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Showing content with the highest reputation since 19/02/24 in Posts

  1. First drive after a 3 year rebuild 😀1
    13 points
  2. New car day - collected Saturday. Tedious running in period now … love it !
    10 points
  3. a view of the 335 tires in the back
    9 points
  4. Sort of an Evora picture, I was missing having a nice roadster for the weekend, so 16 years after I sold my last Honda S2000, I decided to buy another one to keep the Evora company.. It's funny being back in an S2000 after all these years, I forgot how raw an experience it is (and this is after getting straight out of an Evora which is pretty direct also!) and was pleasantly reminded about how good the gear change is, and how much fun VTEC is. I think the Evora and the S2000 make quite a handsome couple, and an interesting comparison in form and proportion. Interesting to see how long the overhang is on the front of the Evora and vice versa with the S2000.
    9 points
  5. Yes, you have missed something. From the start of this year the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandated regulations kicked in. Starting at 10% of total annual production manufacturers are being "encouraged" to build and sell EV car and vans. For every single vehicle that they produce, below the 10% threshold, they will be fined £15,000, per vehicle They can do nothing and buy EV credits from other manufacturers who are in excess of 10%, for instance Tesla who, at 100% EV could sell credits for 90% of their production likely earning them up to £10,000 per car credit. The % of production rate increases annually. That, to me, is Government forcing manufacturers to build EVs, and is a policy that could kill off EVs for the masses. These are just bonkers times.
    9 points
  6. This thread needs more pictures. Here's a starter.
    9 points
  7. Of course it rained on the MOT day...but back on the road with a clean pass.
    9 points
  8. I am currently in South Africa on holiday. I am visiting Cecil Rhodes old seaside cottage which is now a tea shop and visitor centre named after him. In Britain, our PC middle class twits would have had this place renamed or wiped off the face of the planet. What is happening with our history has fook all to do with inclusion to be honest. Do we not teach about Romans, or Saxons, who invaded, raped, enslaved and killed Brits?Do we go around trying to wipe it out of our history? Rather than this pc shite, why are we not addressing the fact that slavery, for instance, is still happening in Africa? Are Africans stripping from their history the names of the warlords and tribes who rounded up Africans, transported them as slaves to the ports, then sold them for huge wealth to western and middle eastern slavers? Do our muslim/asian friends who enslaved Africans long before, and long after, us, wipe that from their history books? Frankly, it's pathetic and a middle class woke disease that does little good or benefit. History is there to allow us to celebrate the good, and learn from the bad. I wonder what this Head Teacher is doing to prevent and stop the slavery that is happening in Africa and elsewhere today? It'll be nothing as that's hard!
    8 points
  9. Lotus engineers attempting to find the source of the leak in the boot.
    7 points
  10. Can't imagine why I forgot @Steve V8, thanks to whom I was able to replace the floor mats and trunk carpets. Again many thanks!
    7 points
  11. Barrie, Presuming you mean Essex Photo's ? if so lets have an old one from Donnington.
    7 points
  12. Dash leather stuck down , with speaker holes lasered in . I've tried the interior in again, loosely , all looking good . Running out of excuses now ....
    7 points
  13. On a happy note. LotusRescue have had another bit of expansion by having to take on another part of the building, now shed No3. This is to be used as a clean assembly area and the 1st project, an early S1 Esprit already has her chassis in there on stands having just come back from strengthening, blast cleaning and painting with a further S2 and an Elan to follow. Once the projects are built up to rolling shell's, they now go into building No2 for assembly which includes the shells and fitting out. Area 1 now has a nice gantry crane which can travel the length of the building for lifting engines in and out as it can also travers the building. Handy or not, oh yes. Looks like the next 12 months is going to be heads up and ass down with little time for anything else.
    7 points
  14. The u/js are now in phase and the steering rack centred and the difference is tangible. Once out of the car, the lower u/j movement felt the same as the upper. Both moved freely with no tightness or sloppiness so I think the lower doesn't need replacing yet. Which is good because it was a cramped and fiddly job both in the footwell and under the car. Tip #1: take out the driver's seat to give more room under the dash. Tip #2: use a large square shaft screwdriver with an adjustable spanner to spread the u/j split for easier removal (it looks like someone has previously taken to these using a cold chisel which could damage the steering column/rack if done in place). I opted to phase the u/js out of the car and mark them with a paint pen (the mark isn't too obvious in the photo below thanks to the reflection). Then, once in place, I lined up the marks rather than counted splines. It still wasn't straightforward as there is such a limited view of the lower u/j when it's installed but it seems to have worked out. I made sure to tighten everything with the spline ends flush with the inside of the u/js to give maximum purchase while preventing fouling of the spiders. Prior to removal I noticed some of the spline ends were recessed (up to 5mm) rather than flush. Once installed, and with the front off the ground, the increase in resistance every rotation that I mentioned in the first post was completely gone. And, huzzah!, during the test drive the steering felt lighter and had centring force. It's still not as good as I would like/expect but I'm happy with the progress given the worn bushes and general misalignment of the front and back end. I've re-centred the steering wheel, so I have equal lock to lock rotation, and now just have to check everything is still in place following the test drive. Finally I need to adjust the track rod ends so the wheels point straight for this job to be labeled done.
    7 points
  15. That' s a good example @LotusLeftLotusRight. But don't forget for every person who pays good money in, and I include myself in that, there is another "Green party supporter" who has never worked a day in their life, wants everything they can get out the system and hates everyone who works hard calling them sheep or sheeple. This person is the one pushing the EV agenda because, frankly, they will never own a car or understand peoples needs to travel more than 200 miles before filling up! "It's only 45 minutes to fill, just relax and have a coffee!" I can't I'm late for that thing that pays my wages! Work!
    6 points
  16. Cars. Seems it's usually cars that bring a smile to my face. 🙂 I was already in a good mood this week as I had the Jaaag back on the road, the replacement ECU cured the stalling and the sun was out tempting me to open the roof (need to fix the heater first though). And then there was the Range Rover, Phoenix. So named because she is partly built from pieces salvaged from the workshop fire in 2015, including some fancy cilinder heads. I started gathering parts in 2018, in 2019 we built up the engine block (a recon Rover V8 5.0 with all new parts), rebuilt the gearbox and did a test run of the custom engine management system (MegaSquirt) on another Range. But then things slowed down. In 2020/21 the engine was completed (after getting some more parts, some that needed to be custom made) and at some point engine and gearbox ended up on the chassis again, along with the axles, fuel tank and body. I then spent considerable time, with very long intervals, sorting the electrics for a custom dashboard and switches. Which took a lot of trial and error. Last summer I thought we were ready to finally start her up. Alas, the ignition timing was all over the place and we discovered 2 leaking freeze plugs in the reconditioned heads. 😞 When the leaks were fixed (which meant taking the boy off again), other things got in the way (a couple of Matras for example) and most importantly, we were no closer to figuring out the timing issues. The last couple of weeks I started again, as I really want her on the road this year. It took a lot of strong language to sort the timing. Turned out there was a wiring error in the ECU, a misinterpretation on my behalf in the engine wiring loom and a blatant fault in the workshop wiring diagram for the coil packs, which I had based the custom loom on... When we tried it a few years ago on another car, we used a different coil pack and it seems 2 of the mix ups canceled each other out. A Rover V8 in reasonable shape will start and run even on 6 cilinders or less, so we didn't really notice. But this time around I wanted everything as good as possible before attempting to start the new engine. Last Sunday she finally started and even idled a bit. But she wouldn't rev and died as soon as you touched the accelerator. Everything pointed to fueling, so we started playing around with the fuel map, but that only made things worse. And I really didn't want to just keep trying, as I needed to bed in the cam, so wanted to get to 2000rpm as soon as possible and sit there for 20 minutes. Fuel pressure checked out so I started to fear the injectors were clogged, not flowing enough to get the engine to rev. In a final, half desperate attempt I decided to go old skool and try what I would do with an engine on carbs: spray a syringe of fuel in the intake. Lo and behold, she started and revved right up! Try again and she not only revved but could be kept at 2000rpm for a few minutes. The third time, after a quick check of the cooling system etc, she started without adding fuel to the intake and revved eagerly, so I could finish bedding in the cam. After that, a nice and stable idle and an engine growling with pleasure. Apparently I had a grin from ear to ear. 😎 I'm so happy to finally get her running! Not only because of all the time and energy spent on the build (not to mention money!), but mainly because it's a special car to me. As far as we know, using a MegaSquirt this way in a P38 Range Rover hasn't been done. There is a lot of custom stuff in the car, most of it thought of and built by me. The base car was my first Range Rover V8, and she now symbolises how the Workshop came back together after the fire, better and stronger than ever! This post wouldn't be complete without showing the lady in question. Obviously still a work in progress, but now the end seems nigh. Just a growling engine, but it meant the world to us after all the hard work and frustrations. Phoenix_running.mp4 A huge thanks my mates Ben and Quentin who were with me all the way, sometimes (often) struggling to keep me motivated. And to all the guys on the Land Rover forum trying to help from afar. Filip
    6 points
  17. So we are 6 months and about 5.000 Kms in from when I picked up the car last year. It's been quite a busy period. When I picked the Esprit up at Ramspott & Brandt the last things he told me were that he had noticed a gasoline smell when he opened the window while driving. He suggested to replace the vinyl venting hoses. So we drove the car with windows closed on vacation and while bringing the car home to the Provence. Back home I started looking at those hoses. I found one that was cut in the middle, so I replaced it. That resolved the rough idle, but not the smell of gasoline. Then the hose on the fuel filter fell off, so after tightening that I thought I was done. Wrong, it took me a few more weeks before I finally found a wet spot under the l/h fuel reservoir. The reservoir was rusted through, slowly leaking fuel onto that miserable foam, from where it was evaporating. Fortunately I have a good garage not too far and after 3 weeks both tanks were replaced (of course the first ones sent ere the wrong ones). Finally, problem solved. During vacation the clutch pedal stopped working one morning. We were able to refill the reservoir and that was resolved. But there was still a small leak, I needed to refill the reservoir every couple of weeks. Following popular advice we replaced the slave cylinder, only to then realise the master cylinder was leaking. Replaced that and I now have a completely new clutch pedal. The dreaded EML came on 4 weeks ago. The codes said O2-Sensor failure, but I could see the sensors working when the engine was hot. Also, the engine was stalling when cold. It seemed logical that there was a problem with the O2 sensor heating circuit. We started troubleshooting, but remembered that Ramspott &Brandt had noted the same issue, so I called them. Turned out that my replacement engine has a newer engine harness than the car, with a change in the O2 sensor heater wiring. So, Ramspott & Brandt had installed an additional wire and flying fuse. Replaced the fuse and that was resolved. The idle issue was coming from a vacuum leak under the plenum, which had been removed when replacing the fuel reservoirs. Made a note to myself to document all changes or mods made to any circuits. I found the headrests on the Esprit very uncomfortable when driving. Turning them around resolved that but left an ugly gap. A carbon covered 3d printed insert resolved that. I had thought about redoing at least parts of the leather interior, but some intense leather care and restoration have made that unnecessary. What else: replaced the water temperature guage and sender (Ramspott &Brandt had bent the water temperature guage as it was off) and the oil pressure sender (also not working) and converted the front fog lights to LED Daylight Running Lights. Finally I installed a Keyless Entry Module to please SWMBO. And I replaced the rear wing tips that I had custom designed. They didn't match the body lines as the wing was originally planned to be a bit wider. Redesigned them, giving them a better angle. Meanwhile it took 4 months to complete registration here in France. Who was to know that Lotus Cars didn't issue a European COC before 1997, where it should have been mandatory from 1996. Thanks to Andy Graham at Lotus for resolving that. Only thing I haven't gotten to is the intercooler. I have been looking at various solutions and seem to have found a workable solution, but it won't be before next winter that I find the time. Right now I hope to enjoy the Esprit over the season. We have some nice trips planned.
    6 points
  18. Radiator was collected Monday and is now back on the car after refurb of the frame and new fans installed. turbo from @Escape is now at turbo technics for their magical touch. We are edging ever closer
    6 points
  19. My current brace of Lotus. Gotta love those Eclat wheels 😍
    6 points
  20. …I’ve already got one 😂 Hope you get some interest, tough climate for special cars at the moment. Mine was out for the first time this year on a visit to Porsche 🤪
    6 points
  21. Not been here for a while. I hope you are all well and are either enjoying your own Emira or shaking in excitement with one on the horizon! I remain a stunned fan of the Emira. It has actually, simply, gotten better and better over each passing month. I feel like I am in a special club, party to a secret, as an Emira owner. I still honestly believe Lotus got it bang on right, yes, even the power. The is so perfect for the roads and a beast on track. Nothing has gone wrong with mine and it is just one smile after another. The only elements of non-perfection is that the car gets filthy down the sides easily and the stereo starts as soon as you unlock the car. Yes, hardly a real concern. Knowing what I know, feeling what I feel, I cannot believe people are not falling over themselves trying to buy this car (there are plenty for sale used in the UK). The attention is amazing. Most people still have no idea what it is, just that it looks like a supercar, and then some. Women stop and stare, kids point and men creak their necks. Nearly all look at the badge - though it is clear what the car is from the plate. :giggle: My mad Larini exhaust system helps in that regards and has made the car faster. I will share these thoughts across the other forums. If you want to watch the update video then it is here. As always, am happy to answer any questions about the car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZe9Ru8tXpw
    6 points
  22. To be fair to the Chinese, if they’ve got millions of environmentally friendly EVs, then they need those 1200 coal fed power stations to keep them all charged up! 🤣
    6 points
  23. 6 points
  24. After cancelling my Emira deposit in Feb 23, i am now back in! Had a great year in a 2018 Vantage but still miss the Lotus handling and a Manual box so on Saturday I am collecting a 73 plate pre-registered car with almost no miles car at a good price. I have noticed a few similar 'older' 73 plates have sold recently and the new ones coming on the market seemed to be priced a little higher. In contrast the 23 plates with low miles seem to be stalling as the extra cost for a 73 plate (essentially new car) is quite small. Collecting Saturday so pics to follow - excited ! Good to be back!
    6 points
  25. I'll see your Jag and raise you an Elise GT!... https://en.springbok.de/cars/details/?f=126
    6 points
  26. The car has had a good rest for 3 weeks to bed everything in. whilst Ive been away on holiday. Been out a couple of time since I got back and (touch wood) everything seems fine. Still no leaks! We'll see how it goes. Ready for the spring/ summer.
    5 points
  27. Yes but that is the issue with Population growth. The planet has been fighting back with disaster after disaster. The issue is as @C8RKH says, we keep preventing it in the cause of stopping human suffering. I too have given my heard earned to help the poor people of Africa, Haiti etc etc however the fact can't be argued that the main disasters are in places humans don't deserve to be in such huge numbers. The ecology can't sustain them. Hence mass migration. But no one does anything about the cause, population growth. Have you noticed why this happens in many places? Lack of contraceptives. And why? Because the Roman Catholic Church is still in the medieval ages and bans use of them or abortion and refuses to change its stance. Many of these 3rd world countries the Church is the main constant in their lives. I'm sorry but a big disaster is coming and whether thats mother nature or the likes of Putin, it seems to be the only way to deal with the main issue!
    5 points
  28. Just came across this one, a concoction by our good friend, the late "Swindon Alan" -
    5 points
  29. To be clear, vacuum pressure switches were always supplied "as is", with details on how to adjust them to suit the driver's requirements in the instructions. Please note that I have always provided support/advice during a conversion process, and should be the first port of call for any related problems. Over the years, I've resolved one or two issues but 99% of them have been unrelated to the conversion, rather to discs/pads/calipers, and in one case, duff tyres. The last one (and I'm not naming names), was a seriously 'soft' brake pedal sinking to the floor, which saw me free-issuing a new brake master cylinder. However, despite it being the cure in my mind, it failed to solve the problem. After a lot of head scratching, deep thinking and telephone conversations, it was finally revealed that the owner fitting the kit was unaware there are two bleed nipples on a Brembo front caliper. He had only been bleeding both fronts from the outboard sides, and as a result, air remained in the system, and there was in fact nothing wrong with the master cylinder. Needless to say, once discovered, this was an easy fix, and he now has decent brakes. With reference vacuum pressure, my own preference is 17 - 18" Hg, but I am running the full PNM upgrades on my S4s, 6-piston fronts, 4-piston rears, and of course there may be small variances in the gauge. As before, the driver should decide how much, or how little, assistance he needs. It remains to say that Sparky has fitted more brake conversions than anyone else, and he's my go-to guy for a good job.
    5 points
  30. Nope, not going to reconsider. Might be a hiatus at present, but there are way too many humans on the planet. In our arrogance we cull species in regions around the planet if we feel they are damaging the ecology. Seems we're not prepared to extend that logic to ourselves.
    5 points
  31. Yup. I raise the issue of "population" constantly in a number of forums/groups and nobody, absolutely nobody, wants to go there. More people = more consumption = more emissions More people = large middle class = even more emissions More people = living longer = more emissions for even longer The solution, we need less people. However, western governments are worried about low population growth so are trying to encourage more babies = totally stupid decision Let the westerners die out through lack of babies = more space for migration = people can live in places more hospitable = but then that will drive more per capita consumption for longer So, there really is only one solution - we need less people. And as you point out @Sparky nature is working its way around to change the climate to reduce the population. If you don't believe us, look at the figures: The world's population today is more than three times larger than it was in the mid-twentieth century. Global population hit 8bn in November 2022. 72 years earlier, in 1950, it was 2.5bn people. From 1998 to today, we added 2bn people. From 2010 to today we added 1bn people. The chart below should be scaring the shit out of governments, the WHO, the UN etc. Bare in mind that population growth in developed countries is relatively stable, which you could argue means consumption will be relatively stable. But what that also tells us is that the population explosion in the less developed countries will literally result in a nuclear sized explosion in consumption driven by increased wealth generation as the middle classes swell exponentially. Those extra 2bn in global population from less developed countries could consume as much resources a 6bn people currently, meaning we will be consuming resources globally, as if 12bn people where on the planet today, instead of just 8bn. Playing around with EVs and cars, that represents less than 5% of the "emissions" problem is like prioritising treating someone's ingrowing toe-nail over their lymphoma cancer. We can imagine the outcome of that for sure.
    5 points
  32. Yet another update. Firstly Loti is now home with a fresh MOT. Brake calipers finished. All Glass refitted. I can tell you the fitting the carriers and finishing strip to the windscreen was far more of a pain that expected as was re fitting the door window surrounds and glass. Door handles sandblasted, repainted and assembled. Light pods, bonnet and tailgate aligned and refitted. Front pods would not fully raise and turned out to be due slight misalignment causing excess friction. We would solve one side and then the other would not fully raise. Body work flatted and polished. Lights refitted, had a few earth issues to resolve and needed to run replacement earths to the front Fogs. She will be used for my Sons Prom an a few months so test fitted some UFO under glow lights. (Honestly the child in me loves them) Wing mirrors are not fully working still need to spend a little time to resolve this. Next is to add a FAN bypass switch and look to maybe add Cigarette lighter with USB charger to the center console and or a start switch. Complete the removal of old carpet including behind the foot peddles. Replace sound deadening on Arches and consider adding some to the doors. Fit new carpet. Fit renovated interior. Remove cam covers and turbo plenum for blasting and re painting. Replace boot carpets. Resolve a coolant leak that seems to have developed along the backbone. Please on how its turning out and really like how the Lotus on the engine cover can be seen.
    5 points
  33. Snap Just waiting on the 4th one in Essex Blue to join us 🤩
    5 points
  34. I'm thinking of selling my Essex Blue GT430. Excellent condition, just over 10,000 miles - I'm just not using it enough to warrant owning it - please pm if interested
    5 points
  35. Body shop progress, after a year of storage, they have the car in the shop and are really cracking on! Now looking for post paint storage as the body will be ready earlier than the build up folks can accept it. Great to have turned this corner though as all the parts are nearly done and it’s then the reassembly…. More pics…
    5 points
  36. Just paid £48 for my The Lotus Forums subscription renewal. Apparently if you pay £200 pa, it blocks all @C8RKH posts but my day wouldn't be the same without them 🙂 Justin
    5 points
  37. Yes please! https://www.classicmotorsforsale.com/home/articles/news-article-tony-3/1993-jaguar-xj220c-le-mans-for-sale
    5 points
  38. I would be very happy to place a large bet on the Government’s ill considered, market force denying EV timelines being completely undermined well before 2030. US/European manufacturers who have staked their future exclusively on EVs are already panicking at huge losses and diverting resources like crazy. 2030 EV compliance is a total pipe dream.
    5 points
  39. Looks very cool, although the 3 rear axles seem overkill and unnecessarily complex. And while it might be a shame to cut up a S1 XJ, this way it's still being used instead of rusting away. I kinda want that, for light (Lotus) transport duty. 😎
    4 points
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