werthie Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 greetings and thanks in advance for reading this ad. sadly, my '92 Caterham (1700, 5 spd, de Dion) had an engine fire, and just about everything from the windshield forward needs replacing. this includes, but is not limited to, the wiring harness; the fiberglass nose and wings; headlights and turn signals; the hood; valve cover and cap; coil and plug wires; alternator; the radiator,shroud and oil cooler; front shocks; all suspension and sway bar bushings; all hoses (radiator, heater, front brakes, etc.); both air cleaners and filters; cables . . . well, you get the picture. if you have anything that you think might help with the resurrection, please contact me directly at werthie "at" AOL. happy (not "happy" about any of this, but you know what i mean) to pay a fair price. also, if you know of someone who might be of assistance, please forward this plea and/or give me their contact info. thank you again! alan in los angeles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee break Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 What a bummer. I don't have any parts available, but I am wondering what started the fire. Good luck, Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Bummer. Sorry to hear about this. :rofl:One thing can be said though it was one hot engine for a little time.:rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Do those carbs have rubber seal or fuel floats? Might need to rebuild them too. http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/ is a good place for the headlights and turn signals, but someone might have some extras laying around. Chart for k&n filters that might fit. Is the valve cover stamped steel or cast aluminum? Unless its warped the heat shouldn't have damaged it too much. Will probably need to check the valve cover seal. Edited April 2, 2013 by jlumba81 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Also might be cheaper to make a custom wiring harness. At least you can use more modern connectors. Rock auto, 1971 pinto, for sparkplug wires ($2.75), coil ($9.71), valve cover gasket ($3.63). Also check your distributor and cap. Also could use a universal fan and a radiator from car that has something similar sized w/ the inlet and outlet in the correct positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werthie Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 thank you very much for the advice and condolences . . . please keep the suggestions rolling in! the lesson here is to keep a fire extinguisher in the car at all times!! alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1Steve Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Werthie, I hope nobody was hurt, because thats what's important. Remember, " Fire Extinguisher", first on the too buy list. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Truly sorry to read this. One of the pieces of advice I got when I bought my X-Flow was, tho counter-intuitive, "If you ever see flames coming out of the carbs, giver 'er the gas, the vacum will suck the flames back in!" Fortunately I never needed to do that. Certainly a good reminder to the rest of us to carry a fire extinguisher at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikker Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 (edited) Truly sorry to read this. One of the pieces of advice I got when I bought my X-Flow was, tho counter-intuitive, "If you ever see flames coming out of the carbs, giver 'er the gas, the vacum will suck the flames back in!" Fortunately I never needed to do that. Certainly a good reminder to the rest of us to carry a fire extinguisher at all times. KK...with regards to your comments on "sucking", (on which I believe you may well be an expert)' if that theory is correct, are you then advised to drive like a loon until the fuel tank is empty? You sure someone that did not like you wasn't pulling your plonker? But getting back to Werthie, sorry to see that, but is the car not insured, was this on the track or road? Edited April 3, 2013 by rikker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xflow7 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Oh man, that's just terrible. You have my sincere commiserations. When and if you are able to diagnose a root cause I do hope that you will share it on the forum so that we can all make sure to learn from your misfortune. I don't know off the top of my head if I have anything in my parts inventory that will help, but I'll give it a think and shoot you a PM if anything comes to mind. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancylad Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Will have a pair of Weber 40,s coming up for sale in the not to distant future, converting my car over to bike carbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werthie Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 "I don't know off the top of my head if I have anything in my parts inventory that will help, but I'll give it a think and shoot you a PM if anything comes to mind." . . . dave thanks, dave . . . yes, please let me know if you have anything i might be able to use. the fire was caused by a quick series of backfires through the carbs that immediately set the air cleaners on fire . . . the flames covered the front-right engine latch, so i couldn't remove the hood, and without an extinguisher, i had to wait for the fire department . . . that 10-15 minutes was like an eternity. i'm hoping someone here has (or knows someone who has) converted their Caterham to track use and still has the street parts sitting around the garage . . . . alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrell Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Call me, I am in Oxnard just below Ventura. I have lots of misc. engine parts for your Crossflow I will donate. Darrell / 805-827-2927 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Sending a "care pkg" of leftover parts (engine mounts, hoses, solenoid, ignit switch). Werthie says that when car caught on fire, even tho shut off, the starter engaged and the car started to move as it was in gear! And I thot I'd heard it all:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werthie Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 first of all, i want to thank those of you in the 7 community who have responded to my post . . . i've received care packages of parts from many of you, with only a request that i cover postage. amazing. others of you have sold me parts at prices that can only be described as "bargain basement." i've also received many PM's of encouragement, as i embark on the rebuilding process. at this point, i need some advice . . . from whom should i source the fiberglass nose and clamshells? do they come with all the right holes for mounting, emblems, etc? and with or without turn signals? do they come painted (green), or will i be painting them? also, as long as i'm here, i'm still in need of cables (clutch, speedo, throttle, battery), the coolant and windshield washer reservoirs, fuel pressure regulator, distributor and cap/wires, and any other under-hood nick-nacks you might have laying around. please let me know if you have any of these items and might be willing to part with them. the clean-up has begun, and the engine should be out of the car by the end of the weekend. a big "THANK YOU" to everyone!! alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 bummer story !!!! let me check whats in the parts boxes, it'll definitely be a "postage only" deal........ :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 here's what I found for "under hood".... ok, maybe the dizzy goes for a bit more than just postage :-) let me know, shipping from 31322 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 USPS priority boxes are probably the cheapest shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werthie Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 hey ian . . . i've sent you a couple of PM's. alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerfireman Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Alan: How is the parts search/restoration progressing? We are interested to hear how the project is going and when your Seven may get back on the road. Also, pictures of the rebuild would be fun to see. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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