SanderGA

That’s the one. Going to go back in the morning and do it right. Yesterday was tough because it was too cold and too many miles. Today was glorious. Nothing like a good convertible on a cool, sunny day. Tomorrow I head to Austin.

Yeah it looks like a really cool town I’ll be tired of in about an hour. But I’ve got a nice hotel room waiting and I’m betting I can get a decent meal. I’d love some stargazing but I think my telescope is bigger than my car.

When I removed the cone today, two of the four were unfastened.

Funny you mention that. A friend sent me an article about Springsteen doing a photo shoot on I-80 in the ‘70s and I considered visiting some of those sites for shots. But that’s not it.

Thanks for the tip. I’ll give that a try.

For photos, the easiest thing to do if go to @caterhamchronicles on Instagram as I’ve been posting there. I’ll work on posting some here. Scottsdale to Roswell today which was 603 miles by the route I took. There was snow yesterday from eastern Arizona through New Mexico. Roads were dry but it has gotten cold. At my last fill-up it was 32 degrees and I was standing next to a pile of snow left by the plow. Two issues with the car today. I pulled into the gas station and the car died. I thought I had run the tank dry. Only got 6.5 gallons into the tank. It would start but it would die when I tried to let it idle. I carried on nursing the throttle and about 3 miles later I crossed the continental divide at 7,300 feet. When I got back down to 5,000 feet the idle was much improved. The other issue is that the water temp wouldn’t get to operating temps. The car has a 7 qt. oil capacity in the dry sump and a racing radiator that is about four inches front to back. It’s very happy going 7,000 rpm in 100 degree heat but less happy at a constant 3,200 rpm at 40 degrees. I considered two options. The first was to reverse the positive and negative on the radiator fan to have it pull hot air out of the engine compartment. The other was to block the airflow. I covered half the air intake in the nose cone and that took care of the problem. The car continues to run great. Tomorrow I’m on to Marfa Texas for the photo I’ve got to have. Any guesses what it is?

Merino wool! You can wear it for a week or a month and it never stinks! I get mine from Unbound Merino or Wool & Prince. It looks like cotton and isn’t as hot as you would expect. For traveling it is the bomb. My apparel consists of the following: Three wool t-shirts (Two is too many) One long sleeve wool T-shirt Two merino wool button downs Three merino wool boxer briefs Three pairs of Darn Tough merino wool socks One tight fitting ball cap One pair of Merrill Barefoot shoes. (Bad shoes but you can shift) An Arcteryx synthetic fleece An REI goretex rain jacket which I use as a wind proof outer layer when it’s cold A pair of jeans A pair of shorts. I carry packets of tide intended for hand washing laundry and wash things in the sink. Everything will dry overnight except the jeans if you rearrange the furniture to put your clothes line over the AC vent in the cheap hotel. I carry a flat drain stopper for hotel room sinks that don’t have a stopper and a braided latex clothesline to hang things to dry. I got fried the first couple of day because I hate sunscreen. Now I’ve peeled and I’m using 100 spf. My eyesight is awful. I tried to get new prescription sunglasses before the trip but Warby Parker wouldn’t fill my RX. Really fried my eyes. I got some sunglasses that slip over my regular glasses.

I get nervous about fuel when I get 125 miles into a tank and start looking for a station. I have gone as far as 160 miles but don’t recommend it. Out here in the desert and away from interstates, I start looking to fill up around 75 miles if it’s really desolate. I am being very conservative as I have yet to put more than 7 gallons in the 10 gallon tank. When I’m back east and there aren’t big stretches without service, I’ll run the car to empty to see how far it will go and use the TruFuel to make it to the next station for a fill-up so I know the true capacity of the tank.

I’m getting around 24 mpg the couple of times I’ve calculated. I didn’t bring any tools apart from a credit card. When I took the car for a three day drive back in August I picked up a Harbor Freight tool kit in imperial sizes for around $30. The car was originally 100% imperial but metric parts have crept in. I added a Cruz Tools tool kit for a BMW motorcycle that has metric wrenches, hex keys, duct tape, a better interchangeable screwdriver, vice grips, etc. I’ve added a voltage tester, electric wire stripper/crimper. I’m also carrying red and black wire in 18 gauge, fuses, fuse tester, and an auto store set of connectors including butt connectors, male and female spade connectors, and ring connectors. Don’t forget a big stubby screwdriver for the fasteners on the bottom of the nose cone if you are cursed with those fasteners. At the end of the trip I’m going to create a packing list including a recommended tool kit and list of spares. I am by no means an expert on that topic but I know that everyone will weigh in and add things they have needed so we can come up with a good list.

Palm Springs to Scottsdale, AZ today. About 338 miles. Car continues to run great. Really surprised how nice it is to have the pedal stop for the clutch. I didn’t realize how much effort I was expending trying not to press it to the floor. As I’m driving through the desert and will soon be going through West Texas I got a gas can but they always leak and are too complicated and never work right when you need them. So rather than filling up the can I got a can of TruFuel four stroke gas. It’s 92 octane, zero ethanol fuel intended for lawn equipment in a sealed metal container. Expensive at $20 a gallon but it won’t leak in the car. It’ll give me about 15 additional miles if I need it. Not much I want to do around here so hoping to cover a lot of miles tomorrow.

I tried putting a pedal stop in like Lotusfans. I could be wrong but it appears I have a bigger gap between the rear of the pedal box and the top of the clutch pedal. The stud I got wasn’t long enough to bridge that gap. Then I test fit a big rubber stopper in the pedal box where the clutch pedal hits the floor. The stopper didn’t allow enough travel. Finally, I drilled a half inch hole in the peak of the bid dent the clutch pedal had made in the pedal box. I put the stud through with a lock washer and nut inside and outside the pedal box. Made a quarter inch adjustment and it was just right. I need to clean it up when I get home but I’m all set now.

That’s a great set-up, Thanks for sending it.

Saturday I had the car looked at and we were very concerned with the clutch and transmission. We noted the problems, pondered them and figured I could limp cross-country shifting little on interstate. Big problem was that the clutch wasn’t fully engaging. After a night’s sleep I got back in there, adjusted the clutch cable a half an inch and all the problems were solved. Clutch and transmission are working well now. I need to add a pedal stop as the clutch travels much past the point it needs to. Yesterday I traveled from Sonoma to Palm Springs in 8 hours including gas stops for an average speed of 64 mph. Not bad for an old car. Repairs today focus on exterior rear view mirrors. In other words, things are good. The car is running great. I’ve done 2,500 miles and have about 2,100 to go. Next stops are Joshua Tree, Marfa Texas, Austin, New Orleans and home.

Back in August I posted and indicated that so thought I had a bad pilot bearing. The car squeals when I let the clutch out and it’s in gear. It doesn’t happen in neutral or reverse. Richard at Kampena drove the car and said it’s coming from the rear end rather than the transmission. The sound is somewhere between a squealing tire and a squealing bearing it lasts 1-3 seconds as I let off the clutch. It only happens in lower gears but not always. I think it’s caused by something spinning between the differential and the wheel. Not sure what. Any thoughts.

Agreed but they don’t have one unfortunately. I’ll be ordering a couple from Caterham and searching for someone that can make them.

Has anyone converted a T9 from cable actuated to hydraulic?

The brake light problem was ultimately solved. Either removing and working the switch freed it up and made it function again or it was a bad fuse. Not sure which but I think it was the fuse. When I’m home in a week I’ll be getting another switch from Summit. We replaced the clutch cable last night and things just aren’t right. Shifting is very notchy and sometimes difficult. I’m getting a lot of grinding going into reverse. Richard at Kampena thinks there is something wrong in the bellhousing such as a worn out clutch or bent shift arm. Sounds like the engine is coming out and an exploratory visit to the bell housing will be necessary when I get home. I think a big part of the problem though is the new clutch cable. It isn’t working the way the old one did and that’s creating a lot of the problems. I ordered the LHD Vauxhall cable on the Caterham site and that’s what I installed yesterday. There is also a LHD Ford cable on the Caterham site and I think that’s what I need for my Ford transmission. It looks like the old one. I’d order another of each but the Ford cable is out of stock. I’m calling Caterham when they open for business Monday morning. Does anyone have suggestions for a company in the US that can make or repair a cable? Also, are there any cable repair kits anyone can recommend?

Another productive day. Drove from Santa Barbara up the Pacific Coast Highway to Oakland where Andy/Ashyers and his significant other hosted me for dinner. It was a great time. After dinner I made it about two blocks and my clutch cable snapped. That happened back in August so I had brought a spare. It wasn’t a great fit but with Andy’s skilled guidance we got it working with just a few “extra” parts. I’m not thrashing the car so it’s a bit odd that two cables have broken in only 2,000 miles and two months. Andy suggested it may be a bad grounding strap so I’m going to check that. Has anyone else suffered recurring clutch cable failures with suggestions to share? With the new cable installed I forged ahead to Sonoma where the car is getting an inspection at Kampena tomorrow. I might have to inspect some wine. Hopefully the car gets an all clear and I can head east on Sunday.

Beautiful car. Congratulations.

Write any sentence describing an activity such as: Read a book. Take a nap. Google a restaurant. Have passionate sex. Drive cross country. Now add “in a Caterham” and without exception it will be a less than ideal experience. I am fortunate as I think my car was professionally maintained with no expense spared and very low mileage. The few issues I’ve had are largely the sort one would expect. The problems are mostly of the sort that would have gone unnoticed in a track car so it’s no surprise I’m discovering. I just hope my very good luck continues. At the end of the day, it’s the problems such as these you overcome to continue such a trip that make the stories you tell for years to come. I didn’t explain the rewiring of the fan I did. I “mounted“ the switch in a clear plastic package electrical parts are sold in at the auto parts store. Wires go in holes punched in one end. The toggle switch is on the other end. It’s all wrapped in electrical tape and zip tied under the dash. Ugly as hell but I have a sense of pride every time I switch on that fan. That’s what it’s all about.

That’s in Prescott National Forest 22 miles south of Williams, Arizona.

Made it to Santa Barbara. Car keeps running better. Tomorrow I’ll do the PCH. If the invitation is still open Andy, I’d love to swing by tomorrow evening. My email is sander@sanderabernathy.com. I’ll also send that in a direct message. If you don’t get it either way, you can easily find me with google. My name is Sander Abernathy and that’s also my domain name. If you google it you’ll easily find me. Just let me know time and place and I’ll be there. if anyone has an interest in following my journey I’m using the handle @caterhamchronicles on the ‘gram.

Thanks for the invitation Andy. I have a couple of balls in the air. Let me see how they shake out and I’ll let you know later today if I can make it.

I want to make it to Kampena Saturday at 3:00 pm so Richard can put the car on the lift and tell me anything is broken. Assuming that yields good news, I’ll head East from there.

I’m trying to plot a route from Palm Springs to Santa Barbara that includes some roads through the mountains east of LA. Google doesn’t want to participate. Are fires in them there hills the problem?