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.

Merry Christmas and finally we have parts on the car!

Firstly I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all have had a lovely day with your families and loved ones. I've spent most of the day being on call for work, (fortunately I was not needed) and I'm presently sat on my parents' sofa with a sherry, trying to digest half a Duck and assorted accoutrements, realising I hadn't posted in a while. (Edit: I'm actually finishing this post in Hong Kong as I was eventually called away at extremely short notice on Boxing Day, before I had a chance to publish it!)

After 'Delivery 2.0' and some fretting on the Caterham and Lotus 7 Owners Group with Caterham's reworking of the chassis we decided to proceed with assembly. Dad wasn't initially happy with how they had dealt with it (effectively Caterham had just enlarged the hole on the offending bracket to allow the bolt through the chassis member- see detail on earlier posts below). However the advice (as always) on the Facebook group was reasoned and very forthcoming (thanks everyone who replied!) and maybe we were making more of a mountain out of it than we needed to. Also, being away on holiday whilst Caterham had the car meant that we didn't really lose any build time.

However, since then we have struggled to find the time to actually commence building! With a full time job (meaning I'm away a fair amount on business), planning our wedding, building a utility room, renovating the downstairs toilet and now repairing the Land Rover after a MOT failure, it's been difficult to afford some time. Never a dull moment!

The reason why the build hasn't progressed so quickly: Tiling and finishing our new utility room.

However we finally have bits on the car! Not many due to the electrician having to change our fuse box and killing the light in the garage, (meaning an early finish on the one day we did have). The front suspension is largely in and we're now looking ahead at shoe-horning the engine in. The good news is I have a big block of days off coming up in mid-January so planning on focusing on the Caterham then.

As the car has wide-track suspension the washer arrangement is somewhat different when fitting the wishbones. It was a little fiddly and tight getting them in, but managed it pretty well. Again the Assembly Guide was not the most helpful; it lead you down one course of action before telling you about the other condition. We had been pre-warned by others to expect this from the manual and had read up beforehand! However it was most satisfying when we tightened the bolts and the torque wrench made the satisfying clicking sound.

Hopefully I'll have plenty to report in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for reading and will report back soon!

Delivery 2.0

She's back!

Andy stopped by this morning with the reworked chassis and I'm happy to report that the bolts now fit!

I've ordered an industrial looking electric fan heater from Machine Mart, hopefully that'll warm up the garage enough when we're working in the dead of winter. Was hoping to have the majority of the build complete by now. Alas it was not to be.

Let's get building!