Build times

[Roadsport06]

I got my kit on Monday and I have the next two weeks off. BUT, it is taking me ages to get the smallest jobs done. eg. The front suspension is only half finished (not my fault though as Caterham didnt supply the top arms, the steering is in and I have just put the dedion ears on the tube and bent the brake pipes. I did put in the diff but forgot the prop shaft and cant take it out until a friend comes back from work.

I am a complete beginner on this but did others find it as slow going as me?

[caterhamnut]

James, I suspect just about everyone who has started such a job for the first time has the same issues/delays as you! Good on you for doing it - I expect the satisfaction of building your own will be huge.

I know how long it takes to take them apart again.... 😬

 

www.mycaterham.com

here

91,000 miles -1st 1.6k Supersport, '95 Motor Show car

[Tim Broyd]

Good luck James. I got my kit last August bank holiday and also found out the hard way why the manual suggests inserting the prop shaft before installing the diff. Doh! All I can say is that the second time was sooooooo much quicker.

 

My build took 3 months - but I only had weekends and had to fit in around my family as well. The time goes very quickly

 

 

Tim B

[Sheds Moderator]

James, chin up, take your time and make sure you enjoy it. *smile*It's not a race and you will get better at these things. We have all had bad days when messing with cars and even those of us who like to think we are capable of tackling anything have off days and setbacks. I am currently having a terrible time with a 2cv's brakes for a friend, and I'm supposed to be good at this stuff.

 

When you get fed up, do something else for an hour and come back. Sit in the seat making vrooming noises 😬 and think about how great it's going to be when it runs and you can say "I built it myself"

[Paul Formston]

Hi James, Forgive me if im wrong but why if you haven't got the engine and gearbox in yet feed the prop down the tunnel from the front, or is the flang on the diff end of the prop to big its a long time since iv'e done it but just a thought. But as for taking a long time I now what you mean, I had the suspension all together within a day of the kit turning up but couldn't put it on its wheels because Caterham had a sortage on the frout uprights, so had to wait a mouth, then I waited 10 weeks for Gems engine management so ended up getting Emerald (Just as Good) any way good luke Regards Paul

[Tim Broyd]

Paul - the prop flange won't fit in from the front. I tried - believe me I tried!!! *eek*

 

Tim B

[Mick Day]

Took me 4 days to strip my 12 year old car down to a bare chassis keeping the tunnel, rear suspension/prop shaft plus the wiring loom. Luckily v little corrosion so decided to paint the bottom rails with 2 pack paint. Got the chassis back on the 4th February & so far I've taken about 20 days, included quite a bit of rewiring with all new dash, switches & gauges. Hoping to get back on the road for 23rd April with a RR session booked on 28th.

 

It does take time but I'm sure when finished it'll be something you'll enjoy for years to come.

[caligarinet]

James, keep at it.

You are definately not alone hitting minor hurdles and things taking much longer than expected.

 

I am in the position that I can only work on the car at weekends, so spend the whole week planning out what I am doing, and ensuring I have all the parts and tools.

 

Still, the occasional bolt is the wrong size, or something gets over looked, and the plan gets put back another week.

 

However I am hopefully on the final stretch, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my rebuild.

Take your time, and most importantly, enjoy it 😬

 

 

 

Scottish Sevens

 

***new***ZX12R Rebuild Site***new***

[Paul Formston]

Sorry Tim I did wonder if the was the case, ☹️ but me and my son couldn't remember, thats a shame that diff is a bit on the heavy side Regards Paul

[Tim Broyd]

just a little - and i never was that good at bench presses 😬

[Dazzled]

James,

Mine took me 89 hours ( i logged every minute!) last year working mainly alone.If i were to do it again i could probably reduce that by a third. Strangely the jobs you think will be the biggest are some of the quickest.

 

You need to read the manual, read it again and then get on with the bit of the build you've read about. Even then you need to go beyond the obvious and try to understand what the author of the manual is trying to say rather than what is written. Try reading Miltons "Paradise Lost" beforehand - it gets the brain working in the right way.

 

On reflection i thoroughly enjoyed 85 of those hours - the other 4 hours were spent trying to get the 3 diff mounting bolts in.

I learned more from building my car than i could possibly have imagined. Yes you get bits wrong and have to go back and re do them but the finished article is all yours. Its a bloody great feeling.

 

BTW - within the first hour of my build i had to ask a numpty question on Techtalk. Even though it was late on a Saturday i got the answer within 10 minutes. The support from people on here is invaluable. One cry for help can get people crowding round your garage like flies round Sh1t !

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

[Tony C]

89 man-hours

 

Wow, can I come and see you walk on water 😬

 

James, please don't be adversely influenced by other peoples hours for build. I'm sure Dazzled is correct, but it is much more important to do the job to the best of your ability than to try and set some kind of record.

 

I'm an ex-aircraft engineer and took 3 weeks off work and spent about 250-300 man hours. I'm sure it can be done in less, but I dry assembled most items and only when I was sure it was all OK, disassembled, greased, copper greased and/or loctited and assembled it. If in doubt, use more copper grease - on the electrical connections too. That way, in a couple of years time, when you want to remove an item it won't be rusted in place and need a blow torch to release it.

 

Underseal and/or Waxoyle the exposed bare ali too. I know it adds weight, but the state of some 7's after a few years exposure to the elements is alarming.

 

As mentioned, it's far more important to take all the time you need and enjoy the experience - have fun and don't hesitate to ask for help/advice - we're all willing to help.

 

Welcome to the mad house

 

BRG Brooklands SV 😬 It seems that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

[Dazzled]

Thats not 89 hours in one sitting - 89 hours spread over 7 weeks and includes periods of total inactivity waiting for missing bits to turn up from CC. My longest stint was one of 8 hours giving me plenty of time to practice my water walking technique.....

 

splish splash....

[tweeky]

Yes james the prop shaft will fit down the tunnel (it did on my road sport that i built last year) and fitting the bolts was ok too the torque loading of the bolts was a bit of an 🙆🏻 not much room.

 

as said "rome wasn`t built in a day" take your time if it gets to you leave the car have a cup of tea/coffee. If there sombody in the club you can talk to get them to take you out theres and then you`ll see its all worth it.

 

Mark C

[h_____]

take your time and enjoy it. After I had finished mine, I wanted to build another! My academy car took 70 hours (about right), which was done over a 2 week period, with one week off work.

 

I know several people who did it quite a bit less, but its not a race. Dont forget to take plenty of photos, you wont get another chance for a while!!

 

 

[Richard Price]

James,

I can't agree more with "Dazzled" when he says

"You need to read the manual, read it again and then get on with the bit of the build you've read about"

I'd even go as far say saying read it again and again and again! Then I'd say make sure you follow it step by step. The assembly guide is quite clear about fitment of the propshaft - IF you do it in the order that the manual states!

 

 

I also logged the hours during build - ready for SVA in 65 hours

 

Edited by - Richard Price on 13 Apr 2006 16:52:00

[CharlesElliott]

Mine took 100 hours, entirely on my own except for when I put the engine in (yes, even the diff was put in my own!).

 

My build diary has the time I spent at each sitting so you can compare if you like!

 

Charles

---

My SuperGraduates 2006 diary

My SuperGraduates 2005 diary, My Caterham Academy 2004 build and race diary

[Roadsport06]

A much better day, (day 4) I have the front suspension done and the rear is ready to go in now having put in the prop before the diff

I read and read again and eventually get there!

[Grubbster]

Mine took a quite lazy 5 weekends, really checking and double checking at every stage. Diff is hardest, make sure you check the bolts wind in all the way before you start lifting the diff into place, on mine they were full of carp and I even had to run a tap down them first - how I wish I had realised this before getting the diff in place and aligned! There are some pictures on the links below, look at the diff fitting, I hung the diff on a metal bar on the top mounts while fiddling around with the spacers, then used a big screwdriver to align the top bushes while putting the ling bolt through.

 

2 weeks ought to be OK, but you are at the mercy of shortages I'm afraid, good luck, keep at it

 

Editted to add link to diff pics here

 

Roadsport build photo's here

Le Mans 2004 photo's here

 

 

Edited by - Grubbster on 14 Apr 2006 11:01:50

[philwaters]

My original build took me 6 days of probably 10hrs or more.

The last time I did a full re-build I got it down to less than 37hrs - here over an Easter weekend.

 

The important thing is to take you time and enjoy it - it isn't a race and you are meant to learn about the car as you go... finding ways to get around problems or 'how the hell do you do that' moments, is how you you do it quicker next time.

Enjoy

 

Phil Waters

[Atinod]

Interesting stuff! The poor wording in the build manual seems to be a common issue [going back years] and many must have noted their own revisions/descriptions as they have gone through it.

 

*idea*Maybe these could be posted on a new thread to create an Unofficial Blatchat Build Manual

 

Maybe it could be issued back to Caterham for publication!

[Roadsport06]

The build manuel is not good for a mechanical numpty like me!!

 

The missing parts have annoyed me, especially as the diagrams dont always show the parts.

Perhaps the packs should have bar codes so when it is scanned they can look on the computer to check everything is there. I know there are a variations on the cars but when all the parts for each variation are logged then surely no parts would be missing. I dont know if the parts missing is something that has always been a problem or something creaping in

[Grubbster]

James - sadly shortages are legendary, very few people seem to get everything ☹️ That is the main problem with taking a block of time off to build, you can be screwed by a fwe missing pieces.

 

Roadsport build photo's here

Le Mans 2004 photo's here

 

[Frying Pan]

I estimate mine took about 100 hours, with help with fitting the diff and engine.

 

Worst bit by far was the passenger side Tillett.

 

By the way, I posted the CD today (Post Office was closed yesterday!)

 

Guy

 

See some pictures of the build here. 9000 miles completed!

[willitgo]

I built my SV last summer, read the manual in advance and put aside two weeks for my son and I to complete the job. In the end I had the car running, registered and legally on the road three weeks later.

 

The 'delay' , if its fair to call it that was due to a number of factors,

 

- inexperience,

- having to go out and buy tools I had not realized I would need (more inexperience)

- wrong and missing parts, I cannot emphasis enough that you need to be sure you have all the right bits which is not an easy job if you have no idea what a lambda probe looks like! Also, the system is good for the nuts and bolts but many parts were delivered in open plastic bags and it was difficult to be sure what was what - the same system needs to be adopted by Caterham as for the nuts and bolts, esepcially considering how long they have been in business and how much you are paying. granted, everyone probably orders different specs but still.....

 

A lot of time was lost because we found something was incorrect or missing on a Friday evening and couldn't get any parts delivered until Monday or Tuesday.

 

As for the build itself I remember, as you say, some assemblies taking a frustratingly lengthy time - a good example being the 'interference' fit of the horn that took much strugglke to get into place! More significant was the following;

 

- a defective Dedion tube (the welded lugs were misaligned and I forgot to check the bolts threaded cleanly and then discovered they didn't when bolting the dampers into place). This resulted in us becoming skilled at dis-assembling and assembling the rear suspension. I think this was one of the hardest part because the manual is eloquent in its silence on some aspects such as the fact that it is, for want of a better word, tensioned and therefore care is needed when putting it togther. For the bigger assemblies its always wise to check that the bolts thread correctly and everything will fit togther as there is nothign worse than finding this out after you have got the bits on the car and have to go back to square one once you have discovered somehting is not quite right.

 

We also realized that the sequence described in the manual was not the best and we completed it in a different sequence - the Caterham manual could do with a complete overhaul and a set of good pictures.

 

- bolting gearbox to engine; the hoist I hired used a sling to lift the engine and mating two weighty lumps of metal togther whilst one of them swings about in mid air it is not easy. My son managed to do this with the engine on the ground whilst I was calling the help-line to ask 'how the $%% do I do this?' I think you can get engine hoists on which you can rigidly mount the engine which would make this job easier.

 

- bolting the driveline to the chassis mounting points; there are three of these and we found it simple enough to slide the engine/garbox into place and then could line up two of the three mounting points but the third was a struggle and required several hours of jiggling around. Since the car was on axle stands and not very high it was difficult to get under-neath to tighten the mounting bolts under the gearbox. The inspection pit at the SVA test would have been a wonderful thing to have.

 

Two useful sources which hopefully you are using are a, the Caterham help-line (often engaged but very helpful) and b, this website. If you are stuck with something do a search and somebody has had the same problem and even provided the godsend of photographs to show what it should look like.

 

Its a great car to drive and a very satisfying thing to complete - good luck. By way of encouragement we are thinking of doing a Westfield next!

 

Colin