xam69

Reluctantly putting the éclat on ebay. Thought I'd let you know incase anyone's looking. Max www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-ECLAT-S1-521-Metallic-Silver-Mechanically-restored-and-sound-unfinished/283538784167

Hi. It's possible to use the bedford cable by shortening the cable outer, but the inner cables are generally much stiffer and will break quite quickly where it bends around the pulley. Probably best to go for the recommended cable with the standard pulley set up. Max

That's great news. Thanks for the update.

Incidentally, and with great sadness and regret, I shall be putting my Eclat up for sale/auction in the next day or so. So if anyone's after an éclat that's mechanically very good with 65K miles on it and a recent engine rebuild but needs a respray. It'll be on an Auction site.

Hi Peter I've made an updated version over the past few days and made 8. I may make another batch next week if there's the demand. Here's the updated version, exactly as you described. I think I can manage making small numbers in my evenings but If there's too much for me to make, then help to machine the parts would be very welcome and I should really be concentrating on my cabinet making job. Max

All positive I hope.

Thanks for all the responses. I'll respond to the pm's tomorrow morning with details. Looks like I shall have to make a few more. Max

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and support. I'm afraid that my enthusiasm for problem solving and previous posting in the esprit section has already got me into a little bit of trouble. So, in my thinking, it would be really good to put a few kits out for testing of the fitment and compatibility. From there on I should be able to hone the design for the retail version. Could or can you get in touch if you'd like to test the fitment. Is there a personal message option? Max

Sorry about the delays in getting back. Been tied up with work jobs and things. I have some kits ready but need to check on legalities and liabilities of selling the items. I think It's out of the scope of my usual business insurance. Some legal advice would be much welcome. Maybe someone knows about product liability. Max

Here's a picture of an early model. I've included in the picture the old nylon pulley for size comparison and an updated end piece. The kit will include The chain and connecting parts (1 piece) Sprocket and sleeve axle Small amount of silicone grease for the sleeve axle Instructions for mounting, including dimensions to cut clutch inner cable to. ( you'll need some very good wire cutters for this) More soon Max

Hi Ant That's great. I'll post a picture and work out a price this week. Max

Hi Simon This is really funny timing, me reading this post, I have on my work bench 8 sets of specially designed clutch pulley and chain replacement parts. I had the same problem with the clutch cable breaking on my éclat and I've designed and made a kit to replace the pulley and short length of cable. I've had one in use for the past year or more now and no problems as yet. I've got a small amount of machining to do on the parts and the idea was to put up a post on here and maybe a an eBay listing. If I get to the workshop today I'll post some pictures. Re. Why the cable breaks so often. From my experience, It's a compound problem. An issue is, as you've pointed out, the sharp U bend on the cable to the pedal. The other issue to address is the clutch bearing wearing away the tube/sleeve that it slides on to form a step/stop at the end of the bearing travel. What you may find is that when the engine is hot the clutch pedal becomes very hard to push down and extra stress is put on the cable. This is because, when hot, the clutch bell housing expands and moves the bearing away from the clutch and the bearing then needs to travel further to contact the clutch, except the bearing then has to get past the step in the sleeve that it has formed, which it may not be able to. Hence, broken cables. The problem was caused by some clutch bearings having a very sharp corner on the internal diameter. This sharp corner wore the sleeve away. I think modern bearings have a plastic internal sleeve, which should negate the problem. The chain and sprocket conversion won't solve a bearing problem but it makes the pedal much easier to push down and you can use a plastic covered cable for the majority of the cable length, which also reduces friction. More soon. Max

Hi Ross You might want to check that the SU's will fit under the bonnet. I think they are taller than the SU's and there's not much clearance as standard. Strombergs can work really well with a few adjustments and they're a bit more advanced than the early SU's. To get the strombergs working really well, try the needles and ignition timing used on the Stromberg equipped Saabs. (99 and 900) European version. Use vacuum advance and ATF or 3 in 1 in the dampers. (not engine oil). The later 912 distributor with vac advance may work fine Should give you good economy around town and some serious kick from 1/2 throttle onwards. Saab 99 needle - B1DS Standard springs ( the B1DS is almost virtually identical to the B1DH until about half way, thereon the saab needle carries on getting richer and the Lotus needle levels out). Timing - 16 degrees at idle 11 degrees mech advance Total 27 Degrees 15 degrees vacuum advance (ported)

Can anyone help to clarify whether or not the pump jets in my carbs are standard fitment or not. I've spent the past few months rebuilding my 45e carbs and after soaking all the jets and small parts in cleaner I noticed that the 4 x pump jets have two outlets for the fuel. One outlet for a vertical jet and one for horizontal jet. The book states the pump jet specification for a spec 5 engine as 38v42h 38v (vertical) 42h (horizontal). The numbers on my jets are 42 (the suffix letter is a bit hard to determine). What i'm wondering about is, Is the specification saying that the jet is special hybrid type with twin outlets 38v and 42h or two does it refer to two different options, either a 38v jet or a 42h jet. Looking at the jets, it seems that the vertical hole is at least twice the size of the horizontal hole, which doesn't make sense if the former is correct. Hope someone can shed some light on the problem. Max

Hi Brian Sorry to hear about the engine fire. I had a similar experience. I restored my Eclat after it being in storage for many years and on the way back from the testing station it burst into flames. The problem turned out to be a higher pressure (7psi) fuel pump from the previous owner, the fuel flooded the carbs and poured onto the starter motor, where it ignited. All sorted now, though I remain fearful and maybe a bit over cautious. The electronic ignition system I use is made by a Dutch company called 123Ignition. It's the more expensive Tune version. It really is a technological marvel and a simple replacement for the standard Lucas distributor. The other changes I made were to replace the standard 6v coil with a 12v Lucas Sport coil and by pass the resistor wire to the coil ( the wire with the fabric sleeving). You also need a laptop/computer with Windows and a usb cable to program the settings in. I'm hoping to be able to sort out a few jobs on the car this weekend and If I can I'll try out the carb settings and let you know the results. Max