S2 JPS project

[LOTUSMAN33]

James at SJ sent it to a specialist for me Fabian as I wanted it converted, not sure of who as they keep these suppliers discreet adding a mark up. Over the years I have come across quite a few people who supply services and items living in the region. My interior is with their guy now and I only found out when I saw piles of carpet sets so asked the question.

Dave  
 

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Dave.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Been a busy couple weekends building the engine and refurbishing all the parts, cleaning and painting where required.

I’ve just about gone as far as I can now until the distributor arrives so I can prime the oil pump then fit the new timing belt.

I have filled the gearbox with redline and put around 3.5 litres in the engine just to prime the pump then final fill once back in the chassis.

The engine has had all the gaskets replaced and valve shimming is all nicely in spec, a new 3 piece clutch should solve the drive issue which by hand selecting is all fine now.

Engine bay is all cleaned up and painted with new gear change bushes and every hose replaced with 304 stainless jubilee clips awaiting the engine to go back on the new mounts.

Hopefully next week the rebuilt distributor will turn up so I can build the car back up 🤞🏼
Dave  

[Fridge]

Great work @LOTUSMAN33

Well worth the extra effort of removal, making a thorough job of it.

With no evidence of mission creep too.

Looking forward to launch day!

[Lotusfab]

Looks good Dave. You may have a pressure tester already, but if not this may save you a lot of hassle later. When you have all the pipes connected and coolant in you connect this to the header tank and pump up to whatever the cap is rated at 10 or 15 PSI. It allows you to rapidly find any coolant leaks before you run the engine. It should be able to hold the pressure overnight if all is well. Its so easy to use and avoids a dodgy cooling system damaging your engine with tiny leaks you can’t locate when driving the car.

The hand pump has a gauge on it, very easy to pump up to whatever you need.

[LOTUSMAN33]

That’s a good price Fabian, I don’t actually have one so a nice addition for my kit, I will order one tonight.

I bought one of these recently and made changing the springs so easy compared to my old claw type I’ve used for years.

Always worth buying decent tools 👍🏻😀

Dave  

[Lotusfab]

That looks great!

[LOTUSMAN33]

51 minutes ago, Fridge said:

Great work @LOTUSMAN33

Well worth the extra effort of removal, making a thorough job of it.

With no evidence of mission creep too.

Looking forward to launch day!

Thanks David, I did resist in the end doing a ring change as put my RVI camera down the bores and all looked really nice from what I could see. I did change all the engine gaskets and seals other than head in the end so hopefully I will be leak free.

The water pump was probably going over the top as very expensive along with the clutch release bearing which again felt fine but at least I have piece of mind.

Buying brand new carbs was just a good opportunity so probably can be classed as mission creep but she’s worth it 😁

Really looking forward to fitting the new stainless sports exhaust system and firing it up after setting the accelerator pumps up on the bench. 👍🏻
Dave  

[Fridge]

Not replacing the water pump, or at least overhauling it is false economy on many cars these days, particularly the mid-engined Esprit.

The carbs are the breathing machines, and the Del'lortos far better than the Strombergs, so worth the expense too. Servicable parts and an aqua clean are about £500 a pair alone. I've no idea how much new ones can fetch.

Sounds great!

[Paul Coleman]

1 hour ago, LOTUSMAN33 said:

That’s a good price Fabian, I don’t actually have one so a nice addition for my kit, I will order one tonight.

I bought one of these recently and made changing the springs so easy compared to my old claw type I’ve used for years.

Always worth buying decent tools 👍🏻😀

Dave  

I have a set of those but absolutely no use for the fronts

[LOTUSMAN33]

The pump was brand new which surprised me when Steve at SJ offered it being an AC car. 
I paid £850 for the new matched carbs from a guy at Race Retro who never used them on a project, they should tune well hopefully. The matched Webber’s were pretty much new so I will save them for a future project.
 

3 minutes ago, Paul Coleman said:

I have a set of those but absolutely no use for the fronts

I haven’t done the fronts yet Paul, what was the issue?

Dave  

[Paul Coleman]

32 minutes ago, LOTUSMAN33 said:

The pump was brand new which surprised me when Steve at SJ offered it being an AC car. 
I paid £850 for the new matched carbs from a guy at Race Retro who never used them on a project, they should tune well hopefully. The matched Webber’s were pretty much new so I will save them for a future project.
 

I haven’t done the fronts yet Paul, what was the issue?

Dave  

There isn't enough room to get the things in as you can only see about 40% of the spring, the top arm is in the way.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Guess I will be back using the old claws then 🙄🍻

[Paul Coleman]

1 minute ago, LOTUSMAN33 said:

Guess I will be back using the old claws then 🙄🍻

I bought a pair of these... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hilka-Heavy-Duty-Coil-Spring-Compressor-Car-Suspension-Absorbers-Clamp-Tool-Kit/111793007741?epid=25021238736&hash=item1a0761ec7d:g:PbQAAOSw5VFWF47N

But couldn't get them off once the suspension was all back together. I had to weld a nut on the other end so I could undo the damn things.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Yes that’s the other type I have and used when I built the last one up 👍🏻

[Fridge]

That's all I used for front and rear springs. Worked fine. Bare chassis though.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Yes bare chassis when I did my last set of fronts 🙄

Dave  

 

[Fridge]

Yes, it certainly makes a difference!

[Barrykearley]

11 hours ago, LOTUSMAN33 said:

That’s a good price Fabian, I don’t actually have one so a nice addition for my kit, I will order one tonight.

I bought one of these recently and made changing the springs so easy compared to my old claw type I’ve used for years.

Always worth buying decent tools 👍🏻😀

Dave  

Tried all the bench top tools - with no success - gave up and used a bit floor mounted unit at a pals garage. Even then there were a few safety ratchet straps employeed. Please be very careful. The bits don’t half dent when they fly.

 

great progress - it’s all looking fantastic 😍

[LOTUSMAN33]

Came home from work to find my new V5 waiting for me, all registered with ease so very happy chap 😁😁😁

It has even come through as historic so no tax required and although it will be MOT’d like all my classics it allows me to get it on the road and iron out any issues and fettle the tuning before the test day 👍🏻

Online ordering some plates this evening 😎

Dave  

 

[Fridge]

Yes, I found the DVLA were very helpful, and I obtained the cars original registration plate without bother. They prefer to use the original plate, as it's easier than generating a new on for UK vehicles.

I hope you're order age-related style plates Dave!

I found Polar to be very good, or Tippers. I assume you have a regular supplier!

[Barrykearley]

My word - just looked - there are 2 on eBay - no 22 and 48..... 

[LOTUSMAN33]

Doh just ordered a set of standard plates David, didn’t even think about font which is rather daft after following Fabian’s post.

I can always fix this when I actually do the body restoration in the future, I already have all new badges and new genuine original gold screen trims, original waistline, wheel badges and capping trims ready so only the decals to buy which I will do last thing to ensure the adhesive is fresh.

Not cheap prices Barry so will be interesting to see what they eventually sell for within today’s slightly softened market..🙂

Dave  

[Fridge]

The plates from Polar aren't cheap. Though their 'Mirrorline' range is made from a very high quality acrylic, and matches perfectly the originals for my 1960's car. Whereas Jepsons 'Ribbed Acrylic' plates a cheap, incorrect imitation by comparison, but are also a lot cheaper in price.

Polar's 1970's plates are very good, but Tippers are very similar, cheaper and come with a border if that's your thang.

Fonts are part of my business, so this stuff stands out a mile to me.

 

[LOTUSMAN33]

I’ll check out the websites and have a look, now registered I may buy a JPS related plate anyway. I did bid ‘JPS79 upto £4600 plus fees dropping out after (yes I got carried away in the moment which could have got me in trouble with the boss 😂). It eventually sold for £5010 plus fees.

I’m still waiting on my rear bumper and number plate plinth I ordered when the car was still in transit from the US from SJ’s which is ok as not likely to see my interior until November.

Dave