tikijose

Update: I was able to find brake shoes out of the UK. They're not OEM, but The quality looks good, and they fit perfectly. The friction pads were about 8mm shorter than the originals, though I doubt that will matter much in the real world. They were available on eBay from BNC Autoparts out of the UK, and very inexpensive at £15.89 plus shipping. The total came to $51. They took two weeks to get here, but they are here now and I'm back on the road. They are to fit Morris Marina, "Ital" 1970-1984. I hope this ends up helping someone in the future. JT

Thanks for the advice. Definitely worth it if I can't find a set. For sure, I'm not going to toss the cores if I end up finding replacements. JT

Does anyone have a source for brake shoes for the Ital Axle? (1997 S3 solid axle.) After 24 years, the sole separated from the shoe. I've been looking under lots of different OEM types, Escort, Marina, etc. but not finding anyone that carries them in the US. Worth a shot to try here. Thanks in advance.

As reference, this is the sump on my 1997 Caterham 1600 crossflow. I think it's original to the engine as supplied by Caterham, but it's a wonky thing that appears to have been cut down from a standard pan like yours by cutting off the bottom, welding a flat sheet to the bottom and bending up in the front. This gives it another inch or so clearance. It works, but it is fragile. Since the bottom is flat, it bends up pretty easily when it hits anything. When dented, it tends to obstruct the oil pickup leading to low oil pressure. I know this from experience. Sorry I don't have any photos of the inside baffling. If you have a decent fabricator, they could likely do something like this, although a dry sump would be nice.

Thanks. Yeah, I have the same experience of no issues here, but have more friends in LA now, and will be up there more. The cops can be real jerks there.

Hi, I searched, but didn’t see anything on this. I’m wondering if anyone has had issues with not having a front license plate (obviously in states that require them.) I’ve had no problems in San Diego, but have had problems on a different car in West Hollywood, where I swear they ticketed me because the car wasn’t nice enough for the neighborhood. This results in a fix-it ticket, and I have no clue how you would mount a plate on the 7 without blocking the radiator. I won’t be putting one on until it I get a ticket for it, but wondering if anyone has had to deal with this? What solution did you come up with? Thanks in advance.

I completely agree with everything "C" says. Set the budget, have the money ready, be prepared to ship the car, and if you find a car you like, jump on it. I lost four cars before getting this one. Two were sold the same day they were posted. As for constant maintenance, it's a hand built car designed for performance, not reliability. They are really easy to work on, there are tons of people online to help, and parts are generally inexpensive.

I waited 6 weeks for the car to be picked up. The carrier, who runs their own trucks, quoted a price, but would not guarantee even a window for pickup. The location wasn't convenient, so it took 8 weeks to get the car from Pennsylvania to California. Try to get a pickup window agreed in advance.

Keep pushing up the ladder at DMV. I went through the California SB-100 process last year on a car from PA that actually had a year on the title. My local DMV had no clue what they were doing, and it wasn't until I pushed up the chain and got in touch with the special build guru in Sacramento that things started to get cleared up. He helped immensely, and then got me talking to the smog engineer to go through the real smog requirements and what would satisfy them. In the end, we were able to push through and get the local DMV and smog referee on the right track. Familiarize yourself with your state vehicle code as it pertains to "special build" or kit cars, so you can walk the local DMV through the process. In California, they allow 500 special build cars per year, and there are 9000 DMV employees meaning that there's a 5% chance that the first person you talk to at the local DMV has had a special build car in the last year. If you have the correct information, you can walk them through their own process and steer them back when they make a wrong turn. You may have to call different offices and find someone familiar with process. As someone else said earlier, they really do want the taxes, so in the end, they want to register the car. The trick is to do it right and preserve your resale value.

Thanks for the advice. Dave Bean recommended a Smith's gauge for the tach. It's a bit pricey, but it works with the Pertronics and it's British. I keep hearing everyone say the oil pressure gauge is an issue. Currently, it's my most reliable gauge. Fuel sender unit is dying and doesn't read above 1/4 tank, temperature sender is dead with a new one on the way, tach is flaky because of the ignition, and the speedometer is way out of calibration. It's so good to be back in a British car.

Thanks, Good to know it's not just me then. May have to experiment with some resistors on the tach input. I have a tech request in to Pertronix. Maybe they've seen this before. I can't give up the new ignition though. It's made such a difference in the car. Either my old coil was giving out, or the advance curve was way off. It's so much better now. JT

The distributor and coil upgrade were very successful. My suspicions were confirmed and the old Lucas coil just wasn't advancing properly. The car is running really well. The problem now is that the tach is really flaky. It bounces around and seems to bounce more as the RPMs increase. I ended up disconnecting the tach so I wouldn't damage it. The new coil is a Pertronix Flamethrower II (0.6ohm primary). Is the coil overpowering the tach? Has anyone seen this? Is there a solution out there?

Thanks for the help. Hopefully, this will be a simple upgrade. JT

Hey, does anyone know if the Lucas distributor on a crossflow can be removed without removing the intake manifold? I have twin DCOE40s. I'm wondering if I need to add an intake gasket to my Pegasus order. Thanks!

Sounds like you have the right cap. The Motorcraft 100 is what I just pulled off my 1600 crossflow and replaced with a Pep Boys (Stant?) 13lb cap. Seems to work, though I still seem to be running a bit hot, which could be any number of things. Will be checking the overflow and the coolant level this weekend and will know for sure. I would think you could probably go 16lbs without any problems. That may solve your overflow issues.

It's a little late to jump in again, but my 1997 did not have hardened valve seats. I just did a valve job and had seats installed. The original seats had recessed significantly and were beyond repair. (my engine was built by GP Enterprises, and this head was not new at the time of their build.) I'm now looking for anyone's advice on ignition timing. I think 14 degrees may be a bit much for the 91 octane unleaded we get here in California, but would like to hear from anyone who has experience with this who can chime in. May start a new thread with the question if I can't find anything.

Gotta love that the Fangio car is in un-restored condition. Though the rest of the silver arrows are beautiful in their own right, they just seem too perfect. I'd love to see this car sitting in a proud spot at the Mercedes museum in functional condition but in it's full patina, and sporting the scars and road rash of an excellent career.

This is the image I have in my head every time I take the Caterham under the gate arm in the parking garage.

Here's the Sprint data from my Caterham build book (dated 1996): Bore: 80.98mm Stroke: 77.62mm Capacity: 1599cc Compression: 9.0:1 Cylinder Head: Standard (There's no note about whether it's unleaded) Camshaft: Ford GT Profile Flywheel: Lightened and balanced Clutch: Uprated competition cover assembly and drive plate. Ignition: Caterham distributor with Lucas electronic ignition. Rocker Cover: Caterham cast alloy wiht "Super 7 Sprint" script Inlet manifold: Caterham cast alloy Carburation:Two Weber twin choke sidedraft 40 DCOE 151 Air filtration: Two K&N performance filters Performance data: max power 100BHP @ 6000RPM, max torque 95 lbft @4800rpm. Ignition timing 14deg BTDC Valve clearances: Inlet .010", Exhaust .022" Spark plug type NGK BP7ES Spark plug gap .025" Firing order 1-2-4-3 Fuel: 95octane Oil pressure 3>4 BAR (normal temp) Apparently many of these engines of this era were supplied by GP Enterprises (Gordon Palmer). Mine was. He certified it as a new block, probably one of the South African ones, and new and re-conditioned parts. I forget what the code on the block is. (83x? maybe) I hope this answers your questions.

No, I didn't need to move the mounts at all. The dust cover has two bolts that are about 14mm, a third 10mm or so that attaches a ground or something on the right side and you have to pull the starter. At that point, it's a bit of a puzzle to wiggle it around and find the angle that allows it to come off. Once off, you'll want to get a brush or vacuum handy to clean out the dust that accumulates there. Once that's out though, you should have access to the back pan bolts.

You should be able to get the pan back on by shifting and wiggling it into place. Make sure to remove the dust cover from the flywheel housing that was recommended earlier. I just did this job recently and had similar problems. I got it in once, but finally took out a grinder and modified the hole where the oil pickup goes through. Taking about an eighth of an inch off the back of the hole allows for quite a bit of movement and makes it easy enough to get in. Just remember to clean ALL the metal filings out with copious amounts of solvents. I did use the rubber front and rear seals and cork gaskets with a tiny bit of Permatex on the block side of the cork and where the rubber meets the cork. It's holding well after a month no leaks. It'll all be worth it when you're done. Good luck.

Please post windscreen price. Of course MG to get first right of refusal since he beat me to your post by a few minute. I need one also to replace a cracked WS on a 97 Caterham.

Glad to hear you got such a low SPCNS number. I just bought a Caterham and it should arrive in a couple weeks. I thought it would be parked for 6 months. From what I've heard from Caterham USA is that the state will only allow you to get an SPCNS number as an individual now, and they cannot be transferred. This keeps the builders from monopolizing the system and getting all the numbers. Apparently, in the past, the numbers were all gone in hours, but many actually went unused. Sounds like the system is now working to some degree.

McKean Seven, I'm interested in your 97. I'm looking for a Caterham in that price range, and definitely interested in a crossflow car. Please email me at tikijose@hotmail.com. Photos specs, etc.