Twin Cam Engine Colour

[rodbean]

Brian Walton wrote:


Now this inquiry is very timely for me as I'm putting my engine back
together and noticed the old gray needs refreshing. I'll be very
interested in responses. Normally high temp paints in the US are red or
black.

Rod
Elans; S1 & S2

[paul_adamson]

----- Original Message -----


Well Brian....

You're not going to like this....
I have it on relatively good authority (that way back when the elans were
being built)
Lotus's credit was not particularly good around the factory area.
They tended to pay bills a bit late.
rumour has it that when ever they ran out of engine paint, they would send
some poor soul
out to find whatever grey he could acquire.

So, in the interests of originality - get some grey engine paint.

Paul Adamson.

PS. QED (Quorn Engine Development's) in the UK supply "Original Engine
Paint"
I wonder how they do that?

PPS. I bought some.

[saarhus]

Check out the Lycoming gray engine enamel (good heat resistance). It should
be very close to whatever the shade of gray is.
Stan
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, August 09, 1999 6:30 AM
Subject: Re: [lotuselan] Twin Cam Engine Colour

[Brian Walton]

Has anybody discovered the correct colour gray that is required when
painting the Twin Cam.

Thanks

Brian Walton

[types26/36]

I have examined the remains of original gray on several Twin Cam engines,
from early Elan to late Europa. They were all very nearly the same gray
(despite the tall tales of Graham Arnold), and a very close match which is
easily available in the US is NAPA Engine Enamel #626 Universal Gray
(formerly Ford Gray). With proper cleaning of the surface this paint
adheres well (even to aluminum) and withstands engine temp.

Randall
Randall Fehr Restorations
Seattle USA


At 19:42 8/9/99 -0700, Brian Walton wrote:

[donselan]

This is probably sacrilege but I painted mine Ford blue.
Don Fysh

[stevep]

Hi all, I need some advice, following an incident on Saturday, when number 4 spark plug let loose and hit the underside of the bonnet! I was always a bit worried about the thread, you know, doesn't quite feel right when screwing the plug in by hand. What is the best way to repair the thread, helicoil or are there better methods? Should I get the other plug threads done as well? I've also decided to rebuild the engine whilst it is out, has anyone had the machining done recently, an approximate cost would be nice. I live in Somerset (England) if anyone can recommend a machine shop in the Bristol area, then I'd be grateful. Cheers Steve P.S. Thanks to all the +2 owners who keep sending me email, it inspires me when mine is sitting outside, having failed again for another bodge by the P.O.

[Hansruedi Kaeser <Hans]

Steve !
As an alternative to helicoiling the plug threads, "WUERTH" have a repair
system which consists of a double threaded bush .It is accepted as a repair
method by many car manufacturers ( i.e. BMW ) .Unfortunately I cannot give
you an adress of "WUERTH" in the UK, but they should be easy to find !
Regarding an engine rebuild I would recommend you to choose a firm which has
experience with the twin-cam engine .This is especially important with the
cylinder head .It pays in the long term to travel a few miles more.
My Sprint head has been rebuilt by QED and I can rate their work as very
good.They work with these engines for decades.
Their website is at :

http://www.qednet.demon.co.uk/

Hope this helps!
Regards
Hansruedi K.
71 Sprint FHC

[rodbean]

Hansruedi Kaeser wrote:


In the US, Keenserts are double threaded bushes that do this job. They work
well in many applications but require enough room for their larger diameter as
compared to the original threaded hole or a Helicoil. I've known twin cam plug
holes to be Helicoiled but not Keenserted. That isn't to say it's not a good
idea though... bears some investigation.

Rod

[rsfehr]

Helicoil is probably the best answer. The hole is only slightly enlarged
for the Helicoil insert, whereas bushes need a larger hole and thus risk of
cutting into a coolant passage in the casting. But it's best to leave this
to a machine shop with Twin Cam experience - easy to make a very expensive
mistake here.

Randall


At 04:26 8/16/99 -0700, Rod wrote:

[paul_adamson]

The other thing for the plug hole is that QED could lay some weld into the
plug hole then retap the plug thread.
This is of cource a spechalist job.

Brian
---------------------o0o------------------
Brian Scally
Home eMail
mailto:[email protected]
Work eMail
mailto:[email protected]

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 16, 1999 8:57 AM
Subject: [lotuselan] Twin Cam.

[brian wilson]

I;m having my twi cam rebuilt and the crank is cracked!

As i was converting to unleaded, i have been advised to use a Cortina 1600
crank which will give 1780 cc and make up for the power loss on premium (97
octane) unleaded.

Any views or advice or comments?

[BrianMartley]

Brian,

Is this using the 1600 cross-flow block as well ? If it's the one which uses
a spacer on the front cover, there's going to be quite some costs involved ?

If it's not this conversion, then I'd be interested to know the details -
just in case

Brian

[brian wilson]

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Martley [SMTP:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, 24 August 1999 6:51
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [lotuselan] Twin Cam Rebuild

Brian to Brian
According to my engineering guru the escort crank and rods fit with special short pistons (1740cc)

Brian

From: "Brian Martley" <[email protected]>

Brian,

Is this using the 1600 cross-flow block as well ? If it's the one which uses
a spacer on the front cover, there's going to be quite some costs involved ?

If it's not this conversion, then I'd be interested to know the details -
just in case

Brian




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------------------------------------------------------------------------

[elancoupe]

Ford "uprated " Cortina crank, standard 125 rods, which were suitably
tweaked by the builder, and special short height pistons, suitably cut down
for proper compression. This last part is important,if you do want to use
street unleaded gas. I went for 10.25/1. With fairly mild cams I have seen
117 hp/113lb/ft of torque at the rear wheels.

Mike B