mrmustang

Ford Focus related news group(s)

I've had my fair share of RHD vehicles over the years, my current Caterham and my earlier series 1 Lotus 7, a TR5, and a Sunbeam Alpine.....Plenty of LHD versions as well, they were all fun...........The hunt for me is half of that, as I truly love the hunt, but when it comes time to sell, I despise that side of the equation. Good luck on your search.

I would be paying more attention to the head casting number then the actual block, although, logic would dictate that the engine, if actually a donor, would tell you more about the specs of the entire engine below. In this case: 2M5V-6F093-AB Q6PHA (shown in pic 238 on the auction) Which comes back as the SVT style head used 2001-2004 on the 2.0L Ford Zetec engine. Figure 170hp, 140ft/lbs torque I hate paying "buyer fees" and would have gone to the $26,600 I mentioned in the auction knowing what the buyer fees would have been. Surprised the seller did not reach out to me afterwards, but that is fine too, as what would I do with both a RHD (202-210hp sourced from Caterham as a stage 1 engine) and LHD Zetec SV, probably want to sell the RHD and keep the LHD so SWMBO would drive it.

I know :D

Slightly off topic: So what would make my 202hp-210hp (remains to be seen) 03 SV? Asking for a friend

See my thread below: Spent a month or so going over my options, and ended up with a tire that I can drive on the street, in all weather, and still if I wanted, take it to a local autocross or even a trip up to VIR. "H" rated to 130mph, doubt my car would get up to that speed given my 5spd transmission. Bill

Are you is Massachusetts or California? Both have their own process to get cars like the Birkin/Caterham and Cobra properly titled and registered. Only difficult if you try to reinvent the wheel and sneak the car through as something it is not (usually for tax purposes). Bill

Only one user name for me, this is either a good thing, or a bad thing depending on if I annoyed you by proving you wrong in the past

Caterham Seven "SV" on BAT https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-caterham-seven/ Will allow Croc to breakdown the rest for the masses

Congratulations, I had a similar issue when I was reviving my car earlier this year. Plugs, wires, coil pack, went further with fuel filter (2003 dated), proper injectors (high impedance vs low impedance, ECU spec for high), alternator belt, and fuel lines (originals cracked from age and modern fuel additives). New tires a few weeks ago as the ones on the car aged out........Just food for thought. Bill

Just throwing this out there: Faulty or failing inertia switch (vibration will cause it to not trip 100%, but cause the sudden loss of electrical power to the fuel pump). No real way to test it though, cheap enough to replace. Perhaps stay out of the far left lane and stick to the right lane until you figure out what the issue is.

I know it, and you know it, but the OP in his continued posts appears to believe in my previously posted "immaculate compression"

Then the clutch is not releasing 100% and is dragging the flywheel to continue to turn the motor. Without compression from the pistons moving, your engine will not run. As others have already alluded, you are thinking because the tach drops to zero that the engine is not still running, and this is a misconception on your part. At this point, you are going to have to try and catch this situation on video so the rest of us can see and hear what you are experiencing. Either that, or you need to find a competent mechnic in Irvine (California I have to assume). Steve Beck is in LA 310-391-9774 I highly recommend you give him a call. He not only knows Caterhams (he owns one), but Ford electronics. Bill

Your engine needs three things to run, fuel, spark, and compression, if the motor died, and is no longer running or turning over (clutch out, transmission still in a gear), the engine has lost all of it's motion and cannot spontaneously start without some type of momentum within. Bill

Now we are getting somewhere, for without the engine/transmission turning, or the starter engaging, there is no way for the engine to start from "0". We are back to electrical issues, and now that we are narrowing things down, an ECU issue, corrosion or bad diode/capacitor on the board within the ECU along with the potential still for a broken/frayed wire under the dash. Bill

But the car is still in gear? That suggests an electrical short as has already been mentioned previously, not only that, but it also suggests your clutch never fully disengages, perhaps you have some type of minor grind or difficulty getting the car in gear at times. What happens if the car is not in gear and you push the clutch while you are moving, will the car start with the car in neutral without the starter engaging? Just trying to get past the obvious that others have yet to touch base on. If the car is in a gear, and you depress the clutch, and the engine starts, you are never disconnecting from the clutch 100%, but dragging it lightly along. Without the mass to turn the engine over, or the starter engaging, there is no immaculate compression for which the engine needs to restart. So, for now: Clutch drag Wiring short or short to ground in and around the clutch pedal assembly and/or master/slave cylinder. No rhyme or reason equals my leaning towards the shorted wiring theory, ignition cylinder or ECU related with the actual shorted/pinched wiring somewhere in the harness or even a loose connection within any number of assorted plugs. Without pulling and testing, one item at a time, you may never know. Bill

Since you have not told us what year your Caterham is, whether it is LHD or RHD, and if it was converted from another drivetrain (like my 03 was 1 year after production) Engine recently rebuilt you say, I'm going with a bent, loose, or damaged pin in an electrical connection within your engine compartment while the engine was being reinstalled. Had a similar issue doing a 2.5L Ford Duratec conversion on a 2006 Miata 10 years ago. Ran great, fantastic even, then one day started having issues like you describe in your initial post. Took a month of working backwards in my spare time to come across it. If this is what it turns out to be, you can donate the $100 to a worthy charity of your choice. Bill

https://bringatrailer.com/lotus/seven-caterham-seven/ I've been around BAT since the beginning, and yes, I've never seen so many 7 style vehicles listed at one time. This may or may not work in favor of the seller(s) though as competition for bidders is now in play. I suspect BAT was hoping for a feeding frenzy, but I'm not seeing it as a viable game of play.

295/50/15 imagine the possibilities Where it actually belongs (awaiting new battery which gets installed in the upper passenger rear quarter panel on my 289 FIA Cobra replica), oh so much fun to R&R Bill

It's less expensive to purchase a LHD car then to convert over from RHD, especially a Caterham unless you already have a LHD chassis with title laying around and want to use the RHD as a parts car. If you purchase a new chassis, it will have a new VIN/MSO associated with it. To swap a VIN from one chassis to another is illegal in the US, I suspect in Canada and it's assorted territories as well. The chassis VIN and associated paperwork is what defines the age of a chassis, since this is what defines the manufacturing date, then that is what will define your 25+/15+ age question. Or more bluntly, it is the year the chassis itself was produced, with documentation of course. As for driving RHD in the states, two of my Caterham 7's were RHD, including my current 2003, which has been here in the states since 2005, it had been awhile since I had a RHD, but only took me about 10 minutes to get used to driving it again. Bill

Now you understand a bit more of where I was going. Trust but verify, or in other words, never trust the DPO's (dreaded previous owner) parts choices. Bill

Let's take a giant step back, forget the path you are currently on and instead start with the very basics: Assuming both the fuel filter and the fuel have been swapped out: Do you have fuel at the injectors? If so, are the injectors low impedance or high impedance and what size are they? Do you have spark at the plugs? Have you done a compression check yet? I'm asking as reviewing past posts and this thread, you have not looked over the very basics of getting the engine to run. Or if you have, you have not mentioned it to the best of my knowledge.

One last item, have you checked the crank sensor itself? Bill

Admitting to the fact I've not read all of your fine print, have you pulled the starter and had it checked at your local autoparts store? I'm in the less is more mindset of checking the basics before diving into anything else Yet, with that said, have you checked and/or replaced your ignition switch ? A loose or corroded wire, or a corroded key cylinder will also create the issues you have described here. Third, have you had your battery tested? All it takes is one bad plate within to create an issue when trying to start the engine. Bill

I'll let the picture speak for itself