Welcome to the Purplemeanie build blog of our Caterham 420R. We hope you enjoy our trials and tribulations during and after the build. Please leave us a comment and tell us what you think.

Where to Start

For my most popular video take a look at “Build a Caterham 420R in 30 minutes”

For more reading…

  • If you want join us on the journey from the beginning then take a look at this post: Build Blog Index
  • If you’d like to see a bit about us then please take a look at our About page.
  • If you just want to skip to the latest news then take a look at the Blog.
  • We’ve also put a Gallery together if that’s your thing.
  • If videos are your thing then take a look at what we’ve posted to YouTube: YouTube Videos
  • If my ramblings aren’t enough for you then you can find a whole different bunch of other blogs in this post here.
  • … and some might like to jump to my tools and trinkets here.

Latest Posts


  • Caterham 420R Front Right Scan

    Caterham 420R Front Right Scan

    Post Views: 9 Here’s a scan I’ve recently done of the front right of my 420R. It’s not water tight by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re looking for something to show you where all the bits and pieces tie together, then this should be ok. Files: OBJ 3MF I find the 3MF…


  • Caterham TIE ROD LEVER – PRE 2015

    Caterham TIE ROD LEVER – PRE 2015

    Post Views: 8 This steering arm was scanned as a request from UberNiche for a project he’s working on. In the end it was scanned by an Einscan HX  in structured-light mode. I tried using the Einstar but it struggled to get into the holes of the part. Scanning juice was used to try and…


  • SimplE Engine Cooling – Low Flying

    SimplE Engine Cooling – Low Flying

    Post Views: 5 On the back of the YouTube video I also wrote up a short engine cooling explainer for the Caterham & Lotus Seven Club’s monthly magazine, Low Flying. More info here… Simple Engine Cooling Explained


  • Caterham Duratec S3 Engine Mount RHS

    Caterham Duratec S3 Engine Mount RHS

    Post Views: 3 This model was generated from a scan of the engine mount and modeled in Fusion 360.  NOTE: The engine mount I modeled had about a 1mm bulge in the engine plate which is not accounted for in the model. Link to Model OBJ


  • Caterham Duratec S3 Engine Mount LHS

    Caterham Duratec S3 Engine Mount LHS

    Post Views: 8 This model was generated from a scan of the engine mount and modeled in Fusion 360.  NOTE: The engine mount I modeled had about a 1mm bulge in the engine plate which is not accounted for in the model. Link to Model OBJ


  • Simple Engine Cooling Explained

    Simple Engine Cooling Explained

    Post Views: 72  Finally after nearly 5 years of work (on and off) I’ve published my Caterham Duratec Cooling video to YouTube. This video was the result of some pretty off the cuff comments made when I was first building my Caterham kit car. I posted about how the cooling worked on my car (after…


  • Differential Trolley Plate

    Differential Trolley Plate

    Post Views: 10 Here’s a 3D model of the thing I attach to my trolley jack to allow me to lift a Caterham differential into the car by myself. Link to 3D Model OBJ


  • Differential Carrier 3D Model

    Differential Carrier 3D Model

    Post Views: 14 Here’s a 3D scan of my Caterham “BMW” Differential Carrier. Link to OBJ