pethier

I go Hagerty agreed value & full coverage.

So, does XU answer this thread's central questions?

My battery switch is in the Caterham location on the scuttle, so easily reached as long as I don't have the doors on. I have a switch for the fuel pump directly in front of the passenger. I suppose I really ought to put a label on that.

Thanks.

Have not yet received the Mintex pads from Demon Tweeks. Meanwhile, I have received Green Stuff pads via Amazon. I don't have the car here at the moment, as my tuner has not yet stuffed an engine into it. See my build thread.

NOW you tell me!

I can't think of a single advantage to putting a gate on a shifter.

Not my first Caterham. At the 40th-anniversary party weekend for Donnybrooke/BIR in 2008, Bob Cox told me that he had been to see a 1979 Caterham in Appleton Wisconsin. He was very impressed, and recommended it to me. I bought the car directly from the private party. My present Caterham is a 1991 that I got off BAT in the late fall of 2022. When I arrived at the law office of the seller in central Illinois, he offered me several Caterham cars. I drove two candidates and chose to stay with the one from the auction. So far I don't recall that I blame him for any misinformation on this car.

I know that one. When I bought my first Caterham, the seller told me the rear axle was Marina. I bought a Quaife diff and a set of 4.11 gears. Nope. The axle was Ford. The vendors were wonderful; sending out the Ford parts and accepting the Marina parts with a minimum of hassle.

And therefore a Zetec-powered model Mercury had in North America.

Like my photos show.

What about the Mercury Mystique?

What's the URL for looking that up?

In my recent misadventure with oil pump damage on on a 1996 Contour engine in my Caterham, I picked up what purports to be a VCT engine from a 1999 Contour. It has the electrical connection on the cam cover for the cam changeover. I am unlikely to use this engine, since I also picked up what seems to be an identical 1996 Contour engine (without the headwork my ailing engine has had) to get me by for the remainder of the season.. I don't know how to test the solenoid or if there is a market for it.

After consultation, Ron and I have agreed to use both the block and head of the bought engine. This saves Ron from having to clean the head. Alternator and other parts are different in the Birkin. There a few aluminum Ford pieces that are not used, and other pieces have been created to support the different configuration used for the Birkin. The result of using the bought cylinder head is not likely to give as much power and torque. Steve had made some changes to the head to improve the flow. With luck, I will have a useable engine for now and all winter to clean up the "Steve" engine and have it back in the car for next season. Apparently all this is because the other shop missed the importance of the simple clutch-travel limiter right there on the bell housing. Ron spotted it. My guess is that Steve never needed to use it because the pedal layout in the Birkin stopped the travel before the throwout could cause trouble.

IMG_9128 seized oil pump Apparently, the oil pump runs concentric with the crankshaft. It seems to have taken the brunt of the abuse of the unrestricted clutch travel. The original block and head will need to be thoroughly-cleaned to remove all the shrapnel.

Thanks! Not finding anything in the USA, I have filed an order with Demon Tweeks in Wrexham.

Good question. I will soon visit Ron's shop and ask what he knows.

Update! Ron texted me. It was not the thrust bearing that locked up the engine. The oil pump grenaded. The engine was essentially at idle when the incident occurred. If I had been on the freeway at 3000 RPM, the damage might have been a lot worse. In the interest of getting this car back on the road for LOG, Ron is not going to clean the engine for shrapnel, but use the block from the engine that I just bought.

MGB533 gives me nothing on Moss.

Deserves its own thread.

I sent you a message via USA7s.

I had a Renault-engine Europa. The calipers were seized. Back then, you could order calipers for a Spitfire at a regular parts store. While I was at it, I bought stainless pistons and put them in the new calipers.

This is not a new rebuild. This is an experienced engine. Ron may be onto something with his thrust bearing theory. Remember that the engine has lived long and well in the Birkin so the problem would likely have to do with the change to a Caterham. I have never heard of this problem, but Ron has. At this point I only believe one thing: I will be at LOG driving my truck. Whether it will have a trailer attached is not yet certain.

Wednesday. Drove to Ripon and bought a Zetec motor which reportedly passed a compression test.