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Session 21: Sunday 11th April
Session 21: Sunday 11th April
It had now become time to deal with the challenge of installing the various pipes and connectors that transfer (generally hot) oil and water around the engine. Most of this was cutting pipes, locating the correct jubilee clips, inserting and moving on to the next pipe. The assembly sequence was, approximately, start in the middle and work outwards, as the remaining space slowly filled with pipework.
First up is the submarine (a section of pipe with an sensor that looks a bit like a conning tower). That needed a couple of sections cutting from the supplied pipes, and connecting from a port on the engine to the lower heater port.
The sub-assembly, part way through construction.
The final unit, in place.
The forward section, starting at the radiator (extreme left) and passing in front of the dry sump tank before passing down the passenger side of the engine...
Then came a long, pre-shaped pipe that connects the engine to the lower of the water radiator ports. Yes, there are two radiators - one for water and one for oil.
..and then connecting to a port on the engine that's adjacent to a belt-driven pump.
Thanks to the change of location for this tank, the output port points in exactly the opposite direction to the intended direction of travel for the water...
...before then heading across the front of the dry sump tank and down to meet the engine on the passenger side, and then back up to finish at the heater.
Then a t-shaped section that runs from the header tank (in the nose on the driver's side) to the upper heater port (back of the engine bay, passenger side) via a connector into the engine.
Next, a low-pressure oil line runs to the top of the dry sump tank, and then a water line is suspended beneath it from a port at the rear of the engine to the other port of the header tank.
Oil pipe in, held by a p-clip to the engine...
...and the water pipe, held by tie wraps to the oil pipe.
Some pipes in, but more to go!
Session 22: Saturday 17th April
Session 22: Saturday 17th April
Round 2. Three of the pipes were not addressed in the last session because they asked for a spanner several sizes larger than the biggest I had in stock. These are high pressure oil hoses, running in a loop from the bottom of the engine (where the sump isn't), to the second radiator (the lower one, for oil), to the dry sump tank and back. The hoses are all positioned buried in the engine, and were a bit of a pain as they are quite inflexible and none of the ports point in quite the right direction.
One of the high-pressure oil pipes, before it dives into the bowels of the engine.
The two ports on the thing-that-isn't-a-sump.
Next up was the upper (water) radiator upper hose; a beast of a thing running the length of the engine bay on the passenger side. As this one was plain rubber it was quite quick and easy to fit.
The other thing to note is the cable ties. The entire engine seems to be held together with them.
The final pipe runs from the dry sump tank to the catch tank, requiring a hole to be cut in the top.
It's quite the mess of pipes in there.
Next, the plenum could be refitted. This was removed from the engine months ago and sat in a corner. It therefore seemed deserving of a brief play before fitting it for the final time. It is the air intake for the engine, running from the air box (and filter) to the engine. It includes the throttle, which controls a very satisfying flow valve. Fitting was somewhat fiddly, as wherever one looks now there are pipes in the way, but it dropped in without much argument over the top of everything else.
Foot to the floor.
Accelerate.
Idle.
The plenum in place.
The engine bay is starting to get quite full.
I took a quick look under the cover at the top of the engine whilst doing all this.
Session 23: Sunday 18th April
Session 23: Sunday 18th April
With the engine now back in one piece, there was quite a lot of unpaired electrical connections - and zero guidance on where any of them go in the manual (apart from the battery connections, which were completely absent). So, I took some time to document them all, for use in an email to Caterham later.
That done, the next job was to start making connections into the cockpit. The brake connections were fitted in the factory. The clutch cable needed some protection adding to it and a single connection making to the cylinder located by the pedal box.
Clutch connection and Heath Robinson protection (a section of water hose and a bunch of tie wraps.
The view down into the pedal box (clutch left, brake in the middle and the unconnected throttle peddle to the right).
More interesting was the throttle cable. Fitting that required opening up the pedal box itself, so providing a view down into the driver's footwell. The brakes and clutch are both hydraulic systems. The throttle uses a bicycle brake cable to run directly to the throttle, which is on the other side of the engine.
The final "driving" connection is, of course, the steering. That has a single rod that runs (javelin-like and pointing at the driver's chest...) from a universal joint on the end of the steering rack straight through the pedal box and off to the steering wheel.
Side view of the pedal box with the master cylinders to the left.
The throttle cable drapes over the top of the engine. I queried this and this is how it's supposed to be. I have a feeling I'll be rerouting it shortly, as it looks untidy to me.
The steering column has to be inserted through the dashboard...
...into the engine bay...
...and threaded through the engine...
...to reach the UJ on the steering rack.
Session 24: Sunday 25th April
Session 24: Sunday 25th April
The big job for today was fitting the exhaust manifold. These thread though the bodywork and around the steering column. Step 1 was to add some protection to the body as it's a fiddly job involving chunky components and a flimsy panel. The assembly itself was five bolts (the middle ones bridging across two pipes) and two springs to provide some flex in the reduction pipe connection.
The parts to be fitted; four pipes and a reduction piece, linked by two springs.
Plenty of padding, just to be safe.
Three pipes go under the steering column, one over, and is all very fiddly
(the pink mesh is packaging, and I've left it there to prevent me scratching the chrome)
(the pink mesh is packaging, and I've left it there to prevent me scratching the chrome)
Through the body, around the steering column
Quite why the steering column went in first I'm not sure, as it got in the way hugely.
The exhaust pipes themselves bolt directly to the engine block using five bolts - one at each end and the three in the middle bridging across two components. Efficient, but odd.
The individual pipes pass out of the body and then into a joining section that feeds to the first silencer (and, presumably, catalytic converter?). This joint is dry, and the parts held together by two springs (one each on diagonally-opposite pipes).
Bridging of the bolts
Jointing springs
This clamp is supposed to hold the upper and lower parts of the steering column together...
...but only once the correct bolts have been located
The upper end of the steering column fits into a telescopic section at the end which, in turn, has the quick-release for the steering wheel. The two halves clamp together using a custom clamp, but the bolts that came with it were clearly too big. Time to write another email to Caterham...
The bolts were stashed in a different bag to the rest of the components, obviously.
The steering wheel, trial-fitted
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