Most unsual household item used whilst working on a lotus

[dlbutler]

My wife bought a special brush for washing thermos bottles. Of course it was mislabeled - it's perfect for cleaning the intake and exhaust ports. She also bought a mislabeled BBQ grate cleaning brush. Nice stiff brass bristles, perfect for cleaning aluminum parts without risking damage. Don't forget the free tooth brushes from the Dentist, very handy for cleaning and detailing.

Don

[frearther]

Turkey basters work great to siphon brake fluid out of master cylinder reservoirs.

How did the turkey taste afterward?

[1964 S1]

I use a four foot measure "yard" stick turned on edge underneath the zipper of my tonneau to act as a water shed. I used to use an actual yard stick to measure the fuel in the tank, have since opted for a shorter small wooden dowel.

Most unusual (wasn't for a Lotus) was the kitchen floor tile grid. Decades ago I had an SCCA D-sports racer chassis and a buddy of mine and I turned it on edge, brought it through the kitchen door and set it down squarely to make sure all corners and hubs were straight and true.

Continuing slightly off topic,,,, I'll have to quiz my eighty four year old dad on this one.... His list of cars worked on at home reads'53 Morris Minor convertible, '55 Sunbeam Talbot, '57 Renault Dauphine, '63 MG 1100, '65 MG 1100, '67 Fiat 850 Coupe, with a couple of old VW campers thrown in and a two speed '63 Buick Special small aluminum block
V8 station wagon, followed by Scirroccoes, Jetta, two Benzes, and finally a Mazda sport 3..... that's chronologically. .... Now I'm wondering if there's anything in the house he DIDN'T use to keep that batch of stuff running here in the USA.

[stuartgb100]

Magnetise your screwdrivers.

Invaluable, and at no cost.

Regards,
Stuart.

[hatman]

I've got a wine bottle cork in the back of the airbox where the crankcase breather used to fit. Does that count?

[handi_andi]

Red, white or champagne?

And yes anything counts in this thread. Its just fun as well as being a source of great ideas

Andy

[hatman]

Red, white or champagne?

Red, natch.

[twincamman]

Right and non of that old stuff you had kicking around for years --give me the new stuff--- a week old at best - --ed

[handi_andi]

I was working under Lotti this afternoon and realised that one, I had the wheelie bin positioned behind me as a wind break and that a few weeks ago I used a stainless steel spatula, the one that is used for smoothing icing etc, to ease apart the front and back plates of the timing chain cover Works very nicely by the way for anyone thats about to undertake the job

cheers

Andy

[AussieJohn]

A clothes prop; one of the ones that slide and clamp with a wingnut; perfect for wheel alignment!

[handi_andi]

Now that is pure genius Aussie John!!!

Andy

[stuartgb100]

A small magnet superglued to the end of a wire coathanger.
A small piece of a mirror, ditto.

Regards,
Stuart.

[rkneeland]

2 dozen clothes pins to install a headliner.

And kid's play putty to remove the crankshaft pilot bushing, which I thought was PFM the first time I tried it (a 1/2 inch of putty jammed into the pilot bushing then insert a punch of close diameter and give it a whack. The hydraulics push out the bushing. My be obvious to seasoned vets, but I was all giggly afterwards)

[tdafforn]

wine corks again..
this time in the fuel tank vents of a +2 during winter storage..
Stops the petrol fumes..
In fact I have left one in place, gets all sorts of comments from the MOT tester, wanted to know whether it was an original fitment!
Tim

[crannyr]

Cookie sheets work real well for small parts cleaning........cookies tend to be a little gamey after.