Ian's S4s refurb

[Sparky]

Purdy!

[Chillidoggy]

1 hour ago, Sparky said:

Purdy!

 

Indeed!

It wasn't until I saw them that I realised how much like and old shoe the original interior looked, just like an old Margate bird. He's having a bit of trouble with stretching these particular hides (UK Hides, please take note for when the brick comes through your front window), which means it's taking longer than expected, but I shall wait and see how it turns out.

The new carpet set from Steve is imminent, and should hopefully arrive soon.

[Sparky]

Shan won't let you drive it.

[swindon_alan]

You must regale me with your tales of old Margate birds the next time I see you Ian. I will reciprocate with yarns of juicy young Swindon ladeez... 

[Sparky]

The Horns, Watford.  Nuff said.

[DaveyT]

2 hours ago, swindon_alan said:

juicy young Swindon ladeez... 

Pray tell, Alan, is that pronounced "lad-eeze", or "Lay-deez"?

Just to be sure, like...wouldn't want Swindon getting a bad rep.

[Barrykearley]

Nah - that's just the "rainbow" establishments ?

Ive heard the laydeez places are just fine - dunno about the others - I'll leave @swindon_alan to advise on the metrosexuals 

[Chillidoggy]

Front crank seal is now done, and boxed up. As usual, I won't know whether the job has been a success until the engine is run. I'm going to have to take the engine off the stand to get to the rear seal, but as luck should have it, I have a convenient lifting point above, and adjacent to the workbench, so I just have to get the chain block mounted, and strap it up.

I am now able to reveal that the 3-litre version of the R.Whites Diet Lemonade bottle (£1 from 'Iceland' in Ramsgate and yes, I had to dress down to go in there) is too big to be close enough in protecting the lipseal on installation, so the 2-litre version is the next on the list, hopefully that will be closer, but we will see.

Earlier, I visited the trimmer, both door cards are now finished, and they look good to me. He's started on the dash panels today.

[Chillidoggy]

School reunion last night. Draught Bass and loads of old schoolmates bullshitting about the old days. Wallet took a really serious pounding. Hangin'

Back home, and feeling like I'm wearing a really tight balaclava inside my skull, I rallied to do the rear crankshaft seal. I was waiting for something to go wrong, but the transfer from engine stand to hanging off the chainblock proved surprisingly easy, and the only difficult bit was cutting the plastic bottle to get a conical shape so I could slide the lipseal over it. Next is to put it back on the engine stand, and finish off what I can do on the belts, including tensioning the cam belt with the Clavis gauge.

 

 

[Sparky]

Looks a bit shallow mate.  Did you use Nescafe, or Carte Noire?

[Chillidoggy]

Neither.

I found a flat, bronze deck-plate screw cap in the workshop that was exactly the right size. A proper ballache to get the seal set to the factory dimensions, even with the nice new press. Ended up with it about 0.3mm out of true, but after an hour of struggling, it really was the best I could get it. Time will tell as to whether it's going to seal or not. If it doesn't, at least I know I'll be able to get the poxy carrier off without the same performance as last time, as I've used hex-head screws this time.

I had another look at the rear lamp clusters. I need some of the odd-looking M5 nuts that secure them. They're like a normal hex nut but with a small diameter spigot, so they can fit through the fastening holes. Anyone know 1. what they're called, or 2. know where I can get some?

Photos of me nuts -

[Barrykearley]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SW-07376L-Universal-Drip-Tray/dp/B001CCCGPW/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1492963761&sr=1-2&keywords=oil+drip+tray

[eeyoreish]

I had similar struggles getting my new seal exactly to the spec depth and true. Like you I got it to within a gnats whisker and decided that was good enough. I can't imagine the Lotus engineers could do any better with it.

Mine seems OK so far so just ignore that old doom monger @Barrykearley...

 

[Choppa]

Ian, those nuts you are after sound like the K Nuts people are using when they replace the studs on their manifolds. 

https://k-nuts.com/index.php/products/metric-k-nut-ecrou-aviation-metrique/m5x080-hexagonal/

 

[Chillidoggy]

27 minutes ago, Choppa said:

Ian, those nuts you are after sound like the K Nuts people are using when they replace the studs on their manifolds. 

https://k-nuts.com/index.php/products/metric-k-nut-ecrou-aviation-metrique/m5x080-hexagonal/

 

No, it's not them, Colin,

[march]

Hi Ian,

I have a few of these (I bought a load when I returned the back of my car from the 2002 conversion back to original) - then found they had used them on the round lights - how many do you need?

I think the part number is B082M4707F and is available according the to the Deroure website:

https://www.deroure.com/partinfo.asp?MAK=1&MDL=15&TBL=0&SMA=0&SMO=0&ST=B082M4707F&SC=1&PBID=362131

 

[Chillidoggy]

1 hour ago, march said:

Hi Ian,

I have a few of these (I bought a load when I returned the back of my car from the 2002 conversion back to original) - then found they had used them on the round lights - how many do you need?

I think the part number is B082M4707F and is available according the to the Deroure website:

https://www.deroure.com/partinfo.asp?MAK=1&MDL=15&TBL=0&SMA=0&SMO=0&ST=B082M4707F&SC=1&PBID=362131

 

 

That's a kind offer, Marc. However half an hour ago I ordered them from SJ. Hey-ho!

But yes, that's the correct P/N for anyone else interested.

[march]

That's OK - I will put them back into my secret stash of spare Lotus parts .

[swindon_alan]

[Chillidoggy]

Well, it's not a secret now, is it!

30 minutes ago, march said:

That's OK - I will put them back into my secret stash of spare Lotus parts .

 

Yes, as a confirmed hoarder of bits that 'may come in useful', I'm accumulating quite a stash, too. Reckon I might have to have a Black Friday sale of secondhand and reconditioned Esprit parts at some point!

[Barrykearley]

I need a window switch.....

[swindon_alan]

I need wood 

[Chillidoggy]

I need a kidney. Deal?

[march]

54 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

 

I need a window switch.....

 

Are well - if only you had a V8 I may have been able to help.

[Sparky]

I got wood.