What did you do to your Lotus today...

[The Veg]

This month's project: re-veneered the original, but modified, dash. I'd never applied veneer before, and it was a bit fussy to get it done with a single sheet of veneer. No vacuum press, just plywood, sheets of foam rubber, screw clamps, and 200 lbs of rocks for good measure. Came out with wrinkles across the lower center first time, so used vinegar/water to soak it free, applied more Titebond, used the roller till my arm gave out, and tightened the screw clamps really tight. Second time was a charm. Decided to use up some of my supply of various walnut and mahogany stains to get a similar look to the original (over quarter-sawn sapele veneer). Then 4 coats of polyurethane.

Interesting comparison. When I did mine not to long ago, I put a glass table-top on top of some office-type carpet on a concrete floor, put a sheet of plastic over the glass to save having to scrape any glue off the glass that might seep out an edge, put the dashboard face-down onto the plastic, then topped it with a couple of ten-pound dumbells and several stacks of large books. Can't remember if I used a roller before doing all that, but it worked a treat and stuck well and evenly. Used an X-Acto knife to cut out the holes and trim-up everything. Didn't count the coats of poly (mostly sprayed), but applied dry-transfer labels about 3/4 of the way through the coats.

[Spyder fan]

I traced the cause of my non operating front and rear heated screens to a faulty ?10.00 70amp relay, happily it wasn't the ?80.00 timer relay

All fixed and ready for winter mornings.

[TeeJay]

June was my first drive of only 4 miles, because when up to operating temperature I had a metallic clicking sound from No 3 cylinder and returned home.

So what had caused the horrible noise? Cam clearances?

The clicking sound was due to the No 4 piston touching the cylinder head gasket.
Gasket was for 84 mm and the bore was oversize +0.060" = 3.307" dia, which is also 84 mm.
On the first assembly the gasket must have moved although I did use 2 old bolts.

For the second assembly I made some bolts which had the bolt dia the same as the thread dia and used a 85mm gasket. Result no more clicking.

I also installed a new set of Cam Followers, these also helped to reduce the clatter.

Completed 2 run outs in the car, total distance 58 miles and so far all's good.

[david.g.chapman]

Nothing really - it all seems to be working!
I will take it out this Sunday for a drive - I use my +2 every Sunday in summer to get to various walks around Essex with my wife. I also use it for two short breaks every year somewhere in the country. Oh - and the occasional trip to Hethel.

Jobs for this winter are:
1. Rear wheel bearings will need changing before long - I might do it this year.
2. Check the compression - if not OK then it's head off for a valve grind.

That's about it apart from general servicing.

Dave Chapman.

[reb53]

Replaced the wind deflector that I attached to the roll bar several years ago.
It was looking a bit tatty and the wire inner that ensures it keeps its shape had rusted out at the bottom.

Probably due to a 4 hour trip we made, top down, a couple of years ago during a torrential downpour.
The rain simply blew over the top apart from a few dribbles on the top of the roll bar.
With the heater on it was actually more pleasant than the usual wet trip with a flapping top, fogged windows, and poor visibility.
Goodness knows what other drivers thought as we steamed past in a cloud of spray.

Neither of us got the slightest bit wet, until we stopped.....

[Mazzini]

Not much traffic in your part on NZ then!

[reb53]

Not where we were driving at the time, up around the East Coast of the North Island, Gisborne way.
A real step back in time.
The sort of place where you come around a corner and have to slow down in order to dodge what looks like a pig dog meandering down the road dragging a lead.
Half a k on you slow for an enormous sow that's sauntering along the edge of the road, and wonder if there's a connection......
One place I couldn't figure out what the white things on the road were, until I caught up with the ute dropping them, and realised that docking must be on as they were lamb's tails.

[Mazzini]

About four or five years ago I was in Huntly on the way to the power plant and there behind the main street was a S3 pre-airflow fhc. The car was very original, it was white with slightly flared wheel arches. I should have taken a picture. I wonder how many Elans are in NZ?

[rgh0]

Just a quiet Sunday checking the Elan over for racing in 3 weeks. New front pads and topping up the fluids was all that was required.

cheers
Rohan

[Panda]

In our case, a noisy Sunday running the 26R replica at Wakefield Park near Goulburn in NSW Australia. Driver Len Goodwin almost got a pb doing 1.08.4 and came 11th outright in a field of about 100 cars at the Combined Sports Car Association Supersprints despite a damp track. Lots of fun and great company!
Alan P.

[englishmaninwales]

Drove it (well yesterday actually), 80 miles, no purpose whatsoever, except for breakfast at Conwy Falls.

[Bud English]

Kudos to those actually driving their cars! Someday...

I painted the inside of the boot and reattached the muffler heat shield after a mod to the boot floor. I cut the top off the muffler bulge (for lack of a better term), moved it up an inch and a quarter, and glassed it back in. This effectively moves the muffler an inch and a quarter further away from grounding out, hides more of my Peco style muffler and decreases the distance between the tail pipe and the bumper. All of the original mounting hardware is still used.

I don't think I'll miss those cubic inches in the boot and the mod is very subtle from the outside. But, yeah, another mod.

[Davidb]

Bud: I have been considering doing this mod since my muffler is a big Magnaflow unit and hangs low. I assume that you do not carry a spare tire like me?

[Bud English]

The way I did it, just going up with what is there, doesn't affect the spare tire well. It didn't have to be wider with the round Peco.

[nmauduit]

That actually was yesterday : I rechecked the valve clearances and adjusted them within half a thou of target value. One was large by more than a thou since the camshafts swap for lack of a better shim then, and since I still had not got around to order one (135, which apparently is missing from some suppliers stock), I eventually lapped a thicker one to get that done. Also found a better fitting one in my stock for an other cylinder, and lapped a bit the ones for cyl. 4 for which I had lapped the valves when I changed the head gasket a few weeks ago. Head bolts were retorqued a last time, too.

Engine now runs very smoothly, event without rechecking the carbs: I was happily surprised.