NSXguy

So i've spoken to a number of folks in the past couple of days and i think i will follow through with my current plan for a straight forward refresh, retaining my type-2 box and enjoy the car this season with the current setup. The trans has been handling the tq without issue, so i'll concentrate on learning about this platform from taking it apart and putting it all together, then some more from driving it through the season. At the end of this year i will decide if the best path is to keep it as is, Progress with modifying or if the track bug really bites, consider selling to upgrade to a newer chassis as better base for future mods... Also for anyone who has an instagram account- My username is Mr_Afropreneur. I have and will be uploading frequent in depth video updates on IG stories of the refresh. That said, Made some progress today disassembling the front end ( lots of consumables need replacing, bushes etc). Will also be refinishing hardware. Front end disassembled, less lower control arms: . Question- Does anyone know what two perpendicular brackets coming off the upper and lower front chassis rails are/were for? Having a royal pain in the rear getting the lower control arms off the chassis and the upper control arm off the hub...have thrown the book at them but they wont come off. Any tricks to this? it shouldn't be this hard to get off. The bolt in the back appears to be seized on the bushing on both driver and passenger side, but i wonder if i can get the whole arm off even if i got those bolts out, since there's not enough play in front of the rear section of the arm (to the square stock chassis member), to slide the front section of the arm off it's threaded sleeve... hope this all makes sense. it essence, it appears to be wedged in. The good news is that the bushes on the lower arms are in very good shape and the arms move freely, so worst case, i can keep them on the car for the refresh. It would definitely be easier to get them coated/painted off the car but nothing some careful masking wont do. Lower arms : Upper arms: Upper control arm is very tight as well wher the ball joint fits the hub. I've sprayed PB blaster, let it soak and gone at it with a mallet but they wont come off. I almost suspect these may be original pieces and have never been off. Coilover assembly - Appear to be cosmetically beat but still in good working order without leaks. Ride height and dampening adjustable- Part number Spax G775. What is the good word on these? Would they have been original or upgraded units. I suspect they will be good enough to run after cosmetic refresh. . Next up this week: Removal of the rear suspension items and then the wiring harness.... Stay tuned.

I was worried about that as well, getting it off and on to the ground once assembled will require a herculean effort . I have mine completely apart at the moment and i have it sitting on some heavy duty jack stands about 18-24" off the floor and able to do all the break down and reassembly comfortably from a rolling stool.

I've used the adhesive style reflective thermal insulating material on my xflow seven and it made a huge improvement. I installed this just around the footwell and partially into the trans tunnel areas that were accessible since the engine and trans were still in the car. Now that i have everything apart for a refresh, i anticipate doing something similar (or more robust if i can find) before everything goes back in. I agree it can be absolutely brutal if driving for long periods without some insulation in place. I believe what i used was purchased from Amazon.

Perfect timing Michael. I'm interested in the T-9. I just started a build thread for my xflow 7 refresh and was advised by Burton to ditch the old Type 2 in favor of a Type 9.

Right on!

Oh yes. i've already located 2 Type 9s. Just researching now as to what is involved with the conversion. At the least, I understand the 1st gear ratio is not ideal for caterham and the driveshaft needs to be modified.

Thanks! why didnt i think to check Burton! i order alot from them already for my other cars. I just confirmed with Burton, that it is a Type 2 box, and Anthony who i spoke with promptly suggested that i consider changing it out if i plan to do any sort of hard driving!

Hi guys, I'm finally getting around to taking on the refresh of my 1600 xflow powered Cat. I got this car a little over a year ago and really enjoyed driving it last year but in so doing, i discovered that there were some things on the car that need sorting so i started thinking of taking it apart (as i do with most new car toys i get) to establish my ownership baseline and build on from there. Well, it's winter now and while i have a few projects i'm doing on the Cossie, i have some free time to get on with this refresh so i can enjoy some worry free driving this season and maybe even attack some autocross or join some of you at NJMP in the fall :-) * So with that said i'll be taking the car mostly apart, doing some upgrades, addressing maintenance items, going over the chassis members to make sure all is structurally good and then cleaning/painting said members. * I will use this thread to update my progress, solicit and receive feedback on ideas and share ideas/learn from others... So here goes. First, Here is a photo of the car as she sat prior to the start of the refresh. exterior wise i don't anticipate changing much. She sits on 14" panasport minilites with yokohama tires that are old but we'll be swapping for some toyos this season. WEEK 1 : So this week is not over yet but we accomplished a few things: -Interior seats and carpet have been stripped out (The panels over the outer chassis members will remain). Contemplating if i want to remove scuttle, but will most likely have to as i will need it off for sorting, rewiring the car. lots of loose wires, cut ends and dodgy connectors there! -trunk has been stripped out (removed and inspected fuel tank). Lots of 30+year old dust built up there! I plan to add some anchors for harnesses, however i have noticed that most Caterhams have a square stock or flat cross brace at the top of the seat back (which makes it easier to add said anchors). Many parts of the chassis in my car is round stock including this cross brace so i need to decide what to do about this. May cut and weld in square stock or drill through and reinforce with bracing... more to come on that. -removed engine and trans today. Plan to relocate the radiator forward to under the nose cone area. Still deciding which rad to use. I have a brand new rad that was supplied with a 1984 build but not sure if i want to run that. Thinking of a new aluminum rad instead. Also will be installing header tank. Before After engine and trans removal This is where i am today. Taking stock of the parts i have and still learning the platform: Engine: Was rebuilt and runs strong but carbs need dialing in. some oil leaks under carbs (cyl 1 and 2) and a few other minor leaks but other wise all good. front and rear main seals look fresh but will will replace regardless. I have a lot of consumables i purchased from Chris at redline but is there another source for crossflow parts in the states? Trans (4speed Ford): In overall good shape. Will change fluids. Need to make sense of he clutch slave cylinder used here. Also the clutch fork was not connected at the retaining clip in bell housing and not connected to throw out bearing...very strange and explains why clutch actuation was dodgy... Clutch itself appears fairly new and will likely be reused. Any help positively ID'ing this trans? Does anyone know if / where i can replacements of these shifter bushes on the trans?

Thanks for the discussion and inputs, I'll run with that. -Re-using bung on water pump for fill from header tank and relocating the temp sensor to upper rad hose using the saab adapter as suggested. As for rad placement, i will take some measurements to look into that as well. If i'm going to relocate that with a puller fan, it'll make sense to do before the header tank mod, so the rad hoses only get made up once. Fun. cheers,

Possible misunderstanding- I thought the saab piece you referenced earlier is what you used to solve the relocation of the water temp sensor to the lower rad hose (which seems like a good solution). Plan: -Relocate the existing water temp sensor into the saab adapter piece you linked, then with the bung on the waterpump housing now free, repurpose for coolant fill, -The new thermostat housing will have the air bleed nipple to new header tank and a bung for fan switch (which i'll rewire to eliminate the manual switch currently in place). Sound correct or am i missing any other piece(s) ?

Thanks for answering one of the questions i was starting to look into. So if i understand, you relocated temp sensor into that saab piece and used the nipple on the waterpump housing for the header tank, yes? Few pictures of what my engine bay looks like. As an aside, ive noticed a few quirks on my car compared to many other period sevens. For one, car doesn't have the cross brace infront of the engine. I noticed some guys have their radiators mounted more forward in the nose cone area. My engine bay: . Other engine bays (X Brace):

Thanks for sharing that John. My current setup has a manual switch in the cockpit to turn the fans on, but ideally i would prefer with this upgrade to have the fan switch on the housing and operated off water temp. Alternatively i could leave the fan switch as is, and just install the housing with nipple and get on with it; that's if the other option proved too challenging but i don't believe it would be...seems straight forward enough.

Hi guys, i've been doing some research and finally going to tackle this upgrade and the only part i'm having a hard time zeroing on is where to source the correct thermostat housing with the vertical pointed nipple (pictured below). Reference schematic. Something like this.

updates on this? will be doing something similar on mine this winter.

would be nice if we could wing a CT/MA sevens meet up

@Anker curious what rpm do you idle at?

Thanks everyone for the posts and PMs on this subject!

Subscribed to this topic for future reference, specifically as it relates to reg in CT. My current 7 was already registered here so didnt have to go through all this when i purchased.

i wonder how hard this would be to register in CT...

@coffee break what size direzza's did you go with? i also have 14's and keen on replacing my tires soon as the old one are old (not necessarily worn). 1984 Crossflow with carbon rears and front cycle wings. Edit: Nevermind that. just did a search and see only one size for the 14s. I've been thinking of switching to 13" wheels for more tire options but i have triumph Hubs/pcd and havent yet seen many wheels i like.

Really depends how level the car/trans was when filled or when you opened the fill plug. but generally on most trans fill until it starts to come out of the fill hole.

Car looks great!! thanks for the write up. what did you do with the red interior?

I'm south of your in CT and can't seem to stop going on blats lol! So if you're ever down this way...

thanks! they came on the car and i had been contemplating replacing them with the standard caterham side decals as i work to modernize the car, but i'm having a change of heart lately and think i'll keep them (at least for another season).

thanks. i'm on instagram as well. @mr_afropreneur