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Tony - As I remember, the only thing I didn't take apart/remove were the butterflies and shafts. I didn't need any special tools. I used the Pat Braden "Weber Carburetors" book, and the Des Hammill "How to Build and Powertune Weber and Dellorto Carbs". Think I also purchased the Haynes manual, but didn't really use it. Steve

Tony - Rebuilt my Webers about 3 years ago, and it's really pretty straight forward. I purchased a few Weber books, took notes and pictures. But, it's really just take it apart, replace the perishables, and put it back together. Nothing too tricky. I borrowed an Ultra-sound cleaner for the parts, but it wasn't large enough for the carb body. Took them to a carb repair place that did Ultra sound cleaning. Don't remember who I purchased the repair kit from. Pearce Manifold is good source, as is Dave Bean. It's a good winter project. Steve

Mike - In addition to being born on 7/7, I weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. Steve

Karl - Even though St. Louis is west of the Missisippi, can I come again this year? This will be a great warm up to my 60th b'day on Monday, 7/7. Steve

Tom - It is. He rebuilt the engine, and the only real change was he used a thicker head gasket to lower the CR from 10.5 to 9.9. It ended up producing almost the exact same HP on the dyno. He only charged for parts, but since I needed another set of pistons, it was still not exactly cheap. I also took his advice and for track days have been using a mix of race and regular gas, to get the Octane up to the upper 90's. Seems like the prudent thing to do, and certainly cheaper than another engine rebuild. I've done two trackdays (one a 2 day, the other a 1 day), and no real issues - except for it spitting coolant out into the catch tank. Sound familiar? Think I've solved that also. He had removed the thermostat, so put that back in (new one), and I also think I underfilled the coolant amount. Also replaced the pressure cap. Anyway, since I've made those changes it seems to be fine. Should be good to go for NJMP next June. Steve

I had my Aldon distributor re-curved (as well as other general maintenance), but did not replace the Pertronix ignitor (http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/ignitor/default.aspx). After reinstalling, I had a miss, stumbling, and general erratic running. I replaced the ignitor, and all the issues vanished. Steve

Here is a link to a thread on my trailer. FWIW, I tow it with a Volvo XC60. http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6535 Steve

Falling through the floor is an actual possibility. Lots of posts on Blatchat about the rivets on the floor pulling out. I had read about it, but hadn't checked. Then about 2 years ago I had my Caterham up on stands and happened to glance over. At least 5-8 of the rivets were totally out, and several more were loose. Believe several other members here have had the same problem. Steve

Sort of like a resto-mod Seven.

Mike - Maybe try Redline in the UK? http://www.redlinecomponents.co.uk/ I understand the phone is your best option with them. Steve

Any mention whether there will be a trackday? Not a deal breaker (likely to go), but a part of LOG I've enjoyed in the past. Steve

William - sent you a PM on the removal. For the exploded view and parts, the BAT FF catalog has both. http://www.batinc.net/fford.htm I also have the Dave Bean FF catalog, which I could scan and send you as a PDF. I have the Wallage book. Have only used it for general reference, so not sure how useful it would be for leading someone through a rebuild. Steve

Mike - Picked up the engine Saturday. Less compression, less advance, pretty much everything else the same. Plan to put it in this weekend. Steve

Watched it last night, and appreciate that you were able to incorporate a portion of the 5 total laps I ran over the weekend. Not an easy task. Great stuff, already looking forward to 2014! If the NJ F1 race happens (I know, I'm not holding my breath either), would be great to combine the two. F1 Sunday, trackday Monday/Tuesday - or something like that. Steve

Mike - At Austin the Caterham driver from Dallas (I think) also lost a rear bearing. Here is post on Blatchat about rear bearing issues: http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=231885 Also, my experience buying direct from Caterham UK is that the shipping amount for small things (like two new sets of bearings) is not that bad. Can actually be similar to what you pay for freight from Denver or Mass. Steve

Stig - agree with Mike, must have been one heck of a Xflow. Regarding the heater bypass connection, my Blatchat research (my primary go to resource for Xflow info) shows that Roger King supports removing it if there is no heater. I'm ok with it. C/R has been dropped to 9.9 and advance dropped to 34. He sets the timing on the dyno from the flywheel. Engine is still on the dyno, so I'm going to bring my timing light and see what it indicates at the pulley. He's as nervous about this as I am. Steve

Engine builder called today, and it's back together and running. He said he was looking at the head gasket, and it appeared that it was starting to burn through somewhere else. Confess I didn't really understand the impact of this, but basically he felt that the "hole" in the gasket was too close to the exact same size as the cylinder bore, so he wanted one that was "larger". He used different terms. Also decided that the C/R may have been too high. Almost all his engines are race engines running av-gas. So, he got a thicker head gasket from Dave Bean that also fit his other requirement. C/R is now around 10. Set the timing back a degree to 34 total advance. He'd had it on the dyno, and the impact in power was minimal. So, may never know but it might have been a perfect storm of the C/R, slightly too much advance, and maybe a bad tank of gas. I may run some av-gas at the first track day I do, just to be safe. Picking up the engine on Saturday.

Mike - This has moved into one of the top positions of possible ways to celebrate my 60th next year. Steve

As far as I know, the sender/temp gauge are fine. However, the sender is high in the block, and apparently if the coolant is turning to steam, the steam will generate a "normal" temp. That's why the builder is sticking with the overheating theory. But the coolant overflow is from the same area, and if coolant was rushing into the overflow tank, than I wouldn't think that the sensor was reading steam. Zetec conversion is looking better all the time - hindsight being 20/20.

Temp was normal for a track day - even after I started steaming (which I think was just the overflow tank, umm..., well, overflowing and coolant hitting the exhaust headers) the temp didn't go much over 90 c. There was one modification made to the cooling flow. There is a heater connection on the water pump and a another on the intake manifold. I don't have a heater, so the two were just connected with a length of hose. He removed the hose, and sealed both connection points. But, that's what he does on all the Formula Ford engines, and they don't have an issue with overheating. And the sound on the video is hard to hear, so the tinkling sound could have been something else vibrating. Octane should have been 93 - but that was one theory thrown around the shop that day. Bad tank of gas - maybe filled with the wrong octane, so could have been running with 87. What worries me (and my engine builder) the most is that there hasn't been any kind of definitive explanation. So, it's currently being rebuilt just as it was the first time.

Timing is still what I'm thinking, but he said total advance was 35-36, which should have been ok. I didn't think of the pre-rebuild tune as being that radical, so using the same total advance should have been ok - but, maybe the timing was off and it was more than that. If you look at the AFR on the dyno sheet (the Dyno run PDF) it stays around 12.5, so in theory (again) not too lean. He thought he was going to need to change the jets, etc. on the Weber's, but the AFR was fine and consistent, so he left them the way they were.

No bent rods or valves. There also was no evidence on the valves of them being hit by pieces of the piston. I didn't show all the pictures, but the pistons on cylinders 1 and 2 were also damaged in the same way, although not as extensively. And those cylinders were dry - no coolant in them. There was quite a crowd at his shop that day, including his next door neighbor who I believe now holds the land speed record in whatever class an Audi A4 would be in. Think he's making over 1,000 hp out of the Audi 4 banger. Anyway, everyone was pretty mystified. But because there was no shrapnel damage, they were characterizing the pistons as having melted. And when all is said and done, the only real change to the tune was upping the compression ratio. Same cam, same valves, miminal additional porting of the head, same distributor and curve. So, really didn't expect this. Jerry - now you know why I haven't returned the engine hoist.

After close to 45,000 miles and many track days, my Crossflow was in need of a refresh. I spoke to a known Formula Ford engine builder (30 years experience), who was willing to do the job. The spec on my engine was some head work, Hepolite cast pistons, Kent 244 Cam, double valve springs, and roller rockers. It’s the “150 hp” spec. The only thing I knew I wanted was to upgrade to forged pistons. He recommended I replace my crank with the SCCA SCAT crank. While not as robust as a forged crank, it was about a third of the price and would allow me to confidently move my redline from 6500 to 7000-7200 rpm. Pistons were ordered from Burton’s in the UK, along with a new set of springs. Main bearings were replaced, the block bored and honed, some cleanup of the head work, rebuild the carbs – fairly basic stuff. Cam was in good shape, so that went back in. Replaced the clutch, which I sent to him and he balanced the crank/flywheel/clutch as a unit. Also brought the compression ratio up from around 9.5 to 10.4. He called me when it was finished, and was both happy and surprised that it made 157 hp at 7200 rpm. Dyno run.pdf https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fwVqNSWYLVDXoTLED1fIDnM5pEeHaNF-jFxcQZ5j3uY?feat=directlink Fast forward (skipping over fixing my leaking transmission) to the NJMP track weekend. At this point I had about a grand total of one hour of road time on the engine. First session starts, and I’m excited. The car feels lighter, and it’s still pulling at the end of the main straight as I get to 7000 rpm. This is going to be a great weekend! As I’m coming down the main straight at the end of my 5th lap, the engine seems to go “soft”. Through turn one, and it seems to be missing a bit. Then it’s missing more, then it’s really running like crap, now I have steam coming out from under the bonnet. I limp towards the pits, kill the engine on the pit entry, and coast toward where we’re all parked. I take the bonnet off, and there is coolant all over the place. The coolant catch tank is completely full, and clearly had overflowed. I also notice that there is coolant dripping out of the exhaust. I call my engine builder and we have a long discussion. He thinks I may have split a cylinder wall. Suggests I let it cool, then pull the plugs and turn it over. Which I do, and shoot a geyser of coolant out of cylinder 4. Call him back, and he suggests I drain the coolant, and spray WD-40 in the cylinders and both the intake and exhaust ports. Which, again, I do. The following Friday, I drive back to his shop with the Crossflow. He has another owner there, but he immediately pulls the head off – and here is what we found: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b9hQjWlt5MZN5sYAjqgW83M5pEeHaNF-jFxcQZ5j3uY?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BBzK1GmJ8DL34kNBK3pfdXM5pEeHaNF-jFxcQZ5j3uY?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FwTe-H96pImxnJTQC74ObHM5pEeHaNF-jFxcQZ5j3uY?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZfpBFnggSIDhiY7qspIELXM5pEeHaNF-jFxcQZ5j3uY?feat=directlink Which is not what he expected. Now, the blown head gasket and subsequent coolant in the cylinders are a symptom, but not the cause. Conjecture has centered on overheating, but to be honest I’m not sold. I had borrowed a camera and microphone from Croc, but unfortunately the sound is distant at best. If you turn the sound up all the way, though, you can hear the engine. My first 5 laps are here – jump to 9 minutes 30 seconds to skip me getting into the Seven, wandering around the paddock, and sitting in line: http://youtu.be/OFXx0S3UucM There is a tinkling/pinging sound whenever the engine is under load. And the temp gauge (right gauge of the center two) sits around 80-85 centigrade the whole time. So, maybe timing? A really bad tank of gas? Both? Here is the lap where it all went south: http://youtu.be/Rv679Jb7UFc About the only good news in all this is that the cylinders cleaned up, and another rebore wasn’t necessary. It should be all back together in the next week or two, but not knowing why the pistons melted has me real nervous. Steve Dyno run.pdf

Mike - I use the Prodigy RF and it's worked well. The Volvo tow package came with a 3-prong connection. By using the Prodigy, I was able to just have a power line run directly from the battery and switch the 3-way to a 5-way. Didn't have to splice into the harness, which I understand can make the computerized systems unhappy. Plus, no ugly brake controller in the car that's only used 1% of the time. Steve

Nicely done. Agree that you probably won't notice any difference due to the filter change. The trumpet length change, on the other hand....... http://www.emeraldm3d.com/articles/emr-adj-length-intake/ Steve