Scott_

I placed an order with Burton Power last week for parts including a dry sump, differential, and some other odds and ends. The total bill with processing, duties and clearance fees with DHL was about 13.5% of the purchase price. Scott

Went to a local Cars and Coffee with some fellow Tar Heel Sports Car Club members this morning. Good publicity for the club. Planning to get back into autocross so I joined again after a 25 year break.

@Vovchandr is right. An adjustable FPR. Scott

Thanks everyone for your comments/feedback. I also reached out to Caterham and asked the question and no response so far. Does anyone have the dimensions of that tank? If I had that I can do some measuring. From the photos I have found, the chassis tubes in front of the engine timing cover is similar in design except that newer frames have a hole where the chassis tubes meet for the tank to mount to. I haven't checked mine to see if it has that. I'm using the photos below without permission, the one with the tank pictured comes from https://www.caterham7diaries.com/post/dry-sump-tank-install The one of the imperial chassis... from racecars direct. Issues with the tank in front of the engine aside, I'd prefer the ease of that over modifying the passenger footwell, which I believe I'd have to do on my car to get a tank there. I did reach out to some local folks today and I could have a triangular tank fabricated for far less than the 900uk, plus shipping and tariffs (ouch). I think a triangular design using .125" aluminum sheet without the curves would be easy to draw up in Fusion 360 and the aluminum bungs/fittings are available at a variety of places on the internet. The only concern would be proper oil/air separation. The Caterham tank appears to deal with that with internal plates, probably drilled or slotted, for the oil to flow down through. Thanks, Scott

Looks awesome! What does your sign say?

Does anyone know if the Caterham triangular dry sump tank will fit in front of a Duratec in a S3 imperial chassis? I have started a rather long term project of building a R500 spec 2.0l Duratec with a drysump to replace the engine in my 1999 K VVC series Caterham and am trying to make a decision about the Caterham tank or modifying the passenger footwell to make space for an off-the-shelf Patterson style tank. Thanks, Scott

Very nice blog and I enjoyed reading it so far. Scott

I had never installed the tonneau cover that came with this car so i put it on and took it out for a spin. I shouldn't have waited so long to try it. Scott

Thanks for the feedback on it. I’ll report back when I get to that stage of the installation. Scott

I thought it should be straightforward as well but what sent me down this rabbit hole is that the K series VVC features two solenoids, VVC- and VVC+, that facilitate oil flow to a valve. This valve activates eccentrics that, instead of advancing the timing, alters the speed of the cam rotation throughout the cycle. So unlike simply advancing or retarding the entire camshaft, it modifies the cam period and the duration of the inlet valve opening by employing this eccentric drive arrangement. When fully off, the K VVC has the shortest duration. As you want duration to increase, the rotation is slowed down when the opening begins until it closes, allowing for more overlap at the opening and delayed valve closing. I was uncertain whether the stock ECU simply switched on and off the solenoids at a specific RPM or if it employed a push/pull to provide intermediate speed settings across RPM or loads. I think it’s the former, at least that’s how I’m going to approach it with a 3000 rpm switchover. I’m open to any ideas. Scott

That's pretty cool. There was an HP Academy video posted sometime back on youtube where the presenter took ecu tuning advice from AI with some interesting results, but my take away was so long as the input information and parameters were solid the results could be very useable like in your use case. As I am learning the Haltech software I've asked for input from chatgtp on settings and menu choices and it's been helpful as a learning tool. It walked me through things like how to set up generic outputs with no issues. Scott

Looking at the Emerald file answered my questions. Thanks @slowdude I don't know if it precisely mimics the MEMS control strategy but what the Emerald appers to do is make it RPM dependent and it starts increasing the duration of the intake valve opening at 3000 rpm, decrases it slightly from 4000 to 5000 rpm and then starts towards maximum duration at 7500 rpm. Scott

I think it is a speedometer cable to hall effect sensor. You might be able to find something that can be made to work using those search terms if you cant find the exact part you need. For teh part,yYou might want to check with Smiths gauges. However, a search reveals something like: https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/41610/10002/-1?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20673855490&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyr3OBhD0ARIsALlo-OnLAggQKGkj5Ur7uJQ7ydEOTS2aliLZXcTNc_n4DiLW-pzjcBXz_bAaAgUrEALw_wcB

that is awesome, and thank you for the map and links no to Andrew. I’ll download the emerald software and take a look. Scott

I am doing a Duratec swap towards the end of this year on my '99 Caterham 7 K series VVC. I have been collecting parts, have a block coming from Esslinger, and recently bought a Haltech R3 ecu for the swap. (I have prior experience with a Haltech ecu in a Miata race car I once owned and think the R3 would be perfect for the Duratec.) I have been entertaining the idea of installing the Haltech R3 ecu in my running VVC-engined car this spring. This would allow me to sort the wiring under the dash and harnesses in advance of the Duratec swap and I will know I have a fully functioning and tested system for the new engine to be hooked up to with only an updated engine harness. I have worked through all the sensors and developed a wiring diagram for the Haltech/Rover engine on paper and the only hang up I have is the intake cam control strategy. There are multiple options available in the Haltech and I feel certain one could be made to work with the unique Rover setup. For example, I could easily switch from vvc- solenoid to vvc+ solenoid at a set RPM and above a set oil temperature, but I'm thinking the stock control might be more sophisticated than that. Has anyone scoped a MEMS2 or 3 VVC to get a handle on the control of the two solenoids or does anyone have an understanding of the control strategy that they would be willing to share? I know the Emerald ECU does it so there must be a cam control setup screen but I have no access to a base map for the VVC engine to look at in the Emerald software. Thanks, Scott

Dropped by a Cars and Coffee in Lillington NC this morning after a morning drive.

I'm assembling parts for an engine swap later this year and am in need of a duratec exhaust. The engine is a 2.0L near R500 spec. Thanks, Scott

I was in touch with him this week as well asking of any fitment issues I'd need to watch out for with a tracsport in a Sierra diff housing. He was very helpful.

Nice! I like color!

For my Caterham 7, a 1999 model, I went with Hagerty and agreed upon value of 40k with cherished salvage and 1k deductibles and it came in at $620.

Had I not found an S3 with a lowered floor it would have had to been the SV for me. As it is, the S3 is another reason I have not to gain any more weight.

http://www.dvapower.co.uk/

I'm glad that worked out for you! On the throttle body did you opt for the jenvey ITB's? I'd be curious to hear bout your upgrades. If it's serviceable and you are interested in selling the head off the old engine shoot me a pm. Scott

You can switch to kph and the 200 makes perfect sense,. As far as the 200 scale in mph, I think it's hilarious and love the joke. Scott