700newtons

Ah preserving the wood had not occurred to me. I might have a go at that too. another thing to consider; putting a centre punch mark where the petty strut fits on the passenger side (there is a bolt hole behind the aluminium). I am told this makes it a bit easier if you ever want to fit a petty strut later on.

Ah yes, good thinking. I had quick look and yes, that is obviously what should happen (and Caterham haven't sent the wrong fan). I was wondering what the plastic bits were for. It doesn't look like a perfect fit but I'm sure it will work with a bit of encouragement. I'll try tonight. did you have any luck finding your power socket? I went head down in the footwell yesterday for a good look and I have definately got it (black and purple and red). For a couple of pounds I have also bought the matching socket from eBay (hopefully). If it fits I'll post the link. Once I get my car through the IVA I'll connect up the 12v socket. Caterham have even put a fuse in the fuse box ready for one. The only dilemma is where to put it.

Peter, i have just just tried to fit my radiator. however, I notice that the fan mounting holes and the radiator bolts are a long way off. Unless I'm being daft I think that it is the wrong fan. It might be worth checking yours. I also seem to be short of some of the nesassary nuts and washers for the radiator and intercooler. I have emailed caterham. Simon

I found a connector with a black and purple wire, with the right shape connector (as shown in the wiring diagram; two slots at 90degrees). it was in a difficult place to see, close to the main wiring loom under the dash on the passenger side in the heater area. thanks for this info, it is going to be handy for me. I hope you find yours.

Yes, I didn't get one because I thought £100 was a bit much. Daniel's blog is good. He had a huge amount of hassle though.

Great blog. It looks like you had a lot of trouble though.

I'm away at the moment but I'll take a look when I get back shortly. I did notice that there was a mysterious socket under the dash. It would be very useful to know if this is a 12v supply.

Hello Peter, yes, I have had a few missing bits. (however, sometimes it was already constructed or I didn't quite know what I was looking for). I think that sometimes the instructions are not right for the occasional bolt. (e.g. The gearbox mounting bolts seem to protrude well beyond the nut and there wasn't enough of the specified bolt anyway). Also the air box bolts were too short. In the end I just popped out to 'Proper Job' and picked up spare bolts, washers and nuts for a few pounds. If anything is safety critical I'll ask caterham. I expect as more kits at delivered these issues should get ironed out. (I think I'm building kit no. 4 and perhaps you are no.5). After coating my wings with stone chip I too have realised that you can bond them (dammit). I have not decided yet. However, I may sand off areas which I will bond. I was really referring to an external paint guard. I think that the fellow at premier paint guard is interested in making a template for the 160. I will buy some rear wing protection film from him I expect. regards, Simon

Hopefully it is stuck on with something sticker than Wensleydale. Glad to hear you are making good progress. I found the ARB quite an effort the first time. The second tIme after redoing the grommets (and using less grease) it was easy. I'm also having some time away from he car, and spending time with the Mrs. I'm getting a bit twitchy to finish it though. However, there are only one or two things to do before I have to down spanners and wait for the rear axle casing. by the way, are you considering any type of paint protection for the rear aches (or more?)

hello Peter, yes, I laid the headlamp in bubble wrap on the chassis first. I then fed each of the individual cables through (apart from the green indicator wire). I the folded the sheath over as best I could, sprayed it with Holts rubber lubricant and pushed it through. I then forced the green indicator cable through he grommet, down the fold in the sheath. (I assume I have done the right thing. It looks OK but I'm not certain) it was tight but not a complete nightmare. The rubber lube made all the difference. Oh, and made the grommet hole as big as possible by tracing a screw driver around the hole to ensure that it was fully on the bracket. Good luck and happy Christmas, Simon

A good friend, Rob, helped with the heater plumbing yesterday. No issues encountered although he did adjust the lengths of pipe to enable the valve to fit snugly between the heater case and the battery. (edit 10th Jan. I accidentally put the internal vent plate for the heater the wrong way up. The 'ears' should point downwards to direct warm air into the footwell. Thanks PeterM for commenting) He also suggested a pipe connected to the hole in the top of the battery (see photo) apparently these batteries are unsealed an can cause unsightly marks inside the engine bay. This pipe is just cable tied down to the gear box mounting. Today I fitted the handbrake mechanism to the chassis. There are two connection points (but one lead). Caterham tell me that the correct connection is the upper one (it is for the handbrake warning light). I also went back and removed the headlight bracket and fitted the correct grommets (which were missing from the original pack). I thought that this might be troublesome. However, I used a trolley jack to raise each suspension arm and undo the front bolt for the upper wishbone. It wasn't as tricky as I thought.

Hi Ned, No, I got charged as per the Roadsport price list for the FIA roll bar. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get it at the same price or cheaper as a retro fit. I didn't realise at the time of ordering, I also wanted to be confident that it would fit. It didn't come with a petty strut. Retro fitting would be easy (although you would have take the rear dampers off). simon

Yes, I'm being sent a proper grommet (whatever that looks like!). I suggest that you ask for one before fitting you wishbones. I used normal grommets but they just popped out. I did all my setting up on a bench too.Holts rubber lubricant really helps free up the wires when you thread them through. (But maybe you have already thought of this) simon

I rang Caterham this morning - yes, they sent the wrong oils by mistake (I think that they were from the fluid pack for another car). The correct oils will be coming shortly (the oil we need are only available in large quantities and it needs to be decanted). by the way, you will need the correct headlight grommets. Don't install the upper wishbones without them! Thanks for the other info about the '7’ and I have already got touch up paint. Maybe mine is a more common colour. all the best, simon

I put in the roll bar today. It was only a few bolts but it took a bit of time as the frame is stiff and it required a bit of strength to align the bolts. I was also a bit worried about cross threading the bolts as they went in. I opted for a FIA bar (which isn't normally on the options list). I hope it will give greater safety and allow me to perhaps access more events. The FIA bar is different from the normal bar in that it also requires bolts from underneath. To get these in I placed a few layers of cardboard between the frame and the base of the bar. This allowed me to locate the bolts. I then removed the cardboard as I did the bolt up. I also gave all touching metal a good covering of copper slip to reduce wear and corrosion (? I assume this is a good thing?) The next job was unplanned... I couldn't figure out where one of the heater pipes went. I then remembered a mysterious piece of shiny pipe in a box. Er...this is the 'main water pipe'. I think that this is usually pre fitted to the engine, as there was no mention of it in the instructions. I had a few concerned moments when I thought I would have to take the engine out (it is quite big). However in the end I managed to slide it up by the lower steering column (phew). The main water pipe is the shiny pipe in the middle. I suggest that 160 builders check it is there before adding the steering column (although you can get it in after) (edit 21st dec 2014. NB I originally suggested fitting the pipe to the engine before lowering the engine. However, I don't think that you would get the engine in.)

I got some gear and diff oils from Caterham today. However, unless there is something I don't understand, they are the wrong grade and quantities. (Comma mineral oil rather than the recommended shell spirax too). I have emailed Caterham to ask more.

Hi Peter, i was looking through the IVA details today on the Caterham website. There is a lot of rubber needed and some of it would certainly be very hard to do later. by the way. I also read the the head lights definately need grommets as they exit the headlight bracket. I wasn't supplied with these, but as there was a good plastic sheath I reckoned it will be OK (I had some grommets of the right size but I couldn't get them to stay). However, after reading IVA details on Blatchat I'm a bit worried. i'll email Caterham to ask about these. However, if they are required I'll need to remove the upper wishbones which would quite a lot of work. do you have headlight bracket gommets in your kit? If not, it might be worth hanging on before sorting out the headlights; they are tricky. simon

Oh, sorry to hear that... regarding your question. The gaiters are closed at one end. I just chopped off the tip with a craft knife. It says that you need to do this in the instructions. Simon

I previously had a bit of trouble sorting the anti roll bar (I couldn't get the balls in the sockets). I rang Caterham and they suggested I might be using too much grease. I wiped out much of the grease, just leaving a thin layer, and then the balls just popped in with it a few taps of my trusty deadblow hammer. While the weather is relatively mild I also coated the inside of the wings with stone chip protective paint. I understand that stone chips from underneath can be visible and stone guard was suggested on 'Bad Bob's build tips'. I painted it on (rather than sprayed it). I'm glad I did; the solvent is strong and would make a mess of the paint. (edit 22/12/2014. NB if you are planning to bond the front wings, instead of bolt them, it would be worth waiting before painting with stone guard - - dammit! I'll need to sand some of it off)

I have since found out that too much grease at the end of the upper steering column makes this job much harder not easier. I suggest that just a thin layer of grease is used to join at the join between lower and upper steering column.

So, what is today's job then Peter?

Great news! Looking forward to see the pictures. You must be missing the rear axle case too. I contacted Caterham today; they are on route from Japan. Apart from the shortages the kit is pretty good isn't it? And everything fits snugly. Occasionally, I think something is missing but I just haven't quite realised what I am looking for. i think I might have used up my IVA rubber on my front suspension holes. I have seen this on some cars but not on others. You might want to pause before copying me. I brushed on Hammerite stone guard on the underside of the wings today (to reduce stone damage from below). It has a pretty strong solvent that has a negative effect of it is splashed on the paint on top. I got away with it though. NB The way I get pictures inserted is go to 'My profile' then 'file browser'. I upload the pictures then link the to the blog. Simon

Fitted the compressor outlet for the turbo today (below). This was a fairly straightforward task. I then set about with the steering. This looked straightforward but gave me some trouble. Connecting the universal joint was not much problem (but I think there is a typo in the instructions - it says bolt 6 and nut 1. I think it should say bolt 2 and nut 5) You need to be careful with the upper steering column. The plastic on the lower bush came free and it took me a while to get it back. It was also quite a tight fit with the lower steering column and not much to grip on to. Useful things to know If you have a momo wheel, the orientation of the upper steering column is important. Before you start bolting things up make sure that the wheel is the way you want it when the road wheels are straight. if you have a Momo wheel, the upper steering rubber bush needs to be inserted (and located with the nobbles in the side holes) before the upper steering column goes in. (The instructions do say this, but I missed it)my next job is to westle a bit more with the anti roll bar and start work on the cooling system.

Hello Peter, i ordered a push button start for mine - it doesn't look like a freebie. Maybe you just got lucky. However, my car appeared with a aero filler. I think that was an option which I didn't ask for. However, it seems a standard option now. i left a message at Caterham regarding the firt fill pack. I could do with it... Good of luck for tomorrow. If you have the same shortages as me you,will be missing wheels, the rear axle casing and the fluids.

Yes, welcome to the club Juls. Building it certainly makes you think but is very satisfying. The benefit of a later 160 that us guinea pigs will find the snags. Simon