Trunnion 74

Nice.

I don't know Geof. When I got the car this is what they looked like The only paint I could see was on the nearside and that was a metallic green! I just decided to paint them black. However, having looked at the M50 Video I have managed to get this snapshot. Looking at the rear suspension there is a black line from the brake drum and the hub. So I guess they were black origionally after all. Roland

I'm in love

That's it.

Hi Geof, If you look at the picture above at the righthand side, at the bottom of the chassis is a lip/channel. On mine the front to back pipe was clipped on the inside edge along this lip. When it reached the back it was then clipped from the right across to the left along the bottom edge of the tunnel then into the tee piece. The hole top right had my fuel line through it and the hole with the small one attached is for ease of fitting of the Handbrake cable The picture below shows the outside. A flexi out of each side to the drum/s then a bleed pipe to each leg of the final drive bleed nipple. Hope that Helps Roland

More research. As part of my recent break I ended up at a place called Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. It is a massive secondhand book shop based inside an old railway station. I spent what seemed an eternity going through their selection of Giles Annuals, and came up with these. This from December 1976. Looks like the back end of an Elite This from March 1979. Elite front end, complete with winking headlight. and this from September 1983. And of course there is the one I found previously which was from December 1986. But still have not been succesful in tracking down the elusive Elite and caravan one! The good news is they didn't have all the books that were published so the search continues.

Hi, Yes it is. This is mine from a 1974 Elite. Roland

More work done. This time dismantling the dash and clocks. As you can see in the left of the picture I had already removed the centre panel. This is what I found behind the clocks Must admit I was pleasantly surprised. The only signs of scotchlokery were to do with the none standard radio that was installed. Not come across any other evidence of bodgery. In fact, all the connectors still have their covers intact. It appears that none of the previous owners has felt the need to fiddle with the wiring, which I'm taking as a good sign. Time will tell if i'm right. Once all the dash was removed I was left with this. A very large Delanaire heater A/C unit! Looks like a bit of surface rust in places. It does have both the main A/C conections as well, which is good news. Haven't managed to remove it as yet. It's been in that long I think familiarty is keeping it there! I will need to refurbish the dials, nice indoor work, and the heater unit as well. Onwards and upwards. I'll be up in Oban next week for a short break. Work will re-commence when I get back.

Hi Pete, I had thought my options were limited, either SJ or Lotusbits. That was until I came across these https://www.superflex.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=SF228-0002KSS They will cost more and who knows if they will last any longer. I've used superflex poly bushes before and not had any problems, so might give them a go. Tom, see above Hi Mike, when I first read this comment about fitting and adjusting the handbrake next I thought don't be daft! Then I re read it and realised that adjusting it with the body on would be making things a lot harder than they possibly need to be. I will be taking your advice sir.

I think we will mark this down as a significant moment, one that's been a while coming. Engine and gearbox back in the chassis! Bit of a difference from when I first got it. And this is what happened to a brand new engine mount shortly after we took the crane load off!!

It is Tom. Cup holders weren't invented till much later. Cheers.

Refurbishment of the Distributor. The first two pictures show the distributor as is and with points removed exposing the breaker plate. In the second picture you can see a spring that goes over a post that is on the breaker plate Removal of the breaker plate, (unhook the spring) revealing the weights and advance cam. Just below the unhooked spring you can see the advance cam is stamped with a number. This number indicates the deg of advance for the distributor, in this case, as far as I can tell it's 11 The breaker plate is actually made up of two plates that rotate about each other and can easily be separated for cleaning. Next off is the vacuum diaphragm. Unscrew the wheel at the end, (there may be a circlip on it) you will need to pull the assembly as you do so to give you room to get it completely off. When you do remove the assembly be carefull not to loose the small spring that is on the rod. The second pic shows a close up of the weights and cam. There are two springs one thicker (the primary) and one thinner (the secondary) The type/strength/placing of these springs is important as they are dynamically tested to go with the particular weights that are in each distributor. To remove you would need to undo the screw in the middle, carefully remove the springs and remove the advance cam. The weights just sit on their posts and are easily removed. Changing/altering any of these componants will have an effect on how the distributor acts and ultimately how the engine reacts/runs. Once the weights are out, to remove the final plate requires the removal of a pin which is accessed at the bottom of the shaft on the outside. be warned though, it requires a lot of force to remove. As all was good with mine and there was no shaft movement I decided not to go that far. Having checked for free movement of the weights I decided not to do anything other than clean in situ and lightly grease the pivot points. Points will be replaced with electronic ignition. Everything cleaned up and replaced including a new vacuum diaphragm ( I am keeping the original diaphragm) hooked up to the breaker plate Electronic ignition fitted. Another piece of the jigsaw complete! Roland

Interesting question. Having taken it out I have wondered how effective it would have been as there is no "plate" or fixing at the ends of the hoop it's just held in by four bolts and four "screws". To my mind if it was pressed into action I would think that the forces would make the bolts slice their way through the fibreglass before the hoop made contact with the floor and possibly made its way through it. It could be that this was how it was supposed to be as it would dissipate the impact force. Afterall, they did win the Don SafetyTrophy 1974/5 for the safest car on the road.... I can only assume that the reason one was not installed in the Esprit was because the cockpit was a lot smaller and therfore a lot stronger? That and they came to the conclusion that it would take some doing to get it to land on its roof!

I think it's one of those "out of sight, out of mind" parts Mike. And i suppose condition would depend on how the car has been stored over the years.

Have finally managed to get the roll hoop out of the car. For reference the hoop is held in place each side by a large Nut/bolt at the bottom of the door pillar and a smaller nut/bolt at the top of the door pillar. It is also has two bolts/screws that go through the door striker plate through a bracket welded to the roll hoop and into a plate which has captive nuts welded to it. The striker plate bolts took some getting out. To get it out you need to push it back towards the rear of the car then lay it down you will the be able to manoeuvre it out. Looking at the hoop in the car it appeared that it just had some surface rust. Once out however, it was a different picture. The rust damage at the bottom of the hoop wasn't visible from the inside as it was the edge that sat next to the inside of the door pillar. Roland