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Farmer Bob

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  • Name
    Robert
  • Car
    1978 Elite
  • Location
    Lincolnshire

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  1. Back again! Engine still not running so I gave up and took it too another Lotus garage. To cut a long story short, one of the waterways on the head had corroded and was weeping fluid into the cylinder which kept fouling the plug. The cylinder head was taken away, pressure tested and then welded where the waterways were thin, skimmed and reassembled. The downside is I could have bought another car, the upside is we are up and running and have now covered a number of miles. I have had to replace the fuel sender but am without a speedometer as the cable is snapped, is it a triumph based cable, it looks familiar?
  2. Yes, I think so. I applied last year in Oct but I received a letter from DVLA telling me the car is not historic until the 1st April following the car turning 40. (The car was registered Sept 79) So I applied again at the post office last week, they taxed it there and then and sent off for a new V5 and I wait for a reply. The car is insured so that is good enough for me at present.
  3. How time flies! The new front seats arrived 6 months ago And look great and I suppose I have been waiting to register the vehicle as historic. Interestingly, although it turned 40 last September it was not possible to register as historic until the following April. Anyway, Historic it is, taxed and insured and off we went today! Still missing on a cylinder so going to another specialist in Whittlesey tomorrow to see if they can sort! I haven’t driven a Lotus on the road before but it felt full of promise, just with a sloppy gearbox 😂😂 .
  4. Yes the upholsterer will do that, I just wondered if I could find the original base. I suspect it will be from a triumph or similar!
  5. I am having the seats for my Elite reupholstered. The seat base rubbers are perished, have lost their support and could do with replacing. Has anybody found a relacement for thse? I have tried LB and SJ sportscars but they have do not have new ones.
  6. I have had a few trial runs up and down the drive and the engine is not perfect, runs on 3 cylinders until 3,500-4,000 rpm and then sets off properly on all 4. I don't recall putting new spark plugs in the engine, any suggestions as to what I should use as I am currently running on 2 different types of plug!
  7. I bought an alloy radiator from Winner Racing, I seem to remember having to pay some import duty but this was probably at the checkout on Ebay. The radiator seems to be well made, fitted correctly and looks the part and as such can only recommend them really.
  8. Well, back again! after waiting 4 months for a rebuit power steering pump from LB, I found one on ebay for £70, fitted it this weekend (after a while) and all is well. I have to say that I cannot imagine how I could have fiitted the pump without the car in the air on a set of ramps, it is a trrible job and one that would want you to turn your car into one with manual steeering!! Despite warnings I lifted the car from the fibreglass body as it is not possible to lift from the chassis and all was well. I chose points that I thought would accept some load and wish I had the availability of a ramp when I started the project. Also sprayed some underseal to the inner wings this weekend. I bought some Tetra shultz tins with a spray gun and i have to say it has transformed the underneath of the car. I bought a 6 tin kit with a gun but only required 2 to do the 4 inner wings. It is a good way of sealing any holes or cracks that look like they might let water into the car! From looking fairly tatty 5 minutes with a spray gun and the inner wings were transformed!! All that was required to finish the job was a new set of boots! Still waiting for the new front seats, one light does not open or close, the speedometer does not function, radio does not work and I am not sure what to fit (or know how to fit it without removing the dashboard!!!), I have no switch for the electric mirrors and no carpets for the boot. I a sure there is other stuff but it does liik good and I have driven it down the driveway!!!
  9. There has been some progress but it has been a little steady. Whilst away last winter the suspension was all set up and realigned as should be and the engine was set up so it now runs. On return home the bonnet was reffitted for the first time in 2 years and so it does now looks like a proper car. So all should be well but the power steering pump gave up the ghost as I ran it dry whilst trying to start the engine (It does say in the manual never run without oil, obviously for a reason!). I sent the old pump to LB back in July to be rebuilt but I still have not had it back and so have been unable to run the engine since which has steadied progress a bit. However I bought a new carpet set from Coverdale to keep me busy, they seemed expensive but without any decent old carpet to take templates from it was the easy option. Armed with some adhesive and underlay they took a weekend to fit and transformed the interior of the car. I think Coverdale supplied 9 pieces of carpet per side of the car, and I only used 7 which was confusing and all of the pieces needed trimming to a degree. I glued the carpet directly onto the centre tunnel and the side sills, but used the underlay on the floorpan and in the footwell. The door cards have been refitted which took some doing as I had to remember/work out how the door locks came apart. Finally the front seats have been sent away to local car upholster to have new covers made. We decided the old leather was too old, hard, cracked and the stitching torn so difficult to restore. I can only hope the new leather will match the door cards and rear seats. So I await the front seats and a steering pump to get done. On the upside I have had time to get my car lift fitted whilst waiting, although I am still not sure how to lift the Lotus!
  10. Hi Mike, I did mine last week. Just as you suggested lifted the catches fairly high and you can make sure the plungers meet the centre of the catches by eye. They released perfectly from the cables and I just had to adjust the catches down a bit to get the bonnet to sit level with the bodywork. Not as difficult as I thought it might be! The car does look better to have its bonnet on for the first time in 2 years.
  11. My advice would be, stick with the original, and spend your time getting the Elite back on the road!
  12. Also looking for the under bonnet sound/heat insultion material. Woolies sell similar stuff at £100 per sheet, any help there?
  13. Unfortunately the old carpets were rotten and did not come out very well ( in many pieces ) , I will have a look tonight.
  14. Hi, can anybody offer any advice as to where to get an interior carpet set for my Elite. I wondered if somebody had bought some and had a good experience with the quality and fit, there are plenty for sale but I am not sure where to start?
  15. Mike, about the only thing I had with my engine was oil pressure, definitely self priming and why would you ever build an oil pump that did not. If the engine is not firing I woud not worry too much abou damage, perhaps pull off the pipe from the block to the pressure guage and make sure there is oil comimg out of the block. If no oil there and you have oil in the sump then perhaps the pump is not working?
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