STEVE GILBERT

Correct torque is 14-18lbf.ft I have a proper Ford WS manual here. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Me too please. See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

I fitted an English axle to my Fireblade. Pretty easy actually. The 3.54:1 is also better suited to the engine as it might actually hit the limiter in top at about 120 something The handbrake was a non issue for me as I used the same sierra calipers that were on the Ital axle disc brake conversion, on the English disc brake conversion I flared out the transmission tunnel with a scissor jack. Came out really well. You would never know it had been done. Arch did the Axle case and as you would expect, it was spot on. Not expensive either. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Exactly how I felt after I built the LSD into the Sierra Diff. It was actually very easy, especially the second time as first time round the driveshafts wouldn't go in and I had to take it all to bits again and get the centre of the TranX machined out! Enjoy. See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

When you have this sorted mate, if you'd like to come and pick up the alloy case I have had under the bench for rather too long and re-build it with my 3.54:1 plus new LSD I'd be very pleased thanks 😬 As I never seem to use the sodding Fireblade, there seems little point getting on with it myself See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Can't you get a ford manual? I used one when I put the LSD in my De dion car and the bearing pre-load was set by nipping up the side bearings then going an extra 4-5 teeth on the bearing housing. Once pre-loaded it was trial and error to get the right side to side position correct to give the exact backlash i.e back one side off a bit then wind the other up by an equal ammount. The other thing is I can't believe the alloy case will deform in the same way as the Iron one. I'd be tempted to do it like I did the Sierra diff. Also how are you setting the pinion depth? See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Have you talked to Redline Components? Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

I know it's a nescessary evil, but these things really spoil the lines of the car no matter how tidy the install. Just MHO as you ask and I fully understand the need. I like the Duratec thread with thoughts about big (ish) power from a single throttle body. The way noise restrictions are going I'd be thinking along these lines in the future. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

My thoughts here: http://www.blatchat.com/T.asp?id=22446 I sold the car to my brother (who still has it) in 2003. Since then he has done about 20k and the diff is still silent. I'd buy one again. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

I cast a foam race type seat inside my passenger Tillet for my 8yo Works a treat and fits like a glove. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Not track consumption to be fair but exclusive use at max blatting speed sees 31mpg out of the fireblade 😬 We take the piss out of brother Tony in his 190zetec as he can typically go only half as far at the same pace. I think he has tanker escort. Blade might drop to 20's on track Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

So you have stipped and cleaned twice and it's still the same, and are now going to do it again Have you followed any of the advice r.e jets/needles/ballancing and have you identified if it has a dynojet kit fitted or not? Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

As I said before try dropping the needles 1 clip position and see what effect it has. This takes about 20mins. I assume you have the basics sorted like ballanced carbs and idle mixture? If not do that first. I also think 144 is too big. Check they havent been drilled out even more by some muppet by trying to insert a 1.5mm drill (pretty common size) As I said before blades will run on oversize jets but I don't think they need to be that big. The dynojet kit recommends 132 for rrw and my visits to emerald have seen that they have it pretty much spot on in terms of power against larger sizes Most bike shops keep jets in stock and its 20mins to change them too. Just use some dumpy well fitting screwdrivers and drain the bowls first. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

There is a joke in there somewhere... See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

And I'm pretty sure I have a spare set in the loft if you need to borrow some for a bit. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

If it has a dynojet kit the slide springs will be a sensible length and not 3feet long. You can also set needle height via circlip position. Std needles are of fixed length. It should have main jets in the region of 128 to 132 (mine are132 although Steve Ellis had 128's in an engine that made 150bhp) and the central air bypass should be blanked off. Experiment with the needle height. This is responsible for mixture in the range you are having issues with. Bogging down is often over rich. It was not unusual for these cars to have the main jets drilled. The Blade engine will run with very over rich mixture but the difference between a properly set up car and a bodged up one is amazing. My car pulls cleanly from 2k, made something like 138.9hp at emerald on 98ron and can give 40odd to the gallon. Also check that all the diaphrams are in good order, set the idle mixture and get some decent kit to balance the carbs. See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

IMHO the Nova coupling is a very good design, and as Dave says, has an integral centre bearing so it runs true. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Easy-ish Just follow the instructions on the caerbont website here: http://www.caigauge.com/speedofitold.htm Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

No longer needed due to upgrade Standard electronic speedo with the 4 dip switches for adjusting to wheel/diff size Taken from a 2002 build car. Min condition showing 5733.7 miles £75 and happy to post. Steve 07734 004753 See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

I found the best way to do these is with a colourtune, great way to see what's 'going on' Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Oh and another thing, Check the rear hub nuts are done up. Back the two grubscrews right off first though and then do them up again after otherwise you force the bearings down the shafts and bust any tack welds off that may be on there. I have seen the 1/2 shafts shatter around the keyway allowing the shafts to spin in the hubs, normally indicated by a bunch of swarfe in the 'bowl' of the hub, around the nut. Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Bent Half shafts? Jack the back up and see how much runout there is on the wheels. When I had an Ital axle in mine with the Alloy hubs/disc brakes, the runout on mine by the time you put the wheels on was awful. When I scrapped the Ital in favour of the English Axle I had the 1/2 shafts trued on a big lathe so they were absolutely spot on. The wheels now spin with no runout. Other things could be sloppy wheel bearings, bent wheels, loose reverse box, knackered hardy spicer joints, flat spots on tyres etc etc etc HTH Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Do a search on 'progression Holes' It's all been done before Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.

Right then, bit of a long shot. Dannyboy wanting a cable driven one has prompted me to get this sorted I need a new speedo for the Fireblade as since changing the rear Axle to a Ford, with a lower ratio, it now over reads. The speedo I have has no dip switches in the back to set it up and I have a feeling the ones fitted to the K engined cars may well have had these to cope with differing wheels/diff ratios etc Anyone got one with the switches for sensible ammounts of beer tokens? See My Caterham Fireblade Here. Edited by - steve gilbert on 3 Apr 2007 19:16:40

Mark You should treat yourself, much less common than your current drive Steve See My Caterham Fireblade Here.