Billy_Idle

Thanks very much for the replies. I meant could the stamp have been put there by whoever rebuilt the engine (assuming it was actually rebuilt). Is stamping an engine with a date when it is rebuilt common practice? I've never heard of such a thing, but maybe some places do it?

Hi I recently bought a 912 HC engine from a 1987 Excel. The seller told me he bought the engine from a friend of his years ago for a kit car project, but never used it. He claimed the friend had the engine rebuilt by Lotus at Hethel, but 4000 miles later the Excel was written off in a crash, which is why the engine became available. Unfortunately the seller had no receipts or history to back any of this up. Does anyone know if Lotus would be able to supply any info on the engine? If so, who would I contact? Interestingly, the engine has '20 07 12' stamped on the block. Could this have been stamped by Lotus or someone else when the engine was re-built? Or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Thanks very much.

I started the car today - what a difference! Beforehand, I had set the float level at around 16.5mm on the 7g floats and was getting an inconsistent and unreliable fuel level, but maybe around 30mm as far as I could tell. The engine was barely running, and sounded like a sack of hammers - it would reluctantly start, more or less idle without choke, but had to be very gently coaxed up the revs or it would cut out immediately, and was spitting back badly. It would cut out completely after about 5 minutes. I had balanced the carbs as best I could and improved it slightly, but it was terrible, no chance it could be driven. It's sooooo much better with the 8.5g floats and the 27mm fuel level. It starts very enthusiastically, and revs up no problem. I haven't tuned it yet, but had the vacuum gauges attached anyway so roughly equalised the two carbs. The car isn't on the road so can't be properly tested. I also suspect compression problems, and haven't even set the ignition timing yet. But the fuel level was definitely at the root of the poor running. It sounds like a runner now - a bit rough, but a runner! 🙂

Thanks very much for the replies. The problem may be solved! Here's an update. I made a little wire frame to emulate how the carb lid holds the floats, filled the bowl to 27mm with a syringe and put the floats in the bowl on the wire frame. The floats (7g )sat around 11.5-12mm from top. It looks like to achieve a 27mm fuel level the float gap would need to be set to around 11.5-12mm, which is a long way off the recommended 14.5-15mm. However, I previously tried a 12mm gap several times and got inconsistent fuel levels from 26-28mm, but mostly around 28mm. My conclusion from all this is that setting a reliable fuel level of 27mm may not be possible with 7g floats on a 907 engine. Perhaps this is due to the angle of the carbs? I then wrapped some wire evenly across the top of the floats to take their weight to 8.5g. Immediately the fuel level started behaving itself. The level could set the level at 27mm, or indeed anywhere through a range of 26-29mm. Any adjustment in the float gap gave the predicted result to the fuel level. The results were identical on both carbs. And the results are consistent. I set the level to 27mm on the rear carb and let it refill 5 times, with the correct 27mm result each time. Checked 3 times on the front carb as well. Achieving a 27mm fuel level required a float gap of 14mm (measured from the gasket). http://sideways-technologies.co.uk recommends a gap of 15.5-16mm, the lotus manual recommends a gap of 16.5-17 including the gasket, (which equates to 15.5-16mm from the gasket). So my float setting is 1.5-2mm off the recommended. Not ideal, but acceptable? (especially as my botched up floats may not behave exactly like genuine 8.5g floats) I think I need to treat myself to some 8.5g floats and some Viton needles too, as suggested. I haven't tried starting the car yet, I'll update again when I do!

I see your point, mine is the same. I was jacking the car a couple of inches at the back to get it level, but now I think about it that was maybe a mistake. Here's a quote from the article: 'Its important to do this (measure the level) on the car, as different fitments/manifolds give a different "angle" or rake to the carb, the main-jet stack must be supplied with a proper fuel level.' I took this to mean that the fuel level must be 27mm at the jet stack regardless of how the carbs are angled. It's the measurement at the stack that is key, regardless of what is happening elsewhere in the bowl. But are the jets far enough apart for any front to back difference to be significant? Hrm

Hi Has anyone had any success with setting the fuel level in the carbs to 27mm from the top of the carb body as described here? http://sideways-technologies.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/1048-setting-dhla-dellorto-dellorto-float-fuel-level/ Over the last 3 days I must have adjusted the float level and measured the resulting fuel level over 30 times, but I can't get consistent results. I'm having 2 problems: 1. Results are inconsistent - decreasing the float gap will sometimes increase the fuel level as expected, but sometimes not. Or I'll set the float level then re-check the resulting fuel level 3 times (emptying some fuel then refilling from the fuel pump each time). Maybe twice I'll get the expected result, the third time the level drops 2mm or something. 2. The fuel level seldom gets as high as 27mm (or higher, eg 26). Out of 30+ attempts I've seen the fuel level at 27 or 26 maybe 4 times, the rest have all been 28, 29 or 30, with the vast bulk of adjustments coming out at 28mm. I'm now thinking that 28mm is the max level that the fuel can go regardless of the float level, (which I've set as low as 12mm from the gasket and am still got the 28mm fuel level). I've also tried filling the fuel to the 27mm level with a syringe, then holding in the floats without the lid and pushing them down 15mm - they are clearly trying to push up, which seems to confirm that 27mm is not achievable. I've noticed my car is fitted with 7g floats rather than 8.5g, but apparently this shouldn't matter.....although maybe that's the problem, and with 8.5g the maximum fuel level would reach 27mm? Any thoughts very much appreciated! Thanks 🙂