alan c

I am not an expert by any means but afraid to say that does not look to good to me. Sure it can be welded but will it be true and square enough to go back on the block? Guess all you can do is take it along to a welder and see what he has to say. If you want some measurements taken on a good one let me know, right now my engine is broken down into all its parts for a rebuild so easy to measure the sump. Did you get the sheared bolt out of the block ok?

Does anyone know if the baffle from QED will fit/work in the Caterham wet sump? Would like to get rid of the foam if I can

Not sure about the number of bolts but in addition to all the vertical bolts there are two horizontal ones going into bell housing. No dowels should pull apart fairly easily once all the bolts are out. You will need two new gaskets to put it all back and unless it's very new a foam baffle as well. Putting it all back is a bit of a juggle, use four lengths of suitably sized stud to locate it all loosely then add the other bolts and finally replace studs with last four bolts and it's easier.

For the timing belt you need to know the engine number as there are two types of belt.

Hi Sorry to jump in but have been reading this with interest as I am thinking about getting some head work done on my car overt the winter. Currently running the Stage 1 Swindon set up but with TB's now in place of the carbs. It is delivering about 195 bhp and I would like to get the 218bhp ( or slightly higher) that Caterham claimed for this engine. Would work on head and manifold alone be enough to get the extra bhp I am after or would I have to do other work as well? Alan

Hi, I converted mine in stages over a period of a few years. First I went to 3D mapping but did this with a full loom and ECU that could go to full injection. I subsequently went to full injection. The move to 3D was the most dramatic in terms of change, no real gain in power but used a lot less fuel. Full injection is more driveable. I think you could do the first stage for less than £2k, you need a loom, ECU and a mapping session plus you have to deal with the distributor. For full injection you add the cost of the injectors and you need to make changes to the tank/pump and another mapping session. The carbs would sell quickly but have a look at the Northampton Motorsport website they now convert them to run fuel injection. Not sure about cost difference v buying new TB's but you keep the look of having carbs. If you plan on going to the Alps make sure you add the pressure sensor, it's not expensive. Without it my car would not run properly once I got higher up and it certainly wouldn't idle without my foot on the throttle. alan

Hi I run 205/50 on my 15in Dymags, that is the size on the car when I got it, did consider going down to 195 but was worried about difference front to back with 225 being what I assume was "standard" for the rear. I have the original invoice that does quote sizes so I guess I could check what was originally supplied if that helps. With regards to wing stays I ran the standard wings on the stays for larger 15/16in wheels but I have had them cut down by about 15mm to get the wings a little closer to the wheel. I had this done with the wings in situ but probably better to take them off and get a better job done as I have broken the welds twice, both times accidentally leaning on them whilst doing some maintenance.

Hi thanks for the comments. Oil consumption has not increased so far as I can see and no blue smoke so fairly sure it's not a piston ring issue. I will have another look at the exhaust manifold but couldn't see anything when I looked over the weekend. I think the oil level is correct and as I had it before but I will add some more and see if that makes any difference. Worst that can happen is that any excess goes out via the breather pipe. I will let you know how I get on. Alan

I have a VX16 V running on Mobil 15/50 as it's been doing for some time. Oil, filter, foam baffle were all changed a few weeks ago and car has been running fine. But a few days ago it developed a fairly lound but intermittent ticking noise. It has Jenvey TB's and there has always been a faint ticking noise that I assume is from the injectors but this noise is louder when it appears. It's not present when idling . I have been watching the oil pressure and it seems to be normal, close to 60 lb/ft when running, dropping to 40 as I slow down and can go as low as 20 at idle. Gauge is mechanical so I don't think its a sensor problem. Apart from the noise the car is running well. Any thoughts as to what I should be looking for? Cannot see anything obvious, could it be an issue with the hydraulic tappets and if so is there a better grade oil to use? alan

Hi - sorry for delay but we were away in Italy. The suppliers of the small pads for the handbrake calliper are:- Robert Cupitt Ltd. Tel no 01926 411544 which is in Warwick. The callipers are Tolomatic commonly used on fork lift trucks. The pad material is sold separately so you need to ask what they recommend to fix it to the backing once you have cleaned off the old material. They were very helpful when I called and they are not expensive, cannot recall precise cost but few pounds each at most. if yours operate as well as mine they work once a year for the MOT (just) but only if you adjust them so very little play then you need to back them off or they make a noise all the time. Alan

Cannot comment on those tyres but I ran Toyo R1R for a while in 205/15 and found them a great all round tyre. If you are quick you might still find some around. If you every hear of a single or even a pair of the Dymag 15x7 rims I would be very interested. alan

Hi - I have the same rear set up and I have some spare pads. I cannot access the paperwork for a few days but if you can wait I can send you the details of the supplier. I got them last year so it was recent, supplier was very helpful. alan

Hi i run my car on a set of Dymag wheels and I am sure they are 7in fronts and 8in rears. Actual tyre sizes are 205/50 15 front and 225/50 15 at the rear. Choice of tyres for the rear is getting limited. i have a spare front wheel and have been looking for ages to get one more then I could run 205/50 all round. cheers alan

You can definitely get the same light from Maplin for less, bought one last year to replace one I broke while packing the boot and I am sure it was circa £10. You should install with an inline resistor and if my memory is correct you need 22 ohm. I am told you need this to prevent the LED lights burning out, it's worked like this on my car for many years

Correct with mirrors on the screen frame you cannot open the door fully. I had a set of Racetech mirrors and mounts that go in place of one of the bolts and got fed up with them as I kept accidentally moving them when i opened the door. I still have that if you want to experiment. i then changed to Racetech mirrors on the door and have just replaced them with slightly larger GT mirrors. They seem to hold position better and vibrate a lot less than the standard mirrors. I can show you all options at Penn at the end of the month if you want. cheers alan

No need to change mine when I installed the FIA bar. alan

On the cable you should also check where the cable comes out of the pedel box. On mine when I got it there was a fairly sharp angle that restricted movement. I seem to recall there was a mod that added a small pulley for the cable to go over at that point. I have sorted mine by changing to throttle bodies

Thanks everyone Mobil 1 15w50 is now in the car. Also replaced the foam baffle, luckily I had some helping hands to put the baffle, gaskets etc back. Somehow I did this before on my own with the car jacked up at one end only - no idea how i did then it was hard enough with help.

Thanks all clear now will go with the Mobil 1 for now as that is what I have. Just concerned as I has seen the SBD site and had other different advice.

what is the general view on correct grade of oil to use in a VX. It is the Caterham 218 spec but actually delivers just under 200 bhp. Useage is nearly all road use. I have seen conflicting advice so asking BC Thanks

Ok thanks will go for 2A, cable to where the fuse will go is rated at higher than that so should be ok.

I installing a Peltor intercom and will be using the battery eliminator so that I don't need to worry about replacing the 9V battery. I want to install an inline fuse in the power supply but I cannot see anything in the instructions suggesting a capacity for a fuse and so far their technical dept have not replied to my query. Would a 2A radio fuse be appropriate? Alan

I managed to change my car from carbs to throttle bodies without changing the engine mounts if that is of any help. alan

Hi - emails sent as I have some instruction on how to do this that I was given some time ago. No idea how to attach a word file to the email link from here so if you reply I will send it back. Alan

Spotted by the mrs at dartford crossing circa 3.45 today. Chaos apparently and she was very worried you. Hope you got to destination safe and sound.