Wayne Stambaugh

Here are a few pictures. The original boxes are in the background in two photos.

Thank you Dreamer! I’ll have a look as soon as I send this message.

I have two NOS Weber 40 DCOE 19 carburetors in their original boxes. I have a BDR 1600 and they won’t work on it without a lot of modifications. I will provide some pictures tomorrow. Let me know if you have an interest in these.

My Motolita wheel is only about 10” in diameter so I certainly don’t want to go smaller. Yes, I want the wheel closer to me. Because of this I should also get a little more left leg clearance. I didn’t get a chance to do it this weekend but I plan to remove the slide adjusting rail underneath the seat and mount to seat directly to the flat bracket. I will have to get it in the right place because it won’t be adjustable but that’s not a problem. This will drop the seat height a full inch. I think this will be enough but if not I will drop the floor.

The engine is ready to pull. I don’t have my engine hoist in my garage so I need to bring it home and I’ll be really to pull it. Today I helped the son of the friend who originally owned my Caterham, clean out the storage unit the Caterham was in. I got really lucky. We thought we found all the Caterham parts last weekend but we were wrong. We found two Weber boxes each with new 40 DCOE carburettors in them. I haven’t studied them yet and I have no idea why he had an extra set. The tubes on these two are longer (I think) but other than that they look the same. I haven’t even started studying Weber DCOEs yet but with two new pairs surely I can get the car running. I have new silicone upper and lower radiator hoses to put on when I go back in with the engine. I’m going to replace all the heater hoses with silicone hoses so I hopefully won’t have to do it again. I’m a believer in stainless braided AN hose and plan to get the fittings for the carbs so I can use AN hose to plumb them. I don’t have an extra fuel pump and even if I did I would trust it not knowing its age. I’ll have to purchase a new one. When I removed the clutch cable I found it to be smooth and very free. Even bent around at 180 degrees the cable was still loose and smooth. I’m under the impression that maybe the pressure plate and clutch have rusted themselves together. As I mentioned earlier, the clutch pedal was extremely hard to push. Engine and transmission separation will be one of the first thing I do when the engine hits the floor. Does anyone know if the color on the engine block is the correct and original color for a BDR 1.6? I have attached a picture to show the color. It reminds me of the color of my MGA/MGB engines I have worked on in the past.

One thing about Avgas, you know what you are getting when you buy it. Auto pump gas is a different story. Do you think when you buy non ethanol gas it truly is? It’s hauled in the same tankers that haul ethanol gas. Then I wonder if they even careful enough that they don’t sometimes put ethanol gas into non ethanol tanks by mistake. At the airport there are typically no options except 100LL and Jet A. Those two are impossible to mistake.

This afternoon I started preparing the engine for removal. This is the first time I ever worked on a car this age with no grease and grime. It is truly like a new car. Even the exhaust nuts unscrewed with my fingers after the initial breaking loose with a wrench. It’s a pleasure to work on. Things get a little tight but never was a problem. I did notice the probably 20 pound Lucas starter. The starters I have been using in LS and small block Chevys are half the weight of this Lucas. Surely there are some better options out there. You can see what I have gotten done today and tomorrow I’ll continue and remove the alternator the oil and filter, hoses to the oil cooler, clutch cable, etc. I hope to lift it out tomorrow afternoon.

The paperwork says it came from Sevens and Elan's.

I might be best to start with the 93 octane unleaded and watch the valve clearances. If it seems to require frequent adjustments then maybe it is having an affect. This engine is a BDR. It came with the car in 1986 so as far as valve seats go, it has whatever it came with. Did I mention the odometer has 30 some miles on it?

Yes, fuels are cleaner. They are currently working on unleaded aviation fuel as well. I don’t think its going to be long before that’s all we can get.

Oh! I bet that was an experience you’ll never forget.

Colin Chapman’s quote “keep it simple and add lightness” I guess his idea of simple was different than mine. There is nothing simple about working under the dash is there?

I just Googled lead additives/replacements and didn’t have any idea how many are on the market today. That’s an easy solution to get started with. In time if for some reason the cylinder head ends up needing to be removed I’ll address the valve seats then.

I got the car up on stands last niight and looked at how the floor pans are install. Now with the pictures from the link MV8 provided from the Caterham website, it’s easy to understand how they are doing it. I agree based on their pricing I can fab my own and install them. The idea is eactly what I expected and if I make them myself I can put as much or as little drop in them as I want. Frankly removing the seat track alone may give me what I need. If it doesn’t I’ll proceed from there with lowering the pan. As far as the passenger’s side, I see no reason to drop that floor. There is no steering wheel or pedals to content with for the passenger.

I searched the forum for Avgas and only came up with a couple of posts. My Caterham has a 1.6 BDR and everything I have read indicates it should only be run on leaded gasoline. Today it’s difficult enough to find non-ethanol gasoline much less leaded gasoline. That ship has sailed and we will never see leaded auto fuel again. Fortunately I’m a pilot and have access to 100 LL avgas. It’s not cheap but it is definitely leaded and although the octane rating is not calculated the same as auto gas it’s still higher octane than pump gas we ever was. There are obviously race gasolines on the market but their price is outragous. Today at my airport 100 LL avgas costs $6.25 a gallon. Since the Caterham won’t be an everyday vehicle I can easily afford to burn it. I was wondering if anyone else is burning 100 LL in their cars and what kind of experience they have had with it. (obviously cars with catalytic converts can’t run leaded fuel anyway)

I love your paint scheme. When I think of a Seven this is exactly what runs through my mind. You have a wonderful car!

Back to the floor lowering recommendation. Does anyone have pictures their floor that they lowered or one that was ordered that way? I have a good idea how to do it but no reason to reinvent the wheel. Picturs would pretty much tell the story.

There is actually a new clutch cable in the box of parts so I think I’ll lube it up good and change it while I have the engine out. I planned on going through the wheel bearing. The brakes are working which really was a surprise. I do think the car should roll with a lot less resistance so I’ll be check to see the brakes aren’t dragging anywhere as well as the wheel bearings. I assume the timing belt will be easier to replace on an engine stand instead of in the car. Thanks for your advice and ideas, again I really appreciate it.

Thanks for your kind comments. I do realize how lucky I am and it’s really unfortunately that I got the car the way I did. Robert, the son of my friend who originally purchased the car was buying parts and beginning to work on the car again. There was a brand new set of tires with it that are only a year old. I talked to Robert on a regular basis and we rode motorcycles together. He had the Ducati model used in the movie Matrix two and I was riding a Ducati Hypermotard. He was a diabetic and that contributed to his short life. He died at 59. I figured his brother would take the Caterham but he had no interest. I wasn’t looking for a Caterham but when I found out this car was for sale, it would have been like letting a piece of the family history get away if I didn’t buy it. I mention the above so you understand I’m a Ducati lover too! Man what a great find! That is a once in a lifetime experience. It’s amazing how a new old stock bike can be around that long without coming out of the crate.

After sleeping on it last night, given the fact that the shifter is stuck in neutral, the clutch pedal takes the power of a gorilla to push in, the timing belt and all the hoses need to be replaced, the fuel pump should probably be replaced and on and on and on. I think it may be best to pull the engine and transmission to proceed wlith my work. Remembering that this car has accumlated less than 40 miles in 37 years really concerns me especially anything made of rubber. Anyone with an opinion on this please speak up. Even if the car cranks up and runs it’s not going anywhere until the transmission is free. I don’t like to jump to conclusions but I feel that this is the right thing to do. If anyone thinks there are other things to do first before removal please let me know.

I had read where driving shoes were almost a requirement with this car. Funny you mention your a size 10, I am a 10 too so I’ll look for an eleven. I just hope they are available is black or gray and not only in red or blue or something wild like that. I hope the soles are pretty firm so that clutch pedal doesn’t feel like it’s going to come through my foot when I push it. Thanks for your input, I’m going to definitely look into them.

You’ll have to explain that one. I have no idea. you mean the upper control arm?

Someone asked for pictures with the nose removed and I have attach a few. Tonight I jacked the car up and put it on stands. When I saw how the floor pans were installed by pull rivets I quickly understood how the floor area could be lowered. I took the seat out of the car and jumped in with no seat. I needed about two and a half inches behind my back which is probably about the thickness of the seat’s backrest. Obviously I sat about 3” lower due to no seat cushion and no adjusting rails. This position totally relieved the interference between my left knee an the steering wheel. I jumped back out and took my boots off and got back in the car. It was much easier to feel the pedals and to be sure I wasn’t pushing the brake while I was trying to push the clutch. With only my socks on I pushed the clutch pedal to the floor. It takes a lot of pressure to push the clutch down. Matter of fact it hurt my left foot so bad I could only push it down 3 times. This is a cable clutch and not hydraulic. Is this standard on all Caterhams? If this clutch is as good as it gets I’m going to have to install a steel plate in my left shoe in order to drive it.

I think I’ll give that unit a try. I am going to look at the floor as a secondary option. Thanks again!