toldfield Posted October 29 Share Posted October 29 I bought mine from the original owner already assembled. All my daughter wants to do is drive it... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 2 Author Share Posted November 2 (edited) Successful engine start today! Really cold and wet out. I was worried how long it was blowing white condensation. However, once it reached temperature, the exhaust totally cleared up. Only leak to report so far is me not completely replacing the bleed plug in the radiator. Edited November 2 by Timberline 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 4 Author Share Posted November 4 Weight on wheels and first drive around the block!!! IMG_2073.MOV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 4 Author Share Posted November 4 (edited) I need fenders and better wire routing before driving any further, so here is the question for the forum: what things can touch each other and what things should really have separation? I have work to do in the engine bay on the wires and pipes. List of concerns: Positive and ground battery cables routed together Main loom plug hanging in space over the bellhousing Fan wire is all over the radiator upper surface Wires are touching hoses Hoses are touching hoses Dogs and cats are living together Edited November 4 by Timberline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin David Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 cooling hoses get 100c, wires can get hotter than that. the electrical tops out around 16v, which will not penetrate the insulation. You mostly want to be sure things look good, are not rubbing in a way that would wear open the insulation or cut into a hose, and looks good. There are a few moving parts under there, like belts and the steering column, and you may not want to put weight on the hard brake line. I got a tip to drill out a rivet under the exhaust stack to mount a zip tie, to neaten up the O2 sensor line. I added zip ties in a few strategic places in the existing riveted-in mounts, including right over the bell housing for that fat loom connector. I've seen pics of a few pretty amazing tuck jobs, but mine is a lot more practical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 4 Author Share Posted November 4 Another question because I am not mentally prepared for this. What adhesive did you all use for the front wings? Something states side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin David Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 (edited) 3M 5200. Comes in white or black, I used white + sprayed black undercoat over top. 2 years and counting, but no track time. West Marine carries this, also carries the other stuff (I cannot recall the name). Home Depot or other big-box store may also carry one or both. For 5200 you'll need a tube for each day you want to work... once you break it open, it'll cure in place in about a day. Edited November 4 by Austin David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 I followed @Pokey's writeup here and used the same 3M 08115 panel bond adhesive. Fan wires should fit through a slot in the driver's side radiator mount. Or at least they did on my car. Space is really tight in these cars. Zip ties are your friend. If you can't separate hoses that look like they could wear through each other, consider adding some discarded hose around one of them to create a sacrificial layer. You can also cut a short section of hose and place it orthogonal to the other hoses to create a spacer held in place by a zip tie (create a figure 8 around the hoses with the zip tie legs coming together inside this hose section). Pay particular attention to hoses whose failure will cause you to crash or burn (i.e. brakes and fuel). It's also a good idea to periodically examine everything as the parts do shift over time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBuff Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 I just noticed today that my oil supply line (from base of dry sump tank) was just barely touching my alternator pulley. Some pulling and moving and added some zip ties to it cleared before after my radiator fan plug runs around the passenger side and thru the bracket. It’s running along the radiator but hasn’t seemed to cause any issues. It did unplug Itself in the beginning since the wires were zip tied tight to the cross brace and had no slack between chassis and the radiator (which moves slightly on the rubber mounts). I created some slack and zip tied the connector together 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyper7 Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 1 hour ago, JohnCh said: I followed @Pokey's writeup here and used the same 3M 08115 panel bond adhesive. Fan wires should fit through a slot in the driver's side radiator mount. Or at least they did on my car. Space is really tight in these cars. Zip ties are your friend. If you can't separate hoses that look like they could wear through each other, consider adding some discarded hose around one of them to create a sacrificial layer. You can also cut a short section of hose and place it orthogonal to the other hoses to create a spacer held in place by a zip tie (create a figure 8 around the hoses with the zip tie legs coming together inside this hose section). Pay particular attention to hoses whose failure will cause you to crash or burn (i.e. brakes and fuel). It's also a good idea to periodically examine everything as the parts do shift over time. I tried using loctite power grab at first, but it literally peeled off. Don't make my mistake. Panel adhesive 08115 - also make sure to get the correct gun. You need the 200ml gun (assuming you can only find 200ml like me) the gun is expensive, but 100% necessary. Again, I tried to skimp and do it by hand, but it was just a mess and I bought the "right" gun off Amazon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 5 Author Share Posted November 5 @CBuff your pictures were so awesome getting me situated and routed. I followed your fan orientation, but think it may be upside down. Following @JohnCh advise, flipping the fan over puts the connector driver side. Connection and routing is shorter and feels way better just did it tonight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyper7 Posted November 5 Share Posted November 5 I went out and checked mine too after your last post, and mine is sitting right on top, on the passenger side too. I think I'll flip my fan too, that makes sense. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBuff Posted November 5 Share Posted November 5 Can’t weigh in on right or wrong. Just what I got. With the zip tie to the connector it does seem to work. But defer to the collective on “a better way” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 5 Author Share Posted November 5 24 minutes ago, CBuff said: Can’t weigh in on right or wrong. Just what I got. With the zip tie to the connector it does seem to work. But defer to the collective on “a better way” I misspoke. “Optional” was the word I was looking for. Can’t argue with a working solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 5 Author Share Posted November 5 Thankfully, flipping the fan over is a 10 minute job (with no nose installed). I did take a minute to deburr the cutout edges and add a wrap of electrical tape to the wires. After all that, I like it better on that side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted November 5 Share Posted November 5 @CBuff if the wires are under enough tension that a zip tie is required to keep the connector together, I'd be concerned a wire to pin connection could fail over time or a pin could back out of the connector. Running the wire from the driver's side frees up a lot slack in the wiring loom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBuff Posted November 5 Share Posted November 5 Yes. I had the same concern. I clipped some of the zip ties and created “some “ slack. Not a ton but some. Maybe a winter project to flip it. Nice to know there is a relative easy solution. Interesting that caterham wouldn’t do this from the factory. But that seems par for the course with caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberline Posted November 5 Author Share Posted November 5 The build guide gives no indication for orientation either. In fact, the build guide rarely touches any of the harnessing, routing, or connectors. I wonder what they provide their builders for instructions…? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin David Posted November 5 Share Posted November 5 there's story about ducati not providing torque specs, and when asked they finally said "the spec is in the hand of the mechanic" (with appropriate translation from italian). I assume same/same. it's literally a hand-crafted car. part of the adventure is figuring it out. I went back and compared my instructions and my build with some of the much cleaner build photos in other blogs, and I'm pretty sure the instructions (which I followed diligently) are incorrect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted November 5 Share Posted November 5 8 minutes ago, Timberline said: I wonder what they provide their builders for instructions…? I have been told there is no standard assembly process at the factory. Each builder is free to follow their inner voice and assemble the car in the order and way they prefer. I suspect this same philosophy applies to the people who pack the crates. Some must prefer to include the wrong parts, or duplicate part, or save some parts the trauma of shipment altogether and leave them on a shelf at the factory. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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