mrmustang

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

They still pick up road debris, but not as much as the Pirelli tires did. Nothing in the cockpit so far, but I only drove about 18 miles on my test loop. Bill

Been a few weeks, the Caterham was put on the back burner (actually all the cars were), but after careful consideration, I replaced the eight plus year old Pirelli 185/70/14's with Falken Sincera SN250 A/S tire in the Caterham suggested 185/60/14 size. Sure not as aggressive as the R888, (still "H" rated up to 130mph )but also safer for all year round driving, and especially in the rain, which has been known to pop up with little notice in my neck of the woods. Had the car out for a test spin earlier today (11:30am, already 87 degrees). Car feels sure footed with no clearance issues, even at full lock. Bill

I used latex gloves for 30+ years, when I hit my mid 40's, I developed an allergic reaction to latex gloves in a sudden development while working on one of my race cars (painful and scary would be an understatement), have not used them since. In addition, most modern latex gloves have powder within, such powder can contaminate the surfaces you are working on. Add both of those together, and the latex free gloves are then a given. For me, I mentioned them for the powder free aspect, but now that I think about it, maybe in the back of my head I mentioned them for the very reason I now use them. Thanks for asking.

Grind both surfaces, then wipe both down with an automotive dewaxer/degreaser on a lint free rag, allow to air dry for 5-10 minutes, place a large bead of 3M Panel Bonding Adhesive 08115 (buy the proper adhesive gun) on the top 2/3rds of the stays, no need to place any on the bottom of the cycle fender, next, place the cycle fender in place and push down firmly, the idea is to allow the adhesive to squeeze out of the area being bonded, but not completely, you'll know when the fender is in place and feels solid. With a latex free, gloved hand, reach underneath and smooth out both sides of each stay, push the material towards the stay and allowing some to further adhere to the bottom of the cycle fender, again you are trying to fill in any voids in the first course of adhesive for the next steps. Allow to cure for 48 hours (anything above 50 degrees will suffice), add further beads on both sides of the stay to fill any voids and to allow a slight 1/4" build up of adhesive material. Allow that too to cure for 48 hours, and you are good to go. Unless you pick up track junk, or a large rock, or someone else's suspension parts, the cycle fender should remain for years to come.

Never heard of them

Anyone else care to chime in with a brand/model of tire in the 185/60/R14 size that they have experience with?

If I was tracking the car as well as driving on the street, that might work, yet, I drive in sub freezing temps, yeah, I'm "that guy".

When delivered to the 1st owner in the UK it wore 185/60/14's , somewhere along the line these got swapped for 185/70/14's. Could it be during or after the owners honeymoon trip to Australia (24/9/03) mileage 5,369 and (27/10/03) mileage 10,694, or after the car was imported to the US by the same owner in January of 2005. Or perhaps his central to west coast, then east coast, then back to central US journey after the 202hp Zetec was installed by him in 2005. I've attempted to contact the original owner but have come up empty with this attempts. Current tires are Pirelli, but they are aging out, which is why I started this thread. Right now I'm looking at the Michelin Pilot Exalto in a 185/60R14 (currently on national back order) or General AltiMAX RT45 in the same 185/60/R14 size (in stock) Should be more than plenty for the car. Thought about a R888, but I do have a tendency to drive my cars all year round, and in all sorts of weather. Bill

Currently have 185/70/14's on my 03 SV, factory manual states 185/60/14's are optimal. Not much available in a street tire for either size, wondering whether I should switch back to the 60 series to bring the car back in to factory spec. The question I guess I have is whether dropping the sidewall height is worth it for the more accurate speedometer and perhaps a little more clearance for the front cycle fenders. What say you?

I was out yesterday in the 90+ humid weather, really beat myself up and I was out for less than an hour. Same with the Tiger before that, just to make certain both cars are trouble free. Now giving the idea of a longer trip in either a 2nd thought. Bill S.

Based on my initial inquiry to Emerald, I received the following email from Karl at Emerald this morning: "We are just in the process of preparing a K6+ ECU along with a small plug-in adapter for another customer that is switching over from a water damaged Pectel T2 ECU. In this case the original unmodified loom is being re-used. It hasn't been proven yet but hopefully that will be done within the next few weeks (depending on customer). The cost is ECU at 695 GBP ($940 US) and adapter at 120 GBP ($163 US). Best regards, Karl" My old bright orange Birkin (2013) with a highly modified 2.0L Zetec and TWM's had an Emerald ECU and the car ran flawlessly. Wondering if it might be worth the effort to upgrade/convert over for ease of use, and current/future support. Not that you guys have not been great, but just thinking outside the box as there are more Emerald users these days, and more shops willing to work with them than the Pectel. Anyone done a similar conversion, I'm all for a potential plug and play option so as to not have to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I believe it will even come with base maps for my engine/induction system. I'll just need to find a shop that is willing to assist with fine tuning. As always, thanks in advance, Bill S.

I remember that thread, lucky for me, I have the 7" headlight assemblies as the smaller ones now offered run in to that Motorcycle style cross over Bill S.

I've seen several folks wire in these in to their roll cages. it will require you to drill a hole in the rollbar and fish the wire through one of the downlegs to get it to where you can splice it in to your brake light/running light harness. I suggest you add a small rubber grommet when you do this to prevent chaffing of the wires, I also suggest using automotive double backed tape to hold it on. If you really want added safety, you could actually add two, or even three to the back of your cage, Two on each down leg (outer), and one in the center of the upper crossbar. https://gofastcampers.com/products/slac3rd-brake-light

From my previous thread: Lights are in, on first blush, they are 5-10 times brighter than the originals. The first picture is a comparison between the two. New LED light assembly on left, original on right Next is the low beams of both new lights installed Followed by the high beams also to show light pattern Notice the light pattern on the floor, while a bit pricier than some of the others, based on my previous experience with the "vintage" (yellowish/classic halogen) units on my Tiger, and these new style (bright, crisp, white, modern LED), these will be my new go to when upgrading from a halogen style bulb and/or assembly.

We have a previous commitment as well on the 7th, but have a large enough driveway and rear patio to locally host 20+ 7's and their owners should they be passing through the greater Greenville area. Bill

I'll just throw this in, long before the wholemodern tariff thing currently affecting us, I went through several similar situations with shipping higher dollar items in from overseas (mostly the UK, but a few coming from Australia). Sure the current issue may be playing in to the shippers internal paperwork, but I'm thinking not, and we are just caught in the shippers own 5-8% internal audit issues that Fed-Ex is currently experiencing due to management shake ups . One person in the office telling you a different story, or suggesting a different course of action vs the person sitting in the next cubicle over. (who all see the notes typed in from the conversations, both internal and external with you, sometimes including your frustration/anger if that occurs). Frustrating at best, but it will eventually be resolved one way or the other. Best of luck with your shipment.

You'll find the constant heat/cool cycle will create the issues in which I spoke of. More so on the V8 powered cars (Cobra replicas, vintage corvettes, etc), but even in Arizona, it happens. I have a good friend in Scottsdale that can tell the tale, I'll reach out and see if he still has the pictures from the early 2K's.

From hands on experience working in the race/speed shop industry in the 90's to mid 2K's, it leads to premature rust issues with the headers. Again, your money, your car, your choice.

My advice is to not use the header wrap but instead send them out to be ceramic coated. Do it once, do it right, and hopefully never have to do it again.