Pokey

Thanks! The only obvious spot I'm seeing to mount to is the shroud that protects the fuel filler pipe. Unless I were to build a wedge-shaped shim the bottle will be tilted on its back a little though...

Certainly made me feel better

Would someone mind posting a picture of their washer bottle? The manual states that the bottle needs to be installed prior to the engine, but it looks to me like the tubing and electrical terminate in the boot not the engine compartment. However, I don't see any mount point for the bottle in the boot.

If you want me to read the words stop putting in pictures of sexy cars and videos of beautiful racetracks! Now I want a CSR too.

I was reading from the bottom up, so it looks like sf4018 got there before Kenny. Bragging rights to you both!

We have a winner! You just saved me a lot of head scratching trying to figure out what this random bit of rubber in the shortages box was for. I've already torqued the rack not knowing better, but did lay the steering column in to get alignment. Fingers crossed. For the suspension I removed the shock from the top mount and jacked the bottom wishbone to horizontal before torquing. I've made the assumption that horizontal is the neutral position... if it isn't I would appreciate no one telling me. I'm going to do as you suggest and route hoses first, thanks for the tips Kenny, much appreciated.

How about a game of name that part? I found this in my box of shortages: This foot long piece of rubber trim doesn't seem to have a match in any other box, and I've not found a reference to it in either build manual. Someone who blogged about building a 420R has a description of trim around the body panel openings for the front suspension, but this wouldn't look to be for that purpose, there wouldn't be enough of it anyway, and I'm thinking that trim is strictly for the IVA in the UK?

Thanks Mike. I enjoyed that.

It was a productive weekend Bruce. Taxes are done and that black Subaru you saw in my driveway made it to my son's place under its own power. I also managed to grab a few hours to work on the Seven and now have the front suspension assembled if not fully torqued. Despite taping and taking care, I found it difficult to not have some paint damage behind the nut on the front upper wishbone. Granted it is behind the nut and hard to see, but it is a little mystifying that there is about one mil of space between a nut, aluminum skin and the bracket for the wishbone. No idea why the factory doesn't make the hole in the skin a little bigger so the skin can flex behind the bracket rather than sit on top and get pinched. I am learning though. Whereas in some vehicles I would assume tolerances were such that at the right angle and with some gentle force things will go together, Caterham tends to do things a little differently. I've now run into two situations where a little filing made more sense than a lot of force. Some of the issue with tolerances seems to be simply paint. Speaking of paint, I read somewhere that the chassis is powder coated but to my eye it is paint. The inside of the upper shock mount flaked off like paint with bushing contact, and I've noticed some very minor chipping elsewhere. I realize that once on the road the chassis is going to get chipped, but being a bit detail orientated (aka anal) I've been touching up anyplace where bare steel is exposed. Not sure what you pros use, but the original formulation of Rust-Oleum in satin is a good match.

Love to see an all black version, how about posting us a picture here? I was joking with John that color was the hardest part of specifying our build. I really like Caterham's orange, and the more traditional British colors of the 50's and 60's too, but my wife really likes red. So we compromised on red I'm really hoping she falls in love with the way the car looks so much that she is willing to get into it with me... I'm not her favorite driver.

I settled on 222 for caster. I suspect the difference in steering between 040 and 222 isn't going to be terribly noticeable, at least for a noob like me. An acquaintance in England spoke to the factory and he was told 404 is a good setting, so anything appears to work. So... I took out 040 and reinstalled 222. I think I've had enough fun with that.

That's the thing, one manual calls for 040 and the other 222.

Sorry, should have been a little clearer. My reference of 040 is how many washers at each of the three possible locations. The manual calls for four washers in the middle position, which pushes the wishbone back as far as possible creating the most negative caster (or least positive if I'm understanding sf4018 correctly in that 040 corresponds to 4 degrees and 222 creates 6 degrees). For the S3 the manual calls for two washers in each of the three positions which would move the wishbone forward. I'm just trying to figure out whether to use 222 instead of 040 as doing so, in theory, increases stability at speed and more corner camber. Assuming sf4018 has a sv and not a s3 (?) than it sounds like 222 isn't an issue with heavy low-speed steering.

I've got a question regarding caster. I've read the assembly guide from 2015 and see where it states 040 for wide track. I've read the various Internet opinions regarding what to use when, but am hoping to get the opinion of someone who has actually done what they speak of. A 040 gives the maximum negative camber, but is it really going to be that hard to turn the wheel that I need to go to the extreme negative end of the spectrum?

Somehow I think that four hours of inventorying is going to be a rounding error in the grand scheme of things. Add a beer to that popcorn and you pretty much have me figured out.

Inventory is done! Truth be told I haven't inventoried the contents of the various fastener packs and polythene bags. I'm not even sure if I have the correct fastener packs but the big bits are accounted for. So far all I've found missing is: 1. One of the two door mirror plates, 2. The green nyloc driveshaft nut, and 3. Both front Watts link radius arms. A sampling of pictures follow... Hose or conduit, what is this mystery tube? And is this the right number of coolant hoses?

For your viewing pleasure.... boxes! And a few bits and pieces that were shipped in the car loose:

Thanks Simon! I haven't gotten that far yet but will soon. To date I've just been unpacking and moving things around.

The engine is part of the kit. The Caterham model determines the motor and level of tune. I had the choice between the six speed Sigma and five speed Mazda transmission. Both seemed like good choices, but from what I read the six speed gearing is 1:1 and I didn't think that would be necessary given the Duratec's torque output. I've also seen the Mazda be used as a benchmark in a variety of automobile testing over the years. Now if the sequential six speed would have been an option at the same price as the Sigma I would have gone a slightly different direction...

I'd like to say that I was thinking that far ahead...

I'm not sure how much detail folks would like to see in this thread. For my purposes I've taken a picture of the label and the inside of each box. I can post these if there is interest, just don't want to overwhelm with the trivial. In a couple of weeks I'll start pulling items out of the boxes and laying them out on the floor to take inventory. I'll take pictures and post those as that strikes me as being more interesting than boxes. However, I have the pictures of box labels and contents if anyone would find it interesting or helpful - just holler.

I mentioned there were a lot of boxes but wasn't sure how many. Now that things are somewhat organized I see there are 13 boxes, and one concrete form tube holding the muffler. Not shown in the picture are the four fenders, nose cone, bonnet, doors, seats, weather hoods and some small boxes that were stashed in the car for shipment.

More pictures, this time 13" wheels.

More pictures. Ford Duratec with a claimed 210 HP at the crank. Has anyone ever tested this claim on a dyno? Not that it matters, just curious is all.

I remember you Mike, I don't often meet someone that even knows what a Holden is what's more own one (or more). An inventory seems like a good idea, just might be a little tricky as it isn't like Caterham provided a build list. Guess I'll have to go through the manual and compare box contents to pictures