Slipper man

Peter - if you are looking for the best, and don't mind spending some money, have you thought of doing a 2 litre Evo engine? The crank on those is superior (can't remember the make except that it is French) and all those I know who have driven them (including me) rate the 2 litre Evo as the best car Caterham have ever made. 250 BHP and 190 (IIRC) lbs ft. It is also very smooth and drivable. If I were building a top spec engine, that is what I would have now.

The R500 engine was a state of the art race engine c. 1999 when it was designed, and was very good at what it did (once the teething troubles were sorted). In the years that have followed, further experience has brought improvements which benefited both power and reliability, but the starter engine is pretty good. Now all the hype over Duratecs has died down, the power/ weight/ reliability of the R500's is beginning to be more widely appreciated. The only bit that always bugs me about the R500 is the interference fit gidgeon pins that means that you often need a new (steel) con rod if you replace pistons. A budget issue apparantly, but I would rather have paid £20(?) extra and had circlips.

My suspicion is that you have some of the geometry settings wrong. Toe could be a factor, as could camber, but the interaction of all the variations can be complex. Any variations in settings on your car could well be at the back of the car as well as the front, so you would be well advised to take it to someone who can check all the settings, and get the corner weights right as well. I have an R500, and had the car 'flat floored' soon after build and it completely transformed the feel. I was surprised how much variation the car had in some of its settings if you just build it yourself and check everything with amateur tools I agree with you about the steering rack - check the basics first before assuming that Caterham got the basic design wrong. On the older cars, they actually did get it wrong, but the later cars were designed with special CAD systems (Jez Coates showed it to me) so basic flaws are unlikely.

No - but I have one if you want to weigh it

What kind of car do you have? This is a well known problem on cars without the 4 pot calipers. The cure is a brake balance kit I think

If you e-mail me, I will send a picture of mine. The bottle should have a black cap with holes in it to stop it blowing off. This then lets abnoxious fumes out, so I installed a breather pipe that breathes under the car and blocked the holes. Race cars do have catch tan for the catch tank but I have not found that necessary

R500,s have a remote sensor attached by a piece of braided pipe. It also has a mount for the big yellow oil light sensor (which is seperate). Suggest you talk to Caterham parts.

Oops - I have been drinking too professionally! I mean NTL : Nuek The Luek of course!

I am clearing out the garage, and have some wine racks spare. One is a 48 hole, and the others (which can be connected) are 4 x 12 hole. Contribution to LTN will secure. They are near Caterham

And my R500 crank snapped. The maker of the crank said it was because it didn't have a damper. What do you think Dave?

I used to have a V12 soft top, and a 3,8. Despite what the snobs say, the V12 was a much better car - quite brilliant in fact. How much is your friend asking for it?

Minister do recommend that the roller barrels are overhauled periodically because they can get sticky. How old is your car? Has it always been like this? If so, the geometry of the throttle pedal may need to be adjusted (by bending bits of metal. Doing so on mine made it much easier on the initial throttle opening, which as you say is very important on a car like that. You can often have this trouble if the cable doesn't have enough slack. It may be worth trying to slacken it off a bit. The other thing that occurs to me is the plastic bit used to adjust the slack at the roller barrel end. If it is not pushed fully back, it can produce the symptom you describe, so make sure it is fully in place when you slacken it off.

This stuff is brilliant, but at £10 per meter from Demon Tweaks it is too expensive. Does anyone know how tp get some at a better price?

The life of the packing in the silencer depends totally on how it is driven. If used on track, I would expect it to need repacking every 3- 4 track days if you want it to stay quiet on an R500 (R300, will last longer I expect because of lower gas volume and velocity). By the end of the season (8 track days) mine was completely empty. On road use, it should last for years. You can get an idea of how the stiffing is by tapping the silencer, If it rings, the stuffing has gone - if it 'thuds' it is OK

I noticed no change in performance when the airbox was fitted. I am a bit bemused about the rad change because mine kept the standard item at first (later changed to the 3 pass item for cooling reasons on the R500, but the fan is mounted behind the rad - the pipes feed round it) On my car the fan is driven from the ECU and comes on at 80deg, so is rarely on unless it is really needed. How is yours actuated - is it possible to get a different fan sensor?

Anyone want my Navara? Jan 2004, 21000 mile in very good condition. Owned by me from new, it has been used as a second family car. The only towing it has done is taking the Caterham to track days. It has lots of options - e.g. Armadillo, Climate, 6 CD, Chrome bumper, fog lights, etc. Almost as new, with 8 months warrenty remaining. Only for sale becasue a new one is coming next week £9,500 including VAT as it is privately owned

Doesn't look like your car Paul. Does that mean that you haven't gone yourself?

I take it the light is one of the big red or yellow jobs that many of our cars have? If so, I wired mine seperately from the Stack, through the switch that is mounted on the Oil Filter assembly. You will probably have a redundant one (don't ask me why - but my R500 had one). It is identified by the spade terminal on its end. Take a wire straight from that to the light and you will have an independant test that will come on with the ignition (so you know the bulb is working!) and goes out when the oil pressure is up.

I am with Angus. First try taking out some slack from the cable by tightening the two nuts on the bell housing. I will bet thet you will suddenly find gear selection much easier. Yes - it happenned to me too: so slowly that you don't notice at first

What some people do is attach mud flaps. Demon tweaks do them cheaply (black rubbery plastic) or carbo fibre if thats what you want. They do the job

It is just a plate that covers the end of the cam. Doesn't do much, because there is an oil seal behind it

If it works when cold but not when hot, then it is a bad starter. This can happen on new starters. Only real solution is the high spec starter - Bosch I think plus adapter plate. I assume it is a K series?

I don't agree with all the nay sayers. Assuming that you have enough common sense (like always ensuring that you use the right torque settings) it isn't hard. The K was the first car that I worked on and didn't find it hard at all - and mine is a much more sophisticated R500 unit. Too many people are too scared of the K series - it isn't that complex, so long as you understand how it works (which is different from most car engines). Buy a Haines manual for the right engine (I used a Freelander one for the 1.8 that is excellent) and make sure you get all the right tools - they dont cost much. For example, the cam locking tool was under £5. Once you have all these bits you will be able to work on the car whenever you want, and won't be scared of it again. For the parts you can go to the relevany agent (Land Rover is good for 1.8's) and they can supply the 'pick list' for the HG replacement. That includes all the bits you need, including sealants. Again it may seem complex to have specific types of sealant, but if you get the garage to supply with all the other parts it is no problem

They all seem to do that, which I find unacceptable given how nasty brake fluid is. If you have ANY on the plastic shroud to the heater if you have one, get it cleaned off right away or it disintegrates. I always have some absorbant rag wrapped around the cap and help with cable tie to stop the drips. Hadn't thought about letting the level go down a bit.

Angus - if you want to sit lower with the standard seats, make a foam pack base. This will put you exactly where you want, and is incredibly comfortable because it fits your arse perfectly. With a bit of Oxted trimming magic, they look like origional equipment too.