Project Lazarus.

[Jacques1993]

Firstly... Hello one and all!

My name is Jacques I'm 22 and I'm from Colchester. previously I worked as a mechanic, but now I work for myself doing gardening.

Intro over.

Where do I start? 

One day whilst working at one of customers, I popped my head over their back fence out of curiosity, only to notice this yellow 1978 Lotus Eclat! First impressions said a lot... It looked in a very sorry state. 

I had a look around it and it was indeed it a dire state, but in fairness it seemed complete. I asked the customer about it and he said he had brought it running with an Mot, with the intention of fully restoring it but had since lost interest. He parked it on his rear driveway and that is where it stayed for 8 years!!! 

Letting my heart rule my head I asked him if he wanted rid of it and with a bit of arm twisting he kindly handed over the paperwork and keys and said I could take it away! Hurray!

But suddenly panic came over me... I hadn't asked the my wife.  One phone call later, and being the lovely girl she is... She said yes! 

One problem down another problem came along in the shape of moving it. I managed to get a chap to bring his transporter over so that I could get it home. 

It was nothing short of a nightmare... The previous owner had left the handbrake on and the O/S/R was seized to within an inch of its life!!! It was not budging. After quite a lot of persuasion (heat and hammertime) we managed to get it unstuck and on the transporter.

At last, I had the lotus at home in my garden. I had another look round and only then did it hit me how I may have bitten off more than I can chew. 

The purpose of this thread it to keep track of the 'resurrection' and see if I can ever get it back on the road. I have never owned a lotus or worked on a lotus before, but I know how to wield a spanner. here goes nothing.

Stay tuned for more.

 

 

The car as it was when I found it.

 

Once I got it home.

 

Edited December 16, 2015 by Jacques1993

[ChrisJ]

Welcome Jaques.

You're braver than me, I reckon it will look great when you get it back on the road - Don't start it before changing the belts,.

There'll be others along shortly who are much more knowledgeable than me.

There's a monthly meeting for Essex, Herts & Cambs TLFers in Harlow on the 2nd Thursday. You should pop along.

Chris

[johnpwalsh]

Welcome and good choice. FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT RULE AS MENTIONED. DONT START WITHOUT CHANGING THE BELT FIRST. Once thats done and all is good as in some fresh fuel etc, check and see if the fans are free to rotate. You mentioned you had worked in a garage so I am not going to go through the regular stuff. Once you have her running, keep an eye on the water pump as it will probably leak, they all do after a while being idle. Oil seals will probably also leak, the clutch will be stuck, there are simple ways to free it off if you are lucky. Your first nd best move has been joining the forum, by far the best one on any website, I know as I have used and abused it often enough. Keep everyone posted on your advance and you will get loads of free advice from this bunch of guys.

[Jacques1993]

31 minutes ago, ChrisJ said:

Welcome Jaques.

You're braver than me, I reckon it will look great when you get it back on the road - Don't start it before changing the belts,.

There'll be others along shortly who are much more knowledgeable than me.

There's a monthly meeting for Essex, Herts & Cambs TLFers in Harlow on the 2nd Thursday. You should pop along.

Chris

 

15 minutes ago, johnpwalsh said:

Welcome and good choice. FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT RULE AS MENTIONED. DONT START WITHOUT CHANGING THE BELT FIRST. Once thats done and all is good as in some fresh fuel etc, check and see if the fans are free to rotate. You mentioned you had worked in a garage so I am not going to go through the regular stuff. Once you have her running, keep an eye on the water pump as it will probably leak, they all do after a while being idle. Oil seals will probably also leak, the clutch will be stuck, there are simple ways to free it off if you are lucky. Your first nd best move has been joining the forum, by far the best one on any website, I know as I have used and abused it often enough. Keep everyone posted on your advance and you will get loads of free advice from this bunch of guys.

Thanks for the welcome! Thanks for the pointers. All good fun ey!? I like the sound of the meet, Il hopefully try and get along to the next one.

[ChrisJ]

Just now, Jacques1993 said:

Il hopefully try and get along to the next one

Keep an eye on this sub-forum http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/forum/321-uk-essexhertscambs-group/

[soldave]

Welcome, and good luck with the purchase. Plenty of knowledgeable and friendly people here so hopefully we'll be able to help you get you through issues you come across.

[Bibs]

Welcome and good luck! You've a great project there, I'm sure you'll really enjoy it

[oilmagnet477]

Jacques, welcome to the Forums and good luck with your latest acquisition. Having not long been an owner myself, I can confirm what a great and really helpful crowd there is on here. I can also say categorically that going along to a meet is time very well spent. I've only been going along to Norfolk meets since August and have met some really good sorts and gained much insight into these unique cars.

Hope to be able to assist where I can and if you ever pass by Norfolk/Suffolk borders give me a shout. Throw a bucket of water over the car - it will make it look 100% better in a flash

Cheers

Ant

[Jacques1993]

Hello again,

So first things first. give her a quick once over with a wet sponge to get rid of most of the grime. it came up ok but some of the paint is quite badly cracked and damaged in places (especially front bumper and headlights. so this will have to be addressed at a later stage.

Here she is:

 

Next I decided to put the wheels in motion of actually trying to get her to run.

I removed the air box out of curiosity. It contained a rotten air filter. (The engine bay as a whole is filthy).

To get the plugs out was nothing short of another nightmare. number 3 was more than happy to stay put.

Eventually with more of my persuasion (lots of heat and more hammertime)... They eventually came free! Woo!!

I added into each bore a mix of brake fluid and diesel which I will leave for a few days in the hope it will encourage everything to move freely.

Next on the checklist was to remove the old fuel tank. First impressions were not good here either. (See photo)

This job went surprisingly smoothly and took little time. The tank still had fuel in from 8 Years ago!! So gross!!

Once out I took the time to clear out all the old fuel and sludge. Next i took a wire brush to her as I was worried about the visual rust. Thankfully it turned out to be only be superficial. A nice treatment of Jenolite should see her back in action.

This is more of a question I have. I took the dipstick out to have a look and I was greeted with this horrifying sight.

My question is, would 8 years worth of sitting around and all the condensation create this horrible milky oil? I'm hoping this was not originally a problem with the car.

It is very runny, far more so than conventional oil, and the Stick has a tiny amount of corrosion starting... I know its hard to judge from a picture. But what do you think?

Many Thanks.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by Jacques1993

[johnpwalsh]

Eight years of hot and cold periods can cause a build up of condensation, hence milky oil, you may be lucky. Is it possible to ask the previous owner if this was the cause of the layup. Drain flush, drain flush and drain flush again turning the engine over with a socket on the bottom pulley, this will get fresh oil up through he journals, do it with cheap oil then try a compression test once she is turning over but leave all four plugs out as this will reduce the strain on her while turning her over.

[Jacques1993]

Hi again guys,

After my last post concerning the milky oil, I spoke to the previous owner who said it did not have a head gasket problem.

Inspired with this thin bit of good news I decided to soldier on.

The last few days have been busy, so progress has not been amazing. I did decide however to buy a heavy duty car port to give me some shelter from the elements whilst I worked.

It was £150 from ebay delivered. Once set up and I got the car inside, and to my surprise there is a lot of room around the car to work comfortably. and I was very impressed with the gazebo itself which seems very sturdy.

I thought the next logical step would be to drain and flush the filthy oil out.

I put the 15mm socket on my wrench and approached the sump plug with bucket in place. I slowly tried to crank it off... and then typically, another disaster!  

I sheared the head off the plug.

The oil did drain so I suppose the job was half completed.

Any suggestions please on how to get the rest of the thread out?

 

 

Annoyed with myself I thought id try and get the radiator out to have a look.

I took out the bottom plug and lovely bright green coolant came out.

The Radiator itself does not seem to be in bad shape at all, no corrosion or leaks and most of the fins are straight and undamaged. Which I'm pleased about!

 

Managed to also get the drivers seat out today which is completely trashed as are the runners... so not sure as to what to do with that at the moment.

Suggestions always appreciated.

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2015 by Jacques1993

[Barrykearley]

Lots of patience - a very small hacksaw blade or file and cut into it. Then try and fold it in on itself. I reckon that's the only way - what a pig.

Good luck with it - it will be worth it once you get a drive

[Elite 4.9]

I would try and find an "easy out" that size. Simple to use, designed for just this type of problem and no cutting required possibly into your sump pan. These are cheap and designed just for this reason, braking the bolt. So you already have the hole but with an easy out normally use, one has to drill the center of the bolt out and then insert the easy out and back out the broken bolt or in your case drain plug. 

Have used them for many years. Works great! 

take your pick:  https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=easy%20out%20tool

 

Richard

[alec]

hi my S1 is also yellow and was in a far sorrier state than yours looks to be ,at least you have an interior .one thing I found when I tried to free my clutch was that the guide wheel above the pedal box that the clutch cable runs in had seized up .it is worth checking as it might save you a premature failure .Lotus bits do an aluminium wheel to replace the original which Mike reckons extends clutch cable life considerably

[Jacques1993]

5 hours ago, alec said:

hi my S1 is also yellow and was in a far sorrier state than yours looks to be ,at least you have an interior .one thing I found when I tried to free my clutch was that the guide wheel above the pedal box that the clutch cable runs in had seized up .it is worth checking as it might save you a premature failure .Lotus bits do an aluminium wheel to replace the original which Mike reckons extends clutch cable life considerably

Hi, thanks for the advice... Il check it out. In terms of the interior... Mine is there but completely ditched, what did you with yours?

12 hours ago, Elite 4.9 said:

I would try and find an "easy out" that size. Simple to use, designed for just this type of problem and no cutting required possibly into your sump pan. These are cheap and designed just for this reason, braking the bolt. So you already have the hole but with an easy out normally use, one has to drill the center of the bolt out and then insert the easy out and back out the broken bolt or in your case drain plug. 

Have used them for many years. Works great! 

take your pick:  https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=easy%20out%20tool

 

Richard

Thanks for the advice, I ordered a kit so hopefully this should sort it. 

[Dunc]

Welcome to the forums Jaques!

Your car is in the undisputable best colour for an eclat S1! and if your happy with the spanners you'll find there is not that much thats complicated on them with only a few jobs needing a hydraulic press etc.

I'd agree with Richard and try an EZYOUT with heat, as you'll want to avoid swarf. Whichever methoed you choose, I'd also replace the plug with a magnetic to help get rid of any swarf. Keiran on here sells them via ebay.

If your front seats are toast, there are a few alternatives that people have tried from other cars. None of them are perfect bolt ins, but Jag xjs are said to be pretty close. Others have used MX5, and I've been intrigued by the hyundai coupe ones myself.

I'm assuming your cars a 521 given the single rad fan? I cant quite see in the pics. I had a yellow 521 myself for a bit and I loved it.

[alec]

Hi  I was lucky to pick up an interior from lotuselan17 in enfield I have had to retrim the rear seats myself as these were not available at the time.I bought some black alcantara fabric off ebay to do headliner etc This is how I first saw the car in a barn not been run for 7 years and a new variant of the lotus position .Once I had got the interior looking reasonable I set about changing belts etc and got it running .Had to strip and rebuild rear suspension as the bushes and bearings were toast ,complete rewire with new fuseboard .Mazda Mx 5 headlamp lift motors electronic ignition kit fitted into existing dizzy.Having finally finished checking and servicing it started but the fuel pump died within 5 mins so off to buy an FP9000 universal pump.It has had 2 MOTs now since going back on the road with only one minor problem when the master cylinder let go and locked all four wheels.Nice to find that a landrover series 3LWB master fits if you modify the pipework ,and it was only 32.00 including reservoir and brand new.

[Jacques1993]

5 hours ago, Dunc said:

Welcome to the forums Jaques!

Your car is in the undisputable best colour for an eclat S1! and if your happy with the spanners you'll find there is not that much thats complicated on them with only a few jobs needing a hydraulic press etc.

I'd agree with Richard and try an EZYOUT with heat, as you'll want to avoid swarf. Whichever methoed you choose, I'd also replace the plug with a magnetic to help get rid of any swarf. Keiran on here sells them via ebay.

If your front seats are toast, there are a few alternatives that people have tried from other cars. None of them are perfect bolt ins, but Jag xjs are said to be pretty close. Others have used MX5, and I've been intrigued by the hyundai coupe ones myself.

I'm assuming your cars a 521 given the single rad fan? I cant quite see in the pics. I had a yellow 521 myself for a bit and I loved it.

Hi, thanks for the help, much appreciated. I found the plug on ebay and ordered one. Yes my car is a 521 and I'm slowly getting to grips with it . That's good to hear about the seats, il bear it in mind for when it comes to crossing that bridge. I need to get the blinking thing running first! 

I do have a quick question for anyone that can help.... Whilst running around the wiring I took the coil off which looks like it's had better days and noticed this little gizmo attached... I'm not too sure what it is? Is it a resistor of some sort?

For peace of mind in going to replace the coil.... Which would be the correct one as there seem to be many to choose from. 

Edited December 26, 2015 by Jacques1993

[johnpwalsh]

Hi Jaques. Welcome and good luck with the restoration. The little gizmo is a suppressor to cut interference on your radio, found on many older cars.

[clivef38]

Mazda mx5 seats can be fitted and dont look out of place. Keep up the good work.

[Jacques1993]

I hope you have all had a good break!

I still have not received the easy-out kit for the sump bolt so progress on getting the car started has been halted. So I thought Id spend some time and get the rest of the interior out. As previously stated it is in a pretty bad way. The front seats are the worst and definitely beyond repair and the frames look pretty unusable.

OS Passenger seat out.

Everything pretty much out, just needs a good clean up and hoover.

 

I do need a bit of advice regarding the fuel lines as I am soon to put the tank back in...

I believe they are still the original plastic ones and they look a bit nasty.

Would they still be ok to use? Or while I'm at this stage should I replace the lot with new rubber hose?

If still ok to use, I need to purchase a new olive for the banjo bolt fitting underneath the tank.

Would anyone know which size I would need?

 

Also at some point I will need to purchase a new drivers door beam.... where would you recommend to be the best place to go?

 

Thanks for all your help so far, it is very much appreciated.

[clivef38]

If you have the time i would replace the fuel lines as they going to put more ethanol in petrol and it would be a safe bet.  As for door bars i would say Lotus bits.

All the best Clive

[Fueltheburn]

On 12/16/2015 at 20:33, Jacques1993 said:

But suddenly panic came over me... I hadn't asked the my wife.  One phone call later, and being the lovely girl she is... She said yes! 

Dunc bought, fixed, had a friend drive the car at a national event and sold the car without the wife's knowledge.... respect due there! but glad to see you have at least reduced your risk of strangulation and a beating from the mrs  much  for her saying yes.

 

With regards to fuel lines.  Do it right do it once.  PTFE lines with a stainless steel overbraid and AN connections are very sexy and future proof your project.

 

On 12/16/2015 at 20:33, Jacques1993 said:

 

 

 

 

 

[eclat22]

Hi, I agree with Kieran with regards the fuel lines, these are what I use on the race car. Have a look at www.thinkauto.com  very helpful people and normally speedy delivery.

regards Dan

[Jacques1993]

Hi, hope you are all well.

Wanted to say a massive thank you for all the help so far, it has been great.

The last few days have been fairly busy with Lazarus. But the main bit of good news is I managed to get the sump plug out!

I tried Barrys suggestion of the hacksaw blade, and with some more heat and hammertime I eventually was able to get a grip on it and get it out! but what a pig it was.

Shows where it sheared off.

Here is the new shiny Plug that I brought off Kieran. (Sorry its a bit Blurry)

 

After all the advice regarding the fuel lines I wanted to get cracking but with an anniversary looming I couldn't justify the cost at this moment. So I have stuck with the original lines for now.

Tank back in.

 

Next typically I found the old pump (which was a cheap moprod replacement) was dead. I have replaced it with a low pressure solid state one which I got off ebay which should deliver about 3-4psi. This I'm hoping will eliminate the need for a regulator. I put it on one of the rubber mounts to hopefully try to eliminate the noise for which they are notorious for. 

 

In line filter has been fitted. (I forgot and took the picture before)

 

Radiator is back in now, oil and filter have also been done.

I connected the battery, put fresh fuel in and optimistically tried to start it....

The good news is that the new fuel pump works well and so does the fuel cut off valve, so the carbs are getting a healthy fuel supply. The engine turns over strongly.

BUT there is no spark.

Where would be the best place to start?

Thanks.