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.

Bit late posting but followed you from junction 4 to 2 (in a S-Max). I'm a fellow Q-DPF but 50 more.

Andy Work is very busy - hence the rather neglected Caterham. We are riding the Central London high-end residential wave which, with the amount of foreign investment coming in, is very buoyant at the moment. I’m sure it can’t last, but we’re making hay while the sun shines. I was last on the track 18 months ago at Silverstone. The car is beginning to feel a bit underpowered these days as the opposition appears to get more powerful each successive year. I’ve turned my attention to push-bikes (I know it’s considered rather heretical by some on here). Currently done 3,500 miles this year; probably about 10 times more than I’ve done in the Caterham. I’m looking at booking Herne Hill Velodrome next year for a jolly to coincide with the Tour coming to London, so if you have been known to ride then drop me a line.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not going to get the opportunity to look at it again for a few weeks, so I'll report back if I have any success. Thanks all.

Spark plugs were changed a couple of months ago but it has worked since. The reason I was trying to get it going was I wanted to change the alternator as the old one was getting lazy. This I have done anyway, so it is brand new. However it was not starting yesterday morning before I changed the alternator. I've tried to jump-start it so although the battery is fairly old it's not the problem. The reason I think the spark is weak is its colour - red/orange rather than blue/white and the lack of an audible crack when sparking.

Simple problem, my xflow won't start. Was working fine a few weeks ago when I last used it, but went to use it yesterday and it just won't start. Fuel is flowing, battery is fine, starter is turning the engine over, spark plugs are new, HT leads look fine, I'm getting a spark but it is perhaps a little weak. Bit perplexed as to why it's not catching. Anyone got any thoughts?

Geoff I bumped into some guys this evening who are doing this day who twisted my arm about taking part. Are there any spaces left? Also, is there any chance I could I could join mid morning - I'm not a track day expert but I've been on a fair few and can acquit myself perfectly well. Tim

Paul Has ramp monkey taken all 3 ital wheels? If the unused single one is not taken I'll take it, as long as it have conical nut seats and not flat ones. Happy to take it with or without a tyre. Tim

I wasn't picking sides just giving an alterative - my car owes a lot to both Rob and Chris - the engine had a bottom end rebuild by Rob 5 years ago and the front of the car was put back together by Chris last year after a little hishap.

Or Ratrace in Potters Bar.

£2.00 - £1.69 here