Where are Caterham Parts Available?

[Clark]

Hi,
Where are replacement parts for Caterham Sevens available from these days? Nothing exotic, but stuff like brake pads and disks, master cylinders, radiators, suspension bushes, wiper blades, or the occasional body parts like wings and noses?

I appreciate any advice you've got!

[magnusfeuer]

Hillbank in Irvine is the distributor and surely carries the basics: http://www.hillbankusa.com/

/Magnus F.

[Clark]

Hi,
When it comes time for purchasing the hardware, I'll try them again. So far they've requested payment in advance.........to request things on their next order. Depending on the shipping method, that could take weeks. I do not know if they have any local on-site stock, except parts for the cars they market.

[GWise]

I've been really happy with beachman racing for caterham parts. Order your part, he'll ship it to you directly and you send him a check after it arrives. Not many business operate that way anymore.

Shipping does tend to be a bit expensive as you're paying for it twice, though.

[Clark]

Hi,
I contacted Beachman Racing and have had some interesting email correspondence with them. They've been involved with Caterham for awhile and we both know some of the same people associated with these cars. I'm looking forward to future business with them. Thanks for the tip!

[Clark]

I had an interesting commute home this evening. Let me rephrase that. I had a Hairy commute home this evening! Things were going well until I got back into downtown Riverside on the 91 freeway. Then we slowed to a crawl, inching along until the CHP totally closed the road. With all the clutch action, I think my clutch master cylinder finally packed it in and started bypassing fluid. Getting the gearbox in and out of first was an iffy thing, and so was shifting into second and third once we started moving again. For the time being now, our Seven is on the forced disabled list! While it's down, I'll also look at the rear drivetrain and brakes to see if there's an assignable cause for some ominous clunks and knocks during light to moderate braking. If only for some time to do all of this!!

My car originally came with a .70" diameter clutch master cylinder. The clutch pedal has always been a leg buster, and there's no way you can hold it in for more than a few seconds. No other Seven that I've driven has been like this. I believe that most are fitted with a 5/8" diameter master cylinder. Has anyone made a swap from the .7" to the 5/8" diameter clutch master cylinders?
Best wishes,

[magnusfeuer]

Clark,

I have the 5/8 cylinder, which was a drop in replacement. It made things better, but my clutch is still quite hard thanks to the spring plate.

I have a brand new 0.7" cylinder, free for the taking, if you want it.

/Magnus F.

[Clark]

Hi Magnus,
I appreciate your offer for the .7" diameter master cylinder, but my car already has significant Feuer content! Assuming my manhandling of the box during the last few miles of my commute didn't cause any significant harm, your old T9 gearbox is still working great! Seriously, if sourcing a 5/8" master cylinder proves too difficult, I might eat my words and make you a deal for the one you offered.

I have a theory that the .7" cylinders were intended for race cars, and due to Caterham inventory issues, ended up on some road cars. When my car was new, Jon Nelson at RMSCI set up my pedals so the brake and clutch were approximately even. I got used to driving it that way, never needing to fully depress the clutch. Then one day while I was trying to get my car through the smog referee (pre SB-100), the referee must have depressed the pedal to the floor, and in so doing caused the input shaft centered slave cylinder to blow out and disgourge all of its contents. How he drove the car from the back of their building to the front baffles me. So there I was, no smog certificate and a broken car, all from the same state government mandated regulatory shop! After towing my car home, I pulled out the drivetrain, put in a new slave cylinder from Ford ($$$) and adjusted the clutch pedal so the friction point occurred about an inch and a half from the floor. This also made my pedal heights considerably different, with the clutch much lower than the brake. But so far anyone driving the car hasn't noticed or complained.

Next week I will begin with our local Caterham distributor to see if he has a master cylinder in stock. Failing that, I will try Beachman Racing and Dave Bean to see what they have available.

Best wishes,

[magnusfeuer]

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...FQ4BaQodWHoA4g

In stock, if somewhat expenseive.

/Magnus F.

[Papak]

Clark,

Summit Racing has a Wilwood ⅝" master (essentially the same as the Girling) for $75.00.

K

[Clark]

Hi Magnus,
I should have thought about Pegasus Racing. I know they carry this kind of hydraulic brake and clutch stuff. Thanks for the tip and the help you've provided!
Best wishes,

[Clark]

Is this the Wilwood unit you're referring to: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wi...2636/overview/ ?
It looks like our Girling units, but sells for less than $50.

I appreciate the tip!

[Papak]

That's the one. These were the masters supplied on my Birkin. I've used them on other cars. Absolutely reliable.

[Doug Liedblad]

Clark

Be sure you don't have a metric thread on it. Until they went all metric the lines were metric on one end and SAE on the other. I believe the metric nuts have a line cut in the middle of the flats.

[Clark]

With 90K miles on the odo, and a good number of those being accumulated, um, enthusiastically in a spirited manner, my Caterham has had some issues lately that are chronicled in this forum. First off, I purchased a .62" diameter Girling clutch master cylinder to replace the .70" diameter one originally installed by the factory. It bolted up perfectly and this coming weekend I plan to bleed the hydraulic fluid. With air displaced by fluid, I'll make whatever pedal position adjustments are needed, and if necessary, fabricate and install a pedal stop. Right now, my fingers are crossed that this new master cylinder and pedal position adjustments will make a significant reduction in pedal pressure to operate the clutch.

Next topic is the knocking and thumping sounds I've been hearing while braking with light to moderate pedal pressure. The sounds were coming from the rear hubs or suspension, and I've been trying to locate the source for the past year or so. Frequency of the sounds was at wheel rotation speed. Finally, I put the Seven up on jack stands and disassembled almost everything from the A-frame back. Several things caught my attention, but no evidence of an obviously smoking gun. During this process I've been in contact with Bruce at Beachman Racing, and he's been a good source of information and ideas. Since my first suspicion was warped rotors (they are almost new!) I took the hubs and rotors to my friends at Tire Pros, and they did a run out check for me. One disc had about 3-mils, and the other about 4-mils. No smoking gun here either. So I told the machinist to go ahead and re-surface the discs just to true them up, and that's when we found it! One of the rotors had a hollow depression on one side! Naturally, it wasn't the side we had checked. I hope now with this "assignable cause" corrected, braking will be smooth again. Now, on to the A-frame. Close inspection of the center bushing at the DeDion axel connection point shows a lot of wear; probably a half-inch of play. Bruce says he has the three A-frame bushings, so I've asked for a quote and delivery options. He also recommends replacing all the suspension bushings considering the car's age and high mileage. I'm thinking he's probably right! More to come.
Best wishes,