soldave

Twin Dellorto DHLA 45, and I'm pretty sure they were rebuilt fairly recently. Car has been run fairly regularly in the past. Will try putting my mixture screws back to where they were and see how that goes.

Also, am sure I'm being really dumb with this, but if I'm using the mixture screws to get the same airflow through all the carbs (and likely the strongest vacuum), then when I adjust the mixture screws to get the right fuel mixture according to the Colortune, won't it always knock things out of sync?

Thought about making a new thread but will just update this one. Used the Colortune across all cylinders and found that all of them needed richening up a bit (in fact, in cylinder 2 you could only see the spark from the plug and no combustion). Mixture screws were unscrewed by the following amounts: Cylinder 1: 2 full turns Cylinder 2: 3.5 full turns Cylinder 3: 2 full turns Cylinder 4: 2.75 turns So things were richened up until the flame was blue with the odd yellow fleck. It's running fine now when the engine is warm but when the choke is pulled on cold starts, the engine starts and idles at around 800rpm but the idle slowly drops and becomes rougher. If left to idle on its own, the revs will drop and eventually die. Would richening the mixture have caused this, maybe causing it to be too rich now when the choke is pulled? If so, how would I remedy it without just increasing the idle (which would also raise the idle above where I want it when the engine's warm)?

Good stuff One thing I do have to go back and look at I think is my mixture screws on the carbs. With the Gunson Colortune I richened things up a bit until I got a blue flame with a couple of yellow flecks. I found cylinder 2 wasn't showing any combustion at all initially (only the plug spark). But I think since then when I start the car cold it will idle, but will idle low and if left long enough with the choke in it will sometimes drop below 500rpm and then die. Once the engine's warm and choke is released, it idles fine. So I'll check the choke and be sure my mixture screws are all adjusted right.

Thanks for the guides on what to use. Guess I can leave things for a while until they need changing then. Not having to spend money is always good!

Roger that. I'm guessing the bolts are built into the seats, and will need drilling/cutting out and replacing completely? Might wait one extra weekend and wait until the wife's car comes before doing that - just gives me that transport should anything go wrong. Oil might have been changed recently, but I'll probably do a change myself and change the filter, so I know when exactly it's been done. Will do the gearbox too and see how the oil in that's looking.

I can see how you could spend that long to be honest. Each time you use the Autosol the cloth comes off black and the wheel just gets that little bit shinier. Have also bought some P21S wax and a clay bar, so once the weather clears up the car's going to have a big clean. Another project this weekend is, once I've got some imperial deep sockets, to remove the driver's seat and see if I can install some foam under the foam that's already in there to remedy that slight sagging look in the seat. Will have to do as a fix for now until I can get a replacement seat or similar.

Yeah, I've got wheel cleaner and polish but it's a constant battle against the elements and brake dust (at the front) right now.

Scotchlock, I know that as a vampire tap. I'll probably solder it this weekend as long as I can get enough of the connector wire

You mean direct off one of the bulbs in the dash? Yeah, I could definitely do that

Thanks man. Previous owner took good care of it. My role now is to keep that up and if possible build on it.

Well after having some interesting times with my electrics this evening (which at one point involved my interior light coming on in synchronisation with my indicators and hazard lights, creating a pretty awesome disco effect), I now have a working cigar lighter. What I did find in my investigations today is that the clock in the car has a light in it. Did some checking and the bulb works and gives me a little bit of illumination. The question is: how do I power the bulb? There is a 2-3" wire coming off the bulb but nowhere to connect it to (maybe not stock). The wiring diagram doesn't really help here either. The only thing I can think of is setting up a relay connected to the battery and the light switch on the dash as the trigger. Anyone know of a better way of doing it?

I knew someone was going to ask that Errr,,, no I don't (I know... I know) But we'll see when it gets switched out what happens.

A little bit of progress with my brake servo issue. You can read the detailed post over at http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/70951-brake-servo-problem/#entry549495, but below's a quick summary. I got a used servo and non-return valve. Having 5 minutes on my hands last night I switched valves. My current one was pretty much a tube, and you could blow & suck through it freely. Replaced it with the one from replacement servo and went for a drive tonight. Brakes feel sharper I think, although there is still the ch-ch-ch sound (possibly quieter). Also, revs drop when I'm idling as long as the brakes are held down (not the momentary rpm drop that you'd expect), so my next step this weekend is to switch over the whole servo and see if that makes a difference.

Well... it was a partial success I think. Driving along I can now sometimes hear a ticking noise from the brake servo when I'm on the throttle or cruising along. That sound seemed to go away as I drove more though. When I braked I think the brakes seem a little sharper and on point. I was able to get them to lock up, although that might have been more due to the road conditions tonight than anything else! But there was still the ch-ch-ch noise when I brake, and idling and I press the brakes the revs drop and don't pick back up again. Which would make you think air is entering the servo somehow, then getting sucked into the engine by vacuum, which is making it lean and dropping the idle until I let off the brakes. So the next step is to replace the servo itself this weekend, once it's been cleaned up and painted.

Very interesting. What mods are you running?

Right - I've got confidence renewed (for now)! Gonna get the good old ATF-acetone homemade penetrating oil and spray everything under there liberally. I'll double-nut the studs and see if I can get them rotating inside the housings. If they rotate, they'll come out. I'm willing to hammer near the diff but want to be a bit more gentle on the stud going through the hub carrier. Will apply heat if necessary. Only got the driver's side diff stud out and greased before, so one down, three to go. (Note: all of this will only be done in a few weeks when I have an alternate mode of transport!)

Well I got a used brake servo last night, and finally got around to pulling the non-return valve out of my current one. The one that was on my car came out with a pop, but I found I could easily both blow and suck through it. So not so much a valve as a tube! Tried the valve on this used servo and I couldn't blow into it (a la air going from the engine to the servo), but I could suck (a la engine vacuum sucking air from the servo). Fitted the valve but not had chance to drive it and check yet. I started the car and the little chattering was still there but seemed quieter. We'll find out more tonight...

Passenger side diff stud really doesn't want to come out. Have hammered on it a bit and doused it liberally in WD-40 but don't want to destroy the threads on the end of the stud. Have been quoted £100-150+VAT by Chris Foulds in Huddersfield for worst case scenario of having to apply heat to both studs the link connects to and that destroying the bushes. Does that sound reasonable?

Played around with it, got to the handle and lock mechanism, disconnected and reconnected everything and it seems to open again fine now.

Looking good, and like what you said about building on the "cigar" light theme. Checked this weekend why my cigar lighter didn't seem to be working. Pulled it out and found there's nothing connected to it! Couldn't see any loose wires looking through a switch opening but I didn't have the clock out to see more. Don't know if I want to risk taking the whole console off incase something breaks and doesn't want to go back!

Does anyone know off-hand what size the inside diameter of the breather hose is that goes from the crankcase to the airbox? Thinking about going without the airbox but would need a filter for that hose to go into. 18mm and 20mm spring to mind, but I can't remember which one it is.

Hopefully won't be that. I think the weak point in the doors have been replaced before.

Noticed this recently with my Eclat. From both inside and outside the handle is needing to be pulled right to its limit to release the door. While I know it shouldn't just release at the slightest touch of the handle, before it was similar to the passenger side and with definite feeling of release. Now you have to pull the handle and then push/pull the door, hoping it's released. In the workshop manual I've found this diagram. Am I right in thinking it's just going to be a case of removing the door trim, and then playing around with H and K until it feels better?

What is the redline for it? 6k... 6.5k?