JohnCh

Between work and personal commitments, any longish blats are likely out for me for a while. -John

That's such a great area, particularly early in the morning when traffic is lightest. Have you tried the road from Randle down to Mount St. Helens? Great corners, but the road surface can be pretty bad in places. Or at least it was about three years ago when I last made the trek. -John

Is it possible someplace like McMaster-Carr has shims that will work? -John

Could this be specific to @Vovchandr's Zetec version? A quick search found a part on Burton Power's website that looks identical to his first photo. https://www.burtonpower.com/shim-160-x-6mm-stem-top-hat-type-ford-zetec-e-fz215.html -John

No clue, but might be worth contacting a few manufacturers. They typically have pretty tight charging voltage windows, so the generator could be problematic. -John

I converted to LiFePO4 over 9 years ago. I still shake my head in awe when picking it up. -John

The owner of LithiumMoto contacted me yesterday asking permission to post about his LiFePO4 batteries. I don’t want to turn this forum into a place where vendors post ads, but given this product is in a category that has a lot of interest, and I’ve never heard them mentioned in prior threads, I thought I would share the link for awareness. https://lithiummoto.com They are a boutique manufacturer based in FL who make custom batteries in addition to their two production units which include a Battery Management System, low battery restart feature, an aluminum case that aids in thermal management, and are repairable. I've found positive online references dating back to 2012, so they've been around for a while. Does anyone have experience with them? -John

He was probably referring to the low-volume manufacturer exception that SEMA helped push through Congress about 5 or 6 years ago. Implementation was on hold until the NHTSA published their own associated regulation. As I recall that happened early this year. However, given this was done at the Federal level, I imagine each state can implement their own additional provisions that render the legislation moot. Any bets on the state most likely to do that? -John

Quick search shows CT is equally concerned about your car's safety when parallel parking. These pictures might serve as inspiration: -John

I just had an antique clock damaged in interstate shipping, but have always been fortunate in orders from the UK. One trick is to never write the word "Fragile" on the outside as some shippers seem to take that as a challenge. Looking forward to your next update! -John

Wow, that's a lot of damage! Did you buy that from Caterhams' scratch and dent bin, or did that happen in shipping to you? -John

Any updates? Did the head check out ok at the machine shop? -John

Congratulations to you both! Glad to see the car is staying in the USA7s family. -John

Fans of The Grand Tour/old Top Gear might appreciate the email I received late last week updating me on availability outside the UK. BTW @Vovchandr someone who works for me in the UK is a gin aficionado and has a bottle on order. I'll share her impressions once I have them. -John

Actually I wouldn't advocate for Emerald in this case. The easiest approach is the unlocked MBE which should be very close to plug and play and give added flexibility for future mods or diagnostics (data logging is great for this.) Given the number of Caterhams SBD works with, I'd hope they know if they assign the configurable pins differently than Caterham. That should be an easy change in the software. Did they say if the starter map is specific to a 420R engine or is it a generic map? -John

Call SBD to discuss the unlocked ECU. They carry a few unlocked MBE models and state they can supply starter maps as well as modified maps. Given you have a known and common configuration, they may have a map ready to go or very easy to modify. Worth a phone call to find out. https://www.sbdmotorsport.co.uk/ -John

My guess is that the L-shaped covers the area above and outboard of the carbon/stainless mudguard, whereas Large covers that complete area. I plan to leave the carbon mudguard in the box and use the bigger piece. -John

That looks like a lot of fun! I may need to research this more -John

Might be worth a call to SBD. They sell unlocked MBEs and they may have a 420R map available that works with a constant fuel pressure setup. -John

Yes, thanks for catching that. It does look odd. Is it only on 2-4? -John

Have you examined the bores, valve springs, and valve seats yet? I know the color of the exhaust valves isn't a red flag, but it's interesting that the edges of pistons 2-4 on the exhaust side have matching discoloration. For the experts, does that point to an issue? -John

Did you remove the head this weekend as planned? If so, what did you find? Thanks, John

@fastg I think you mean this photo. Is that a reflection/optical illusion or is the top of that lobe damaged? -John

Do the dark black streaks wipe off or is the metal discolored? Get a quality dial indicator and holder. I've had the cheap stuff and discovered there was enough lateral play that readings done on an angle, like when setting cam timing, were not repeatable. -John

@Vovchandr not to create more angst, but are those lobes burnished or is that simply oil? Also, be careful of the aftermarket TDC bolts. I have two aftermarket versions for the Duratec and one from Ford. One of those aftermarket bolts is slightly off as confirmed with a dial indicator. The other two bolts are spot on. -John