I picked up a Caterham - does anybody know its history?

[masanski]

On 5/29/2025 at 11:25 AM, pethier said:

Check the Cam Angle Sensor.  It is at the back of the left camshaft.  If it leaks oil, it is a cheap fix.  A simple trick when buying used Miata cars is to check this and when you have oil on your fingers, make  face and offer a lowball price.

 

See my pix on Flickr.  Important step: Scribe the housing before you move anything.  

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier/albums/72157594256422537

 

These pictures have over 10,000 views and folks are still looking at them today.

 

One other thing that likes to go wrong is the clutch slave cylinder.  Easy replacement.  Hint:  Even though there is a bleeder, you don't need to bleed it.  Just sit in the driver seat and keep pumping the clutch pedal like a mad fool and it will eventually bleed itself.  

Thanks for the input. It's pretty clean under the bonnet, but I'll take a closer look.

[masanski]

On 5/29/2025 at 11:28 AM, pethier said:

Just curious:  Why is there a wheel cover sitting on the engine?

 Haha! that was just resting there while I was changing the wheels from the 16s to the 14s