EXCEL V8

My plan - although it will be one of the last things I do - is to have a small, discrete display between the speedo and tacho - probably driven by a Raspberry Pi - allowing all warnings/information to be displayed there. I've got a list of 23 items that I'd like to display so far! The other thing I don't like about the dash is the off-centre location - that will have to change. Pete

By 1991 Connolly had moved from the earlier cellulose leather paint (like my 1974 Elite) to a plastic type (I don't know exactly when this happed) - very little feed gets through to the leather itself with the later leather - it's mainly about keeping it clean. You can feed from the reverse if the seat covers are removed. The solvent based finisher would come off again with a solvent - thinners, for instance. The water based one is very difficult to remove afterwards - just like the leather paint in your Esprit. You can't buff the matt finishers really - and after feeding all the feed would be sat on the surface anyway!. The water based ones are more matt than the solvent based ones. Most of the modern colour-changing products are polyurethane type paints - again impossible to "feed" through and virtually impossible to remove again - it's the reason I'm going to dye my Elite seats rather than to paint them with modern paint. I'll then use a solvent based finisher - this combination will allow the finisher to be removed later (for what ever reason) and you're back to the leather itself - re-dying/feeding etc.. Pete

You can get both water-based and solvent-based leather finishing products that will give a matt finish. Spray on with air brush/detailing gun. Some of the water-based ones wipe on. Pete

Anyone else see Mike Kimberly on repair shop? Should be on the BBC iPlayer soon - worth watching! Pete

Didn't expect to see Mike Kimberley himself on there! Excellent. Should be on the BBC iPlayer soon. Pete

I notice that it has the spare wheel in the boot rather than under-slung and it's a 1977 car. I've been wondering when they changed, but it seems very uncertain. Pete

Looking at the specs for 1C engine sealant - it has a working time of 5 - 7minutes. Are you getting it tightened down quick enough? It's an epoxy resin. I think I'd change to the Lotus recommended sealant before you go taking the head off for further investigation. A136 is an anaerobic sealant - it gives you about 30 minutes to get it all tightened down. Let us know how you get on Roman. Pete

I'm fitting a slightly smaller diameter wheel with a thicker grip. Certain MGBs have the same splines, and modern hubs come in two parts - I'm just using the bit that fits on the splines and making an adapter to match the mounting pattern for the wheel (Momo). Other than buying the hub I've made no progress 🙄 - busy building what might be the world's narrowest Salisbury 4HA axle for the Elite (7HA not up to it). Pete

I'll have a look at my Elite shafts to see if they are the same. Thanks for that! Pete

If it's leaking from the cylinder head joint either the head or the cam housing is distorted, or there is some irregularity in one of the surfaces. Is your car a later one that doesn't use a gasket? What sealant are you using - I use Permabond A136. Pete

Your experience with sub-standard parts is exactly like mine - so frustrating. Pete

Is this the joint between the cam housing and cylinder head, or the cam housing and its cover? There is no more pressure in the exhaust cam housing than the inlet cam housing - they are interconnected via the crankcase. Pete

Bump! 😀 Pete

And it takes waaaay longer to dry/cure than most paints. Pete

I'll assess mine in the near future. If the sweep of the wheelbox can be increased - an old Mini one, for instance, has only 22 teeth - then altering the length of the wiper arm so that the blade doesn't touch the offside trim could produce good results. Maybe a combination of a quicker wheelbox and slightly less throw at the motor end might be needed to get it just right. Good project! The correct combo could produce a 180° sweep 🙂. Pete

You need to come up with a pantoscopic version Tony! Pete

Did you find out what was stopping the body coming off? Pete

What I mean is that the cleared patch on an Excel is supposed to be larger so that it goes lower on the driver's side - wheelboxes are available with all sorts of ratios. Pete

I don't know - I haven't driven mine yet but I fitted an Excel wheelbox as it's supposed to have a larger sweep angle. Pete

I recently had some aluminium panels linished to give that brushed finish - it was done on a machine with a scotchbrite mop. You still need to get the trim unanodised to get a good finish then re-anodised, but you don't need bright anodising - regular anodising is fine and much easier to get done. Pete

If they are anything like the trim in the Elite they may be bright-anodised aluminium. To repolish you first have to get them un-anodised - then you can polish them and get them re-bright-anodised. It's getting harder to find people that do bright anodising - it's such a toxic process. I'm part way through re-polishing all mine, having had it un-anodised. There's very little you can do with any pitting - maybe laser welding?? Not enquired. Pete

Well done on finding that! That's not the first I've seen with the circlip installed incorrectly. Pete

It wasn't as good as it looks in the photos - we reckoned it was probably worth about £10k - £11k. Pete

Yep - can see the photos now 👍. I don't know if it would help you Scott but I'm planning to build a hybrid Elite/Esprit Burman rack to create more clearance for my supercharger - basically an Elite rack with the short pinion shaft from an Esprit. Haven't tried it yet - picking up an Esprit rack in a couple of weeks. Pete

I can't see the photos Scott - can everyone else? Pete