black eclat

The switch on the radiator brings on the fan. If the engine is warm, either the stat is stuck, the pump is not circulating coolant, or the switch is faulty. Test the switch by joining wires. Fans should run. Test the pump / stat by feeling the radiator hose. It should be warm / hot. Totally feasible and a good modification. Excel or MX5 motors are the popular choices.

Much like everywhere else, the classic car scene in Ireland is pretty much cancelled this Covid year and it seems that we are very cautious in lifting restrictions. Normally at this time of year I would be reflecting on more than a dozen car runs, at least 2 auto jumbles and 1 trackday at either Mondello or Kirkistown. I have done nothing. This weekend, a national car magazine, Irish Vintage Scene, organized a National Classic Spin for Aware, a suicide support charity, I registered and attended. There was no "official" meeting but it led to a nice spirited mountain spin with some like minded enthusiasts and with the weather holding off, it turned out to be a cracking day all in all. What with social distancing and all that, the only official photos are these. 😉

Does the spherical bearing modification eliminate the scrubbing when turning at crawl speeds. Ackerman steering angle I believe it called? That sounds like a very decent setup. Have you any pictures of that?

The spyder chassis was my inspiration but they are real hens teeth.

Was it worthwhile? Well it wasn't any worse. 😀 The other issue with upgrades is that you push the envelope a bit more. It did allow me to feel more confident and comfortable braking hard into turn 1. I was able to carry another 5kph before braking and every extra kph is a bonus. This conversion is neat for 2 reasons, its easily reversed with no major work to do so and its has certainly extended the life of the ARB bushes. I should add my apologies for the crusty nature of this conversion but at 1 time these parts were coated and looked lovely but that was 5 years ago now. Since then, its been to Mondello lots, Spa twice, Nürburgring twice and a 2500 round trip taking in the Swiss and Italian Alps. Not A Garage Queen.

OK, I know that ARB bush is a bit worn but hey, its not a garage queen if you know what I mean. 😁 Some more pictures as pictures can explain more than I can. This image shows how I positioned the additional link arm to pass through the the bend profile of the ARB. This meant the new lower link was more inboard than I would have liked but it was necessary to prevent ARM fouling the lower link arm. Detail of the strengthening plate mount and spacer that was added to get the pivot position.

My next step was to somehow provide a locating bracket for the new additional pivot. This was achieved by making a plate that picked up on the ARB mounts and had welded tabs to fit the new pivot bush. At this stage I had decided that the new lower arm addition would be a spare rear link arm chopped to provide the bush required for both from arms. The tabs were welded to the strengthening plate and I also had to add spacers to the ARB mounts to ensure the ARB did not foul against the modified lower arms through out the full swing of the lower arm. Once the pivot was sorted, it was straightforward to connect to the lower arm. This was done using the shock absorber mounting bolt and a carefully added M12 bolt.

Ok, this may annoy the purists but to me it was a worthy upgrade especially after fitting the Wilwood brake conversion kit supplied by PNM Engineering. I still enjoy pushing the car hard on track and while the Lotus brakes are adequate for the road, they fall short of what required for a good push around my local track, Mondello Park. The problem with upgrades is that one leads to exposing the weakness in other areas. This was the case with the brake upgrade. Heavy braking and varying grip on the track surface led to an unsettled braking pattern where you could also feel the wheels folding up under the car accompanied by an unsettling steering wheel vibration. The problem, as I saw it was the lack of triangulation on the lower suspension arm and a single lower arm bush taking all the braking load. The ARB was some help but even uprated bushes here were destroyed after a decent track session. I stripped away all the suspension so I could see what was possible. Using a long threaded bar in the lower arm pivot point, I projected the bar forwards to see where a new pivot could be positioned. As it happened it fell just to the left and right of each of the forward chassis mounting point respectively. aaa

I haven't changed the fuel line before but in relation to the fuel weep at the banjo bolt, this should be cured by replacing the copper washers either side of the bolt.

The Lotus 5 Speed box is a "weaker" box but it really depends on what your intentions are. If you are not tracking the car or using a very heavy right foot, a rebuild Lotus 5 speed box will be perfectly adequate. All the internals for a Lotus 5 speed box are still easily available to accommodate a full rebuild. Changing the gearbox for another type is a black art, in my experience, and if you are not able to do the work yourself, it will get costly very quickly. My car started out as an automatic but a heavy right foot wrecked 2 replacement gearbox's. I could not find a Getrag box but was offered a Ford 4 speed box instead. This was fitted but the prop-shaft had to be shortened. Not too much of an issue but still an expense. And I was assured it was a "straight fit" LOL. I then got my hands on an original Lotus Getrag box and fitted that. But this required replacement mounts and again, another prop-shaft length. So, in summary, my opinion is that if you are not into a bit of spannering or have the facilities to do so and you don't have a heavy right foot, a rebuilt Lotus 5 speed is perfectly adequate. Just my experience. 😎

I have the Wilwood brake kit supplied by PNM over 6 years now. Its fine for fast road use and better than the standard calipers,

Fantastic!!!

Bernard, The relay you have circled is to operate the vacuum valves. This must be ok if you dont have any issue when on high beam (the pods still need to be up) It sounds to me that the issue is the light switch (high / low beam) on the steering column. This switch can gunge up over time leading to erratic voltage which would manifest itself as you describe with pods going up and down. The moving contact can also melt if larger wattage lamps are fitted. Most likely it just needs to be stripped and cleaned. That would be my recommendation. Michael.

Does this occur low beam and high beam? Or just low beam? And have you confirmed if lights stay on when the pod closes?

Can you post the Accspark connectio diagram. And can you identify which connection of the coil is marked + in your photo,

Get back to checking what volts is on the + connection on the coil first. I wouldn’t worry about ceramics or cable colours just yet. Switch on ignition and measure voltage. Most multimeters are auto ranging and auto voltage. So switch on multimeter to the V setting, black lead to earth and red lead to the + connection. (If there are 2 “V” settings on the meter, select the “V” setting with a flat line beside it.)

I would suggest you go back a few steps. First check your coil setup. When the ignition key is on you should have 12v at the + connection of the coil. Connect a lead into the HT side of the coil and the other end to a grounded spark plug. Now with a wire connected to the - connection of the coil, every time you briefly earth this wire, you should get a spark. That is all that happens in the distributor in a firing sequence for the 4 cylinders. The ballast is only required if you coil is rated for 6v. If it is and you have 12v on it, it will rapidly heat up and burn out. If there are 2 wires on the + connection, you can quickly determine which is required to give the spark as explained above. You mention you installed Accuspark. Did you remove the distributor? You could have the distributor drive either 180degrees out or not engaged at all. Apologies on the presumption of your skills but it's better to say than assume. Once your happy with the Coil and the Accuspark, then it's just a matter of timing. A rough guide to get you running is as follows: turn engine to tdc timing marks, lift cam cover to see cylinder 4, valves 'rocking" inlet closing and exhaust opening, now the engine should be firing on cylinder 1. Simply check that the connection on the distributor that the rotor is pointing too, is connected to cylinder 1. Adjust distributor and or leads, to make it so. From this point, the firing order is 1,3,4,2 so set the leads in this order in the direction of rotor arm rotation. Hope this makes some sense. 😀 Michael.

I have the motors mounted with the red know upwards. A well positioned hole on the inner wing allows a 12 point socket and extension bar operate the red knob if required. Never had to yet.

Drain the oil and inspect for metal "fines". Use a magnet to be sure.

Action Shots of my Eclat over the years

The exhaust cam cover is the problem as its lying on its side. The effect of the inclined engine is that there is always oil lying in the cam cover above the gasket line. On my last engine out works, I drilled out some blanks in the cam housing casting which allows oil to flow back into the head and reduces the amount of oil lying in the exhaust cam housing. Its not a full solution but it does help.

The fuel cut off solenoid is mounted on the chassis rail close to the clutch release arm. It is wired with a single positive supply with the earth provided by its attachment to the chassis. I had a problem on my Eclat where the car would run for about 2 minutes and then die. I would wait a few seconds, hear the SU pump run and it would start again and repeat the process allover again. It tuned out to be a loose earth connection to the chassis. When the car was stationary and engine off, the solenoid was ok. But the vibration from the engine or the vibration from the roadway was enough to break the connection and cut off the fuel supply. This meant I could run on the fuel remaining in the Dellorto chambers and then the engine would splutter and die. Repeat. Very frustrating to diagnose that problem.

From memory, earlier 907 engines had a "rope" type crankshaft seal and the splash guard was fitted to prevent the seal being overwhelmed and leaking. Later upgrades to the engine included replacing this seal with a spring loaded lip seal. So if you have the newer type oil seal, this guard is not required.

Best conversion ever. My setup is still working away with no issues.

Really love the work you are doing here.