1979 Yellow Lotus Eclat: My project thread

[Clive59]

Just a thought, the temperature is affected by the 10V voltage regulator, as is the fuel gauge. I see mine vary a bit from time to time. The regulator is very crude, so may well make your temperature vary or be "off" calibration.

 

[soldave]

5 hours ago, Clive59 said:

Just a thought, the temperature is affected by the 10V voltage regulator, as is the fuel gauge. I see mine vary a bit from time to time. The regulator is very crude, so may well make your temperature vary or be "off" calibration.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. In my particular case, the voltmeter was reading right and was the result of an alternator being very nearly dead. New alternator and it sits on or just over the middle 13V mark.

[Clive59]

On 14/08/2016 at 20:57, soldave said:

In other news, I tried blocking some of the gap at the top of the radiator but temps don't seem to have been affected. Needle only covering the 0 of 90 at its highest so will just keep an eye on it. New thermostat this winter just in case that's a factor but won't worry about it too much.

Nothing to do with alternator voltage, but if your temp gauge is reading low, it may not be thermostat, but the voltage that is supplied to the temp gauge is incorrect. That is all I meant. The temp and fuel gauge have a nominal 10V applied to them. That is the regulator I am referring to.

[soldave]

1 hour ago, Clive59 said:

Nothing to do with alternator voltage, but if your temp gauge is reading low, it may not be thermostat, but the voltage that is supplied to the temp gauge is incorrect. That is all I meant. The temp and fuel gauge have a nominal 10V applied to them. That is the regulator I am referring to.

Thanks for your thoughts. I wouldn't be surprised if it was that, and once again it goes back to the car's electrics (and makes that full rewire a little more appealing).

[Dunc]

Demontweeks (and others) sell the smiths ones for a tenner + VAT.

You could always make a solid state one if you wanted to be fancy ? I'd imagine Vellman or suchlike produce a kit that will allow minute adjustment.

[Clive59]

I made one for my other Elite. Used an old processor board from a project and modified it to do the 10V supply, and also replaced the otter switch with a solid state version, sensor mounted inside the otter housing. worked a treat. Had plans to do a board for this and measure fuel flow, and whatever else I dreamed up, and interface to a touch screen. Probably easier to do bluetooth, and an app for the phone. Too many things to do...

[soldave]

Rather successful drive today; success being that I made it to and from my destination without any issues. Only thing I've noticed is that within 30 seconds of the engine being turned off the headlights are starting to pop up, and around a minute after that both are fully up. My guess is that something in the piping has contracted in the cold and left me with a leak, but it must be a pretty big one. Am away this coming week so it'll have to be something I take a look at next weekend onwards.

Only other thing I noticed is a bit of a judder on braking above 50. The brake discs are good so I'm going to have to look further. Will rebuilt the calipers over Christmas, and will make sure the wheel bearings are in good shape too.

[soldave]

New caliper seals and front wheel bearings purchased - these will go in over the winter break and so will hopefully stop the brake judder at speed. I've probably overpacked the bearings with grease previously so will replace to be on the safe side. Get the feeling one of the threads on the stub axle might not be in perfect shape but we'll have a look when it comes apart.

Took a look at the vacuum system over the weekend too and did some troubleshooting. What I'd got is the following arrangement:

I'd mistakenly assumed that the two lines which feed right and left after they T off eventually go to each side headlamp pod. After some taking apart of things, I actually found that the right hand hose (looking at the diagram) actually goes to a second vacuum pod on the passenger side which I then believes feeds into the heating system for something or another. The hose going off left goes to the driver's headlight and then across from that to the passenger one. When I removed the right-hand vacuum hose from the system and ran direct to headlights, they closed quicker and stayed closed. So I guess there's a leak either at the passenger side vacuum pod or further downstream of that going towards the heater. I'm removed the single check valve and am now running two after the manifold hose T's off so should have headlights which stay down for a while now. The heater/vacuum troubleshooting can wait a little.

Going to give the car a little test in just over a week's time and take it over the Pennines to Manchester. Heading over there very early morning for an appointment I can't be later for, so fingers will be crossed for an uneventful trip across the hills!

[soldave]

An evening drive into Leeds, and pleasantly not a single issue with the Lotus (I know - am setting myself up for a fall here!). I'm not a narcissist by any means, but it does give me a smile and some pride when I'm stopped at the lights, people pass and look, with a couple commenting "Nice car".

 

One light was starting to open after a couple of hours of engine off, but that's a continuing battle I have with my car.

A bigger test next weekend in the form of an early morning trip over the Pennines for an appointment I can't miss. Bring it on!

[soldave]

First post of the new year, and the car has been performing very well in recent times. Have driven it through winter when the weather has been nice and not had any problems. Also finally got a new pair of number plates, which look so much better than the old ones.

Took the front hubs and calipers off this past weekend, as the calipers need new seals and I had new bearings for the hubs. While neither of the inner bearings were stuck on the axle hub, both needed a drift to separate them from the outer races. Am thinking the new bearings will smoothen things up nicely.

The calipers weren't in outstanding condition to be honest. On one caliper we managed to get all pistons out, although the larger piston took a hell of an effort to get out due to some corrosion keeping it stuck. On the other caliper we got the larger piston out but the two smaller ones just don't want to budge. I think looking at them, that I'm gonna just call SJS - hopefully they'll have a new pair I can just exchange mine for. Am hoping their exchange units come with pistons already or will have to fork out for them too.

On the plus side, my brakes should be much improved in the next few weeks, as I get ready for MOT at the end of March.

[mikeeech]

Out of interest how did you get the rear number plate on? the bumper bolts on to the body with holes behind the number plate. When I brought my car the rear number plate was stuck on but I have gone for raised letters like yours but am wondering how to get the screws in...

 

[soldave]

1 hour ago, mikeeech said:

Out of interest how did you get the rear number plate on? the bumper bolts on to the body with holes behind the number plate. When I brought my car the rear number plate was stuck on but I have gone for raised letters like yours but am wondering how to get the screws in...

 

My previous number plate was screwed on. So for this one I just drilled holes in the plate, used new screws and it went straight into place and seems to be solid. Might be worth using adhesive too but seems fine for now.

[mikeeech]

8 hours ago, soldave said:

My previous number plate was screwed on. So for this one I just drilled holes in the plate, used new screws and it went straight into place and seems to be solid. Might be worth using adhesive too but seems fine for now.

and you could get the yellow caps for the screws?

[soldave]

1 minute ago, mikeeech said:

and you could get the yellow caps for the screws?

eBay is your friend :-)

[Farmer Bob]

SJS exchanged my calipers and the old ones were a pile of corrosion, I'm sure you will be fine. (As long as time is on your side.)

Robert

[soldave]

They've said they have none in stock but should be able to turn mine around in about 2 weeks, which is fine with me.

Might also take the opportunity to buy a pair of the 264mm brake discs to replace the current 245mm ones, and I'll get a new set of OEM pads too. The 245mm ones have worked perfectly fine with me, but I know having a little pad above the brake disc probably isn't best in the long run.

The only thing I'll try to get hold of if SJS have them is the short copper pipe between caliper and brake hose. Hoping that with all that the brakes will feel a whole bunch better come MOT time.

[soldave]

Pretty successful weekend (minus taking a big chunk out of my thumb with a cheese grater, but that's beside the point). Received my rebuilt calipers, 264mm discs, a new set of pads, and brake calipers pipe connectors in one big batch.

The 264mm discs look so much better than the 245mm ones, and are much better than having the brake pads hanging over the ends of the discs. They're quite a bit more expensive than the discs, but still not badly priced in absolute terms.

The calipers have come back looking really nice, painted and with new pistons & seals. I think it's almost the first time that the pads have just dropped into the caliper slots, and not had to be hammered in past pistons that don't retract all the way! Got new sets of bearings in the hubs too, so once I've got a new pair of caliper to brake hose pipes made up, I'll be back on the road, and the front end should be riding and stopping better than it's done for a long time.

 

[silverfrost]

Nice work Dave 

[soldave]

Well I had an awful weekend of working on the car and DIY in general. Got new brake pipes made up and then managed to strip threads on both the male nuts. Have ordered new pipe, fittings and flange kit and will try again once they come in. No damage to the calipers I don't think (fortunately) as the old fittings seem to screw in fine. Just a bad weekend all in all.

On the plus side, I was lucky enough today to find and exchange messages with the guy who owned my Eclat, some 25 years ago. He sunk a small fortune into the car at the time to give it a full nuts & bolts rebuild on a galvanised chassis, and resprayed it the yellow colour it is now. Knows a huge amount about the Eclats and Elites after owning a few of them, and was able to learn a few things in just a couple of messages.

Will hopefully have the chance to cross paths with him at a show this year and show him the car as it stands now.

[silverfrost]

Good news Dave regarding the previous owner, bad news on the stripped threads,  Hope you get he brakes sorted soon 

[soldave]

Well, the Eclat is back together. Got myself a flaring kit today and after a bit of practice came up with a few reasonable flares on a new piece of pipe, got some new fittings and tightened it all up. Bled the brakes and tidied up. The car made a... well for want of a better word... queef sound from the front passenger side after turning the engine off, but I took the wheel off and there was no trace of any fluid from the pipes I'd reconnected. I whaled on the brake pedal a few more times and got no other sounds so might have just been a tiny bit of air working through the system.

Not driven on the street yet as I need to renew my insurance, but have been up and down the drive and it stopped me at least! Pedal feels so different though to how it was, and my paranoia and lack of confidence in my skills makes me wonder if I've done everything right. First drive is going to be very early in the morning with no traffic around so I can make sure I can stop and the brakes work OK.

[oilmagnet477]

Have you got a cat?

In all seriousness, if the pedal is hard then shouldn't be a problem - might be worth just re-bleeding the car just to make double sure. Air in the brakes is not good and may well take time to work through.

Do you use an easibleed kit or are you doing it with a kind assistant doing the pumping (as the actress..........)!

One advantage of a pressure system is that it is easier to tell if the pressure is dropping even if the bleed screws are done up. That way you will be able to ensure your handy work is as good as I'm sure it is.

Keep going - I know how frustrating each little delay is - trying to get my cut off valve back in situ - with the gearbox in place. laying on my back and trying to make new holes the correct size for fixings is a nightmare! Now waiting for some stubby drill bits........

[soldave]

1 minute ago, oilmagnet477 said:

Have you got a cat?

In all seriousness, if the pedal is hard then shouldn't be a problem - might be worth just re-bleeding the car just to make double sure. Air in the brakes is not good and may well take time to work through.

Do you use an easibleed kit or are you doing it with a kind assistant doing the pumping (as the actress..........)!

My wife was doing the old "double pump, then hold" technique while I was working the nipples. A sentence I never thought I'd say!

I might do a very gentle drive and then come back and re-bleed to make sure all air is out of the system.

[Steve V8]

I don't know how old your ride is Dave, but I find that the old "double pump" should only be carried on a monthly basis, due to the relief of pressure in the system you may find you have a soft pedal. Trying to pump it again after such a short time is futile, you may have to leave it for a while, but don't worry it will stiffen up on its own when you least expect it. 

One final peice of advice, make sure the pipe has been pushed all the way home before touching the nipple, or you'll end up with fluid all over the place.

[soldave]

Got insurance today, so first light tomorrow I'm going to head out on a gentle drive. My wild guess (given that I've not driven an Eclat with new/fully working caliper pistons) is that there's still a little bit of air in the brakes. I'll try a few gentle brakes and then try slamming on a couple of times and see what happens. In order of preference:

1. Wheels lock up, proving that brakes are working as intended.
2. Car slows, but brakes don't seem to bite. Probably more bleeding required.
3. One of the brake pipes I've fitted gives way. I keep going at current speed. Panic. Death. No more Eclat updates.