What did you do to your Lotus today...

[reb53]

Hi Alan,
No pimples or dimples !
Last time you were here you didn't give me warning you were coming by so I was away doing something in town.
Next time let me know and I'll make sure I'm in, and, if you have the time, we can get into the Sprint and have a tour of the area.
Cheers,
Ralph.

P.S.
The 7 is still under the cover......

[The Veg]

On the last +2S they had a Heat Shield fitted between the Silencer and Body.

Ah, thanks for confirming the existence of such a thing! At some point in the repairs I looked at the diagram in the parts manual and saw the shield, but saw no evidence of one ever having been on my car (pre-S), and couldn't recall seeing it in pictures of anybody else's car and wondered if the shield in the drawing was a work of fiction, something perhaps planned but never implemented. Good to know that it exists if I decide it needs one. I'll keep a close eye on the state of the new tunnel.
The reminds me, I also installed a mount on the intermediate pipe that hangs from the back-end of the transmission. I saw no evidence of the car ever having one of those either- is that also an improvement that came with later cars?

You've done a fantastic job and a Heat Shield might be a good idea.

Thanks Alan, your kind words are appreciated.

I think your Intermediate Pipe was short because it was for an Elan and not +2.

That's one possibility that I eliminated. The supplier said they offer two pipes, 62 inches for Elan and 74 inches for Plus 2. I measured mine when I discovered the issue and it was 74 inches. With the pipe in the proper position under the chassis it reached the connection to the silencer just fine and the angled part up front pointed right at the end of the header but was short of reaching it by ten inches or so. The angled part was maybe seven inches in length, not nearly enough to reach from near the centre of the backbone to outside the engine. But it wasn't much trouble to sort that and I'm happy with the result. A much longer drive than yesterday's is in my plans for today.

[trw99]

Turned the Sprint over to 80,000 miles on my drive around east Hertfordshire today.

Tim

[TBG]

High gearing there Tim. 23.5 per 1000rpm? D

[trw99]

The tacho is not reading correctly. One of tasks to sort out next year.

Any ideas?

Tim

PS Top down all day, David!

[Andy8421]

The tacho is not reading correctly. One of tasks to sort out next year.

Any ideas?

Tim

PS Top down all day, David!

Tim,

The capacitors in the very basic electronics in the tacho fail over time, and the calibration wanders off. You probably have an 'RVI' tacho (its written on the front), and hopefully have a small hole in the case covered in sticky tape with a calibration potentiometer underneath. You may be able to trim it back into calibration, but if the caps are too far gone, then you will have to fix the electronics. It is really basic stuff, and there are many articles on the web and youtube how to do this. There are firms that sell new electronics that are better than the original:

https://spiyda.com/tachometer-electronics.html

Or send it off to someone like Speedy Cables to have it rebuilt, or buy a new one from Caerbont......

[alan.barker]

Imho if it's within 100 rpm for a car used on the road and standard Engine it's ok.
If it's used for competition and highly tuned that's a different story.
Alan

[h20hamelan]

Might also consider GPS speedo, if wheels are not original?

[trw99]

Thanks, I shall investigate further.

And since my car is original, that’s how the tacho will be repaired.

Tim

[Barney]

The Sprint is finally back in the garage after sitting outside for 2 years under a cover.
The so called "waterproof" cover proved not to be when a huge thunderstorm came through, and I found 2 inches of water pooled in the seats.....
The only lasting effect of the sojourn outside is odd bits of rust in the engine bay.
And, as discovered today, a seized electric fan motor.
Once removed I couldn't actually see how you got into it. I was able to free it up with some oil, and twisting and turning, but wondered if anyone knew how they come apart.
It's a "Kenlowe", and whilst it has some screws on one end I couldn't see a seperation line in the middle.
I guess some perseverance, then some swearing, and finally some brute force would have provided an answer but I am curious.

Ralph.
P.S. I also fixed the ex Maserati clock I have on the dashboard !

Ralph
my car was flooded to less than that depth for just an hour or so and I have later found the side panel lattices rusted out. not for certain but probably as the carpet held the moisture by them. Worth a check I'd have thought.

[The Veg]

Wednesday's drive was a success but was way too short, so Thursday I decided to build on that success and give the car a proper shakedown, the first time taking it beyond the nearby local area since buying it seven years ago and doing all the endless work.

I went a total of about 160 miles, up into the ridge-and-fold of the Appalachians. Getting there required both slogging through congested suburban traffic and a sustained 80 MPH on a highway. One of the roads I went to is often counted among the best sports car/motorcycle roads in the USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAh14pSThfc (not my video, to be clear)

One humourous moment, stopping for fuel just after setting out, a chap at the next pump sees the car, is instantly smitten with it, and starts begging and pleading me to sell it to him, saying the higher figure of what I think it's worth is fine with him despite all the works that remains to be done. Thanks but no, I'm keeping the car!

I did take it carefully up there for a couple of good reasons, including the fact that the tyres are 18 years old! New ones have been ordered, but the old ones still performed admirably.

So how did it do?

I started with a full tank but the gauge read a quarter down, and then read a half down at the end- I'll keep a close eye on it to determine just how it differs from reality across its range. The temperature gauge stayed within acceptable numbers even in the congested areas, although ambient temps stayed below 60F/15C. The new exhaust system keeps the cabin much more civil than before, but the dull, bass-y hum of the tailpipe still overwhelms a bit- however I haven't yet started refurbishment inside the boot so maybe some additional mitigation back there will help. The carbs and ignition still need a little tuning but power-delivery was nevertheless quite enjoyable, though the aluminium flywheel's lack of momentum did remind me at times that it's been a decade since I drove a manual 'box on a regular basis. A little brake-squeal here and there, a couple of small clunks from the right-front corner under braking, a little panel-rattle under hard acceleration, but no other bothersome noises. The seat needs more lumbar-support!

So I'm quite chuffed that the car is now operable, that I can think of it as being in the 'rolling restoration' phase and I can start enjoying driving it. And just in time too, as next weekend the regional Triumph club is putting on its annual Polar Bear Run, an all-vehicles-welcome drive that's always fun. I'll be proud to show off Yelotus at that!

[berni29]

Hi

My brother and I have spent the last 5 days prepping my plus 2S body for paint. It’s a bit like one of those TV programs where people build their own houses and then say “never again”.

Paint going on tomorrow morning. I have found someone to do the spraying. It’s just too high stakes for me to do as a first timer.

Wish us luck! And happy new year to all my Lotus brothers and sisters.

Berni

[reb53]

Ralph
my car was flooded to less than that depth for just an hour or so and I have later found the side panel lattices rusted out. not for certain but probably as the carpet held the moisture by them. Worth a check I'd have thought.

Thanks but my water was due to a non waterproof cover that sagged and dumped water onto the seats rather than a basement flood, driving through deep water, or similar.
Once I'd pulled the seats out, got a heater, and the sun, to work it all seemed to dry out well.
Hopefully it won't break its back like a rusty old tramp steamer......!
Cheers,
Ralph.

[The Veg]

Not long after buying the car seven years ago, I bought a set of Revolution alloys from another forum-member (I forget who) and now I've finally got them on the car, along with some new tyres.

And whilst changing the wheels, I found the source of the clunk I heard from the right-front when I took that drive in the country last week: the upper bolt on the brake caliper had backed-out, allowing the caliper to swing out on the lower bolt! How the upper bolt stayed in the caliper instead of falling off is beyond me.

[berni29]

Hi

Love the wheels and the yellow colour, car looks great!

Are they standard tyres and did you use any spacers on the wheels? The offsets look pretty much correct.

Edit, of course they are knock on, so spacers unlikely!

Berni