Mike Bees

2.25"x12" ~120lb/in, 2 off. Must be cheap (e.g. donation to NTL). Also, anyone know where I can get cheap helper springs & adaptors? £5.00 per helper spring plus £8.00 per adaptor ain't anywhere near cheap enough I'm afraid... Mike

Hi Bill, I've been using the same AP clutch as the R500 (and SLR, and some Superlights) for some years. The one that came out this winter had done 3 seasons of sprints and hillclimbs with very little wear on the friction plate. I replaced it because I'd never liked it, it had always been very heavy with a long travel. The new one (same type) is much lighter and shorter in travel, very odd. Mike

FWIW I used S02s in 2000 and RE720s in 2001 (both at 205/50x15). The only really direct comparison I have is times for a 2-lapper at Curborough, where I was a few tenths quicker in 2001 than in 2000 (with no other changes to the car). This doesn't prove much, but would seem to indicate that there can't be a big difference between S02s & RE720s. Mike

Putting the AP brakes on the front and leaving the rears standard will give you exactly the opposite problem... albeit somewhat less frightening... Mike

Thanks for all the advice & offers of help chaps. I bought a cheap 7/16" tap and suitable bolt which seems to have done the job. Mike

Graham - we can always push! Cheers, Mike

Chris, Thks for the offer to post bits - I need to fix this today, so I'll have a go at tapping a bigger hole or putting in a helicoil. What pitch thread would you recommend? Mike

Another thought... In my haste & frustation last night I'd assumed that a helicoil was out of the question since it's not a blind hole so the insert could just wind all the way out the other side. This must be wrong 'cos I know they helicoil spark plug holes. An M10x1mm helicoil kit from Namrick is 47 quid! Ouch. Mike

Thanks for the offer John. I'll try to fix this one first. Hoop - yes I did go to the Railway last night, though sadly not in the 7. Only advice was to try a larger tap/bolt. Mike

Stock Caterham ali rad, 1997 vintage. I've stripped the thread for the bleed screw. It appears to be a fine pitch 10mm bolt. Any suggestions for a quick fix (like I need to fix it by 4pm tomorrow!)? There *might* be enough surface area to put in a 12mm tap (what size hole do I need for that?) and use a 12mm bolt. Any such thing as 11mm bolts? Or a non-metric size that would do the trick? It does need to be a fine pitch thread. Buying a new rad isn't an option. Help! Mike

Oh dear. How do I get to measure it where it counts? Does the non-remote hanging-down-in-the-road sender position achieve this? Is so why doesn't the remote sender take-off plumb into the point where the original sender fitted? Mike

Peter, Yes I do have the remote sender. I wasn't trying to imply that fettling the sandwich plate negated any potential pressure loss, merely that the sandwich plate is a bit ugly in it's unfettled form. Nig, My Laminova is plumbed into the coolant circuit between the water rail and the rad., and into the oil circuit via a sandwich plate (which you don't have) hence it warms the oil on it's way in to the engine. The Laminova appears to make no difference to the oil temperature read at the bottom of the tank, which still takes an age to get off the bottom of the dial, but it does heat up the oil on the way in to the engine - I know this because the pipe gets hot. I also "know" it because the oil pressure takes less time to drop from it's normal cold pressure to it's normal hot pressure (on the basis that hotter/thinner oil further down the line will reduce the pressure the sender sees). What I really need are oil temperature senders on the way into and out of the engine, just to really know what is going on. The reading from the sender at the bottom of the tank is damped by the heat capacity of all that oil in the tank. Well hopefully "all that oil in the tank" anyway... Mike

I'm not seeing any pressure difference with my Laminova in or out of the circuit. As they come the sandwich plates are pretty horrible, mine was fettled (you know who you are wink.gif) to reduce it's resistance to flow. Mike Edited by - Mike Bees on 7 May 2002 10:55:44 Edited by - Mike Bees on 7 May 2002 10:56:11

The info is all on www.race-technology.com. You don't have to spend 2 grand, you can get a 4 channel Astratech system (as I did) for 700-800ukp. If I was buying now I'd seriously look at the Race Technology one, although it lacks any kind of display which I would have thought is an issue they would/should address. Mike

> How do you remove the breather from the diff casing ?? , is it on a thread ?? . It's just an interference fit - i.e. it's hammered in. > Whats the best way to check the oil level and top up ??. Remove the filler plug in the back plate and tip oil in until it trickles out. > What fluid is reccomended ?? I use Redline 75W90, but any EP?0 (where ? is 8 or 9 - can't remember which) will do. Mike

Go into your garage (or wherever your spanners are usually stored). Carry out a cursory inspection to ensure that all your spanners are in their correct places, then say "Check!" in a loud & authoritative manner. Glad to be able to help. Mike

Ken - I know Dave Walker has a list in his head of places he can recommend. I don't know if any of them are local to you though. Mike

"very successful roadgoing hillclimb car" - I'll say wink.gif

Nick Potter uses them successfully. Mike

Summat to do with the detent plunger binding (gearbox expert I am not). Mine doesn't like going up or down into 2nd when it's cold, irrespective of what type of oil I use. I was under the impression that TADTS. Mike

I had a similar problem with mine when it was fairly new, after some hardish running in 6th (like a stretch of motorway, or a few laps of a fast circuit) it was *very* difficult to get out of 6th. Once it had cooled down again it was fine. It went back to Caterham who sorted it out. Mike Edited by - Mike Bees on 10 Apr 2002 17:01:48

My Haynes manual quotes a much bigger figure than 120lbft - don't have it to hand here in the "office" but ISTR it's IRO 160. Mike

If your clutch is approaching the weight & diameter of your flywheel (which it does with any of the stock clutches and the lightweight flywheel) then it's plain to see that it's as important balance-wise as the flywheel. No Nig, I wasn't suggesting that every time you remove the pulley you need to rebalance, merely pointing out that it's not a particularly savoury piece of engineering. Mike

Christ, one minute it's a buyers market the next it's a comedians. On yer bike Tebbit smile.gif

Whilst I can believe that your drawing board is lighter I find it inconceivable that it could be faster. Who needs a side elevation half way around Fradley Hairpin? Mike