Ian7

scannon said: "the coils for 12v cars actually ran on 6 volts using a ballast resistor." so what's the difference then between these "12volt" coils I keep frying, and the "6volt" coil on my friends 1965 VW Beetle ?

Thx. In such a system, what would that ballast resistor look like? where typically? Given the erroneous mix of components that came from Caterham, this might be the real answer. (Ordered a kit for a Kent, received mostly bike-engine-intent components...)

... and this one's not ugly (at least if you ignore the lower nose) way nicer than an X-bow. I'd buy one I think. http://www.autoblog.com/photos/elfin-type-5-clubman-1/1092179/

#$%@$%&%$# not again !! so, maybe 200 miles after changing the coil, it appears to have fried again. latest coil was a Bosch blue, no previous mileage, but maybe 3 years old before installation. as before: coil is vertical, mounted to a chassis tube in the right-rear corner of engine bay (non-exhaust side) Kent x-flow with an Aldon electronic-points dizzy (but not a full electronic ignition) Ideas? thx (That $5000 zetec conversion I baulked at a few years ago is looking better all the time...)

Tom, it would look just like mine - - cool but covered in annoying fingerprints :ack:

Black on bare alloy !!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbs:

I don't have any QA1 experience, but on all the other dampers I work with (Penske, Ohlins, etc) the rebound control is a needle-and-seat orifice. Need to be careful not to bottom it out too tightly as you approach "full stiff", or the needle will jam in the tapered bore seat. Light finger torque only, never tools. cheers.

I second the "holy crap" comment above. $13,000 buy-in, to make $1 a gallon biodiesel. Are there annual or periodic maintenance costs on this equipment? Is the waste oil always free? How many gallons can it produce before the equipment is scrap (if applicable)? Were there any other equipment costs to 'complete' the overall package? eg storage tanks, pumps, nozzles, etc etc? let's say the answer to all the above were zero, so you';re saving what, $3 a gallon? that 4333 gallons to break even, or 86,666 miles at a pessimistic 20 mpg assuming you aren't near home every time you need to refuel, say that's half the time, then doubles to 173,333 miles to break even sounds like a plan only a tree-hugger could love... more power to you.

thx I guess I see how it 'hangs' there with its nose in the b/h hole, held in place by light tension in the pullrod, but personally wouldn't want it vibrating around all the time; maybe even just JBWeld to hold it firm. cheers Ian

bball: very tidy. where did you get the "pull" slave cylinder? thx edit: and how is it attached to the b/h?

Thanks for the info. I've got one of those 5' long 'loops' around the front of the engine. No apparent stretch in 1500 miles so far. Where do they typically break off? (I don't have quite the same terminal end and nylon 'block' on mine; is that pedal or engine end in your photo?) thx again

"The root cause of our problems is the political party system" Not sure I agree completely. Root cause for me is our ridiculous "I'm entitled..." consumerist society that no longer works to earn the things they want. Like people buying $500,000 houses on $50,000 salaries, and now whining because they can't make the payments on mortgage deals they didn't read before they signed. Ever wonder how the whole idea of vehicle leasing became mainstream? So people could have vehicles they normally couldn't afford to buy. It's probably not nearly as simple as this, but I'm not very sympathetic...

from a different viewpoint - - curious why?

DB6: I have same engine, same exhaust manifolds, and same problem. I can't even get a shield between alternator and pipe after setting even remotely snug belt tension. I've been looking at ways to change lower mount bracket to get clearance and belt tension, as it seems intuitively cheaper than an alternator swap. I'll be watching to see how this thread progresses... Cheers, Ian

sorry, memory not so good these days, turns out the Caterham V8 Levante goes for 115,000 british pounds, not 90,000 as I posted above !!!!!!!!

1. tv and magazine articles create an initial interest in 70's. 2. see one in the flesh in England in the early 80's; "gonna have one some day..." 3. life gets in the way 4. midlife crisis in late 90's = 7

I guess it's just a personal value-for-money thing. I'm plenty ok with my live axle Kent 7 @ $30k-ish with a few upgrades; can't imagine this $72k car is 2.5 times more fun. ... and I remember seeing recently an article on a v8 Caterham over in Blighty that was over 90,000 British Pounds !!!!!!!

I use a pair of SPA mirrors, convex on both sides for a good view, (but convex on left may actually be illegal here). Uses the door hinge holes though.

handbrake buried deep in passenger footwell, per Colin's design, so no, doesn't get any use ....

As someone who has been through that wringer, this made me smile. Good luck , seems like a nice car at a great price.

Thx kitcat. Do you find the 93-at-the-wheels surprising? That's about a 30% transmission loss (!?), or an optimistic 135. Curious. I have a dyno day in mind for the spring. Hope I remember to post results. Cheers

The really long forward links which I believe slngsht is describing is often called a trailing arm design, very common on 60's vintage formula cars. Given an A-Arm designed and manufactured with appropriate strength and more importantly stiffness, there's no geometry advantage I know of to a trailing arm design. Of course, other compromises come into play, like packaging the whole works in a confined space...

Being that I can't afford to throw any more rods out the side of my latest (and hopefully last) engine finding this info out, would someone care to speculate on what speed (a relative term) my 120hp Kent with clamshells and a full windscreen might achieve? (lets ignore gear ratio limitations; assume its power limited) cheers

Cripes! lots of (immoveable) posts to run into though...

oops, hit 'post' too soon was going to put forward "K2RUM" over in England as a contender.