andydclements

Mike Taylor's document gives a good indication of the differences in the engine configurations. http://www.lotusbits.com/improving_your_lotus.pdf page 25

It could be one (or more) of many things, or it may not have been an "improvement" as just a straightforward replacement of a damaged part such as when a valve breaks or a head starts leaking past the water jacket. There was an improved coolant flow around one of the cylinders.

Normal approach is just to push it in from one end, it isn't a jointer.

Worth buying some replacement pipe, as if the existing is old it may split (as you do it or a short time later), and cause problems due to air leaks.

That seems sensible, and no sense in throwing money away just to have the same thing arrive in a bag with a Lotus logon on the plastic.

The engine supplies a single pulse of vacuum per 2 crank turns, but we need that vacuum to remain fairly constant at the dissy so as to maintain a constant level of advance.retardation. So, a very small hole is drilled through a brass bead, which slows the passage of air and so dampens the fluctuations in vacuum. I cannot recall the diameter of the hole but think it's less than 0.5mm, so absence would lead to a less than smooth running compared to the free movement of air in a 5-6mm tube.

Yep, wipe it away with tissue, I always think it's like a topping that goes on an ice cream sundae.

Don't worry, it's an anaerobic action, it sets in the absence of air., rather like superglue.

Hi. I haven't worked on an Elite/ Eclat (excluding the Excel), but looking at the images fro this servo repair kit it appears that the lever is removable so I'd suggest you can swap over the rod. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-Eclat-Elite-Esprit-Excel-BRAKE-SERVO-REPAIR-SEALS-KIT-/191589887437

And

Especially at the speed that some people (historically) drive at.

You probably need to establish: What's the purpose for the panels? For example If it's to advertise whilst driving and get more work, then it means having something almost permanent that has no real risk of damaging the car's paint. If it's to advertise only when stationery while you're doing a job then magnetic would be OK as long as you took precautions. Any sign of that nature is going to make the car a more attractive target for thieves, so permanent / attached during day to day driving would increase the chance of returning to your car having been in the supermarket etc, only to find a lot of shattered glass on the floor, irrespective of whether drone was in the car at the time or not.

I think it's based on a Ford rack (but shortened), but the cones of the ends may be very different and could even be bespoke (don't think they are).

I'm with you Neil. If you flipped it so that the dimple now faces the bucket, then there's a massive area to spread the load, several times the area that was in use on the end of the valve stem. So, if it took 50k to wear away and form the dimple, it will probably be 250k to wear away the rest to match. It also gives a tiny oil pocket

It probably is that, but difficult to tell without experiencing the brakes in person. Modern cars will come to a halt quite nicely using the parking brake (OK, not the current one as it's electronic so I don't try), but I've driven for quite some distance with the Esprit brake on, only realising it's on when I put the clutch in and it slows more than just coasting to a junction.