New Mini Project

[simonbuk]

Not much of a time saving and possible risk.

I'm going to want to replace all the trim bits at the same but don't think I can get all those parts quickly.

[Saltire]

The piece of trim backwards of the door handle didn't want to budge. I had to pry it off gently but didn't want to shift, I could see there was no clip/fastening behind it. Had to keep trying to get it off - 'SNAP !!' . Bloody thing has shattered into 3 pieces. It was simply wedged in place, glue ain't going to fix that if I have to press it back in place. Fibreglass the back of it ?

IMG_20240514_111119366_HDR~4.jpg

I have an S2 as well, and one of my trim pieces was also broken. I removed the “leather” cover and foam backing, rebuilt with fibreglass and resin (3-4 layers from memory), a new piece of thin EPDM padding, and refit the leather.

On closer examination, I discovered (too late) on mine that the trim piece is designed to slide backwards and then outwards to release it; there’s a retaining scrivet attached to the door panel. I wish I’d known that beforehand

[Tuga2112]

..... and at that point there is nowt else holding the window in the car, so I can't see that it will save much time, and may lead to strain and breakage as you try to fix the broken bits.

your porbably right
HOWEVER ~
in my experience from removing windows from m100s.. at least 8 times if not more is that removing is easy, re-installing the glass is the most challening part of the job. somehow it never really wants to go in

[dapinky]

Joao, you are right in that getting it back in can be awkward - the biggest issue I found was the rubber water seal thing bending down into the door, so i now use a thin sheet of aluminium to guide the glass past the rubber and it is far easier.

[simonbuk]

Well I've just ordered all the bits I need so I'll pull it out together and do it in one go - hopefully.

[simonbuk]

Just heading off to buy an off road bike inner tube - I guess you know what I'm about to do

Having repaired the boost gauge it appears I'm not getting over 0.5 boost and doesn't seem to perform to it's best.

Not sure if I've got a leak somewhere so going to check that shortly.

I have a noise that I don't know if it's a whistle or a very high pitched whine.

If it's a bearing whine - any favourites ? It's in time with engines revs so could be a bearing, but then if it's a whistle would be in time with engine revs too ?

[Tuga2112]

Just heading off to buy an off road bike inner tube - I guess you know what I'm about to do

please enligthen me. im curious.
probably unrelated but that statement made me think of a potential DIY b pillar and roof seals approach.. i know JamieN does a good job on that front. but he wasn't very keen on discussing B Pillars..

Having repaired the boost gauge it appears I'm not getting over 0.5 boost and doesn't seem to perform to it's best.
Not sure if I've got a leak somewhere so going to check that shortly.

vacum leaks and turbo wastegate wiggle are the things i would start looking for.

I have a noise that I don't know if it's a whistle or a very high pitched whine.
If it's a bearing whine - any favourites ? It's in time with engines revs so could be a bearing, but then if it's a whistle would be in time with engine revs too ?

well. as far as bearings. id be listening if it comes from front or back. im thinking of alternator VS PAS Pump. it could be a belt as well. Ive seen a video of someone using deodorant stick to make it go away temporarily.
(assuming that works) although i wouldn't advice it as a "fix" i think as a diagnosis step its probably rather practical ?

[simonbuk]

Just heading off to buy an off road bike inner tube - I guess you know what I'm about to do

please enligthen me. im curious.

From a tip on here -

Buy a bike inner tube, cut it in half, tie a knot at one end, put the other end over the turbo intake, pressurise with a hand pump/foot pump/electric pump. Listen for leaks.

Well it wasn't overly conclusive - couldn't hear anything obvious but then I've only got a small hand pump currently. If I got pressure in the tube so it became fairly rigid and then took the pump off and put the tyre valve back on, it would last a short while then deflated a little. I guess any leak is a leak, and it will be exasperated under more pressure.

Need to get a better pump I think and find my ElanScan tool.........

[Fredjohn]

When exactly does the whistle/whining occur?
If it's on lift-off, and only then, you could well have dump valve fitted. Google it to find out what that is, too complicated to explain easily here!

[simonbuk]

Under load and increases with revs.....

[simonbuk]

Well thought i'd get stuck into those jobs i knew i could complete in one day.
Complete waste of time........

Thought i'd tackle the rebuild of the drivers door with trim fittings. Knew something was up as soon as i got the door trim off (hooray ), white C clip was already broken , not just broken but broken at the C clip end so basically holding the main slider in place with no way of pulling it out,- and the butterfly was fitted the wrong way around . Utter PITA to undo and broke the main slider in the process. Now i didn't want any delays so i had ordered a few parts just in case so had a new main slider. Now i have to work out how to get the cables in there - i assume you have to loosen other things to get some slack or something ? And how do you get the new main slider in there ? Looks like you can't get it in from the top so must slide in from the bottom ? If so you must remove the main guide ?

Screws holding the outer weather strip completely rusty and knackered so didn't get that off.

One end slider completely missing, the rest really gunked up.

I found an old For Sale advert that was 3 years old mentioning a dodgey drivers window, clearly somebody had been in there before (hence the glass deposits) and fudged things up and left them.

I guess nothing knew for most us and just annoying and not completed today.

Next thing removal of remains of rubber lip spoiler - well i got all the old screws out with a pair of pincer pliers , so quite pleased with that (apart from laying in the gravel of a garage compound).
I had removed the one on my other car that wasn't that old so came off easily. Bugger me sideways - what a surprise to find that the holes aren't the same - just wrong and as the car was on the ground couldn't start to drill new holes. Bugger, bugger, bugger. How does that happen ??

I wanted to get the airbox out as the piece of metal bracket is just rusty and nasty looking. Nuts seized and couldn't get them out.

Christ i hate working on these cars. The only way i can see making it at any way an enjoyable hobby is if you have a heated, lit, powered double garage complete with hoist, full set of tools, and a hotline to a Lotus M100 garage/guru.



Think this has now become a summer car as i'm going to put the door card back on and drive around without the window in place.

[Tuga2112]

Christ i hate working on these cars. The only way i can see making it at any way an enjoyable hobby is if you have a heated, lit, powered double garage complete with hoist, full set of tools, and a hotline to a Lotus M100 garage/guru.

It's funny you describe that, because over the years that's what I ended up investing in.
I did start off working on the driveway as well. And as I realised how committed to the hobby I was, I just kept spending money on improving my working conditions.

My garage is not double, but certainly large enough to move about easily with the m100 inside, there's a mid rise scissor lift, and although not heated as the installation per se, I have a diesel heater which is used on the colder days of the year.

All the money I saved on garage bills by DIY with the assistance of the people of this forum was reinvested in the tools, and building of the garage itself.

When I bought my second house, it was very difficult to find a suitable place at the 120k budget I was willing to commit, and certainly this neighbourhood is not the most attractive, but it was suitable to build the garage at the back and with enough room to drive the car to the back in between houses.

This all goes to say, you can get those working conditions for your hobby despite the fact your salary being below the national average. (Although it took 6 years before the garage materialize and thanks to COVID the lift investment was delayed by an extra 2 years)

Working outside ain't pleasant 99% of the time, I have been using carpets that I got from people doing house renovations to make my life less miserable, just stood at the local tip and asked people for their trash. One isn't enough, you probably need 3 layers to make it reasonably comfortable.

The second step is to invest in a good quality high rise jacking trolley that has a low enough starting point to work on the m100. They cost 3-4 more than the halfrauds "standard" thing, but I assure you the time saving is worth the investment. Because these things will bring the car a lot higher and after you experience the extra 5cm clearance you will regret not buying that trolley jack on the same day you bought the car. (I know I did)

I'm gonna stop now, as far as working conditions, I have way too much to say.

As far as your technical difficulties, the only trouble you have that I have overcome is the weatherstrips rusted screws.
In my case the Dremel with a cut off wheel was used to make a slot on the heads so that a flathead can undo them.

If the flathead fails, you just use the dremmel to grind the screw head,
After removing the strip you can have another go at removing using vice grips
If that also fails you can grind them flat, centre punch and buy long HSS drill bits to redrill the holes,

Be very careful if you need to drill because on the other side of that metal strip there's a small air pocket and then it's the fibreglass of the body, you definitely don't want to damage that.

I may have suggestions for the other troubles but this is getting very tedious to write on the phone now.

Best of luck

[Fredjohn]

Simon
Re the windows. Have you seen the excellent well publicised you tube videos of the window etc removal?

Just search in you tube as there are several videos on the topic.

[simonbuk]

Simon
Re the windows. Have you seen the excellent well publicised you tube videos of the window etc removal?

Just search in you tube as there are several videos on the topic.

Yes, but couldn't see anything in them about the central slider - nobody seems to have removed that.

[simonbuk]

Christ i hate working on these cars. The only way i can see making it at any way an enjoyable hobby is if you have a heated, lit, powered double garage complete with hoist, full set of tools, and a hotline to a Lotus M100 garage/guru.

Lots of good stuff.....

Best of luck

Thanks - will get there ! Not in the best health mentally so struggling completing any tasks at the moment. So I get defeated quite comprehensively quite quickly !!

My fortunes may have changed as my new Dremel style device has arrived so I can start cutting !!

And I agree on the working conditions - I may move house from south to north in the next couple of years. So will be looking for a one bedroom house with quadruple garage

[TorqueHorse]

Yes, but couldn't see anything in them about the central slider - nobody seems to have removed that.

Hey Simon, you put the new slider in from the top. You have to have the motor assembly off the car to do it. It needs lots of grease and then some rubber mallet tapping to get it over the stop (making sure it is aligned with the "L" of the channel edge as best you can, as you go).
I just did mine a couple weeks ago.

And when you are pulling the cable back into place in the slider, the photo shows how I started it. Then I was able to use a plastic trim fitter's wedge to persuade the cable up over the nylon spinner. This thread has more complete tips about doing the whole job. It was a real bear, and you won't believe there is enough cable to actually do it, but you'll get it there in the end.
Take heart!
-m

[simonbuk]

Hey thanks for this !

Didn't think it would go in from the top be ause of the stop piece by the looks of it so just assumed it must be from the bottom. Oh well out it all comes !!

Cheers

[simonbuk]

Well popped back to the car in a better fame of mind - thought if i complete one task then anything else would be a bonus !
Managed to get the old weather door seal off (enjoyably brute force worked the best) and the old screws came out with some pliers.
Unfortunatley the new weather seal metal strip from SJs didn't match up with the holes well, maybe half did.

Decided it was best to remove all the guides as they were very sticky with all the old hardened grease, and the motor came out to.

Looking at all the window fittings something didn't look quite right , ALL the rollers were missing. And then as i cleaned the 'bits' that unscrewed from the window it again looked odd.

Watching Tobys excellent Elan Restoration Series videos i was very confused as to what i had !!

I think the one on the left is original and the shorter version of what is needed. I think the two on the right are imposters !! They don't even fit through the glass

I've ordered loads of new bits, screws, rivets, clips, seals, fluffy bits, etc, etc, I think i'm up to about 250 quid on parts from SJs just to stop the door/window rattling !!

Anyway, it was good weather on Sunday so took it out for a blat and enjoyed a good drive. Still under performing a bit i think but its sound.

[simonbuk]

Oh - and does this really need FOUR spaces on it ?! Surely a larger bracket on it would have been better with the option of one or two spaces maybe ??!!

[simonbuk]

Oh - and battling to get all this crud off from behind the front number plate. God knows what has been put on here , there is 3/4 layers of various stuff on here - some has already been taken off. And the HUGE blob of blue tack had already been removed