Benco

Thanks Tim and Filip, that’s great. I think if I can’t rescue the rusty link I have then I’ll head that way.

Hi, does anyone happen to have a serviceable choke link rod in their box of Lotus bits? thanks Terry

Thanks, then mine is the same as yours 👍. I guess that it’s just normal for the pod to ‘dip’ before it gets into the up position. 🙂

Thanks - in the up position the arms on mine align like yours (which is good). Do you happen to know which way the arm rotates (clockwise or anti-clockwise)?

Thanks all for help, I’ve cleaned the connections on the motors (the copper strips) and made some really good connections. The arms are now aligned when in the up position, and are parking in the correct position (not 180 degrees as I originally thought). They still both go ‘down’ a little before raising and the passenger side motor is slower to get to the up position. Interestingly the passenger side motor is the newer of the two. Given that the parking position is 90 degrees (9 o’clock looking at the arm) … and the arm rotates anti-clockwise …. then I can understand that the pod gets pulled down until the arm rotates through the 7 o’clock position, and starts to move up from 7 o’clock to around 1 o’clock (the up position). I presume this is the same for everyone? 🙂

Thanks Tar, both motor arms are broadly ‘in sync’, both pointing in the same direction when in the ‘up’ position. However they are in slightly different positions, say 5 to 10 degrees out from each other. I presume that the rotating arms need to be at the ‘furthest position’ away when the pods are down so that any further rotation only raises them? I see a lot of posts about adjusting the lock nut on top of the motor to ensure that the motor is properly parking in both of its positions. So plan is: get the motors ‘parking’ properly, esp. when ‘down’ adjust the threaded bar to line up the pods with the bodywork when ‘down’ the ‘up’ should look after itself (as the pod is managed with the ‘stop’ and the rod isn’t fixed to the pod, the spring then pushes it up)

Hi, I’m at the stage of putting things back together….like the pop up headlamps! I have never seen these work before as the electrics were shot when I got the car…. So I’d appreciate your opinions….are these working properly? The arms seem to be parked in different positions between the two lights, and that’s why they seem to operate at different times when energised or turned off. Also I understand why they go down before popping up….but is that correct or do I need to adjust them? thanks 🙂 IMG_1904.mov

Hi, I’m at a point where I could start rebuilding my 2.2 912 engine - my aim was to do a top end rebuild and get the engine running (head checked & refurbished with new exhaust valves/guides, refurbished water pump, new tensioner bearing, new gaskets all round), but appreciate advice on whether I should go further with the strip down. After taking the crankshaft sprocket off, to get to the cover to replace the gasket and front oil seal… I noticed that the crank end float might be a little large. So I’ve measured it and it’s about 11 thou. and I see that the manual says the float should be between 3 and 8 thou. I wasn’t planning to take the bearing carrier off, so: - is this straight forward? Will I need to take any particular steps either taking apart or when reassembling? (Beyond cleanliness / keeping correct shells together etc?) - presume that this level of end float is worth fixing now and if yes then it’s a case of measuring the existing thrust washers and adding say 4 thou to each washer? (This to bring the current end float to the min of 3 thou. ?) or can I simply add say 8 thou. to just one of the washers? I see that they come in std sizes on the SJ website. Thanks Terry

Hi, after a quick view of sealants that have been used recently for engine rebuilds. I have a 912 engine. Appreciate available alternatives for the following: Graphogen grease (for valve train) - can get that Loctite 504 gasket eliminator (for cam towers to cyl head) - alternative is? Permabond AP322 (for sump to block) - alternative is? Finally, does anyone else have their auxiliary housing fixed with one of these, instead of a bolt as shown in the workshop manual? If yes does anyone know the size/socket name I need to get? Thanks

Had a very successful time reassembling the centre console, after re-veneering and satin varnishing. I also went to another level trying to repair the switches, because even though I’d cleaned them the light switch was still very unreliable. When it was fully apart and after removing the switch lever, I found that it wasn’t working properly for 2 reasons. 1) One of the pins that push the copper strip onto the centre contacts had completely worn away, so I made a new pin head that I push fitted into the holder. 2) Even though the contact was being made between the copper strip and the contact I found that the ‘riveted pin’ that joins the contact to the rear connector block - was spinning and not connected. Good news is that this is easily solderable. The effect on the car lights was fantastic, understandably with a much lower resistance they are now so so much brighter! So I then checked and repaired all of the other switches as I put them back into the console, there weren’t any more worn ‘spring pins’ but quite a few high resistance poor riveted contacts that needed a drop of solder. I think one of the best improvements was on the rheostat, that had the same problem (2), with the measured resistance fluctuating continuously, until I had cleaned and soldered the rivets, and once done was repeatedly 0-4 ohms.

Thanks Angus, I started to try and find the way of removing the cover, but just too many rusted inaccessible screws. So taking the view that the issue with the drivers side fan was the same as the passenger side (just stuck through lack of use), the. I drilled a 20mm hole in the fan cover and moved the fan back and forth through that hole. It was definitely more ‘seized’ than the passenger side, but after 5 mins of working it I then sent it some power through the switch, it complained a little and then started moving freely without any noise/friction at all 🙂. So really pleased with that and I’ve order a 20mm blanking grommet to properly seal the hole I made. This gives me easier access in the future and I’m also going to modify the passenger side fan cover in the same way.

Thanks Don you were right, I was looking in the wrong section. 🙂 Like you I’ve ordered a selection of led bulbs to see how it looks and I hope that with a brighter led bulb the fibre optics might shine just a little brighter!

Hi, thanks for sharing. Tonight I’ve uncovered the passenger side fan and got that going, it just needed a little encouragement, spinning it at the same time as putting power to the connections directly and off it went 🙂. However I know the drivers side needs the same attention. Is it ‘relatively’ easy to get to the fan on the right side? Do I need to remove the instrument panel? Any tips/tricks from your recent experiences? Thanks

Hi, I’m having fun finding lots of blown (or sometimes missing) bulbs in the centre console. So looking for replacements, ideally with a little more brightness - LED alternatives? Does anyone have a list of the bulbs used in the centre console. From what I can see: tiny bulb housed in the rear switch connector, capless type slightly bigger bulb used on the light switch (in a carrier that clips under the switch), capless type bigger bulb, bayonet type, that illuminates the heater controls single bulb that is powering the fibre optic lines, bayonet type thanks Terry

Thanks both, will look into that!