JohnCh

Here's a lousy picture of mine. The grease nipple is located in the center of the photo. From what I've read, the cars are shipped with the u-joints pre-greased, but many consider it a good idea to top them up because...well, Caterham. 'Nuff said. -John

Thanks @papak, I contacted Tom over the weekend, who confirmed he still has those on hand. Although that remains an option, it looks like a modified oil filler cap will be all that's required.

Thanks Bartman, I hadn't seen the Westermann cap before, but it's similar to what I'll attempt later. The key difference is that rather than have the cap fully below the lip and requiring a tool to open, I think there is enough room to place a thin aluminum lid ~1-2mm thick on top of the cap, then bend the sides of the aluminum downward to give something for fingers to grab when opening. Thanks, John

Thanks @Bartman, that's along the lines of what I'm planning. Looking at the Ford factory oil filler cap yesterday, I saw some ways to modify it so that it only extends about 1-2mm over the lip, which will give me more than enough clearance. -John

It occurred to me that the bonnet is pretty floppy, and the measurements taken earlier were without the nosecone in place, which might lift the front of the bonnet. Turns out it does. It appears that before any foam rubber is added to the nosecone lip that supports the bonnet, I've gained another 5mm. If I can replace the oil filler cap with a custom version that doesn't extend over the lip, or if it does, shave the lip down by that same thickness, I'll be fine as-is. -John

I took a look at the engine mounts yesterday with that thought in mind. It looks like 3mm could be shaved from the bottom of the arms that bolt to the block, and the rubber bobbins could potentially have another 5mm shaved from them. Not sure if that would be a good or bad idea, but then there is the trans mount which I have yet to examine. And with engine rocking, some buffer is desirable. I know there are other people out there running the 2.3L in an S3 without the shortened valve cover but not sure if they live with the occasional interference or if chassis-to -chassis differences and changes over the years contribute to the extra space. Can anyone comment? Thanks, John

Great suggestion @MV8. I forgot I bought an oscillating tool a few years ago to help with some corner sanding. After wrapping the engine in plastic to ensure no aluminum shavings would work their way into places they don't belong, the metal blade produced a clean, accurate cut. Photos below show the end result and the extra space created in the engine bay. The next attempt at the temporary install was much, much quicker. It looks like I'll need to shim out the right-hand engine mount from the block to get the engine mount to line up with the chassis holes, but it's only off by about one washer thickness, so should be straightforward. Less straightforward is engine to bonnet clearance. With the oil cap removed and the bonnet resting on that mating surface, the bonnet was sitting about 2mm above the side skin. It looks like a modified cam cover is in my future. Raceline sells one that will work height-wise, but their webpage states it's designed to be used with standard Ford coil pack and that coil-on-plugs can't be used. However, one of the three photos shows the cam cover installed in a car with COP in place, so clearly it can be done. Are there any other options out there? I seem to recall that Birkin has/had one? -John

Drilling out the side skin to clean up the holes was uneventful. With that blocker out of the way, I decided to try the temp engine install again after work. Based on everything I've read, installing the engine is tight in these cars, but I assumed that since I wasn't installing the engine/gearbox unit, and simply the long block, this would be easy. Just drop it straight down. Well...no. Doing it solo was a lot fiddlier than I expected. I couldn't just drop it down, but rather had to move the block fore and aft as I slowly lowered it down while simultaneously pandering to my paranoia about damaging my new car. Once the engine was roughly in place, and the RH mount could be reinstalled (otherwise, chassis tubes are in the way), I discovered it was impossible to get both engine mounts to align. With one side aligned, the other was always slightly out. It was close, but not close enough to force the issue. Surely, I was missing something? I kept at it, willing chassis tubes and the engine to occupy the same space at the same time but was unsuccessful. Then I had an epiphany. Well, more of a hypothesis that made me swear up a storm in anticipation of being proven correct. Caterham uses the Raceline dry sump system. To keep it simple, I bought the Raceline dry sump system for this engine. Raceline and I had many conversations about my project, and I obtained a lot of parts from them. i.e. they knew this was going in a 2022 420R SV. It turns out the front of the dry sump pan they provided extends out from either side of the block by about 35mm more than their pan fitted to the Caterham 420 engine. The extensions contain through-holes that appear to be engine mounts for a different installation. With that extra material in place, engine installation is a physics impossibility. Tomorrow, I break out a hacksaw and files. Tonight, I open a Guinness. Or two. Or... -John

Thanks @MV8 I missed that when digging through that version of the manual, but it is the size I initially bough. Bruce Beachman also got back to me quickly, confirming the size and that I will need to drill into the side skin. -John

I planned to do a temp install of the engine over lunch today to help me sort out available space for my non-standard items. Of course, Caterham forgot to include the bolts that attach the engine mounting bobbins to the chassis and the size is not listed in the various build manuals I have on hand. Based on the size of the holes in those mounts and the matching holes in the chassis, it looks like either M8 or 5/16". Opting for the former, and buying suitably sized fasteners, I discovered that when Caterham punched the hole in the bottom of the side skin for those fasteners, they drove up some of the aluminum skin several mm into the holes. This shrinks down the bottom of the hole to something that can only handle an M6 or 1/4" fastener. That seems too small for an engine mount. Can anyone confirm it the larger size is correct and if I'm supposed to drill out superfluous side skin material from underneath? The photo below is representative of all 4 holes. Thanks, John

Thanks @sltous! I wondered about those first and last holes. I didn't have an issue drilling out the rivets in those locations but did wonder if I could drill perpendicular-enough hole for the rivnut. -John

Are you looking for an actual cup holder, or a hydration solution when going on long drives? If the latter, consider something like this Camelbak. I have an older version that attaches behind the seat (put strap through shoulder harness cutouts or around the headrest.) G-forces don't create a mess, it stays out of the way, and it can be filled with ice to keep the beverage cold on very hot days. -John

Thanks @MV8 I'll keep that change in mind when I get to that part of the project. I have a lot of wiring to undo, redo, and replace before I even think about that part of the build.

If your wiring harness can't accommodate the DRL, you might be able to fabricate something simple with a relay. For my car, I plan to use a relay that feeds power from a switched 12v+ to the DRLs (low wattage LEDs), and when the running lights are on, that circuit energizes the coil, cuts that connection, and turns the DRLs off. This way the DRLs come on with the key but don't operate with the headlights on. From a wiring perspective, I'm thinking: 87a = switched 12v+ 87 = dead end 30 = 12v+ feed to DRL 86 = 12v+ from running lights 85 = ground Does anyone see any obvious flaws with this approach or have a better way to do it? Thanks, John

Congrats! One word of warning as you track your ship; if it's like my experience, it will disappear for several days at a time (4 days was the longest). Although that can be a bit concerning, it turns out it was just GPS/app issues, not a shipwreck or pirates. I'm sure you'll have the car soon. -John

Thanks @11Budlite that's a much better installation for access. Interesting that the fuse boxes are so different between our cars. I would expect the fuse count to be the same despite the three years and different engine spec but you have 26 fuses vs. 18 in mine. Some of that might be attributed to spares, but not all. I've been running a Ballistic EVO 2 in the Westfield for years. It's started the car after sitting overnight in mid 30F weather and can be picked up with a thumb and forefinger. What's not to like about that? Now that Ballistic is out of business, I'm debating between the AntiGravity and EarthX. Good to hear yours is working well. -John

Last night I had this same thought. I don't think room will be an issue given I won't have a heater box, I'll run a smaller Lithium battery, and I may not use the factory air filter setup. I'll check space availability once I figure out where things will fit with the revised dash layout and where I mount the ECU. Thanks Bruce. Absolutely no rush since I won't get to this for a while, but when you have time, I'd love to see it. -John

Thanks, I'll add those parts to the list.

Thanks to the help of a few people on the forum, I was finally able to remove the scuttle. See thread I linked to above for details if you tackle this yourself in the future. Since I was doing this solo and wasn't sure if the windscreen would attempt to tip backward once the 4 securing bolts were removed, I burned through a bunch of blue tape and had a razor blade handy to cut them when I attempted to lift it off. Worked flawlessly. Probably the only time I'll say that throughout the entire build. For some reason, the factory didn't trim the windscreen rubber on either side. I can take care of this now that the windscreen and stanchions are removed. Wow, that's a lot of wires to undo! I'm still waiting for my 620 dash wiring sub loom to arrive which will replace a chunk of them, and the AiM will receive signals from the ECU for all the gauges, so most of those wires will also go. CAN will make this much cleaner. With the scuttle removed, I'm left shaking my head at the fuse box. It seems that a contortionist will be required to reach several of those fuses. Once I understand how the cover is supposed to fit, I'll see if there is a way to reposition that for much easier access. The Westfield mounts them under the bonnet in front of the scuttle, which makes for much easier roadside fuse replacement. -John

I confirmed that with sufficient blue tape to prevent the windscreen from falling backward and protect the scuttle paint, removing the windscreen is indeed a one-person job. For anyone doing this in the future, items to remove are: 26 rivets at the front of the scuttle, plus 2 more on the sides 4 scuttle retaining nuts that attach the scuttle to the chassis tubes Windscreen wiper arm nuts Windscreen washer tube The two screws in the pair of tonneau snaps on the top center of the dash Wiring loom connection box secured by Velcro to the underside of the scuttle near the tonneau snaps Two heated screen wires located at either end of the windscreen. I was unable to remove the grommets, so resorted to cutting off the connectors. I'll probably replace them with bullet connectors that can slide through the grommet to make that process easier The windscreen with stanchions You will also need a lot of blue tape and a Guinness to steady your nerves. I'll add more pictures in my build thread. -John

Thanks @sltous, @11Budlite confirmed he also removes the windscreen first. I read in someone's blog they recommend three (no, not a typo) people be on hand to remove the windscreen. I might take a shot at doing it solo later today. I think I can stabilize things enough with tape and cardboard that if it proves problematic doing it myself, I can get the windscreen safely back into place without damage. Famous last words... -John

If an M4 rivnut will fit in that location, I'm going that route. The M4 button head diameter is the same as the rivet it replaces, so aesthetically it's a wash, and the M3 heads are a little too easy to strip in my experience. But then again, I'm a klutz. I removed all the other things holding the scuttle in place: heated screen wires, wiper nuts, washer tube, some electrical box velcro'd to the underside, etc. However, it appears removing it is a two-person job given the various bits that are in the way. It will either take a lot of simultaneous maneuvering from both sides, or the windscreen needs to come off so the scuttle can flex a bit to the sides and clear everything. I suspect some cars are easier in this regard given the hand-built nature. The Westfield, in contrast, is a one-person job. Unbolt everything and lift straight up. -John

I didn't realize there are two more rivets that attach either side of the scuttle to the dash tube (thought those were small dome head screws.) @sltous and @11Budlite how did you handle that? Can you put a rivnut in that tube? Thanks, John

Westfields from that era should have the chassis number stamped on top of the lower tube located directly in front of the engine. The i indicates it's an IRS car, not a live axle. Does that match the information you have? Cheers, John

I spent 10 minutes in the garage drilling out the remaining rivets. The first 19 went smoothly, but the next two left the rivet head in place. Carefully scribing the paint around the circumference followed by a slight tap was sufficient to knock them off without any damage. Glad I didn't have to attempt that for all 24. I'll update my build thread later once the scuttle is removed. -John