Caterham 7 Build Diary: March 2011

Sunday 6 March 2011

De Dion tube – 6th March 2011

Having checked out various other build diaries & the Lotus 7 club site, & slept on it, I think the solution might be to jack up & support the diff from underneath, or else use an engine hoist to support from above. This would avoid distortion of the upper mounting rubber bushes & should make the lower mounting bolts much easier to install. Didn’t get time to try this theory out today but did get the brake pipes fitted to the de Dion tube & the rear brake callipers assembled with pads in place.

Rock ‘n’ roll (or not) – 5th March 2011

Diff fixing kit arrived during the week along with the cycle wings, brake hoses, front anti-roll bar plus Sigma build manual. Installation of roll bar with Jamie before football on Saturday morning had to be abandoned when both plastic balls cracked whilst being tightened to the anti-roll bar. I’ll request replacements from Caterham on Monday.

Adam & I spent over 2 hours attempting to fit the diff, however, you could either get the top mounting bolt in or the bottom ones, but not both! Even with gentle persuasion from a rubber mallet. Spacing washes kept raining down on me whilst I struggled underneath the car to get the bottom bolts to line up. Decided to give up on this for today & re-think my approach.

Fitted front brake callipers & one hose so at least I felt we’d achieved something today. Missing washers for second hose so need to ring Caterham for these.

Thursday 3 March 2011

The missing parts II – 28th Feb 2011

Phoned Caterham to request missing diff fixing kit. Next day contacted Sean to get faulty dampers replaced & he confirms that I should only be using the Rover installation guide to fit the engine & use the Sigma one for everything else including torque settings. Promises to include Sigma guide with replacement rear dampers & provides tracking details for cycle wings & first fill kit which still haven’t turned up. Front roll bar has just been received so will ship this to me as well.

The rear axle – 27th Feb 2011

Do a trial run to fit de Dion ears, brake calipers & brake pipes but fixing bolts in use to temporarily hold diff in place & other parts are in the missing fixing pack so unable to proceed. Discovered rear dampers are leaking!

Handbrake & diff– 26th Feb 2011

With Adam’s help temporarily suspend rear diff on its mounts but as diff fixing kit is missing am unable to complete installation. Fitted handbrake with Jamie.

The missing parts – 21st Feb 2011

Contact Caterham again for missing parts but Sean is still off sick. His manager promises to look into it & call me. No call back so phoned Sean on the 24^th who confirms cycle wings, hood sticks, brakes hoses, front anti-roll bar & fuel filler cover are missing. Cycle wings & brake hoses on their way. Other items will hopefully be despatched on Monday.

A new direction – 20th Feb 2011

Propelled into the garage by a still excited Adam who’s keen to recommence work. All the steering components are identified & laid out ready for installation but the steering rack just won’t go into the chassis. That is, until Adam observes that if we lower it in from the top it will fit, & sure enough it does. His spacial awareness & mechanical aptitude is amazing. After this it’s a relatively simple matter to fit the steering although I’m concerned it feels a bit tight & it’s not possible to get the universal joint in line with the steering column without distorting the rubber grommet or fouling the cheese wedge.

The build begins – 19th Feb 2011

Adam & I begin to build up the near side front suspension whilst Jamie goes shopping for new shoes. After the initial excitement he settles down to the task. Jamie joins us in the afternoon & the three of us complete the front offside suspension together. Copperease everywhere! Lower upright bolts keep spinning & won’t tighten (even with Jamie standing on them) until Adam spots that there’s a allen bolt at the bottom.

Inventory complete – 20th Feb 2011

Complete check of parts list & identify hood hoops, cycle wings, front roll bar & brake hoses as missing.

D Day – 17th Feb 2011

12.30pm delivery van reverses up drive & rear door is rolled back to reveal chassis 70042, in ali with yellow wings & nose cone. Help driver unload 12 cardboard boxes of parts, seats, wheels, exhaust etc before manhandling chassis secured to trolley out of the van & into the prepared garage. Lastly the engine is stowed away under the workbench. With the chassis securely on axle stands I set about moving the multitude of boxes into the garage & am surprised that they all go in so easily.

3.40pm children rush into my office & excitedly ask, “Is it here?” Together we go into the garage & start to open up boxes & start to check off parts against the delivery list.

The Order

Hours mulling over specs before concluding that best value for money was to purchase a Classic, upgrade the engine to the Rover 1.6K series, then add leather seats, heater, hood, quick release steering wheel, spare wheel & four point harnesses. This worked out about £2,000 cheaper than buying the 1.6 Sigma engined Roadsport with similar spec. Order placed early September 2010 for delivery mid Feb.

Go for It!

First visited Caterham South showroom with my two car mad sons, Jamie & Adam, in March 2010 & fired their enthusiasm for a build. Talked about it over the following months but it was not until a family holiday in August that I convinced my wife that it would be educational for the children & a fun thing to do together. After all depreciation on a Caterham is low so we could always sell it if necessary, I argued. Hurriedly arranged a test drive early in September before she changed her mind. This was the first time I’d driven a Caterham & even pouring rain did nothing to dampen the seat of the pants driving experience as I gingerly negotiated roundabouts .