Another resto...

[Dunc]

I think its the input shaft thats usually 23 spline on the ford boxes (clutch end), Some googling suggests eclat 520 clutch is 23 spline.

I think its lighter duty than a type 5, I think it is a type E.

Have a look on burtonpower - it should help you id the box.

Dunc

[CharlieCroker]

Awesome progress, must be so satisfying to know you did all this on your own. I know how chuffed I felt with just removing the engine! Keep the photos coming...

[cdfps]

There is also the fact you did this on a gravel car port!  Kudos to you on that.  

My first and last gravel engine swap was a 1989 Chevrolet Suburban way back in the day.  

While that wasn't one of my more brilliant moves, I used painters scaffold.  

The stuff I used was this.  In the states, you can buy it from a home center, rent it, or if you are lucky borrow it from a friend. 

I put up the two end frames using bricks for support, used the x bracing on one side only and places a timber across the tops to attach my chainfall.  I'm surprised I didn't take any pictures but the reason I was doing the swap in the driveway was probably because I needed the car.

Putting this around the front and lifting would be cake, but I'm not exactly sure how you would do the back. (two whole units maybe?)

Anyway, good job and keep the pictures coming!

[mikeeech]

Thanks guys. I removed the engine with the car in the garage and pushed the car out to the gravel for the body lift - much easier to push without the engine in... I need the garage space for the chassis work after all! I do need a better way to do this for putting the body on since it was not that great on gravel... I need a better plan.

great link Roos, thanks. I has given b=me a better idea for gettign the body up again for the refit.

[mikeeech]

Dropped a couple of wheels off to BJV engineering this morning for diamond cuttiing. The other two will go next week (I have a very small car and couldn't get them all in at once particularly with tyres on!

http://www.wheelrefurbishing.co.uk/oldsite/contact.htm

Most places I contacted who said they do diamond cutting decided that they couldn't diamond cut the wheels after I sent them a picture of them!

Anyway...

Then spent the afternoon stripping the front of the old chassis down so hubs are off, springs and shocks off, power steering rack and anti roll bar. Plan is to strip all the bits from the rear end tomorrow so the new chassis can go in the garage ready for the re-assembly process. This swap should happen next week and with a week off in early May should see most of the work done and the body back on before the end of the summer.  

So thoughts turn to how to prep the suspension components... powder coating or stove enameling? Also need poly bushes for everything.

Oh and thinking to the very long term... if this car is finished to the level I'm hoping is the number plate really appropriate??

[CharlieCroker]

Awesome, we need more photos, get your iPhone out and start snapping!

[mikeeech]

Apple is an Evil empire... at least google says "don't do Evil!" even if they don't really mean it!

front of chassis before the last spring was removed...

the pile of bits - surprisingly small!

[mikeeech]

Didn't get the rear stripped completely as I had planned (darn the Grand Prix!). Just the diff to go though so still largly on track. 

Whoever did the last body off thing last time round seemed to just coat everything in hamerite... when i removed the drive shafts there was a rusty patch underneath...

behold

Also the chassis around the diff has not been hamerited at all! Clearly only a cosmetic job but it seems like a lot of work to do. 

[CharlieCroker]

Mine is all crusty as well, needs a good wire brushing, cleaning and painting. Good progress, keep up the good work. :-)

[mikeeech]

On the positive side the chassis does look fairly tidy and brake pipes are all copper so apart from the gearbox, the engine, the bodywork, and interior it's all good! ;->

Just a quick update...

The old chassis is now stripped down of everything except the front brake manifold and the handbrake mechanism. The new chassis has had the saharan sand blasted off it from the recent pollution event and that will be moved into the garage later today. The good news is the new powdercoated chassis has held up well to the weather in the last few months...  

The bad news is that the copper brake pipes are not all copper (only the ones on display) and the chassis looks very poorly done previously so I would like to revise my first comment on this subject but I'm glad I went for a chassis swap.

only question is how I get the handbrake cable through the very small hole in the chassis since both ends of the cable are too fat to fit!

[CharlieCroker]

I hate these sort of conundrums, I wouldn't know how to fit the cable other than drilling a bigger hole there must be someone on here who has already done this?

[eclat22]

From memory there should be a keyway hole ie larger hole at rear to feed eyelet end of cable through the move the cable through the slot into the smaller hole so that the end of the outer sheath locates in the smaller hole. This should be in the top channel of the chassis where the rear forks.

This is from memory as you are aware there is no space in my garage for me to have a closer look at my car.

Think horizontal figure of 8

Hope this helps Dan if you want a better explanation call me

[LOTUSPOINT]

... there should be a keyway hole ...

That's it!

(I have a 76' Eclat chassis and there it is like that)

[mikeeech]

From memory there should be a keyway hole ie larger hole at rear

Found it. Easier to see in the sunshine now the chassis is out of the garage rather than in the dingy depths of my garage when everything is painted black! Thanks for the help.

Ordered x4 shocks and stainless braided brake hoses ready to fit to the white chassis which is now in the garage ready for the reassembly process. Will just need braided fuel lines, copper brake pipes and poly bushes as the last of the major expenses. The rest fo the costs for the rolling chassis will be for powder coating. 

This weekend will see the stripping down of the front hubs and the rear suspension radius arms and hubs in order to get them sand blasted and powder coated just around the corner!

Update on the wheels is that the engineer who was going to diamond cut them thought that there was not enough material on the dished interior on both wheels I left with them. This was an assesment made by eye so we agreed I would drop the other two in, in order to see if there was a difference since I suspect that at least 1 wheel is not original. If there was a noticable difference then this would enable me to source good replacements, if there was no difference then I might just risk it but unfortunantely a gas explosion in the workshop has led to him being off for 3 weeks!

[O.K. a completely inappropriate use of a smiley but I couldn't resist...]

On the selfish side, should I have left the wheels with them, since such a serious accident at work could lead to this company being shut down by the health and safety exec and my wheels retained by the liquidators  ?!

Costs so far running at £2500 including the price of the car! With a further comittment of £350 for the wheels if they can be done!

Kind of alot for a pile of parts.

[eclat22]

Hi Mike, glad you sorted the handbrake cable, I had a set of gkn wheels diamond cut by pristine wheels of Woburn. For braided fuel lines etc I use www.thinkauto.com very helpful

Good luck Dan

[CharlieCroker]

Cool, good progress, keep it up. 

[mikeeech]

Bugger... shocks are on back order and will not be here for 3 weeks! This will really delay the reassembly process and to think I have booked a week off work in May to get this done...

Springs and anti-roll bar are being sand blasted and powder coated at the moment, front and rear suspension components are with a local engineering company to get bushes removed before these go off for blasting and powder coating at the end of the week.

Poly bushes are on order from SJ sportscars - rear radius arm poly bushes are on back order from Lotus with no lead time quoted other than "months" so these will have to come off again at some point in the future.

5 speed gearbox is sourced... from a cetain white elite in Ipswich that supplied Charlie with a dash board, centre consol, windscreen etc - which I pick up on friday with some other odds and ends.

The reassembly process will start with fuel lines and brake hoses since this can be done without the suspension on... the front hubs will not be rebuilt until the car is ready for the road - these will be easy to get off with the body on and may be years away. Rear brakes will be rebuilt though since these look like a pig to do with the body on.

I've heard that the diff is tough so was not going to get this rebuilt but mearly change the oil and perhaps inspect it but all seems fine (it moves at least!).

Pics of parts in the coming weeks...!

[eclat22]

Hi Mike, output shaft seals on diff are prone to going, and then dump the oil into the rear brakes. Worth considering whilst the car is in bits.

Regards Dan

[CharlieCroker]

5 speed gearbox is sourced... from a cetain white elite in Ipswich that supplied Charlie with a dash board, centre consol, windscreen etc - which I pick up on friday with some other odds and ends.

He was quite a nice guy and was very helpful in removing the parts and had a whole workshop full of tools available to use. Can't be much left of that car now other than the body and wheels, didn't look at the chassis so that may be still usable? Great to hear your project is moving along, look forward to more photos. 

[mikeeech]

Hi Mike, output shaft seals on diff are prone to going, and then dump the oil into the rear brakes. Worth considering whilst the car is in bits.

Regards Dan

Top tip - will do. Thanks for this Dan.

[mikeeech]

Just a tantaliser for you...

copper brake pipes, nickel coated p clips for said pipes, laquer to keep them all shiney, powder coated springs and antiroll bar, braided fuel pipe, poly bushes and rubberised plastic coat (to coat the spring compressors so I don't scratch the springs!) all ready to go on the white chassis. Secondhand gearbox in the pic too!

Work starts in earnest on reassembling the rolling chassis next week so just need to pick up the powder coated suspension bits (white too!) later this week and pray for the delivery of the shocks which should be with me on Tuesday. This gives me the weekend to fit the poly bushes to the suspension, assemble the wishbones with new upper ball joints, do the brake pipes, and route the fuel pipe, paint and fit the steering rack... need to sort the wheels out too!

More updates through next week...

[mikeeech]

PS... not happy with using old bolts for all this now that Lotuspoint has shown the way!

[CharlieCroker]

Looking like you are moving along nicely, some really awesome work going on. Loving the white chassis, is that factory spec?

[mikeeech]

Looking like you are moving along nicely, some really awesome work going on. Loving the white chassis, is that factory spec?

No. Tart's spec.

[mikeeech]

Some farting around done today and some really annoying jobs have come up...

Top wishbones are reasembled with new ball joints and poly bushes, Anti-roll bar bolted on with poly bushes - so big ticks in those boxes. 

Problem 1;- Routing the fuel pipe through the chassis. I went with a 6mm ID braided hose which is all good and most of the routing holes through the chassis are big enough to pass it through except the one at the rear which will need widening out. No big deal but a pain none the less.

Problem 2;- Front lower links. The chassis was second hand galvanised and to save cost it went straight from the pick up point to sand blasting/powder coating. I've now discovered that it has a sheared bolt in the near side lower link mounting which will need drilling out. Another pain which will soak up alot of time but again not a really big deal.

Problem 3;- For whatever reason I have not ordered all of the suspension bushes I need for next week. Now that's really annoying - so I will probably pay my first visit to Lotus bits on Tuesday.

Problem 4;- Front lower link. The lower link poly bushes I thought I had, and fitted, make the lower link too wide to fit. These were listed as lower wishbone bush in the front suspension parts list of the SJSportscars website - so I'm not sure whats going on here. Has anyone got pictures of a lower link with poly bushes fitted?

My plan to get the rolling chassis reassembled next week is now looking remote - specially if my shocks don't turn up next week as planned.

ho hum!