does not effect the support of the cars weight on the dedion, or they would be telling you to do something inherently unsafe. As you have already torqued up everything else, I can see that it should be safe. A couple of questions though: 1. My axle stands are currently placed under the rear chassis cross member, and, on their highest setting, I can crawl reasonably comfortably under the car. However, if I jack up the back and move the axle stands under the dedion tube, then deflate the jack so that the dedion and suspension take the weight of the car, the car will now be much lower - will I still have enough access to tighten the A-frame bolts (with no wheels on, but rear arches and everything else in place)? 2. Would I be better off putting the car down on to its wheels to put the weight on the suspension and then push it up a ramp for better access for tightening the A-frame? Would I be able to push it up the (30 degrees) ramp on my own with my (slim!) girlfriend operating the brake? (engine doesn't currently run - immobiliser is out of sync with ecu or some such ☹️). It occurs however, that this may be an invalid solution if you are supposed to tighten the A-frame on a level surface. I'm probably overthinking this, and there probably is enough access for (1.), but it's -2 degrees in my garage atm, so I'm not too keen on going out there atm, and I'd like a plan of action for tomorrow night. Edited by - phatcat on 24 Jan 2005 20:37:54

Thanks for replies, looks like the interior isn't as big a deal as I thought. Not sure what you mean by this in the exterior list though? : >>rubber tubing cut to fit tie rod

With regard to the long strip of SVA trim, I know some of it goes around the top of the dash, but where does the rest of it go? There seem to be sharp edges all over the front of the cabin: Most notably: Knee trim panels - along the top jaggedy edges? I assume so, as you have to cover the fusebox which is around the same place, and less likely to contact with your legs. Below the dash - semi-sharp edge just above your legs? Are these the right places? Are there any more interior bits I need to cover to get past SVA? (I've done the external stuff and the rubber strip along the alu panels). Should I just not worry about it and get Caterham to sort it out at the PBC? Just panicking really (while waiting on a high-lift jack to get it off the axle stands, and finish off the "proper" stuff).

Mmm... Just riveted in the black interior aluminium side panels and then realised afterward that on the driver side it is curved in nicely to the rubber strip, and on the passenger side it is totally flat (nice one Caterham!). Consequently, on the passenger side towards the rear of the car there is a sharp edge where it joins the rubber which won't get past SVA. Now I can drill out the rivets, but how do I then get a nice curve to the rubber edge without damaging the look of the panel, bearing in mind that most of the panel will still be attached to the car? I was thinking of trying to put a screwdriver behind the panel and using a soft-faced hammer to bash it around it to produce the curve. Any better ideas? I can't be the only one that's had this...

Quick question: The Academy tyres (CR322 if memory serves) - are these directional, or can I just put the wheels on any which way?

Doh! You're right of course - it was just stuck together a bit at the end. In that case, the length of strip that is the same as the bit around the dash - what's that for? Is that for something else inside the cockpit? Is sticking the rubber on recommended by the way? Does it fall off otherwise? Or do people just remove it after the SVA?

I don't think the rubber strip is for that purpose, as it is a flat piece of rubber with no means of attaching. I think I have already identified the strip that is for that purpose, which is the same type as the piece that goes around the scuttle above the dash. This rubber strip looks like a narrower version of the strip used between the rear wings and the boot - it's just a flat length of rubber.

Yes, you can definitely rest the weight of the car on the DD tube (assuming it's not been weakened by rust or abuse). I know this because the assembly guide tells you to do exactly this before final tightening of the rear suspension bolts: Section 6, Para 52: "Place the axle stands under the De-Dion tube such that the weight of the car is taken up through the spring damper units. Ensure that all the suspension securing bolts are tightened as detailed in Table 2."

Getting towards the end of the build now, but still a bit of head scratching/assembly guide page turning going on... 1. What is the thin rubber strip for ( pic here)? I haven't found a reference to it yet in the assembly guide. 2. The fuel filler pipe cover inside the boot - how do you attach this? With which bolts/nuts? I believe you only drill 2 of the 4 holes - which 2? Is this to do with the fireproof boot floor or so you don't drill through the back of the boot and make unsightly holes in the rear of the car? Also not found anything on this yet in the guide. Thanks.

Hi all. Getting there with my build now (2005 Academy car), but with SVA looming... I have one composite (tillet) seat, which is on the passenger side. I will be having a foam seat made by Caterham for the driver side, which raises a few questions: 1. I have one head restraint - is this sided? i.e. can I fit this to the passenger side of the cage? 2. Is the head restraint SVA compliant? (looks a bit sharp!) 3. I have nothing for the driver side at the moment - will caterham be selling me a hard seat back with the foam seat bottom, or will both back and bottom be foam? 4. Is a foam seat SVA compliant? 5. Will Caterham be bolting the foam in place or anything? It strikes me, that if a foam seat is tightly fitted after initially being moulded, then presumably you have to trim it away a bit to get it out in order to wrap duct tape around it. Now, if I can pull it out with my hands to tape it up, then a crash could definitely move it out of place (charging elephant and all that), so I can only assume its bolted in? 6. If the back of the seat is foam, how does this work with regard to a head restraint? 7. One last unrelated thing - when I fitted the rear lights on the wing, there was no blob of paint on the wings to mark the first drill hole. Do the brake and indicator lights have to be a certain distance from the ground to get the correct lighting angle for the SVA? If so, does anyone know how to measure these distances given suspension variance? Thanks.

Thanks all. Sounds like these preparations are necessary, rather than precautionary!

Hi, I'm sure I've seen a comment somewhere about how you should connect up the rear lights so you don't get the wires/connectors broken in a rear shunt when the wing flies off. Can't find it now though. Any ideas on what I am supposed to do for this? Thanks.