Tiny Tim

Because I have four HPC wheels but only three good tyres! I am rebuilding an HPC and want to use the original wheels to begin with to get the car on the road and then wait for Upgraditus to hit.

Anybody got a Michelin Pilot SX 205/45/16 with a good amount of tread left? Edited by - Tiny Tim on 22 Jan 2004 22:28:46

Thanks for the advice.If I 'glue' them in will I be able to get them out at a later date if need be?

I have noticed that the spherical bearing in one of my lower wishbones is not a tight fit and can be moved very slightly in the housing without the circlip fitted. Is this correct? How tight should these fit? Is this throw away wishbone time? Any advice appreciated. Tim

James, YHM re seats and boot cover. Regards Tim

Paul, Ok, hope you are able to sell the other two tyres, Please email me when you are ready and we can arrange for me to collect the tyre. I see that you are in Sussex, I am in Dorset, so not too far away. Regards, Tim

James, I would be interested in the seats as well but would want the seats complete with headrests. Are they in good condition? Do you have any photos? I presume they are plain black? What sort of price are you looking for? I would also be interested in the boot cover if again it is in good condition. Regards, Tim Edited by - Tiny Tim on 7 Dec 2003 21:17:40

Paul, I am rebuilding a crash damaged HPC myself. I have four 16" wheels from the original car, 2 front with good tyres, 1 'as new' spare and 1 rear with a worn tyre. I have decided to have the new chassis built without a spare wheel carrier (due next week!) and therefore only need the four wheels. Therefore I only really need to buy one replacement tyre. Your 'as new' spare would perfectly complement my 'as new' spare to make two new rear tyres. I do not intend to do thousands of miles a year and would not really need any additional spare tyres as ultimately I may change to smaller wheels and 'sticky' tyres. Have a think about it and let me know if you would be willing to sell the spare only or email me offline to discuss. Regards, Tim

I am interested in the 1 off nearly new. Do you know how old it is? Tim

Is the boot cover for standard or FIA roll bar? Tim

Steve, YHM Tim

Dave, May be interested in the 'ears'. Have sent you an email. Tim Edited by - Tiny Tim on 18 Sep 2003 22:48:33

The original car has been 'written off' and can only be broken for parts. (Category B write off apparently). Therefore I am told I can not re-use the existing chassis number or registration number. I have the complete car at the moment and am dismantling it myself but I have to give the chassis, which is badly twisted, back to the breakers. The only way to get a new chassis number is to buy a Starter kit from Caterham.

I have bought a number of parts from a crash damaged ’97 HPC including the engine which is a Vauxhall 16V on twin 45 Webers and a 4-1 exhaust. The intention is to build a new HPC Seven by installing these parts into a new Starter Kit, which I will have to put through SVA. The Problem I am having problems proving the age of the engine. Unlike normal Vauxhall engines there is no 20XE xxxx number on the rear left hand bellhousing flange (anybody know why this might be?). The engine is in v.good condition (only 21K miles), has a coil pack instead of a distributor and is currently on an MBE 906 Ignition management unit. I suspect that this is a later engine and my understanding of SVA is that if the engine is later than July ’95 or I cannot prove the engine age the SVA emission test will be against the more stringent limits. I have approached Caterham and given them the original car's details but they say they did not supply this particular engine and cannot give me a letter to confirm it’s age. I am not sure about this as the engine has all the hallmarks of a Caterham including Cam Cover, wet sump, inlet manifold, bellhousing etc. I also thought that all Vauxhall engines on carbs were pre ’93 but apparently this is not strictly true? Solutions? Does anybody have any experience of putting a Vauxhall engine through SVA? Particularly a post ’95 unit. What can I do as a minimum to get this combination through SVA (on emissions and noise)? I would very much like to retain the Webers and the 4-1-exhaust system. Would an upgrade to 3D ignition management system help? Will I have to use a catalytic converter? If so can I fit one with the 4-1 exhaust (and possibly remove it later!) and will it be OK with the Webers? Or will I have to go to injection and catalytic converter. I would probably have considered an upgrade to throttle bodies at some time in the future but have certainly not included for it in the current budget. Any other suggestions to help? Thanks Tim

Anthony, YHM Tim

I have just measured my Caterham bellhousing on my VX 16V XE. The depth is probably a little under 175mm but the clutch arm is at about 1 o'clock if viewed from the gearbox end of the bellhousing i.e. on the same side as the pedal box. Hope this helps

Anthony Is the exhaust system complete? i.e. 4 individual primary pipes, collector and silencer? if so how old and in what condition? Is this system 'road legal'? It sounds very similar to the damaged system on the VX HPC I am trying to rebuild but I will have to put the 'new' car through SVA and am worried about noise and emissions! Cheers Tim

Thanks for the advice. I do have removable diagonals. The engine is in a 96/97 'P' reg car (accident damaged). I am not sure if it was from Caterham but it does have the Caterham sump, inlet manifold, bellhousing, cam cover etc, so I assume it was. Looks like I need to make up the other lifting bracket and I might well remove the Webers just to make sure I don't damage them. Not to worried about the chassis as it will be ditched (twisted) and I intend to put the engine and gearbox into a new chassis from Caterham. But I am taking lots of piccys in preparation for the rebuild!

I need to remove a Vauxhall 16V engine and gearbox from a Seven. I will use an engine hoist, but what is the best way of lifting the engine? There appears to be a lifting eye on the coil pack bracket on the rear RH corner of the head and a threaded hole for fixing a suitable bracket (that I do not have) on the opposite LH front corner. Should I use a chain and hooks on these lifting positons or sling/ropes around the sump/bellhousing or maybe both for safety? The engine has twin 45 Webers fitted. Should I leave these on or take them off before I take the engine out? Any advice gratefully received.

Paul, Thanks for your help. I will try and contact Andy on Monday. I am hoping to use eEngine, gearbox and diff all from the same 'donor' car and wonder if I might be able to get an 'age' plate rather than a 'Q' plate. Will contact DVLA next week as well! Tim

Vauxhall 2.0 16V XE? Some help/advice please (be gentle this is my first posting!) I am looking into the possibility of bulding a new Seven from a starter kit using a Caterham Vauxhall 2.0 16V engine which has come from a crashed (written off) Caterham circa 1996/97. (P reg) My understanding is I that I will have to put the completed car through the SVA test before registration and for the emissions test I will have to prove the date of manufacture of the engine which will need to be before Aug 95 if I am to use the engine I have which has carbs and doesn't have a catalyser. I know that you would normally get the age from the engine number via the manufacturer but as this is a Caterham engine I can only find a Caterham number (VX#####) on the engine which was presumably put on the engine when it was supplied with the original car in 1997. i.e. this gives the supply date not the manufacturing date. Q1. Do Caterham Vauxhall engines retain a Vauxhall number or engine type ID. If so, where is it on the engine? Q2. Were all the Caterham Vauxhall engines based on the XE type engine? Some people have told me this engine wasn't manufactured after 1993. Q3. Does anybody know a telephone number or address for technical help at Vauxhall as ultimately I will need to provide documentary proof of the engine age. Thanks in advance