Not this time

Whilst Club MSV emailed the day before (Saturday) to say that all efforts would be made to make sure the track day would go ahead, it was disappointing to see on our arrival that no attempts the day before had been made to clear the Track. I got up at 5.15am, picked up Josh Bell at 6am where we both travelled on icy roads and snowy lanes to get to the circuit. After 1.5hours (7:30am) we arrived to see that the clearing process had only just begun.

Signing on was going to start at 8:30am and the track time was due to commence from 10am. However at 9am, the drivers briefing an signing on had not even begun. After a few individuals rounded together in the arrival area, at 9:30am the acting circuit manager confirmed that the day was to be aborted.

Whilst the staff had also been through the same, it was silly to have wasted everyone's time so near to Christmas. Had the track been inspected late on Saturday afternoon, it would have been cancelled without the additional hassle involved.

I would like to thank Josh Bell for coming and keeping me company on the day and his mum, Terri, for making delicious sausage rolls for us to eat on the journey.

Snow Joke (Brands Trackday)

Weather is not looking too good for tomorrow! Snow forecast again for early morning and sub Zero temperatures all day. Club MSV are going to do all they can to make sure it still happens, however with the poor conditions I wait with interest for the email after lunch today from the organisers to confirm whether it is happening or not.

Watch this space.

2nd test day now booked

My next test day is on 20th December 2010 at Brands Hatch

I will be testing the car on the short Indy Circuit where this will be in preparation for my race in August next year. Having driven the car already in anger at Bedford in November, I spoke to Richard Grimes of Sidelines who confirmed that I should now spend time setting the car up for race conditions. Unlike Bedford, this will become a more structured day where I hope to make a number of changes to the car to learn more about its handling characteristics. This will probably include the adjustment of tyre pressures throughout the day and finding the best ways to drive a number of the very complicated corners at this historic and momentous race track.

I will report on how well we do, however this is likely to be one of a number of visits to this track as the weather and conditions improve throughout spring and summer of next year.

Track day Video

Link below to footage of the first Track day at Bedford on 21st November 2009 - Unfortunately I have edited this to reduce the footage due to Youtube rules but I hope it gives you a flavour of what we will be up to over the coming months in preparation for the 2010 season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6VKwIyiTJA

1st Track Day

After a very wet start from home, we arrived at Bedford Autodrome in damp conditions. After the sighting lap, I drove the car relatively aggressively in the first session which also doubled up as the running in period. Having only 1 mile on the clock, the car was pushed harder than advised.

I then set about thrashing the car to within 9/10th's of its life for the rest of the day!

There was an assortment of cars on the day and I learnt a lot about the handling characteristics of the car and tyres, something that I thought I would not get by just driving it on the road.
Doing the test day highlighted a few things that I need to follow up on at Caterham.

Track Day Booked

21st November is the day we visit the Bedford Autodrome to test the car. John is my co-driver for the day where we will gently run in the car for 1, maybe 2 LAPS!

We will then check the car over, before increasing the speed in what is looking like very wet and slippery conditions. This however will aid the running in process because the drive shafts, prop shaft, gearbox and engine will not be under constant load due to the lack of grip on the track.

This is something we are both really looking forward to where, photo's and a video will be available next week.

For those wishing to attend, we will be there between 9am-4pm. Bring an umbrella and some warm clothes.

Provisional Calendar for 2010

17th February
ARDS Course Castle Combe race circuit (Wiltshire)

6th March
Set up morning, Caterham Midlands

27th March
Handling day, Silverstone (Northamptonshire)

14th April
Track day, Castle Combe race circuit (Wiltshire)

EVENTS

Sprints
24th April - Aintree (Liverpool)
15th May - Lydden (Kent)
12th June - Silverstone (Northamptonshire)

RACES (more to follow)
21/22 August - Brands Hatch, Indy Circuit (Kent)

New drive shaft fitted

John popped over today to fit the new drive shaft. Amazingly he did it within the Hour where Caterham suggested it would take up to 2 hours. Thank you John, we are now ready for the track day on 21st November!

Caterham Post Build Check

We arrived ahead of schedule and Caterham were waiting for the car and could accommodate an early start. Simon was our mechanic for the morning. I recently met him at the 2009 Academy race at Mallory Park. After a number of very non committal noises from Simon and a few long pauses, he confirmed that we had built the car to a very high standard. We had less than a page of recommended adjustments but this only referred to things like the tying of electric cables and a different way to tie the brake cable. We will make the recommended changes in the week ahead but they should not take long. We were of course delighted with his comments. Its safe to say that both John and I felt very pleased and proud of our achievement.

One disappointing part of the build check was however, confirmation from Simon of a faulty drive shaft nut and thread. This was faulty from the factory and something that we need to get replaced urgently. This has now been reordered under warranty where John will visit this week to fit the new part. Hopefully this can be done without further problems before our first test on 21st November.

Ready for the off

Friday 6th November was the day the car was being taken to Caterham Midlands for its post build check. It was the first time I had put the car on my recently acquired trailer so this was done with some apprehension. I knew it was going to fit but I did not know how well our family car was going to pull them. It also sounds silly but I didn't know how best to strap the car down. This would be essential during our 2 hour journey.

Everything went to plan, however I did have to stop at Huntingdon after the Jockey wheel lowered onto the M11 due to not clipping the handle to the shaft. This resulted in the handle unwinding and lowering onto the Motorway, where it dragged on the floor whilst I over took an articulated lorry. You live and learn!

First Drive

Today, 4th November 2009, the car was driven under its own steam.

It was a very proud moment and one that I will remember for sometime. I would like to thank John MacDonald for his hard work and efforts since the project started and I could not have done it without him.

First Engine Start

The car started and Joshua, my son, was the first one to do so - Well done Joshua!

Sidelines Support

Richard from Sidelines came over today to finish the brake assembly and offer some expert advice. Fortunately he has prepared many race cars in the past and supported me when racing Karts. We bled the brakes, filled and bled the clutch reservoir, checked the ride height, set the steering wheel positioning and set up the tracking.

My best mate Aaron also helped, where his previous experience and hands on attitude helped with many of the tasks today.

Richard and Aaron worked well together today (making fun of me).

Front Lights

John and I worked on the car together today. The lights now give the car some character, but John found it very tedious following the IVA requirements, which included rubber piping in the silliest places.

Rear Brakes assembled

The rear brakes are now assembled. John followed a combination of the Assembly guide and some pictures forwarded by the very useful chaps on the Caterham Forum. The brake lines need to be forced into place because they are pointing vertically. This will be done later on.

Exhaust on

Whilst at work, John fitted the exhaust pipe. It turned out to be a relatively straight forward job, but required some adjustment to the spring bracket. Caterham supply springs that are too short, there are no alternatives and you need to make the adjustments for it all to fit together.

Roll Cage

Roll Cage on - we have a RACE CAR!

This is Josh. He has taken time out from Uni in Sheffield to come and be photographed with the car. He tightened at least one bolt during his 3hour visit today! Thanks Josh, couldn't have done it without you.

Rear diff, De Dion and Roll Cage

Well after an early start John, Brads and I make significant progress today. The rear differential was the first task and after a few attempts, we had it aligned to the 2mm tolerance for it being central to the chassis. There was not much room under the car when we were all fitting it but this was best done together!

We then tightened the Prop Shaft to the Diff, fitted the De Dion tube to the back of the car, fitted the rear brake lines, A-Frame and Drive Shafts. John then set about fitting the Roll Cage. After a few adjustments to the Roll Cage holes, we were able to secure it to the car. It was a very rewarding day and I would like to thank John again for his very hard work and time on the tools. Brads input was also critical where his experience with performance off road vehicles helped us with the differential and rear suspension.

Radiator In

Whilst at work, John came over today to complete more work on the Car. This time he started on the Radiator, where he secured it to the car and fitted most of the water pipes. However, he identified one missing part and unfortunately this will need to be sent via the Caterham Factory in Dartford. Lucky for me, Simon Lambert, who works for Caterham lives close to where I work and he kindly offered to bring this part home for me to pick up from his house at lunch time due to working from home - great service thank you. Next week we will tackling the rear suspension and differential.

Engine and Gearbox IN!

A very good and rewarding day! I felt we made excellent progress today. When sourcing an engine crane it is essential that everything goes to plan. The Engine was a very tight fit and and took a lot of head scratching from me, Brad and John. I cant imagine how difficult this would have been if we had connected the gearbox to the engine. It is essential that you have enough chain on the crane to manoeuvre the engine into place because it doesn't just drop straight in. The Steering column was also installed as the last job of the day, it is all now starting to come together but there will be a void in the blog now, due to having to concentrating on revision for an exam at work.

Thanks to Brad and John this weekend, I couldn't have done the tasks without you.

Father in Law

John, who normally only gets excited about his own Subaru Impreza STi, fine wine and red meat - looked very pleased with the lump we were about to install.

Engine Ready

Dave, one of brads friends kindly lent us an Engine Crane. This was an essential tool and it was very important that we got this done today

Gearbox in

After a lot of debating how best to install the gearbox, and a quick phone call to Caterham Midlands, we went about installing the Gearbox. After speaking to Richard Grimes of 'Sidelines' my lubricant sponsor, we put the gearbox oil in the unit before the installation.

At the right time, my brother Brad turned up to lend me and John 'the father-in-law' a hand in - which was a real help, because 6 eyes on this task was better than 4.

Front Suspension

Once we identified the correct parts, and worked out the best way to proceed, it started to take shape. i still managed to look confused in this picture, which accurately explained my day.

Day 2

Martin popped over with his wife and two children. Having restored cars in the past, he was only too pleased to help. Thank god he did, a number of the jobs today were better done by two people. He also helped me to confirm the parts in the boxes, which were not clear due to my inexperience.

Go on John

The tea had not even cooled before John starts the build !

The Unload

So having the excitement of loading the items at Dartford, we set about the task of unloading them. We arrived home at 12:30 having spent about 1hr 30 minutes at the Factory.

Thanks Brian

Brian was a good source of amusement and entertained us whilst loading up the car. He was extremely helpful.

Crate

This was the stack of boxes that we loaded. In addition there were a few items, including the gearbox and wheels which had to be leaded separately.

Proud Josh

Joshua made himself very useful. He found the car and guided Brian to the trailer where we loaded it before setting off

That will do

The father in law (John) couldn't help himself. He inspected the engine as if it was his own and wondered what he has got himself into - having agreed to help me build the car

Arrived at 10am

After setting off at 9am from Bishops Stortford, we arrived at 10am at the Caterham Factory. We waited 15 minutes for Brian, who then helped us load up the car.

Well I couldnt do it without the main Man

And picking up the car would not have been so special without my main man

Caterham Update

So there I was, booked a days holiday, arranged for my Dad and Father-in-law to help this Friday, then Caterham call to say "we might need to put the car back to Monday next week". This means I would lose this weekend to start building the car and friends have to be put off.

After a very honest assessment of the situation I said to Tim Ward of Caterham that "there is no way this can be delayed". He then made some calls and we are back on. The delay was due to the car going in late to the paint shop.

I thank my lucky stars that this is now back on for Friday!

Nearly done Dad

Dont worry Dad, I'm here to help -be finished soon! er..............

Well my Dad now finds it funny to film me!

And it wouldn't be right to exclude my number one fan from the hard graft. This is a good learning process my son!

I guess you could be excused for thinking that more paint went on me than the walls and ceiling - "I'm a wonna be racing driver, not a painter".

Well it all began with clearing out the Garage

Website

Spoke to Graham and website should be ready soon, watch this space over the coming weeks.

Last 2009 Academy Race

Met some very nice people today at Mallory race circuit and saw how it should be done, well done guys and look forward to picking up the kit on Friday