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I've nearly finished my restoration of 505H and I'm having a few teething issues. Firstly I had a new disc from SJ that was warped, had it machined true, was 0.1 out on one side and 0.2 out on the other.....brakes work fine now. Then I had some slack in the UJ's on one side and a bit of play in the rear wheel bearing. It took 10 tons of pressure to get the stub axle out! all sorted now. The final issue I'm having is the cooling system. I have all new hoses, 74 degree stat (I've checked it in boiling water. I flushed the original radiator which was in great shape. I've fitted 3 new fans and the otter switch is working as it should. The thermostat starts t…

Can anyone tell me at what point did the 907 engine go from paper cam carrier gasket to liquid type? Is there a serial number range or is it a matter of lifting the carrier and seeing if there is an O ring between it and the head? Also, what measurement is assumed for the paper gasket thickness when calculating shim thickness?

Hi Everyone. I've done a quick search and cannot find any reference to oil filter alternatives to the Lotus OEM Filter. As Lotus must get these made for them and branded for them I was hoping someone had experience of other brands of filters that are as good if not better than OEM filter. Info on the current thinking on oil grade and brand would be useful too for a 1982 N/A 2.2. Cheers Mike

Hi I am looking for the Gates Part number for the small belt that runs only the water pump from the crank on a S3 N/A. I have a new Gates 6218MC belt which is the wrong belt as it is a combined belt to drive the alternator and the water pump. Can anyone supply the info please. Thank You.

I have a few questions about the Air Con. The car has been unused since 2004 I am recommissioning. Can the Air con system use modern gases? Does anyone have photos / description of how to adjust the air con idler tensioner in situ. Does anyone have experience of fitting a slightly larger belt as original spec seems too tight to allow adjustment? Cheers Mike

Hi Guys! I'm working on my 1987 registered Turbo (built in 1986) to take it back to the road after a 15 years long sleep (in good conditions, dry garage). I need your help to suggest me the parts to check or change. Of course I will change all fluids (engine oil, coolant, gearbox oil, fuel) ; filters (oil, air, fuel); all fuel system (hoses, pump, clamps). All the belts (cam belt + V-bets). Water pump rebuilt. Ignition system : Plugs, spark harness, cap, rotor arm, all the low tension harness between the amplifier, coil and distributor. Fuel System : I'm rebuilding the carb set Checking the wastegate I will try to start the engine without reb…

Hi all, I have been wondering how 'fragile' the S3 would be. I've had it back on the road now for around 7-800 miles, playing with tyre pressures, finishing the list of niggles and generally enjoying myself. I've used it for a few weeks as a 'daily drive' too, ultimately where I'd like to be with the car. Today I drove it for a bit, and though I'd put in on the ramps for a bit of a check over, and another play with the linkage adjustment, still not perfect but getting close. Well I noticed that the reservoir was very low... so I added some and checked the coolant system thoroughly. Disaster... I found coolant escaping from the little hole in the bottom of …

Hi Everyone I have a few questions. I have replaced many timing belts on various Lotus cars using the 900 series engine including S4s, S3 HC Turbo, S2 etc however this S3 G ar is giving me a real head ache. The car has been off road for many years I cut the original timing belt off as it was in a bad way. I ordered a new Gates belt 5146 however I received a Blue Gates RPM T104RB belt which was supposed to be an upgrade as they had no standard belts in stock. 1) Has anyone fitted one of these blue belts? If so was there any problem getting the timing to be correct? 2) Is one tooth on the crank pulley equal to 10 degrees? 3) Can anyone provide a photo of thei…

Just installed a new timing belt using markings from the old belt transferred to the new one. No interference while rotating engine. While double checking alignment of the Ignition sprocket per the manual, I see it is 3 teeth offset from the center line (see picture) Option1: Ok to leave it as is, car ran before and according to@Sparky in this post, timing can be adjusted later to compensate for such an offset Option2: Might as well redo it correctly (even though i was hoping not to deal with the tensioner again).

I'm finishing getting my 123ignition installed in my Esprit and I'm not entirely sure how I should wire this up. I just manually attached the distributor to the battery to rotate it to the correct position, but now I need to do the final wiring. Should I just skip the amplifier and run directly to the coil? It seems like I should keep the amplifier in place, but it's not clear how it should be wired (I have a connector with a red wire and a blue wire that used to go to the old distributor). Both wires out seem to have positive voltage when the car is on, so does it even matter how I connect it? I assume I need 12V for the internal logic, but the black wire just …

I may or may not have a leak from the exhaust cam cover on my 87 TE HC, so I was gonna remove clean and paint. Ive a new cam cover paper gaskets but should I add sealant as well? I’ve looked at quite a few previous posts and there’s mixed views. People seem to have used RTV Silicone, Blue Hylomar, Wellseal and Permabond A136 is any one of these better for the cam covers than the others? Suggestions welcome as I’d rather get it right first time. Mark

Not getting power delivered to the otter switch, so tracing the pink/green wire back to wherever the power comes from. Except I'm not sure where to find it. Diagrams in PDF service notes indicate a center console connector (not sure where that is) which continues to an ACU unit underneath the steering wheel, but I'm not sure how to remove the dash to gain access. I also heard my 83 actually doesn't have an ACU, but rather a thermistor inside an evaporator. So I'm a little confused.

Does anybody know how to alter the mileage on the S1 green Veglia dials? Before you get out of your pram and call me Arthur Daley, the car I recently bought has had the dials refurbished (although what that means exactly I don't know) and whoever did it reset the mileage counter to zero when it was previously showing 47,000. So I want to put it back to its correct mileage but don't want to break it in the process. My mate's Dad was a second hand car dealer back in the 70s and he went to clock a car he'd just bought and when he took the dials out there was a sticker on the back of the speedo that said "Oh no, not again!" hahaha karma!

Hi guys I’ve had overheating problems with my car (84 Turbo) since I bought it last year. Initially I think it was an airlock that was causing the problems. I changed the coolant temp sensor, checked the fans were in working order, replaced the header tank which was leaking and flushed and renewed the coolant. The temp gauge now stays consistently at just below 90 degrees all the time when driving. However, if I get out of the car when it’s fully warmed up and leave the engine idling for a couple of minutes then the temperature keeps rising until it gets worryingly high. The fans do not seem to come on so I manually turn them on by putting the AC on …

Hi all, I've started to experience an issue with the revs dropping very slowly when the engine is hot, especially after it's been sat for a while which makes changing gear smoothly a bit of a nightmare and it's as if the throttle is on/off. There's no progression to the accelerator so lots of kangarooing and the engine idles at about 1500rpm. No problem when cold and idles at 900rpm ish and no problem driving when on the go. I have a feeling is might be something to do with a new butterfly spindle I fitted to one of the carbs that is possibly stiff/sticky. Replaced the return spring at the same time but I wonder if there's anywhere else I should be looking at. P…

Anyone on here know the valve stem installed height for intake and exhaust ? Can,t find it in the Manual. Thanks in advance.

This seems such a simple question but I am stumped. I've got a 1985 Turbo model, but with the additional plastic expansion tank and other cooling mods set out in Service Bulletin 1987/26 (see below). From the look of the header tank, it bolts to the side of the engine bay somewhere. However I can't find any holes in the body or engine surround. I'm assuming it should end up somewhere near the front of the arch just behind the petrol tank (see photo) but can't see how. Am I missing a bracket or got completely the wrong end of the stick? Also, if anyone has a full copy of S/B 1987/26 and could upload it or provide a link it would be appreciated. I struggle to fin…

Greetings, At what point is it prudent to place the coolant transfer pipes in chassis? I've got rather a great deal going on from top to bottom, front to back but nowhere near completion. The shell is on but will be lifted once proper body finishing gets underway in earnest. So will it be troublesome if I place the pipes at this stage? Will that complicate install of the gearchange, for example? Cheers

Constructed a simple CamTool to easily check or set timing 🙂 ...Consists of 3D-printed part which slides over the cam pulley bolt heads and is individually tuned to the cam timing wanted. - In the example (IN) MOP = 106 deg. and (EX) MOP = 108 deg. The outer slices match the keyways (which are visible if the thick washers between bolt head and cam pulley are removed). - In my case I use vernier pulleys also marked exactly opposite to the keyways. The thinner slices on the CamTool are used for 'aiming' those marks to correct position. Since in this case the cam pulley bolts are not to be loosened at all, the CamTool thickness is so that its hold in place and s…

HC 912, actually in an Excel, but this is the busier forum. Need online threads/websites/resources Any resources with details and tips on engine building and assembly are much appreciated Appears pistons and liners are good, valves and guides need to be done. Late crossdrilled crank HC engine.

Would anyone care to share experiences with alternative cam profiles on the 900 Series engine? Cheers

I've really been digging in to the vacuum circuits on my Turbo Esprit (83, USA). I'm in the middle of replacing all the vacuum lines as a step to get the engine running again. At some point, someone capped the vacuum line from the vacuum pump (so it only applies vacuum to the HVAC and brakes). This means that the ignition solenoid never provides the distributor with vacuum. In fact, I don't think there were any vacuum lines on the distributor at all when I pulled apart the engine (it's been a while though). The other side of the ignition solenoid vacuum line (on the back of the front carb) is also capped. I don't recall the car being difficult to start when it w…

Thought I'd solicit insights on cam profiles for the N/A engines. Anyone have experience with running non-standard cams?

Hi all guys, here I'm starting a new topic about my engine, I will post all the rebuilding process as I did with my gearbox some time ago. The engine is a 912 LC and will be rebuilt and upgraded to HC spec. plus bigger valves, ported head, etc... I have started to disassemble the engine and I will show you just some pics of the engine conditions. The main bearings are not bad, the rod are worse with some discoloration and scoring, only the 1° main is in bad conditions, I have checked the crank journals and they are all on the limits but please look at the last picture and tell me what you think, maybe a good lapping...? Comments and help always welcome. Giorgi…

Hi Guys. Where is the oil pressure relief valve on the dry sump engine and where does the oil that bypasses it go? Any photos? Thanks Pete