My 1984 Xflow Caterham S3 Refresh

[Pokey]

11 hours ago, NSXguy said:

 

@Pokey Any leads/ideas on where to get a rebuilt done? I remember a few years ago, i asked all the race shops around me about rebuilding the bilstein shocks on my Cossie coilovers and none were willing to take it on. I looked online and the pricing for new units doesn't seem too bad for all four corners, even with UK shipping; will have to compare that with rebuild cost. 

 

I've never had to ship for a rebuild, but perhaps someone reading this has had a good experience and they can make a recommendation?

 

But as 7Westfield points out, yours may not be serviceable.

[NSXguy]

9 hours ago, Pokey said:

 

I've never had to ship for a rebuild, but perhaps someone reading this has had a good experience and they can make a recommendation?

 

But as 7Westfield points out, yours may not be serviceable.

 

The upper spring cap/perch is removable on my coilovers so i'm sure they can be serviced if needed. I would probably go with new if i considered that route though, as they aren't too expensive.  

 

Removed the wiring harness today so i can clean it up, strip out anything obsolete, repair any improper circuits and run new feeds where needed. There's close to 40 years of history on this chassis and it shows, but this is how i love to get into a new platform; from the ground up!

 

 

Wiring gremlins... The wiring to the lighting circuits front and rear were the most mangles. Fan circuit was also altered to convert to a manual fan switch in the cockpit. Contemplating if i want to retain that or go back to standard. I will be running a new aluminum radiator and a sealed coolant system. 

 

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Temporary mod i made after reason someone doing similar. Installed mini fuses in place of the standard fuse block as it kept tripping prematurely and causing strange behaviors while driving. I will be updating to a modern fuse panel when the new wiring harness goes back in. 

 

 

 

Also took out the front and rear wings after the harness was removed. The clear coat on them was looking tired, so they'll also be refreshed and cleared. Here's how she sits today. Chassis is so light at this point, makes it easy to move around. Contemplating ringing a friend hook up to a fresh coat of paint on it. won't take much to get it done with a bit of prep and masking...watching out for scope creep (but this is good scope creep ha!)

 

 

 

As I end today's update, 2 Questions:

 

Q1 - Anyone know what these brackets were for? I plan to fab up some mounts the new radiator at this location (in front of the crossmember and under the nose cone), but just curious what they were for from the original build. there don't appear to have ever been used. 

 

 

 

Q2- Does anyone know if these shifter bushes are still available for purchase? I will shoot Chris at Redline a message but figured it's always good to ask here first. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by NSXguy

[7Westfield]

take the spring off your shock, and check the top of the shock body itself. If it looks like a cap unscrews, they may be rebuildable

 

you just might find those bushings at the hardware store, if you mean the ones on the sides of the lever

the ball is a whole 'nuther story  but it does look Ford

I got a ball from Dave Bean several years ago that fixed my type 3 box

[Croc]

8 hours ago, NSXguy said:

Q1 - Anyone know what these brackets were for? I plan to fab up some mounts the new radiator at this location (in front of the crossmember and under the nose cone), but just curious what they were for from the original build. there don't appear to have ever been used. 

 

 

 

Not sure if this was their original intended usage but I have seen people mount oil coolers vertically off those mounts.  Only on older cars where the radiator was smaller and offset.

 

 

[NSXguy]

18 hours ago, Croc said:

 

Not sure if this was their original intended usage but I have seen people mount oil coolers vertically off those mounts.  Only on older cars where the radiator was smaller and offset.

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing that Mike. Was referencing the assembly manual for my car's year and didn't see any mention of those brackets in the sections i looked. 

 

Speaking of assembly manual, today,I was able to find and print a full volume of the assembly manual for an 80s Caterham which has proved to be very helpful in the wiring portion of this refresh and i'm sure will come in handy in the reassembly and overall knowledge of this platform.

 

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The wiring all laid out in the basement floor for this messy surgical exercise :

 

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I was bracing myself for the worst, given all the hacked terminals on all 4 corners of the chassis harness, but to my surprise, with the exception of those and a few spots under the scuttle, the rest of the harness was actually in good shape, actually very good shape for it's age. So that saves me some work. I painstakingly went through the entire harness, comparing each circuit against the factory wire spec in the diagram to inventory what had been modified. Once complete, next week,  i should be able to rewire anything that is incorrect, adding waterproof connector around components in the engine bay. It should work much better and be more reliable for years. 

 

 

New thermostat came in for the header tank conversion/installation, so I gave it a test fit. I like that the outlet to the radiator actually points towards the front now. Still need to decide which tank i'll go with; hoping to find something in the states, if not i'll make one as i don't have much space on the engine bay bulkhead (fire deluge tank sits there)

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by NSXguy

[Croc]

Hi Des - If you want to send me that 80s Caterham build manual, I can add it to our USA7s website technical library for others who come along later.

[NSXguy]

17 hours ago, Croc said:

Hi Des - If you want to send me that 80s Caterham build manual, I can add it to our USA7s website technical library for others who come along later.

 

Cool Mike. Just did. 

 

TODAY'S PROGRESS:

 

So after 2 days of going through the whole spaghetti line by line and comparing factory spec'd diagram to physical harness, I now have everything mapped and labeled as it should be!  It seems at least in part, that some of the hackery in the harness in response to an improper in the rear section of the chassis harness (between tail lamps, number plate) that was affecting the lighting circuit and whoever made the fixes with the jumper wires to fix didn't do the best job either. I could tell the error was from the original build(or maybe as supplied from factory) because those areas were under the original loom electrical tape sheathing- I assume these kits were supplied back then with a fully assembled harness.

 

Also, the referenced diagram is for a 1988 model year build and is a 90% match to my 1984 build harness; in that most of the circuitry and wiring colors match well enough except for some few instances. In the near future i will be posting an an updated wiring diagram that reflects the differences i noted for pre 1988 cars (or at least my car). All in all it was a great experience going through this and "ohm'ing" it all out. I definitely learned alot.  Now that we have baselined, next is to undo the hacks, repair the factory defect and get this harness back to proper factory spec. 

 

Baseline ( mapped , ohm'ed and labeled). before any repairs: 

 

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Out with the old (no more jumper wires and but connectors in this harness' future) :

 

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[Rosteri]

Just read the thread and still a comment on the T9 box - the needed input shaft length will depend on the engine/bellhousing combination. Some combinations take the longer one, but the center bearing tip still has to be shortened a little.
 

If rebuilding with a new gearset, then the V6 is the more desirable starting point with its better layshaft bearing, as you can choose the input shaft length to suit from the gearset vendor. The bellhousing might need some additional machining for the layshaft protrusion, please check the picture (the area with 3 small circular holes).
 

Any T9 box can serve as a core for a new gearset and if you want the better V6 layshaft setup on a non V6 box, then one can use a new aluminium case - it will also save further 5 kg and you get an oil drain plug. 

 

Your bellhousing looks like a cast iron one and they are very heavy compared to its aluminium counterpart.

 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Rosteri

[NSXguy]

Thanks for sharing that @Rosteri . I was contemplating keeping my Type 2, but have a friend who has a few T-9s from the US offered Merkur Xr4ti so that is helping to convince me to go ahead with the swap. I believe these US spec T-9s are different than the UK/Europe ones in some respect and through online research i've found a few articles from folks in the US who have mated said Merkur T-9s to the 711M block so i feel alot better and knowledgeable about tackling this and of course, will be documenting the process here.  I should be picking up the box this coming week, so i'll be able to assess further. 

 

Request for the community:

Could someone please post photos of this rear cross member on an earlier standard body S3?

 

I plan to replace the lap belts with a 5/6 point harness and for some reason my car has round stock on this member where i believe it should be square/flat stock for the 'over the shoulder' harness mounting points installed. I don't know if it came round because original builder opted for lap belts... but according to the assembly manual, it seems the chassis should've been delivered with a suitable member with provisions for mounting harnesses at a later point without the need for additional mods. I'd like to  get an idea of what this member should look like so that i can replicate or weld something to achieve the same result.

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by NSXguy

[IamScotticus]

Is there an Arch chassis number stamped on either of the upper shock mounts?

[IamScotticus]

Any thoughts of replacing sticky loom tape with something less sticky?  High temp split conduit tubing?  Unless you prefer sticky?

Edited February 7, 2022 by IamScotticus

[NSXguy]

2 hours ago, IamScotticus said:

Any thoughts of replacing sticky loom tape with something less sticky?  High temp split conduit tubing?  Unless you prefer sticky?

 

Hi Scott,

The entire harness sheathing will be redone in Techflex black braided sleeve like this with heatshrunk and sealed ends (this bit is for the starter i did today as that circuit is all set)...much more superior installation than just electrical tape alone. 

Cheers,

Des. 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by NSXguy

[toldfield]

Mine is an '83 S-3 car and the tube is round.

 

[MoBoost]

1985 car: rectangular tube.

[NSXguy]

30 minutes ago, MoBoost said:

1985 car: rectangular tube.

 

Perfect! Thanks for sharing that. I seems some are rectangular and some round. Wonder if it had to be spec'd from the factory. 

[IamScotticus]

4 hours ago, toldfield said:

Mine is an '83 S-3 car and the tube is round.

 

This, just in from SETI, proof we are not alone!

[NSXguy]

@toldfield your photo is not coming through. 

 

Project Update :

 

So today, I temporarily switched gears (PUN very much intended )  from the wiring work i had been doing ! Took a short ride up north to meet up with my buddy...another self confessed parts hoarder like me to inspect the three (3) Merkur Xr4ti Type-9 gearboxes he had. After shooting the breeze for a bit, we got down to business, opened the top lid on each, inspecting the gear teeth, smoothness/actuation, excessive play in the shafts and other gremlins. I found one that was in pretty good shape overall. With some fresh seals and oil, i'm sure she'll provide many happy miles. Really grateful and lucky he let have one of them to help with the conversion.  

 

 

Once i got the box home and the weather was a little decent for winter, i figured i'd give the box a bath (nobody wants to be a grease monkey if it can be avoided):

 

Pre Bath:                                                                                                                                                 Post Bath:

 

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Type-9 box back in the bay next to the Type-2 for comparison:

 

 

 

While i had both boxes side by side, i figured it is a good time to capture some comparison data and measurements between the Type 9 (T9) and Type 2  , as i couldn't find anything like this out there- Hopefully it helps something out in the future:

 

 

 

Gear ratios on this Type -9  Gearbox:

 

First gear - 3.36:1

second gear - 1.81:1

Third gear - 1.26:1

Fourth gear - 1.0:1

Fifth gear - 0.83:1

 

Cheers,

Des

Edited February 8, 2022 by NSXguy

[MoBoost]

2 hours ago, NSXguy said:

 

Perfect! Thanks for sharing that. I seems some are rectangular and some round. Wonder if it had to be spec'd from the factory. 

 Bet it is rectangular due to the seat belt mounting; a dependent option. 

[NSXguy]

I would agree with that, Jon. The assembly manual made it seem that the chassis was delivered with the option to install either lap belts or harnesses. 

[7Westfield]

Note that if you use the Burton parts, the release bearing they sell for cable operation is 34mm ID.

The Merkur boxes may be the only ones with 36mm snoots. They sell a 34mm replacement, 

 

I went with their concentric hydraulic setup   nice

Edited February 9, 2022 by 7Westfield