Drawfiler

I usually take off the air box and have a look and feel the inside of the trumpet with my finger. If the pump is on you can usually see the fuel working it's way down the trumpet. all this is from bittter experience, my engine just wouldn't slow down so I fiddled with the lever stop screw then it wouldnt tick over. After trying all sorts of things I bought the better needles and had an instant cure.

When you check for leaks, have a look at the 'O' ring seals between the carbs and the adapter plate and the plate and manifold. If there is a leak here you can get your symptoms. The other think to check is to be certain that the carbs are not flooding, turn on ign and look into the trumpets if there is flooding they will be wet with fuel.

The manual says 12 degrees for Dellorto carbs on contact breaker in a 25d4 distributor but 1975 and onward engines call for 16 degrees BTDC rising to 34 at 4000 rpm, 1976 spec is no vacuum static 7 degrees still 7 at 1000 rpm. however the book also says that you set 25 degrees BTDC at 3000 to 4000 rpm which will give an idle of 7-11 degrees because of distributor tolerances, I assume this is with Lumenition. The chart on p 15 of the manual says 24-26 at 3000 with electronic ignition so perhaps I go for that.

What ignition timing are you guys running at? I have a 2.2 litre 900 engine running on a Powerspark non vacuum distributor with their solid state unit and a new coil. I have set up cam timing dead right and belt tension correct, I am running at 20 degrees advance at 1000 RPM. I would like to see what others are doing. Peter

Mike at LB will also sort you out with a later version belt tensioner upgraded pulleys and cam belt, part ex water pump,and all the goodies to give you better performance like increasing capacity. peter

I would check the pressure at the carb end of the pipe work as that deals with the slight height difference from the pump to the carb. I bought a somple low pressure gauge off eBay and made a temporary connection at the carb input and went from there. I would add that the correct SU pump will deliver the correct pressure so I would check the needle valve in the float chamber. The standard needle is all brass but there is a version with a plastic type seal ring round it, I had flooding trouble and despite all new parts and the correct pressure, I still had leaks, changing the needle fixied it instantly. peter

Once again I have had to sort out a leaking exhaust cam cover and I have come up with a couple of ideas to help. To make things easier I took the wheels off and with the car on axle stands put a trolley jack under the sump and took off the engine mounts and so could move the engine slightly toward the off side so I could get at the cover easier. I made up some lengths of m6 allthread slightly longer than the cover bolts, by screwing them into the holes in the cam carriers, the gasket can be coated in sealant and slid down the allthread into position, the allthread an be unscrewed and replaced with the bolts. I found that the top row of studs is all you need to keep everything in place. peter

I think you need to begin with fuel flow, take the connection off the carbs and check volume of fuel pumped against time by using a stop watch and measuring jug. Also check the carbs for muck in the float chambers. if the flow from the pump is poor, check the filters, some are built into the pump, some in the fuel line. The breather problem can be checked by running the car without the fillercap on. if all this is ok, then suspect the coil. Peter

I wonder if anyone has added sound deadening to interior of their cars, while like the Lotus music, I would like to reduce it a bit. Perhaps I can put something under the carpet in the footwell, Any advice would be welcome.

When you get all the bits, you will find the Powerspark system with their distributor is pretty good, I have it on my Eclat and on my Ronart (Jag 4.2 XJ6 engine) and have done big mileage with no problems, also the complete kit is not expensive.

When I built my engine, Lotusbits told me to leave the splash guard out. peter

I had a conversation with Mike Taylor at Lotusbits about this, he showed me some 2.2 bodies and pointed out some special drillings in the carb body casting. As he had a lot of interest in 2.2 carbs he set about developing jets and venturies to convert 2l carbs to the same spec. The parts when bought new were quite expensive so I am wondering if it is all worth doing. Peter

I have rebuilt my 2 litre engine as a 2.2 Litre using the original 2 litre carbs. There is much more low down torque and the driving experience is much better. My question is this, is there a dramatic further improvement by swapping the carbs. I could try and buy a pair of 2.2 carbs and rebuild them or fit all the jets, venturies and so on to mine, either way this is expensive, so is it worth it? Peter

I use a 1/4" socket set with an extension to do the nuts up. To hold the nut into the socket use a bit of blue tack or jam the nut with a bit of paper you can feed the nut onto the stud/bolt without having to try and get your fingers into the box.

Speak to Wooleys and buy their heat resistant impact adhesive, same as is used for headlining etc.