ChrisC

Careful when you adjust the brake pedal, the switch won't last long if you position it so it's just making contact. Make sure it's fully off when the pedal is at rest. Not that they last that long at the best of times, but there is no need to accelerate its failure.

Maybe I should be more specific, the ECU and immobiliser have been permanently powered on my Sigma (circa 2015) and both my Duratecs (2016 & 2019). None of my cars had the high end dash, so never had a full fat dash control module, but my 2019 has the £35 version dash control module, which I assume is nothing more that a connection block for that price. agree with the goulash, or as I would put it "old school". Which in a way is still better than having a BCM and computers everywhere.

The real question is what are you going to do when you find the drain on a 7. It's not as if the drain will be caused by a can bus signal waking up modules, the 7s electrical design is just not that complicated. The ECU and immobiliser are permanently powered by design, if you have a upright dash then I bet that module is also powered permanently. Beyond that is simple switch and device electrics. All this means is the draw (assuming nothing if faulty) can't be changed without wiring loom redesigns.

The grot traps are an area where corrosion occurs, but is not the only one, but road salt gets everywhere, places you can't clean or protect. If you want long chassis life down drive until the salt has gone (2 weeks after they stop and only if there has been good rain fall to wash it off), if no drive and enjoy the car. Driving in salt mean your enjoying the car twice as much but the chassis will last 1/2 as long. Salt also damages all the zinc surfaces of the fastners and bare aluminium (engine gearbox fuel tank etc). Personally I hate the damage salt does so I SORN.

Interesting edo factory build (don't know when) is using the same part number hose for the oil return, which can't reach the RHS of the oil cooler, so it much be plumbed as mine. But Handwheels car has the 90 degree bend on the oil return so that must be connected to the RHS (longest hose has two 90 degree bends). It also must mean the top connector to the dry sump tank as the obtuse angle connector. I will have to check next time I see that car ;-). Interesting.

Hi Brett, I took photos at the factory of how to route the oil cooler hoses, because at the time there was no manual that covered a Duratec build with the combined oil cooler/ radiator, and my car was built based on factory at the time. Agreed based on that image it looks like the flow through the oil cooler could be reversed, but that manual is riddled with mistakes, from swapping to sigma engines half way through, to showing the defunct cut down nut and omitting fitting the gear stick (I could go on). It also seems the manual is getting further out of date :-( as changes are ongoing with 2022 kits, like new diff carriers, UJs and throttle cables etc. Since I have no leaks, kinks and have been through PCB without any corrections I won't be in a rush to change anything on my car, but I am interested in the part numbers used on the oil lines to see if there has been a change. I will check with the 2022 420R kit builder.

Have seen this before with a US 360 kit build. Dip switches where incorrectly set. Might be able to get a picture of my dip switches at the weekend. Also had a faulty tach on my 420 build, but that was because one of the warning lights didn't work. CC sent replacement via post.

It may only be held by a few self tappers, but is wider than the turrets so has to be bent to move forward. Don't have any personal experience of a rear end accident so can't comment how effective it is.

It's honeycomb aluminium for fuel tank protection. That protection is extended on racers to completely cover the tank, although I believe bag tanks may become mandatory. On racers they also cover the ply with an aluminium sheet and seal the boot with aluminium tape. My 96 car had a full ply boot floor.

The stock carpet does a good job of reducing dents in the boot skin, but the carpet from the boot was dropped from R spec. I added it to my build, because it was standard on my previous R. Apart from that I put everything in a waterproof soft bag with the exception of hoods and coats, which adds an extra layer of protection. Also packing the coat last, then the hood, so if it rains I can put my coat on, then the hood, and the contents of my boot remain dry.

Welcome Paul, and hope the 7 is painted in the deal, but if not here are my thoughts. How easy painting the 7 will depend on if it was painted from the factory. Factory painted grills use two grills, one mesh and other with the 7 logo. None painted grills will be supplied from the factory as a single combined 7 logo and mesh. The separate 7 logo grill is simple to mask, where as the combined grill is a real pain to mask and the reason why the factory doesn't supply combined logo and mesh grills painted. The painting is the same effort, once masked. My car has a factory painted 7 logo, but I prefer the combined grill because logo on the grill doesn't touch the cooling fan (since 2019 radiator redesign). One very simple option is to wrap the 7 logo on either grill. It's cheap, easy to do. Maybe not as durable as paint, but given my first attempt took 15mins, cost £15 for enough material for 5 attempts, I can refresh the wrap every year, and even change the colour at will. Hope this helps

In my opinion after reading years of battery chat, If your looking for a straight swap, unbolt, drop in replacement stick with the banner. Weight savings are definitely available, but you have to find a battery mounting solution or possible cable terminal changes in combination with your new battery. All doable but more faff than a straight replacement. Also consider why your banner died, if it was due to deep discharge damage, some very light weight replacements get very unstable in that situation. Can you vouch for your banners history, did it get deep discharged by a previous owner, or while sitting at a dealer lot. So is the battery the problem or the use case? Finally some alternatives may also require a different charger. Never had a problem with a banner, but know I am in the minority, they give reasonable life considering it's designed for a lawnmower. Yes I could lose some weight with a battery swap, but I could also just loose some weight :-)

Be careful of the nut size, it's increased to 24mm on the 2019 supplied kits (actually earlier but don't have a date), if your looking to buy a crows foot spanner for the job. Best to measure before you buy.

It's deviation that's the main issue, keeping it in known pass ready state is the aim of the game. I was told there is history between CC and DVSA about this very component, but never got to the detail of what that was.

If you ask CC, I am sure they will send you a replacement. CC won't present a car for IVA with the flex lines fitted, and you will have to pay for the swap back to hard lines at PBC, so don't be tempted to swap now.

It's a metric chassis, not a metric car :). Most of the suspension / steering fittings are still imperial. You noticed it most around the dedion tube and uprights, which I suppose makes sense, it must saves having two upright designs, and at the time the metric chassis was launched they where still using spitfire calipers. The imperial fitting that confuses me the most is the bolt that holds the expansion tank to the bracket. This can only be imperial because someone hasn't been bothered to change the bolt pack.

New fixings to start with, which might mean it's easier to fit.

Remember putting my 420R with stock suspension on the ground for the first time, it was a very low, but looked fantastic. I used the ride height settings from the old build manuals, which covered the 420R, for the drive to IVA, and the running in. The intention was to get a flatfloor at 1000 miles, but other things have taken focus so it's still on my todo list.

For years there has been a drive by noise figure printing in the V5C, which by EU law has been coming down and will continue to do so. That in combination with the gas particulate filters has had the dramatic effect on noise. But a UK Caterham which has been through IVA, a UK approval process that doesn't have a drive by noise figure, only a static reading at time of approval. This static limit is way higher than what's acceptable with type approved vehicles. Flaps that open in sports mode have been outlawed as cheat devices and test will now be carried out exhaust flaps open. So basically a Caterham has no known reading for the drive by noise camera to measure against, but this doesn't mean we won't have to fight that case. Police in Essex have a static noise meter, which I know they test at 90db, way below the IVA static noise level. So I know where to prove my car is tested at 98db, should I ever need it. All that said, I can't help feel if you can get on any noise sensitive track for a track day your be fine.

The routing past the second chassis tube, where you go over the diagonal, the factory car (and mine) goes under the diagonal, above the horizontal tube.

Richard, it looks to me as there has been a spec change on that hose between Bretts car and yours. The hose adapter angle is above 90 degrees on a 2019 kit, but your 2021 kit seem to have a 90 degree bend, that would relieve a tiny bit of tension in the hose. Brett you also look to has a slight oil leak from the connector.

They are still a classic Mini wiper, or almost every BL car of that era. The ratio changed (how much sweep they have) but that's about it. They are all noisy compared to modern car wiper motors, but it's more of a mechanical noise over a grinding. The principal is simple, the motor turns a large gear, which basically pushes and pulls a spiral flexible rod. The rod is in the tube that runs under the dash. In the base under each wiper arm there is a gear that's turned by the spiral rod as it's pulled backwards and forwards by the motor. The tube is held together by the wiper arm bases which are bolted together. They should be lubricanted from manufacturer, with a grease. I imagine if needed just any general purpose lithium grease would be fine. Wiper motor repairs in a 420 are not east given the location, not the complexity of the system. The process will be dismantle the system bit by bit until they work again, then replace as needed (warranty dependant). For example remove the arms, are the splines now turning, or is the rod moving in and out. There was a bad batch of wiper arms sometime in 2019, where the arm wasn't a good fit on the spline, resulting in wipers that made a horrendous noise but didn't move, or feel off. My car had them, one feel off at the end of the wiper test during IVA, the other departed the car on the motorway soon after. Replacement arms where the fix, supplied under warranty.

So as others have said, it's not TADS, but a setup thing. Its normally combined with hesitation. You don't need to spend on RBTB to get the car running properly, you need to spend on RBTB for performance, noise and drama.

In many ways a modine is a better solution to oil cooling than the 420R oil cooler bolted to the radiator without an oil stat. It helps get the oil to operating temperature faster, using the warm coolant to heat the oil, then keeps the oil at coolant temperature as the temperature raises.

This is a photo of the stats side bt side. The longer one is the higher temp, as fitted to my 420R. You can see the original T supplied with my 360R, it's difficult to see the distortion, but it was bent, and no longer round. Don't forget the gauge and the sensor in the submarine tube isn't the most accurate method for reading running temperature. I wouldn't worry at a 80c running temperature, with a higher temp stat fitted. Mine doesn't agree with EasyMap temperature, the strange thing is the gauge is higher at low temperatures, and lower at higher.