B-roads this week-end

This week-end I enjoyed roaming on B-roads whilst avoiding the numerous rain episodes. Wet roads are very tricky with this car... I felt I could loose grip easily in corners if not careful...

That said...

THIS IS JUST AMAZING... !!!

The power feels unlimited and basically it is too scary to dare to floor the throttle beyond 3500rpm... So brutal... so ferocious and vocal.

Can't wait for more fun... hopefully some sun next week-end.

I got my v5

Received my v5 on the mail this morning. Completed all paperwork including insurance.

Advised Caterham for them to print and install license plate.

All going well I have the car Thursday 5pm.

IVA is passed !!!

Just need to post all paperwork to DVLA to get my V5, put a license plate (so another 10 days) and... I am off !!!!

IVA failed!

Seat belt buckle too much in the front, and fog and rear lights incorrectly mounted resulted in IVA fail... new test 11/08... gutted...

PBC - and the result is...

My beloved car is now with Caterham.

Just a few niggles found:

Massoubre - 73078
Work required for IVA	Hours
*Bleed brakes	0.5
*Bleed clutch	0.25
*Adjust ride height	0.5
*Remove stickers from dashboard	0
*Headlight & side repeater wiring requires tidying & grommets fitted	2
*Coolant tank is loose and coolant pipes need securing	0.25
*Engine bay wiring tidy	2
*Rectify coolant temp sensor leaking	0.25
*Steering column clamp is fitted upside down and upper column is inserted too far in dash	0.25
Adjust pedal stops	0.25
*Trim needed on fuse box cover & tidy wiring	0.25
*Tidy tunnel wiring & adjust handbrake	0.5
*IVA mirrors are loose - needs securing	0.25
*Additional bond required on front cycle wings	0.25
*Incorrect unions on front brake calipers	0.25
*Oil tank leaking due to damaged thread. Remove tank & try to repair	1
*Remove extra washers on front lower wishbones	0.5
*Re-route dry sump oil pipes to remove kinks	0.5
*Too short bolt used on engine mount earth lead	0.25
*Fit nyloc nuts to rear anti roll bar links	0.25
*Tidy rear wiring	0.25
*Fit spring washer to rear dampers	0.25
*Rear brake hose twisted & shake proof washer missing	0.25
*Remove extra washers from de-dion ear on O/S	0.25
*Rear brake pipe not connected & loose	0.25
*Radiator leaking - may be warranty - requires investigation	0
Total Hours	11.5

Well at least the car will be whole very soon, sound and secure, and IVA-presentable...

11.5h of rework is a bit on the high side but then I am not exactly an experienced mechanic...

Not sure about "incorrect unions of front brake calipers" - sound scary...

IVA inspection booked

My beloved Caterham will be inspected for IVA on 21st July. Things are getting very, very real !

Post build check and IVA

Somehow I feel this is a large milestone.

Post Build Check is now booked, Caterham will collect the car on 13th July to rectify all my mistakes (may take some time...) and I posted my IVA application.

Feels like I have a clear deadline (Mid-August) for the car to be ready to roll.

Progress

With the sunny days more frequent, the garage is warming up and I have been able to make substantial progress.

The engine is fully ready. Electricals all done (I think - still unsecure about starter motor - I need to ask Derek...), hydraulics, all the complicated oil circuit.

It was quite a saga to put fluids in:
   -petrol I managed to spill some from jerricane into the boot of my (regular) car... it's been smelling horrible for 2 weeks now...
   -Oil I managed to spill a nice load on the engine - this is horrible to try to remove
   -Coolant I filled too much - still hoping some internal bubbles will swallow the extra load to avoid using syringe to remove few 100ml's...
   -Brake fluid I can't resolve myself to do it yet... after above issues... one for May I think

The carpets were quite hard to put right, but I am very pleased with final results. Seats were easy to do. The boot carpet and cover is insanely hard... just finished the carpets but the cover is yet to have durable dots on it... next week-end...

Still do do: doors (difficult drilling to hook them on the windscreen), boot cover dots, brake bleeding, coolant bleeding, front cycle wings and repeater, electrical connections for headlights and various IVA stuff. I think I am 90% done. Awesome...

Oh no !!!

Destroyed the thread of the oil tank... tried to fit the hose nut with brute force, instead of trying to think why it was so hard I forced it...

Not good - needs new parts...

So hard !

It has been over a month and a half without update... sorry for the lack of news...

It turns out that without sufficient time, this little hobby of mine makes it difficult to even think about updating a blog.

I have made major progress since the last update, the most important highlight being - THE ENGINE IS IN THE CAR !

I need to thank my friend Seb who flew all the way from Paris for the privilege of destroying his back and his fingers whilst helping out...

Not to mention the "oh dear" moment when we realised to lift the engine high enough, we would have to remove the garage door... Clever as we were, we managed eventually to shoehorn the engine without even destroying the garage... using sheer brilliance... or maybe more accurately, yoga-inspired position in the crammed garage...

I also completed the rear hubs - quite fiddly... and still need the hand brake cable fitting but this will need doing much later as dependent on fitting the central console.