TexasDreamer

Thanks for the info. Normally oil pressure at idle (100 rpm) is 2 bar = 30 psi so that sounds good. This situation came to my attention when I saw a small amount of smoke coming up through the louvers on the bonnet. There was oil sprayed around the engine bay and apparently some found its way to the exhaust manifold. I found the plug on the bottom of the catch can, so emptying it will be easy. My plan is to replace the oil filler cap, empty the catch can and see what happens. I've attached a pic of the valve cover so someone can tell me what oil filler cap to get. the diameter of the oil filler is about 1.5".

The engine is a 1700 Crossflow. The first image is a catch tank for oil. There is a clear vertical tube to show how much is in the canister. The tube is now full of oil. It was empty for a long time. The other end of the tube connects to a sort of box which connects to the crankcase. You can see the other end of the tube in the second picture going down beside the dipstick. I may have overfilled the crankcase. It loses oil pressure when the dipstick shows half a quart below "H" so I keep it above the max mark on the dipstick. May or not be related, but the oil filler cap on top of the valve cover disappeared. What part do I order to replace it? I'll be away for a few days, looking forward to any info I can get.

I put my size 13s in the passenger footwell and drive in socks. No matter what shoes I tired, my toe hung up on the rod which sticks out toward the driver on the accelerator pedal shaft. Any idea what that rod is for?

I have a 1991 Caterham which was imported from England a few years ago and it is titled as YR/Make: 1992 Cate Model: 7 Body style: RD. Texas recognizes Caterham so no problems getting it registered. The person who imported it titled it in another state. Someone else transferred it to TX. I transferred the title inside Texas. Only question was on the year because the VIN translates to 1991 but due to the original owner build time it was first registered (In England) in 1992. This question did not delay the title transfer.

I bought a set from Redline Components in the UK earlier this year for a 1991 RHD Crossflow.

For the type 9 transmission with mechanical speedometer cable, watch out for the right-angle speedo connection to the transmission. It is fragile and expensive. the two parts in the picture were one part before I broke it.

These tips made a huge difference. First I blocked up the engine so the top of the valve cover was horizontal. Then I moved the transmission in close and blocked it up in position. Then I used 4" bolts as shown in the big blue circle to line it up. Picked up the transmission in the middle. Slid right together, no issues. 10 minutes just like its supposed to be. If I had it to do over, I would also use 3/8" threaded rod (or sawed off bolt) in the top holes for extra help. fun fact to know and tell: The bolts which go from the engine side into the bell housing are 10mm x 1.5. The bolts at the top (small blue circle) which go from the bell housing into the engine are 3/8 x16. You can put a 3/8" bolt in a 10mm hole and it will screw in no issues but it will feel a little loose. You will go to Home Depot and come home with a 10mm bolt and it won't fit. If you try to put a 10mm bolt in a 3/8" hole, it won't go. This is not the first time I have made such a mistake and probably won't be the last. Thanks again for the help!

All this good advice makes we want to blow off work and run right out to try something:)

Thanks for the tips. The engine and trans are out of the car on the floor of my garage. I'll try a combination of the suggestions this weekend, apply some perseverance and see what I can do.

In the process of changing the clutch in my Crossflow with a T9 transmission. New clutch is installed on the flywheel. Now I can't get the transmission mated to the engine. The plastic clutch tool inserts fairly easily. It's certainly not loose but it goes in and out with no issue. The transmission mated up with the bell housing is removed so I know it can work. It took some (well a fair amount) of futsing to get the shaft lined up and a push, but it went in smoothly. I'm using the engine crane to position the transmission. Sometimes I have positioned the trans a little low with the crane and picked it up in my hands. Lots of wiggling. I am using the gap between the bell housing and the back of the block to gauge alignment: making the gap equal all the way around. After an hour and a half of trying, no success. Feels like this should have been done in about 10 minutes. Any tips or tricks? Thanks in advance.

Not many cars can make a Miata look bloated

At the risk of adding more smoke than light, I recently went through this in Texas with a 1991 Caterham Crossflow, probably not much different from yours. I had three choices of categories in which to register: Normal, Classic and Antique. Per state regulations, TX antique car tags are assigned to vehicles that are at least 25 years old, are collector’s items and are used for parades, exhibitions and other public events. Since I use my car for all kinds of travel around The Woodlands, that didn't work for me. Like you, I'm ok not willing to outright flaunt the rules. I ended up with Classic but other than a plate which says "Classic" I don't see any difference from normal. In contradiction to my earlier statement about flaunting rules, I do run without a front license plate. In nine months, no issues despite multiple times when I have passed through a speed trap. I'm thinking the biggest risk there is if I get stopped for something else, the nice officer will pile on the front plate infraction. Have you found a mechanic who is familiar with Sevens? Some jobs are beyond my skill. Some jobs have no room for the errors which come with my wrenching.

My came RHD and I think it's a great feature. Adds to the uniqueness of the car. Shows off it's British nature. A positive topic of conversation when people stop me to chat, which they frequently do. Never had a problem driving it, perhaps because it is so narrow.

Wiggling the key didn't cause the failure. Pawing all around under the dash didn't' cause it either. All the lights, horn etc. work as expected so no matter how messy the wiring is, it's functional and I'm not inclined to spend time figuring out what was done and why. So far, I have cleaned up a lot of electrical connections. Before I worked on them, I wiggled and pulled to see if engine stopped. No luck so it's hard to know if this will fix it or not. Cleaned up the Alternator connections, the ground connections as directed in the Owners Manual, the fuses, the ignition switch. I'm going to let it ride and see what happens. Thanks for all the advice.

1991 XFlow twice over the last 4 months has stopped running for no apparent reason. The first time I was decelerating on a frontage road about to turn off and it just quit. No hiccup, no sputter. Needles on the gauges went to zero and the engine stopped running. I coasted to a stop in a safe place, thought about it for a minute, then turned the key and it started right up. Yesterday I was making a left turn through an intersection at low speed and it just quit again. I didn’t notice the gauges. I started it up while still coasting and it ran fine all the way home. At twice in four months it’s very intermittent so it will be hard to know if I’ve really fixed it. Any idea on what’s wrong and how to fix it?

Over the Memorial day weekend I swapped out the battery. No way was it coming out the bottom. The corner of the battery tray filled the gap between the tubing and the engine block. I thought about cutting off the corner of the battery tray but couldn't bring myself to do it. Following @Kitcat suggestion, I put in a smaller battery. The lithium is much smaller and lighter. Although I didn't check, I'm expecting it would squeak out the bottom. Pulling the carbs was not hard, but it did take a long time because I was very tentative. I also had to detach the ignition coil and the speedometer cable, but avoided taking out the steering shaft by 1/8 inch. Instead of just the rear carb, I pulled them as a pair because I could not get the accelerator cable bracket which tied them together loose. I was going to refresh the carbs while I had them out but my family gave me pressure to get the toy running for play time so I just put them back in. Amazing difference in the starting experience. I'm not sure how much is the old battery being very weak and how much to attribute to the new battery being lithium. However, it now spins fast and starts immediately. One thing to say about this car is that it always starts, even when the weak battery was barely turning it over. Now, I'm working on dialing in the carbs. I showed the YouTube video to the car but apparently the car wasn't paying attention. How to Balance & Tune Twin Weber DCOE Carburetors | Tech Tip 18 - YouTube First thing is the idle speed is too high, around 1200 RPM. I get there by screwing the rear carb idle speed screw all the way out and then setting the idle speed screw on the front carb so the air flow matches. Second thing is that the idle air mixture screw on the rear cylinder has no effect. I can close it down all the way and nothing happens. Next weekend I'll try again. in the meantime, I'm happy that the toy is fully drivable and that I that at least haven't made it worse in some noticeable way.

Solved 2/3 of the fit issue (maybe only a half depending on how you count) by adjusting the accelerator and brake pedals. Now my right leg has plenty of room. Clutch cable was not adjustable up top by the pedal. I'm assuming the the adjustment for it is inside the rubber boot down by the clutch. Will deal with it later when I have the car up in the air and time to figure it out.

Good tips. I ordered the battery. Kitcat's comment pushed me over the edge to get a lithium battery. My previous thinking was to stay with PC680 because 1) it's more or less original (totally irrational, I know, but hey, the whole car is totally irrational) 2) fear of the unknown and 3) with this car I'm trying to resist the temptation to continuously "improve it" and be disciplined to "leave well enough alone". However, all that pales in comparison to getting the battery out. Just saw the pictures of a red 1992 with the battery right up top where my heater is. Right now I'm feeling like I would gladly give up the heater to turn this battery replacement into a ten minute job. I'll try to get it out the bottom first and if that doesn't work, cross the that bridge when I get there. Will update the thread when I get it done but it may be awhile. The spring re-landscaping is taking precedence.

I'm about to change the battery in a 1991/92 Super Sprint, RHD. I can't see a way to get the battery out other than removing the rear carb. Any tips or tricks to getting the carb out? Can I simply (yeah, right) unbolt everything and pull it out? Do I need to buy new gaskets to go between the carb and the manifold or can I re-use whatever is there? Carb is Weber 40 DCOE 151.

Just brought home a 92 Caterham Super Sprint, originally built in England, RHD, came to the US via Cincinnati a few years ago. When I was 17, I had a brief acquaintanceship with a Morgan owner. My dad was in the hard wood lumber business, so he thought the combo of English style and wooden frame was the ultimate. My acquaintance referenced the Seven as an ultimate sports car and I’ve held that opinion ever since. 30 years ago my wife gave me a model Seven for my birthday. When a car looking almost exactly like the model came available, she encouraged me to get the real thing and I could not resist. The car was only 30 minutes from home so that was another sign it was meant for me. During and immediately after college, I had a variety of cars. My midlife crisis at 22 caused me to trade my newly re-painted 69 MGB for a VW bug which I traded for a Datsun 260Z with triple Webers, which I traded for a Europa, which I traded for a plane ticket because I couldn’t get the Europa running well enough to drive it 1200 miles to graduate school, all in the space of one summer. After marriage, a few years, and a few more sports cars, I gave them up to focus on family. Now after a lot of years, I have the time to indulge. Although I worked extensively on my MGB I’m not sure how much I will be working on the Caterham. First thing, I have to see if the adjustable pedals are adjusted for maximum driver height. Second, the battery seems weak, so it or the alternator will likely need replacing soon. If I knew of a good mechanic close by I would have it done, but maybe I’ll do it myself. Do I really have to remove the rear carb to get the battery out? Also have to figure out how to mount a front license plate or if I am willing to risk going without it. Fit is something of an issue as I am 6’3”. None of my current shoes work, so I’m driving barefoot until my driving shoes come in. My knees just barely/sort of clear the steering wheel, but that‘s ok, because I don’t really need to turn the wheel more than a quarter turn. Fortunately, I’m narrow so the width of the seat is no problem with me. The car seems to be near original. Odometer says 7,200 miles. Paint and interior are excellent, but not perfect, to an amateur eye. When I see a blemish, I shrug and say “not bad for 30 year old car”. Love the sound. Love that when I dangle my arm out the window, my fingers hit the ground. Love looking up to motorcycle riders. Not so keen on looking up into the wheel well of pickup trucks. Love the community and the opportunity to read about other’s experiences.