JohnCh

Pokey must be shaking his head in disbelief as he reads this Congrats on making it through Utah's arduous process! -John

If your current career doesn't work out, you have a promising future in garage design -- very nicely done! -John

Atterbud, there is upcoming event at NJ Motorsport Park that will have a wide variety of cars on hand. Might be worth the drive. -John

I could have sworn the made changes to the collector plate around 10 years ago making it far more widely available. Thanks for the correction. -John

It should be easier to get the waiver these days. Back in 2008, the state didn't like cars running around without a front plate and spent quite a bit of time looking for reasons to deny a request. Since then, they've added a Collector plate option for cars 30+ years old, and don't even issue a front plate for those registrations. -John

I received a front plate waiver for my car in late 2008. WSP initially denied the request due to feedback from, of all things, a bike-engined Caterham dealer in Canada. I wrote an appeal explaining why that input source was not applicable, provided photos, then waited a month while WSP contacted a US Westfield dealer, the US Westfield distributor, and the UK headquarters, before eventually granting my request. The official waiver letter must be kept in the car and presented with my registration if I am pulled over for that transgression. However, after nearly 20 years of se7en ownership in WA with no front plate, I think it's a non issue for our cars. Fun to have though... And congratulations Greg. Looking forward to your upgrade thread, which I have a feeling will happen in the not-to-distant future. -John

James, would you mind sharing with me too, please? I just completed a long, somewhat painful, 2.0L build using Kent DTEC20 cams which are halfway between the DTEC10 in the R400/420 and the DTEC35 in the R500. Based on other input, I reused the Kent single coil springs from my prior build (Kent DTEC10), which are apparently the old R500 springs prone to failure, so I'm, um...concerned. Thanks, John

Since Croc had the last word, I really shouldn't say anything more -John

Mazda's post on the creation of this sub forum is here. It's been around for over 10 years, yet this community remains a bastion of civility in an increasingly divisive online world. That's not because we don't have a space to air opinions on polarizing topics, It's because each of you choose to treat other members with respect. We may not all share the same religious beliefs, political ideology, or opinion of NASCAR, but we haven't let that get in the way of finding common ground in all things se7en. Maybe if more people found joy in hustling a featherweight car down a winding road, the world would be a better place. And if you agree with that sentiment, please feel free to write my name down on your ballot this November -John

It's not just BlatChat, I've seen them on WSCC as well. In keeping with spirit of the UK forums commenting on US politics, perhaps we should focus this thread on Boris and Brexit? :jester: -John

I wish I had heard of this issue prior to my rebuild. Neither Raceline nor Kent mentioned it and Kent does sell double spring kits for their cams more extreme than the DTEC35. Were the failures on track day cars that spent a lot of time north of 8000rpm, or did the issue also affect street cars that just saw brief forays to high revs in the lower gears? Thanks, John

Croc, how noticeable is the weight difference between the engines when changing direction? Is it subtle, or an obvious improvement? Thanks, John

The person with whom you spoke clearly isn't familiar with the R500. The engine makes peak power at 8500rpm, so recommending you swap to a 2.3L head to achieve 7500rpm is, um...bollocks. The heads have a casting number above the exhaust ports that can be used to identify which version you have, however, I'm pretty sure Caterham fitted a CNC-ported variant to the R500. Is the plan to do a full rebuild? The R500 uses the Kent DTEC35 cams. Rumor has it these are made to specifications developed by Raceline who then supplies them to Caterham. The valve springs should be the Kent VSK31. Pete at Raceline is a really good, helpful guy. If you can't get definitive answers from others, you could give him a call at the workshop number to discuss. They might also supply Caterham with the other engine internals and could get you what you need. https://www.raceline.co.uk/ -John

I thought the red "sleigh" was sufficient. -John

Did you say Christmas tree? Original Westfield back in 2002. Fortunately the trip back from the lot didn't require me to look to my right for any turns. -John

I take the Westfield to Costco whenever I want to refrain from purchasing things in industrial-sized quantities. Like Bruce, I also use it when picking up long items from Home Depot. The ultimate SUV... -John

Add the car in Carnation last year, and the Eastside is becoming the hotbed of Puget Sound. After almost 20 years of se7en ownership, I finally have some people nearby to play with! -John

Congratulations! Good see the car is staying local. I'm looking forward to reading your upcoming build thread (yes, that's a hint ) -John

Seat comfort is a personal thing. When you visit Bruce's shop, spend a fair amount of time sitting in the car to determine if they work for you. My car has Mog seats which are carbon fiber shells similar to Tillets, and although they look painful, they are very comfortable for my back. Over the years I've covered more that 12,000 miles on tours, with the longest day a little over 630 miles, and would never consider swapping them out for a more conventional seat. YMMV. -John

Congratulations, that's a screaming deal! People have paid more on BaT for older, crossflow-powered cars. Did the PPI reveal any undisclosed issues you need to address? -John

You don't waste any time! I know Beachman Racing (Caterham dealer in WA) partners with a shop that does high-end Duratec builds, and Birkin USA has a shop local to them in CO that does the same. Might be worth a call if you can't find anyone local who gives you confidence and you're willing to ship the engine cross country. Are you looking to refresh the engine, or just have the valve spring replaced? If the latter, I'd pull the head now to check the condition of the bores and ensure there is no need to tear apart the short block. If everything else looks fine, then I'd get recommendations for a good local shop that does heads (your local Miata Club chapter might be a good resource given those cars have used the Duratec since 2005) have them give it a once over and replace the springs. Installing the head and timing the cams requires a few specialized tools, but it's not that hard with the engine out. -John

The tooling bar sets cam timing to stock Ford specifications which differs from aftermarket cam timing, including those used in the R500. You will need a dial indicator to set it correctly. Personally, I would remove the engine. It's not that much harder than removing the head and it is much easier to reassemble and set cam timing with the engine out of the car. To get a sense of what's involved when installing the head and setting cam timing, check out the Cosworth CSR260 Build manual here. Note: their cam timing instructions are very specific to their cams and associated timing. This site shows a more generic approach: http://www.dubaipetrolheads.com/biggles/cams.html -John

I came across a gearing calculator that might interest some of you. It's not great for doing comparisons, but it does output a very nice visual that shows pertinent information in one view. https://www.blocklayer.com/rpm-gear.aspx -John

The Caterham will enjoy being exercised on E. Mercer Way I haven't connected with Tom in nearly 2 years. Good reminder to check in with him. -John

It looks like Gert hasn't been on the forum since last summer. Try sending him a PM which should trigger an email alert. If he doesn't get back to you, let me know and I'll see if I can put you in touch. -John