MusCat

Battery - any old 12V/41AH will do. Spark plugs - B8ECS (0.6mm gap). These can foul easially if you do a lot of sitting in traffic jams so 7s can be better for that type of driving. Oil - Valvoline VR1 - 20W50. Use a mineral oil and don't use modern synthetic oils as the tolerances in an x-flow are not good and modern oils are too thin to protect the engine properly. Oil filter - don't know - but checking on online would suggest an EFL500 would do it - can't you look at the one that's on the car?

Are there any ferries left?

Yes, it was news to me. I used the Esbjerg servvice a few times in my youth and also the 36hr Harwich Oslo service which stopped off at the top of Denmark - it was cheap but it was slow. I suppose the Swedes and Norwegians can still go Oslo Newcastle.

Sold to a Danish gentleman, who in the best Scandinavian tradition, is slightly crazy. After a week or two of email correpsondance, he flew over Saturday morning, saw it, bought it, filled it with every spare part I had (including a wheel on the passenger seat and 4 wheels strapped to rollbar), set off after lunch and drove it 800 miles back to Denmark getting home at 7pm Sunday. There are now no direct ferries to Denmark so the shortest route is via Hook of Holland. The only problem was that the indicators packed up - an intermittant problem from a few years back that decided to resurface. Not bad for a 26 year old car. I'm begining to wonder why I got rid of it.

I've got a old school bullet camera set-up - the type that you plug into a camcorder - that I not longer use. I'm not sure if anyone bothers with these any more as cameras are so cheap but if it is of any use to anyone I'm happy to pass it on in return for a donation to Nuke-the-Luke. Tim

Mine is available - see for sale.

I'm taking a break. It's just not getting used enough to justify it. And without the pleasure of using it regularly, the attention it needs tends to be a bit of a hassle. Rather than it rot away, I'd like someone else to enjoy it. My commitments and interests have changed over the years. Recently I analysed what I needed in a second car - 4 seats, 4WD, roof bars, tow hook, good mpg - about as far removed from the Caterham as you could imagine and a duplicate of the current sprog-mobile. So dull. Work is keeping me busy - we are on a bit of a roll at the moment. If you are in town drop me a line and we can catch up - we're still in Kings Cross but not for long. Since we've been here it's gone up in the world and is getting a bit pricy for us, so we are moving on to take advantage of lower rents in a new up and coming sh1t hole. Tim

1989 Crossflow for sale After 10 years of ownership it’s time to part with my Caterham. In summary it's a nicely spec'ed unmolested older Caterham in good condition. Photos at http://www.lotus7.club/blogs/time-sell £9,000 1989 1700cc Supersprint Q plate 41,870 miles MOT to Oct 15 Chassis/Body BRG with yellow nose – green bits resprayed 2011 Long cockpit FIA roll bar and petty bar Live axle (Ital) Newer front suspension dating from c.1994 Front/rear brake bias control Minilites with 185x60x13 A021Rs Engine/Gear Box 1700cc crossflow on twin weber 45s Dry sump Battery cut off Powerspeed 5” exhaust (98db when new) Omex rev-limiter 5 speed gear box Inside Adjustable leather pre-s-type seats 6 point harnesses (crotch strap not fitted to passenger side but available) Removable steering with controls for indicators, flash & wipers Heated windscreen Hood and side screens Tonneau (with hole for petty bar) Windscreen stanchion mounted wing mirrors Under-dash handbrake No heater Spares Fire extinguisher Set of track wheels and tyres - 4 black steel Weller wheels with A021Rs 2 further track tyres - A021Rs Tatty in-door cover Alternative spare wheel Fluids Numerous odds and sods If you are interested either Blatmail me or call on 07801 497146 Tim

Many thanks.

Could some kind person tell me the order of the HT leads going into a side entry distributor cap on a 1700 xflow. Placing the cap on a flat surface with the 5 connections facing you my understanding is that as the firing order is 1-2-4-3 and the arm goes counterclockwise the order should be: Top right 1 Top left 2 Bottom left 4 Bottom right 3 Can anyone confirm this? Also what is the specification would a suitable new battery. Thanks

BTTT Any interest? Any comments? Tim

After 10 years of ownership it’s time to part with my Caterham. In summary it's a nicely spec'ed unmolested older Caterham in good condition. Photos here £9,000 1989 1700cc Supersprint Q plate 41,870 miles Tax to May 15 MOT to Oct 15Chassis/Body BRG with yellow nose – green bits resprayed 2011 Long cockpit FIA roll bar and petty bar Live axle (Ital) Newer front suspension dating from c.1994 Front/rear brake bias control Minilites with 185x60x13 A021RsEngine/Gear Box 1700cc crossflow on twin weber 45s Dry sump Battery cut off Powerspeed 5” exhaust (98db when new) Omex rev-limiter 5 speed gear boxInside Adjustable leather pre-s-type seats 6 point harnesses (crotch strap not fitted to passenger side but available) Removable steering with controls for indicators, flash & wipers Heated windscreen Hood and side screens Tonneau (with hole for petty bar) Windscreen stanchion mounted wing mirrors Under-dash handbrake No heaterSpares Fire extinguisher Set of track wheels and tyres - 4 black steel Weller wheels with A021Rs 2 further track tyres - A021Rs Tatty in-door cover Alternative spare wheel Fluids Numerous odds and sodsIf you are interested either Blatmail me or call on 07801 497146

A couple of numpty questions about front brakes: I've got a 1989 live axle - would a di-dion car from 1991 have the same front brakes calipers? Also are front brake calipers the same both sides or do they differ from the left and right sides? Thanks Tim

I have a pile of Low Flyings dating back to early 2005 if anyone wants them. You will need to collect from West London. BM me if you are interested. Tim Edited by - MusCat on 6 Feb 2014 16:22:06

On a walk around Ealing this morning I spotted a Ferrari 275GTB casually parked in someone's drive - if I was allowed only one car but it could be any one, this would be on the very short list. Ealing must be going up in the world.