plbs1234

Coffee Break - Yes it is a crossflow with dualWeber DCOE 40’s. Since my post I have torn down the carbs and found 3 of the 4 accelerator pump jets plugged. Paul

I have a 1986 Caterhan S-3 Super Sprint. I’m having trouble getting the engine from idle to full throttle. When I step on the throttle the engine bogs down and I have to pump the throttle to get it to rev. Above 2000-3000 rpm it runs fine. My distributor has. Vacuum unit attached, but it is not attached to any vacuum source. Did Caterham use a distributor with a vacuum advance,but not use it? What should the advance be at idle? Thank you, Paul Mascuch Idaho

Gentlemen - What is your recommendation for a street tire for my 1986 Caterham? Thank you, Paul

Any concern about touring without a spare tire? Paul 1986 Caterham 1600

Thanks guys. Your input is very helpful. I'll take a serious look at the repair route. Best regards, Paul

I've had no response to the above inquiry. Can anybody give me some guidance? Should I go to Caterham USA or does someone else source these parts? Thanks, Paul

My car is a 1986 Caterham with clamshell front fenders. This coming winter I want to repaint the car. My fiberglass parts are a little ragged and stress cracked and I'd like to replace them with new parts. Who is the best source to find a new nosecone, front wings, and rears wings for this car? Thanks, Paul

Thank you for all the reply's and thoughts. After reading the suggested threads and doing a search on the site for overheating I became concerned I might have a head gasket problem or even a cracked head. I see no coolant in the oil and no bubbles in the radiator. I contacted the shop that did the valve job and they said they ran a pressure test on the head and everything checked out OK. To rule out cracks or the new head gasket being blown I ran a radiator test for combustion products using a Belkamp Fluid Block Leak Tester. I never got any change in the fluid color so apparently I'm not leaking from the engine combustion areas into the water jacket. I upped the radiator cap to a 16 pound unit and added waterwetter to the radiator. When the engine was up to temperature I drained enough coolant out to actually see the thermostat and it was wide open. At this point I should be OK with the higher pressure cap and keeping a close eye on the temp gauge. My next step will be to switch to Evans Waterless Coolant. This will eliminate any boil-over and hopefully give some improved cooling, especially in the engine hot spots where the existing coolant may be vaporizing locally. We're just getting to the really hot (100 degrees +) weather here in Idaho. I'll be interested to see how the cooling system works at the higher temps. Only other thing I can think to try is going to a higher performance radiator for improved cooling. Thanks again for the help. Best regards, Paul

I am continuing to work on Pandora (Caterham Series 3) trying to have it reliable for road trips. I've sorted out my electrical problems, got the emissions to a low enough level to pass the state emissions test, added an electric fuel pump to solve the vapor lock problems I was experiencing, and have the Weber DCOE 40's adjusted so the car is running well. Took it out for a test drive today and all was well until I hit the interstate and drove at 75 mph. At speed the coolant gauge climbed until it was reading about 225 degrees. Running a 50/50 water antifreeze mixture with a 7 pound radiator cap. When I pulled over the coolant in the overflow bottle was actively boiling. I assume that as the coolant expanded and vented to the overflow bottle at atmospheric pressure it was hot enough to boil. I calculate that the boiling point of the coolant in the radiator under pressure is about 240 degrees. My question is, will running at 225 to 230 degrees coolant temp hurt the engine? Is this temperature normal when the car is being pushed hard? The thermostat is new and as part of passing emissions I had a valve job done so the head gasket is new and the head was surfaced and is newly torqued. When I slowed down after getting off the highway the coolant temp returned to normal range, although it took longer than I would have expected. Any suggestions? Thank you. Paul

How about 4PLAY or U4EA? Paul

I'm having trouble getting my 1986 Caterham with Kent crossflow to pass emissions. I replaced all the ignition parts and added an MSD ignition module. I also leaned out the DCOE 40's. This got me very close to passing, but I need to still get a little cleaner. Has anyone else added a catalytic converter to allow them to pass emissions? If so what converter did you use? Thanks, Paul

Thanks, but I'm looking for the proper Champion or NGK spark plug uper Sprint Ford crossflow engine. Paul

What is the proper spark plug for a 1.7 Super Sprint Ford crossflow engine? Thanks, Paul

You can always tell when a politician is lying. Their lips are moving. Paul

I have an 86 Caterham with a 1700 Super Sprint cross flow engine. It is equipped with dual Weber 40 DCOE carbs. Since this car is less than 30 years old I can not get classic plates which would avoid emissions testing. I have to pass an idle emissions level of 1.2 ppm CO and 220 ppm hydrocarbons. I ended up testing 5.62 ppm CO and 2961 ppm hydrocarbons. I know Caterham has a fairly aggressive cam to get 135 hp from this engine. Should I be able to tune the timing and carbs to pass this test? Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks, Paul

Thanks for all the replies. They are very helpful. I bought my car this past summer off the LONY site from a fellow in Fredrick, MD. When the car is run in temps less than 100 degrees and I'm not pushing the car hard it runs fine. The engine is a cross flow so the carbs are on the opposite side of the engine from the exhaust manifold and pipes. I think the engine bay just gets so hot at the high temps we get here in the summer that the fuel is vaporizing in the line and the engine driven pump just can't pull fuel because of the vapor. When it quits it acts like fuel starvation and not like an electrical problem caused by heat. My theory is that a pump pushing fuel to the engine will be better in hot weather than an engine driven pump trying to pull fuel with vapor in the lines. I'll give the electric pump a try. Thanks again. Paul

I have a 1985 Caterham with the Kent 1700 Super Sprint engine. While driving on hot (100+) days this summer the car would vapor lock and shut down. I'd have to wait for everything to cool down before it would restart. Running it hard after it had restarted would lead to it vapor locking again. I'd like to remove the engine driven fuel pump and cover the opening in the block with a blank plate, and then install an electric fuel pump back near where the fuel line exits from the tank. Has anyone else done this on their car and did it help? I have Weber 40 DCOE's. What pressure and flow will I need with the electric fuel pump I install? Thank you for any help you can offer. Paul

Bob - My car is wired with two circuit breakers each with four circuits passing through each one. Tony Weale's book - Lotus Seven Restoration, Preparation, and Maintenance - on page 51 shows a wiring diagram labeled "Wiring Diagram Caterham Seven 1981 - 87". This wiring diagram shows two circuit breakers just like in my car. All the wiring diagram color codes on the diagram match my car. I believe the circuit breakers are original to my Caterham. I'm still interested in whether an overload on one circuit of the four through the breaker kicks out all four or only the one overloaded? Thanks, Paul

I have a question about the two circuit breakers on my 85 Caterham. Each breaker has 4 circuits that go through the breaker, but each breaker has only one reset button. If there is a problem on one circuit that goes through the breaker, do they all trip or only the one circuit with the problem? Thanks, Paul Mascuch

Be careful of the internet auto transportation sites. They are basically brokers who try and place your load with truckers. They usually have an up front deposit which covers their part of the deal. They have an incentive to bid low to get your deposit and then when they try and place the load, if their total bid is too low for the truckers, it may take a long time to get your car moved. When you get impaient to get your car moved they often come back with a request for more money to get your car moved quickly. Stay away from the freight forwarding brokers and deal with an outfit that specializes in moving cars and has their own trucks. Paul

Twobone - I also thought about an overheating coil, but the car was firing and trying to run. Adding choke seemed to help. This is why I thought it was fuel starvation. I'll check for loose wires. Thanks, Paul

I have recently purchased a 1986 Caterham with a Kent 1700 CC crossflow engine with Weber 40 DCOE's. I had put about 200 miles on the car with no problems. The heat has now hit southwest Idaho with daily highs in the 103 to 110 degree F range. I took the car out for a drive and was running it fairly hard in 105 degree temps when it acted like it ran out of gas. The gauge was low, but not on empty. Since the car is new to me I thought the gauge might be off. I called my wife and she brought me the gas can with 5 gallons. After adding the fuel, I still couldn't get the car to run. It would try to start, but would not run for more than a second. After sitting for about 40 minutes I finally got the car started and headed for home. It was running fine, but after about 10 minutes it again acted like it ran out of gas. I left the car and came back at night when it was cooler and it started right up and I drove it home. I'm thinking the car was vapor locking. Has anyone else had this problem? Is vapor locking a common problem with this engine setup? And finally, any suggested fixes other than don't drive when it's hot out. Thanks, Paul Mascuch

Thank you Bob. Paul

The headlights and fuel gauge on my 86 Caterham with a Kent 1700 cross flow are not working. Where can a get a wiring diagram to help me troubleshoot these problems? Thank you. Paul

I always liked: 4 PLAY and U4EA Paul