Shaun_E

Depends on you MOT testers interpretation of the rules. I don't have side repeaters and my local MOT place passed it. The man stood to the side near the back of the car and checked that he could see the indicators operating (as described in the testing manual) and was happy that they were visible. Other testers may be more literal in their approach and require side repeaters. It seems that repeaters are required for SVA. Yellow SL #32

July 1997 does not need a catalytic converter. There is no emissions test for pre-SVA cars. I was going to point you to the 7FAQ page but it seems to be password protected at the moment. Anyway, any car pre-August 1998 does not need to pass an emissions test (just a visible smoke test). My car is a 1997 model and has passed several MOT's without a cat. Yellow SL #32

Radtec radiator is about £200 (L7OC bulk buy to get that price). Alternatives are the Caterham ali road rad or their triple pass racing rad. Search on here for comments on these. I went the Radtec route because it seems to be more efficient than the Caterham road one and cheaper than the racing triple pass job. Some people have concerns over the flow rates achieved in the triple pass rad as the cores are smaller. Fitting is a doddle - disconnect fan, disconnect lower radiator hose making sure you have a suitable reeceptacle for the coolant, disconnect upper radiator hoses, unbolt radiator (4 bolts), ubolt fan from radiator (4 bolts) then reverse the process and refill with coolant. Bleeding can be a pain but get the front of the car as high as possible to remove airlocks (search techtalk for more info on this). Yellow SL #32

Henry - worked for me. I went from the standard heavy black thing to a Radtec Ali radiator (mainly because I was fitting a Laminova oil coller) and this has kept temperatures much lower especially on track. Yellow SL #32

Sorry I don't know the weights of the 10 spokes but have heard that they are pretty light (comparable to 13" minilites I believe). Aren't the Barnby wheels only 13"? I'm pretty sure that some poeple have also fitted Compomotive wheels such as the CXR or ML from George Polley. These again are said to be light weight but I don't know the figures. Do a search on here for CXR and there will probably be a thread on them. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Any given radiator has a limit to how much heat it can dispel and that limit is dependent on the temperature differential between the coolant and the surrounding air. Air flow of course has an important effect but assuming the car moves at a fixed speed then with a greater temperature differential, more heat is exchanged. When the air temp is 15 there is a minimum temperature differential of 65 degrees and the radiator is able to lose enough heat to keep the water at 80. When the ambient temp is 25 degrees then the minimum differential, would only be 55 degrees and less heat can be lost by the radiator. The water temp therefore rises to 90 and the minumum differential is now 65 degrees again so the radiator once more can dump the heat at the same rate. This is hugely simplified (and I'm no thermodynamicist) but I think is roughly correct. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Norman, How about the Caterham 10 spokes with CR500 tyres as fitted to the R300/R400. I noticed your old Yokohamas at Le Mans and wondered when you'd get around to fitting some stickier tyres to match the engine and carbon . The CR500's are supposed to be very light and great allrounder's. For something more extreme how about ACB10's - not so good in the wet though. I'm running Yoko A048R's which seem to be flavour of the month and I am very impressed - they are heavier than CR500's but are also cheaper. I don't know if you can get them in suitable 15" sizes. Other popular options are A021R (good in the wet but wear fast on dry tracks) and A032R's which are great in the dry but not so hot in the wet. A048's are a very good compromise between the 2. Personally, money no object, and for mainly road use I'd go for CR500. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Just buy a new one - it's about £40 plus VAT and comes with the bushes already installed therefore saving you a whole world of grief!. Yellow SL #32

All sounds pretty normal to me - those temperatures should not casue you any problems. You only need to worry if your coolant temp is consistently over 100 and the fan does not bring it down. If you plan to do a lot of hot weather driving or trackdays then you will need a better radiator and possibly an oil cooler. Do a search for Radtec or Laminova and you'll find plenty of information on those. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Charlie - 55 lbft is the correct torque. Yellow SL #32

As BOSS says but please note if you move them to the position nearest the driver then things to watch are: 1. You may find that the brake needs some careful adjustment - check this carefully as I had the brakes rubbing the first time I adjusted mine. It's fiddly due to the shape of the end of the pedal that pushes the master cylinder piston 2. The pedals will sit higher from the floor than in the middle position which may take some getting used to - I have to lift my foot a little to hit the brake pedal squarely. 3. You will have to adjust the throttle - this is easily done with the locknut adjusters Shaun Yellow SL #32

Have a look here. Or you can look it up on this MOT site. But basically for a pre S reg (1998) car you only have to pass a visible smoke test. Yellow SL #32

Don't fit a normal ignition switch - it weighs loads and the barrel/key bangs your leg - best to fit an immobiliser of some sort. Take a look at Julian Thompsons website where he actually removed the barrel and replaced with keyless ignition. Shaun Yellow SL #32

CF will normally only star if it is laquered - a bit like my front wings ☹️. Bare carbon should be fine. Yellow SL #32

Alloy rad - try Radtec or Caterham do either an Aluminum road rad or a triple pass race rad. I have a Radtec as do a number of other owners as it is cheaper than the triple pass one from Caterham yet offers a higher level of cooling than the Caterham road one. Dry sump - Pace or Caterham. Search for Pace on here and you should find Hoopy's post on what you need and how to fit it. The Caterham one is more expensive but a "neater" solution due to the bellhousing oil reservoir. Exhaust - Caterham or you could have one made up by any of Powerspeed, Exhaust by Design, Haywood and Scott. I'm sure lot of people will have recommendations or search for those names on here. Throttlebodies - you'll really want a programmable ECU with those so probably best to get an Emerald first and then think about throttle bodies, cams, head work. If you are happy to leave the standard Caterham fold then DVA is probably the best person to talk to. Yellow SL #32

As said, most track day organisers do not specify any type of rollover protection. The L7OC insist that you have an FIA approved roll bar although they do not ask for the petty strut to be fitted. Caterham supply just such a bar which is thicker than the standard bar and it has an additional diagonal brace. The petty strut comes with it but when fitted prevents you taking a passenger. Fitting fo the bar can be done by yourself and a search of techtalk will reveal how (the main thing is you have to disconnect part of the rear suspension - dampers I think). Caterham will of course fit it for you as I am sure will any of the other service agents. Yellow SL #32

The ear defender is a Peltor unit that costs about £12 - Autocom then add the electronics. You could perhaps do this yourself or Autocom may give you a favourable price to do it for you. Obviously this doesn't help now but does offer you a longer term solution. Yellow SL #32

Yep - just over ninety is about right for the fan to kick in. Stuck in traffic it wouldn't be unusual to see the temperature reach over 100 - as long it doesn't go much higher and returns as soon as you are under way then you probably don't have a problem. If you consistently get very high temperatures then you probably should look at replacing the radiator. Caterham do an ali road version or you could get a Radtec as I have which has more cooling capacity. Caterham do a triple pass race radiator as well but that is a)expensive and b)some people say it could reduce water flow. Any of these radiators can have the newer style cooling fans attached to them. Yellow SL #32

Neil - they will die pretty quickly on a dry track. Not so much of a problem at Anglesey . I've killed 2 sets of A021's in 2 years and about 10,000 miles (including 5 track days). A hot day at Llandow certainly took it's toll on one set. I've now switched to A048R's but they're fresh on so no appreciable wear yet (Cadwell was wet so didn't wear them much). Yellow SL #32

You could claim on your insurance - usually £50 excess and no claims unaffected. From Caterham a new (heated) windscreen comes with the surround and is about £250. The MOT alternative is just remove the windscreen 😬. The MOT regs are here. Shaun Edited for a better link. Yellow SL #32 Edited by - Shaun_E on 19 May 2004 09:34:48

Definitely not worth starting again. As you say the old oil is so diluted it won't have much effect (if any). I recently changed the oil on mine and forgot I had to drain the Apollo 😳. Yellow SL #32

Burt, It would seem that no one else has been through this issue so I'll try and help a bit. I have replaced the radiator on my car (1997 Superlight) to improve cooling and it may be that the radiator is the problem on your car - they can get clogged up, the fins get crushed, etc. I recently helped a someone fit a new rad to an '89 crossflow and that has the big fan on the engine side of the rad - the fan is pretty bulky but seems to do the job OK. There is no reason why you shouldn't replace the fan first but they aren't as cheap as you might think. Caterhams now come fitted with a fan that bolts to the radiator (engine side) and as long as your radiator has the 4 mounting brackets then there is no reason why you shouldn't use this standard part. There is also an R500 fan which I think fits on the front of the radiator (blows through) - this might be overkill though. I'd give Caterham a ring and see what they suggest. Shaun Yellow SL #32

New fan switch is £10 from Caterham or do a search and you will find the VW part number and the pattern equivalent available from all good auto factors (or failing that Halfrauds ) for less than £10. I believe that the fan should come on somewhere in the mid 90's (92 or 95 ring a bell) and then go off again somewhere in the high 80's (88 maybe). Bear in mind that the thermostat doesn't open until something like 88 deg or 82 deg depending on the one fitted so the fan doesn't need to come on until much higher. The fan switches are notoriously unreliable and the cheapest and easiest way of checking is to replace it. It would probably be worth getting a spare as well. You can fit them without draining the cooling system as long as you are quick - unscrew old one and stick finger over hole then quickly screw in new one. Top up the coolant if you lost a significant amount, run the car up to temperature, stop and unscrew bleed valve until air gone and water comes out. Shaun Yellow SL #32

Have heard good things about this product. If the screens aren't too bad then bumper care polish (e.g. Autoglymn) might do the trick. Yellow SL #32

Check out Roy Booth's site here for pictures and installation instructions. When I fitted mine, the existing Apollo tank was in a slightly different position to Roy's and this made fitting the Laminova in a bit of a pain. Oil pressure will drop slightly but not much. The job is pretty easy if done with patience and if you have expensive silicon hoses then measure several times before cutting - this being the voice of experience and only using a 2 inch section of a very expensive top hose ☹️ Yellow SL #32