AlastairA Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Just to confirm : Short -ve lead to the chassis earth to the left of the battery. Long -ve lead to a Bell Housing bolt (as someone above said - I initially put it on the right hand side but CC moved it away from the primaries to one of the bolts at the middle-top of the Bell Housing). Didn't have any issues with nuts on the Starter Motor though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Me too, it felt wrong filing off the PC. Never mind, I can spend an hour this weekend unbolting the engine mount, painting the filed down bit and then reblotting the engine having loosened off all the other engine bolts as it will have shifted 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 28 minutes ago, Ainsley said: Me too, it felt wrong filing off the PC. Never mind, I can spend an hour this weekend unbolting the engine mount, painting the filed down bit and then reblotting the engine having loosened off all the other engine bolts as it will have shifted 🙂 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Hutton Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Well done Ainsley. The build is a real pleasure because of these diversions.........well it is retrospectively! Have you done the headlights yet? That was the worst job by far!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCol Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 3 hours ago, Graham Hutton said: The build is a real pleasure because of these diversions......... ain’t that the truth… 🤔 but needs the benefit of hindsight to appreciate this being the case! 3 hours ago, Graham Hutton said: Have you done the headlights yet? That was the worst job by far!! and so’s that! 🤔 bar putting the diff in single-handledly, it was the worst bit of the build - a right bitch of a job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Actually I found the Diff straight forward, simple and not a problem at all. Jack + hoist, and bolt it in all on my own. I took the carrier off first to measure the necessary washers. The only fiddly bit was fitting the last of the washers to space it out. Not done the front lights yet, that's Sunday after doing the front wings Saturday. Tonight its filling the diff with oil and finishing off the boot, boot carpet and washer bottle. But I reckon if I take it steady, plan out the steps and look at a few blogs as well as the instructions I will be fine. I'm actually enjoying it. Despite putting the heater in twice, the steering column in twice, fitting an earth strap in the wrong place and putting the passenger seat in/out/in/out and finally in. Basically I enjoy building it and problem solving. Sure, the instructions could be better, but I also like the fact that you still have to think it through to get the finished result. Not just read and do without thinking. Suits me, but I can see it wont suit everyone. Having to think it through will mean when its finished I will have achieved more than if the whole thing was as easy as a Lego kit. That my philosophy 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 22 Member Share Posted March 22 29 minutes ago, Ainsley said: Basically I enjoy building it and problem solving. Sure, the instructions could be better, but I also like the fact that you still have to think it through to get the finished result. Not just read and do without thinking. Suits me, but I can see it wont suit everyone. Having to think it through will mean when its finished I will have achieved more than if the whole thing was as easy as a Lego kit. We moved house and the Seven had to be stored elsewhere for six months. My wife wanted to ask the Club if someone would come and take it apart and put it into cardboard boxes so that I could have the pleasure of building it again. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Ha - that's actually a great idea ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Hutton Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 That IS a great idea! I keep thinking of building another one and a rebuild could be the perfect solution. II found the diff fairly easy too once I took the boot floor out. I used some pin punches in the bolt holes to get it suspended easily before taking one out at a time and bolting up. The headlights will be fine as long as you have 3 hands, each with 7 long fingers. They were a bit sniffy about the alignment of them at the IVA and it is not the easiest to adjust because when you undo the 22mm nut, everything just goes floppy. I marked the necessary alignment on the inside of my garage door with masking tape and set the beam pattern up. It passed the test, just! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Well I will get Caterham Silverstone to do the PBC, so they can faff about with lining up the headlights (and anything else I've done wrong) 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCol Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Just now, Ainsley said: Well I will get Caterham Silverstone to do the PBC, so they can faff about with lining up the headlights (and anything else I've done wrong) 🙂 You’d think they’d do that wouldn’t you…? Guess what, amongst other things you’d have thought they’d check, my post-PBC car failed its initial IVA for… 🤦🏻♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 I'm their favourite customer, so they will sort me out right and proper ! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted March 23 Area Representative Share Posted March 23 On 22/03/2024 at 08:22, Ainsley said: Actually I found the Diff straight forward, simple and not a problem at all. Jack + hoist, and bolt it in all on my own. I took the carrier off first to measure the necessary washers. The only fiddly bit was fitting the last of the washers to space it out. Not done the front lights yet, that's Sunday after doing the front wings Saturday. Tonight its filling the diff with oil and finishing off the boot, boot carpet and washer bottle. But I reckon if I take it steady, plan out the steps and look at a few blogs as well as the instructions I will be fine. I'm actually enjoying it. Despite putting the heater in twice, the steering column in twice, fitting an earth strap in the wrong place and putting the passenger seat in/out/in/out and finally in. Basically I enjoy building it and problem solving. Sure, the instructions could be better, but I also like the fact that you still have to think it through to get the finished result. Not just read and do without thinking. Suits me, but I can see it wont suit everyone. Having to think it through will mean when its finished I will have achieved more than if the whole thing was as easy as a Lego kit. That my philosophy 🙂 You are lucky having the 'IKEA' build manual to go by. At least it has pictures, albeit some are not quite up to scratch as are the written instructions. My three builds were all done using the 'Assembly Guide'. And it was just that !! Very few pictures, some upside down, no amendments to cover the car one is building. My 1994 1.4K 'Assembly Guide' was very much centred on a Crossflow car with no instructions for the K Series installation & very little concerning the new ish front suspension set up. On a daily basis CC faxed me updated pages as & when they had them. Otherwise I logically muddled through. A VHS video with Jez Coates explaining the build accompanied my 1.4K kit. Entertaining, yes. Instructional, maybe. Even as late as 2012 the 'Guide' in places was a triumph of non information. But that was the 'joy' of a build - in hindsight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 23 Member Share Posted March 23 And of course the Web changed everything. If anyone doesn't know about the Assembly Guides: Caterham now provide the "IKEA"/ pictorial style Assembly Guide and the Owner's Handbook, and these can be downloaded from their site. I have a large collection of the old style text-heavy Assembly Guides, and Owner's Handbooks, wiring diagrams, amendments, Workshop Notices etc and they're all available free to all Members. Please send me a Private Message if you want anything. For new builders I strongly recommend having both types of Assembly Guide. And a group of us are looking at how to improve the availability of technical information to Members, so please let us know if you have any suggestions. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCol Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 1 hour ago, Geoff Brown said: Even as late as 2012 the 'Guide' in places was a triumph of non information. But that was the 'joy' of a build - in hindsight. In retrospect, it was a rite of passage to have succeeded! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Riches Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 No Assembly guide back when I bought mine. But these cars have certainly become more complicated. And just as an aside, when I worked at an automotive instrument repair place someone came in for a new speedo cable, which was fried, as he had forgotten to connect the engine earth to the battery, oh dear. Never mind sounds like you are having fun and learning stuff as you go, keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 24 Member Share Posted March 24 22 hours ago, BigCol said: In retrospect, it was a rite of passage to have succeeded! At the end of the post-build inspection I got "OK". I've never been prouder of any achievement with an inanimate object. Jonathan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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