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Trunnion 74

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Looks good Roland !

I use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar/water to soak any rusted parts. Totally takes off the rust without any effort (Just time.) and doesn't hurt the metal.

One thing I did, while prepping the body for paint, was to totally strip all the paint down to the gell coat. In places like the door jams ( around the door hinges) where it is more difficult to get at every inch of body paint but still will be exposed (to the eye), I sand blasted the paint off. This does two things. Removes the paint easily and puts a tooth on the body for a perfect surface for the paint to adhere to. 

This is also a great time to fix all of the stress cracks in the fiberglass where parts are under a lot of stress like around the door handles. Here. I sanded blasted the interior glass door skin and added more fiberglass in this area to try and prevent them from cracking again. 

It was interesting to find areas where the glass body simple was very thinly glassed. Lotus had developed new process in making the bodies and some of the first examples lacked proper thickness, at least that was the case for my early example. As well my body was anything but smooth, flat and straight simply because they hadn't got the molds finished very well just yet. 

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On 02/12/2016 at 22:19, cbceclat said:

The springs have been a pig to do as none of my compressors will fit, I might adjust one set that I have, what do other lotus people use? I have new springs to replace them.

 

i modified a set of the horseshoe type compressors, i just cut the top "horseshoe" down so that it fit inside the chassis strut where the spring is nestled.   was looking at the contact points etc for where the spring sits as i was concerned that i may have compromised the strength of the compressor, but it it looked to be safe enough to me...  i ratchet strapped the spring to the chassis to be sure.

Edited by Mark Wainwright
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1 hour ago, Mark Wainwright said:

i modified a set of the horseshoe type compressors, i just cut the top "horseshoe" down so that it fit inside the chassis strut where the spring is nestled.   was looking at the contact points etc for where the spring sits as i was concerned that i may have compromised the strength of the compressor, but it it looked to be safe enough to me...  i ratchet strapped the spring to the chassis to be sure.

Thank you for the reply, this was the conclusion I came to, I will just have to be careful. My old springs are worn out. I have ones to replace them with but like everything I do on the car, there seems to be a knack to each job I am doing. I feel like I am working on one of my motorbikes more than a car all of the time. Thats is why Lotus is one of the best. (to me, bikes are more race engineered than cars, like our FZR).

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3 hours ago, Elite 4.9 said:

Looks good Roland !

I use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar/water to soak any rusted parts. Totally takes off the rust without any effort (Just time.) and doesn't hurt the metal.

One thing I did, while prepping the body for paint, was to totally strip all the paint down to the gell coat. In places like the door jams ( around the door hinges) where it is more difficult to get at every inch of body paint but still will be exposed (to the eye), I sand blasted the paint off. This does two things. Removes the paint easily and puts a tooth on the body for a perfect surface for the paint to adhere to. 

This is also a great time to fix all of the stress cracks in the fiberglass where parts are under a lot of stress like around the door handles. Here. I sanded blasted the interior glass door skin and added more fiberglass in this area to try and prevent them from cracking again. 

It was interesting to find areas where the glass body simple was very thinly glassed. Lotus had developed new process in making the bodies and some of the first examples lacked proper thickness, at least that was the case for my early example. As well my body was anything but smooth, flat and straight simply because they hadn't got the molds finished very well just yet. 

Have I got this right?

 

I have an off shore power boat ( cigarette boat) was made a bit later than when Mr Chapman was involved with boats (POWLES one of my favourites). I think the gell coat is thin because it does not flex and is used because the fibre glass is not water proof, however the fibre glass does flex, a bit like a hard boiled egg. I think when my boat was made, the mould was laid on it's side and the gell coat was sprayed on, then the resin applied and then a matted carpet with strands the size of my fingures put on followed by more layers of resin and fibre glass.This technique was being developed at the time into different moulds and injections and influenced the production at Lotus. 

 

(p.s.LOL don't anyone get exited, I am not super rich, just a bloke who enjoys giving worn out stuff a new lease of life and ending up with a valuable asset. LOL)

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On 12/3/2016 at 15:26, Trunnion 74 said:

 

 

Door off

_DSC0070.jpg

Got some damage to repair in top corner.  It was already liike this before I took it off.

 

 

it look as though your doors have been off before. I cut my doors like this in order to get the window frames out. apparently to get the frame out without doing this, the glass comes out of the frame and sits in the door, which then allows the frame to be compressed into the recess in the door...

 

 

PS i used the trick with vinegar however I left my throttle strap (the one that secures to the air defector behind the radiator) in vinegar for a couple of weeks and there was nothing left. 

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6 hours ago, Elite 4.9 said:

Looks good Roland !

Thanks Richard. 

Interesting that you sand blasted your body.  I was advised against it as being potentially too agressive, something to look at again when doing the body work.  My thoughts regarding re-enforcement are the same, every area will get looked at.  The vinegar trick sounds a nice cheap solution.

 

 

2 hours ago, cbceclat said:

I have an off shore power boat

Charles, I was once told that, if you want to know how to use fibre glass, ask a man with a boat!  lol

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I was advised that soda blasting is much less agressive and is much less likely to damage the gelcoat, but still gets the paint layers off nicely. Anybody done this?

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You are probably right Clive, Soda is no doubt finer and easier on the gel coat and with it doing damage is probably more easily prevented and it is up to the operator to not get too carried away. There are other media that also work like walnut shells which is used a lot on aluminum for the same reason.

All I wanted was the old paint gone and a roughed up surface so the paint would stick. Only used it, very lightly and carefully, in areas I had a hard time getting a piece of sand paper into. Gel coats are thin and are only there to prevent telescoping of the fiberglass strands from coming through (visually ) after the paint dries.

If you have to add fiberglass to the outside surface, you either have to coat it again with the gell coat, or use another product that does the same thing and if you don't get it absolutely flat, you will probably sand off the gel coat to some degree thus creating a problem for yourself. 

I used a product called duraglass which works just like bondo. But regular bondo doesn't work well here. 

http://uschem.com/index.cfm?page=productDetail&id=52

This stuff is great and is a form of ultra abondo with actual fiberglass strands in the mix. It hardens like cement so one has to be careful to form down quickly, the final shape, as it is very difficult to sand. I apply the duraglass and before it hardens completely, I use a cheese grader, for auto body work, to get it very close to the smooth surface desired. You have around 20 minutes to work the stuff or else. lol 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321706401953?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

Then some regular bondo is applied on top of that for the final finish before primer is applied.

Not sure if gel coat is water proof. Seems like it should be Charles. It is thin but my understanding is they use it mainly, as it makes for a hard, smooth surface which is excellent for final painted surface

Fiberglass if, done right, should be water proof, if not too thin, as the reisin turns into a solid. But if not done correctly could give problems just like the early Elites where, in places there simply was very little on my car. One could easily push the body in with little effort and was anything but solid.

 

 

Sounds to me like there wasn't much left of the throttle strap to begin with. I have used vinegar on many items and it is very good for cast iron engine blocks, especially the old Ford flatheads as the intake sections are internal and one simply can not get in there with other tools very well. Never seen it harm cast iron though even when left to soak for weeks at a time.

11 hours ago, mikeeech said:

PS i used the trick with vinegar however I left my throttle strap (the one that secures to the air defector behind the radiator) in vinegar for a couple of weeks and there was nothing left

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  • 1 month later...

I'm back!

What do I have to report?  I am now the official keeper as the log book has arrived .  Also both the engine and chassis numbers on the log book match the ones one the car which is good.

 Had a bit of luck on fleabay

lotas elite eclat original workshop book manual

Winning bid £5.50

Postage £5

As you can imagine, over the moon!  And yes, that was how it was described.

Back to the car.

First picture is what she looks like at the moment, a bit sad but almost ready for body off.  I decided to take bumber off and this is what I found in the n/s headlight cowel (second pic) totally shot.    The actuater had a piece of plastic,bag? between it an the body, plastic survived better! (third pic)    Fourth pic is o/s and seems to have survived better, althogh I have a hole in body to fix

Finally, can anyone identify the make of my door mirror.  From what I have read in the parts interchange, late S1s had Fairway taxi ones, is that what this is?? As my car is very early I'm not sure it's one of those.

Next time I hope to be able to report seperation, then we get a good look at the running gear.

 

_DSC0107.jpg

 

_DSC0102.jpg

 

_DSC0106.jpg

 

_DSC0110.jpg

 

_DSC0111.jpg

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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What a project! you've certainly got your work cut out but it probably looks worse than it is... I will read this thread with interest as you go on. The wing mirrors on the late S1 were certainly fairway taxi items however these were electric. I have these electric wing mirrors on mine and while the fairway taxi provides the bulk of the wing mirror, the mounting is different - chrome on the lotus and the fairway taxi base will cause the mirror to mount differently.

Your wing mirror actually looks more similar to the wing mirrors fitted to the reliant scimitar and a whole host of other cars of a similar age. not sure of the make though...

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Yes indeed, what a project, but once she is all stripped out and cleaned/new bits start going back on she will look much better for it,  This will make great  thread to follow, :thumbup:

A

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Thank you both. I'm certainly learning a lot about lotus construction and ways of doing things. My aim is to try and keep the updates fairly regular. Hpoefully some of them will be of use to others. 

Forgot to mention above, that when i was removing body bolts 2 at front,2 in engine bay 6 along trans tunnel , 4??? In boot rear bulkhead and two in boot floor recesses, i make that sixteen. On the rear bulkhead there are two lower down ,one is battery earth point, but there are two higher up directly above them, or do the hold something else in place?

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17 minutes ago, oilmagnet477 said:

Sorry if I'm being thick - do you mean the bolts for the fuel tank or are we talking a different rear panel?

 

Doh! No it's me being thick. Of course, the upper ones are the holes for the fuel tank bolts. As my kids would say, that was a Dad moment.

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Yes, in hindsight  you need to remove the engine first, if not take off the bottom cam cover, remove the engine mount, exhaust and cock the engine over to one side and you will just get it past the inner wing as you raise the body! 

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  • Gold FFM

Looking good Robert, well done so far. I have never seen that type of fuse box on a Lotus before, or any other classic for that matter.

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Thanks for the info Barry.  I thought it looked a bit "industrial"

 

 

HOUSTON, WE HAVE SEPERATION!!

Someone did comment that it looked like I was going very fast and stopped suddenly. :lol:

_DSC0121.JPG  _DSC0122.JPG

 

Front suspension

_DSC0129.JPG_DSC0128.JPG

 

I have a Lotus Gearbox. And the one below it is, according to the paperwork I have, the part number for the galv chassis

_DSC0131.JPG _DSC0132.JPG

 

Rear Suspension

_DSC0138.JPG_DSC0137.JPG

 

5632 stamped on the back of the cylinder head, corresponds with the last 4 digits on the engine.

_DSC0139.JPG _DSC0144.JPG

 

The verdict. 

  The galv chassis is all good, covered in a tacky wax, but good.  All the suspension components have surface rust but nothing else.  All the work that was carried out in 1994 has stood the test of time, everything is salvageable. Really pleased it's in such good nick, :thumbsup:

What now?  Transfer chassis back to my home and strip down. Get bits powder coated, wheels sorted, check all bushes/seals etc. Should keep me busy.

 

Can anyone answer these questions?

Is the gearlever supposed to sit in a saddle like this  s-l200.jpg  ?   I'm thinking it should.  The gearbox didn't have one

Where-abouts on the gearbox and diff are their respective numbers?

Might be a while before I can do another update, unless of course, something interesting comes up from the DVLA regarding previous history ;)

 

Roland

Edited by Trunnion 74
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Roland,  great work and really pleased she is in fine fettle chassis and suspension wise :thumbup:  Be under no illusion that that suspension will strip down easily though only showing surface rust,  be prepaired for cut knuckles and veins popping out of your neck as some of those nuts and bolts remove to move under force. :P

Looking forward to more updates on this,  still do not know why i love seeing lotus bodies sperated from the chassis in pictures so much .! :sofa:

A

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it's really satisfying to separate the chassis and body. you can have a really good look at both and see exactly what work needs doing. Everything is really too!:thumbup:

Your at the start of a long road. Great job so far. keep us updated.

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8 hours ago, silverfrost said:

Roland,  great work and really pleased she is in fine fettle chassis and suspension wise :thumbup:  Be under no illusion that that suspension will strip down easily though only showing surface rust,  be prepaired for cut knuckles and veins popping out of your neck as some of those nuts and bolts remove to move under force. :P

Looking forward to more updates on this,  still do not know why i love seeing lotus bodies sperated from the chassis in pictures so much .! :sofa:

Best stock up on PlusGas then :lol:

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