What's that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men, or perhaps more accurately, the best laid plans of car projects and men? Since putting in the Caterham order in May, my plans have been to build the engine over my Christmas break. The head, cams and all the Raceline bits were ordered in mid July and the short block in early October. The Raceline bits save the all important cam chain tensioner arrived in time, the cams still have no ETA, so the head work can't be completed, and the short block which was on track at the end of November, still isn't here. At this point, the only part that I have no confidence in ever arriving are the cams. The backup plan is to order the RDL270 from Raceline.  I'll call them on Monday to ensure they can supply them within a month, then call Esslinger. If they can't guarantee them (doubtful given the delays are at the cam grinder) then I'll make the change. Not optimal for a couple of reasons. First, I prefer an asymmetric setup given the flow differences between the intake and exhaust sides of the heads. And second, the Raceline cams are only available in the Kent blanks that use their own adjustable, but unmarked, cam gears, while I have a nice set of adjustable verniers that only fit the Ford OEM blanks.  Oh well...

Since I am bored and can't do a lot over my break on this project, I decided to move a few things around the garage to see if I can make everything fit when the Caterham finally arrives. That comes in a crate the size of a car (obviously) which will need to stay in the garage for about a week. That means instead of the usual four cars in the shop, I will have the equivalent of six. A little juggling and...

...there is plenty of room for the crate and Caterham in the space usually occupied by the Westfield and Elan. For reference, the width from the front of the cabinets to the ramp for the midrise lift under the 993 is nearly 21 feet. Once the crate is broken apart and ready for disposal, I'll put either the Elan or Westfield in its place and store the other car in front of the 993 (i.e. where the Westfield is in the photo above.)  Something to be said about small cars...

The Caterham order is now locked with the factory and remains on track for a build date the week of 2/6.  After further consideration, I've made a few small tweaks to the spec and build plan.  These include: 

• Heated carbon fiber seats.  Yes, on the surface, electrically heated seats may seem incongruous with a car that's about weight and driver focus not comfort and luxury, but upon closer examination they make perfect sense.  They're much lighter than a heater, and although I don't expect them to fully offset the fact I've gone heaterless, given the temps I drive the car for pleasure, they should be enough to take the edge off. They'll also come in handy soothing my back in case the Tillets aren't quite as comfortable as the Westfield's MOGs for long drives.
• No Track suspension upgrade.  A big concern for this car is the ability to put down power on less than ideal pavement; I don't want to get sideways on a narrow road when passing a rolling pylon.  After a lot of research, I've decided to go aftermarket with shocks and springs and ordered a set of CORE dampers from Meteor Motorsport.  The front are a digressive valve with linear springs while the rears are normally valved but with progressive springs.  Simon believes this combination will give the best performance.  For more information about why this specific combo, see the overview here.
• 3.92 rear diff rather than the longer 3.64.  My dealer was unconvinced Caterham would honor the diff swap request and given I'm unsure on the shape of the torque curve on the new engine, staying stock for now seemed like the better bet.  If the traction control doesn’t work well, then swapping to the 3.64 may be on the winter upgrade list next year.  
• Speaking of traction control, I've decided to stick with the Emerald K6+ native TC rather than use the Race TCS system.  Although I have more confidence in the latter working better, I might as well start with the cheaper option.  Emerald is working on the custom ECU loom now.
• Jenvey 50mm DTHTB vs the larger 52mm.  Dyno tests from Raceline and Esslinger show the smaller set flow more than enough for my power targets and should have a slight edge on idle and low-mid range given the increased air velocity.  As for velocity stacks, there are only two choices in this size: 40mm and 93mm.  I'd prefer to use a cold air box and not cut the bonnet, so I'm starting with the shorter set but reserve the right to make dramatic changes here based on dyno results and how I feel about the torque curve after driving the car.  Longer is definitely better for all but the top of the rev range, but I'm not yet sure I'll need improvements down low.
• As for cam selection, I opted for the Esslinger Stage 4 cams.  They should more than meet my power target and I do like they are an asymmetric setup vs the symmetric setup of the Raceline RDL 270 (interestingly, the more aggressive RDL 300 are asymmetric.)  The downside to this choice is COVID supply chain issues.  When I placed the order in mid-July I was told they were out-of-stock and would take 4-5 weeks to ship.  Five months later and I still don't have an ETA on when Esslinger's cam grinder will have the blanks for my set.  It's beyond frustrating.

Fortunately, the supply chain problems haven't had further impact (yet), as witnessed with the big pile of parts in my garage.