hilly

The indicator/side light on the S3 was changed half way through the production run. My 1981 (one of the first S3s) has got the Lucas (mini clubman) assembly but I have seen later cars with the COBO unit. I don't know when it changed. It is easy to tell from the outside which is which as the COBO lights are flat (which is why you can chop them about and stick 2 clear halves together) but the Lucas ones are raised on the side light bit. Andy

Be careful when removing the lower stud as the rear hubs/upright are quite fragile and expensive to replace. I have heard of a few people who have had the old studs pressed out ending up with broken uprights. This is because it is very hard to support both bottom sections of the hub while applying pressure, ending up with one side breaking off. When I did mine a few years back I decided to cut the stud in half near the lower link and then pull the old bits out from each side using the 1/2" thread and spacers. A bit tedious to do (you may need to get a 1/2" UNF die to recut the thread as the bits pulls out), but much less likely to snap bits off the hub Andy 1981 S3

Hi have got a PNM brake kit on my 1981 S3 (in fact the first to use the Hispec calipers) and they are very good. Price is around

You will need to do something as it will be a complete arse to get back in. Easiest thing to do is remove the bottom of the two bolts that hold the trailing are to the rear upright and then tilt it. This should give enought of an angle change to get the bolt in, well it did on mine anyhow. Hope this helps Hilly

Troy Is your indicator stalk or the left or right hand of the coloumn ???? If it is on the right hand side then I have got a spare lotus one you can have. Let me know if you want it and I'll bung it in the post to you. Andy

I haven't got a picture of the rear brakes fitted so I can't show you them on the car but I'll try to take one in the next couple of days. The bleed valve is definitely at the top though. Andy

I did exactly as Troy did with mine when iI re-built the rear suspension. To help a bit more I cut the studs in between the rear link and the washers, the stud will probably get damaged while extracting it so you may as well make life a bit easier. That way you can pull a small section from each end instead of the whole thing in one go. You may also find that the thread will strip after while (well mine did) so it would be worth borrowing a 1/2 UNF die to recut the shagged thread otherwise an already long job will turn into an even longer one. Andy

Hey Troy Have you tried bleeding your brakes yet? If not then I have got a feeling that you will be taking your rear calipers off again. I did what you have done (by accident) and fitted the calipers with the bleed valve at the bottom. They go on and work but you get a strange effect on the brake pedal , very, very spongey (due to all the air in the caliper which can't get out). I'd be interested in how you get ................... Andy

Hi Madmezza I'll try and keep this short as this could get complicated. RFID tag tend to fit into 2 catagories, near field and far field Far feild systems can have a range of several metres and use frequencies in the high MHz range (>900MHz). These tend to be active tags (have an internal battery and hence bulky) but there are a few passive systems out there. Near feild is more common currently and have a range of only a few inches. They work at 13.56MHz or 125KHz an are normally passive, ie the tag is self powered with no battery and hence can be quite small. Car key fobs and pet ID tags are common places where you will find these. Without going into too much detail the range is determined by reader and tag coils size, bigger the coils the longer the range. Because RFID is a relatively infant technology you may find it difficult to find a source for tags and readers. If you are any good at electronic design you may be a get some cobbled up, if not forget it as there is no off the shelf stuff currently out there. If I do end up getting somewhere this project it will be a personal custom design using components now yet available to the public. The Dallas I keys are a good product but as you say, you need to physically touch them to a connector. Also you will still need design skills to get it to work as a igniton switch. If you are still interested in this then get in touch and I'll give you more info. Andy

Yup, mine is the same.

It depends what condition your current bushes are in. If you do decide to change them then be prepared for a lot of swearing as they are a right ar$e to change, especially the rears. For starters the bolts holding the suspension together have almost certainly corroaded in. I ended up having to cut the bolts to get mine out. You need to be especially careful with the rear uprights as they are alloy and break very easily, in which case you are looking at a lot of money for replacements. Also the rear bushes themselves are

I am also considering something along these lines as well. It helps that I work for a RFID company so have a endless supply of tags and readers so security is not an issue (better than a key infact) You have to be careful that anything you fit is safe and reliable as you don't want it cutting out all the time. If I get around to fitting something then I'll post the details.

There some dimensions given in the service manual about ride heights. You take the measurements from certain points of the back bone chassis to the ground. I can't remember exactly what they are and it is different certain models, but I'll have a look when I get home tonight. It is certainly possible to lower your car though as I have done it, I have even got height adjustable fronts on a pre 85 car but it requires a few modifications. For more details have a look here........ http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/EModific...Suspension.html Andy

The internal panel of the front bumper on my 1981 S3 was also plywood which had completely de-laminated and so was falling off I just ripped out all the manky wood and glassed in some alloy panels to enable the bumper to go back on, job done..... Andy

I used a slave cylinder rebuild kit on my S3 because I couldn't get hold of a new one at the time, big mistake as the bloody thing let go on the way to a wedding reception and my GF had to get out and push it in her posh frock, I was not popular I can tell you..... If you suspect the slave cylinder is giving problems just replace it as they are not very expensive. The red line is also worth doing. Mine never failed but as the engine heated up you could feel the clutch bite point move as the pipe started expanding. Replacing all the rubber bushes in the gear change linkage will certainly help with feel but make sure you don't loose the shouldered blots as they are over