Hamish I'm tailing you...

[1964 S1]

oooh oooh Now I'm 3rd gear and accelerating, watch your mirrors. What are our thoughts about this Elan page. I read a lotta stuff about tools and repairs and Brit Bashing Dependabiltiy but over here in the states I've got these two old Elans that just keep going and going.... am I missing some key link to troubles and breakdowns others just seem to endure regularly? What's the view from Scotland ?

[avhation]

I cannot really speak for Scotland, but the roads in post-Thatcher England are much worse than before. So the cost of road maintenance has been conveniently transferred to car owners;especially when tempted to use the Elan's handling potential.

[Hamish Coutts]

I think your just lucky. I've had cars that seem to run for ever without a spanner ever being near them.
These being:
1973 - Mk1 Lotus Cortina (ally boot bonnet & doors and A frame back suspenders) Loved that car . Sold it to get married. Mmmm, not sure if I got a good deal there
1974 - Ford escort Mk1 1300GT (Thats what you get for being married )
1978 - MK4 2 litre Ford Cortina estate. (needed it for my business). It did have big Wolfrace wheels. Handled very well.
1991 - Pugeot 305 diesel estate - well I did have a young family and 2 dogs at the time. (I would have driven that car to the moon and back, it was so reliable)
1992 to 2002. Recent Citreons both petrol & diesel. They went on without a hiccup. Right through my divorce
All these cars pefrormed faultlessly. They did a high milage as I was commuting about 100 miles a day and then driving up to the highlands at the weekends for outdoor activities. Didn't even get a puncture. When you're up North the roads are fab and it is VERY tempting to 'get a move on'.

However, on the other hand there are cars that have been real problem children (otherwise known as British Leyland and European jobs)
These were:
1967 to 1974 - Numerous minis. I used to rally these. Mechanically crap but boy, did they handle well . Being tiny, they couldn't half be thrown about in the forest . Miss a gear, though and it was a rebuild . Had zippers on the engine mountings.
1982 - Lancia delta saloon. Corosion city! Very soft car that kept breaking. Wonderful driving position.
1993 - Citroen BX19 TD. Wouldn't pass a Citroen garage without breaking down . VERY expensive parts. NOT a classic car. One big fluid leak . Fab on bumpy roads - VERY much needed in Edinburgh . Also carried a full tool kit and spares!
2001 onwards - VW Golfs. Both petrol & diesel. My partner couldn't see past them. She thought they were marvelous. Mmmm. Never seen so many annoying faults. VERY expensive to repair. How about ?250 to repair a broken glove box lock (they had to replace the whole glove box) or ?750 for a clutch that had only done 10,000 miles. ("must be your driving style" the VW person said ). There's more but I won't bore you with it. Seems that VWs need many special tools that only the trade have? I will never knowingly buy a modern VW again.

That brings me to LOTUS.
Don't think the PO looked after it all that well. Don't blame the guy as I don't think he was all that knowledgable mechanically. After a couple of years the car is coming to rights. It's been a long haul - about 600 hrs so far and Lotus Elasn.net has been a tremendous help.
Mechanically it's been a nut & bolt strip and rebuild of suspension, brakes, drive shafts, engine, steering, rad, fan and most other moving parts at god knows what cost. At least I know the car now!
It's feeling nice now. Solid and smooth but could do with some serious attention from Keith on the carbs. (hope you're listening keith - fancy a trip to Scotland, huh? Could have a blast on these lovely quiet Highland roads to test the 'carbies')
The engine that I rebuilt is nearly run in and sounding good. My current problem is a corroding fuel tank which blocks the fuel filter every 50+ miles. My next challenge. Annoying, but I know that I can solve that one as I have solved the others if I am patient.
The car is gradually becoming more stable fault wise and subsequently, more reliable. My confidence in it is growing. It has cost us a fortune and a lot of hard work. It has left me stranded in the wilds on a wet night.
Would I sell it - good god no!! I can see it far enough sometimes but I would hate to be without it. Get that car on the open road and it's my idea of heaven - Cathy thinks so too. (Canned heat are playing on CD just now and the track is 'On the Road Again', how appropriate)

My aim is to get the car running like a turbine, and I won't have to carry a full toolkit. That's next year in March when we take the Lotus up to Skye to get married. This time I'm not loosing a Lotus later in the year we are going to France (Le Mans historique ) and Silverstone (Historic GP stuff )

Hopefully, I'll be lucky then and have a car that just runs and runs - like yours!!

Catch up? no chance . I've sill a lot of posting to do.

Kindest regards,

Hamish.

[type26owner]

Hamish,
I'll just plant an idea here. Since you're part of a club, you should suggest the club purchase one of these wide band O2 digital meters to share. I can direct you on what to do remotely. You just send me your Logworks files and I'll tell you what to try as far as jetting the choices goes. After someone has done it from start to finish once they will catch on how it's done. If you do exactly what I say it's really quite easy. To do it yourself and get good results is quite a gratifying experience. It really blows my mind no one other than John Passini has figured this stuff out in the forty plus years the DCOE has existed.

My passport is current, just awaiting my ticket!

[1964 S1]

I do feel lucky, owning an Elan S1 and a +2, plus a pair of Peugeot 505 turbo stick sedans (bullet proof BMW snackers), (I've put enough miles on Peugeots to actually go to the moon and back) I'm happy, although my Saab driving wife and I agree enjoying all four would be much more pleasant on your side of the ocean.
I ditto your opinion on VW, I'm not sure what's happening there. I'm in the used car biz here and have learned to avoid buying them even tho' they seem to have a devout and happy following.

Take care, Eric

[Hamish Coutts]

Keith,

Good idea. I will certainly ask.

Right now, though, I wouldn't know one of these devices if it bit me in the backside.
Would you be kind enough to suggest a couple of options? and/or a website.

Regards,

Hamish.

[type26owner]

http://www.tuneyourengine.com
Here's a list of stuff you'll need which will cost around $1000.
LM-1 & LMA-2 $425
Weber TPS kit $150 Webcon UK
Weber mainjets 95,100,105
Weber air correctors 120,130,140,150,160
Weber emulsion tube F7

You must build a 5vdc power supply to power the TPS. The chip costs $1.50 and the aluminum box another $5. The cable from the LM-1 to the computer is a serial type so if you've got USB sockets only then you'll need an adapter.

If you go into the forum I've been advising Klaus who has a Caterham how-to proceed tuning the Webers. Success is virtually guaranteed if you follow my advice. This is not rocket science and it's not that hard to do on your own. I have strived to remove the voodoo aspect connected with this subject completely. There is no reason you have to tolerate poorly tuned Webers anymore.

[Hamish Coutts]

Keith,

Thanks for the link - I will have a good look at this.

One minor problem - my car has Dellortos. I know this is a very broad statement but, generally, if I get the Dellorto version of what you suggest would that work?

There are a few guys in Club Lotus Scotland that have Dellortos so I'll see if I can get them to join in as you suggest. Obviously, I'll ask the weber guys as well.

Appreciate your help,

Hamish.

[type26owner]

Well you've got me stumped on the Dellortos. I have zero experience with them. If they truely are clones of DCOEs then I'd say confidently that this stuff applies. The AFM will give you insights of the combustion process which was impossible by old ways. That statement I can stand by with confidence.

[Hamish Coutts]

Keith,

I never, ever thought I would see you say that. Very honest of you.

I am more than happy to give it a go and if we all learn something from it then great! I am delghted if you learn something as well. I will ask the guys at CL because I can't really justify spending that amount of money on my own. Hopefully I will be successful with them.

Regards,

Hamish.

[rgh0]

Hamish

The 45 DHLA Delortos on my Esprit and 40 DHLA's on my plus 2 are functionally identical to the 45 DCOE and 40 DCOE Webers I have used on my Elan . The only differences are in design details where the DHLA's are better than the 40 DCOE's which were built down to a price. The 45 DCOE are a better designed carb than the 40 DCOE and are more comparable to the DHLA's.

Overall all of Keith stuff will work equally well on a Delorto just some of the details such as the correct fuel level will need work to detemine the right point to measure it from and the correct value.

Rohan