Alex Wong1697456877 Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 It was looking good. No. It was looking very good. smile.gif I'd patted myself on the back several times for the dry sump tank installation (big thanks to Mike Riley for welding the extra bits to the tank - will post photo's when I take some). Turned the key and it ran beautifully. Oil flowed around the dry sump system and no sign of the noises from the Quatermaster clutch that arnie had. (It does rattle a bit when you put your foot down on the clutch (is this engage or disengage?)) A quick peek through the cam cover oil filler saw oil sloshing about nicely. The tank showed oil returning nicely. The digital SPA guage showed 50psi.... then 60 psi.... then 10 psi.... then -20psi.... then 2 psi... you get the picture. I'm sure all is working well (the engine idled at 30psi on the dyno) but obviously I daren't drive it anywhere. Unfortunately I've lost the sender for my analogue dials so I've ordered another one. Character building, that's what it is (and a pain in the arse)! Just cancelled the MOT. sad.gif Alex Wong www.alexwong.net _________ / / ___ _/______ /_ ___ / (_) (_)/ /`-'/o/ _______ o/`-'/ / /// ( VDU7X ) / / /___/--_________/--/___/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Russell Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Alex, Congratulations and commiserations! How frustrating...... You'll just have to build up the anticipation levels again for your first drive.. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Soooo close. Does the dry sumped sys have oil pressure relief valves that can be faulty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMMO Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Alex, I had an SPA gauge on a race bike I ran in '95. I had loads of problems with the senders packing up and causing heart-stopping moments when we thought we had lost all oil pressure. They sent me about 3 sender units in a row as they kept failing. Eventually they tried to sell me the senders. At this point I took it off the bike and put a capilary gauge on which worked faultlessly. A friend tried to fit one of their digital speedos and that never worked properly either. My advice would be not to touch anything with the letters SPA written on it. AMMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red SLR Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Alex - what have you done to your engine? More BHP? X777CAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted March 23, 2001 Author Share Posted March 23, 2001 AMMO, I'm fast reaching the same conclusion about SPA stuff (even the mirrors have silly adjusting mechanisms that need the mirror to be taken off to tighten up) Simon, Have spent a minor fortune upgrading the engine and although the final power figure figure is dissapointing (it managed 234BHP when all warm and 241BHP when cooler) the shape of the curve suggests that it will only really start to fall behind more powerful cars after 7000rpm. Before 6000rpm, it looks very promising indeed. Who knows? If I get to drive it soon, I'll report back with details of exactly what's been done. Alex Edited by - Alex Wong on 23 Mar 2001 22:00:12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted March 23, 2001 Share Posted March 23, 2001 Alex, Drill 3 holes for the SPA mirrors! Two for the mounting bolts, and one to stick an allen key in the back. Prob Solved...... Regarding your email - give me a call - Sounds like your chokes are too small! Arnie Webb The Fat Bloke blush.gif in a not so Slow Vauxhall wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted March 25, 2001 Author Share Posted March 25, 2001 The Vx does have a release valve that can fail but I really don't think this is the cause because of the sporadic readings from the guage (including negative figures - I don't think the scavange pump is that good!) I'm going to have a play with Roger's mechanical external guage today. Hopefully will have good news soon. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted March 25, 2001 Author Share Posted March 25, 2001 Well, the mechanical guage reflected what the SPA was showing. It turns out I'd been a silly boy and despite thinking it through several times, I got the plumbing to the tank upside down! Thank God I didn't run it for more than a few seconds. Anyway, it's all better now so I went out for a quick drive (very short due to no tax or MOT) and I can safely say that it's picking up much more freely, but the weather was bad and I haven't driven a Seven for a bit so I took it easy. I did give it a squirt to 7000rpm in 4th and all I'll say is that I wasn't disappointed. Once it's legal and I've bedded the new Green Stuff pads in, got used to the new clutch and corrected my rather funily angled steering wheel (straight ahead on the road isn't straight ahead on the wheel - new rack). I'll give it a proper run. Then I'll report on just how much fear it induces! As ever, big thanks go to Roger and Barbara who have been vital to my being able to do the upgrades by providing the space, tools, instruction, reassurance and regular cups of tea and of course Barbara's superb cooking! A big thanks you goes to Powder Puff who helped me put the box and engine back in. Couldn't have done it without you! You'll have to try it at the ring! I don't think you'll be disappointed either. and Taz - I don't want to hear anymore about what else I can do to the car!!!!! - Cheers for pushing me this far though! teeth.gif Alex Alex Wong www.alexwong.net _________ / / ___ _/______ /_ ___ / (_) (_)/ /`-'/o/ _______ o/`-'/ / /// ( VDU7X ) / / /___/--_________/--/___/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 Thats good news Alex. Very wise not to run it for long to test the "see if it clears theory". I had a dry sump on my previous car and there was a lot of plumbing on that to take in first time. What did you save by fitting it yourself? Could we have a breakdown of costs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted March 26, 2001 Author Share Posted March 26, 2001 Dry Sump kit to suit Caterham Vx using Caterham pump and QED pan - £725 Dry sump tank 1/2 BSP fittings, approx 4.5L capacity (QED) - £85 Modifications to tank £20 Hoses - Aeroquip SH925 and fittings (ThinkAuto) - £70 Total - £900 (ex VAT) What does a Caterham system cost these days? I think it's about £1500 so approx £600 saved, mainly by not using their bellhousing and not having to go to a hydraulic clutch. Alex Alex Wong www.alexwong.net _________ / / ___ _/______ /_ ___ / (_) (_)/ /`-'/o/ _______ o/`-'/ / /// ( VDU7X ) \/ / /___/--_________/--/___/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 Alex, Congrats you bugger, I expect to get mine rolling in a couple of weeks can get scared together... Alan L7 FUN NotSoLightVx - but with 262.5Bhp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted March 27, 2001 Author Share Posted March 27, 2001 I've just looked up the list price of a Caterham system - 1700GBP. I saved 800 quid with my setup. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now