700newtons

Please note. When I fitted my cycle wings, I drilled the front holes 3” from the front. However, a width of 8cm seem to wide for the wingstays (they miss??). I made mine 6cm...

Thanks Peter. I might wait and see what the brakes cables look like once they are properly adjusted before doing anything. My solution to the gearbox level plug access is to buy a square steel rod from ebay (I think it is 3/8") I'm going to hacksaw it down and the use a ring spanner on one end. That is the theory anyway; it has not been put to practice yet. I think my oils will come next week. hey, I don't think you can fill the gearbox before lowering the engine in. Won't all the oil spill out? You (Ned and others..) could fill the diff before fitting the panhard rod though, I expect. I have asked for more IVA trim too. The other thing I did today was order a half hood and shower cap from soft bits for sevens. (With a L7 discount).

I made a start on the cycle wings this evening. It took me all evening to drill 4 holes... I was a bit nervous about cocking it up. The majority of (smart) advice seems to advocate bonding the cycle wings. However, I had over zealously put stoneguard on mine and I didn't want risk sanding it off and causing damage. I also prefer the idea of bolting rather than bonding. The instructions are clear and I followed them very carefully. The cycle wings were supposed to come with markings for the bolt holes. However, this was not the case and I had to ask. I understand that the position is very important for the IVA. The front holes are 3 inches from the front*. I drilled through tape to protect the gel coating. I found that using small pilot holes and then a fast speed for the bigger holes seemed to work well. I have covered the green repeater wire with 5mm heat shrink bought from ebay. (Edit - I have since found out the slow speeds are better for fibreglass - oops) The wingstays require a bit of patience to get through (big 6mm holes). I finished the right hand cycle wingstays this evening and made a start on the left. I'm pleased that it all lined up; this was the phase that I was slightly nervous about. *NB Be wary of following my advice... The car has not been through the IVA yet.

Peter: have you fitted the hand brake yet? If so how did you secure the cables? At the moment mine seem to just flop over the diff. I don't think that is right... This is evening I have made a start with bolting on the cycle wings. After lots of double checking I drilled through the fibreglass and the wing stays. Seems ok so far. I'll blog about it shortly.

Looking good! I haven't made much progress recently. I hope to get on in the next couple of weeks through. By the way if you are thinking of sill protectors. The ones I got from carbon mods seem pretty good and reasonably priced.

Peter: I liked your article in low flying. Thanks for the kind words! By the sound of things you are about soon to overtake me with your build progress.

The drain pipe looks a good idea. We used the back of a large socket to tap it in (and got away with it, I hope). Derek did get back to me with the positions for the cycle wing holes - photos below. However, I note that the wings do clip the body work. I'm told you bend the wing stays slightly to get the more central over the wheel. i'm snowed under with work at the moment, and so there will be a bit of a delay in further progress...

Martin: all the suspension bolts are loose at the moment. I'll torque them once the wheels are on the ground. However, I expect that I will use the same torque for both ends of the panhard rod. I hope that you both get all the bits. Hopefully caterham have got a larger stock of parts as more cars go out.

Martin: the last one in the bag a 12mm x 65mm bolt, 2 washers and a nyloc nut. there were a couple of disconcerting crinkle washers in one of the bags too, but I don't know what they were for.

I think I'm the 4th or 5th to build the kit. We have not heard from the ones before me, I don't think.

Thanks Ned. by the way I forgot to add; I managed to move the fuel pipe over from left to right when exiting the transmission tunnel (after Peter's previous comments). A few other 160 builds are due to start this month by the sound of it...

I managed to get the rear suspension in today with help from Rob J. The instructions are clear and we had few problems. (NB there is a sleeve that clealy fits into the top of the radius arms and the fixing of one end of panhard rod was not mentioned but obvious). getting the the half shaft in place required a few 'gentle taps' from tool no 1. Tomorrow's task is to fit the speed sensor and handbrake. I also need to get the cycle wings sorted (they are just taped on at the moment)

That is useful to know about the fuel line. I'll move mine over to the other side.

I put the diff into the axle casing this evening. It took me a while to figure out which was the correct way around. It was a tight fit and involved use of the rubber deadblow hammer and swearing. I was about to give up, but then I tried turning the prop connection back and forth and it suddenly dropped in. I was advised by a friend to use about a 2mm strip of gasket sealant (Black RTV). I used Granville but I understand Caterham use the Wynn brand for their factory builds. PeterM mentioned that a dry run could cause problem. He was right; it is a good idea to get a rough idea and line it up, but if you slotted it in place, getting it apart again might cause stress. I also attached the breather spigot. It seemed rather loose. I cut two slots about a 2mm apart on either side of the spigot and bent them into the groove with a hammer and nail. This seems to let the spigot move freely but prevents it falling off. *NB I am not an expert - read my later blogs to see if I cocked it up.

Hello Martin, I'm looking forward to hearing about your build. My job tonight is to get he diff into the back axle. At the weekend I hope to get the back axle in. Simon

I have since found out from Derek at Caterham that: The diff does not need bolts removing. It goes in as shown in the photo above. They can deal with the headlamp bracket upper grommet problem at the post build check. they are going to send he positions of the bolts for the cycle wings. Apparently the position does matter. I'll post them on here once I know.By the way, when sorting out headlamp wiring, Holts rubber lube is definately your friend.

Thank you... Google images shows that it is very rectangular van too

Thanks, that is very useful..

Thanks, I have the IVA compliance sheet from the website. No mention of cycle wing position though. I notice that, unless the wings are fairly far forward, they clip the body work when the steering is on full lock on both sides (and this looks further forward than I have seen on most photos). Is this the norm?

Thanks. After looking at Google images of suzuki Jimny diff I reached the same conclusion. I taped on the cycle wings this evening - I'm trying to see problems before I drill holes. I notice that the wings have to be fairly far forward otherwise they clip the bodywork on full steering lock. (Unless this is the norm?) I have emailed Derek about grommets where the wires go into the headlamp bracket. It is still bugging me. for the diff sealant I'm going to use Granville black RTV silicone sealant. Tell me if you know better!

Thanks for your help. By the way, I reckon it is worth holding off putting the radiator on until the last minute. It significant reduces access. I have removed mine temporarily, until the wiring etc is finished.

I'm about to fit cycle wings on my 160. Is the any IVA requirement that they must cover some fraction of the wheel, or anything like that. I think I'll bolt them on rather than bond them. However, any advice welcome (before I cock it up).

Peter: the bolts on the of the diff; I assume they come off (but there is nothing in the instructions) - they just look like they hold something in place, and the diff does not slot in when they are in place. What did you do?

I had a go at getting a grommet in the top hole of the headlamp bracket. However, it soon became apparent that there was no way I was going to get the wires through the hole and down the tube (clearly against nature). I'm going to stick with the arrangement above. Peter: I'm about to go about bolting the front wings on. The instructions mention that the front cycle wings are marked with the position for the bolts. Do you have this on yours? I painted the underside of mine with stone chip, but I never noticed any markings.

NB the cable might need a grommet as it goes in the bracket (photos of other 160s have this). I will look into it. A grommet is definitely needed at the bottom end (as stated in the build instructions).