1979 Yellow Lotus Eclat: My project thread

[oilmagnet477]

Dave,

I have a 1974 manual with 5 variant wiring diagrams (!) but the RHD Non Federal - With Air Con is the only one that I can see uses a 'slate' grey cable.

It is listed simply as 'S' (ie indicating no black line as I can see in your photo) but that isn't to say that later cars (ie yours) didn't change to SB?

It is listed as for the Air Con compressor - apologies, I haven't waded back through your thread - has your car historically had AC and has it been removed/unplugged and the wires tucked away here?

Sorry I can't be more helpful

[CharlieCroker]

They won't stay down permanently on the vacuum system, only when the engine is on right? If you want to have full control of the up/down you'll have to do the mx5 conversion, haven't regretted doing mine for one second, up or down when I want and for how long as I want. Couldn't tell you what those wires are, had a few left over on mine! 

[oilmagnet477]

Got the MX5 motors ready to do mine. Just need freedom to get into the shed. Flippin builders!

Mind you, that said, getting the fuel system sorted and the engine running is probably a higher priority

[soldave]

4 minutes ago, oilmagnet477 said:

Dave,

I have a 1974 manual with 5 variant wiring diagrams (!) but the RHD Non Federal - With Air Con is the only one that I can see uses a 'slate' grey cable.

It is listed simply as 'S' (ie indicating no black line as I can see in your photo) but that isn't to say that later cars (ie yours) didn't change to SB?

It is listed as for the Air Con compressor - apologies, I haven't waded back through your thread - has your car historically had AC and has it been removed/unplugged and the wires tucked away here?

Sorry I can't be more helpful

Nailed it! Yes, the car originally had a/c so it'll have been from the compressor. Thanks for that

3 minutes ago, CharlieCroker said:

They won't stay down permanently on the vacuum system, only when the engine is on right? If you want to have full control of the up/down you'll have to do the mx5 conversion, haven't regretted doing mine for one second, up or down when I want and for how long as I want. Couldn't tell you what those wires are, had a few left over on mine! 

They should stay down for around 12 hours and then come up (pretty sure I read that in the factory manual). I've thought about the MX5 conversion (and looked into some motor prices on Ebay), but just wouldn't trust myself to make the brackets right.

[soldave]

A bit more fettling and I may have sorted out my headlights. 8 hours in and they're still down so fingers are firmly crossed. Looks like it could have been the rubber hoses not making a perfect seal.

I also decided to cave in and turn the stiffness of my Gaz rear shocks down to its lowest setting. Have to say it's made for a much nicer ride now and I probably should have done it earlier. Only thing I have noticed (and this was also the case when the shocks were set stiffer) is that the car sometimes feels a little like a land yacht after coming out of turns. That might sound strange but it's the best way I can think to describe it. It's not bouncing, but just doesn't feel as nimble as it possibly should do. I'm thinking bushings somewhere in the suspension but am not too sure where to start. Could it be anti-roll bar bushings?

[soldave]

Got a pair of the smaller 245mm brake discs this week so decided to switch over discs and pads. Quite surprisingly, I found out today that my car was already running on the smaller discs! So a like for like swap in terms of brake disc area covered by the pads. What I did realise is what could have been causing the rubbing on the pads - take a look at the discs in the pictures below. And this isn't from lack of use - these discs were driven on a week ago!

Cleaned up the retaining pins and brackets while they were off, and noticed that once the rust was sanded off them the pins were pretty battered, and the clips wouldn't go through the pin holes. So have got a new set on order. I'll rebuild the calipers this coming winter as they could do with new seals. May have to get pistons too at that time but will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Hoping once it's all together at the end of next week and the pads are bedded in braking performance should be a hell of a lot better.

[pbharcourt]

What calipers have you got ?

2 pistons or 3?

[soldave]

5 minutes ago, pbharcourt said:

What calipers have you got ?

2 pistons or 3?

The Gilling 3-pot calipers.

[pbharcourt]

Well my 3 pot girling calipers with small discs work really well, so you should be fine.

Busy working on cheap vented disc set up though!

[soldave]

25 minutes ago, pbharcourt said:

Well my 3 pot girling calipers with small discs work really well, so you should be fine.

Busy working on cheap vented disc set up though!

Yeah, I saw you mention that. Looking forward to seeing it once you've got it all set up.

Get the feeling my setup is going to feel much better, and even more so after the calipers get rebuilt this winter (on one of the calipers I noticed the larger piston have a fair bit of rust and corrosion on the outer side, so am wondering what the other side looks like behind the seal).

[soldave]

While I'm still waiting for the replacement brake caliper pin/accessory kit to come in the mail (should have arrived on Tuesday... not impressed!), I decided to give the front wheels a bit of TLC. Gave them a nice clean and spent an hour or so on each polishing them up with some Autosol and Silvo. Not perfect, but it's nice to see how well they come up.

I also cleaned up the front wheel arches and had a good look around there to make sure all was well. I think one thing I will have to add to the endless shopping list is a bushing set for the front end. The bushes around the anti-roll bar aren't in the best condition as you can see below.

Once this caliper pin kit comes I'll be able to get back on the road and hopefully be able to clock up some more miles in this thing! Have hardly driven her this year.

[TAR]

Those ARB bushes at the ends are toast. I bet it drives like a jelly at the moment  

[soldave]

59 minutes ago, TAR said:

Those ARB bushes at the ends are toast. I bet it drives like a jelly at the moment  

They don't look great, but do you think it would have a noticeable effect on how the car handles by changing them for new ones?

[mikeeech]

I bet they would

[TAR]

Absolutely. The front geometry is affected by worn bushes on the ARB.

 

[oilmagnet477]

tbh your anti roll bar also looks like it needs a bit of work - not at all sure how much strain they are under but photo 2 would have me concerned?

[soldave]

14 minutes ago, oilmagnet477 said:

tbh your anti roll bar also looks like it needs a bit of work - not at all sure how much strain they are under but photo 2 would have me concerned?

Do you think I may need a whole new anti roll bar?

[oilmagnet477]

I would certainly have it out and check it - if it is like the photo where it connects with bushes then I would see if you can find a replacement. It might clean up but difficult to tell remotely. As I said, I'm not sure what strain they take but if you are having it out to redo bushes, it would not be a bad idea

[soldave]

6 minutes ago, oilmagnet477 said:

I would certainly have it out and check it - if it is like the photo where it connects with bushes then I would see if you can find a replacement. It might clean up but difficult to tell remotely. As I said, I'm not sure what strain they take but if you are having it out to redo bushes, it would not be a bad idea

Roger that. Got some new bushes on order so will have a good look when it comes out. Apart from the rust which will all hopefully clear up ok, what would I be looking for? Am guessing any distortion in the bar.

If I'm unlucky, I might have to get in touch with Lotus Bits at some point and see if they have any in good condition.

[oilmagnet477]

I'm just reacting to the corrosion visible in the photo. I doubt it will be distorted as such but would be more concerned of any weaakness that it has caused and any future problems that it might cause. Probably being ubber cautious but if you are having it out, sorting it now will solve another job later and avoid potential breakdown.

Ex s3 landrover renovation has left me with an aversion to any significant corrosion

It also depends on the ARB surfaces where the bushes meet it

On the plus side,  your wheels have come up a treat

[TAR]

If the ARB is badly rusted (not just surface rust) it will affect the handling as designed. I would take it off and give it a good clean, preferably blasted to check its condition under the rust.

If you want to know what an ARB does, see this site http://speed.academy/how-swaybars-work/

The interesting point is that torsional rigidity is a function of diameter to the fourth power which means even a small change in diameter makes a big difference.

 

[soldave]

Never rains but it pours.

Decided to get the anti-roll bar off today so it's ready for the new bushes when they come in. Anti-roll bar to chassis nuts came off fine, and that's where my successes ended. Both the trunion bolts are unbolted and will rotate but have no intention of coming out. My guess is that they're seized in the trunion. Have tried bashing it with a hammer but it neither side want to come out. Getting the feeling I might have to cut through the bolt somehow while it's on the car, which won't be fun as it's hardened steel.

And then on the passenger side I noticed this:

Yup, that's a hub bolt and that should be the head of the bolt attached to it! Noticed it as the stud was just a little further out than it should be. So I'm going to have to order a new one, and will replace the axle set while I'm at it (have had a wheel come off on the motorway before and don't want a repeat).

If anyone has any bright ideas on how to free the trunion bolts then I'm all ears.

[CharlieCroker]

I managed to get a puller on my bolt, leave the nut on so the point of the puller has a good place to stay and won't fly off, place the grippers of the puller firmly in place on the lower control arm, then just turn it and the bolt should easily push out. 

[soldave]

28 minutes ago, CharlieCroker said:

I managed to get a puller on my bolt, leave the nut on so the point of the puller has a good place to stay and won't fly off, place the grippers of the puller firmly in place on the lower control arm, then just turn it and the bolt should easily push out. 

Appreciate the thoughts, man. Will give it a go.

[oilmagnet477]

Dave, that's a pi55er. Good luck with it - remember, you took on a lotus 'for richer, for poorer'

Richer in spirit, poorer in wallet! Don't know why I'm laughing, still got to do mine!

 

Although, thank someone upstairs you weren't driving it when that happened!