- 2 extra dual circuit master cylinders (need rebuilding, but the resrvoirs are in great shape.
- A full set of adjustable rear lower links and extra transaxle-link mounting bracket. And, a couple fixed lower links....
- The original Solex carb
- Original motorola alternator. Looks rebuildable....
- The original air cleaner (with what looks like the original filter therein...:))
- Front clip.
- Complete gasket set
- Complete sealed set of Hepolite piston rings...wonder what's in the engine? I know it was rebuilt in 87...
- Extra Tach (current one does not work...mmmmm...see if this one does? if not, on to nisonger...after checking the wiring....)
- Extra oil pressure gauge, temp gauge
- Extra nose badge (yellow/green...some scuffing, but no cracks...polished up nice...still see the scuffing...add it to my collection of original nose badges...and one Hickens one from my turbo...)
- 4 of what look close to brand new hub caps. One looked pitted...but, 10 min talking to it with simichrome, it looks fine.
- Complete Remarques from about 86 to 99. All receipts from, oh, 86. Don Tingle and the owner were on first name basis...:) brand new owners manual/service voucher book (which was never used...go figure...), and a pile of original sales brochures all in plastic sleeves in a binder...:)
- left rear trailing arm. Cleaned up. Looks straight. ?
- 2 stub axles and hubs. Used, but splines look OK except for some minor wear at the inboard end of the axle. Definately useable. Will clean up and have the stubs turned down for the 30mm inner bearing conversion...
- 2 or 3 (don't recall...) sovy canisters.
- New door seals. Tube type. I had the flap type I got from ray, so...anyone want to make an offer?
- A bent-up front bumper with 4 nice bolts. Bolts are off...bumper going out to the trash. Hey, you can't save everything. Thinking it was the original...which explains why the repairs are where they are...

A. Document what needs be done to street her, and work thru the issues:
- immediate needs (safety/running)
- repair minor problems (shift, window motors, exhaust, carb setup, alignment/suspension truing, clutch)
- Tires/wheels
B. Document 'variances' from design as a result of the questionably repaired damage and determine course of action:
- Body. Pull out the sawzall and replace with a useable donor clip or attempt to repair what I have?
- Frame issues...this is a biggie, but might be fun to do a frame-off. I remember how I felt the first time I had to do a reconstruction job on a bird-struck wing on a Cessna...the terror and exhilaration of actually having to do what you had only read about and talked about in class...
C. Decide and plan course of action. There's almost a priceless amount of knowledge captured by this list...which will help immeasurably...:) Same as over on turboesprit...:)

-Pick up my set of pin punches from the hangar, deadblow hammers, and 500lb test nylon straps for the engine pull next weekend.
-Pick up a bunch of cans of gunk engine bright.
-Search out whether the intake/exhaust manifold gasket is still available for the 821-30. For that matter, the whole set.

- Matchbox Europa re-done by Pat Dennis that was a copy of 444R.
- Nichimo 1/12 scale unbuilt model Europa (not for sale...:))
- Nichimo Esprit model (don't recall which scale...)
- Black/Gold nose badge in its baggie
- Black/Silver nose badge (a little dulled)
- Yellow/Green nose badge (good condition, still bright)
- Yellow/Green nose badge (chipped enamel)
- Yellow/Green nose badge (some scratches, but enamel still intact)
- Lotus logo belt buckle
- Lotus logo Zippo lighter
- LPC 4" sew-on badge (nice colors...)
- LPC small Lotus text badge
- 1 black/gold dealer-only lapel pin
- 5 yellow/green lapel pins (old lettering)
- bunch of dash placards from the old All British Car Meet in KC
- Factory key fob (Has the old factory telephone number of Wymondham 3411, logo, and Norwich England on it...)

1. The mouse nest in the center tunnel in the shot of the handbrake horseshoe and cable.
2. The front of the frame. If you look closely, you can see the distortion (Sorry, but I don't have a decent digital camera, so am forced to use the Treo camera...)
3. The shot of the passenger side, with the patchwork floor (and lots of garbage...from the disassembly)
4. The before and after shot of the transmission, in the same photo. Top is the condition of the box as I got it, the side closest to the camera is after attacking the gunk with wd40 to clean it up.
5. The frame tunnel with the SN in crayon.
6. The front end of the head, where, again, I attacked the crud with WD40.

1. Drilled out the rivets holding the side marker front lamps in place to rescue the black plastic bezels.
2. Removed (for steve) the front bulkhead fittings and hard lines.
3. Just for giggles, tried to see if I could lift the front of the car off the stands. I can.
4. Shot the photos in the album, put them online.
5. Tried to saw off the left front suspension/shock/adjustable a arm. The sleeve that the ball joint is on that is over the pin is just too rusted to do anything with...but, still can't get it apart. The next owner of the chassis will have to deal with it (or not); I'd just cut off the boxbeam and graft a new on one and forget about this one...

1. Adjustable lower links. I'm keeping with the originals, someone may want these.
2. Steering rack (pending the arrival of the TC rack...)
3. Old upper steering column and ignition switch/harness. I have gone back to the original layout for the ignition switch, and had a spare column. It needs painting, etc. Switch is ok, works, includes the key.
4. Door seals. These are the round cross section. Have enough for both doors.
5. One or two S2+ dash vents. Don't remember how many, but I have some.

1. Continue along the path I'm in right now...forge ahead building the new chassis with the pile of new parts I have, including bushings, AVO shocks on order, new brake cylinders, overhauled calipers, trued disks/drums, stainless hoses, new radiator and heater rubber, fresh AN and UNC bolts/washers/nylocs/castle nuts, etc. IOW, a fresh, clean, and true frame. Drop it on its own wheels...and it would be a sight.
2. Concomitant with that, work on the body...the old 180 grit paint remover, grind out the stress cracks, prime, paint, put interior in, refreshed wiring, etc etc etc.
3. Mate the two.

1. follow #1. No way I'm not going to have a car that is not mechanically screwed together with loctite, antiseize, safetywire, etc.
2. Drop the body back on as is (assuming it arrives here in good shape), put the refreshed interior in, glare shield, new headliner, windows, fresh hinge pins, etc. Not necessarily painted, but, work on that as time allows. (in the last week, I've had a run of bad luck with my other two cars: transaxle problems in the Caddy, and a damn tree ran into my van rear hatch...they should really train those trees better, you know???). Sometime over the next year, bring it into the local paint shop that I use for fibreglass work for aircraft...and do the painting thing.
3. Register and put on the road and enjoy/debug/tweak/run in/enjoy

1. The left rear bobbin was cracked out of the body and was lying in the bottom of the pallet. No biggie, just a bonding job (the fibreglass is missing a chunk of the inboard side which is why the bobbin released...not a problem to fix.
2. Couple of star cracks on the top of the front fenders. No undercoating, obviously. Not a big deal to grind out and fix (and undercoat...).
3. Right front wheel arch is missing its top edge for about 3". Not a big deal to fix...we've all been there, right?
4. Forward clutch cable bracket (the one down by the front of the driver seat is missing, and there's a 1x2" hole in the fibreglass where it used to live. Dave...hope you don't mind...but will take the one from the old 693r body, fab up a reinforcing plate, and transfer it over to the replacement.
5. No forward bracket for the throttle cable (same size chunk of fibreglass missing...). Since there's less stress for this cable, I'll fab up a piece of 60 thou 2024 and reinforcing plate and do the same.
6. Diagonal crack at the upper end of the a-pillar. Had to look for it (the earlier A pillars are THIN!). Again, minor fix (with slightly opening it up and laying in some mat behind it as a reinforcement...may do it to both sides just in case...the reinforcement, that is...:))
7. Lower door pin hole edges are a little "fuzzy"--guess the door removal did not go as smoothly as expected...but, again, the bobbins are round and firmly set in the body...nice...right side is missing the thru-body wiring tube...I have a spare somewhere...:)
8. Small hole at the left rear jacking point. About 2" diameter of fibreglass is missing. Don't see a problem here...:)
9. Gas tank hole was enlarged a bit, and the rear end of the opening is a bit cracked. Same as 8..but the right side bottom, as well as the battery box area is still intact...no cracks. But, again, will fab up a proper battery box/hold down and reinforce this area so it doesn't do so in the future...

1. There is a small split (durn it..) in the same place as on my existing body. But, it's not a 1/2" gap...but a crack that I can easily glass up with a layer of reinforcement.
2. It looks like there was a small fire in the passenger door...and singed a spot of about 1"x2" on the hidden flange along the door shut. No problem...a little new resin..sand down...prime, and no one (except me, you all, and the memory of the net...:)) will know the better.
3. I brought the bonnet and boot hoods to the field...and they fit almost perfectly...as opposed to the 1/4" proud fit on 693R. This makes me happy...

-Laid in, after sanding back to the glass on the interior rolled edge of each wheel arch, a double layer of chopped strand mat and resin to reinforce the edge. All of the arches, with the exception of the onside rear, are cracked a bit at the apices of the arch, so, laying in a reinforcing layer, while adding a couple ounces of weight (sorry Colin..), will hopefully reduce flexing at this area.

-Applied a couple thin layers of bondo to the front offside arch, where the initial repair was started last weekend, and sanded/shaped to try and capture the contour of the arch. I got it close, I think, but, after shooting a coat of primer, I see that I have to apply a little more "shaping" with the 230 grit to smooth the line a bit more. No biggie...what's important is that the repair is solid and there is enough there to work with.

-Using my handy dremel and small routing bit, opened up the crack at the top of the onside a-pillar at the windshield flange. Mixed up some more poly resin, added in some chopped mat fluff, and pushed it into the joint, then taped it to pull the joint tightly closed. Let it fire off overnight (will check on it this afternoon after my daily sentence is over...), and will clean up the excess. Will probably lay in a woven mat layer on the inside under the trim (it's up underneath where the cantrails cover, so, a little bulk here will be unseen...) as reinforcement.

- a known good non-adjustable lower link
- Known good bushings for both ends. PU preferably.
- AN8 bolts long enough to allow you to set the centers while accounting for the angle of the ends vice the rods.
- couple 1/2 E clips to hold the AN8s in the bushings
- couple 1/2-20 plain nuts

-Stub axles
-Wheel bearings
-Axle outer nuts
-Brake disks (the replacements have been cut and are good according to what I read off the micrometer and the tolerance stamped on them, so, I'll just have my originals cleaned up, spray with cosmoline, and put away in wax paper...)
-Caliper mounts
-trunnions (oh, yeah, the 'rebuilt' trunions were filled with axle grease...have them soaking in varsol to clean that out...)
-trunnion seals
-front hubs
-disk shields
-right side upright.

1. Body is still, obviously, off. Ride heights are not set, nor is the suspension torqued properly. The chassis is riding high at this point (ie the front suspension is in droop). So, do these cars have a tendency to go positive at extension and negative at compression, finding the 0 point at mid-travel, or are they pretty much camber stable through the range of motion; if the former, then I'm not going to worry and when the body goes on, check it then, if the latter, then I'll consult the KB again as well as the Jensen set up docs for solutions.
2. Didn't continue with the right side; it this fleshes out the same on the right, then I'm going to assume the former statement in 1 is correct.
3. I know there were problems with replacement trunnions not being drilled on-center...but what we're talking about is about .15 inches off = 1 degree according to Jensen at the trunnion end...could they be THAT far off (if replacement, not Stanpart)? I'm kind of assuming that there aren't such things as offset bushings for trunnions...

1. Measure out the patches needed for the rear cross-member area of the body that I can glom off of 2667.
2. Pick up the extra passenger door I now have at the airport, bring it home, and strip out the door lock mechanism, external door lock, etc.
3. Attempt to remove the last 6 bolts that officially hold the body on the old frame.
4. Start patching some of the cracks in the body: rear of right rear wheel arch in the bobbin/upright/etc area. Chopped strand/veil in the visible parts, short-strand forced into the crack, overlaid with woven in the engine compartment.

Dash Ignition Switch Connector #           Wire
               1                           Brown/White Stripe
               2                           2 solid White
               3                           White/Red Stripe
               4                           Solid Red (radio)

Switch Connection/state                    Connections
               ACC (Full Left)             1 - 4              
               OFF                         None
               RUN                         1 - 2 - 4
               START                       1 - 2 - 3

• 1. Pull windshield and install new crash pad, proper VIN plate, and new chrome trim/corner clips
• 2. Finish installing new carpet set.
• 3. Sand, prime, and paint wheels.
• 4. Still need to work on the muffler system
• 5. Drive the car more. Probably going to take it to Ray's on friday...
• 6. Replace output shaft seals BB
  693R (Enjoying the heck out of the ride.)

Well..got me thinking about what to do...so...

1. After getting released, came home and dug out of my box o'parts the PCV valve that I knew I had. Cleaned it in varsol.

2. Disconnected the blanking plug from the lower isolation block on the intake manifold, and removed the short stub of 1/2" hose from the feed from the valve cover that was teed off to both the aircleaner and, initially, the intake (sans PCV).

3. Cut the proper lengths of hose, and connected the PCV valve to both the base of the manifold and the T connector in the valve cover vent.

4. Started the car with some choke; and let it warm up. Idle settled right down to aprx 800 rpm.

5. Took a spare turbo boost/vacuum gauge, hooked it up to the end of the dipstick, and proceeded to rev the engine (when the water temp gauge was showing some temp...); I got about, depending on the rpm, between 1 and 2" of vacuum. Disconnected the gauge. Note: the figures are estimates, but close from what I could see.

6. Closed up the boot, and proceeded to take it for a multi-mile high speed blast down US1 here in the north philly area, with the dipstick where it belongs rather than the rubber cap I had previously replaced it with.

7. Idle was fine, throttle response was as it should be, responsiveness of the engine was just what it has been.

8. Came home, popped the boot...and no oil spray from the dipstick tube to coat the right rear Y of the chassis (if only the tranny was as tight...next problem to solve....).

So, according to what I discovered, how does a PCV valve work?

You would think that the PCV valve would flow more at high vacuum situations like at idle and less at lower vacuum situations like pulling a hill. It does the complete opposite. Actually, if you take one apart, you will see that a spring-loaded plunger inside the valve is tapered on the vacuum side that fits into the bore of the body. At idle or cruising when the vacuum is high the plunger is pulled farther into the body. The taper reduces the opening and the amount of air flow through the valve is reduced. Under acceleration or heavy load, such as pulling a hill, the vacuum drops. There is more blow by under a heavy load producing more vapors. In this case when the vacuum drops the spring pushes the plunger, opening the port up for more air flow when it's needed the most to remove the extra gasses. Many of the early PCVs were designed for close to vertical operation using gravity on a heavy plunger instead of a spring to modulate the valve opening rather than using a spring.

So, I'm assuming, based on the advanced technology of our engines, that having it mounted just in line at a 45 degree angle probably isn't the best...so, will get the mount set up and try and find some proper sized 90 degree hoses to mount it as shown in the manual and parts list.

But, the results of my experiment apparently solved a problem that I had been hacking at since I put 693R on the road.

Hope this info provides some insight for those wondering about what this system does.

(I'll also check my plugs and idle mixture. Noticed that I'm getting some pinging on hard acceleration...I forget...should I retard or advance the distributor....I'm thinking retard a degree or two...yes, I'm running on high test...maybe I should try avgas...)

BB
693R (running ok with the pcv temporarily installed)

Well...just thought I'd update on goings on at the House of Boyle...I know...been quiet since the last one, right? Doesn't mean that nothing is going on though...:)

1. Big thing, which some caught, is I'm going to look at another mistress to add to the stable. Yeah, it's an illness. One of our list members is thinning his herd, and has a 69 for sale. Needs some body work...frame condition is unknown, and was going to be the car that the plates from 652667 were going on. Nice thing is that it's supposedly all there (so was 693, fwiw...:)), but, knowing the lister, I have no doubt that it's as represented Another project? Yeah. I kind of feel out of sorts from the 'wrenching' point of view not having major heavy lifting to do. And, the SO had so much fun driving mine last week...thinking his and hers? Now...where was that prozac....?????

2. I plumbed in the PCV valve I had in my box o'parts after our somewhat extended discussion last week. Had to make up the bracket...not entirely satisfied with how it turned out (the original was going to be formed from 40 thou...thought I could do it in the garage, but, I needed to keep the proper bend radius and I don't have the offset bending brake tools here to do so and cracked the mount along the bend line...yes, I had the grain running the right way...so, ended up using thin sheet stock to make the mount. Not as sturdy as I would like, and the attachment of both the valve and hoses are not up to my own standard. But, after a spirited test run, it's working well enough to get me to the field to risk my neck on Saturday, and once finished abusing student pilots, I can get into the machine shop and do the proper job.

   Photos of the install are in my website http://www.bdboyle.com/europa/index.php under today's date of the arrangement I came up with. The valve was mounted vertically; I tried to keep the same general arrangement.

   What I'm also going to do is also bend up some aluminum tubing to replace the lower feed from the valve to the inlet so that there is some additional stability to fix the assembly in place; may remove the rubber hose nipple from the manifold and put in a fixed fitting to pick up the metal tube. We'll see.

3. I did notice that, on hard acceleration, I am getting some knocking. Been mucking about the KB, and, pardon my ignorance, but, is there a preferred static/idle advance angle on the 821-30 with OEM distributor/vacuum advance? I'm running an ignitor with the pertronix 40Kv coil. OEM renault wires. She idles fine...nice and smooth, it's just when you get on the loud pedal, you can hear the knocking.

   Running premium (maybe I should top off with 100 octane saturday..down to a half tank...) Exxon (hey, ex-employees with x years of service still get a break on the pump price...). Once you unload it a bit (let off on the acceleration rate..), it goes back to being its normal self. So, I know it has to do with the timing.

   Thoughts?

4. Speedo tends to move like a VU meter once at road speed. Bounces around pretty well. I have a new cable...figure the cheapest part is the first to replace. The angle drive is fine...lubed, no play, and have, oh, 3 additional heads (4 if I make the deal for the other car this weekend...) of various mileages. Will see if replacing the cable and paying better attention to its routing (I took a swag at it when I was putting the chassis together) solves the problem. If not, will take out the head that I have, and ship it off to Nisonger for overhaul and calibration.

5. Borrowed a camber gauge...and have 2 qts of redline GL4 90wt gear oil. Need to get up to the shop and put that in...the drain plug is leaking pretty good, so, will teflon tape it before putting it back in; from what I hear, that plug is a sore spot of leakage...and will recheck the torque on the case bolts, Just In Case.

   Secondarily, have been investigating the jensen motors work on suspension, and some dox in the golden gate site, as well; so, I'll probably be mucking around for some spare upper A arms to modify (leaving the ones I have stock...) to give me some camber adjustability range for the front, and then reset the toe. Can always go back to stock...which is why I'm going to track down a set of originals to mod.

6. Was driving the other night, hit a couple bumps, and heard this metallic rattling coming from under the dash. Boy, did that bug me. Well, assumed the lotus position on the passenger side...turns out it was the metal hanging tag for the heater....rattling against the heater can. Nothing serious. Stuck it where it belongs...and the beast is quiet (well, not quiet, but making only the racket it should be...) again.

7. Picked up 4 tubes of windshield urethane, black glass primer, a cold knife to remove the windshield, a couple windshield suction handles...and 2 yards of foam-backed headliner. I have enough leather to dye to re-cover the a-pillars...so, before it starts getting cold, I'm going to pull the old glass, clean the flange, prime, and paint black...and reinstall the headliner, a-pillar trim, and the windshield with new chrome trim and corner clips. Figure I'll bring the black out of the flange a quarter of an inch or so; that way, no matter what the final color of the car is, the current color won't show under the trim if the masking is not perfect. Besides, the urethane is black, too...:)

Anyway...still working on her. Never ends, does it?

But, at least, after all is said and done, versus what I was thinking in June (like...is this ever going to work????), when I get something done, I get a chance to go for a drive and smile...you all know what I mean?

:)

Thanks for listening...

BB 693R (most certainly a work in constant progress.)

Well...many steps forward, and a rework in place for an original part...

1. Took the car out for a spirited drive last night. She's running pretty good, considering all that has been done. Still tweaking, still fussing after her, but, all in all, doing ok. But...you knew that was coming, right?

   Came to a long light, and, the rad fan kicked on. And squealed like a stuck politician taking away his graft payments. Ok...it is the original one that came with the car...and more than a few years old. No biggie...was pulling on the superslab anyway, so, I hied myself home, temps holding nice at 90...pulled into the garage and pulled the fan assembly off.

   Blades came right off (original Ducellier...), and removed the motor. Armature was rough to turn with my hand. Guess the bearings were dry.

   Not a big deal. Separated the halves, brushes looked in good shape. Cleaned the contacts with cleaner and buffed them shiny, washing them down with cleaner to get all the spooge off.

   Pushed the sintered bronze bushings out, and cleaned them up with contact cleaner. The armature surfaces were a little rough, so, I lightly polished them with crocus cloth, and cleaned the ends up with contact cleaner also.

   But, what to do with the bronze bushings? They are a good fit on the armature still, they're just dry.

   So...took out my hot plate, a small pan for the water, and one that fit in it for the oil...a double boiler set up, as you will. Same way you would melt parafin. Put a mixture of 30 wt and light solvent in the second pan, brought the water up to boil, put the second pan in the boiling water (like a double boiler...) and added the mixture and bushings to it. Let it simmer for about an hour (with the door open to the garage...and sat there and watched it (with an extinguisher by my side...). After about an hour, turned it off and let it cool naturally, then removed the bushings from the oil (most of the solvent had evaporated....). Pressed into place back in the housing...reassembled the motor, adding a little oil to the cup at the closed end and smeared some on the exposed end and tested.

   Quiet. Smooth. Reassembled the motor back into the fan shroud etc., and reinstalled.

   Nice. It works. How long? Can't predict. But, if it lasts for even a couple years...that will be ok with me.

2. The OEM steering wheel in the car was showing signs of 38 years. Plastic was cracking on the seam. Not bad, but, considering all the work that's been done, it was on my list to do.

   So..I saw that Griots had Wheelskins, so I called them up. Obviously, the original Lotus wheel is not on their list, so, they asked me for the measurements, and said that a special order would be the same price drop shipped from Wheelskins.

   For reference, the size of our wheels is 14" diameter, 3" circumference rim for the leather wrap.

   They quoted 10 days. it showed up in 5. Took about an hour to put on carefully.

   I'll put the before and afters up on my site, but, it looks great. Makes the rim just a hair thicker, but, the quality is top rate.

   Not an endorsement of either Griot's or Wheelskins, but, it turned out quite well, so, it's worth the bandwidth to express satisfaction--what other biz would call a customer for the specs for a special order of less than 50. USD, and go that extra step for the same price as a stock item? Not many, so, while not endorsing, I am quite happy with their customer service (and product quality).

All in all...not too much accomplished this week, but, small steps forward, and a minor shuffle in reverse taken care of...

BB
693R (my ball joints were hard to remove too, if that's any consolation...took a lot of colorful language and big hammers...)

We all know what happens to that wonderful polyurethane foam that Chunky bought at a surplus sale that he used for the sunvisors. It turns to dust. Mine were no different...and after most of the interior shops that I brought them to just kind of looked at me...I decided to take things into my own hands and attempt a repair of them myself.

Problem is, they were assembled with a heat seal over a metal frame and foam backing. How am I going to do that...and still retain enough of the stock look that if you all peer into my car at the next LOG it won't be the cause of too many snickers...

So...taking trusty tools in hand...this is what I did. Supplies needed:

1. A hunk of closed cell foam large enough to do two visors.
2. Enough 1/8" foam to do 2 visors, double thickness (4 pieces)
3. Sharp scissors
4. Contact cement
5. Can of spray vinyl dye (I used oxford white...off whitish)
6. Vacuum

1. Take the visor in hand. Note that there is a heat-sealed seam along all sides; what you're going to do is, with the scissors, cut carefully along the top end of the visor (the end that has the hole for the mount) and remove ONLY the heat-sealed seam on the top, leaving as much of the vinyl intact as possible.

2. Remove the steel reinforcement from the opened visor, and shake out all the decomposed original foam. Remove any that is stuck to the frame, and, if need be, clean the rust off the frame surface.

3. Lay the frame on the closed cell foam (I used the left-over stuff from the chassis..), and, with a marker, trace out along the INSIDE of the frame. What you're going to do is use the closed cell foam to close off the inside area of the wire frame. With the scissors, cut out the foam along the line you scribed.

4. Take the cover, and CAREFULLY use it to draw the outline of it on the regular foam. What you're going to do is get the general shape (minus the backbone where the visor slides onto the mount...but along the flat piece of the mount (you'll see what I mean if you look at the frame..it's a tube with two flat extensions that pick up the wire frame...) that will be about 1/4" smaller than the outside shape.

5. Taking some contact cement, apply to one side of the closed cell foam, and the proper side of the regular foam. Lay the frame flat on the bench, and put the closed cell foam inside the frame. When the cement is fired off, carefully lay the regular foam, proper orientation, so that the top edge of the foam is about 1/4 inch down from where the tube and flat strips are joined. What we're going to do is make a sandwich of foam/closed cell/foam capturing the wire frame...so, do the same to the other side.

6. When all set up, offer the frame-cum-foam sandwich into the open visor. Note where it is too big...remove and carefully trim so that it is an easy fit in the visor...not too tight, not too loose. You should have (if you opened the visor up carefully) about 1/4" of overlap if you fold the loose ends over the top of the frame.

7. When satisfied with the fit, brush on some contact cement to the frame, and one side of the vinyl. Wait to flash off, then carefully fold the first flap over and attach it to the top of the frame. Do the same for the other side, except you're going to apply the cement to the vinyl you just folded over and the underside of the second flap. Wait for the flash off, then fold the second flap over and smooth out carefully.

8. If you've made it this far, you will notice that the hole for the mount is a little off. No problem...with the scissors, just trim the opening so that the visor will fit back on the mount.

9. Satisfied? Then clean the vinyl with any reasonable solvent (be careful not to get the seam you just glued with the solvent), and spray the vinyl dye on, a few light coats.

10. Reinstall when dry. Admire your handiwork.

Total time for both took me, after I figured out how to put the foams together, was about an hour and a half.

I'll put some photos up tonight or tomorrow on my website. BB
693R (visors fixed...)

And...in other news...

Changed the tranny fluid today, swapping out the Castrol GL4 with Redline MT90. I had noticed that, as the tranny heated up with driving, the shifting would get a little notchy.

Not anymore. Spent about an hour running around the area...high speed, low speed, traffic, open road.

Up- and down-shifts area lot smoother. Most certainly the box is a bit quieter. Cross-gate movement is smoother.

Maybe it's just my perception...I was hoping that the synth gear oil would work out better. We'll see, as I put some more mileage on her.

For the record, I have aprx 1500 miles on her since august 21. Last fill up returned 38 mpg (pretty good for 5.25/gal avgas...). Been still fiddling around with it pretty much every day.

Next week, taking a week off between companies (yes, leaving Lockheed Martin and gov't contracting to get back into the real world...), so, have lined up all the stuff I need to do the headliner, a-pillars, crash pad, and reseal the windshield with new replacement chrome trim and corner clips from RD.

And with that, she'll get transfered to the airport...to be taken out on the 28th for a NY/NJ LEO drive, and then get laid up for the winter.

BB
693R

Came out fine. It was being held in by prayers. Literally, did not even have to use a cold knife, a wire saw, wedges, or anything. The trim was holding it in...but, pulled the trim off, and the windshield did not have to be cut out.

Sat it in my basement on a number of blocks of styrofoam so I could clean out the channel of the old butyl..gently leaned it against the sheetrock wall.

Nice.

Came back an hour later to clean the butyl remnants off the glass.

Cracked.

Sigh. Minor setback, I think. Probably wrong, though.

Anyway...doesn't mean I can't keep going, right?

Removed the visors, headliner (it came off pretty much in two pieces), with a THICK coat of factory glue on the foam. The new headliner I ordered 2 days ago came in with the headliner cement. So, to take my mind off the windshield in the basement with the big crack, I replaced the headliner. It only took about an hour or so, including cutting, trimming, etc. Need to pick up some edge molding the finish the top of the opening; still need to trim the front edge afterwards.

Hint for installing...start at the rear of the ceiling and work forward to the windshield opening.

Also pulled out the crash pad. Have the new one from RD/Banks/? to install...looks like some trimming involved...but that's to be expected.

Swapped out the VIN plate; now, all the plates (except for the chassis stamping...) match. That's a good thing, right?

Cut out a couple pieces of connoly, vinyl dyed with flat black, and installed on the A-pillars as they should be done. They look nice. The way they should; when you match up the new headliner, the cantrails, and the freshly replaced A-pillar trim, along with new door seal...wow. I can see the light at the end of the interior tunnel.

Well..thought I'd escape the cracked windshield syndrome. Guess not.

Durn.

Oh well...

Good thing I have off next week. I did pick up 4 tubes of urethane, still trying to find the primer (no one around here seems to have it...), new trim...corner clips...and have cleaned off most of the spooge in the channel, so...forward she marches.

BB
693R (windshield less, but with a fresh headliner...)

Well...put the inside all back together over the last couple days...and, while I had to attend my grandson's first birthday party this afternoon, did manage to close up some loose ends:

1. Finally got around to picking through, over the last week, the individual pieces left from the AutoMat carpet set that I bought in August, and, with some judicious application of high-strength contact cement (left over from the headliner install...), I finished installing the carpeting, including the BIG center bulkhead piece. Put all the plastic back in place (still have to do the driver door speaker grille, not a biggie though). Couple suggestions that made it go a little easier, in retrospect:
   1. When you do the center console carpeting, especially if you are purchasing a pre-made (sewn) kit, register the kit to not only the triangular section at the rear, but, also the length from the front cross bulkhead to the center console. The two work with each other and if you don't do it right..well, you will end up with a slight gap at the front end (which I didn't, but, the preliminary location I thought would be right, if I had started from there, would have left the gap. Not that you would see it, but, if you're like me, you'd know it was there and it would bug you.
   2. When cementing up long sections, do about a third of the long length at a time. Spray/brush on the contact cement, flash off, then locate in place, smoothing out from the center of the section to the outside edges. That gets it nice and flat and smooth.
   3. Under the seats, where the 5/16" bolts go thru the channels thru the floor...under the carpet where the holes are, cut out about a 1 1/2" diameter circle in the under padding, and, on the inside, locate 2 5/16x1 1/2" fender washers under the carpet in the clearance hole you just cut in the padding. This will support the seat rails and keep them from collapsing into the carpet, which will keep them straight and allow you to move the seat forward and back.
   4. RD still has a stock of the carpet hold-down rings, studs, and snaps. I put two under the seat, between the rails, and two at the forward location as was drilled by the factory. They will keep the footwell carpet from sliding around or bunching up at the front end of the driver footwell. The unused holes for the factory studs I just pushed some gelled resin into, and will smooth out the underside later.
2. I installed, but haven't fully installed, the universal washer pump in the nose of the car. I figure I'd plumb it in in the next week or so, and hook it up to the wiring harness. Since I don't have the sovy container for the brake master cylinder, I'm going to use the r/w wire that would have driven that circuit, as well as the push-to-test switch under the instrument panel to actuate the pump (I may also use the brake fail light, just to be sure...:)).
3. My 2nd-next-door neighbor, who teaches body shop at the local vo-tech, provided the name of a glass shop who is willing to install the windshield and trim as per the manual (with urethane vice butyl). They will also polish out the original windshield from 693R of the scratches (the owner stopped by and took a look and commented that they were not the worst he'd ever seen...or fixed) that were all over the outside of the glass. As he said, they will be gone when they're finished.

   Total to install trim, prime channel, mount windshield, and fully polish the outside? $200. USD. I figure that's a bargain.

   So, the crated replacement windshield will be carefully placed in storage when I get it from Ray's, and, I'll go with the original Triplex, albeit polished out, for now. It's nice to have spares, you know...:) Lord knows, the crappy way that PA DOT leaves gravel all over the roads here...

4. I will be, excepting the parts I'm saving for Dan, be placing a list up to the group as well as on Jerry's site, of useable parts I've collected over the last 7 months and have more than 2 of. I've finally reached the point where having 4 extras of many parts is about 2 too many...and, I'm sure someone's 65 may be in need of what is in my garage, basement, or yard shed. Until then...pls wait till I get the list up..:)

As always, photos of the completed interior (and the old windshield taped in place..) are at http://www.bdboyle.com/europa/index.php under 10-21-Interior_Finished .

BB
693R (Started pulling the hoses away in the engine compartment to get the valve cover off so that I can check the torque of the head bolts...as Steve so rightly pointed out, it couldn't hurt...:))

Well..off to RD's today to pick up the OEM Triplex windshield. What a day to do it...????

1. Picked up the new glass early this morning and carried it home in the back of the van. You never realize how many bumps there on on roads until you have an expensive, rare, and hard-to-find piece of glass in your vehicle, right?
2. Got home, and super padded the back area of the car, which makes a perfect place to work on the glass. Started by measuring the amount of urethane primer I had to mask for; I ended up using a 3/4" on the top and sides, and a 1" at the foot to mask the crash-pad to body seam. Not that it was ugly, but, I felt that it gave it a better, cleaner look. I masked by applying painters tape of the proper width following the edge, then using a 1.5" wide strip inside of that, then stripping off the outer strip of tape to give me the clear glass to prime (I cleaned it twice, btw, with heavy-duty glass cleaner before taping...). At about this point, Dan Costello stopped by to lend a hand...
3. Opening up the bottle of primer, and pouring into a cup, I then used a sponge brush to apply 2 even coats of 3M primer to the glass and edge. This edge portion of the glass, by the way, is referred to by glass pros as the "frit". Why? Have no idea. When the second coat was on (this stuff only takes a short time to flash off), I stripped the tape, and cleaned up the tape edges where needed.
4. Since I had spent a couple hours last night trimming the edge molding, we then moved on to applying a good bead of urethane adhesive to the channel in the plastic trim. First the bottom, then, working our way around the sides, putting the corner clips on as we went, we applied the trim to the edge of the glass and collapsed the trim tightly on to the frit, so that the urethane oozed out and attached it firmly to the windshield.
5. Letting the sealer set up for a few minutes...we then test-fit in the opening. Little bit of jockying around...measurements, splitting differences...and got it centered in short order. I used 4 short pieces of tape perpendicular to the trim at the top and bottom to mark the place, then sliced the tape. This gives you a registration point for when you insert the windshield with the adhesive in the channel.
6. Now comes the funky part. You have to lay down a BIG bead of adhesive all around the opening. I'm talking at least a half inch thick. And, you want to put it as close to the interior edge of the flange as possible. Lots of sealant. Trust me. It takes about 5 minutes to get it all in, and then you have about 15 minutes before it starts to set. Full strength is 18-24 hours. So, think, plan, step back, and go for it, but once you start, you're committed.
7. Then...the good part. The two of us carefully picked up the glass from the boot where it was placed after the dry fit, and repeated our motions to get it into place. We placed it in the goo, and checked for fit. There were some areas where it was not, even with a big healthy strip of sealer, so, we carefully wedged the glass open, and I applied yet more. Placing it back in, I checked around the periphery inside, and saw it oozing from all around the glass. Good. Full contact.
8. Using wide-handed pressure, we pressed smoothly down on the outside to make sure it was positioned well and truly in the adhesive. It is, as far as I can tell.
9. Taking a page from a photo I saw at Lotus, I then took a couple big rolls of tape, placed them on the outside, and then tape-strapped across the front to keep pressure on the front surface into the setting.
10. I'll wait till tomorrow to test-rain on it with the hose. But, it looks nice. If it leaks...well...I'll cross that bridge...but, if it does...I have 2 more tubes and can easily fill in under the trim and along the windshield. But, looking at the fit, it is pretty evenly oozing out all along the flange to windshield joint.

Photos in http://www.bdboyle.com/europa/index.php under 10-27-Windshield directory. Also a shot of the adhesive I used, the primer container, and, Dan Costello proudly showing off the rear deck to his TC that he brought over...:)

Looks nice, I think...new trim, no scratches, OEM triplex tinted windscreen. Life is good (even if the checkbook took a BIG hit...)

Now, I just have to figure how to get the old rear view mirror button off (when you want to, they don't...when you do, you can't budge it...) and transfer it over to the new window. Maybe I'll just take the broken windshield down to the dump, take a sledge to it, and save the piece that has the button on it...:) It's not any good, anyway, right?

Either that, or stop by the local GM stealer on Monday, and buy a new mount and day/night mirror off something like a Grand Am or some such, so that when stopped at a light, the SUV in back of me isn't blinding me...:) and go with that solution.

I'd like to thank Dan for his great assistance (and he's certainly getting a Europa Education...) this afternoon; it made it a whole lot easier having four hands instead of wrestling with it myself. It would not have gone in as quickly or easily without him. Thanks, Dan.

Now...on to the leaking head and tranny. Some things never are finished...:)

BB
693R (not windshieldless anymore...I can put my flying goggles back in my flight bag...next to my silk scarf...)

Anyway, casting about for a gasket kit for a -30 engine that I'm planning on rebuilding this winter...and the sources are few and far between.

So...a lot of folks have dealt with Geert of the R16 club over in the Netherlands; he's a good chap, and willing to deal with those of us who enjoy (?!) the feeling of French power in our Brit cars (with Italian tires and US carpets...).

He has access to complete, fresh manufacture gasket kits, which are the same for the 821 engines installed in the original cars as ours.

The cost, excluding shipping (and I added in transaxle gaskets and seals) was about 160USD, when converting from Euro to our devalued currency. Shipping was another 40USD (24 Euro). If you need them, you need them.

Shipping time was only 5 days from the Netherlands, besides, to the east coast.

FYI, current manufacturer is a subsidiary of the Dana Corporation, called Glaser Sealing Products (http://www.glaser.es).

1. Part Number Kit
2. S30750 Complete engine kit
3. 03159 Head Gasket only
4. 03162 Valve Cover Gasket only
5. 03160 Oil Pan Gasket only
6. 03324 Intake/Exhaust only

I've passed this info on to RD for his research to see if there is source for them over here.

I found Geert to be cooperative and willing to research the differences, so, if you're in the need of these items, it might be worth your while, even accounting for the exchange rate and shipping, to consider taking this tack if you're in a rebuild mode (or, just want them on the shelf In Case).

(costs to other countries is unknown, so...ymmv.)

Geert's email: r16geert@home.nl

Just thought I'd throw this out for the general masses and KB (eventually).

Well..it's come time to finally give up the garage and move her to her hibernation location...so, as a wrap up for this season, bear with me as I bring everyone up to date:

1. As a datapoint for the car...since re-arriving on the road in August, she's done a bit over 1600 miles of enjoyment on the roads of NJ/PA/NY (just a bit...). What a blast.

2. The yard shed formerly known as "that empty shed in the back yard" is full of the cast-offs of the rebuild...not that they're not useful, but, were baggied and part numbers scribbled on the bag. The cast iron or steel pieces were rescued, cleaned up, sprayed with a mist of oil, and put in baggies, stored in my basement...things like the extra set of hubs, stub axles, etc.

3. I've stored away the new water pump, fuel pump, gasket sets, thermostat, extra set of belts, hoses, suspension bushings...shims, seals for the tranny, etc in preparation for next year and the cross-winter projects that I'm looking forward to.

4. In the interim, with the upcoming hibernation, I decided that, before putting her to bed, it would be a propitious time to finally install the new speedo cable. Don't know why there is such aggida about doing it (unless I did something wrong...:)); took, with replacing the original speedo head (which is getting sent to Nisonger...) a little under an hour. Did it just as the manual said; the only change was to use a bit of safety wire as a pull wire to get the front thru the hole under the dash. The old cable? Well...it was broken about 4" from the rear end...which might have explained the somewhat erratic indications....works fine now, if a bit high (3850 rpm, which should give about 70 mph actually reads 75. I have a spare angle drive which I can try...but, assuming that it's a calibration problem which will be taken care of when I get the Nisonger repair back...after all, the mechanicals are somewhere between 37 and 35 years old, right?

5. Still weeping a bit of anti-freeze, but only after a longish ride. It's a head gasket. So, that's on the list for this winter in the hangar...

6. Whilst underneath stringing the speedo, made sure that I cleaned up the drips, etc. Undercarriage is clean, tidy, and ready for winter. Note...didn't wax it this time...:)

So, off to the hanagar she goes. Cover is stashed in the trunk. Interior is cleaned, floor carpets ready to come out, along with the seats...going into my basement for the interim. I'll put the battery on a tender when I get her to the field.

Oh, yeah, also changed the oil and filter. 20w50 castrol. New Fram PH3512. Half pint of Camguard per the instructions to keep the film up on the metal, and a bottle of water wetter in the antifreeze. Get the thing nice and warm on the way to the field and get the fluids all through the engine.

And then, hibernate. Sniff...:)

But, then, that leaves space in front of the SO's car to do the other things that I've got lined up...

BB
693R

So...after spending an hour shoveling out my corner lot sidewalk... traced out the vic brit high-current headlight harness they sell and draw it for the benefit of folks who are thinking of upgrading their headlights, which means that the existing wiring has to be considered.

One of the neat features is that the high-current feed for the filaments is taken off the panel switch and high/low on the stalk and that circuit is used to turn relays on and offand there's a separate fused feed direct from the fuse block (or direct from the battery...remember to put a fuse in as close to the power source as possible in case there's a short closer to the load...) that bypasses the whole dashboard/column mess of wiring.

Another nice feature, I think, is that, with the use of two relays, if one fails, you can swap the good one into the socket of the failed one (or, carry a spare...these relays are pretty much all I use, so, there are a few that are mounted that are not used right now...and are pretty ubiquitous) and it will get you home. As a matter of fact, it's the same relay I use for the alternator, radiator fan, air horns, etc.

Anyway, the page I built with the diagram is in the 693R menu on my site (http://www.lotuseuropa.us) under "Mods". I think I'm going to maintain the out-of-the-resurrection mainstream upgrades here, while still maintaining my blog on Jerry's site for the final phase of 693R's resurrection...and starting a new one when the next car gets here.

Thoughts? Comments?

BB
693R

With the rising flood waters of the Delaware lapping at the next town over (Yardley), and no flights (yeah, right?), figured I'd dig into the box o'parts that have collected space in my garage and start working on freshening up stuff in preparation for the paint work.

1. Stripped both doors that I have from the original car. Window frame (no rattle strips in either of them...), quarter lights, mechanisms, motors, etc. Couple of the welds on the rattle strip mounts are broken...which is normal, I guess, as well as the spacer piece at the front of the main frame that positions it outward on the door. You know, the one that's always broken? No problem.

The rubber gaskets for the quarter light are in reasonable condition, a little shrunken, but, useable. IIRC, they are NLA, so, I'll carefully soak them in some rejuvenating oil (from leatherique.com) and hope they are ok. When I reinstall, I'll use some of the urethane I have in the unopened tubes to close the open joints at the corners. That should be ok...I guess.

2. Found a box containing the remains of a couple handbrake handles I've accumulated. So...stripped them all down, and spent some quality time at the sandblast cabinet to clean them up. Figure will chromate them, a nice coat of semi-gloss black, and use the single good white press handle as a pattern to make up some replacements out of aluminum stock I picked up along the way. Photos are on my website (http://www.lotuseuropa.us) in 693R's photo album, in the 2008 directory (I had to re-arrange the album due to some limitations in the software regarding how deep the software will dip to alphabetize the listing...).

3. Unpacked the bell housing I scored off evilbay, and removed the old, hard input shaft seal, installed a new OEM seal, and installed an NOS throwout bearing into the fork after prelubing the housing. Smooth, clean, and looks ok. On the shelf for later use....

Anyway...a quiet day.

BB
693R

Hi, I'm Bryan..

(HI BRYAN!!!!)

Anyway...good day today, even if I didn't get to work on 693R, being involved with finishing up my friend Joe's aircraft interior.

1. Dropped a supply of stuff off at Ray's (now I'm supplying stuff to him..but, I'll let you look at his page to find it..:)). Picked up, seeing has he had some new stock, of the front quarter light rubbers (sadly, only the top and bottom, not the H channel...but, the ones on the car are ok, so...will use those (unless someone knows who has the quarter-to-main window frame channel...:)). Also, took advantage of his sale on side marker light bases, as well as the 3-year badge for the new bezels I picked up a couple months ago. So, the side rear badges are complete...and photos are in my 693R photo album, 2008, under today's date.

2. Got home, and dug out the stash of parts I had for the side lights left over from some car or the other along the way. Took them apart (well, the rubber just crumbled in some cases...), brought the lenses upstairs to the kitchen, and scrubbed them clean (which also got a lot of the white wax residue out from between the lettering on the faces.

3. Took everything to the workshop, and proceeded to polish the chrome frames (I have 2 extras besides what I used and what's on the car...) with a light touch of Simichrome. Got off a number of years of crud and spooge...and there's little if no pitting. Nice.

4. Proceeded to reassemble the side lights; first, put in the backing plate for the reflector, then the reflector lens itself, then the light socket (will still have to bead blast them to clean them up, but just wanted to try the assembly...), then the light lens. Then, carefully attached the chrome trim by placing it in position, lightly compressing it with my hand, and using my thumb, teased the rubber lip over the flange on the trim. Took about a minute per., and everything seated real nicely.

5. Still have to, as I said, bead blast the sockets and backing plate, but, now that everything is together, they look sweet. And, oh, new rubber, so, when I pick them up, I don't get black rubber dust all over my hands (which is a pita to wash off...it's almost like used motor oil from a diesel...it just never comes completely off.

6. Appropriated Karen's camera, and took a few shots which I dropped into the same directory as mentioned above. I'm not trying to sell anything, but, if yours are a bit worn, or they are almost NOT holding that chrome trim in (which is unobtainable, so...), I'd consider it (considering the minor $ to save a piece which is, if you can find them, going for upwards of 150. USD last I checked overseas) a worthwile investment.

7. Started trimming the quarter light rubber trim...realized that I probably should wait till I actually go to install the things so I can get the miters right at the corners. But, they do look a LOT better than the deteriorating stuff on there now.

7a. FINALLY got both original doors free of their door pins, bushings, and assorted ash and trash. FINALLY, they're just shells. So, when I cut the existing doors off 693R, I'll choose the better of each side to use for the sand-down and repaint.

8. Picked up 200 pads of 230 grit sanding disks for the orbital, as well as a trade-size box of 600 wet/dry for smoothing out the final sand-down and primer coat. I'm going to do most of the prep work myself...and just have someone do the final smoothing of the primer and color shoot, rather than the whole magilla.

9. In preparation for the arrival of another car, I rented a garage (15x25) at the airport to have a place to store/work/disassemble/? the next project without inconveniencing the One Who Must Be Obeyed. Only a C note per month (cheaper than my old tiedown for my plane...), has 40A electricity service (can anyone say compressor and blast cabinet...???), overhead lighting, and a concrete floor. Anyone need any work done...:)??? Enough room for my roll-cabinet of tools, and space for a good sized workbench and shear and brake. And, I won't have to inconvenience my friend Joe...:)

10. Speaking of Joe...arranged to drive the car to his shop in 2 weeks to r&r the head gasket. He offered, since he has all the tools and stuff there (especially to dump the fluids, and clean up afterwards...), as well as a surface plate to check the head. So, that's in the queue.

11. Whilst at rd...picked up his binder of factory service bulletins from the 1970s...and will scan them in for Jerry's site. It's not a complete set, but, I'm on the trail of one...so, there will be gaps, but, it's a start. There's a bunch of scans ahead of them, though...like a rescan of the TC/TCS parts manual (ray loaned a pristine manual, as in it's in a sealed bag with an OEM parts tag on it...:)) to clean up the diagrams on Jerry's (and rd's...which is a modification of the original work done last year...) site.

Just for giggles...I looked at my calendar...a week from this coming Wednesday (26 March) I took posession of 693R from the shipping company. And almost a year since this resurrection started. How time flies when you're having fun, right?

To be up-front, if it wasn't for the great folks on this list that have kept me honest, I never could have even gotten this far, let alone known how to even start. Steve, Jerry, Mike, Pete, Whit, Jay, Ed, Dan, and I'm leaving out a whole gaggle of folks who have encouraged me, not by choice, but this would go on too long...I'll throw you my keys anyday for a ride (as long as you bring her back...:))

Thanks, guys.

BB
693R

Well...being the retentive engineering type...need some help, if someone has access to either the cylinder liner hold-downs for the 821-30 engine or has built them...

Next weekend, I plan on pulling the head and regasketing to cure a small weep from the front left side. I have a complete set of gaskets (well, more than one set, one never knows, does one...??) for both the top and bottom ends, etc. I have a couple of long head bolts that I'm planning on cutting the heads off of and slotting for removal to make up the locating pins, as well as the locating tool for the rear left side (that funky looking one with the two fingers that stick up (thanks, steve...:)). Also have a Cardone rebuilt water pump (while I'm in the area, you know...) to go on...didn't like the thin paper gaskets they supplied for both the base and the rear plate, so spent a little time this morning replacing with new OEM, which are impregnated paper (out of the curty gasket kit...) rather than what Cardone used.

Anyway, don't want to take chances whilst the head is off that the liners will pop. The engine only has about 28K miles, according to the records I have, since the engine was rebuit in Miami by a couple POs ago. While I don't forsee any problems if they do (I have a set of the bottom end gaskets that I'm bringing Just In Case...so I'd just have to drop the oil pan and pull the jugs and pistons, etc...in essence, doing an in-frame rebuild (I also have a sealed set of original hepolite rings that came in the original delivery...), I'd like to gin up a set of retainers to eliminate the possibility as much as possible. I know about only loosening the center cam side bolt a couple of turns and using it as a pivot point, etc to break the seal by hammering with a soft-blow hammer to twist, etc, and the fellow (joe) who's shop I'm doing it in has experience in wet-sleeved french engines (peugeot, citroen, and some renaults...:)), so, I'll be as careful as possible...:)

I do plan on putting the tranny in neutral and disconnecting the actuating lever and blocking the wheels to imobilize the car, too. Again, Just In Case...:)

Anyway, if anyone has a set of hold-downs or a bare 821 block, could you do a favor for me and measure bolt-center to bolt-center across the head so I can drill up some bar stock to build a hold-down set?

I'm going to make a guess here based on discussions, that the bolts themselves are 11mm x 1.5 pitch; not a very common size, but, I can cut some 1/2" ID tube to length to just use 4 of my head bolts to hold the bar stock down.

Any thoughts from folks that have gone down this road before? (Yes, I'm going to check the torque before pulling the head just in case it's a case of the head not being torqued properly from the PO's overhaul...not that I think that will do anything, but....)

If anyone has any input, I'm sure everyone will benefit...:)

Thanks, all.

BB
693R

One year anniversary. Let's whoop it up. Roll out the barrel....

So...loaded one of my gasket kits and all the bits I've collected over the past couple weeks...into 693R...and off to Flemington Foreign Car...to start pulling the head off and regasket the thing...:) You know, took a lot of back roads up hills and down the other side on the route between princeton (beeped at the owner standing outside of the Lotus dealer in Hopewell NJ as I went past...he waved back...), sweepers left and right, decreasing radius turns, nice smooth roads...these damn thing are fun. I keep remembering that, even with all the issues you can have...when they're running and the road is clear...watch out. Fingertip control, get into the groove. Feel close to what it's like when you get a smooth night, and the flight is just grooving..fellow pilots will know what I mean...:) Anyway...

1. Backed in onto the alignment rack at the shop, and chocked the tires, as well as set the handbrake. No rolling allowed for this job, even it it's in neutral, and pulled out the bolt connecting the mechanism to the lever coming out of the tranny, making doubly sure it's in neutral.

2. Started clipping tiewraps all over the place. I use a lot of them. And clip them just as wantonly. Spare the tie wraps, spoil the job...

3. Removed: engine wiring to the Alternator, distributor, water temp sensor, and pulled it back as well as the choke cable, throttle cable, E-clip for the throttle arm, pullies, belts, alternator adjusting arm, carburetor, exhaust clamp, valve cover, rocker arm assembly (lots of spooge in the oil passages...no biggie, will solvent wash out the assembly and head before reinstalling...and turn the engine over without ignition connected to preoil before starting on the flip side of this...). Punched holes in a piece of cardboard, numbered it for the cylinders, and lined up the pushrods in the sequence they were located in the head.

4. Put heater valve on high (joe mentioned, and dug out an original OEM valve the same as mine. Has no idea where he got it..but threw it in my box o'parts with a 'you may need this someday...') and removed the closure plate in the front and the aluminum plates closing off the nose from the rack area. Popped the pressure cap on the swirl tank.

5. Pulled over the BIG 5 gallon bucket, and unfastened the hose clamp for the bottom coolant hose. There's a LOT of coolant in these things as compared to a normal (HA!) car.

6. Missed one step...sigh. Forgot to check the torque before untorquing the head. Oh well, will never know whether it was right, I guess.

7. Disconnected the coolant hoses from water pump and released the drain on the side of the block to drain the block.

8. Following the instructions in the manual to the letter, released all the head bolts EXCEPT for the center one on the cam side. Loosened that just a couple turns (at the most).

9. Just for retentiveness, scribed a line on the portion of the block that is just proud of the head around the distributor boss as Yet Another Registration Mark. Can't hurt. Didn't carve it, just used a diamond scriber to give me a line.

10. Moment of truth. Couple of 5 lb dead-blow plastic-faced hammers, couple blocks of wood held longways at the front right corner and rear left. tap...tap...tap...hmmmm...nothing. Whap...Whap...Whap...head moved. WHAP...WHAT. Head turned enough to move it with your hand. Whap...whap...whap the other way. Head is free.

11. Released center bolt on cam side that was left. All bolts in order stuck thru a piece of cardboard. Picked up the tappets out of the cam galley and put them in a piece of cardboard, too. Everything numbered, everything accounted for, in order.

At this point...took 4 of the long head bolts, the lengths of pipe cut to about 4.5", a handful of 1/2" fender washers, and used them to clamp 1&2/3&4 cylinders down using the long bolts on both sides of the block, in the holes between each pair of jugs on the edge of the block. Didn't have time to get fancy this week with the cross strap, so I used the technique listed in an old remarque. There was still a little coolant in the bottom of the block; I'll drain the oil tomorrow to see if there was any displacement or leaks from the bottom seals. Have a couple sets of both the paper and the newer excelynl seals as supplied in current gasket sets.

At this point, it was time to call it a night. Didn't even turn the head over to see what horrors or good surprises await therein...just was too bushed. So...put it on the surface table to sit there till tomorrow morning. Will check the flatness tomorrow. Can't wait.

Photos in the 2008 folder of 0693R on my web site. Batteries died in the camera part way through, so didn't get some 'action' shots. It's charging now...will take more tomorrow.

Did find out that the mainfold I had gotten with the car, with multiple weld repairs, is coming apart again. Lots of cracks appearing in the welds. So, I have a spare manifold in great condition, no welds...tomorrow, on top of everything else, I'll transfer the phenolic block, gaskets, and studs over to the new old manifold, and, found a set of original PCV hoses. So, dug out the PCV valve mount, fashioned up a new gasket, and will have OEM hoses from the flame arrestor on the valve cover to the manifold with the branched feed to the air cleaner. Will have to adjust where fume feed to the air cleaner is to the side rather than the back where it was, but, all in all, considering the work, not too bad.

(Somehow it feels like deja vu all over again...starting to take the car apart on the 28th of March is getting to be a regular occurance.)

More tomorrow. Let's see what transpires in the AM. Also on tap, new water pump, belts, replacing all the bolts that were removed (the ones I took out were rusty...can't have that...and some other things..but, for now, a glass of cabernet, and off to the rack. Up with the rooster tomorrow, and back to the shop. (didn't have a car, so, Joe offered me a choice of his Beemer 7-series or a new Ridgeline to drive home...took the ridgeline...:))

Good karma appreciated...from the collective. Updates as they happen...:)

BB
693R (in pieces again...THAT will change...:))

Cam was fine. Tappets had a nice circular pattern to them, which means they are rotating in their bores. Only #1 exhaust cam lobe showed any sort of wear; not critical right now, but, is going to send me looking just in case, you understand. Only reinforces the need to use a good oil with enough ZDDP in it to protect the boundary layer lubrication areas, as well as having a good additive package that prevents rush and corrosion formation.

No rust on any of the lobes that I could see. One of the pushrods was not perfectly straight on rolling it across the surface table. Can't even see it looking at it, but you could notice it on the surface table. Will swap it out; have a couple casting about, but was able to reset all the clearances ok, so, another day.

Looks like the head had been trued at some point; putting it on a surface table, it was dead nuts flat. Tried it in a few locations, and rotated it around, and the same answer...no distortion of the surface that would let me get my thinnest feeler in under it (and the thinnest was WAY thinner that even the minimum distortion range.

I cleaned up all the surfaces with paint remover, Joe took over and buffed both the head and the top of the block and cylinders to almost a mirror finish. Talk about surgical clean, right? Well...(wish I had photos...sigh...I hate digital cameras...give me 35mm anytime...don't ask...) I mean it. Spit shine clean.

Replaced the water pump with a fresh Cardone overhaul. New impreg gaskets to replace the paper ones they supply (I seem to be lousy with water pump gasket sets...). New bolts, washers, the whole 9 yards.

In examining the top of the block using the tool I won from a lister, found the jugs were proud right in the middle of the allowable range. Drained some oil from the pan to see if the liners had popped (doubt it, since they were tightened down very nicely last night....). Nothing. Just oil.

Valves looked ok...didn't pop the collets and examine the seats, didn't think there was a reason to after only 28K miles since the last overhaul according to my records.

Also found that the bushing that was supposed to be in the top of the block on the cam side was not in the head or the block. Hmmmm.... So, made one out of thin wall brass tube, .8" OD, 11.5mm ID. 12mm deep (total depth of the easement in the head and block not including the gasket...) Tapped it in. Is it "C"? If they're going to pull the engine apart, they'll find it (as well as 1800 of my closest Europanauts knowing...). But, it Does The Job. And that's the important thing (as well has having access to a shop lathe to cut the piece...there is that, right?)

So, nothing else to do but set the locating dowel I made earlier in the front passenger side bolt hole, placed steve's repop finger gauge in its fitting, aligned it as per the manual, and set the gaskets in place.

Dropped the head on. Between the locating pin, the bushing, and the finger gauge, everything lined up properly first time. Dropped the distributor in, went right down all the way smoothly without any forcing or jiggling. And, the head was aligned perfectly with the scribe mark I made around the distributor mount last night.

So...three bolts (lightly oiled threads) in place and lightly tightened them down. Removed the locating pin and completed installing the head bolts. First torque to 30 ft lbs with a beam torque wrench (not a break-back). Nice and smooth. Second torque to 55 ft lbs, again, per the order in the manual. Nice and smooth.

Installed the rocker arm rack. Hm....the center stud hole is stripped. Well...it's not an oil feed hole...so, out comes the helicoil kit...carefully drill it clear (with a vacuum there to suck up the swarf as it's being drilled...tap out with the helicoil tap, and insert the coil. Nice. It takes the stud and the 20 ft lbs torque for the rack bolts. (put the pushrods back in at the same time, btw...). Lifted one side, reconnected the shift mechanism, put in 4th, and adjusted the valves to spec.

You want I should continue? Pretty much went back together just as it came apart. Only problem I ran into was that the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced (it was new last year, but...since I had a new one...) since it was weeping a bit when we got it all together. So...

Got the whole shooting match back together, closed all the coolant taps except the radiator tap, and water pump bleed valve, and filled it with Global Gold Antifreeze and a bottle of water wetter. Kept filling it till it was running clear out of the radiator, the water pump, and the swirl pot was about half full.

Hooked everything up...except the throttle cable...and fired her up. 3rd blade (almost...joe, whose shop we were working in, is a pilot, too...). Nice, and no more tap tap tap tap....Let it run till the rad fan came on, cracked the bleed valves again just to make sure, and let it cool down for 50 minutes.

Valve cover off again. Torque wrench out. Torque to 60 ft lbs. Smooth. New gasket in place, put the rest of the engine anciliaries back in. Wrench to every bolt, to check that everything was tight. Missed one...the bolt for the alternator adjusting arm...now it's tight...and checked all the hose clamps one last time.

Guess what? It runs. Runs well. Temps steady at 90 degrees, Oil pressure at 40 or so. Charging about a half needle positive. No weeping antifreeze (you could see where it was leaking based on looking at the old gasket...right where I thought it was, front driver side), just a little (about 2 drops worth of oil still leaking from the valve cover gasket...just tightened it down a little more when I got home...fwiw, you can use a 22mm 6-point socket on those funky VC nuts.

Car is resting in my driveway right now. Van is still at the airport. Seeing as I get the garage back on April 1...figure I'll just have to keep it here with me, and go pick the van up tomorrow...:)

Besides, I still have to sawzall the doors off and install the stainless pin kit, rebuild the window frames (or just swap them out with the rebuilt ones I already have...) and put in the new rubber gaskets for the quarter windows....finish installing the radio/CD player, and start getting things ready to be soda blasted in a month or so.

Spring is here. 693R is running. The project continues.

Oh, yeah. 3 hrs last night. Started at 8:30 this morning. Finished (ie driving out the garage on my way home) at 3:30PM. YMMV. I had some expert help. But, I'd add a couple hours if you all wanted to attempt it. Advice? Follow the manual. Clean everything. Don't reuse old gaskets. Use new fasteners. Take your time, and if you have any questions, Read The Manual.

(and for all those who provided input, advice, or guidance on the list, you all are the best!)

BB
693R (back in the saddle...again...)

I'll cut to the chase: All of the suspension mounting holes on the transaxle in 693R were repaired, permanently (or as permanent as anything is on a Lotus...) last evening. Cost me a dinner at a real fine Italian restaurant afterwards...but, small price to pay (and Joe had to be forcibly NOT be allowed to pay for dinner...:)) for some yeoman's work and guidance.

How they got there is a story of upheaval, oops...wrong story....:)

Anyway, after a leisurly drive on the backroads between Lawrenceville and Flemington, through some very pretty scenery, we dug into fixing the one stripped hole, and continuing the process (while there, in other words...to the remaining mount bushings.

1. Backed the car onto the lift and set the brake. Chocked the tires.

2. Propped the boot open all the way, and removed the trunk box.

3. Whilst waiting for the manifold to cool down, removed the muffler.

4. Then, in order, started to loosen and remove all of the bolts that held the rear suspension UP in the car. In doing so, noted that there is a lot of tension on the individual components. This gave both Joe and myself some pause. I know it went together easily and didn't have any force on the parts when I did the work last July/August. Why the heck is everything so tight now? I busied myself with removing the downpipe from the manifold (to get ID and OD measurements so I can fit the new Stebro sometime in the next month...) and clean it up a bit...

So...scratching our heads...since it was the alignment lift, it has the jacks to lift the front of the car for the alignment process, so, we shimmed the jack up under the rear hoop, and lifted the rear. Unlocked the locks for the lower link heim joints, loosened them up, removed the road wheels, top shock bolts, and drove out the #8 bolts at the inboard side of the lower links (since we had to drop the bracket to repair the holes. No tension, and everything moved easily.

5. Keeping track of the washer pack and cone spacers (which were a subject of multitudinous posts last year...), the lower links dropped down and out of the way.

6. To get the bracket off, there are 2 #5s through the lower case. We removed these as well as their washers and nylocs. The rearward one is a close fit, so, I used a thin-wall socket to get a good grip on the bolt head.

7. Took a look at all 3 holes (2 on the driver (left) side, and one on the right). The one I was worried about was truly buggered (lower left); the other 2 were showing signs of starting, after 37+ years since their original manufacture, of deteriorating, as I kind of figured they would.

8. So...the M8x1.25 helicoil kit calls for a 21/64" drill size for the coil size tap. Pulling out the depth gauge, I set a bit stopper for 1/8" less on the drill bit, and proceeded to drill out the holes to accept the tap. No problems, air drill set for medium speed, nice and easy to the stop. Blew out the chips with the air gun.

9. Assembling the helicoil tap onto a handle, proceeded to tap all three holes to the proper 12.5mm depth (using M8x1.25 x 12mm coils.).

10. Put the three coils into place, sunk a half turn in below the outside face. Snapped the tab at the end off, and removed the tab with a spot of grease on the end of a xcelite greenie screwdriver.

11. Now...on to reassembly. All new bolts, flat washers, lock washers for the mount to the transaxle; the original nylocs were ok for the lower links. All assembled tight, but not torqued. Wheels and nave plates back in place.

12. Lowered the car off the jack onto its wheels. Rolled forward and back out the garage (with the downpipe on and muffler off...I'm sure the neighbors appreciated THAT at 8PM...) to set the rear suspension, then back on the lift, and up in the air (it was on its wheels). 150 lbs in the driver seat, 150 in the passenger seat (bags of spedi- dri...). Torqued to spec (60 ft/lbs for the #8s, 55 for the top shock bolts, 20 for the thru-tranny-flange #5s...).

13. Pulled out the camber gauge, set rear camber for -.5 degrees.

14. Inspected the admittedly beatup muffler. The inlet tube was, how shall I say, cracking where it entered the muffler can. So...off to the bead blaster to clean up the metal while Joe pulled out the brazing equipment. Mounted in the BIG vice (i'd hate to lift this one...it has to have jaws about 8" wide and an 18" travel...:)), and braized the joint with a nice bead to repair (for now...).

15. Let it cool, and hogged out the mounting holes on the bracked to ensure that there was NO interference with the bolts on the transaxle. Checked the security of the downpipe clamp on the mainfold while it was cooling off and tightened down the new stainless #5s and lock nuts tight.

16. Remount was the reverse of disassembly...:) Tightened up the mount bolts (there's a spacer for the top one...since the bottom of the mount is outside of the lower link bracket...), again, new hardware.

17. Put rear screen back in (it had been removed to pull the muffler out...) and the license plate...and started to check for exhaust leaks. Nada. With the cracks braized shut, it's even a lot quieter. I can hear my stereo now...:) Still needs to be up a bit, though.

18. One last look around underneath...rolled her out the door, and waited for Joe to lock his shop up. Off to a dinner of some real topshelf chicken marsala and a glass of cabernet...

There's 3 photos in 693R photo section under 04-09-08. Only 3. Was up to my elbows in spooge, since I did most of the heavy lifting. Needed to get the technique down so that future repairs aren't an imposition on friends. Self-sufficiency is a good thing.

Drove in this morning...and life is good. Muffler is quiet for now (I know the Stebro will be a bit more 'obvious'); and I'm a bit more confident that the rear suspension will be at the end of the journey where it was when I started.

Life with a Lotus goes on, right? As I'm fond of saying, a good Lotus day...:)