Today we had the setup day for the cars, where we had a tour of the Factory and were shown the concepts, terms and adjustments that can and should be made to the car.

I have created a video the of Simon Lamberts setup talk for the cars and once I have had a chance to turn the orientation round I will look at posting some or all of it on U-Tube. but if anyone wants a copy you can download it below.

It was a good day we got to see the SP300R as there was one at the factory where they had been testing earlier in the week, all I can say is ... I want one !!!!.
 
I also took one of my caterham wheels to show Simon, as during the week i checked that the tyres met thier race rules, and my tyres did not have the "Caterham" stamp on them, which would mean they would fail scrutineering.

Caterham were under the impression that all tyres after week 16 of 2010 had caterham on them either in small or large writing, it would appear that this is not the case as my tyres proved. It appears that there will be an amendment for the rules on this to remove the need to have Caterham on the tyres, but the tyre must be after week 16 of 2010 (which is when they were started to be manufactured in the UK instead of China).

So hopefully I will find out in the next few weeks that the rules have changed so that my car is legal on that point.

Most evenings this week have been about the build of the car. I have
1) installed the oil breather system (worth reading the Build tips as this is not straight forward)
2) move the 7 infront of the grille on the noce cone (see the build tips section for some pictures)
3) installed the Fuel Tap (again there are some pictures and instructions on the Build tips section)
4) Installed a power supply socket to the boot
5) Sealed the boot with aluminium tape and fire sealant
6) added the padding to the roll cage
7) installed the second mirror to the drivers side windscreen stantion (and removed the door mirrors)
8) adjusted the wrist restraints ready for use (I may try them at donnington)
9) Fitted the upgraded front brake pads
10) finished the plastic bolts for the rear wing (only had the passenger side to do as i had already fitted the drivers side when I fitted the side impact bar)

All in all a busy week which means that the car is very nearly ready for track. I need to decide on the seat, get the HANS device fitted and get teh flat floor setup done (but will find out about that in more detail tomorrow as we are off to Caterham for a talk on Setting up the car). 

Well I have started on the list of things to do in order to get ready for the racing, which has involved

- Putting the seven in front of the grille in the nose cone
- adding the Fuel Tap to the fuel line
- checked that there is yellow tape on the black battery leads
- Putting tape between windscreen and Roll cage to stop rain
- Fitting the second Mirror i purchased from DEmon Tweeks in the week
- Changing the nose cone Seven to be in front of the Grille (I also painted the seven red)
- Starting the breather kit installation... which i will say is extremely hard....
    ***** once I have completed the installation of the breather kit (I am waiting for some hose from caterham) I will put up how it was done as it is not a simple installation, and involves getting the wife (or someone with small hands to help).

Even with all of the above there is still plenty to do....

Well the car has been sitting in my garage for a week, and without any TLC at all due to work. Luckily my friend Jim has arrived for the weekend and we have been through the boxes, the parts list and the manual in an attempt to check off the parts that ere delivered. (not an easy task). I also tried to contact Caterham today with a couple of questions on parts (or ones we were not are should / shouldn't be there), unfortunately Caterham build services do not work on the weekend, so this will have to wait till Monday.
I have published a few photo's of the checking process, we had to do it outside so my karate mats came in handy for laying on the floor so we could spread the parts out and check them off. If you are planning on checking the boxes that you get in your kit I recommend ordering some good weather and doing it outside if you can.

The car arrived today, and was put into it's new home. I can recomend not having an ankle injury when you have your car delivered as you and the driver will be moving the car and the boxes yourselves. and with a dodgy ankle.. trust me it hurts...
Still all was moved and with minimal fuss and confustion. The boxes were put in the garage and the car splaced on its temporary home... the four axle stands which have been provided by my friend Steve from "SC Auto Service" in Flitwick.  

It has been several months since the car was ordered, and i have cleared the garage, brought the axle stands, and done the necessary prep work, 
in readiness for the car's Arrival on Monday 26th September.
I am writing this on the Friday with bated breath and anticipation of what should be a good project, all be it a little apprehensive about potential hidden costs, and unknowns.