Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Yes, my thoughts are that it's vapour pressure and not volume expansion. I'd not thought about if the process of re-calibration was a necessity, but then again I'm sure that I would have stuck it in boiling water to note where the needle settled at, if for nothing else than to assure myself that some heat would actually move the needle. (and then, knowing me, I would most likely have crudely bent the needle/spring so that it pointed to 100C ! )

On the filler tube comment, I don't recall any secondary tube inlet either but in fairness the Osprey Restoration series did try to cover a very wide range and age of cars, so maybe the earlier instruments were designed like that ?

I'll be interested to see how you get on with the project. It all seems do-able if you can just source some ether.

A filler pipe might be really short and be inside the instrument case; though there ain't much room with both Oil Pressure & Water Temp Bourdens in there.

I got my head back from Rob Morley yesterday, now with all the bits in it and anticipate doing a clay test to check valve to piston clearances tomorrow.


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Meanwhile looking into the brake pipes situation, I find that mine seem to be steel ones and a bit rusty, and the flexible pipes look pretty poor. So I ordered a new set of HEL flexible pipes about a month ago and the retailer has not yet been able to make them up because HEL (wholesale) have run out of Imperial fittings for the chassis end and seem to be on the end of a queue of indeterminate length and duration for getting more made by their subcontractor.

Since I intend to replace the 4 rigid pipes from the central junctions to the wheel arches he has suggested that I might like to consider have them made up with Metric female nuts at the wheel arches and he can then quickly make me a set of flexibles with the correct calliper fitting but with a metric long thread at the chassis end. Has anyone else here ever done that? I'm reluctant except as a last resort because it will send any future owner potty (as if I would ever sell anyway!).

So with a view to possibly getting a set of mixed thread copper pipes made specially, I've been down under the car trying to measure the lengths of copper brake pipe to make up.

Its an LHD car, I get:

Front Right 24 cm
Front Left 85 cm
Rear Right 37 cm
Rear Left ?

With the car immobile in my cluttered garage, at present I can't get at the rear left underside to measure the brake pipe. Has anyone done a pipe job before and noted down the lengths? If so how do my measurements compare with yours and how long should the left rear copper pipe be?

Hi Bill

In the1966 S1, S2 and Coupe parts manual the listed lengths are as follows

Right front - 10 inches
Left Front - 37 inches
Right Rear - 14 1/2 inches
Left Rear - 30 1/2 inches

Front Five way to rear 3 way - 76 inches

RHD master cylinder to five way - 17 inches

LHD master cylinder to Five way - 56 inches

They were not specified in mm so that conversion is up to you

hope this is of use to you and everyone else

Gary

Hi Bill,

I ended up mixing Imperial & Metric fittings on the Elan & Europa because I was converting to a tandem master cylinder and the modern m/cylinders I used had metric fittings. Hence the first lines from the m/cylinder on both cars have a metric/imperial mix.

But I'd be very reluctant to mix fittings in the manner suggested, although I suppose as far as your ownership is concerned it won't be a problem. It's just 4 very non-standard flexible hoses if I understand you correctly and would be a major nuisance should any ever get damaged & require replacement.

I replaced the flexible lines with stainless Goodridge ones on both cars and didn't have any problem in getting ones with Imperial fittings. Are you hooked on the idea of having HEL lines on the car ? If not, I think I'd look at alternative suppliers. ( I bought my last set from an Ebay seller )

Brian

Thank you Gary & Brian

I did a clay test for my piston to valves clearance check.

See writeup & photos:

elan-f15/clay-test-checking-clearance-between-valves-pistons-t26441.html

Well, I've now got a new temperature bulb holder from QED and I must admit that the bulb is an easy fit in this one. Of course I still have the problem of fixing/refilling the bulb with Ether, but as a pro-tem step, I've covered the neck of the bulb, (where the capillary tube goes in) with araldite in the hope that that might stop the leak. Not holding out much hope, because no there is no smell of Ether at all, so it may have all escaped. Hey ho. Tomorrow when the resin has set thoroughly, I'll stick the bulb in boiling water & see if I get any reading on the dial.

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I've now put the head on the block, with suitable quantities of silicone sealer on the cork gasket of the timing case. It's only finger tight on the headbolts at present. I did find that my technique of hanging the head from my engine hoist, makes mounting the head so much easier than manhandling it. For example I couldn't line up the timing case to head bolt near the dip stick, so I just removed the centre & other-side bolt, loosened the head bolts as far as possible then hoisted the head off again and did the difficult timing case bolt first while there was a few mm gap between head and block, then the other two timing case bolts, before I set it down full weight, to do the headbolts back to finger tight. about 2 to 5 ft-lbs ?

I can't find my grommet for the oil vent tube Seems silly to have to order just that one little item by internet. None of my electrical grommets suit. I may bodge something up with self-amalgamating tape until I next order a few bits & pieces, then I can order a proper grommet. I expect they are a bit of a pig to fit, while the head is on the engine and in the car though.

While the head was off over the past year, I've devised a new oil vapour vent system because I was fed up with the Inlet box system causing oil fouling on number 4 spark plug. I've clamped an alloy rambler's drink flask to the plate that covered the hole where the mech fuel pump used to be and made up a few bits of 15mm plumbing coper pipe into a T-shaped structure which goes where the old oil vent to air box pipe went, except in my new one, the airbox end is blocked so the vapour/wast oil goes down the long arm of the T via a bendy pipe, down into the green alloy flask. If much oil accumulates there it will of course be extremely difficult to drain it, I'll probably just suck it out with a turkey baster, from time to time. I'm not too sure about this idea though as it's mounted there under the carbs, though I doubt that the oil vapour is hot enough to be a problem is it?

billwill wrote: I'm not too sure about this idea though as it's mounted there under the carbs, though I doubt that the oil vapour is hot enough to be a problem is it?

Presuming the flask vents to atmosphere (it would have to) I doubt the vapour would cause a problem except you may find that the fumes get drawn into the cabin and you will smell them.

types26/36 wrote:

billwill wrote: I'm not too sure about this idea though as it's mounted there under the carbs, though I doubt that the oil vapour is hot enough to be a problem is it?

Presuming the flask vents to atmosphere (it would have to) I doubt the vapour would cause a problem except you may find that the fumes get drawn into the cabin and you will smell them.

Ah, true...

Pride before the fall.

There was I, really happy that I've fitted the new head, with silicone sealer as gasket goo, put on the sprockets, all nicely line up proper-like, done those obstinate timing-case to head bolts, torqued the headbolts etc etc.

Then I went to put on the exhaust pipes and remembered after fruitless jiggling that on this car with forked exhaust manifolds, you HAVE to put the exhaust pipes in roughly the right place BEFORE you put the head on.

So now I'm faced with either taking the head off again and probably wrecking the timing case cork gasket in the process or holding up the weight of the engine somehow and taking out the left side engine mount, to get the exhaust pipes in. Grr.

I notice that one of the 4 bolts into the block on the left side is missing, don't know when that happened, and its spacer is gone too of course. What size & spec bolts are these?

I fitted TTR manifolds last winter with the engine in situ. This was done by supporting the engine under the oil pan with a (trolley) jack, then removing both right and left engine mounts. After pushing the engine to the right as far as possible, it was possible to squeeze the pipes in place. Not sure what manifold you are using, but I would think this method should work.

I would certainly try before dismantling your freshly assembled twink.

Is the oil pan strong enough to take the weight of the engine?

Bending it might close the gap between oil pickup & the sump?

billwill wrote:Is the oil pan strong enough to take the weight of the engine?

Bending it might close the gap between oil pickup & the sump?

With a sheet of plywood cut to the size of the flat portion of the oil pan there will be no issue.

Gary

Thanks Gary.

I see that the Workshop manual suggests that for fabricated manifolds (such as I have) the procedure is indeed to take the weight of the engine on a jack and remove the left engine mount to get them in.

Wasted today, though, chasing around to see if I could get a bolt suitable for the missing engine mount bolt. I've worked out it should be 5/16 UNC, 2 inches long. Can't get them on a Saturday afternoon here as the only likely places are Motor Factors & they are closed. Had a long chat in a Motor Bike shop, but they had nothing but metric, evidently the don't do classic motorbikes there.

I'll need to make a new spacer, but I think I have some suitable steel pipe I can cut a length off.

I can get the bolts & things over the Internet of course, but that will delay things.