Eclat Project

[Warren]

OK, so I finally got the car home. It started when collected but died off the trailor when back home. Some fresh petrol and off it went again.

Not sure where to start I decided to see what worked and what didn't. Any comments are welcome

Temp guage - check - temp hit just over 90 but no fans so assume relay or fan motors dead

Driver side electric window work, passenger side doesn't so need to check switch and motor

Lights - nah - nothing, could be the switch

Electric mirrors, nah - nothing

Oil Pressure, initial idle I would have said about 35-38 PSI, not the best gauges are they. At 90 degree it was reading below 20 but soon popped back with revs, engine sounds smooth but boggy, hesitant, blowing exhaust and a coil wired upside down of a wire won't be helping

Lots of smoke/steam, some blue from left hand/passenger bank but couldn't see much due to canted engine

Interior light - nah

Indicators - nah

Horn - toot, yaay, bit feeble

Wipers - check but very slow - battery could be up the spout

Interior fan - nah

Interior lights - nah

Rev counter - nah

Handbrake - doesn't hold

Brake lights - nah

Okay so I didn't have long but you get the general idea, first job will definately be cam belt I think so I can at least run it while I check the electrics over. Suggestions on a postcard please but when electrics are sorted I think I will get the back in the air and fully re-furb followed by the front.

The biggest unknown at the moment is the Chassis, it looks like it has been really well protected with a grease compound at some point so I am hoping its all good.

Will get some more pics posted when I get chance but original pics are in the Barn Find post.

Cheers

Warren

[EliteMike]

Hi Warren

Good luck with your project, Electrics are not Lotus's strongest point, even when you get it all working, some thing will stop for no apparant reason.

I have a full interior for sale for an Elite including matching door card, I think the rears are exactly the same as yours, fronts certainly are, but you may like to check that out, the seats are not bad, in a biscuit colour, could do with a clean, Been stored in heated garage for 5 months, if you want photos will dig them out over the weekend and send to your e mail address if you let me have it.

Also some of tailored brown carpeting if of interest.

Regards

Mike

[Dunc]

In the engine compartment, look for a bunch of wires terminating in a bolt low down on the inner wing on the drivers side. This is the main earth point for your loom. Undo the nuts and clean the ring connectors up with emery until the contacts are clean. I'd also clean the ends of all the fuses in the fusebox. Try turning the cooling fan by hand. Mine was just stuck from standing for 7 years and burst into life with a little push. A replacement otter switch is also worthwile, as is an override switch from the dash so you can have the fan on manually. When you say blue smoke, do you mean from the engine compartment or the exhast tailpipe? If its in the compartment, it will likely be oil seeping through the cam carrier gasket and dropping onto the hot manifold. This is a common 907 fault and results from the slanted design, where oil pools above a vertical gasket seal and seeps through. The best cure is the reusuable rubber gaskets which I got from the Jensen Healey preservation society. If it's from the tailpipe, wait and see what it is like after some use. Mine smoked like a devil at first, but some use and some ametech cleared the exhaust up completely.

Good luck.

[Warren]

In the engine compartment, look for a bunch of wires terminating in a bolt low down on the inner wing on the drivers side. This is the main earth point for your loom. Undo the nuts and clean the ring connectors up with emery until the contacts are clean.

That's really useful, hopefully I can have a play this weekend.

I'd also clean the ends of all the fuses in the fusebox. Try turning the cooling fan by hand. Mine was just stuck from standing for 7 years and burst into life with a little push.

Did this first but no joy, maybe the above will cure things

A replacement otter switch is also worthwile

Whats an otter switch?

When you say blue smoke, do you mean from the engine compartment or the exhast tailpipe? If its in the compartment, it will likely be oil seeping through the cam carrier gasket and dropping onto the hot manifold. This is a common 907 fault and results from the slanted design, where oil pools above a vertical gasket seal and seeps through.

It comes from low down the passenger bank but due to the canted engine I can't see a thing, I suspect a slight rocker cover oil leak plus loads of water where the car has been stood.

Quiet forum this isn't it, I also have a AK Cobra Replica, you want to take a look at that forum, it's buzzing all the time. http://www.cobraclub.com/

Maybe it's because I'm asking the daft beginner questions.

Thanks for the help Duncan

Warren

[Dunc]

No, they are not daft questions. They are things that we have all asked and pondered over when we were at the same stage as you in our resto projects.

This section of the forum is a bit quiet because elites and eclats are now very rare. I'd bet there are a lot more cobra replicas being built in garages than there are elites and eclats being restored. Owners with running cars perhaps have less technical awareness than those that build/restore their cars and are less likely to lurk in forums. Also, the average elite/eclat enthusiast is probably a bit older and less likely to spend hours on the net. Our form was migrated to the TLF a few months ago, and a lot of posters have not moved with us.

On the 907, the cams are held in towers with 2 "rocker covers". The lower one is a bitch to get to seal properly as oil pools above it. Do a google search on "jensen Healey preservation society". The J-H used a slightly lower tune version of the Lotus 907 engine, and their rubber reusable rocker cover gaskets are excellent, a far better idea than the standard Lotus ones.

The otter switch is the fan control thermostatic switch. They are not particularly reliable and would be my prime suspect for your non working cooling fan.

this link shows pics of it (for an esprit)

http://www.lotusespr...TTERSwitch.html

Our cars are really quite simple. You'll have her MOT'd in no time providing the chassis is a pass.

D

Edited September 11, 2010 by Dunc

[lostcause]

the otter switch is in a steel pipe in the top hose, if you join the wires together, the fans should power up, assuming the relays and wiring are sound.. good luck with the project.

Mark

[Warren]

Going to drag my sorry self out of bed in the morning and make a start on these pointers, thanks guys.

B'day tomorrow and apparently the kids are coming and I'm the one paying for lunch......................how did that happen??????

Warren

[Dunc]

Happy birthday Warren!

NB post some pics of your car. It helps to generate enthusiasm and inspiration for others if people can see what is happening with your car and what you are taking on/progressing with. Also helps the elite/eclat section know each other. Cars tend to linger longer in the memory than names on forums...

D

[Stokey]

Hi Warren, Welcome to the forum!

I too embarked on a 1978 Elite about 12 months ago. Your post made me chuckle as it brought back some memories LOL they are mostly the same faults with mine (some of which I have sorted others not yet). Here are a few of the things mine needed to sort out the problems.

1st thing get the cambelt changed ASAP including the tensioner.

1. Radiator fans not working - replaced otter switch (get it from Graham Walker a scimitar dealer in Chester area cost about £18 - Lotus one about £70) still didn't work then found the relay (small square metal one fixed in the inner wheel arch under the bonnet) - Fans then kicked in somewhere about 95 degrees on my guage but I wouldn't think it was very accurate. I had one plastic fan and one metal fan strangely one sucked through the rad and one blew through it. rewired them.

2. Electric Windows, drivers side worked fine (but slow) passenger side would go down but not up - Contacts inside the switches were very dirty also poor Earths (Most Lotus electrical problems are bad earths, finding them can be a pig).

3. Indicators - Bad earths, rewired all mine. Cleaned contacts inside the hazard switch. Hazards then worked but still only drivers side of the indicators flashed. turned out to be a broken wire in the loom (green and red one from memory). I ended up running a wire from the column switch to the pin on the hazard switch with an inline fuse in it. Bingo!

4. Rev Counter - turned out to be White and grey wire which runs to ignition coil.

5. Handbrake not holding - Not done yet, but looks to be cable/ mechanism siezed up, it is by the diff at the rear of the car.

6. Horn - Mine still toots

Pictures please!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope this helps,

Anything else just ask, we will all try to help

Jase.

[Tocus]

jase you maby also can help me...

i have the same problem as warren only on the other window........

(2. Electric Windows, drivers side worked fine (but slow) passenger side would go down but not up - Contacts inside the switches were very dirty also poor Earths (Most Lotus electrical problems are bad earths, finding them can be a pig) )

.. butt do you mean the contacts on the window motor itselfs? or inside the motor?

and do you also know why my heater is not working? i know that it is the vacuum systeem because he dont open the heaterthing.. its just leaking air? thats why he is not opening? (the hotair box.. with interiur radiateur..)

thanks allready..

[Stokey]

Hi Tocus,

I don't know about the heater problem as I haven't looked at mine yet, but the problem with my electric window was with the contacts inside the switch on the dash. if you pop it apart you can clean the contact with a little bit of wet and dry abrasive paper and some electrical contact cleaner. I spent ages when I first had it checking all the wiring replacing earths etc but it was the switch in my case.

I did the same with my hazard switch which now works again.

[Tocus]

thanks jase for the response,

its not the switch afther the dashbord everything is good and looks as new, and you also hear a "click" inside the window motor when i want to putt the window back up to close it butt it just dont go up,

butt, i have a eclat for spares so i get one window engine off and then putt it back on my elite..

[Warren]

This seems like a good time to point you at another thread - see engines ancillaries.

Also, those wanting to see a piccy of the car it was shown in the "Barn Find" thread

Warren

[Warren]

Okay, finally started then stopped dead, got the front of the floor and found the following and took the pictures.

For some reason I cannot start a new topic so put them here. Now the funny thing is that the chassis looks okay. I can't see any big reason for this extended welding, unless it was a project and it's someone idea of stiffening the existing chassis. Dilemma is, with this much welding on a chassis known for being flimsy in the first place surely it will have distorted it.

I bought the car as a rolling resto and really can't be asked getting into a chassis change. Can't add any more photos either due to size limit 1000K, is there another way to do this

Thanks in advance

Edited April 1, 2011 by Warren

[EliteMike]

Hi Warren

Think they all look like that, well the two I had/have did/do and they were/are original chassis, Dont know whether it was a development in the very early chassis design before production, where they added bits to get result they wanted, and then did not redesign just carried on doing the same in production.

Good luck with the re build

Mike

Edited April 2, 2011 by EliteMike

[Simon350S]

To raise your attachment allowance you'll need to join up as a full member. Either that or use something like photobucket to host your images.

Can't see a lot wrong in that photo, what's your concerns?

[Warren]

Now you've got me thinking, will try the photo bucket idea. Member of too many clubs to be weighing in with subscriptions all over. Watch this space I'll try phot bucket, some of the welding looks awful and I have better pictures for you to see.

Cheers

Warren

[Warren]

Right, try this, hit zoom in and you can see the snotty welds I am talking about. Any feedback welcome, if you think it is original I'll crack on but reluctant to go further at this stage

Cheers

Warren

Edited April 6, 2011 by USAndretti42
Fixed photo link

[Steve Cook]

I'd say thats possibly had a front end shunt at some time and the anti-roll bar mount has been cut off and replaced through damage. I wouldnt be too concerned if thats the extent of it as this outrigger doesn't have too much load through it.

Steve

[Warren]

The chassis sides do look straight, I could tidy up the outriggers by grinding back and MIG welding them up better.

I really don't want to scrap it but these aren't worth a great deal done, the money ain't that important, it's an itch that needed to be scratched but it can't be a bottomless pit.

Again, I just can't see the reason for this, I'd love to see some similar pictures of other cars. Particularly the area where I have my axle stands placed, they seem to have two traingular areas welded together. Doesn't look origninal but it would give me more confidence if it was.

Cheers

Warren

[TonyPoll]

The forward triangular frame holding the anti-roll bar was a point of failure on early Excels (not sure about Eclats/Elites), and a serious/critical recall by the Dept of Transport. A fixing kit is (was) available from Lotus to strengthen this part. Maybe someone tried a home made fix here on yours.

[Warren]

I suppose that would make sense, anyhoo, looks like I'll be signing off. Can't add photos nor start new topics, already member of toooooo many car clubs so be subscribing to yet another. Cheated a bit by extending my old thread, good source of info though.

Shame, Cobra club, couple of the Jag clubs, and the Merc clubs allow guest members. Okay some limit photo's but do allow postings.

Maybe if I drop something else I'll join up. See y'all for now.

Warren

[Tim Jones]

Evening all - spotted this whilst having a prowl and thought I'd sign in and say hello.

I have a 1979 Eclat 521 that I have owned for almost 27 years (most of which, I have to say, it has stood motionless in my garage), but a couple of years ago, the realisation that I'd owned it 25 years has started it on the road back (hopefully).

I'm hoping to run it this summer for the first time in ages (assuming it doesn't dump me by the side of the road like it used to)

Just been looking at www.howmanyleft.com and, in 2010, only 12 1979 Eclat's were taxed (with 22 being SORN'd) so there are really not many of these babies left.

Pics can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.490238994255.269116.561939255&type=3&l=73525fe0cf

Priority this year is to give it some miles and hope that it helps to sort out the gremlins.

[USAndretti42]

For a car that's been stood in a garage for 20-odd years or even 20-odd minutes it looks very good.

Welcome to the forum, Tim. It seems that the more often you use your Lotus, the more reliable it is.

[esprit s2]

I can't get on Facebook at work, can someone copy a pic and post it on here please?