CarlB

I actually like driving with the aro screen better than the windshield. With the windshield the air blows around the windshield and in your face.

Here are the pictures I took. I should have taken some more. I want to thank Croc & Tom for continuing to do this. This is the driving even I most look forward to every year. The people make the event, and I enjoyed seeing everyone and am looking forward to doing it again.

I was referring to mechanics hand tools. I haven’t looked at this in a few years. Chanel locks are made here. I think some torque wrenches are made here. Black & Decker / Stanley tried to make tools in Texas but they couldn’t do it competitively.

I got the engine in and took it to Summit Point last Thursday for a shake down. Runs good but the oil temperature was getting too hot. Cooler is on the way, and I will be there.

I believe you will find no one is making tools in the US. It is my understanding that SK was the last tool company making tools here.

I tried one of the GM CS alternators and the case broke. Most race cars use Denso alternators. That is what I have now and have had good luck

I got my engine back from Quicksilver yesterday. The engine made 225 HP and had a very flat torque curve from 4500 to 7500. The combination is: 11.5 to one compression ratio - SVO length rods - Oversized valves - Kent Focus 3 cams - Ported head - 50 MM throttles - New collector and muffler. The engine runs on pump gas and has a conservative tune. The exhaust gas temperatures are just under 1300 degrees. Vovchandr The dyno sheet I posted at 180 HP is probably low. That dyno sheet was done with the header Quicksilver uses for the Formula C engines they build. One of the chokes to keep the speed down is a small tube header. Quicksilver ran my engine with that header first because it has individual EGT measurements and when they put my header on the engine it picked up 10 HP

Looking forward to seeing everyone. I am getting my engine back tomorrow!!!

I have a titled 2000 and manufactured 1999 S-3 with a Zetec engine. Currently the car does not have the cover on the timing belts, but the cover was not removed for clearance issues. My car had all the stock Ford accessory drive components when I got it. I have seen a number of Caterhams with Zetec engines and haven't seen any hood clearance issues, with one exception. Raceline sells a cam cover that looks like the one Cosworth used on the Ford based BD series engines.

MV-8 has some good suggestions on plumbing the system. Checking to make sure the instillation is correct is always a good idea. You might also have some corrosion issues clogging the system and making the system hard to bleed. I am afraid this testing will probably not work for you because I assume you have already flushed your coolant, but it may help in the future. A major source of corrosion in cooling systems is the result of the coolant turning acid. Acid and dissimilar metals make a battery and accelerate the corrosion. Your battery is grounded to the engine block and bad grounds can cause corrosion. You can actually check the condition of your coolant with a volt ohm meter that will read millivolts. A good web site to learn about coolants and preventing corrosion is: No-Rosion Products Home Page

I have a Zetec not a Duratec engine in my car. The thermostat housing is on the back where this drawing says manifold. I have been making assumptions that your plumbing is similar to the Zetec. I am confused by the drawing. Generally, the thermostat is on the exit from the engine (hottest water) and it is returned to the top of the radiator. Where is the water pump? Why isn't there a hose into and out of the heater? The post from MV8 shows pictures of the thermostat and it's housing as well as the manifold. The picture suggests a larger hose than I would assume would be used for an air bleed. Is this the heater supply or return? The drawings MV8 and Siber posted are the same. The Siber is easier to follow. Vovchandr had a good question, and I assume the water pump is on the side off the block. Those drawings and Vovchandr's Zetec drawing, show the typical flow path. Cool water out of the bottom hose going to the water pump and being pressurized as it enters the engine. The water flows through the engine and exits through the thermostat. All three of the drawings show an air bleed from the top of the thermostat back to the expansion tank. SiSteve has a drawing that shows an air bleed from the top of the radiator. That would be a big help if it had been included on your car. MV8 is correct about re-piping the by-pass. The drawing shows the radiator return going into the low-pressure side of the water pump. As the thermostat starts to open it will pull water through the heater and slow the engine from heating up. It should be going to the lower radiator hose.

Coming out of the thermostat housing (small gray box on the back of the engine) is a yellow / orange hose that runs to the expansion tank represented in blue. That line should be connected to the engine side of the thermostat to blead air. If it isn't there should be a small hole like 1/8 inch in the thermostat to blead air. I use the green coolant. The other coolants are made to last a long time and their anticorrosion inhibitors do not start working quickly. I use the green stuff because I seem to have my engine out frequently.

You indicated the radiator hoses were ambient temperature until the thermostat opened. They should be getting hot as the engine runs, just from normal heat transfer, if the system does not have an air pocket. The drawing of the expansion tank and the picture show a hose connecting to the top of the expansion tank. If this line is to bleed air it should be on the engine side of the thermostat, so the system will purge air. I find it useful on systems that are hard to purge to use a cooling system pressure tester when filling the system. When filling the system pumping up the system pressure pushes the air to the top. In your case the expansion tank. There is a newer tool that is a combination of a pressure tester, and vacuum to purge the air out of the system. Pressure tester works for me.

I have no experience with this machine or any of the other ones, but you can have a lot of injectors cleaned, tested and balanced for what it cost.

Thanks Croc

Sorry to steal the thread, but I can't resist. Croc, do you know if the new T-5 will fit in a S-3?

It appears to me that what is on your roll bar is pipe insulation. SCCA requires SFI padding. There is a post with a web site above. I wouldn’t bother unless there was a place your helmet or head would hit it. Someone said belts stretch and that is true. How often have you seen a Caterham flip and land on its bar?

Dallasdude, I am not trying to disagree with what you are saying. I assumed Vovchandr has an early engine with hydraulic lifters. The dyno curve is for a Contour engine. I was trying to point out that changing the cams required consideration of the compression ratio among other things. You are correct that adding an individual throttle intake will only add top end power. I have no experience with the stock manifolds to know how well they work, but longer runners make more power at lower speeds and tend to reduce the top end power. The length of the runner changes when peak torque happens. One thing the individual throttle manifolds do is make the engine very responsive. It has a similar effect to a light flywheel. My car has the same manifold Vovchandr is using and if you measure the runner length it is tuned for 7,000 RPM. If you add one inch it would get it down to 6,000 RPM. I shift at 7200 and have a limit of 7500 RPM.

I have a Gyraline but haven't used it yet. I will respond here when I get my engine back in the car and on the ground. The toe plates mentioned above work and they are much easier to use than stringing the car. Getting accurate measurements stringing a car requires very careful measurements. The ruler you use to measure from the wheel to the string needs to be level is one of those things people do not typically know. You are trying to work to small measurements. If you use toe plates or strings you need to make sure the steering rack is in the middle if its travel. If you use toe plates you need to make sure the tie rods are both the same length.

Here is a copy of a Quick Silver dyno sheet for a Zetec with ITBs, cams and 10 to 1 static compression. It also had different rods for reliability. Longer intake runners will add torque and power lower in the power curve, but they will not make as much on the high end. Vouchandr, I would recommend you be concerned with the cranking compression ratio when you consider camshaft choices. When the intake valve closes makes a big difference in the compression. There are places on the web that will calculate the cranking compression and give you what the compression gauge pressure should be. 135 LBS sounds low to me. The Zetec engine with the variable exhaust cam timing is a different engine than the Focus engine. It had hydraulic lifters and the ports are different. Erik at QS tells me you can use the Focus cams, and I suspect that is what has been done to your engine. QS has built an engine like yours. It was similar in specification to of the one in the dyno sheet with the exception of a ported head.

Exactly where I got it. I looked around at some different ones and I liked yours the best. My side pieces were harder to make because the Caterham slopes down slightly after the down tube for the roll bar.

I got a new roll cage two years ago and the tubes that come off the top bar and extend back do not attach in the normal place. I looked around for an upholstery shop to make a new one and they were all busy. I wanted to use the car, so my wife, who is a real good sewer, and I made one. I wasn't happy with the results and decided to make one in metal. I am almost happy with the results. I have some mistakes you will see, but I learned a lot making this. There is nothing square on the car. You have to learn how to fit templets to one section at a time. and piece the templets together. This is very time consuming, and I cut up a lot of cardboard, but I am happy with the results, and it fits reasonably well. I also figured out how to use a bead roller to make a flange on the two side pieces for the hatch to lay in. Because I wanted a rolled edge on the corner pieces you need to stretch the metal to make the piece lay flat. I had not anticipated that and had to figure it out. I rolled the edges with a hammer and the side pieces are made out of aluminum that is not tempered, so I was able to eliminate the bumps with small taps with a body hammer and finish with a file. The hatch is tempered to make it stiff. When I rolled that edge, I could not get all the bumps out. I intended to paint the parts, so I used a little body filler to even everything out. I used Eastwoods 2K primer and that is a really good product, but I couldn't get a good finish on the parts with the paint I normally use on my roll cage. I was using spray cans and everything I was doing failed. I took the parts to the powder coater, and he got a nice finish. Unfortunately, I have bumps in the rolled edge of the hatch. The big mistake is not knowing how to buck rivets. I have a piano hinge on the hatch and you can't use pop rivets or the hinge will not lay flat. I hadn't used solid rivets before and should have practiced more. It isn't hard to use them, but you can't put the bucking bar on the table. You have to hold the bucking bar in one hand and the rivet gun in the other, or you will wind up with the mess you see in the picture. The blows from the air hammer are too violent and you can't control it. You have to enjoy working on cars or fabricating to do this. I find it rewarding and enjoyed the process even though I made some mistakes I gained some skill. I am stuck in the house, so I did this post. The first picture shows the almost finished cover. The latches are not installed. It you look closely you can see where they will be. I will post a finished picture later.

I had not seen the link you found. I have the Jack Webb parts on my car. He will sell here but he makes you sign a document that he believes will protect him from liability. I also have his specially made for him rod ends to adjust camber. I had never considered wanting toe out on a street car. I am not sure I agree. I guess it is something to consider.

All of what both of you are saying is correct. I might suggest measuring the caster before you take it apart. There is enough variation that assuming the washers will get you what you want might not be accurate. Caster changes camber gain and steering geometry, but the affects a slight. If you haven't bumped steered your car before, you will find it is not close. After all that, Caster is really a feel kind of thing. Adjust it to make the car feel good to you.

I live in Fairfax Virginia and can probably help. If you are interested contact me through the forum. There are several other people in the area who might help you as well.