Paul Richards

Jason John hasn't gone for the McLaren paint job after all. He has grey with black wings and nose cone - probably not doing it justice - probably called graphite and anthracite or something - I think they are Audi colours - so should feel at home at Le Mans. Looks good, but as you know I am a big fan of standard Caterham yellow. Didn't help with the build - as you know, my speciality is inserting engines in viper blue R300's. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

with me in it!! Also lots of 7s and and the part built CSR260 - All at the Kettle Festival of Speed which was organised for the LADS. Terrific!! Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Jack kept in the standard supplied bag. Tool box comprises a plastic (waterproof) sandwich type box which fits into an open top box fabricated from aluminium sheet and held to scuttle with self tappers. This can be achieved on my K series car by routing cables across front of scuttle rather than on top. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Put my jack up front on top of chassis running above and parallel to bottom hose. Held to chassis with bunbee straps. Also manage to carry spare alternator belt and and a few other bits and pieces in the bag with the jack. Space in front of heater is then free for a toolbox. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

No problems up here in the north, but I always use a separate external antenna on my Garmin Street Pilot and I'm sure this is much better when you have a heated windscreen. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Adjustment of clutch is by locknuts on cable adjacent to bellhousing. Is this squeal when you put your foot on the clutch. It very much sounds like the clutch release bearing!! Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Heavy steering - sounds like too much castor. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Place hose in jaws of a sharp pair of cutters (pliers). Place cutters on a hard surface. Strike cutters with hammer (directly above hose). Nice clean cut. Job done - no need for expense of Dremel. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional Edited by - Paul Richards on 10 May 2005 13:23:02

Thanks for your suggestions. It was a pig to get the oil filter housing on, with limited access and having to disconnect the Apollo sandwich etc. I'm sure if I take it off I'll break a number of seals that are OK at present and they'll probably leak instaed knowing the sort of luck I'm having. I have a little time before I really need to use the car (Le Mans mainly), so I think I'll drain the oil and try the PTFE tape first on a dry thread. At least this particular leaky grub screw is fairly easy to access. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

I have fitted an oil pressure switch to my ‘K’. The problem is, it means I now have a lot more places for potential leaks. I’ve managed to seal them all except for one. There are a number of holes in the replacement oil filter housing which are blanked with small untapered grub screws. I'm getting a steady drip of oil from one of them and struggling to seal it. Clearly it would be better to drain the oil and take off the filter housing to do it, but bearing in mind this might cause more leaks, I'd prefer not to do so. What are my options? Try to seal with Red Hermetite? Try PTFE tape? Try steelweld(or whatever it's called) - the stuff thats 2 parts and sets solid when mixed. Any other suggestions? Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Paul I think Dave is probably correct, but suggest you 'try' the solenoid/starter before fitting to car. Simply earth the solenoid (piece of wire to body) and then use a live feed to touch the small terminal. Should activate the solenoid. You could of course test the entire starter - use jump leads to temporarilly wire starter and activate solenoid. Do it with starter on floor and held down by your foot!!

Yes - 3.54 is the highest ratio diff and was also available on some early capris. Yes - you can fit an LSD into the same casing. You simply replace the innards with LSD bits, retaining the case, crown wheel and pinion. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Change the oil pressure sender. They are the problem in 99 out of 100 cases. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Seals form part of the bearing on the halfshaft. To renew the bearing you need to withdraw the halfshaft and cut off the bearing retainer with an angle grinder or similar. Replace bearing and then heat up new retainer and replace when hot and then it will shrink to fit. (I also normally put a couple of tack welds onto the retainer. HOWEVER in my experience its not usually the bearing seal that leaks, but rather oil passes between the bearing and the axle casing. This is a simple and cheap cure and something you should try before anything else. First remove halfshaft. To do this you first jack up car and remove the wheel and brake drum. You then undo the 4 bolts which hold the halfshaft retaining plate - you access these by using a 1/2" socket on a short extension through holes in the end of the half shaft. Then remove halfshaft with a puller - I have one you can borrow if you are anywhere near Bury, Lancs. Make sure car is stable on good axle stand when attacking with puller!! Clean up face where bearing sits in axle and then coat with silicone sealant. Replace halfshaft, drum, wheel etc. Job done. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Got mine from caravan accessory shop. Less than a fiver. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Caterham do an oil light kit with all that you need inc. new oil filter mount, braided hose to remote switch. light and bulb etc. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Removing halfshafts is often difficult, even when on the car!! When you have the axle off the car it is crucial to hold the axle very still or the slide hammer won't be effective. Suggest you put the axle in a vice if possible. Secondly you need a good heavy slide hammer - many are 'lightweight'. I have a hefty home made version if you are near Lancashire, you can borrow. An alternative to slide hammer (and as you seem to be scrapping the drums) - Cut the backplates off - angle grinder or oxy acxetylene will do it. This then means you can attack the halfshaft directly with a sledge hammer!! Bit brutal, but it will work. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Brian You will have left old oil in the system by not draining the Apollo, but won't do any harm. We change oil on 7's far too frequently. In a 'normal' tintop you would change at 20,000 miles!!! Suggest you make sure you change it next time. It's always a bit of a problem to remove the drain plug from the tank as tank is not fixed very well and is also of very light construction. I always find this better as a 2 man job with someone undoing the plug from below and someone holding the tank from above. Be careful with the tank though as it is easy to crack the welds around the out/in pipes - I know. As far as oil is concerned, I can't provide a definitive answer, but I think oil may have a colourant and it could be that you simply have samples from 2 differrent batches. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

A frame bush? Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Try Redline - 01883 346515 Supply all parts Caterham and Historic Lotus 7 parts!! Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

EU2 should have rev limiter at 7600 and a change warning light at 7400 (both 1.8 and 1.6) Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Car leaning to one side!!! Assuming car is dedion axle, suggest you check rear shocker mount on dedion. There have been a number of problems with the mount ripping the dedion tube - 2 of the LADS have had it in last 2 months - scary!! Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Steering rack and steering arms don't have to be level. I think first you need to establish whether you actually have bump steer or not. Bump steer is movement of the wheel in or out during movement of suspension and produces a car which is unstable over bumps. I'm surprised that he didn't check for you. An easy way is to simply remove the coil spring from the damper and refit the damper. With car jacked up and wheel removed, use a G clamp or similar to attach a long piece of metal or a brush handle to the disc. With wheels in a straight ahead mode, lift the suspension through its normal travel and watch the end of the length of metal. The length will exaggerate any movement. It is difficult sometimes to get no movement, but it can be reduced and or confined to part of the travel least used, by moving steering rack. Do this both sides (They can be different). As an aside, excessive slope of the steering arm may not be good as it may cause binding of the track rod end and potentially cause damage. Whilst you have the spring off move the suspension through its normal travel and at regular intervals move the wheels from lock to lock and check for any stiffness or binding. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

Get the rubber mats. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

When I had the starter problems, the symptoms were that it wouldn't start when hot. I also had the fuse blow on many occasions, but usually this was after a number of attempts to start. All my problems were cured after fitting a relay. After very regular non starting, I have not had it fail once in the last 2.5 years!! I would suggest you fit a relay and a 30 amp fuse. If it doesn't work for you, you'll have lost about £10 in parts - a small price to pay for what might be your solution. Paul Richards Joint AO - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens) Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional