S1 Project car - part 2 - the continuation

[Lotusfab]

Also when you can't bolt the mounting plate to the pump because your metric bolts don't work, that's because they are BSF bolts. These like most other parts can be found on Ebay. BSF just means a finer thread with a different pitch.

[Lotusfab]

Have started to rewire the car using an S1 loom from S and J. My original loom was slightly worn. Although it could be used I decide to rebuild as new as far as possible. The only problem is the car is a late S1 an has dual headlight motors and blowers. It also has other refinements which means the loom is missing circuits. I am replacing these using the original colour codes. The wiring is available from Autosparks, which is on the internet.

The first thing I noticed is the loom has the fuel pump wiring on the passenger side, originally it was on the drivers side. My old loom had this section added by Lotus. My car also has a Flowlock valve. The wiring for these is simple and will replicate the Lotus mod.

The new loom uses 9 strand wire not 14. If you want to know why look on the Autosparks website. All wiring standards were changed from 14 to 9. If your rewiring the colour codes are not random. Google the Lucas wiring standard. It will give you a breakdown of what colour does what.

[Lotusfab]

For example black - ground, blue headlamps etc. striped wires are subdivisions of each circuit once again listed in the decode. If you are doing any wiring you must have a test meter. Mine cost £7 on ebay and does everything you need, mainly continuity testing and resistance measuring. The easiest way to do the rewire is to label your old loom before you remove it. Then lay it out and when you fit the new loom just copy the circuits if there are discrepancies. Ideally the new loom should be exact, bit with the evolution rate of the early Esprit this is unlikely for an S1.

[Lotusfab]

FUEL PUMP UNION

The saga of the SU fuel pump continues! The Burlen fitting is the correct one for the pump that seals against the rubber O ring. However is seems Lotus did use the straight connector in the first picture, not an ideal solution. Has anyone with an S1 also got this union? If I use the Burlen fitting the male thread diameter is smaller than the female part on the fuel line. Because an adaptor is not available off the shelf I would have to make one, or have one made. There would be extra joints, adding weight, more chance of leaking and the job would drag on. The seal with an adapter would be dependant on the thread, no different to using the straight union ( except more joints). So I have come full circle. I will use the original straight connector. The fibre washer and O ring serve no purpose with this fitting and will be discarded. The thread seal is the only thing stopping the pump from leaking. Because of this will use Locktite 577 rather than PTFE tape to seal the thread. The stuffs expensive but it works! Hopefully I can now assemble the fuel system and get back to the wiring.

WIRING

Have finished the engine bay apart from the loom addition needed for the fuel pump which has migrated over the other side of the engine bay. Am matching the original colour coding, the wiring is very cheap about 25p meter. The engine bay wiring is simple the new loom came with a plug connector for the Lucas distributor. The main alternator wires are identically to the original loom. They carry the current to the front of the car. This is good news as the new loom is for an early S1. I have additions of dual headlamp motors and dual blower. Inspection of the original loom shows Lotus added them after the loom was constructed. Addition of the circuits should be straight forward (for a Lotus). There aren't too many wires in this loom. It's really easy with the test meter to work out where they start and finish. That with a colour coded wiring diagram kindly provided by Phil, so far it's easy.

[Lotusfab]

Started on fuel vent system. Have done a complete 180 in thinking. Have decided to adopt the T piece return system, without valves. The vent valve shuts of the fuel line if the car inverts. Providing the final vent is lower than the fuel tank when the car inverts it is higher and no fuel can leak out. Also the 6 m length of pipe is needed to prevent fumes being smelt, short lengths would not be as effective. the inline pipe on the left to the filler neck vent. The left to the filler neck vent on the other tank. The lower vent pipe also to the other side of the car and down and out just in front of the offside wheel. Taped the two hoses at intervals to hold whilst using contact adhesive. The pipe is fitted just above the bulkhead in the recess and will cover with carpet.the pipes are not visible from the rear above the bulkhead. they are also not visible above the 1/4 window, as seen here.job not complete yet pipe will eventually pass out below as described.

Wiring complete in engine bay new loom worked well, only an extension circuit needed for fuel pump. Fuel system all complete, used all original unions with Locktite ultra expensive sealant!!!.

[Lotusfab]

Well it's really getting there now. Boot boards fitted and apart from the trimming, engine bay complete except for the usual modifications fire extinguisher and bilge blower for cooling. Now the fun job of removing glue from Binnacle and other bits that require Nextel coating.

Two ways to remove glue sanding or hot water and scraping. Hot water method is cleaner but both require a lot of effort.

[Lotusfab]

glue was removed using hot water and a plastic scraper. Only the other one to do! Always one more job on this project!

[iainskea]

Great storyline, I'm following your efforts in 2015 - thanks for posting

Iain

[Lotusfab]

Still rubbing down binnacle thought I'd have a change so fitted the near side finisher an trim. Found the easiest way to cut the trim was using a vice, hacksaw blade nd then file till smooth. Took many trial fit to get it right.

[Lotusfab]

Have been working on radiator housing, usual fiberglass repairs. Have decide to fit 3 seven inch blower Kenlowe fans to front. They use 3.6 amps each in paralel may have to upgrade the harness wiring and use a relay. The fans have low power consumption but their design means they deliver a lot of cooling air. Downside their not cheap.spent two hours cleaning rear glass and trial fitted. Plan to use Dinitrol kit to fix. I do a lot of the work upside down!!!

[iainskea]

With the fans, I fitted individual fuses per fan to avoid one faulty fan taking down the whole system. Iain

[Lotusfab]

Hi Iain, that's a good idea - hadn't thought of that. Planning on an extra fan in the engine bay and heat sheilding on rear valance and wiring.

[jonroberts]

Started on fuel vent system. Have done a complete 180 in thinking.  

 

Did you use the A036L0085V hose on the  SJ website or a cheaper alternative ?

Edited December 28, 2014 by Jon Roberts

[Lotusfab]

Hi Jon,

Used pipe from S and j. If a valve is used it has to allow air movement in both directions for tank expansion or to stop a vacume forming in tank. But most importantly when inverted it must shut off. To achieve this a ball bering covers a breather hole when inverted. The valve in your picture looks like a non return valve and not a rollover valve, You will have to investigate further. Spoke to an expert who said you could vent the pipe directly down out through the front of the wheel arch on both sides using a rollover valve. Then another chap explained why Lotus used a long pipe that crosses over. The reason is fumes. There is less chance of fumes with a longer pipe. In the parts manual type vent system if the car rolls over the end of the pipe which exits through the driver side forward of the wheel arch is higher than the fuel tank and therefore fuel will not leak out. Took me months to find ll this out. The Lotus way is cheaper as it does not use any valves, but it's more untidy in the car - although you cannot see the pipes when installed.

[wachuko]

Subscribed!

 

Do you have a link to part 1 of this restoration?

[v8vantage]

Try this Jaime, http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/37181-s1-project-car/

[wachuko]

Try this Jaime, http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/37181-s1-project-car/

Ahhh...change of owners!  No wonder I could not find the thread.  Thank you!!

[Lotusfab]

Both finishers now on and silver trim complete!B posts fitted.

Both finishers now on and silver trim complete!B posts fitted.next job fit rear screen and chrome trims

[Freemason]

Any pics of how you fit the finishers and window seal?

[Lotusfab]

The quarter window seals push on to the window edges. News ones are available from S and J sportscars and are a reasonable price. They have a joint in the top middle of the window. I glued this joint together using a type of industrial super glue, like permabond.

How to fit the finishers over the plastic silver trim?this is how I did it.

1. Firstly mark length of silver trim. At the front it finishes where window chrome ends and at rear it finishes at end of finisher.

used test piece of silver trim and tried cutting with knife. Found it difficult to cut straight. So used a hack saw blade, cut the trim along its length except where it goes around front windscreen. Then filed smooth. This gave a much better finish, although you can't really see the cut edge. Holding in a vice was the best solution, moving the strip along as you cut and file.

2. Once cut place on body in required position an secure with masking tape. Dry fit finisher over top and adjust until best fit. In order to curve silver trim at front window corner make cuts to allow the silver trim to bend without kinks.

3. Remove finisher and rivet the silver trim to the car body using silicone sealant at all rivet holes.

4. re-drill new rivet holes where required and dry fit finisher. When perfect silicone lower edge all the way along and rivet into position.

The whole job took two days to get right without rushing.

hope this helps.

[Lotusfab]

For those of you reading this blog and thinking of restoring your Lotus the biggest delays were caused by lack of information and Mis information. The Lotus manual has practically no useful info except the circuit diagram and some mechanical bits. The parts manual is of more use. Every job required more time in research than it took to rebuild. This forum was invaluable, but there is still a great lack of pictures from guys who have done all of these jobs to a high standard. On this blog I wil try to put pictures on as a starting point. The next job I have coming up is the tailgate windscreen fitting. Will post how it was done here. This job alone I have been researching for months. Surprisingly this is one of the few jobs Lotus details in their Esprit manual.

Have to rewire entire front loom will try and photograph some of that but it's pretty boring stuff! The most important thing will be working out current loads and counting wire strands to ensure circuits cannot be overloaded.

The steering will also be reassembled soon. Just finished the entire repair of the steering columb to include new nylon pins, as the originals were sheard when the colum was removed. These were compressed into the holes using a vice. The ignition switch is new and is available from Rimmer Bros, it's off a triumph. Have new key blanks on order from S and J sports cars. Have to give them full credit for being the only source of some parts. Also PMN engineering provided a replacement steering Lock and Key - spent 3 months searching and had almost given up. They are also excellent for fabricating bespoke parts.

[Freemason]

Awesome thread. I will for sure refer to this for my S2 project.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Freemason

[wachuko]

This is so spot on!! I have been researching, downloading photos, copying bits and pieces of information, making a list of parts needed, trying to find vendors that carry these rare parts, etc. Not an easy task when there are very few well-documented restoration projects.

Anything you can do to list detail steps, share photos, call out the vendor (link to website, phone number, etc), and overall information on what to expect or avoid...will go a long way for future owners faced with these tasks.

Thank you!!!

For those of you reading this blog and thinking of restoring your Lotus the biggest delays were caused by lack of information and Mis information. The Lotus manual has practically no useful info except the circuit diagram and some mechanical bits. The parts manual is of more use. Every job required more time in research than it took to rebuild. This forum was invaluable, but there is still a great lack of pictures from guys who have done all of these jobs to a high standard. On this blog I wil try to put pictures on as a starting point. The next job I have coming up is the tailgate windscreen fitting. Will post how it was done here. This job alone I have been researching for months. Surprisingly this is one of the few jobs Lotus details in their Esprit manual.

Have to rewire entire front loom will try and photograph some of that but it's pretty boring stuff! The most important thing will be working out current loads and counting wire strands to ensure circuits cannot be overloaded.

The steering will also be reassembled soon. Just finished the entire repair of the steering columb to include new nylon pins, as the originals were sheard when the colum was removed. These were compressed into the holes using a vice. The ignition switch is new and is available from Rimmer Bros, it's off a triumph. Have new key blanks on order from S and J sports cars. Have to give them full credit for being the only source of some parts. Also PMN engineering provided a replacement steering Lock and Key - spent 3 months searching and had almost given up. They are also excellent for fabricating bespoke parts.image.jpg

[Lotusfab]

DECALS!

Got Esprit decals with I bought this partially done project. Marked them out and went to put them one but noticed they looked different to a photograph of the Bond car - the script was different. an American chap on the forum had an original S1 with the decals intact and was kind enough to supply a photo. Have reproduced the original with decal fever. At about £6 pair if you have just resprayed this will save you time and money. http://decalfever.co.uk. Here's the result, and there's more about this in another thread. Of course doesn't really matter as no one will notice, we're all privileged just to own any Lotus! attachment=30486:image.jpg]second picture original bond car from museum. First picture the new decal.

Ps If any moderator is reading please could they turn pictures up the correct way, thanks.

[Lotusfab]

The end result of 9 months work and scouring the Internet, a fully rebuilt steering columb with new keys! The blanks came from S and J but the local locksmith said they are Leyland keys and he stocks them also. As I said before the new ignition switch is off a triumph and was supplied by Rimmer Bros.

Spent hours rubbing down the Binnacle and other bits for Nextel coating. Two grades of paper down most of the binnacle glue gone. Slight repair required on edge of plywood then a few more hours of rubbing down and ready for primer. Plan to rebuild and dry fit all parts and pipes prior to Nextel so no damage occurs to the finish. Think this will take a while!