Midas

I have S-type leather seats fitted, but when I was refurbishing them today I noticed there are stress cracks in the seat frames. The joint where the backrest meets the squab frame.

is this repairable, or do I have a pair of scrap seats?

Would rather not have to buy a new set - oh wait, they are not in stock at Caterham

The standard seats are fitted to runners, but in basic terms they are simply bolted directly to/through the floor and then are held in place by the penny washers and nyloc nuts that bolt it to the floor. The important bolts are the seatbelt bolts which in my car affix to threaded inserts on the chassis.

Thanks for the replies and 'thumbs up' - always better to check

I'd like a bit of advice/sanity check - went to replace the rear belt on my K Series VVC. 

The photo shows the alignment of the cams and belt when I first took off the cover. It's run like that for over 5 years.

I have changed the belt but cannot get more accurate alignment than it was originally - as shown on the photo - I can't seem to get it dead-on straight. It's either half a spoke out one way or another.

The engine is original. - and I have replaced the front cambelt first this morning and that is all nicely aligned. Flywheel/cams were locked before I tried to do remove any belts. 

Am I doing something wrong?

In the recent Webinar Bob Laishley identified that Nova could be a supplier to Caterham in the future - what was unclear was whether the tyres would be 'affordable', now that Nova was an independent tyre company.  It is not known whether Avon had relied on cost subsidies when they were part of their recent American parent company.

Cost might not be a factor for the aftermarket buyer, but might influence their fitment as original equipment.

We had a lot of questions at the Webinar from members asking what Caterham was doing to replace Avon tyres on our cars. Simon Lambert has been back in touch and kindly provided the following table showing a read a cross from Avon to Toyo - the new favoured tyre brand going forward. Simon produced the following table

Caterham - New Tyre Table

Here is an Avon-to-Toyo table that was requested by several. Please note, some tyre sizes have changed due to an exact equivalent not being available; most notably the Academy 185/70R13. 

CSR Tyres

As the CSR is still a product for Europe, selecting which of the Toyo options will be appropriate has a homologation impact which again makes things less straight-forward you would hope, so this remains TBA.

If you contact the CC Archivist - Martin Phipps and give him your chassis number, he will be able to tell you the complete breakdown of what was originally supplied by the factory to the original owner. If I recall it will tell you the spec of the engine  e.g. on mine it says '1700 Ford Crossflow Supersprint engine'. It will not show the components within said engine, but the original record will get you started.

I contacted Bob Laishley on 5th November and asked him if there was any update we could share with Club Members.

Bob's reply was that Caterham are currently heavily involved with the DVSA regarding a fix for the problem. That was as much as he could say at this time.

I plan to meet up with Bob before Christmas, and I will ask again if there is an update - assuming a more public statement has not been released beforehand.

Regards

Richard

Chair

We don't think of our cars as unloved: I hope the owner hasn't suffered a mishap.

Thanks for the relies. I have found that the original pump seems to be an AC-DELCO part - 6443327, which appears to have been fitted to a number of Rover cars (Rover Metro GTI and Rover 200 Turbo) according to a Google search.

I cant find it on the caterham website.

I'll try Redline and Merlin tomorrow, and in the meantime take the car apart!

The fuel pump has gone on my MY 2000 1.8 VVC Roadsport.

Does anyone know what the replacement part number is for this item.

Also, anyone who has done the job - do you have to remove the fuel tank from the car, or can it be done in situ?

Any tips or advice welcomed.

Having upgraded to an alloy race rad, I have my original fit Caterham radiator and SPAL fan unit for sale.

Car is a 1.8 VVC, K Series Roadsport which has done 30k miles. The radiator and fan are the original fit, but still fully functioning.

I can supply pictures if you PM me.

It is not fitted with the fan switch, as this was transferred to the new radiator.

Price £50 + postage/courier. Or I can meet you in the Bristol area if that is preferable.
 

I also replaced my A021s with Uniroyal Rain Experts - and I only tour. Very pleased with them, and will fit them again.

Also very reasonably priced

Jonathan, thanks for that - much appreciated

Good morning,

I have access to a 2 post lift to work on my Caterham, but having never used one on the car, I want to make sure I place the lift arms in the correct place under the chassis.

Can anyone tell me the safest and most secure way to do it - pictures would be great.

Many thanks

Welcome,

I am 6ft 3in tall, and fit in an S3. In fact I drove it as such for many years - then I fitted a lowered floor. A lowered floor will make a big difference. This is where the existing floor is taken off and replaced with a new floor which drops the seat by about 2 inches at the seat back. You buy them separately - LHS and RHS, and you can fit one side rather than both. They are available from Caterham.

Any specialist or Caterham themselves would fit it - or you can do it yourself but it quite fiddly (lots of rivets to take out and then replace). I'm struggling to remember how much it was - about £300 a side rings a bell a few years ago.

PRRT diagram.pdf

I did this mod nearly 10 years ago on my K Series VVC. I have posted above a link to the diagram and instructions that I used (hope the link works!)

This installation has been on the car now long enough for any problems to emerge but hot and cold, it has ensured my temps are always rock solid.

I got the key parts from Rimmer Brothers - not sure if the part numbers still apply but the original Rover/Land Rover part numbers are:

• PRRT - PEL500110 (Land Rover part number)
• Replacement thermostat Flange (to replace the existing thermostat) - PEL000040A (MG Rover part number).

Hope that helps - I also added a T Piece as shown and silicon hoses. The system also allows for easy coolant replacement without any airlock problems.

I have fitted the Intermotor 51690 type, and all working fine. Noted it does not have the same length of thread as the Caterham model, so it is only just long enough to do the job. It doesn't need a locking nut as the body is tight up against the bracket (well it is on mine anyway!)

Found out why the reversing light isn't working - the switch is not connected to the wiring loom!!!!!

This is totally my fault. Tied it out of the way when I was working in that area last year. Now thinking that the 'bare live' might have been causing the fuse to blow.

Fitting a new brake switch tomorrow and hoping that will then get the car back in rude health

Thanks for the replies

My brake lights and reversing light have stopped working - it's a Yr 2000 K series VVC.

I note from the wiring diagram that these lights are all on the same circuit - I've checked the fuse and its OK.

Therefore, I suspect the brake switch that appears to act as the live for the reversing light as well as the brake lights.

However, before I order a new one, anyone else had this problem and have any suggestions?

Thanks

For a 14 inch rim, you can get the Uniroyal RainSport, which on the spec look a 'better tyre' than the RainExpert. For me the problem is I have 13 inch rims, so they were a non-starter. I'm happy with the RainExpert.

I see that there is also a Uniroyal RainSport tyre which is marketed for the sportier driver, but these were not available in my required tyre size. It would be interesting to compare their performance with my current tyre.

I should also add I did do some touring with a friend who runs Avon ZZR tyres and it was clear that he had more grip than me in the dry. However, he runs his car lower than me. He has to be very cautious of cats eyes, whereas I sail over them.

Like many in the Club, I mourned the passing of the Yokohama A021s as my 'go to' tyre.

I've been running Uniroyal Rainexpert 3 tyres now for two seasons, so I thought I would just record my impressions to help others in my position.

The car is a 150 BHP K series, used for touring. I run it on 13 inch wheels (185/70 profile). I also run 75mm under the Sump. I mention these details as I appreciate my setup is not the norm: this combo means a high sidewall, and most people run lower sump clearance than I do.

Overall, they are probably 10% weaker than the A021 in the dry, but 110% better in wet conditions. Subjectively, I cannot lean on them the way I could the A021, and the corner entry speeds are again about 10% lower than I would have achieved with A021s on the car.

However for most of my mileage this is never a problem, and even on a spirited blat through Wales yesterday in overcast conditions the tyres gave me all the grip I needed.On a positive note, they are less temperature sensitive than the A021s.

I'm still undecided about tyre pressures. I started with 18 PSI, but there was too much movement in the tyre wall, and the ride was too 'springy'. Cars following me remarked how much side movement there was, and I could feel the back move a few mm on cornering. You soon got used to it, but it made the car feel less planted although all movement was predictable. I'm sure this would be less of a problem with a lower profile.

I'm now up to 21 PSI and the ride/grip seems to be about right. Still some side movement on hot days, but the car feels tighter. Finally, the wear seems minimal which is a definitive improvement as i would burn through the A021s in around 9000 miles (at the absolute most) of touring mileage.

I have a 6 speed box, and have no problem generally selecting reverse gear - until the engine is up to operating temperature. At that point I can still select reverse, but not cleanly and with a slight grating on the gears. I have adjusted the cable clutch but still no joy.

The car is a Yr 2000 model and done 40 000 miles. It is the original clutch, but the cable is new.

Anyone have any ideas?   if it needs a new clutch or pressure plate that will have to wait until the end of the shortened blatting season!
 

My car is fitted with the longer cycle wings as the car originally sat on 16 inch HPC rims. I moved to a 13 inch wheel with higher profile tyres 185/70/13 - apart from whether you like the look (high sidewall), there is no problem with the wings with the  change in combination.

I chose Uniroyal RainExpert 3 tyres - I previously ran Yokohamas A021s. Overall I have been happy with the ride and the grip from the Uniroyals. They do not give the same ultimate confidence as the stickier Avons or my original Yokohamas, but they are very capable across all the weather conditions. 

Here's a picture of my car with the combination - just so you can see what it looks like compared to your own car.

I went out yesterday for a spirited drive and they coped with the wet/cold/icy conditions on the Fosse Way.