soldave

What's the capacity of the system? There's straight water in there right now so it needs some antifreeze/coolant/inhibitor in there ASAP.

Think I'm going to order some of this, unless someone can advise against it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004A911LO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1VG4WTJ0PZIRZ&coliid=IX4FSQI5IHR3A

Does anyone know what the diameter of the hose is that goes from the nipple on the engine to the brake booster? Need to order some replacement hose and I believe it's 6mm inside diameter but not 100% sure. Think it's the same diameter as the hose that goes to my headlight vacuum system.

Loving the colour of this car. And I like the trumpets - shame they have to be covered with the filters. What are your thoughts on those filters compared to the stock setup, which brings air from just behind the radiator? Do you think the K&N filters that you have will impede the engine a little, with them only having hot engine air to pull in through the carbs?

Tried it this afternoon. Just went to check on the car and the lights are up again. Must be an air leak or something further down the line towards the lights or something. I'll find it somehow... I enjoyed my FC, especially as I bought it as it was going to the junkyard and managed to bring it back to life after a few months of troubleshooting. But it was awful on fuel economy, and as a performance car it just didn't really have any torque. So it moved on to another owner.

OK, with my limited tools and knowledge of these things I got so far but didn't know where to go from here to check the condition of this plastic saddle below the stick. I've seen these locking tabs mentioned but am not sure if I got that far down or not. Could someone take a look at these pics and advise my next step.

Thanks. Yeah, I'm going to do a few checks and find out where the leak is occurring. I'm reasonably confident I can nail it down given a bit of time.

Thanks Mark. That's the confirmation I was looking for. Will try to check it out tomorrow if I have the chance. Can you remove the gear lever easy enough without that "special tool" mentioned in the service manual?

Won't be long either until I start looking for someone who can make a tiny pot of touch-up paint in L31 (I think the car's in Lemon Yellow) for the stone chip spot in front of one of the headlights too.

The fractured hose was very close to the nipple on the hose from engine to brake booster. I think it was stretched a little and the heat has caused it to rupture. It's taped over right now but I'll get some replacement hose once I find out what the diameter is. It might explain why the brake pedal was feeling like it was pulsing, even at idle. Got 60 pounds' worth of Halfords vouchers today from my work as part of a reward I won. Already got some Kamasa sockets on order. So I think some spanners, coolant (OAT or silicate, anyone? I'm guessing the former) and some wax & wheel polish would be nice additions to the garage, as well as a jack & jackstands

It's in good running order but wouldn't be a project car if it was finished! And we know these things are never really finished! Tim - what Japanese performance car have you got?

Oooohhh, look at this fancy man with his fuse box cover Confirms what I was thinking, so many thanks for that.

Thanks. Will see if I can source an original cover too (will add it to "the list"!).

Thanks. The turbo was actually a 7-blade Holset HX-40 turbo. Originally designed for use on a diesel bus but some crazy folk throw them on cars too

Just been doing a bit of electrics work on my Eclat and noticed the fuses that were in my engine bay are way different from what the service manual states they should be. They looked like this picture below: To reiterate, that's 8A, 8A, 8A, 25A, 16A, 16A, 16A. I rearranged the fuses to look like the service manual states, as you can see below: Andthat's 16A, 8A, 8A, 25A, 25A, 16A, 16A. But then the fuse cover looks like this: Is how I've got my fuses set now (as in the 2nd picture) how things should be, or should I go back to that first picture layout?

Those problems are common? Well that's encouraging! The cars were good fun, but it is time in the UK for something different. Just because I like to show off pics a little, the pics below were of my last car in Japan after I'd finished with it. Bought it as a 250 pound wreck with hardly any interior and a completely seized engine.

What's the coolant capacity in an Eclat? The service manual states that an inhibitor should be used in the system and states that 2.4L is recommended, but what proportion of the total that is I'm not sure. Also, is OAT coolant/antifreeze the right stuff to be using? Just want to confirm.

Thought I'd start this thread to keep track of my progress with this car, and to have some discussion on it. Tech questions I'll probably keep on tech-specific threads but we'll just see how this evolves. So, after living in Japan for 10 years and building a few cars including a Mitsubishi Evo I, a Mazda RX-7 (FC3S) and most recently a 550+bhp Mitsubishi Evo III, I've made my way back to England and got hold of this little beauty. Quite a few of you out there know the history of this car (owned by Team Lotus for 5 years, driven by Nigel Mansell & Elio de Angelis etc etc). But my job is now making sure its future is successful. I've got a short list of things to do so far, which will of course grow over time. We have: Reverse switch needs replacing Power steering has slight leak; either at the hose or a pinhole in the reservoir - haven't sourced yet but I think the former One radiator fan doesn't work (although it stays cool on one) Cooling system is currently only filled with water (replacing with a 50/50 coolant mix following a flush is a priority) Bleeding brakes and checking front brakes (have replacement discs and pads if required). Brakes might have been bled recently, but I like to cover things myself too Driver's seat foam needs replacing Rear driver's seat has a small hole that needs replacing (I have material to do this) Vacuum hoses need replacing in the engine bay (the one from the brake booster to the engine had a substantial crack in it, so might do all) Find out if the play I have in the gearstick when in gear is normal Think that's about it for now but am sure there are many more. Will try to take photos of all I do so hopefully people can advise and maybe learn too Feel free to chip in with any thoughts.

Interesting - thanks for those thoughts Herc. I might get the foam out and try a long shot and do the old "garment steamer to revitalise foam" trick. Worth a shot before I try anything else.

Thanks. I'll probably have to get both. This isn't old Kamasa, but might be a good place to start: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kamasa-POLISHED-3-8-Drive-25-Pce-Metric-AF-Imperial-Mix-Socket-Ratchet-Tool-Set-/360890877577?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item5406c5c689

Herc. Thanks. Will probably see if I can inspect the lever. That level of play when in gear might just be a normal thing though

Might try 10W40 synthetic or semi, and see how the car likes it when it comes to the next oil change. We'll see...

Oh, I'll definitely be looking at Ebay for some things . Just wondering whether I needed sockets/wrenches in mm, inches, or AF/UNF.

Yes, it's something on my to-do list. I will get around to it but having to prioritise right now as the car has taken a good chunk of change to get.

Potentially good call. Will check that out before I go foam buying. This is how it's looking right now: