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Piling onto this comment, another place where people go wrong -- including Caterham -- is the sensor mounting orientation. Sensor manufacturers recommend positioning it at least 10 degrees above horizontal to minimize the condensation pooling on the tip.

Looks like the one in my green Birkin. More about that later. What are think are Bosch numbers in the USA are: Bosch Starter - New - SR7559N Bosch Starter - Remanufactured - SR7559X After success with getting a new starter in the (Birkinized) Caterham, today I install a starter in the green Birkin. These two starters are marketed as different brands with different part numbers. They appear to have been remanufactured in the same place in Mexico. More details after I get this second one in and tested.

This is a common misconception about oxygen sensors and gauges. Oxygen sensors don't read AFR, they read Lambda. Lambda doesn't change with the type of fuel, and Lambda 1 is always stoichiometric regardless of fuel. The gauge converts the Lambda reading to AFR based on a user configurable setting which is a multiplier of stoich AFR * Lambda. By default this setting tends to be 14.7AFR = Lambda 1 for the gasoline scale we are used to. As a result, an engine idling with an AFR reading of 14.7 but running E85 doesn't actually have a 14.7:1 ratio in the exhaust, but instead 9.8:1 . The sensor is reading Lambda=1 (9.8:1 for E85), but the gauge has converted it to the gasoline scale. This of course changes if you modify the scale in your gauge. @Mudder The AEM X series gauges are good and reliable. Install the oxygen sensor behind the collector of your 4-1 header. It's also a good idea to wire the controller in such a way that it doesn't heat the sensor until the engine is running to prevent condensation from damaging the sensor.

I just found another folder with photos of a Birkin starter. Not sure how I missed this before.

I may be using TPU for a tricky airbox to air hose connection in another car. I'll be interested to hear how things go for you.

Thanks @JohnCh It’s nice to hear about PET. I work in the industry and actually tried developing a recycled PET filament about a decade ago. It didn’t gain much traction at the time, so it’s great to hear it’s being used now. It’s a good material and readily available. I’ve also been experimenting with high-durometer TPU in the engine bay. I’ll report back on how that goes.

I average just shy of 20mpg with regular cruising at 80 which puts my tach at 4100 rpm. More spirited drops from there a bit.

These cars have terrible aero. At over 100mph, mpg could drop pretty far...

Received the silvery mirror today. Nice looking piece. A photo hard to capture the depth of the material. But, there no way the “universal” bracket can mount it, if I want to see what’s behind us, not flying along behind us. I’ve reached out to Kamispeed, not expected back yet. But have any of you circumvented this issue?

Still looking around. I have apparently stored them so well I can't find them.

On the Econoseal pins it's a bit different - and I got it wrong! I was doing a little digging into pins and seals - specifically why I had grey seals vs. stock yellow and whether this made a difference - quick answer on that is that colors do correspond to wire sizes, but they aren't that consistent and the important thing is to choose a seal that is "snug" on the wire. But in going down this rabbit hole, I found that on Econoseal, the rear wings are actually meant to grip the seal and not just the wire insulation. This is shown in BigCol's excellent post on Fitting Econoseal Connectors - scroll down for the picture and you'll see what I mean. I think my connectors are OK, but pinning them in the proper way ensures the seal gets pulled into and really plugs the connector. And now, my OCD exists in this world where my connector seals are not quite 100%

Very nice! For under bonnet items, check out PET-CF. Prints just as nicely as PETG-CF, but can handle very high heat.

A good thing to keep in mind is that on most types of pins, the rear "wings" on the pin are intended to grip the wire insulation and serve to anchor the pin, while the front wings should grip just bare wire. This helps when looking at how much insulation you want to strip off, and how you want to position the wire in the pin when the pin's being held by the crimping tool.

Sorry to take so long to get back to you about your engine mounts, do you still have them? I'd like to buy them, they might not fit exactly as found but could well serve once modified.

There is some good real estate under the steering column that I decided to put to good use. I used some brass heat-set inserts for threads. For everything outside the engine bay, I use PETG with carbon fiber. I highly recommend it. This area is a perfect fit for an Element Extinguisher. I realize these aren't as good as a bottle of novec 1230, but it will probably be sufficient for my needs.

I’m signed up for SLC in Sept., will be trailering car (Lotus or Caterham TBD) from Austin. I’ve enjoyed several LOG events over the years. The combined Golden Gate Lotus / LOG event should be great. Heading to the UK next week for Taffia Fish & Chip Run, on my must do list for years. Now retired, I’m determined to make NJMP in October. Cheers! Steve

Hi there. John C. just gave you the ability to message. Feel free to respond to the message I just sent you.

8 MPG? You may want to pull the dipstick and sniff for gas smell.

How can I contact you?

That's the only real thing I'm worried about. 5 gallon tank, no real problems there if somehow that were true. I'm used to getting 15mpg in my STI so no issues there either lol. That being said, pretty sure my friend was plowing at 100+ mph for a good portion of that 40 mile drive, maybe even half of it lol

My 420R with roller barrels (and Caterham tune) gets crap mileage. 70mph cruise doesn't even get 20mpg. I think around 15-18. Always been that way. That's with aeroscreen, no doors, sticky tires.

The substitution of a hex bolt in the Birkin upper location is not going to work. Taking taking a Dremel-type cutting disc to an 8mm Allen-key-type wrench was a great help in for the Birken middle location, but no help for the upper. On the (Birkinized) Caterham, there was plenty of room to reach all the bolts with an 8mm driver mounted on a 3/8" ratchet handle.

He has a problematic Zetec that is getting horrid mileage. Someone with a 420 should be able to chime in with their typical street mpg. As proxies, my Westfield, with a taller (3.62 vs. 3.92) final drive returned ~25 mpg when it had 420 cams with ITBs, and about 1-2mpg worse after changing to more aggressive cams. Highway consumption when touring was much better. The 2.4L Duratec in my Caterham is pretty thirsty, barely breaking 20 mpg in normal (back roads/around town) street use. Something would need to be wrong for you to go through 5 gallons in just 40 miles of street use in a stock 420.

I have news. I stumbled into what looked like the right thing at O'Reilly and found one in stock, stuck it in my Caterham and it cranks. There was one review there and the vehicle shown in the review was a 2000 Ford Ranger, so I went through all the engine choices until I found the one that returned the model that I already know works. Surprise: It's not the Ranger four-banger. Ford part that was in Steve's driveline he sold me: F32U-1131-AA - search for 2000 Ford Ranger XLT - V6 - 3.0L 2986cc 182ci GAS MFI vin U - 2 valve OHV or 2000 Ford Ranger Sub-Model: XLT Engine: 6 Cylinders 3.0L Vulcan GAS =========== Confirmed works, cranked the Zetec in my "Birkin-equipped" Caterham: O'REILLY BesTest Starter - Remanufactured - V613177 =========== Probably works: - Ultima Starter - Remanufactured - R613177 - Ultima Select Starter - New - N613177 Part # N613177 Line: USL - Bosch Starter - New - SR7559N Part # SR7559N Line: BOS - Bosch Starter - Remanufactured - SR7559X Part # SR7559X Line: BOS - Duralast Remanufactured Starter DL3264S - TotalPro Remanufactured Starter T3218 Shop All TotalPro - Raw Power New Starter ES3218S Part #ES3218S - AC Delco Gold Starter 336-1113A - NAPA Starter - Reman - Standard Part #: RAY 2449308 - Starter - Remanufactured Denso at NAPA Part #: DEN 2805104

What is his fuel consumption? I went from thinking I had a full tank (5g by my definition at the time) to empty in like 40 miles .