thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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My friend Xavi has listened to me banging on about Caterhams so much that he went and bought himself one this week.
This will not help my attempts to ignore them. I have also managed to get a secure underground parking place a couple of buildings down the road from home. The added benefit is that the owner is flexible and happy to let me rent it for 6 months of the year as needed.
This means I have an additional dry and secure space for the November-April period as and when I need.
Now what to fill it with ....
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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May 23, 2023 18:52:28 GMT
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So Xavi has tumbled down the rabbit hole fast and has now decided to sell his Cayman and his just purchased Caterham to roll it into a 485 Caterham.
I had foreseen this circumstance but not so quickly. It's good and bad. Bad as I had hoped this would come to me in 18-24 months when I could sort out the finances, good because I don't have the time to be doing all this car and budget shuffling at the moment.
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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May 26, 2023 16:03:31 GMT
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Got around to installing the USDM grille on the 86 today. Remember to remove the covers from the washers first Fastening strip and seal to release the top side So many fixings on the bottom side Freedom - here you can see the butchery that is inflicted on the EU/UK cars to fit the front plate box Carefully remove the tow eye cover Back in one piece Remounted. I'm very happy with the results
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looking good
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May 29, 2023 12:18:39 GMT
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Yesterday I was supposed to have spent the day thrashing the Speedster around the Ring. I organized the trip and got four friends onboard. Hotels were booked, days off noted in calendars etc.
Before going, the plan was to have my Sachs coilovers rebuilt and installed along with a set set of discs and pads and a professional ECU tuning session completed.
As you can interpret, none of these things happened which I'm pretty bummed about right at this moment. The reason is that some other stars aligned and an opportunity has arisen to do something very cool. The budget for the other things has had to be shuffled in order to allow it. So although I'm a bit down today I think this will all be forgotten in less than 3 weeks time.
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Jun 15, 2023 15:09:20 GMT
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sorry to hear the trip didn't happen but I am now looking forward to see what will happen in 3 weeks time
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Just bought a job lot of service items and parts from Xavi that he still had in stock after he sold his Speedster last year.
It consists of new discs , pads, plugs, oil filter and a gearbox. Most of these items are for future modifications including the gearbox which will become the home of a LSD in future.
Right now I need to give the car a straightforward oil, plugs and filters service which will get done once the cool thing is completed next week.
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Last Edit: Jun 20, 2023 8:01:25 GMT by thebaron
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 22, 2023 10:10:21 GMT
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Several months back I wrote a detailed review of the 86. At the time I mentioned a few areas that I hoped I could improve. I've handled the clutch feel, the shift throw and the aesthetics.
The last thing is the trust I had with the front end on hard/high speed turn in. Some of that was improved with time in the car of course, some was definitely improved with tyres moving from the winter rubber to the PS4. My final hope was dialling in a little more negative camber on the front axle.
With the standard suspension set up there is only an opportunity to make some minor tweaks using the hub bolts. I don't want to go crazy off the bat and I'm now far enough down the road to only make one modification at a time. So, I've carved out a free hour this afternoon and it's camber bolt time.
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Pretty painless job all round. Wheel off The top bolt is the point of action. Repeating myself but it's still incredibly satisfying how easy bolts come out on new cars. Below you can see the differences between the standard and cammed bolts. After some tweaking to get the bolts in the correct orientation just button things back up. Before After So the products have had the advertised effect. Will drive it for a little bit to see if I'm generally happy with it and then I'll get a full alignment done.
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 26, 2023 13:49:16 GMT
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The things - they are happening right now!
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75swb
Beta Tester
Posts: 1,045
Club RR Member Number: 181
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You tease! Hope it's good
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 27, 2023 10:44:25 GMT
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All will soon be revealed In the meantime, have another hint
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 28, 2023 10:47:36 GMT
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What's that coming over the hill? Is it a JARMOnster? you're damn right it is! I've admired this man's work for a while and the schedules lined up with his trip to the Hangar Rockin' Festival in Bern so he cut loose on the Speedster. I am many things, including a number of things I am not but self/over confident enough to bluff. However, I'm no artist. I just told Jarmo I liked bright colour and gave him full artistic freedom. Exciting!
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Last Edit: Jun 28, 2023 12:26:19 GMT by thebaron
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 28, 2023 10:50:59 GMT
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 28, 2023 10:56:21 GMT
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 28, 2023 11:03:53 GMT
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Last Edit: Jun 28, 2023 11:04:41 GMT by thebaron
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 28, 2023 11:08:46 GMT
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thebaron
Europe
Over the river, heading out of town
Posts: 1,658
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Jun 28, 2023 11:13:25 GMT
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