S1 Project car - part 2 - the continuation

[Choppa]

Is Steve Fulcher doing the seats for you as well? You'll have to post a photo when you get them back.

That's odd about the screws not being long enough, it almost sounds like that bit of your door card isn't fitting close enough to the inner door frame where the handle mounts. On  mine the rear of the door card just about touches that bit of the frame before I fit the surround and tighten the screws and once tightened they touch. It's never been a difficult job to remove and re fit the cards.

 IMO it might be worth checking for any excessive gaps between your card and the frame, you wouldn't want to distort the new card by winding the longer screws in to try and bridge the gap. Are you sure the door card is fitted correctly around the bottom edge? It could be that the new material on the card is  a bit  thicker around those lower edges  and is preventing it from fitting correctly.

 

  

[Lotusfab]

Thanks for the gen. Yep Steve has almost completed one and is working hard on the other.. 

Have managed to fit the door card. It wasn't easy! Used long 2 inch bolts to hold the inner door handle plate in position whilst I prised the inner door handle forward to fit the black clip on surround. Then replaced the bolts one at a time with the shorter screws. Do not actuate the door handle until it is totally screwed on as the push rod will come off and you have to start again. It's great to see all the glass in after the window breakage!

[Lotusfab]

Seats, all you need to know  - for the die hard Tartan car fan! 

There so much work required to get these done correctly it's unbelievable. You may remember my seats were trimmed when I got the car. Here's a picture. Whilst this may look OK there are several things wrong and so I had to make the gut wrenching decision to start again! 

The Tartan used is Menzies Hunting tartan, but for those experts you may notice the Tartan pattern is not correct. The tartan is wool! You can't use 100 percent wool on a seat. It has to have nylon to make it wear resistant. Steve is using the original nylon weave and pattern, of which there's only enough left for three more cars, which have already been allocated. This cloth will never be remade with nylon because you would have to weave hundreds of meters to make it cost effective and there arnt enough S1s in the world. The seat suspension needed replacing to make the seat firm. The seat in the picture the tartan bumps are glued and not stitched. The whole thing will fall apart when you start to use it. The red stitching is poor. Pictures tend to make things appear better than they are!

Steve Fulcher

Its taken months of work for Steve to strip and rebuild these seats and he's still going! Firstly, the frame was stripped back welded as required and repainted. On one of my frames the rear support bar had fallen off! The Pirelli webbing was then totally replaced using the original patterns, big job! The foam which shapes the seat was repaired back to as new condition. The original patterns were used to make the seat squab and backrest. Complicated patterns detail the exact markings for stitch location. The green material was then cut and stitched using even more original patterns. 

I have to say they are a real work of art and are such a big part of the interior it's crucial to get them correct. I think it would be very difficult if not impossible for even an expert trimmer to get anywhere near this standard, without the original patterns. Will post some pictures when they are complete.

[Lotusfab]

Drivers door finished, with speaker moved! Now how to fit the 4 L extinguisher. It has four nozzles! A bit much for the cramped engine bay.  Thinking of breaking convention and putting it on the drivers side. The nozzles spray thru 90 degrees with an atomised spray up to 1 m effectiveness. The difficult bit how best to cram it all in?

The new window motor I bought is so good I really need one for the passengers too! My first mechanical problem after 12 miles, drivers shock absorber leaking! Got a new one coming. Probably didn't like the loose ball joint, neither did I!

[Lotusfab]

Drivers side for the fire extinguisher is a no go due to the release cable angle being too great. Have attempted to fit the release cable where Jon Roberts put his. It can be accessed behind through the inspection hole for the fuel tank. Only problem the pull cable that comes with the kit has too shorter thread to do up! Have to find a different cable! Phoned up lifeline technical. You can change the nozzle numbers from four to three, or two , it just incresaes the discharge time.

[Lotusfab]

Interior finally finished, minus seats!

Haven't fixed the fire bottle yet, but will install it parallel to the bulkhead with the discharge cable running along bulkhead.

[Paul Coleman]

What's that bolt down by your release handle? The early cars didn't have that...

[Lotusfab]

Thats for the reinforcement bar bolted to the cross member. One on each side shown in silver in the picture. The big bolt goes through the lower part. My car is 331G , two away from Matts and towards the end of the S1 production line.It has lots of the improvements fitted to the later S2, like dual headlight motors, blowers and the roll bar. It also has the fuel valve, choke and seatbelt lights. It now also has a couple of Qs mods! Hope to get the original number plate back soonVHV530S.

[Lotusfab]

You can just make the part out on this picture of Mats car from his resto blog.

It's just visible on the right.

[Lotusfab]

Having thought I finished the doors it was pointed out by the Mrs the pax window was stopping short. So took the door to pieces again! Decided the wheel plate was the problem. I have thought before excessive play in the pulley wheels might allow the window to pivot as the lifting arm moved along its base jamming it against the felt and causing resistance. I bit the bullet and rebuilt the pulley plate using the original Lotus pins,washers and the wheels from S and J. 

This is how I re,ads the plate, surprisingly easy for once!

1 drill out the original pins.

2. The wheels from S and J are too tight for the pins, so widen the holes slightly.

3. Place the spacing washer behind the wheel then hammer the back of the pin. The metal,is soft so it's easy!

4. Bend the plate slightly so it's slides on the rail. 

5. The wheels do rotate even though they have not got a V but there must be no grease or oil on them or the runner.

Having done this and refitted the plate the window is at last working perfectly. If the plate is worn just rebuild it otherwise it will always cause problems.

[TAR]

Never let the Mrs inspect the car...

 

[Lotusfab]

Sound advice!

????

[Lotusfab]

Have spent the rest of the day's building the fire extinguishing system. I have the zero 2000 lifeline large bottle. Spent a while thinking about the best setup. Decided to use all four nozzles. I have made support brackets fior each nozzle. The pipe work is installed in the same way as the manual suggests and not in series so each nozzle gets the same spray pressure. I have one nozzle facing upwards in each corner just under the boot floor. Most of the pile work is hidden under there.  These have a 90 degree spread and should spray the whole bay? After speaking to the technical team you really should aim some nozzles at the potential fire source. So have a nozzle at the front of the engine on a bracket connected to the bell housing. The nozzle is directed  to the carb area. The last nozzle is on the chassis, spraying up under the air filter. If I ever use it the cleaning will take months. The front nozzle is unsightly but it's better than the whole thing going up in flames. Will post some pics when it's complete.

[Paul Coleman]

13 hours ago, Lotusfab said:

The front nozzle is unsightly but it's better than the whole thing going up in flames.

That depends on what it's insured for

[Lotusfab]

Extingiusiher system nearly finished, just got to wait for a pull cord with a longer fitting thread to arrive! Pretty sure there's enough nozzles!

[Lotusfab]

Better picture.

[Lotusfab]

Fire pull problem solved. Bought one from Deamon Tweeks with a longer thread so it can bolt through the bulkhead. 

[ChrisJ]

Good to see another extinguisher installation.

Interesting to see the difference between the installation in your S1 and my Turbo. On mine the engine surround has a higher lip, so my two nozzles are pointing down.

I do think the pull position in the door is a very neat position - way better than mine in the cockpit.

Chris

[Lotusfab]

On another thread have been looking into fuel lines. I don't like the rubber fuel pipe with the clips between the two carbs and the pipe to the flow lock valve. This has to be the weak point. Now with new braided hoses think I need to upgrade before there's a problem! Don't want to try out the new fire extinguisher. Have to get a pipe from S and J or such. Nearly there now after just over two years. Seats should be finished by the 14th Steve has said. With post some pictures when it's finally done. S and J have made a green engine cover that fits onto the studs. It's identical to an original one that was for sale some time ago.This is the original, with black around the edge.

[Lotusfab]

Think Matt was one of the first to mount it there. It's a neat fit if you can get a pull with enough thread to get the bolt on. 

[Lotusfab]

Extinguisher system finished! Important to locate the extinguisher so the levers will not jam on the steel verticle cross member.

[Lotusfab]

The pull cable on mine goes up the drivers side fuel tank then across the bulkhead and under the boot board passenger side, then up through a hole to the extinguisher. None of the cable is visible. The extinguisher pipe is also hidden.

[Lotusfab]

Have bitten the bullet and ordered this from S and J, ready to fit! Have just got round to the green Tonneau cover identical to the original one , made by S and J. You have to fit the press studs yourself using a tool you can by from S and J or eBay. SJ 625 is the ref for the website. You have to position the studs, which come loose in the pack, so the tonneau is tight! Have replaced the shock absorber, the original was leaking because the end had come off! The engine bay is now completely finished! Just the seats and fuel line below to fit????. Had the chance to test the Windows's whilst driving quite a lot of satisfaction when they work properly! 

[Lotusfab]

We'll have covered 52 miles since the MOT. So far only a damper problem, which I have replaced. The handling is not as expected! Any slight bump is transmitted to the steering wheel. Believe this is due to the wheel camber and alignment, although I have not owned an S1 before and the roads are awful where I live? Will have to shim the rear and adjust the front until I achieve the factory settings. I'm not convinced a garage will spend the time and effort needed to achieve the book numbers, so will do it myself over the next few weeks. Will post some before and after figures to aid those guys that will have to do this in the future.

I have no leaks from anywhere and it seems to be running really well! Once The tracking is done it should be totally sorted. I'm looking for the catch? The stereo is working but I had forgot how poor tapes sound on a forty year old player. So have departed from the purist ideal and bought a Sony tape to iPhone adapter. The sound is now awesome and very loud! With all the trim and sound proofing it's not that noisy inside. At the moment the car is far more practicle than I was expecting, reading all the horror stories. I think if it is maintained well it should prove to be an enjoyable experience. I have changed all the oils and filter. Just need to change the cam belt and tensioner. No overheating whatsoever but the Kenlows do sound like a helicopter taking off when you stop! 

The seats should be ready very soon and then just paint detailing and she's finished! I have got the original number plate back and am just waiting for the plates to arrive. From now on VHV530S. 

When the paint is sorted, seats and plates on will post some detailed pictures. Hoping to be at Brooklands classic car show in August if anyone wants to have a closer look.

[Lotusfab]

Have started to look at the wheel alignment. Have measured the wheel camber (without the car under load). The front wheels are 1 degree negative and the rear 3 degrees negative. Will have to measure them under load and decide how to set the suspension up.