1979 Yellow Lotus Eclat: My project thread

[CharlieCroker]

That looks wicked, want one! Seems like an old school lampda sensor, ha.

[dixi4uk]

Ideally two plug adapters for the Colourtune are required to balance twin Dellortos to be able to compare the fuel burn colour for each pair of cylinders at the same time. They have been around for about 45 years and largely not needed since the advent of computer controlled fuel injection on most cars.

[dixi4uk]

Back to your servo / master cylinder problem.

I do believe that a Saab 900 master cylinder fits the later Elite/Eclat servo.

To test the servo try this. With the engine not running pump the pedal repeatedly until the vacuum system is evacuated then hold the pressure on the pedal and start the engine. The pedal should dip slightly if working correctly.

This is a standard part of the MOT test.

[soldave]

Yeah, as I said earlier I did that today.  Didn't really pump up so am wondering if it needs bleeding again.  And didn't dip when I started the car as far as I could tell.

[dixi4uk]

The dip should be quite marked, possibly an inch drop on the pedal.

The pedal feel without vacuum should be hard with no creep.

Bleed the brakes yourself if you have any sponginess and then you know it has been done for definite. Start at the furthest away from the cylinder etc.

A power bleeder may be required for stubborn sponginess, which is trapped air in the system.

[soldave]

Slow and steady... that's how I do my card work.  Especially when I've got the winter break ahead to get things done.  Would like to get those lower link studs out and will try, but if they're stuck I'll leave them until early January when I'll get my daily runaround car.  Can't afford to be without a car at the moment with other things going on in my life as it might be needed at short notice.

Today I managed to play around with my new Colortune, and have done quite a bit of tweaking.  Warmed the car up and got it hooked up to spark plug 1.  Fired it up and saw a nice blue flame, so I decided I'd see hoe many turns it would take to get it to the yellow flame signifying it's getting rich.  Have read elsewhere that the 907 engine likes to run ever so slightly rich so wanted to get it blue with just the odd yellow flicker.  Then when you dab the throttle you get a strong yellow flame, and if you hold the rpms a little higher than idle then the flame goes to a strong blue flame.  Found I had to unscrew (richen) the mixture screws by the following amounts to get what I wanted:

Cylinder 1: 2 turns

Cylinder 2: 3.5 turns

Cylinder 3: 2 turns

Cylinder 4: 2 and a quarter turns

Strange thing with cylinder 2 was that initially I was seeing a spark but no flame at all.  Even unplugged the spark plug wire from the Colortune and it made no difference to the engine sound.  Wonder if I was getting little combustion at idle from there.  When I revved it I was getting a visible flame but when it went back to idle it was just a spark and no flame.  Hence the mixture screw had to be turned out quite a bit to get a flame going.

Once I'd adjusted each cylinder I had to bring the idle down as it had gone up from about 900rpm up to 1100-1200rpm.  Got it all set up and went for a drive.  Might just be me wanting it to feel better but I think it definitely had more pull when I put my foot down.  All I wonder is if the balance might be slightly out now.  Carbtune is on the shopping list but I don't think Santa is that kind to me this year.

You can see a little video of the Colortune inside cylinder 1 at work below

Managed to take some pics today on my travels too, and played around with some filters.  Car needs a big clean tomorrow but I think the colliery provided a nice industrial background to the shots.

[CharlieCroker]

Photos look great, proper retro cool!

[Herc]

That yellow looks fantastic.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Herc

[Dunc]

On 20 December 2014 at 06:51, dixi4uk said:

I do believe that a Saab 900 master cylinder fits the later Elite/Eclat servo.

It fits the servo, but the reservoir is different.

The one you want to get is the pre-1985 saab 900 unit which has the pipe outlets at 90 degrees off top. The reservoir spacing for the twin entry ports on the cylinder is the same on the Saab, but the seals are different. One is identical, but the other is different.  I had to manufacture a seal with o-rings from a box to get it to work - which is tight and dry, but in truth is a bit heath-robinson, and I wouldn't want to presurise my reservoir using an ezybleed.

If you want to use the SAAB 900 master cylinder, the trick is to get the reservoir from a SAAB that matches the cylinder. The one to get is for an auro, as it doesn't have the take off for feeding the saabs clutch master cylinder (if you get a manual - you block the take of with a blob of epoxy).

[soldave]

Not looking at replacing the master cylinder just yet - focus is on the servo right now.

After sorting the fuel mixture somewhat yesterday, I've found today that now when I'm idling and I press the brakes, the rpm will drop.  And that's not when I'm stamping repeatedly on the brakes; it's when I step on the brakes and hold it there.  I'm far from an expert, but that combined with the noise coming from the push rod side of the servo when I brake is pointing towards that.

Nothing from Lotusbits on finding a later servo but have been told to call back when they open tomorrow morning and they'll look.

[soldave]

A little bit of progress with my brake servo issue.  You can read the detailed post over at http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/70951-brake-servo-problem/#entry549495, but below's a quick summary.

I got a used servo and non-return valve.  Having 5 minutes on my hands last night I switched valves.  My current one was pretty much a tube, and you could blow & suck through it freely.  Replaced it with the one from replacement servo and went for a drive tonight.

Brakes feel sharper I think, although there is still the ch-ch-ch sound (possibly quieter).  Also, revs drop when I'm idling as long as the brakes are held down (not the momentary rpm drop that you'd expect), so my next step this weekend is to switch over the whole servo and see if that makes a difference.

[soldave]

Well after having some interesting times with my electrics this evening (which at one point involved my interior light coming on in synchronisation with my indicators and hazard lights, creating a pretty awesome disco effect), I now have a working cigar lighter.  What I did find in my investigations today is that the clock in the car has a light in it.  Did some checking and the bulb works and gives me a little bit of illumination.  The question is: how do I power the bulb?  There is a 2-3" wire coming off the bulb but nowhere to connect it to (maybe not stock).  The wiring diagram doesn't really help here either.

The only thing I can think of is setting up a relay connected to the battery and the light switch on the dash as the trigger.  Anyone know of a better way of doing it?

[cbclotus]

pictures look fab ....Fine looking car ...Mike.

[soldave]

Thanks man. Previous owner took good care of it. My role now is to keep that up and if possible build on it.

[Dunc]

Why not just take a spur from the dash lights and earth?

Apologies if I have completely misunderstood, but I don't see why you would want the clock light on a separate triggered circuit.

[soldave]

You mean direct off one of the bulbs in the dash?  Yeah, I could definitely do that

[dixi4uk]

I was thiking the same as Dunc regarding the illumination. A scotchlock would do it, not very tidy but simple. A soldered join best for long term.

[soldave]

Scotchlock, I know that as a vampire tap.  I'll probably solder it this weekend as long as I can get enough of the connector wire

[dixi4uk]

Vampire tap not heard that one before. Love it

Scotch locks are a nessessary evil I always carry one or two in my tool kit. They have saved me a long walk home on a few occasions.

[johnpwalsh]

Love the new pics of our old Banana, time you got the Autosolve on the wheels again Dave. Haha. Mrs W asks if she can have her back as she misses her.

[soldave]

Yeah, I've got wheel cleaner and polish but it's a constant battle against the elements and brake dust (at the front) right now.

[johnpwalsh]

I found Autosolve the best for cleaning then give then a coat of wax, that tended to make them easier to get the brake dust off, always thought on having  coat of laquar put on them but wanted to get a spare set so I could take them off and have done porperly. The first time they were cleaned when I just bought her, Wendy spent 8 hours on each wheel as they were a mess.

[soldave]

I can see how you could spend that long to be honest.  Each time you use the Autosol the cloth comes off black and the wheel just gets that little bit shinier.  Have also bought some P21S wax and a clay bar, so once the weather clears up the car's going to have a big clean.

Another project this weekend is, once I've got some imperial deep sockets, to remove the driver's seat and see if I can install some foam under the foam that's already in there to remedy that slight sagging look in the seat.  Will have to do as a fix for now until I can get a replacement seat or similar.

[johnpwalsh]

Sounds like a plan, your certainly looking after her thats for sure, we are happy she has gone to a good home, as for removing the seats 13mm ring spanner should get the bolts off but be ready for them to snap as most do. Another little tip, when you replace them fit big penny washers both on the inside and the outside against the floor, it helps take the stress of the shell and save fracturing as I found on my S3 which has the same fittings.

[soldave]

Roger that.  I'm guessing the bolts are built into the seats, and will need drilling/cutting out and replacing completely?

Might wait one extra weekend and wait until the wife's car comes before doing that - just gives me that transport should anything go wrong.

Oil might have been changed recently, but I'll probably do a change myself and change the filter, so I know when exactly it's been done.  Will do the gearbox too and see how the oil in that's looking.