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Hi all my last elite did not have a cambelt cover so made one from fibreglass etc but was surprised that when serviced they removed it and disposed of it saying it should not be there But I find in the parts list that one is listed So on my new 79 elite should there be one and any ideas where one can be found or another that can be modified Not sure I like the belt exposed to all that comes thro radiator Ta all

Hi there, I have a 907 engine with no cambelt, (or much else on the front), it has heads on, and the cam pulleys are locked with cable ties. I need to remove the flywheel, is there a reliable way to lock it? I don`t want to slip and damage anything valves wise, especially if I use an impact gun or breaker bar on it. I`ve never done this on an interference engine before, in the past on those non interference engines I`ve just hit it with the impact gun and the flywheel doesn`t tend to move, but I don`t want to just risk it in this case without asking first. thanks very much! Mark

Hi all, you may remember me from my 2.2 restoration where the engine was rebuilt last year. Needless to say the car performs a lot better now and I get glimpses of its true potential although I am still running it in . The retractable radio aerial now works and the rear hatch lock catch "button" now operates to open the hatch instead of a chopstick down the hole, (not a euphemism) although there is no key or locking mechanism for it-I`ve given up on that one. However I have noticed that the engine when hot (though in perfectly normal temp range according to the gauge) will stall if in heavy / slow moving traffic for more than 5-10 minutes. It didn`t used to do this …

Does anyone know what size needle valve is needed on the Dellortos in an S1 Eclat? There are so many variants and sizes at https://www.dellorto.co.uk/product-category/dellorto-car-carburettors-parts/parts/dhla-parts/ that I don't know where to start. I suspect it might be a 200 size but not sure which variant on that site.

Found that shortest of hoses was the cause of my persistent coolant leak, and what a pain that is to remove and replace. Got some 38mm i.d. rubber hose and last night just managed to get it fitted although it's not gone around the water pump beaded inlet very far, and still leaks. Couldn't push it any more over the inlet with the limited space and leverage I had. The slight angle isn't helping either. I'm considering getting a silicone hose as I might have more luck, but can anyone confirm the hose i.d. that I need? I thought it was 38mm (1.5") but someone else has said it's actually 35mm so am wondering if that's contributing to my leak with the new hose. Hose …

Hello again everyone I am in a slight dilema over my latest problem,when I first aquired the elite I decided to remove the dash panel,all the guages are working correctly but the wiring is in a hell of a mess I am not sure if Iwill be able to sort it out it's a bit out of my leaque However that is not why I am writing this, the other problem I have is the gerchange ,when I stripped the dash panel out I decided to remove the gearstick trim including the small cover panels and the gearstick gaiter which I aquired from Lotusbits' I also had some small chrome trims which decorate this area ,I managed to put it all back together and guess what ,I can only engage first g…

My elite is starting fine and runs well up to when the engine is reading 90-100 on the temp gauge. When it gets to this temp it is cutting out and not restarting untill it is cold again! Even on the motorway when the engine is being cooled by the air comming through it will run forever although when u cut off the motorway or clear road it won't idle, cuts out and won't restart! It's been tuned, had the carbs balanced, new coil, dizzy, HT leeds, cooling fans, temp switch, hoses etc and still doing it? It's fine just nipping out to the shops but anything more it isn't having. Can someone please help? I am thinking now maybe she needs the carbs cleaned or maybe this is a fue…

Some may recognise this thread from the Grand Tourers site.. I bought an Excel a few years ago now with an allegedly rebuild engine. Having fitted it and found it had zero oil pressure and then rebuilding the oil pump and PRV both time with zero pressue as the result I then took the sump off to change the nylon olive I discover 15+ stamped on the bearing panel. On looking through the receipts with for the parts fitted during the 'rebuild' i find the mains fitted were not +15 OD. the result is now I have a crank that has to go be re-ground and polished. I also find that these +15 main bearings are a bit like unicorns to buy, however there seems to be an 'aftersales list' …

Hi I recently bought a 912 HC engine from a 1987 Excel. The seller told me he bought the engine from a friend of his years ago for a kit car project, but never used it. He claimed the friend had the engine rebuilt by Lotus at Hethel, but 4000 miles later the Excel was written off in a crash, which is why the engine became available. Unfortunately the seller had no receipts or history to back any of this up. Does anyone know if Lotus would be able to supply any info on the engine? If so, who would I contact? Interestingly, the engine has '20 07 12' stamped on the block. Could this have been stamped by Lotus or someone else when the engine was re-built? …

I have noticed while doing other maintanence that the cam belt is running very close to or slightly off ( 1 to2 mm) the front edge of both cam pulleys. It seems to have the right alignment on the distributor drive. It is a blue belt. Is this worth worrying about. 83 Excel

Have finally fixed the elusive miss which happened up to 3000 revs. After trying to track manifold air leaks even by using the old mechanics trick of spraying it with CRC and waiting for a rise in idle revs it was all to no avail . after checking compressions which ranged from165 to 170, I decided to take the distributor off thinking it may be sticky weights (43D) Looking inside noticed that there was no air gap between the lobs . In fact they were rubbing. Consulted the repair manual and found they were factory set and needed no adjusting. Luckily it gave me a gap setting, so I set it to 11thou or .275mm. On road test the miss was I would say 98% gone, which I can live …

I have 2 vacuum hoses running off the intake manifold. The back one naturally suppliers vacuum to the brake booster, but the front 1 is a bit of a mystery as the light pop up is operated by electric. I have been chasing vacuum leaks. The hose looks like 3/8 then at the front of the bonnet there is a plastic pipe fitted into it with a hose clamp holding them together. What is the purpose of this hose. I have pinced the pipe off with a clamp and the lights still work. It has also slightly decreased idle revs. Thinking about disconecting and blanking off manifold port.

Hello, My Parts Catalogue shows a number of vacuum hose "arrangements" in the section to do with the Airbox, the like of which I have never seen before. I am assuming (maybe wrongly) that this is all to do with emission controls required in the States. Am i right in thinking that the crankcase breather valve is to do with these emission controls and is not a UK requirement and a simple breather hose is all that is required. Thanks Brian

Hello, Having completed the mechanical rebuild I have now turned my attention to the electrics, starting with the engine bay electrics and have found a couple of unexplained items. The first unusual item is that there is a socket in the engine loom close to the starter motor wiring that I haven't the foggiest as to what it is for. The photos below will show you a round two pin socket, the like of which I have never seen below. The two wires that come from it, one slate grey / green and the other black / yellow come from the main harness somewhere, but not through the engine harness connector. Grateful as always for any pointers before I start the harness st…

Hi, I’m at a point where I could start rebuilding my 2.2 912 engine - my aim was to do a top end rebuild and get the engine running (head checked & refurbished with new exhaust valves/guides, refurbished water pump, new tensioner bearing, new gaskets all round), but appreciate advice on whether I should go further with the strip down. After taking the crankshaft sprocket off, to get to the cover to replace the gasket and front oil seal… I noticed that the crank end float might be a little large. So I’ve measured it and it’s about 11 thou. and I see that the manual says the float should be between 3 and 8 thou. I wasn’t planning to take the bearing carr…

Hello, I have been talking to Accuspark about fitting their electronic distributor system. I want to get a complete package from them - a 45D distributor with vacuum, leads, plugs and coil. But which coil - ballasted or non-ballasted? I can find no ballast wire or ballast fitting in the ignition loom. Not is there any indication of on the wiring diagram I have. As far as I can make out from the separate diagrams the coil is fed with 12v from the starter motor solenoid via a supplies splice and the ignition relay. The perceived wisdom is that a 6v supply to the distributor cap is best. So do I fit a ballasted coil, a non-ballasted coil or it d…

Hi everyone, I am on to the planning for the output side for my manual conversion. The BMW Getrag box I have has a 3 bolt flange that is held on quite a short splined shaft by a nut like so: The typical BMW application uses a guibo - a flexible coupling between the flange and the driveshaft which is also flanged. Like this: As far as I know the Lotus has an internal splined UJ yoke, and the difference between the end of the currently installed output flange on the Getrag and the end of the external splined shaft of the Lotus box that I would have to work with is roughly 67 mm. Ideally I'd like to keep the propshaft the same without …

I bought a 1977 Eclat back in September. When I got it home we managed to start it up with a new coil installed. One of the carbs were dry (Zenith Stromberg), the engine started with no effort. Then I filled the dry one and topped up the oil. Then for some odd reason the following week it didn't want to start and it cranked very slow. It got spark, fuel (smells it in the cylinders and sparkplugs are wet), rotor is good, spark housing is good. When I tried to start it would not fire. Starter is ok. Also it fried the green wire for the negative pole on the battery, and I mean FRIED it, so I turned off the ignition and cut battery power. When I later tried again it blew the …

So I'm in the middle of wiring my 74 Elite but I can't seem to locate the ignition relay. I would use the wiring diagram to track it down but the PO replaced most of the wires under hood with red wire. Anybody know where I should be looking?

The Excel Service Notes state "All harness earth leads collect at a stud at the right hand side of the pedal box, which is connected by heavy duty cable to a boss on the engine crankcase adjacent to the right hand engine mounting leg. An earth Braid connects this boss to the chassis via the forward fixing point on the receiver / drier mounting plinth> As I have neither a boss on the engine crankcase, nor a receiver / drier mounting plinth where should I attach the earthing lead and earthing strap? There is some suggestion via Google that the starter motor fixing bolt to the engine / bell housing is a good place to start, and any hole drilled in the chass…

On a Elite 75, what transmissions are compatible? Looking at one that's an automatic that I'd want to convert to manual.

Hi, after a quick view of sealants that have been used recently for engine rebuilds. I have a 912 engine. Appreciate available alternatives for the following: Graphogen grease (for valve train) - can get that Loctite 504 gasket eliminator (for cam towers to cyl head) - alternative is? Permabond AP322 (for sump to block) - alternative is? Finally, does anyone else have their auxiliary housing fixed with one of these, instead of a bolt as shown in the workshop manual? If yes does anyone know the size/socket name I need to get? Thanks

Hi Gasket is leaking slightly between the two, is it possible to undo the bolts and run a bead of rtv sealant around the join and stop the leak or is it a gearbox and engine out job??!!(hopefully not for such a small job ) Thanks Angus

I'm looking to replace the drain plug on my diff (once I get the damn thing off!), if possible with a magnetic plug. The problem is finding what plug will fit. Both drain and fill plug currently are the square head type which look like these ones that SJ Sportscars sell (and which they sell as drain and fill plugs). My understanding is that the diff in the Elite/Eclat is a Salisbury 7HA, the same used on a Morgan and some Land Rovers. I've found a Morgan 7HA drain plug listed here which may fit, but it's not magnetic. Looking at Land Rover ones seems to be a bit if a minefield though as I'm not exactly sure which this diff was fitted to. Also, the Land Rov…

Hi once again Does anyone know what the compression test reading should be on this model after starting the car up in my drive the guy who lives next door comes around to tell me it's missing ,to be honest it doesn't sound too bad to me and there is no vibration ,following his comments I thought I would do it ,I have a decent compression tester the one that screws into the head and doesn't just rely on pushing it in the spark plug hole ,is it best to remove all the spark plugs when carrying out this test Cheers for now Roan