Day 10: Steering and Exhaust

Only had an afternoon, but got quite a lot done considering. The correct bolts for the Chassis cross-member have now arrived so the first task was to fit and torque those. However, whilst under the car we noticed that one of the wires has snapped off the reverse light switch, no idea how that has happened. We also discovered that the set screws for the quick-release steering wheel were mushroom headed, not countersunk, (see below). However Derek is again very is kindly sending us out another one and some countersunk screws.

 Oops, wrong type of screws...

 

The next task was to fit the steering column, relatively simple task, starting at the bottom, with the universal joint, ensuring that the yoke was either vertical or horizontal 'to ensure linearity of response'.

Universal joint into steering rack,

Then, between the pedal box and the firewall is the joint for the upper steering column, this allows adjustment of the steering wheel distance from the dashboard using the grub screw and lock nut (see below). Initially we thought that the anodized piece you can see in the photo was the other way up, however we're pretty sure that this is the correct orientation.

Upper steering column clamp.

Next was to start fitting the exhaust; perhaps it would have been best to fit the exhaust headers BEFORE the steering rack, however it really wasn't that difficult to do with the lower column in place. The part numbers did not appear to correspond with the manual, however, it's pretty easy to work out, start with the rearmost and work forwards. Feeding it through the hole in the side of the body (reinforce the protection around the hole before you do this) and then twisting into place.

Exhaust headers, relatively simple to do, just a 3D puzzle really!

All fitted into place.

I have to say we are pretty impressed with the exhaust, it all fits together pretty darn well and with pretty good precision, fits nicely and squarely into the cut out in the body. About the only thing we had to do was to to open out slightly the ends of the clips on the springs so that they fit better on the collector and header pipes.

It was getting late at this point but we spent some time gathering the radiator parts together and mocking up how everything fits together. I have to say Andrew Bissell's blog post on the matter is going to be our reference for how to do it (Thanks Andrew).

Parts mocked up ready for next time.

Day 9: Front Anti-Roll Bar and more Wiring

The front Anti-Roll Bar (ARB) bolts have arrived from Derek and pass through the front of the chassis forwards into the special brackets (see below). They were just a tad too long, so we used a washer as well as a spring washer, so that they didn't start to crush the tube.

Front anti-roll bar bolts just sticking through.

Preparation of the front anti-roll bar.

Preparing the Bar itself was relatively simple, although the ball-ends wouldn't fit into the mounting cups. We had to remove almost all of the powder coat using my Dremel (It's been proving very useful!) - see below.

Too much powder coat in and around the mounting cups.

Using the Dremel to remove the powder coat;

 Getting there using the wire brush attachment; 

For the record, a cylindrical sanding bit is less abrasive and achieves a better finish.

The ball ends were greased up then fitted nicely into the cups. A little more grease around the outside of the ball joint and the rubber boots were cable-tied into place. Job jone.

Greasing up the ball ends.

 A little more grease before the rubber boot is placed over the ends.

Front ARB (and front Suspension now) done.

The next thing was to sort out some of the last bits of wiring. From looking at a couple of blogs it would appear that people have put all the positive connections together on the positive pillar of the starter solenoid, being all the same potential. We had a couple of reservations as we weren't sure the nut would be in safety with all those ring ends in place. This was nothing however to when we looked at the terminal (see below) BEFORE we put the ring clips on, most of the threads had been crushed, on both pillars! It looks as though the terminal/pillar is all soft copper and has been crushed at some point, meaning the nut cannot get started until almost at the base of the pillar itself, certainly not enough to fit all the ring clips onto the starter solenoid.

Note the crushed (not by us!) threads on the starter solenoid pillars. Hmmm...

We called Derek, the ever-helpful Guru, who told us that the two long brown ring-ended leads (above), that eventually lead to under the dashboard, could just be fitted onto the battery positive terminal directly, rather than via starter solenoid. Although we've not tried this method yet, I'm a little concerned with all the extra wire now left over and how to route it effectively. Will have to think about what to do before we go any further...

Next I removed the pedal box cover whilst Dad started to assemble all the parts for the steering rack assembly, to be fitted tomorrow.

Pedal box cover removed.

Steering rack assembly parts.

Not much progress today (Build Day 8)

After yesterday's successes not much visible progress was achieved today, mainly because we spent it trying to route the wiring and connect the engine. My hands are scratched to hell, as the clearances involved are rather tight! Speaking of clearance have a look at the Bell-housing and the driver's side footwell...(see below)

Tight clearance!

First job was to fit the gear lever; took a bit of time to get evening aligned but eventually we won.

 

 Gear Lever fitting in progress...

Next was the reverse light switch; the Assembly Guide says there's a hole in the right hand side of the transmission tunnel. There is not (Is it an SV thing?). However it wasn't too difficult to fit and wire in, just a little fiddly.

Note the Reverse light switch below the gear lever.

Finally the rest of the day was spent routing the wiring and working out what went where. A lot of trying to make everything look neat and cable-tying everything so that it doesn't rub or touch hot parts of the engine. This takes longer than you think and requires a little experimentation. We're pretty happy with the results, however once again the Assembly Guide is unhelpful as quite a lot has already been done for you.

Bolts have arrived for the Front Anti-Roll bar, so that'll be done tomorrow including some other outstanding tasks.

Engine and gearbox in! (Build Day 7)

I'm posting this about 10 days after the fact, please excuse the lateness, work has been very busy and haven't had the time to update the blog.

Today was a GOOD day, the Engine and Gearbox is in and fitted to the car!

It took all afternoon but we're pleased everything fit (more or less) however we have some tips for those of you who are reading this who are in the process of building your own Caterham. The manual is quite non-specific/bitty about what you need to do to be able to fit everything, however if you have a Duratec engine (into a SV chassis) we would recommend that you remove the following:

1. The RH Engine mounting bracket; (i.e. the longer of the two mounts), means you can get past the right hand top rail of the chassis.
2. Washer bottle; allows the left mount to drop vertically onto the chassis, (you can leave the bracket, easily out of the way).
3. Alternator; (allows the block to pass by the the left side cruciform on the top of chassis)

 Alternator and belt removed

We spent a little time testing the load leveller (from SGS engineering), seeing what angles we could get out of it. As stated previously, when we pitched the engine up (gearbox down) the engine would roll also, due to the position of the lifting eyes being diagonal on the engine (see below) causing the centre of gravity to not only shifting down the long-axis of the engine but also laterally axis the engine.

 Right, let's get started...

From looking at this blog: http://caterham420r.blogspot.co.uk/ (thanks for the tips chaps!) we also wrapped the gearbox in some bubble wrap (got a big roll from eBay - more useful than you think!), just to protect the transmission tunnel as much possible.

 So far so good!

Ask us why we know why you have to remove the right hand mounting bracket and washer bottle...

 

 Using a rag to protect the top of the passenger foot box from the plenum intake.

 View from under the transmission tunnel.

To help pitch/rotate the engine to a level position (in order to align with the chassis mounting rubbers), we used a hydraulic jack and some wood under the gearbox.

 After using the engine crane to help level the engine.

In!

We didn't have the correct set screw or bolts for the chassis cross-member yet, still on their way from Derek, however we found some temporary ones that will do the job in the meantime. There was a lot of 'to me, to you' involved, however we are very pleased with the results.

Here is the obligatory time-lapse video!

Frustrating Day 6

Day 6 was a frustrating day, the old problem of missing parts reared it's head, namely missing bolts for the chassis cross-member. We spent far too much time looking for them which had an impact on the rest of the day.

The good news was that the bolts that Derek promised for the front Anti-roll bar and the special nyloc nut we burred arrived (on the right of the picture below), so we can fit those bits soon.

 

 Thanks Derek

 

 Also another good thing we got to do was use the engine crane in anger, worked a treated. The all-castoring wheels make maneuvering the engine around easy-peasy. The load leveller was useful too, although the placement of the lifting eyes makes it difficult to keep the engine level. What do I mean by this? In order to hang the engine level along the long axis of engine (down the gearbox) -  'pitch' if you will, it introduces a twist to the assembly, 'roll' to use aeronautical terminology.

 Engine crane doing well.

Anyways we got it onto my trusty Workmate bench (250kg loading capacity if you think it can't take it!), ready to fit the gearbox.

 

 Black and Decker Workmate (250kg SWL) and some surplus kitchen work surface, ready to fit gearbox.

Fitted some plugs to the gearbox as per the manual then manhandled it over to the engine, put the silicone sealant on the O-ring seal and mated the two together. Took a bit of jiggling around to get the splines to engage, but finally we got them to fit and securely bolted the two together.

It was getting late at this point so we called it a day. Not before putting the crane in place to just to make sure that the engine did not break the table and fall (not taking any chances!). Like I said, frustrating as we would have liked to have had the engine in today. Will have to wait.

 

 Next time, car...

Engine Bay preparation (Build Days 4 and 5)

I'm writing this a few days after the fact. Days 4 and 5 were very busy so I'm not sure what happened when, as a result I amalgamated this post into one!

Derek called and said the bolts for the front anti-roll bar plus the special nyloc nut were in the post, hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow. However, today was spent preparing the engine bay and getting the necessary systems and ancillary equipment fitted, before access is restricted by the engine.

First off this little thing has been invaluable now that winter proper has arrived:

It's an industrial electric fan heater from Machine Mart. It's 'only' 3kW and doesn't appear to instantly make a cold garage warm, however, over time, it really does make a difference and has made the garage a much more comfortable working environment. However having the heater on for periods of the day is going to push up my electricity bill!

Whilst we're on the subject of equipment we also took delivery of our engine crane from SGS Engineering and we're very happy with it. We also got a load leveller.  It comes in 2 large-ish, heavy, boxes (the delivery man required assistance getting it off his van) and required assembly. It's vastly over-engineered for what we need, but due to the possibility of me rebuilding my classic Land Rover (needing the extra lifting height) and not knowing how a hired crane had been treated previously, we elected to purchase. Also with not knowing when exactly we will be installing the engine and gearbox we did not want to be beholden to a hire company neither.

Building the engine crane; big bolts and big pieces of metal!

Crane assembled.

Once the crane was assembled we finally managed to turn to our tasks: Firstly it was to fit the brake hoses, all seemed to go together pretty well. Just had to spend the time thinking through what piece goes where and how to orientate them so as not to foul the suspension throughout the full range of motion.

 

 Brake hoses fitted.

Next it was to start preparing the engine bay for the engine and gearbox installation. The assembly guide said to fit the horns, again no real dramas, crucial thing was to undo the nut at the top to rotate each horn so that the electrical connections can be fitted.

Horns fitted. Note electrical connections placed close together.

Also test fitted the washer bottle (removing it for engine installation), glad we did as the wiring that runs behind the bottle made fitting pretty difficult. After a bit of pushing and pulling it fit just fine, would not want to do that job once the engine plenum was in the way!

 Washer bottle test fitting, Note to self; must remove for engine installation.

In order to protect the chassis tube I bought 3 lengths of foam pipe lagging from a local builder's merchants and cut them to length covering the chassis tubes (although it wasn't quite enough in the end).

Foam pipe lagging to protect the chassis tubes.

Dad got on with covering any potentially vulnerable areas with bubble wrap, maybe a bit overkill however, with not really knowing what to expect, better to be safe than sorry!

All wrapped up (a bit too well Dad?)

We also fitted the engine mounts, easy in principle but not in reality. Let me put it this way, I needed my Dremel. As you can see from the picture below there was excess weld on one of the chassis junctions which wasn't allowing correct positioning of the engine mount rubbers.

 

Too much weld around joints preventing engine mounts from aligning correctly

My Dremel set has a small grinding disc and managed to whittle away the weld just enough for the engine mounts to fit. Great piece of kit (if you don't have one I recommend you purchase one, especially if you're going to be building a Caterham!). I've primed the bare metal and will paint it black once it's dry.

Excess weld removed, now to prime, then paint.

Test fit, looks good! Note grey primer prior to painting.

Next task to fit these two together:

 

Progress is my middle name...(Build day 3)

Managed to get a fair amount done today, got pretty much through the rest of the front suspension before the old enemy of missing parts reared its head (more on that later).

Fitted the Bilstein spring dampers first, no real issues, just had to file down the inside of the lower wishbones due to too excess powder coat and to ensure that everything moved freely.

 Spring Dampers fitted

Next we moved onto fitting the uprights, again no real issues, the manual was pretty good in this area and everything worked pretty well. The only thing we had to sort was the cycle wing holders; the flat plate that fits just below the top wishbone ball-joint had to be gently tapped to sit horizontally and to fit onto the outside of the upright (see below).

 Completed front suspension (mostly)

We also managed to burr one of the special extended nyloc nuts (oops). Mainly because we were using an impact socket (much thicker side walls) and due to the angle of the lower wishbone (see below) restricting access. As a result we couldn't get as much purchase on the nut and the socket just rolled off. Fortunately Derek is kindly sending us out a new one and we'll replace it once it arrives (using a thinner socket this time!).

Burred the special nut on bottom of the Upright (oops)

Another view looking forwards.

We were on a roll but unfortunately we couldn't finish today's task list due to the absence of the bolts and spring washers for the front anti-roll bar brackets. However pretty happy with today's work!

However getting this done was a step in the right direction and we're finally getting into the stride of everything. The only issues still being the ever-present missing fixings and vague manual instructions.