S1 Project car - part 2 - the continuation

[Lotusfab]

Just got round to ignition barrel problem. The end of the barrel is missing, does anyone know the cross part reference? Was it used on the Triumph?Also,considering replacing bearings inside column has anyone done this yet?

Have bought Talbot Simca dash from ebay, when it arrives will post whether it can be used for spares for the Veglia display.

[Lotusfab]

The only common part in the Talbot Simca dash are the Bulb holders. The other instruments are made by smiths and all better design and quality than the Veglia. The Smiths internal components could be used to repair a Veglia display with a little work.

[Lotusfab]

Steering column repaired, all bearing replaced. Got them from specialist bearing company online. Measured originals with micrometer and vernier calipers.

[vintaylor]

Would love to read up the information regarding the steering column rebuild

[Lotusfab]

Hi Vin,

Bearings had reached end of their useful life. So stripped column apart. Had to drill out rivets holding upper bearing housing to shaft. The lower bearing is of an old design with loose ball bearings held in place by grease. The upper bearing was difficult to find but eventually found a perfect match online. It's now sealed and of modern design. Was very easy to rebuild and now operates as good as when first produced.

[Lotusfab]

Fuel tanks although quite reasonable, needed improving. So used POR15.to degrease, prime and seal the tanks. Prior to this they were shot lasted and powder coated.

Took 3 days to complete tanks and a lot of effort!

[Lotusfab]

Ignition switch - spent three weeks and travelled all over trying to get a switch. There seem to be two types fitted to the S1. This smaller diameter switch is very rare and cannot be supplied by any of the main dealers. The only switch that will fit comes from an MGB, but needs minor modification before it will work! Moss Europe stock to MGB switch. The steering lock was made by Lowe and Fletcher, a company still operating today! They were similar to British Leyland parts but may have been specially made for Lotus as the only other one I could find had slightly different dimensions.

[philleech]

Ive got some spare veglia movements for the ancillary gauges if youre interested...

Phil

pjmleech@gmail.com

[vintaylor]

Top work Fabian

 

Any chance you have any pics or part numbers - for a complete novice of course

[vintaylor]

just saw the pics .. sorry been reading this thread off my phone 

[Lotusfab]

Thanks Phil, managed to reassemble Veglias and all working at the moment.

[Lotusfab]

Took seat rails apart for powder coating and broke two of the plastic inserts. As these are not available only option make some new ones. 3D printing them at the moment. Will be able to manufacture more if required, not cheap though! Want to keep car as original as possible. With 3 D printing can make any nylon or plastic part, no problem!

[Freemason]

Top stuff! Where online did you get the bearings for the steering column from?

[iainskea]

Nice job on the tanks, that's what I hope mine come up like this weekend.

[Lotusfab]

Bearings came from simplybearings.co.uk

[Lotusfab]

The seat rail runner has now been fabricated, judge for yourself. If anyone needs any parts replicated google Digits2 widgets. They made this in a few days!

[vintaylor]

Top work i am probably getting a replacement set for mine as the blasting and powder coating will amount to the same as buying new replacements

[Freemason]

Excellent work. Worth doing I reckon because from what I've read replacements are not a perfect fit and require drilling new holes. Would love to see how the seat runners came up after powder coating. And how the devil did you pull them apart to get that plastic tab out? I can't see any way of pulling mine apart.

[Lotusfab]

Used a file to remove end stop in runner. Then removed tabs with roller bearings, new printed tab shown in picture, havn't had time to fit yet.Seat runners came back as new from powder coater. Will post picture later.

[Freemason]

Ah, I see! So if you removed the end stops, how did you solve the lack of them when it came to reassembling?

[Lotusfab]

For anyone who has tried to separate the seat runners they will no how difficult it is to separate them. The only way to do it is to remove one pair of end stops in the lower part of the rail by filing or drilling them out. My solution is to drill through each end stop on the lower rail and rivet afterwards to prevent the plastic component from coming out. The roller bearing is such a tight fit any slight raised surface at the end of the rail will prevent it from coming out. Have just started to reassemble the rails. The new parts I had made are a tight fit. Just need to file them down slightly to get the rail action perfect. Here is a picture of a riveted rail works perfect just need to paint rivet black.

[Lotusfab]

just need to file the rivet slightly then paint!

[Freemason]

Nice work! I guess another option would be to fit a nut and flat head bolt where you've drilled the end stops out.

[Lotusfab]

Been working on body and heater assembly. Bulkhead was partially rotten so totally replaced and varnished, re glassed it. Plan to paint boot areas with Epoxy paint. West system resin mixed with black pigment. This mimics the original Lotus Trimite manufactured paint. The paint will bond to the fiberglass as this method is used in the boat industry.

Nearly ready for total reassembly. Fuel tanks need to go back in. Does anyone have any pictures of fuel tanks in situ, shelving and boot boards. Thanks.

[vintaylor]

Great work Fabian

Did you use sealant for the joints between the sills and the body?