Back in the garage today for another session. I made use of the free delivery from Caterham during January to buy most of the remaining bits and pieces I need to get the car ready for the new season.
Here’s a run down of what arrived through the door on Thursday:
- Red front anti-roll bar (including fittings to allow quick swapping)
- Uprated front brake pads
- 4 alloys
- Door fixing kit (including hinges and straps)
- Replacement water temperature gauge (warranty replacement)
It was like Christmas! And so I headed back over to the garage today to fit the new toys.
Red front ARB
I was dreading this a little bit. Ideally, you use the red bar in the dry and the orange bar in the wet. During the main build, fitting the ARB was a pain and a struggle. With the radiator now in the way, I thought it was going to be awful.
As it went, I undid the bolts holding the radiator and fan to give a little more room, removed the orange bar in its entirety and popped in the red bar. The first ball sank into place pretty easily and the second just took a little encouragement to get it lined up with the attachment socket. Once it was roughly in the right place, it just popped itself into the socket! Great! The braket attachment bolts are awkward because of space but they eventually went home. Done!
I’m afraid the fact that I’ve fitted this has now pretty much guaranteed that it will rain on the track day on 25th January.
Doors
I picked up a second hand pair of doors just after Christmas. They were a little dirty and scruffy when I picked them up, but a good scrub later and they came up OK. The windows aren’t as clear as new ones would be and there are a few frays here and there but really, nothing that a new pair wouldn’t have after a few uses.
The hinges were simple to fit with 2 screws/nuts per hinge. Fitting the popper bases wasn’t too bad either. I drilled out a couple of the rivets that were in about the right place on the side panels and put the popper bases in place using self tapping screws. I was happy enough with the fit and the poppers made a strong connection.
Doors do make it even tricker to get in and out of the car of course but on my quick test drive this evening, they make so much difference to the buffeting and splash proofing. I think once I get the half hood up with the doors on, it will actually be a fairly dry place to be in the cockpit… famous last words!
Rain light
Having seen that it was indeed possible to mount the rain light on the central cross of the roll cage, I re-visited this. It was still an absolute pain in the arse and involved using pliers, not using the large washers that were supplied with the kit and even then, only just getting the nyloc in place. But it’s done.
Honestly, if I hadn’t seen that others have managed this, I would have sait it was impossible.
Boot sealing
I moved the fire extinguisher out of its mount to get the sealing and taping done around the back of the boot. I finished off the sealing of the rear edge of the boot ready for taping the next time the car is off the trailer and the sealant has gone off fully.
I’ve found that rather than looking at the whole thing and getting stressed about how to go about sealing everything, it’s better to take it inch by inch and just work your way along slowly. Each time you step back, it’s a surprise how far you’ve got.
One more session to go on this to get it done completely.
Uprated front brake pads
These are simple to fit. Just unclip and slide out the originals and slot these in their place. They are supplied with plastic anti-squeal pads, which I fitted. Steve has said since that Caterham removed his shims to give a firmer pedal. If I find the pedal a little spongy going forward, I will have to remember to start by removing the shims!
Water temperature gauge
The final job of the day was to fit a new water temperature gauge. This mad broken previously (the case had cracked all the way around the body, just behind the glass.
Caterham sent the warranty replacement very efficiently, so I was able to get this in as well.
The gauge attached so the wiring and just pops through the dash to roughly seat itself. You then need to feel around to attach a metal U bracket and some plastic thumb wheel nuts to stop the gauge falling forward. Because it all happens behind the dashboard, you have to have a good feel around to get it right. Another job I’m glad is over!
Overal, I’m happy with how the prep has gone and the car is really now looking the part. Once the race numbers go on, it’s going to be amazing (if a little embarrassing driving it around!)
Remaining jobs are:
- Tape handbrake down
- Fit race rear view and drivers side mirrors
- Take trip to Demon Tweeks for race gear (possibly buy mirrors here or at Autosport Show)
- Adjust arm restraints
- Bypass inertia switch
