ashyers

Croc, You're causing flashbacks! You wearing jandals in the shop? The Kiwi's I used to work with did that and so did I, until a weld BB landed between my toes! Hope you find an easy way to get that tape off and heal up quickly! I had the same model battery do the same thing last year on a long drive. It inflated quite a bit and started leaking. The passenger was not pleased... Ended up being the alternator, the regulator failed and it was overcharging the battery. The battery was still functional! Enjoy you track day, I'm off for a drive with some friends today. We've done ~400mi. in the last few weeks, it's a nice respite from being trapped at home. Andy

Too bad you're in Florida, I picked up a set for the Shop last year... Try some of the local race shops. Anyone working with formula cars should have a set. You may be able to rent them for a few days. You may keep an eye out for a used set as some teams and individuals may have budget issues and be selling off surplus equipment. ps. The price you found is for ramps, not scales! Scales are a bit more $$

I was wondering if anyone has experienced a seat frame failure for this style seat: https://caterhamparts.co.uk/seats/4742-seat-sv-leather.html If someone has photos of a seat like this torn down that would be great! I think there may be a weld failure in part of the seat frame that I need to sort out. Andy

Just spotted this: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/north-kingstown-lotus-super-7-replica/7127852631.html

Here's a data point for you. I priced 1/2 hoods last week. Soft Bits didn't respond. Thundersports did. Standard SV 1/2 hood vinyl 191.67 pounds exc. VAT Standard SV 1/2 hood mohair 208.33 pounds exc. VAT in stock Shipping to CA was 60 pounds. EDIT: Just received a note from Soft Bits this morning so thought I'd better add it. Standard SV 1/2 hood 166.67 pounds exc. VAT estimated 4 week lead time Shipping to CA was 58.60 pounds. Andy

John, You may want to check the starter mount bosses. If you need to borrow a drill guide and goodies to fix 'em contact me. Heavy cast iron blocks do have some advantages... At least the main studs torqued up . Andy

Yep, I was after the long block. The engine is still in the back of the CRV, but I pulled the exhaust manifold, intake manifold, fuel rail and injectors off today to see if there was anything different from a regular gasoline motor and to lighten things up a bit. Looks like the answer is no. The interior of the ports look new, CNG is CLEAN!!! There is no carbon in the exhaust manifold, just clean metal, it's kind of weird. The head is the same as on my 2.3 and the front cover appears to be the same as a Focus part. There is a nice factory oil cooler combined with the oil filter bracket. I'm looking forward to checking out the guts. Andy

Spending too much time staring into a screen and surfing CL to blow off steam after another Zoom class meeting finally yielded something interesting. A 2011 Ford Transit 2.0L Duratec CNG engine, for the price of getting it out of someone's storage unit NOW. I've done little other than bring it home, in fact it's still in the back of the girlfriend's CRV. I'm curious to see what I find. I have limited experience with CNG, but it's my guess that they changed little more than the injection system when converting from gasoline. I hope that the insides of the engine are as clean as I remember CNG units being. On the CNG gensets we used to use the valves took a beating, otherwise they were great. So, does anyone here know what I can expect to find in a CNG Duratec motor? My hopes are that it will make no difference at all when I convert it to ITB's and a dry sump with new cams/rods/pistons... If nothing else I now have a lower profile cam cover for the 2.3! Andy

If the line is failing sometimes they will "shed". You may want to check your float bowls and toss in a new fuel filter.

I went through that chasing various tappets. I had to use various online sites and cross reference until I could figure out how the p/n system worked and I could order the thickness required. The parts guys at the local dealer were useless. I eventually ordered through Tasca with p/n only and no humans...

The 270/271 should work fine for what you're doing.

For that elbow some Loctite 680 should do the trick.

We were able to tune individual cylinders by a global %, but it was not a huge amount. If you're not running super lean it should work fine. Initial tests were done with no individual cylinder tuning at the track, then fine tuned on the dyno.

When you go down this road don't forget to try staggering the stacks. We had very good results with this in a road racing configuration. We ran equal length short stacks when running ovals.

Currently I have a hopped up '03 2.3L Ranger engine that I like, and am familiar with. I'm thinking about picking up some core engines. I like the Ranger's lack of balancers and timing chain setup. Anyone know what models had a similar engine? Thanks, Andy

Thanks! While researching methods for holding the wings on I came across an account where a guy lost the wing, it hit & dented the hood, then took out the windshield! I guess I was lucky. I'm surprised they don't have a distributor here, wonder why? They seem to offer more bonding fastener options than the suppliers here... Andy

Morning All, After a hit from one of Oakland's larger potholes I had the pleasure of watching the LF Cycle wing fly off... The rigid adhesive that the wings were bonded on with adhered to the stays well, but not the wings, poor prep work. I was wondering if anyone knows a source for Big Head Cable Tyrap fasteners in the US or an equivalent. https://www.hall-fast.com/bighead-stainless-steel-cable-tyrap-16mm-x-12mm It would be nice to have the option of removing the wings and this looks like a reasonable way do do so. Thanks, Andy

I'm not familiar with Haltech, but can you log the cam and crank sensors? May try logging 5v reference too. This will help rule out sensors without shot gun replacement. Did you verify the no spark the old fashioned way?

Hi All, I was wondering if anyone has hooked up an Innovate wide band to one of the older MBE 967EF units. I'd like to be able to log lambda with the engine parameters. Thanks, Andy

Nick, Finally got around to "adjusting" the brake pedal yesterday. It went well, essentially I flipped the existing bends and added about 2deg to each. I'm now thinking about doing the clutch pedal so I can add a small dead pedal in the foot box. Thanks for the help. Andy

Mike, I'd love to join you guys, but driving out from Oakland is unlikely to happen ☹️. Maybe be a West Coast event at Sears Point?! Andy

Looks like everyone had a great time. Thanks for sharing the photos! Can I pick up a set of "warmers" in blue?!?!

Nick, That's it! The pedal Caterham should have made . I have a 25 ton press so I suspect bending the pedal is possible. How did the metal fare in the process and did you bend it cold? I assume you now have a few miles of "testing" at this point! Andy

I've already moved the pedal as far as I can with the washer/spacer combo. Does anyone have a used pedal they don't need? I may be interested . Andy

Been enjoying driving the '03 SV and nearly have 1000mi on the rebuilt engine, but the brake pedal is bugging me! The pedal currently in the car is bent to the left and the distance from the brake pedal to the accelerator is too great to comfortably heel/toe. I was wondering if there is a brake pedal available that is not bent. This would place the pedal in a position that would work quite well for me. I could bend the current pedal, but am reluctant to do so. Thanks, Andy