OliverSedlacek

Or how about F1 style tyre temperatures ;)

Exhaust seals are useful to stop oil running down the guides after the engine has stopped running (classic symptom, puff of smoke when the engine starts).

Bearing in mind that taking the head off is pretty easy on a crossflow seven, I would also question how much time you would save.

I've no idea about 12" driver and bike tyre lever method. The only way to take the spring caps off with the head in situ that I know of is to turn the engine so that both valves are closed and then to apply compressed air through the spark plug hole.

The tech support feedback from OMEX advised aiming for a gap between the VR sensor and the trigger wheel of 0.5mm, a fair bit less than what I had. Adjusting this clearance was achieved by removing the sensor bracket and adjusting it with a large vice and hammer. On the test rig (see photo) the ECU now reported the correct engine RPM, so a second attempt was made to start the engine. This produced some startlingly loud bangs from the exhaust, and investigations showed that the ignition timing was 180 degrees out. Swapping lead pairs on the coil pack quickly rectified this and the engine finally attempted to run! To say I'm pleased is a bit of an understatement. The real test will come when it goes for mapping, which is booked for the 16th December. The main thing I need to do before that is get the lambda boss replaced in the exhaust. It's completely rusted up, which is why it needs replacing. It's all starting to get quite exciting!

As others have said, a diff change is your obvious option. I drove mine for years thinking it had a 3.6 final drive when it actually had a 3.9. The only other option is bigger wheels/tyres.

Having replaced the faulty injector, I connected the battery cables, put in some oil and tried starting the engine. No joy! The lithium battery spins the engine nicely, which is encouraging, but the ECU doesn't think it's turning at the minimum 50 RPM. OMEX suggests closing the gap between the VR sensor and the trigger wheel, and I'll check the polarity of the sensor connector wiring. It's limited progress I guess.

Shaun's wife Jill is probably about that height, and doesn't just drive their 7 but sprints it (see LF etc for her results) so definitely do-able.

Standard 'design' for many cars even through the 1980s.

... it's a bit of a show stopper. With the fuel pump wired up, I've started testing for fuel and sparks in preparation for a first start. The engine has to turn quite fast before you the OMEX gives you any sparks, which may become a problem. I'll see what the minimum cranking speed is later. The bad news is that only three out of the four injectors are working. Suzuki want £148 for a new injector, which seems pretty steep, so I've bought a complete set of second hand throttle bodies off Ebay for £125. Replace faulty injector. Fill with oil. Replace top balljoints (boot splits were an MOT advisory) Get the ECU mapped! Refit boot floor and rollover bar. Finish the handbrake linkage, test and adjust.

A hole in the thermostat is useful when filling the engine. Without it there's no way out for the air in the block (unless you crack open the heater circuit or equivalent).

The spec looks identical to the one I have, and it's fine. A balancer is a really good idea as it's a tight squeeze on the way in, so control of the 'angle of dangle' is important.

I would agree that it's better to trim the starter end as that end will have had more aggressive temperature cycles.

Crimps are more reliable than solder in an automotive application. Solder will wick down between the strands of the cable, making it stiff. Vibration will then concentrate stresses where the solder ends. In addition, unless you have access to industrial strength flux residue removal chemicals, the flux residue (which is acidic) will corrode the cable over time. If you do go with solder, use a plumbers blowtorch rather than an electric soldering iron.

The Caterham had to take second place to emergency plumbing, so progress was not as good as hoped for. I did make a nipple for the throttle cable and solder it on, so today was the first time I got to try the accelerator pedal. It's a bit on the light side, so I'll try and source some stronger springs. Finish the handbrake linkage, test and adjust. Complete fuel pump wiring and fit filler cap. Refit boot floor and rollover bar. Screw down throttle plates and refit throttle bodies. Fill with oil and coolant. Replace top balljoints (boot splits were an MOT advisory) Get the ECU mapped!

The last few blogs didn't include pictures, so here are a few to show how things are going. I was a bit worried that the throttle cable wouldn't clear the chassis, but that's looking good. I still haven't figured out how you attach a nipple to the end of the cable, but that looks manageable. I'm also still awaiting my thermostat gasket, so it will be a little delay before I know the coolant system is tight. The coolant temperature sensor has been swapped for one to suit the ECU, so the gauge wont work until I fit a second sensor somewhere.

74 degrees is much too low! I would certainly replace a thermostat routinely as they are pretty cheap and I'm putting an 88 degree thermostat in at the moment. I've never bothered with drilling a hole, but then I've always run a heater.

The hours are clocking up and the jobs get counted down. With the cylinder head bolted down, the exhaust has gone back on. The plug for a lambda sensor is completely rusted up, which is pretty disappointing, but I'll worry about that later. Rummaging through all the bits I've bought, I must have a dozen thermostat gaskets, all wrong. So what's left. Finish the handbrake linkage, test and adjust. Fit fuel tank and complete pump wiring. Refit boot floor, fuel filler and rollover bar. Screw down throttle plates and refit throttle bodies. Source thermostat gasket and refit coolant oil hoses, fill with oil and coolant. Source longer throttle cable and fit. Source new battery cable and spark plugs. Replace top balljoints (boot splits were an MOT advisory) Get the ECU mapped!

The water take went badly wrong. The epoxy didn't cure properly and failed when I tried to tighten the fitting. On the other hand some of the jobs have been knocked off the list, including the refitting of the rear wing and the fabrication of a battery tray. This leaves: Finish the handbrake linkage, test and adjust. Fit fuel tank and complete pump wiring. Refit boot floor, fuel filler and rollover bar. Fit battery tray and refit steering column. Tap cylinder head for a hot water takeoff for the heater. Bolt down cylinder head and rockers, set valve clearances. Refit exhaust and throttle bodies. Refit coolant and oil hoses, fill with oil and coolant. Source longer throttle cable and fit. Replace top balljoints (boot splits were an MOT advisory) Get the ECU mapped!

Having tried tapping a core plug and discovered it doesn't have enough material, I've hacked one out of billet aluminium. I'll epoxy it into the head, but I need to broach the delicate question of curing the head in the oven. Wish me luck!

The grip does ease off enough for me to push the car around.

The plan to tap the coreplug at the back of the cylinder for a water takeoff has hit a snag. Rummaging through the XFlow core plug set, non off them are small enough! The problem is that the alloy head uses a different size of 1 1/8". A WFSE (world famous search engine) search came up with http://www.coreplugs.co.uk which seems to stock every size and type of coreplug. The job list has actually got a bit longer, as I had forgotten that I also need to find a home for the temperature gauge sender.

Thanks for the link Ivaan. It starting to look like "They all do that Sir" to a greater or lesser extent. The fact that the spring washers are weaker is interesting. Mine ease of after a little while, so my current plan is to drive the car gently for a bit to get the pads and disks bedded in. I'm hoping that will sort it, but if not I guess the calipers will need to come apart.

The new speedo drive gear turned up in the post around lunchtime, so it was out into the garage this afternoon. With the new gear fitted, the engine and gearbox were ready to go back in. Everything went smoothly, with Debbie performing stirling service in the 'assistant mechanic' role. It's not her natural habitat, but she worked the hoist and jack without complaint. Refitting the bolts that attach the gearbox mount to the chassis is really fiddly, but taping the washer to the socket got them on the bolts. The job list is now down to: Finish the handbrake linkage, test and adjust. Fit fuel tank and complete pump wiring. Refit boot floor, fuel filler and rollover bar. Refit nearside rear wing. Fix oil leak from oil pump. Refit steering column. Tap cylinder head for a hot water takeoff for the heater. Bolt down cylinder head and rockers, set valve clearances. Refit exhaust and throttle bodies. Fabricate a new battery tray and fit battery. Refit coolant and oil hoses, fill with oil and coolant. Source longer throttle cable and fit. Refit transmission tunnel cover and gearknob. Replace top balljoints (boot splits were an MOT advisory) Get the ECU mapped! I've got a plan for the cylinder head hot water take which is basically to tap and epoxy the takeoff into the core plug of the head and then epoxy the core plug to the head. I've found an epoxy called Hysol 9492 which is good for 180C and is petrol resistant, which should do the job.

If you put in the hours, you get the results. The axle is back in (and full of oil), the hydraulics are completed and bled and the engine is back out. The seats and windscreen have been refitted, so it all looks a lot more like a car again. Unfortunately the handbrake mechanism is still proving troublesome, firstly because the axle rests on it when the suspension is on full droop, and secondly because you can't adjust it once the fuel tank and boot floor are fitted. The job list now looks like this: Finish the handbrake linkage, test and adjust. Fit fuel tank and complete pump wiring. Refit boot floor, fuel filler and rollover bar. Refit nearside rear wing. Change gearbox speedo drive to match new diff ratio. Fix oil leak from oil pump. Refit engine and gearbox, remembering to fill gearbox with oil. Refit steering column. Tap cylinder head for a hot water takeoff for the heater. Bolt down cylinder head and rockers, set valve clearances. Refit starter, alternator, exhaust and throttle bodies. Fabricate a new battery tray and fit battery. Refit coolant and oil hoses, fill with oil and coolant. Source longer throttle cable and fit. Refit gearstick, transmission tunnel cover and gearknob. Replace top balljoints (boot splits were an MOT advisory) Get the ECU mapped!