sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 Hello everyone, got sent to this forum from another (thanks LightGuy). I ordered a kit in July of 2020, supply chain, shipping, yada, yada..... it arrived in late January, 2022, 1 year later than hoped. This was supposed to be a father / son project with my oldest son before going to college. I have zero mechanical knowledge, so if I manage to get this done, so can literally anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 The end goal (almost- switched to smaller wheels for go over show at the last second) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 Unpacking: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 (edited) Getting on the wishbones was okay. The washer fitment was just a bit aggravating (did have to look up what chamfered meant and how to orient everything) I thought I would be cautious and dry fit everything which was a bad idea. The surface rust and tight fit made it brutal- adding the copper grease made it much easier (didn’t even know that copper grease existed prior to this). Edited February 20, 2022 by sainthoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 Looked at the board that has no treatment that is left unpainted…. Seems like a bad plan. Got some sealer and applied a generous coating. Had my daughter home for a couple days, so she got to jump in too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 Got a lot done yesterday 9-4:30 with a lunch break- had oldest son home, youngest jumped in too. Steering rack went smoothly. Dampers we’re tricky getting the top bolt past the body work (have to gingerly bend the body work to allow the passage of the bolt- a pucker moment, but not the worst so far, see below). Wing stays and uprights were okay. Horn, brake lines okay too. The torsion bar was tricky. I put the ball ends in first, then contemplated how to bend the bar close enough to the brackets to get the bolts started? Ultimately, using a 2x4 (salvaged from crating) to press the bar to chassis wedged into the lower frame made it easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 (edited) The headlight wire pull was not fun, not at all. I sprayed some silicone grease, gave wires a light coat of grease…. Complete PITA. I fed the marker lights wires through before the headlights. I was able to push and pull as much as I dared until the black wrapping was just coming into the chassis. Once I got about 3/4’ of the black sheath, I used a piece of string to get a lanyard around sheath which I could pull. That was the answer. Saved what could have been hours… The stuff of nightmares: If only one headlight comes on, or their problem here… I will be cursing for 10 min straight. Edited February 20, 2022 by sainthoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 (edited) My first real impasse: there are no directions for the 420R radiator. I managed to find the bobbins (don’t match the visual in the directions- only 1 bolt). getting the chassis bracket together was easy, but I have no bracket to mount fan (fan is also forward of radiator which is the opposite of the directions). I either need a bracket which wasn’t included or I need a different way to assemble radiator / fan assembly or I need a different fan. Sent an email inquiry, waiting for an answer. Edited February 20, 2022 by sainthoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 So far, one of the biggest challenges is interpreting the directions for my kit (420R with wide body) and finding the appropriate hardware and fasteners. (organization of these parts leaves something to be desired, especially given that parts are included that will not be used- currently wondering how much extra “stuff” will be left over when complete - looks like quite a few fasteners…) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 So far only thing to do different vs the directions: put the horn on before the steering rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 I'm jealous @sainthoo, I'd love to be able to do it all over again. I would install the radiator after the engine as it is pretty easy to damage it especially when you roll the crane into position. For the radiator brackets, see if you have what is in this picture: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 (edited) @Pokey I think I might have seen those…. Will have to go rummage through some parts. Thank you! Edited February 20, 2022 by sainthoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 "Hey, I'm helping my dad build a car in the garage." Looks like you are making some cool dad points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 The radiator was a head scratcher for me too. The puzzle was solved after researching the fan and finding it was a push (rather than pull) design, confirming it belongs in front. From there it was a matter of rummaging until finding the right bits to make it work. You will run into these situations from time to time, so best to consider it as a part of the experience and try to enjoy. By the way, be circumspect about the torque values you see in the the build manuals. If it doesn't seem right then best to do some cross checking. And just checking, are you using Version 2.0 of the Duratec assembly guide? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 20, 2022 Author Share Posted February 20, 2022 (edited) @Pokey I downloaded the guide off the Caterham website a couple weeks ago. I’m not sure how to check which guide I might have? I had assumed it must be the most up to date. Edit: It says “edition 1.2” Edit2: just found 2.0 with an internet search. I am guessing you just saved me a TON of pain. Thank you! Edited February 20, 2022 by sainthoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 7 minutes ago, sainthoo said: @Pokey I downloaded the guide off the Caterham website a couple weeks ago. I’m not sure how to check which guide I might have? I had assumed it must be the most up to date. There are two assembly guides for your build that are good to contrast and compare: Seven 270, 360 and 420 plus ACADEMY, Version 02.2015c Duratec - Edition 2.0 The second one has the rather unkind nickname as the Ikea version because it is a pictorial guide. Note that Edition 1.1 of the Ikea version is still floating around out there even though it has been deprecated. The edition/version is shown on the title page. Both of the above are available on this site in the Download section (Browse/Downloads). Learning from others is a great way to avoid some of the more frustrating aspects of the build due to sub-optimum documentation. I'd suggest reviewing the build threads on this site, and checking out these blogs: https://caterham420detailedbuildblog.co.uk/ https://caterham420rbuild.com/ https://caterham360build.co.uk/ https://www.caterham7diaries.com/ http://caterhamsevenbuild.blogspot.com/ https://www.purplemeanie.co.uk/ http://www.simplesevens.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 Anyone know which way to route the heater cable? Right hand drive goes around to the right of the battery. Left hand drive? Seems like a lot of twisting to go around battery. But, going straight and it is too long with valve having wrong orientation. seems like a bad idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 So, Josh at Rocky Mountain Caterham (foreshadowing here: think he is going to make build immensely less confusing) says you can 1) get a shorter cable (or cut the cable, I guess), then mount valve “upside down” or 2) drill a hole in the firewall on the right side to route as originally intended. Option #2 seems most appealing. Will ponder that tonight when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Great thread, thx for sharing! Nice to see the family so involved. Not surprised to hear Josh at RMC was helpful, I think he likes helping folks sort their builds at least as much as selling kits. Also nice to see folks here jumping in with help. Now I am going to look up chamfered.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sainthoo Posted February 22, 2022 Author Share Posted February 22, 2022 Sadly, Jeremy Clarkson is my spirit animal, not James May. So, I just jumped in to drilling a new hole through the firewall in more or less the same orientation as my existing hole (just the mirror image)- no measuring, just a quick check under the dash to avoid drilling through the fuse box. I also used a foam brush to guide my height (coincidentally it was about the right height to set the bottom edge of the washer). Before: During: After: I should also note: the predrilled holes for the heater box bolts were way too small- drilled those out too. Added a bit of Rustoleum black to all holes after filling them down a bit- again, sadly being closer to Clarkson I used my finger as the paint brush (but there is hope for me as I used a disposable glove = partial credit. Not to mention I will find something to plug the factory hole, not just leave it open). Plan to do the expansion tank next. Why not? I’m now drilling holes hither and yon, might as well keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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