Lancefitzgiben

I wonder if there's room for improvement on my hagerty policy, which is agreed value ~60 for ~800/year. When I was initially quoted the number was half of that, but then it was decided that it's "modified" (I don't know if that's old terminology or differs from "custom". I'd have to pull it and look but the title should just be for a 57 caterham. I'll have to open up some dialogue with hagerty anyhow to get agreed value on a heavily modified NA miata, I'll ask some questions.

I sent an email but didn't receive a reply. I'm curious what else you're sitting on. My 485 is an SV so a lot of the body related parts don't apply.

I too have a half hood from soft bits and it's on the car 90% of the time. I also have a shower cap from soft bits that I've used when the vehicle is parked outside with weather potential. If I were towing with an open trailer and rain was a concern, I'd use the full hood. It will seal the best and flap the least. I'd worry about the shower cap flapping around and wearing the paint.

I don't regard Farah's opinion in very high regard - he seldom actually has an opinion actually, he usually just regurgitates the words of someone else. That said, I can understand what he's saying. I use my Caterham on the road where there are inconsistencies and plenty of lumps and bumps - the car is honestly a challenge to drive well and smoothly.. but it's so rewarding when you get it right. My miata "handles" much better, it's much more stable and predictable - more of a putty in your hands feeling, it's not a challenge though. The Cat is a challenge and I love it.

Indeed John, the OP says he has an SV but he doesn’t specify the seat size. They’re likely the wider spec but not necessarily. Wider ones would please some of my passengers I’m sure - but I like the narrow ones.

I have my original SV seats in black carbon leather/vinyl and am always interested in Tilletts. I have academy Tilletts in the car now so the originals are pulled and stored. They're comfortable seats but I'm pretty skinny and I like the extra lateral support from Tillets.

Thanks John! I'll order up a pack from McMaster.

Do you know if that's 22mm ID or OD? I'm guessing ID. Thank you!

Does anyone know the proper metric size of o-ring used to seal the finger filter on raceline dry sump'd Duratecs? I fuss around with this every time I change the oil but I'm usually not sourcing metric o-rings, and the fit can be less than ideal. This time around I didn't nail it and I'll have to drain the oil to put in a better fitting o-ring. Any input is much appreciated

Image billet 93's, 13". 6" front and 8" rear, if memory serves.

Have you checked out the offerings from intatrim? They have some intriguing options that fit in sevens. Reverie has already been mentioned but they've got some good stuff as well. If you find replacements and unload your current tilletts, please let me know as I'd be very interested!

Schroth has a Caterham specific belt that utilizes their anti-sub tech. Whatever you do, don't let cost drive the safety train.

Not all tires are created equal, and environment plays a major role as well. My date code '14 CR500's were cracking pretty badly on the inside sidewall as of early '19. The car is stored inside and doesn't spend a lot of time out in the sun - I think the Avons might just be built a little lighter (they are, but you know what I mean). I've seen other tires hold on for a lot longer but any tires that sit around for more than a few years need to be inspected, it's simply not worth an accident. All that said, it's a great excuse to drive the Cat as intended - the tires aren't making it out alive either way!

One would argue that's a bit of the idea with the 620? To have more of a crazy ride.. My 485 rips pretty well but doesn't have any traction issues as long as you're pointed straight - I'm also at 7500 ft above sea level so power is comparatively down a lot. I imagine at sea level the 485 is pretty insane, and needs the tall 1st gear much more to manage low speed traction. Given the altitude if I had a shot at a 620 I'd go for it, otherwise the 485 isn't going anywhere. (I hope)

Yep, for now it's just one of those things. It's not like the lean code I've had that taps me out at 6k rpm. Since performance isn't impacted I'm not especially bothered, but it's nice to learn more about the little thing!

I made several trips in the car today and didn't experience any symptoms - ran like a top. I did however have the CEL come on again with the same code. It cleared fine and two more drive cycles didn't bring it back. I can't say under what circumstances the light appears - I can't keep an eagle eye on the cluster and it's difficult to see the light anyway. A quick poke around underneath the rear revealed the module on the left side of the vehicle, but all connections seem snug and wires in good shape. I only visualed what I could see from crawling around underneath.

Thanks again Croc, you're a wealth of information! To the best of my knowledge the car did come in through hillbank back in 2014 with ten or so other Caterhams. From there it was sent to the Florida dealer where it sat until they folded. Marshall Goldman bought their remaining inventory from auction and I got it from them. It had only been through the dealers and was never otherwise titled or registered. I think I got it with around 100 miles on it. I don't need emissions checks in my county, no. I'll have to look into the info I have, at one point I did get some build info from Caterham about it. I'll also have a poke around today and see if I find that little module. Thank you again for your help - Tim

I found this under the battery - looks like the ECU to me. I drove the car around some and of course, didn't experience any issues. I will take it out on my normal Saturday rounds and see what happens.. - Tim

Thanks Croc! Yes, I guess I could have given more information. I'm using a standard issue cheap-o bluetooth OBD reader plugged into the port as installed in the car by Caterham - or whoever built that aspect of the car. The car came "new" to me and is stock, at least in terms of ECU etc. I've had some codes previously indicating a lean condition and limiting revs to 6k. I replaced my MAF (previous one had taken an oil bath due to my ignorance) and haven't really seen that one again. I'm going to need to drive the car some more to figure out exactly what's going on when it happens but from what I recall - upon entering my neighborhood and dipping the clutch to select first gear (at 10mph or so) the engine died. When I went to take it out the other day, same thing happened albeit at the end of the driveway and at a much lower speed. I haven't had it cut out while driving down the road at speed, just these low speed occurrences. It does seem to start and idle just fine - but I will need to take it out and see if that changes when warm. All this being said, let me know what to look at and I will report back - I've learned a lot about this thing in the last 4 years, but nothing that helps with this scenario - or anything having to do with electrics.

Gents, Toward the end of a 250 mile rip a few weeks back I was greeted with engine code P025a which seems to be tied to the fuel pump module. I had the light, but no symptoms. Fast forward a week and the car began stalling when I entered a coasting condition - at least at lower (parking lot) speeds. The engine will restart and run fine, but stalls when you close the throttle or kick it into neutral for a moment. At this point I have the symptom, but not the light. Any experience with something like this? I'm slowly learning all about this little guy, haven't messed with the fuel system yet though - I don't even know where the module is! On the Caterham Parts site it looks like a simple plug-in job with mounting tabs. Thanks for any insights. 2014 485S SV, 5k some-odd miles. - Tim

Gonna PM you

I got a graphics kit from these guys: https://www.street-race.org/catalog/328/caterhamfullracingstripekits Install wasn't bad with two people. Lots of measuring and eyeballing to get things right. I did the broad central stripe flanked by two thinner stripes, so plenty to get lined up. Came out nice though and really sets the car off I think. Congratulations on the 620! That thing is going to be insane. I want a ride next time I'm up in the Seattle area.

Newly machined assembly is in and the difference is actually more notable than I thought it'd be. One of my british car buddies remarked that I am "un-Lotusing" the car with these sort of improvements :smilielol5:

To update this: I took that longer drive and got the car really and truly fully warmed through. The condition persisted, though not as dramatically. This is certainly new behavior, so nothing 'normal' about the extent of the temp swing. A bit of swing I could see, but this is a drop of like 20C. New thermostat is in the car, currently waiting on the temp sender, which I figured I may as well do while the system is drained again. I'll report back in a couple weeks - I miss driving the stupid little thing!

You can change them in the car (SV, anyway) - gonna be a job though. Main hurdle will be getting the torque-to-yield crank bolt out, and sourcing new diamond friction washers for crank/cams. Everything in front of the motor between the motor and next chassis tubes needs to come out obviously. In my case this meant the oil tank needed to come out. All in all it's not a bad job, just make sure you source all the critical parts such as the diamond washers, crank bolt, cam plate (tool) and timing pin bolt (tool) ahead of time.