My very brown 74 Elite project

[EXCEL V8]

The W58 doesn't fit without some serious modifications to the chassis/gearbox/both.  The engine is fitted slightly further forward in the Excel and the "Y"- section at the front of the chassis is longer than the Elite - this allows the W58 to fit into the Excel OK.  If you keep the engine in the same place in the Elite the W58 tail housing will need some major modification to get it to got into the Elite chassis - through the circular hole at the front of the straight part of the chassis.  You could make the circular hole larger with suitable extra reinforcing in place.  The next problem is that the gear lever housing leaves the lever too far back.  I can't find any alternative housing that would put it in the right place.  You may need to fabricate your own.  There are also two different bell housings for the W58 - one is deeper than the other;  I think the input shaft on the W58 changed at some point.  Your crank then also has to suit the gearbox/bell housing you've got - the spigot bearings are different.

Very early Elite chassis with the square box section along the "Y" part of it (triangular on later ones) adds to the problem.

Food for thought 😃

It is a really nice gearbox though!

Pete

[BrianK]

1 hour ago, Tony D said:

Looking at your assembled picture, I note you do not have the retro fit central link under the diff between the left and right lower link. 

Easy to make from a U section and provides much improved rigidity between  the left and right suspension. It is detailed in the Lotus service notes as a service retro fit. 

Tony 

Thanks Tony.  You're the second person to mention this, but I guess I didn't look hard enough for a solution the first time. After a bit of googling, I think you're speaking about this part?

https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-accessories/A075R0097F.htm

Placing an order as we speak...

Thanks for the heads up.

28 minutes ago, EXCEL V8 said:

The W58 doesn't fit without some serious modifications to the chassis/gearbox/both. ...

Thanks, Pete. This is exactly the info I was after.  Even the Conversion Components person (I've now forgotten his name) didn't know how the Toyota box fit in the Elite.

While I do believe the Toyota box is the superior transmission, I'm now leaning towards having the Lotus 5-speed rebuilt.

[BrianK]

After taking care of a few last minute odds and ends last night, I put the car down on the ground for the first time since January, then took it for a quick spin.  It's better than ever, thanks to something simple I forgot to mention in my previous few entries: a new brake booster check valve. More on that later.

First, because the Elite runs rubber bushings, when tightening suspension hardware, the workshop manual says that you need to preload the suspension so that the bushings aren't stressed while the car is sitting with driver and passenger. I mentioned this in previous post, but to mention it again: the manual states that preloading consists of two 150 lb people in the front seats, 80 lbs in the boot, and 7.5 imp gallons of fuel in the tank (in the previous entry, I quoted different figures - those were wrong)

Last time, to achieve some sort of preload, I jacked up one wheel at a time while tightening - an inexact science at best. This time I tried something different - very slightly better, but still winging it.  I had a spare transmission (60-70 lbs?) to go in the boot and about 6 US gallons of fuel in the tank, but no 150 lb people readily available. My garage has an inspection pit, however, which came to the rescue. I made a quick "seat" by hooking a tie-down strap to the chassis, then sat in the "seat" - which hung down in the inspection pit - while tightening:

Is my 160 lbs on the rear axle + 70lbs in the boot + 6US gallons in the tank the same as 300 lbs in the front seats + 80 lbs in the boot + 7.5 imp gallons in the tank? Probably not, but hopefully not far off. I think we calculated that the CG of the race car was near the middle of the seat, which would mean 300 lbs in the seat would be pretty evenly split between the front and the back suspension... so maybe 150 lbs right on the back suspension is not so far off ideal. 

I've gotta say, I wish I'd done this sooner - having a seat with your head at wrench height sure did make things easier are more comfortable than squatting in the pit or lying on the ground/pit cover.  This might become a "thing" for future under-car projects. 😁

After tightening the suspension, I took the car out for a quick spin. One thing immediately noticeable (and not related to suspension or diff): no more incessant ticking coming from behind the binnacle. That ticking had been a pet peeve, so its absence was heard loudly.

Re: ticking: After Lotus Prepared by Claudius had rebuilt my carbs, Jason (Claudius's son and also a mechanic at the shop) went with me on a test drive and mentioned that the ticking sound was from a bad booster check valve. He also said those check valves were NLA and I was SOL unless I wanted to fab up a different solution.  As luck would have it, Steve at SJ has already done that, so I ordered a new check valve from him:

(new on left, old on right)

...it's ever so slightly different from the OE part, but it fits perfectly (a little silicone grease helps), and no more ticking noise. Ahhhh.   

Aside from the lack of ticking, there's a definite improvement in braking. I don't know if this is from the check valve, from the lack of leaking diff oil on the shoes, or the now properly bled rear brakes (which flushed out a lot of dirt/rust from one side); but they felt great. So good, in fact, that I now question the master cylinder and front caliper rebuild I had planned (and, for which, I already have parts).

In other news, I found a Lotus specialist in Northern California who's offered to rebuild AND install my Lotus 5 speed for a *very* reasonable price, so I'm working out logistics to get the car up there in the next month or so.  I don't think I want to drive the Elite 385 miles - each way - just yet, so I'm hoping to lean on a friend or two to borrow a tow vehicle.

Now, it's time for some driving - I've only driven the car a handful of times since getting the carbs rebuilt, so I'm itching to do some miles. I may leave work a bit early today.   

Edited June 18, 2021 by BrianK

[BrianK]

I got the rear suspension support brace over the weekend.

Installation is straight forward - two jam nuts and you're done. Hardly worth an entry here other than to say that, now that I've seen it installed, this seems like an incredibly important part.

Observations: The brace didn't fit, initially - it was too short by about 1/4". (Coincidently, 1/4" is about the same distance that the diff was out of alignment the first time I installed the rear suspension). I entertained the idea of enlarging the holes in the brace until it fit, however, with the rear nuts and hardened washers removed, I could see that the conical bushings in the chassis (those that support the bolt through the diff & lower links) were heavily loaded on the outside edge and not touching the inside edge.  In other words, the bushings were being pushed towards the sides of the car - away from center - by the through bolts.

I guessed that those bolts (or threaded rods, as the case may be) were pointed outward at the back and inward at the front? In any event, I went with the assumption that the brace was right and my non-braced setup was wrong, so I put a ratchet strap between the two bolts/rods and pulled them together the extra 1/4" until the brace could fit.  With the brace partially on, I could see that the conical bushings in the chassis were now centered - no longer obviously loaded on one side or the other.

It seems, then, that this is a critical part, and that the dimensions of the part are also important - which is to say that fabbing one up to fit the existing setup is probably not as good as getting one properly dimensioned.

Thanks to @Neil D. and  @Tony D for pointing out the fact that it was missing - I doubt I would have addressed it otherwise. 👍

[Tony D]

Now there's an interesting twist. 

I made mine many years ago but obviously pitched the holes to suit the car. Maybe I need to check how the bushes are seated. I assume the pitch of the lower diff mounts are (should be) the same dimension? 

Tony 

[EXCEL V8]

When I bought my car it had a bit of angle iron across the studs.  Since replacing the diff I too have noticed that the studs want to push "outwards" at the rear and was going to make a new brace to correct it.  I binned the angle iron so I don't know if the holes were "centred" or not.  I'm glad you've pointed it out Brian.  I've got a spare diff so I'll measure between the lower rear mounting holes.

Pete

[BrianK]

1 hour ago, EXCEL V8 said:

  I've got a spare diff so I'll measure between the lower rear mounting holes.

I'd be curious to hear what you find. Unfortunately, I didn't measure the distance between holes in the brace, but according to the workshop manual, it should be 400mm (15.75 in).

[EXCEL V8]

I'll dig it out and take some measurements!

Pete

[EXCEL V8]

I can confirm that the distance between the lower fixing points on the diff is 400mm.  I also noticed that my spare diff has 5/8" holes sleeved down to 1/2" - obviously a later diff in an earlier car.

Pete

[BrianK]

I took a break from wrenching last week.  Sure is lovely to drive.  I pushed a little harder through the canyons this time - zero complaints from the car.  Handles beautifully.

 

 

 

 

This weekend, I'm towing the Elite up to Northern California to drop it off for a transmission rebuild.  Even though the engine rebuild is only 3 years and <1000 miles old, I'm also having the timing belt and water pump done while the engine is out. 

Any other recommended "while you're in there" maintenance/upgrade work with engine and trans out of the car? The builder suggested new cams, but I don't know if my wallet will support that idea.   

[jep]

Beautiful.

Lightened flywheel and new clutch? 

Not sure why you would need new cams. Save your money.

Carb set-up, timing etc......critical on 9 Series engine. Ask me how I know. Everyone says they can do it but even in the UK, not many can. You have to know these engines. 

Justin

 

 

[EXCEL V8]

Good opportunity to check the soundness of the upper to lower bodyshell joints in the engine bay area.  A heat shield on the left hand side near the exhaust manifold would be a good idea.  Engine mounts don't seem to last long on the exhaust side either - worth checking.  What's the fuel line like?  Rare opportunity to get inside the transmission tunnel!  

Pete

[Dion]

Quote

The previous owner replaced the front bumper with the "Euro" version (the version that existed everywhere else in the world) and mentioned that the new bumper wasn't attached very well, and that I might want to improve on his thrown-together solution.

Exactly the situation I am in! The PO of my car mentioned this: "Needs lower brackets for front bumper." Maybe it is fixed with just a few self tappers? Cannot investigate now as the car is in transport between the US and the Netherlands.

And I think I do not see a front spoiler on the pictures of my car, so may have to source one. 

[Dion]

This renovation story is incredibly helpful. Just learned I need to get a rear suspension cross brace as well.

[Denis247]

14 hours ago, Dion said:

Exactly the situation I am in! The PO of my car mentioned this: "Needs lower brackets for front bumper." Maybe it is fixed with just a few self tappers? Cannot investigate now as the car is in transport between the US and the Netherlands.

And I think I do not see a front spoiler on the pictures of my car, so may have to source one. 

The front spoiler is also considered part of the overall cooling system, it directs air into the radiator.

[BrianK]

I've grappled with this entry since December.

On the one hand, I have a very nicely rebuilt transmission that was done by a specialist in Northern California who used to work at the Lotus factory.

On the other hand, I paid *way* more than expected, waited *way* longer than expected, and, in the end, was left with an unfinished car that I'm still trying to get right.

I've written this entry three times now.  Each time has been a novel - there's lots to be told. I'll try to pare it down & add some pictures to break up a wall of text.

At the end of the day, I'm writing this post as a piece of the car's history.  You, dear reader, may find it a bit boring. You've been warned.

Initial problem:

When I bought the car, I knew that the transmission wasn't right - the for sale ad said so.  It also said that a second "good" transmission was included with the sale. I thought, "no biggie - I've swapped out transmissions on two cars now, how hard could it be?"

Well, in the Elite, it's hard.  The transmission can't be removed without removing the engine.  I thought I might be able to be sneaky by removing the prop shaft and cheating the engine forward, but that doesn't appear to be possible. The engine had to come out & I can't do that at home.  I do have a couple friends with lifts, but it would probably be best to have a shop do the whole thing.

Searching for solution:

I called my local vintage Lotus specialist for a quote on trans rebuild. They said it would be $4K+ by the time they were done and questioned whether the fix was worth while for an Elite (this was before they'd seen my car... they assumed it was a junker, as most Elites and Eclats in the US are). I thought $4K was too much & started looking for other solutions.

One solution is a Toyota W58 transmission swap. A company called Conversion Components in NZ makes a kit for the 907 -> W58.  While researching this swap, I found that someone in Northern California had done one. I took note of the name and continued with my research.

As it turns out, not too many people are comfortable rebuilding the Lotus 5 speed, and even fewer are willing to do the actual R&R. Coming up short of ideas, I called the Northern CA shop & asked if I could ship up my spare, have them rebuild it, then do the replacement myself. The shop owner said that he was happy to do the rebuild, but would prefer to do the whole job. That actually sounded great to me, but he was 400 miles away - so logistically pretty difficult.

So far, that was my best option, but I couldn't get an estimate for the work.  The owner said he couldn't even speculate on a cost until he saw the car.  When I pressed him (I wasn't going to bring the car 400 miles away & write a blank check), he gave me the expected labor cost to pull the engine & trans, rebuild the trans & replace everything.  The estimate was $1600. I had him confirm that price more than once, and each time asked for a ballpark figure on parts, but he wouldn't budge.

To shorten the story, I did some research and made a guess of $1000-1500 in parts to do the job, which would still save me $1K over the local place. This put me right on the fence of taking the car up north.

Over the next week, the owner called me 3 times asking if I wanted to do the job.  I figured he was hungry for work & would at least get the job done quickly. I'd also save a grand, and I was somewhat interested in the adventure.

I agreed to have him do the work and made arrangements to borrow a truck and trailer to tow the car up north. Because this is an engine-out service, I asked him to replace the cam belt and water pump while access was easy (the cam belt was only 3 years and a few hundred miles old, but I figured replacement would be a snap now, but would be painful later, so.... best do it now).

The trip North:

The trailer was free to me, so I can't complain, but it wasn't in a good state when I picked it up.  I had to re-wire the tail lights and adjust the front wheel stops so that my car would be balanced on the trailer when towing. I did this in a crazy heatwave, with temps over 100 degrees, and it was done in the open sun.

When I finally got the car on the trailer, I realized that I couldn't open the car door because the trailer fender was in the way (this trailer had originally been made for an early Rolls Royce). So I set the parking brake, put it in gear, rolled down the window and crawled out. I cut out a piece of corrugated plastic & taped in a "window" to keep the car clean in transit.

The process put me a couple hours behind schedule - which is important because I was supposed to drop the car off that evening - before the shop closed - but I had an 8 hour drive ahead of me and it was past 11am and over 100 degrees. Suffice it to say, this was not my best road trip.

Arrival at the shop:

The shop owner was kind enough to stay open late on a Saturday to wait for my delayed arrival. I pulled into the parking lot completely exhausted, but happy to see an enthusiast garage. The parking lot was riddled with Esprits and Europas - this was my kind of place.

Much to my chagrin, the owner greeted me with a written estimate. This was the one thing I'd asked for - several times - before making the trip. The real pain here was that the estimate was for $4500. Why, oh why could he have not given this to me before I made the trip? Not only was I 400 miles from home, but I could have had my local shop do this work for the same money.

If I had any strength left to fight, I would have turned the truck right back around and back to my local specialist (400 miles back). But... I was already there, I was *really* tired, and figured the car was in good hands, despite the fact that this felt a little underhanded.

Work begins, and seemingly never ends:

I dropped the car off on a Saturday. By Tuesday, I was getting text messages and pictures of the disassembly (which I very much appreciated). By Thursday (July 15th, 2021), he had everything apart and had put together a list of needed parts. I was actually a little worried that he would be done in a week and I'd have to make that 800 mile round-trip again. 

Weeks came and went and I hadn't heard anything more.  I understand that it can take a while to get parts, and I understand that I'm not his only customer, so I patiently waited.

By mid August, I thought that I should give the mechanic a heads up that my birthday was at the end of September - the same day as our next big race (I race a V8 powered Elite that was celebrating its 10th year of racing on my birthday weekend) - and that I would really like to get the car back the weekend before. I figured he would have had the car for 2 full months by then, which I thought would be plenty of time. He responded saying that he expected all of my parts to arrive by the end of the week & he would try his best to get the car done in time.

I called the week I expected to get the car back. It wouldn't be done.  He'd mixed up the dates and thought I needed to pick it up on my b-day, not have it in Los Angeles on my b-day. Oh well, no Elite for my b-day or as a companion at the race. Not a huge loss. I figured if he was only a week off, it should just about be done.

The week after my b-day, I called again (now the first week in October). The car wasn't done. He said that he was sorry it was taking a long time, but he should have it by the end of the month (October). I thought that was a bit odd to take that long after almost getting it done in September, but so be it.  I waited.

By the first week in November, I still hadn't heard from him, so I gave a call.  No answer; I left a message.  Next day, I called again. No answer; I left a message. The next day, I got an email saying that he was again sorry it was taking a long time. He had a restoration that was taking longer than expected, but it should be done that weekend and he'd get to my car right after.  I asked if he had any other cars ahead of me... he said he did, but he'd push me to the front of the line because I'd been waiting so long. Without many options, I bit my tongue and waited...

December arrived and I hadn't heard anything, so I gave a call. Lo an behold, the car was not done. In fact, it had not been touched since July... it had just been sitting outside, under a universal car cover for 5 months. I was not happy & was having no more of this.

After some shouting, I pressed him to give me a completion date. He said he could have my car done by Dec 17th. I agreed, hung up the phone steaming mad, and made arrangements for truck & trailer on the 17th for a Dec 18th pickup

December 12th, I found that the truck I'd arranged wouldn't be ready until the 20th, which meant a December 21st pick up. I immediately called the mechanic to let him know that he had a few extra days. He was thankful for the extra time & mentioned that he found that my steering rack seemed a little loose (somewhat expected - I'd only just rebuilt it & hadn't adjusted it since - I expected it would need to be adjusted). Knowing what was likely the cause, I suggested where to look (rack preload shims) and agreed to let him adjust it.  Before we hung up, I asked if he needed more time - he said no, he'd still be done by the 21st.

On December 18th, I checked the weather - rain was forecasted over the entire state on my travel days. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, you have to understand that 2021 was the driest year in recorded history in California. I think we only had 3-4 days of rain the entire year, but now it's going to rain for my entire 8 hour trip home.  Remember how I have to hop out through the window when the car is on that trailer? Yeah, towing in the rain isn't ideal.

I called the mechanic and told him my dilemma. I asked his advice on the trailer or if I should delay the trip until after Christmas. He offered a few ideas - all of which involved making towing through the rain. This made me think the car was at least ready in time.

In the end, I rented a different trailer - one that has collapsible fenders, and headed north on the 20th - just as we agreed.

Pickup:

I arrived at a cheap motel near the shop the night before pickup. It was cold and rainy & I'd been on the road literally all day. When I got out of the truck, I noticed a text from the mechanic - he asked if I maybe wanted to rethink the trip because it was raining. "I'm already here." I replied.

He said he was just buttoning everything up (which I thought was odd - it was 6pm the day before I was supposed to pick up the car).

About 30 minutes later, I got another text saying that the car wasn't running well & that my carbs needed adjusting. He asked if I wanted him to fix it. I replied to tell him that the carbs had been professionally rebuilt just 100 miles before he got it, and that the car was running perfectly when I dropped it off. If there was anything wrong with the way it was running, it was on him. I said that yes, I wanted it fixed, but I had no intention of paying for him to fix a problem that didn't exist before I gave him the car. No reply, but I think I was understood.

Another 30 minutes passes and I get another text saying that one of the fuses was popping as soon as he put power to the car. He said it was the gauge cluster fuse & asked if I wanted him to fix that "problem." At this point, I was getting cross. I'd given the guy almost 6 months to do a transmission rebuild. I'd given him several chances to say he needed more time. Now that I was 400 miles from home, with truck and trailer, I find that he's not done with the car & is still ironing out bugs that he caused. Again, I was not a happy camper.

If you've followed this thread, you'll know that I rewired this car, myself. I know every inch of the wiring harness & I know there were no electrical problems when I gave him the car.  I told him as much and also corrected him:  The fuse in question did go to the gauge cluster, but also to the reverse lights.  He'd just replaced the transmission, so, again, this was likely his doing and he needed to fix it.

Eventually I calmed down and went to bed.

The next morning, I showed up at his shop at 8am. The mechanic was already there - he'd been  there since 6am (kudos for the effort).

Turns out the carb issue was related to the vacuum lines that go to the charcoal canister, so he just plugged the lines. Fair enough, I'll deal with fuel evap later.

The fuse was, as I suspected, a problem with the reverse switch.  He'd damaged the brand new one I'd installed weeks before I gave him the car, and replaced it with the old one from my spare transmission.  That switch had a short & the short popped the fuse as soon as it got power. He tied off the reverse light (leaving me without them) which allowed me to drive the car. (As an aside, he never paid for that switch - that I've since replaced).

I then learned of another surprise: He'd forgotten to put the transmission mount in place before putting the engine in. The trans mount can't go in or out with the transmission in place (it's wedged between a brace and the transmission, itself). Rather  than pull the engine and correctly fit the mount, he simply bolted the mount to the underside of the brace, using large fender washers to distribute the load. He said, "I installed it from the bottom so it will be easier to replace in the future. The way Lotus did it, you have to remove the transmission to replace the brace."

Not knowing any better, I agreed to that. (There's some foreshadowing here)

Here it was, 9am or so on the day we agreed to pick up, but he still wasn't done. He'd clearly been rushing and was taking care of items he missed - one of which was an alternator belt pulley that fell off when I touched it. Another was a broken speedo gear. There were a few other items that I've since forgotten. I sat with him in the garage as he completed the job & lent a hand when it was needed.

I should say that our visit that morning was cordial, despite all the missteps that got us there. I do think he's a nice enough guy, and in fact, I believe he's a capable mechanic, but he's got a problem with time management and customer service.

By around 11am, I was able to take a quick test drive. Unfortunately, it was raining, and I have no windscreen wiper, so it was quick - just to ensure the transmission shifted and there were no obvious problems. I finished the test drive by driving onto the trailer & headed home in short order.

 

Oh, the final bill? Over $5K. :: sigh ::

of note: that $5k+ included an additional $385 to re-shim my steering rack. If you're following along, that means I've paid over $700 to rebuild that rack - when I could have paid $300 to have the local company who rebuilt the rack in our race car (also an Elite) do the work. :: double sigh ::

 

Aftermath:

There's a good bit to unpack since the repair (including a dangerously loose steering column shaft). I think I'll break this entry into multiple parts to make it more digestible. 

To be continued...

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by BrianK

[EXCEL V8]

So sorry to hear this Brian.  If you want something doing... 🙄.  Hope there's some good news in the next instalment!

Pete

[Tony D]

Quite a saga Brian. 

Glad you've finally got the car back though and can move on. 

Tony

[TAR]

Sometimes, things just won't work out smoothly. It appears you were very accommodating. I think I'd have withheld a portion of the final bill until I'd satisfied myself the car was OK, when I got back home. Then, I'd have constantly told him I wasn't quite ready to make the payment, then when I finally did, it would be half the amount to account for issues found. 

You sir, are a most patient man  

[zagatoes30]

Not good news but fingers crossed the gearbox is good and the little niggles you can fix yourself.

I have another fibreglass car, an Alfa Romeo SZ (See attached), which need some paint after too many track days had taken their toll. A local glass fibre specialist took it on, he had previously painted an SZ, it was dropped off Feb 2018 with an agreed completion date Jul 2018. I eventually collected it April 2019 but it had to go back for some snagging jobs so was taken back Sept 2020 for 4 weeks of snagging. I eventually went to collect July 2021 only to find it not finished. Just spoke to the paintshop today and apparently it is next in the list and will be ready end of March - I won't be holding my breath.

To make matters worse during 2019 I moved from the UK to Ireland so every trip back involves flights or ferries.

Needless to say that when  it comes to painting the Elite it won't be going to that body shop.

[madmax]

Love the SZ - Come close to owning a couple of times but now way out of reach - Had a Zagato bodied Fulvia in the past too - lovely thing

 

[BrianK]

... continued from the last entry:

Aftermath...

I didn't get a chance to properly drive the car for a couple weeks after getting it back (rain + Christmas holidays), so when I got a chance, I headed straight up to my favorite driving roads in the mountains just north of Los Angeles. Oh wow. Being able to shift gears at a whim really improves things. The transmission felt great and its ratios are just right.

It should be noted that new engine mounts are fairly stiff - at least until they "break in". My first couple drives felt like I was driving an electric hair clipper.  It felt like I was running polyurethane mounts... there was so much vibration that I couldn't see anything in the rearview mirrors. In addition, my glove box and rear ash tray were vibrating like mad, something in the engine bay was making a terrible rattling noise at idle, and it just generally felt bad. I'd guessed that all of that unpleasantness was from the new mounts, so I just grinned and dealt with it while the mounts loosened up.

From the previous entry, I mentioned that a few things were unfinished when I picked up the car. The known items on that list were: there was no rubber shift boot (the one that lives under the leather/vinyl shift boot in the cabin) and the reverse light switch needed to be replaced.

Unfinished shift boot:

The shift boot hadn't been done because its retaining ring was shockingly rusty - so rusty that the screws holding it in place had become part of the ring, itself... all one big mass of rust. To remove the ring, I had to cut new slots in the retaining screws to get a screw driver to engage, then I drowned them in penetrating oil, and finally chiseled the rust out from between the screw and ring. After separating the ring from the car, to prevent this from happening again, I epoxy coated the ring & reinstalled with new hardware. 1 job done.

 

Steering column loosely attached to rack:

I'd only driven the car 2-3 times at this point, but each time I noticed that the steering mostly felt great (now that the rack had been re-shimmed), but while turning, I felt an occasional small tick in the wheel, then at 2 or 3 spots, a big clunk... like a worrying clunk. Before my next canyon drive, then, I check the steering system. Turns out that the mechanic had not tightened the splined u-joint between the steering column and rack. The clunk I felt was the u-joint retaining bolt knocking against the flat on the steering rack side (the flat that's there to allow the retaining bolt to pass & likely to prevent the joint from becoming uncoupled in case it loosened up).

(in the above video, you can see that the lower nut/bolt aren't tight at all)

I'm sure this was an oversight because the car was rushed out the door, but I'm not giving the guy much credit - he had my car for 6 months. This sort of thing shouldn't happen.

In addition to that, the u-joint is situated in just the wrong place so that the nut for the retaining bolt in question drags on the engine mount as you turn (which is the "small tick" I mentioned previously). I suspect this will go away as the new engine mounts compress (which will lower the mount "arm" in relation to the steering shaft), but I have a feeling that it could have been avoided by scooting the u-join one way or the other by a mm or two. This is one of those little details that I would expect to be missed by a generic shop, but not by a seasoned Lotus mechanic who charges top dollar.  If the mounts don't compress in the next few weeks, I will work on shifting the u-joint ever so slightly to avoid the scrape.

Cooling system problems:

My next longish drive took me through downtown Los Angeles on a weekend.  Traffic always piles up downtown & it was a relatively warm day (high 80s F). As I was sitting in traffic, I noticed my temp gauge sitting north of the 90C midpoint - which is unusual. I had the mechanic replace the water pump when he did the timing belt & he elected to replace the thermostat at the same time. As such, the cooling system should be in good working order, but the needle kept creeping up.

Just as I was getting into uncomfortable territory on the gauge, traffic mercifully let up and I and was able to get back to highway speeds where my water temp immediately dropped. When I got home, I popped the hood & noticed only one cooling fan was running.  When I checked the connector to the fan, I found it (the connector) was boiling hot - much too hot to touch.

After everything cooled down, I came back for a closer look - thinking that the connector might be bad.  While checking everything over, I found the fan shroud had been bent during engine install & was preventing the fan from turning. A few adjustments sorted that issue out & my cooling problems were solved. It would have been nice if the mechanic had caught this.  Oh well, it was caught early enough that no harm was done.

Front of the engine too high:

I live on a pretty crowded street. It's much easier to pull out of my garage (which butts up to the street) forward than backward, which means I need to back into the garage. Because it's a tight fit, that means a pretty sharp turn while reversing.

When backing into my garage after the 3rd or 4th drive, I heard an unusual whirring sound coming from under the hood/bonnet. As I always do when I hear a strange noise, I popped the hood & noticed that the cam pully had run in to and carved a slot in my hood.

From the last entry, I mentioned that the transmission mount had been installed under the trans brace, not above it like it should have been.  That means that the the transmission was sitting 4-6 mm lower than it normally would (the thickness of the mount's metal plate + thickness of chassis). Back-of-the-napkin math says that 4-6mm lower at the transmission equates to 2-3 mm higher at the cam pulley. 

I attempted to relocate the transmission mount to its proper place above the transmission brace, but that doesn't seem possible without removing the engine.  There really isn't enough room to remove the engine in my garage, and, to be honest, I just didn't want to go that far with this fix.

I was feeling somewhat dejected at this point - thinking there was no way to do this correctly; but then I put on my racing-mechanic hat & approached the problem from the opposite end... If I couldn't make it right, maybe I could make it less wrong. "Less wrong" would mean getting the transmission up where it should be, regardless of where the mount was installed. I figured I could put spacers between the mount and transmission - effectively lifting the transmission into the correct spot.  I would also replace the thin washers that now hold the transmission & mount in place with something much more substantial (the washers the mechanic had installed were already bowed from stress). I would need new, longer hardware for this. After some trial and error, I ended up with this:

That's 6mm+ thick washers, both top and bottom, to hold the transmission mount on the brace, and 2 2.5 mm washers between the transmission and mount (which you can't see in the pic). Not ideal, but that should put the transmission where it should be, and those washers should last until the next engine-out service. Doing this should have raised the transmission 5mm and lowered the cam pulley by 2-3 mm. Good, but not enough.

Moving on, I found that the left engine mount wasn't fully seated in its receiving slot on the chassis - it had another 2-3mm of room to be lowered. A few knocks with a hammer on a broom handle fully seated both engine mounts, so I should now be anywhere from 4-6mm lower on the cam side.

While that's likely still not enough room for a cam cover (which my car doesn't have), I think it gets it out of the way of the hood. It should also be known that my old engine mounts were quite a bit shorter due to age, so this "problem" will get better with time.

Rattling at idle:

By this point, I'd done a couple hundred miles or so on the new mounts.  They were starting to soften up - which made driving much more enjoyable, but that rattling at idle got worse.

While under the car working on the transmission mount, I saw that there are u-bolts on the exhaust - one of which was rubbing the chassis.  At idle, when vibration was high, the bolt was bouncing off the chassis, causing the rattling sound I'd been hearing.

There are very few rusty things on this car, but those bolts were caked with rust. I suspect they were added some time after the car was new, and after the motor mounts had sagged. I believe that the new motor mounts, being taller than the old ones, simply put the bolt in the wrong place.  I don't believe there's any fault here - just circumstance.  

Being so rusty & because of the fact that the bolt was physically touching the chassis (making it difficult to fit a tool over), rather than loosen and adjust the alignment of said u-bolt, I just sawzall'd the last 3-or-so mm of bolt after the nut.  Job done.

Done for now...

After all the post-work work, the car is in a good place. The main service item for this ordeal was the transmission, and I have to say, it's a real peach - smooth as silk & silent as a mouse.

I suppose the work I've done since the repair has been relatively minor - even so, I've spent more time than I would have liked correcting these small issues. What really gets me is that I waited too long and paid too much money to have to deal with anything after the fact.  I still need to replace the reverse light switch.

The saga continues, but at least now, while the weather is good, I can go enjoy this thing like it was meant to be enjoyed. Big ticket items that remain: HVAC, interior wiring, and wheel refinish; but I think I'll wait a while before jumping on those. On my last drive, I noticed my speedo has a periodic squeak that changes with speed - I have no idea what that is, but I'll need to address it soon-ish. In the meantime, you can find me on Highway 2 in the mountains north of LA with a giant grin on my face.   

[BrianK]

Almost forgot this little bit of history...

I zeroed the trip odometer when I picked up the car.  On my last drive, the trip odometer rolled over, which means I've put just over 1,000 miles on the car since I took ownership in 2019. 😎

 

[BrianK]

I went to an all-British car show over the weekend.  The Elite was well received - not many "nice" ones in the US, so it was an unusual sight. Several people took note, which made for lots of good conversations.

 

Before the show, I re-hung the passenger door.  It was sitting a bit low in the back & was difficult to open/close. Adjustment is time consuming but relatively simple - remove the trim panel in the foot well to give access to the rear of the hinge mounts, then loosen the top and/or bottom hinge mounts to allow the door to rotate up/down. I used a floor jack to support the door, loosened the top bolts, jacked up the rear of the door an inch or so, then re-tightened (an inch of jacking does not equal an inch of adjustment - some slack is involved, so the door will droop a bit after being tightened and the jack removed).  I repeated this process several times until the top of the door [mostly] lined up with the body behind the door. After getting the door lined up, I adjusted the door striker so that it would accept the latching mechanism. I ran out of time before getting the angle of the door striker just right, so it's still a little difficult to open, but at least it looks better now.  I'll get back to adjusting it this coming weekend.

Unrelated, but worth a note for the record:  I learned, recently, that replacing the rear wheel bearings isn't nearly as big of a job as I'd thought.  Apparently, one only needs to drop the entire hub assembly in very hot water to allow for metal expansion and removal of the old bearing.  After the whole assembly is heated, if the bearing doesn't simply drop out, then a couple taps should free it. While the assembly is still hot, a frozen bearing should drop right in.

I've not tried this, but it appears to be common knowledge amongst those in the know; so this serves as a reminder to future me, and anyone else who happens to Google their way here.

Edited April 11, 2022 by BrianK
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[BrianK]

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.... so time for play.   

I dusted off the old photo gear & headed out for a sunset shoot up in the mountains just outside of town earlier this week. Mother nature put on a pretty good show.

 

 

 

I like this angle (above). Haven't seen too many pictures from this perspective - it makes the car look low, wide, and very angular. Cool.  
 

I love how the rear suspension is visible from behind the car. A friend following me once said that he was transfixed by the moving suspension arms.