Caterham 270s self build question
Discussion
Hi all,
Ive been looking at caterhams recently and have decided on the 270, with the S package, and various otter carbon goodies..
I would love the feeling of having built it my self, I would be a novice though and this would be my first build. I did read that the 160 could be attended by a novice, could the same be said for the 270?
Cheers
James
Ive been looking at caterhams recently and have decided on the 270, with the S package, and various otter carbon goodies..
I would love the feeling of having built it my self, I would be a novice though and this would be my first build. I did read that the 160 could be attended by a novice, could the same be said for the 270?
Cheers
James
Caterhams are pretty simple by modern car standards and can be built by a complete novice.
However, some past knowledge of working on cars, like oil changes, bleeding brakes and changing pads and a healthy dose of common sense will help you avoid pitfalls.
I wouldn't attempt it if you've never picked up a spanner before unless you have a friend/relative close by who can offer advice.
Besides, you'll need a second pair of hands to get the engine/gearbox and the diff in.
It is great fun ad very satisfying if you don't set yourself too tight a deadline
However, some past knowledge of working on cars, like oil changes, bleeding brakes and changing pads and a healthy dose of common sense will help you avoid pitfalls.
I wouldn't attempt it if you've never picked up a spanner before unless you have a friend/relative close by who can offer advice.
Besides, you'll need a second pair of hands to get the engine/gearbox and the diff in.
It is great fun ad very satisfying if you don't set yourself too tight a deadline
I built my first Caterham, an R400, earlier this year.i didn't find anything too difficult but I have experience working on road and race cars, F Renault and F3.
I also think I'm pretty well 'tooled up'. Engine hoist, axle stands, large set of both metric and imperial scanners and sockets, various torque wrenches etc, but up over years.
I thought the quality of the kit provided was pretty good, though, as seems to be normal, there were a few, quickly rectified, shortages. I had a small number of queries that I needed to get explanation for; the manual is OK but leaves a bit to be desired.
A few tips:
Do read the manual before you start, then read it again. You can download it and print it if you must. I had a PC in the garage and had the manual on it. If you do it that way, make a little index of key pages, eg where the manuals own index is, where the torque setting table is, etc. That saves a lot of time scrolling about.
Get it clear which bits are applicable to your build. Some sections are repeated for different cars, especially around the gearbox bit. I've read blogs where people have moaned about finding that they have assembled things in the wrong way, because they've misread the manual. In my mind the manual is accurate but easy to misread. Hope that makes sense?
I would also recommend following the recommended build order in the manual. Again, some builders think they know better and don't foresee the issues they then cause. There is quite a well publicised blog where the builder has had repeated gearbox issues but if you read the blog, the build sequence was ignored and it seems quite likely that is why there have been subsequent issues, IMO.
It took me about the sort of hours Caterham say, maybe 80/90 but spread over several weeks. My car went back to CC for a post build check and there was very little wrong apparently, so it's possible to get a first time build right!
Good luck!!
I also think I'm pretty well 'tooled up'. Engine hoist, axle stands, large set of both metric and imperial scanners and sockets, various torque wrenches etc, but up over years.
I thought the quality of the kit provided was pretty good, though, as seems to be normal, there were a few, quickly rectified, shortages. I had a small number of queries that I needed to get explanation for; the manual is OK but leaves a bit to be desired.
A few tips:
Do read the manual before you start, then read it again. You can download it and print it if you must. I had a PC in the garage and had the manual on it. If you do it that way, make a little index of key pages, eg where the manuals own index is, where the torque setting table is, etc. That saves a lot of time scrolling about.
Get it clear which bits are applicable to your build. Some sections are repeated for different cars, especially around the gearbox bit. I've read blogs where people have moaned about finding that they have assembled things in the wrong way, because they've misread the manual. In my mind the manual is accurate but easy to misread. Hope that makes sense?
I would also recommend following the recommended build order in the manual. Again, some builders think they know better and don't foresee the issues they then cause. There is quite a well publicised blog where the builder has had repeated gearbox issues but if you read the blog, the build sequence was ignored and it seems quite likely that is why there have been subsequent issues, IMO.
It took me about the sort of hours Caterham say, maybe 80/90 but spread over several weeks. My car went back to CC for a post build check and there was very little wrong apparently, so it's possible to get a first time build right!
Good luck!!
James,
Some great tips from Realist.
I built my Supersport R in 2013/2014 and although frustrating at times it was a great experience. Highly recommended. I like to tinker with cars and bikes, but I feel that the kit is more like a big boys meccano kit.
You can buy a Toolkit from Caterham that contains most of the items required for the build.
Take a look at my blog if you want to get a feel for it. I spoke with other members building theirs at the same time and there are some references in my blog to theirs.
http://caterham-capers.blogspot.co.uk/
Really great thing to do and always a great feeling when people ask about the car.
Any questions, feel free to drop me a message. :-)
Gregs
Some great tips from Realist.
I built my Supersport R in 2013/2014 and although frustrating at times it was a great experience. Highly recommended. I like to tinker with cars and bikes, but I feel that the kit is more like a big boys meccano kit.
You can buy a Toolkit from Caterham that contains most of the items required for the build.
Take a look at my blog if you want to get a feel for it. I spoke with other members building theirs at the same time and there are some references in my blog to theirs.
http://caterham-capers.blogspot.co.uk/
Really great thing to do and always a great feeling when people ask about the car.
Any questions, feel free to drop me a message. :-)
Gregs
Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff