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Farmer Bob

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Everything posted by Farmer Bob

  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?
  16. Sorry if I upset, I have an original chasis that requires some welding on the rear crossmember, is solid upfront but has had a repair in the past, probably some photos on my rebuild thread. Free to anybody who wants to come and collect.
  17. It is I think good news that good Elite chassis are becoming less available, LB had a few when I bought mine. I hope it means the Elite/Eclat will become a bit more cherished and less dismantled! In the meantime I have a good pair of spare cars undercover. .
  18. Looks better than new Simon, I think I need to start again! Is the oil cooler OE, only I don't have one!! What colour have you painted the body?
  19. No, a Leyland of all things I dragged the engine out today and found this. The difference between a 70's tractor and 70's car is, I have bought pistons, liners, main and big end bearings, oil pump, water pump, valves and guides, new con rods and all gaskets for less than £300 + vat. If only it was the same for Lotus parts!
  20. At my wits end with the engine, so I have taken the car to Kelveden Motorsport, a lotus specialist very close to me to try and set up the engine and set up the suspension as I do not want to get too much further if an engine rebuild is required. I had an email today to tell me the cam pulleys were on backwards and so the timing was wrong! Good news really and as the last person I suspect to touch the cam pulleys was the garage who rebuilt the engine after the timing belt snapped in the 90's, no wonder it was garaged 20 years ago! Unfortunately, due to an accident with some water and a hydrauliced engine I now have a new project and the Lotus will have to sit on the burner for a few months. Tractors do require a completely different set of tools to small cars and I running short of shed space!
  21. Had a few hours today, so after filling gearbox with oil and finding out I had not tightened up the rear wheel bearings ( or fitted split pins ), dropped the car off its blocks for the first time since I started the rebuild. I have been messing about with the engine and not put any power steering fluid in so filled that also, hoping I have not done too much damage to the pump. Popped a front seat in and away we go! The good news is the car does run, without smoke I think and with oil pressure. The gearbox seemed fine in all gears which was a worrry and the brakes were useless! So all in all a good day, the car also looks much better out in the light of day, ( I have a list of jobs which include brakes, clutch and the vacuum on the drivers side headlight.)
  22. I bought a leather restoration kit at the NEC classic car show last year with a cleaning fluid and a cream. These are a couple of photos I took at the time, showing how well they cleaned up the leather.
  23. OK, I found a bit of time this weekend to do some work. I thought I would start putting the interior back together again. I had glued the roof lining in place a few months ago but have not done much since. This is where I started this morning with a bare interior. By the end of the afternoon I have ended up here. When I bought the car one of its best points was the complete leather interior. It is showing a little wear on the center console but otherwise really good. I have put the rest of the corner capping back in place on the headlining and am really pleased with how it looks. If I am honest, one of the better weekends in the last year! The front seats however will require some attention so I am looking for a good local person for the job. Also, in the boot what is supposed to sit in front of the lights/bumper area at the very back, is it supposed to have a carpet that is glued in or is there anything solid I am missing?
  24. I think I am getting there now, exhaust on, engine runs ( of a fashion) but without smoking which must be good. I would think with wheels, a seat and some petrol I must be getting to the point of "having a go"! I rebuilt the electric mirrors, stripped down, repainted palstic, cleaned the chrome etc, however not overly impressed with the results. They are quite bulky and I think a pair of manual, chrome mirrors look much better?? Original or not? Can anybody recommend a local person ( to me) who can set up carbs/ignition on a Lotus 907. I am hoping not to have to trailer it to a specialist?
  25. Mike I have laid upside down, crooked my neck and taken a photo tonight! Bottom brown is power I guess, the red one is fused to wing mirrors or electric windows I think, i guess white red is starter and the other 2 on top ignition. There is one missing from nearest the steering column and I wonder if this will be radio or something as I not missing anything currently.
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