Exhaust & Cooling

I had hoped that by the time I was writing this the front end would be all wrapped up, unfortunately it's not quite there.

Exhaust

I had already fitted the steering column when I came to fit the exhaust, which I thought was a sensible play, seeing as access to that region would be hampered once the exhaust was in. If you follow the order for the pipe installation as suggested in the assembly guide then the pipes can be installed pretty easily. This is in contrast to what I read later, that said it was impossible with the steering column fitted!

Four exhaust pipes - getting on the nuts to torque them is a challenge

Fitting the collector to the exhaust pipes once installed is more challenging due to the reverse springs Caterham use to hold it all in place. The springs are pretty hard to compress, with that in mind I came up with what I think is a pretty neat solution. If you attach one end of the spring to one of the retaining hooks and then use a screwdriver (or similar) in the other end of the spring, you can lever off the other retaining hook to compress the spring. When the spring is compressed secure in this fully compressed position using 3 to 4 cable ties. With a fully compressed spring it is much easier to install over each of the hooks without involving large forces. Note that it still required some filing of the retaining hooks as even the fully compressed spring would not fit over the span.

Installed spring

Full assembly with heat shield - I hope the positioning is ok

Cooling System

Fitting the radiator hoses, radiator expansion tank and cooling fan is fairly straightforward - and it starts to make it look like a proper car! What is less clear is the poorly worded description in the assembly guide for what happens next. I resorted to doodling out two views of the engine bay and where I thought the cooling fluid should be going.

Radiator and expansion tank installed

In summary:

• Use the hose marked as a fuel hose to run from the header tank around to the rear of the exhaust side of the engine, where there is an "L" shaped fixture. 
• Fit the plastic "T" piece to the short "L" shaped hose and then fit the long "L" shaped hose to the "T" piece. 
• Trial fit this assembly to the engine (short "L" positioned with the "T" piece at the top) and cut the long "L" shaped hose to fit to the expansion tank. Remove trial fit assembly.
• Now fit the long straight hose to the other end of the "T" piece. 
• Install this entire assembly to the engine as before now clamping everything down. Note that the straight hose runs beneath the air inlets for each cylinder and along the top of the fuel rail.
• Install the heater (if not done already)
• Use excess "J" hose to create two pieces to run from the heater to the control valve
• I would recommend installing the control valve at this point and verifying the control from inside the cabin. 
• Now trial fit the "J" hose to the rear RHS of the engine. and trim to length. 
• Fit the "J" hose and the straight hose from the "T" piece to the heater control valve. 

Air box

There is very little information about the air box in the assembly guide, so I just made it up as I went along... Mounting to the car via rubber mounts is easy enough, then the filter slots in. There were then some metal inserts to fit into the trunking. Once these were installed, the ridged end of the trunking could then be fitted to the upper air box. Then use the large band clamp to attach the shorter section of trunking to the engine. Finally, fit the upper air box to the lower air box and you are done!

Installed Air Box