Robster

Stag's wellseal..looks like it was made in the 50's..smells lovely and stays sticky so can't destroy an engine like silicone can do!!

I would also very strongly advise to keep away from John Noble motorsport who built my first engine, I won't air my laundry in public only because I don't want to jepordise this great site..cost me a lot of heartache and money learning that valuable lesson though. Of course, this is only my personal opinion.

Am I right in thinking that the shim sits between the bearing and the inner edge of the backplate?

Sorry, should read 140lb rears!!!

No idea I'm afraid..if you ask Redline they will have a set I'm sure. 8 inch 300lb front 12 inch 300lb rear were the one's that I now have..the AVO dampers need re-valving as they are too hard really.

The pre 96 springs were pre-rising rate, ie linear rate, front and rear. Actually worked really well (on adjustable platform dampers).

AVO or Freestyle ROSE jointed rear shocks makes a big difference and prevents the snatchy/twitchy rear end that you are referring to. FWIW, I have also now fitted rose jointed radius arms for the same reason. Another fairly cheap conversion that I did a while ago (although I have since changed them again) was to put the old pre-96 dedion springs on the car as recommended by Redline, these were much firmer and much nicer to use. The standard front springs in particular become coil bound easily and are way too soft.

Hi All Yes, I want to re-ignite the sprinting classes debate again..it was so exciting that I'm joining in next season. So, I've bought a petty strut to go with my LA tall FIA bar. Really simple question about fitting it. The bottom end of the bar has a sliding collar so that the length of the bar can be adjusted. The outside sleeve has a hole right through it, presumably for a bolt to go through, the inner sleeve hasn't. Do I fit the bar to the car, mark the inner sleeve through the bolt hole and drill it to put a bolt through?? Thanks and looking forward to seeing everyone at the sprints next season! Robin R7RDC and home to the full Gulf Liveried Midget...as seen at Le Mans 2005!

Hi All Can you let me know what sort of race suit I need for the sprint's..the 3 layer nomex one's are vv expensive and likely to be very hot to wear! Can I use a single layer on/Kart suit?? or is it like the helmets, you need the FIA sticker?

Can I run my 155bhp xflow on my A21 tyres in class 2?? There appears to be no tyre limit there?

Wellseal is great stuff, smells good too! It looks like golden syrup and sets to a thicker version, but won't break off or break up. I used it on the MG because silocone does break up..liked it so much that I will use it for the Caterham when I need to seal things up.

In a few years time, it'll be apart again...platic dowells replaced by steel ones, HG failure's, loose crank pulley's and Emerald will be building and ECU for it the size of a house......'cause it won't idle properly on the standard one! Finally, some greek shipping magnate with more money than sense will fettle it up to a zillion horse power, screaming at 400rpm, just before the push fit gudgeon pin, the size of a car makes a bid for freedomn into the abyssal plain! What they really should have built was a gigantic Xflow, mated to huge webbers, just think of the noise when she leaves port!

In my experience with Xflows, it is much more likely to be a plug lead, no.1 culprit, followed by a dodgy plug, followed by the cap being spark eroded by a loose plug lead onto it (central lead from the coil). Over nearly 8 years of ownership, I have had 4 errant missfires, each more peculiar than the last, each finally down to one of the above! So, I change the leads every 2 years now. If you can get the car to me in Newbury, I'm more than happy to have a look at it with you, perhaps even give you some hints/advise on fettling these great engines!

All this sprinting talk has finally made me decide, after years of..I would like to do that..I will next year! Is there a breakdown of classes anywhere? I need to decide which class to enter. List 1b tyres are I think the only things that I need..which ones should I get from where? (for 13 inch wheels). Is there a calender of events yet? Thanks Robin

I suspect that you're oil pressure is a separate issue, almost certainly down to a dodgy sender unit or wire to sender unit. The gauges, check where and how they are earthing, very often a loose/poor earth connection may be the cause.

Unfortunately, if your diff whines, you have worn the CWP. Filling the diff nearly full is just asking for oil to come out of the ends and weep onto your brake shoes..the oil seals will be overcome. It is hard cornering with hot, thin oil that kills them, the CWP is under full load at a time that there is no oil on it (it will have sloshed over the baffles which then prevent it running back into the centre of the diff), so you end up running around the track with diff arms full of oil and very little where it's needed. I would suggest that you run the diff as you are Marc but empty it, refill to the level plug, plus another 750 ml ish (no more though for the reasons above) and see if it is fine. Incidentally, sprints don't seem to hurt these diffs so much, because it is the repeated cornering on the tracks that is the killer, you have enough oil for the odd slop over the baffles not to hurt, and it may not heat up as much. Oil will slowly seep back from the baffles, but it will take minutes, not milliseconds! by which time you are another lap or two around Brand's!

Your axle should be fine to 160bhp...although if you have an LSD, it'll cope with a lot more. You will hear a lot of pundits telling you 150 is the limit..but the reality is that oil surge will kill the axle..not the power. The half shafts may break under a lot of heavy shock loading and a lot of power, but you can get uprated ones from Quaiffe. The open diff is not bullet proof, but an LSD is. The oil surge really is the thing to be careful of, overfilling helps, but myself and a couple of other people have now fitted oil seals over the baffles, preventing oil from surging over the baffles and effectively sealing it in the middle of the diff where it is needed. If you are going to do a lot of track work, I would strongly recommend this.

Wow!! Like a couldron of vipers out there in K series land..thank goodness for Iron engines that sound good and no-one is arguing about their HG failures! R7RDC and home to the full Gulf Liveried Midget...as seen at Le Mans 2005!

Right, hope that this will work: here If that fails, look at webshots, my username is Robtser146. The rod ends that I used originally were National Rod ends ones, from Raceparts. Cost about £15 each, and a centre drilled length of alloy bar as you will see. However, these soon knocked themselves out, so I bought NMB ones, around £25 each from Raceparts, MUCH better quality and they have been fine ever since. If the URL doesn't work, let me know and I'll try again. I am happy to make some sets up if people want them.

Steve For this reason, I changed the radius arms to rose jointed ones because the bushes on the ends of these at the axle end are having to bend in the same way..which they are not designed to do. The ride improved a lot on the limit, prior to fitting the rose jointed radius arms, that car tended to twitch under very hard cornering, now the suspension can move through the whole plain of movement freely and allow the springs and dampers to do exactly what they are designed to do! The radius arms were easy to make, a length of ally bar, centre drilled and tapped at either end to take rose joints of the right ID to fit the bolts, then adjust the length to the existing radius arm by winding in/out the rose joints. Easy!

Give AVO a ring, or Demon Tweeks will sell them to you.

I would repeat that it may well be the pedal spindle. If you remove the pedal box cover, and take the throttle pedal out, you will find a steel bush that the pedal pivots on, this must be lub'd and free from corrosion. Mind has become 'sticky' twice, this being the cause.

That was me..took the Caterham to work today in Saunderton (nr High Wycombe)..arrived with my ears ringing and feeling a little dazed but well worth it! My first time 'spotted'! Thanks Neil! R7RDC and home to the full Gulf Liveried Midget...as seen at Le Mans 2005!

You need to shove a small length of MIG welding wire into the gap between the male/female pipe, stops it ratting and I've done it for ages with no problems. Robin

Where do you get seals from?? Mine is currently working absoloutly fine..but in case I need them in the future? Thanks Robin