hyper7

I had a hell of a time on those damn springs. Took tons of force, even with the zip tie trick. Another guy building a 420 at the same time said he just bent the hooks, put the springs on and bent it back.

Been a little while since updates - was out of town for a bit, and then just busy. Cycle wings are on, rear suspension and axle is "done" I don't have the fixing pack that contains the piping for the rear wings, so they are just sitting there for now, but finishing up carpeting the boot/trunk and will be installing seats this week. Still need to adjust the handbrake before I feel comfortable riveting down the cover, and then just a few random things (nose cone, bonnet, coolant, wipers, mirrors, silencer whenever it arrives) and its basically done. I have a TON of leftover bolts/nuts/washers/rivets/etc...which makes me nervous. Also expected to find what lives in this hole...and just didn't. Guess another email to build support is coming.

Did some heavy lifting over the last week or so and got the diff and rear axles all in place. Also got the seatbelts and roll bar in...starting to run out of things to do 😭 Edited because yeah I'm an idiot. I figured out my question.

https://caterhamcars.com/assets/Documents/Owner-Downloads/Owners-Handbook-All-Models_2023_ED1.2.pdf page 23 - says you need between 4-5.5L depending on which motor/options. it also only lists the MOTUL stuff as the "correct" fluid, but i'm in the same boat, seems like that isn't available anywhere. i'm going with the motorcraft yellow for mine.

Both. 5 zip ties and still needed brute force on both.

Figured out routing for the heater wire - had to twist it behind the battery tray. I also don't like my throttle cable routing... Received the missing radiator brackets yesterday and got the plumbing buttoned up, also got the steering column in...but I screwed up..... In reading blogs, they all said to put the bushing into the steering column first because they seemingly all use the removable steering wheel, which I do not have. I had already pushed in the bushing before I realized my mistake, and basically destroyed it pulling it back out. Oh well, live and learn, new one is ordered, so the column is put together without the top bushing for now Also for anyone else reading this in the future, for LHD, do the steering column BEFORE the airbox, and before the plumbing. It was all in my way and I had to take some of it back out to get enough space to work.

Got to work running the plumbing, and attaching the exhaust pipes (minus the actual muffler because I don't have the correct one yet) Two observations - 1) thank god for https://www.tiggercaterham.co.uk/post/plumbing-preparation I was so lost trying to follow just the picture in the book. I absolutely could not have even attempted this without the better pictures/descriptions. 2) the exhaust springs are AWFUL. My hands will hurt for a couple days I'm sure trying to get those damn things over the hooks. Eventually got them, but required waaay more force then I wanted to use Also, anyone have a better way to route the heater control wire? It's clearly designed for RHD

I sent an email to Caterham for the parts, thanks

Went to slap on the radiator this evening in the hour I had, and seems like I'm missing something else - can someone confirm these are the brackets I'm supposed to have? I found a picture on https://www.caterham420rbuild.co.uk/post/19-radiator-and-fan That looks like what I need, but of course nothing in any of my boxes or on the pick list. The front of the car has brackets coming out the front, but I need a 90 to mount the radiator

Side note for future readers, I needed to replace the shoulder bolts shown above with regular m8x40 bolts with spring washers - I found online that others got replacements from Caterham directly, but I just grabbed them from the hardware store instead of waiting.

It's been beautiful this weekend, so had lots of great garage time 😁

Figured out the "missing" hose thing - turns out they don't send a roll of hose anymore, you just cut it off one of the other coolant hoses. Makes sense, but probably shouldn't be in the manual in this order, should just have a note to save the extra hose when doing the cooling steps.

Motor is IN! Was actually a little easier than I expected, just a lot of twist/push/pull/up/down game to line things up

Amazing, thanks guys. I really didn't want to take stuff back apart.

Another super stupid question....why is there a gap at the bottom of the bellhousing/motor? I'm guessing I have the wrong bellhousing?

Found another missing part - 30H003A 5/8 heater hose - again doesn't seem to be on the pick list, so I'm guessing that's the part number... Current state:

Those bumpers are amazing lol

Cool, I'll leave it off and hope that Ohio doesn't care. From what I've heard they should only care about headlights/bumpers/etc

Got the wingstays, uprights, sway bar and headlights on today, but the damn heat gun disformed the indicator pod....and I didnt notice until I was done putting it together. I'm not sure if I care enough to replace it... but I probably will. Of course the sway bar was a pain in the ass, and is in the way if I decide to pull it back off. Also does anyone know if the US gives a crap about the IVA trim stuff? I don't really want to put it on. I did it on the pods and it's so ugly. And like I mentioned the other day, I'm missing the fixing pack C, so I don't have the screws to attach the indicator to the pod, or the bolt/washer/spacer for the horns..

yeah, its the wrong part. 6" silencer, with a 2.25 tube. cat has the 2.5" Front end is almost done, haven't had much time to work this week.

Observations so far, the pick list is annoying. I appreciate having it and having things somewhat grouped - but there needs to be a "already mounted" check or something. I am not tearing down the motor to make sure each individual screw is there... Missing parts: Battery (but actually wasn't on the pick list?) A few random fixing packs A different part number on the exhaust - pick list says 380X0006A, I received 360X0006A, and the parts site looks like they are pretty different....anyone know which is correct? And a cracked fuel gauge And I have an extra roll bar - I ordered the track day bar, but received both the normal and track day. Hopefully one of Greg's other kits isn't missing it. Getting started on front suspension.

Got my seven yesterday, so far just started digging through boxes and trying to figure out what I'm missing/need...so far the only obvious thing is a battery. I'll keep updating here as I go, but just excited to finally get this going!!

Thanks for all the tips - I've already got 4 jack stands, so I'll start there at least.

Yeah I saw on one of the links that @CBuff provided they used "pipe lagging" which looks exactly like pool noodles. So you're recommending sawhorses over mobile stands? Does it make sense to make them mobile?

Excellent tips, thanks! I'll pick up the 41 and 42 mm sockets. I do have tons of overhead light, but under is a little trickier. I have a couple work lights, but nothing great. I'll look at getting a headlamp. Look for the build thread in a couple months once everything shows up!