patently Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Is there any market in building these for other people? I doubt it Not allowed, sadly. The application for the IVA test needs to declare that it is a private amateur build. They check, too - Caterham advise you to take plenty of photos of you doing the build personally. MrMe - Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...... as if! I spoke too soon about bolts - one on the NSF suspension has been a bit of a pain. You have to squeeze pairs of washers covered in coppaslip into the fixings either side of the suspension arm. Difficult, especially when the gap seems to be about 1mm too short! Got there in the end though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I soooo want a Caterham now! Going to have a look on the website... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 NSF suspension done, now to start on the ARB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 OK, first injury. Very minor though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I hope you got a photograph for the 'archives'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Mind you don't go overboard on the sympathy there, Chris... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I'm just a bit disappointed it is very minor. I mean, the least you could do is give people another reason to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drinks Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Fantastic I'll be checking in with this regularly, though I think it'll be finished by Sunday. Surely we need a photo of the first injury too! Surely you know that most of us are pretending we're doing this too (or is that just me ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I'm pretending I've paid him to do this. He's just not going to get paid and I'm not going to get to drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcon magnifique Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I might buy the complete one that's for sale at my Subaru dealer, then steal patently's, er, patent on his build experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I only hope the build thread, wherever it is, is going to include tips on checking tyre pressures for dummies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted September 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 ARB is now done. The minor injury was while fitting it, which requires you to push it into sockets at either end. The first end goes in fine, as you can wave the bar around as much as you like. The other end is harder, as the ARB is fixed at the first end. So you wiggle it about to get it to pop into place, then you wiggle a bit harder, then you push, then you wiggle again and slice the side of your finger on the edge of the aluminium bodywork. Then you pop back inside to stop the blood and wash the muck off your hand so that you can replace it with Savlon! After that I used the soft hammer to persuade it home, instead of the even softer fingers. James May may have dismissed it as "the tool of a pikey" but it worked for me. Then popped the brake callipers on, easy once I'd found all four and waved them around to see which two obviously fitted and which two obviously didn't. I'm guessing the latter two are for the rear... Finally, I started thinking about the brake lines, and realised I'd already used up the washers that should be for the brake lines. Bugger. The washer I need is in plain sight, but firmly seated behind a bolt. Naturally, the bolt in question is the one that was an utter bitch to get on. Tried undoing it, except that its the upper shock bolt that is now supporting the weight of the suspension. Took the weight off the suspension with a jack, which helped, but there was no way it was coming off easily. You see, clearance is slightly "restricted" (Caterham's phrase) for this bolt. I think this is a technical term, meaning "non-existent". The manual advises that you gently bend the body panel to allow access; this would be fine, save for the minor fact that you'd need to bend it about an inch away in order to get a ratchet spanner in there, and the maximum the panel is willing to bend is about 0.01mm. So I'm going to have a bath and pick up some more washers in the morning. Total time today 6 hours, including an hour or so fussing around the boxes looking at all the nice shiny things in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 Very good Arch, very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Sounds like bloody good progress for day one - and only one injury isn't bad going either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Thanks Busby. Finished off the front brake callipers, pads, and hoses this morning. A little fun with the hoses, as Caterham supply the chassis fitted with the brake hoses ending at a union which you attach to the braided flexible hoses through a hole in the body. They bend them to fit, so that one lines up perfectly with the hole and the other needs to be half-straightened out and re-bent so that it ends somewhere in the vicinity of the hole. Or that's how mine came, anyhow. That means the chapter called "Front suspension" is done! So I thought I'd best tidy up all the rubbish and put the tools into order before I lose them all. The "James May" filing process, in other words Next chapter is called "Gearbox" and looks ominous... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Sounds great - but... WE WANT PICTURES!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Patently. Just an idea before you get to far ahead. How about fixing a camera in a point overlooking the build, take a pic at the end of every day's work ? Make one of those 'time frame' slideshows at the end ? Get my drift ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drinks Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Patently. Just an idea before you get to far ahead. How about fixing a camera in a point overlooking the build, take a pic at the end of every day's work ? Make one of those 'time frame' slideshows at the end ? Get my drift ? Great idea but 1 pic a day, that's what we've had so far on this thread and it isn't enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Patently. Just an idea before you get to far ahead. How about fixing a camera in a point overlooking the build, take a pic at the end of every day's work ? Make one of those 'time frame' slideshows at the end ? Get my drift ? Already happening. Plenty of work involved in organising the images, but it will happen. Drinks - will post some more soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 WE WANT PICTURES!!!! Here we go. First, here is the upper shock mount, or (as I call it) bastard bolt: Note the cunning placement of bodywork behind the head of the bolt so as to (a) prevent the bolt being fitted or removed and (b) prevent access with any tool other than an allen key. Turn 60 degrees at a time.... slowly but surely gets you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Now, the ARB assembled and ready to fit. The little cotton-reel bushes need to be oiled up and slipped into the tight-fitting hole. Easy provided you have enough lube. Like lots of things, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 The ARB then snaps into place in the suspension, and the bushes bolt onto the chassis: Much wiggling is needed. Fortunately this yields some blood, which is an excellent lubricant. (pic is the day after... it looked much worse at the time. Honest ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Callipers go on: and the brake hoses can be attached. One is nice and straight as Caterham bent it nicely: but the other needs a certain amount of re-shaping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Looking good - how long do you think the build will take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burble Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 Oh fantastic, I'll be keeping an eye on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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