XIL - A Rolling Project

[maz_r]

Can anyone spot the change for a (hopefully) future modification?

Oh oh oh - me me me!

(OK - I am cheating 'cos I think you already told me, so I won't give the game away.....)

[Rice crispy]

unleaded only on fuel gauge ? also could i have a copy of the Toad installation instructions as I have the same alarm and have a boot release already fitted so I could modify mine or more likely get someone who knows what they are doing to do it my e-mail if you prefer is david dot lansley at bt dot com

Cheers
David

[cliff]

Mail sent.

[Rice crispy]

Received many thanks will have a look to see if i could complete myself

[cliff]

Need to fit new grills so it's bumper off time.

Quite easy really, 4 nuts at the crash structure, 2 height adjustment brackets and 2 13mm bolts at each cooler duct.

New grills shaped and fastened with sealant, the centre one is original Lotus so I left it in place. At the same time I fitted a new universal Rhino Lip as mentioned by Novacaine in his thread. This is held on with fir tree fasteners, they were supplied but I had to go up a size to fit the existing holes.

Bumper back on and looking good.

New mats arrived as well, they are a bit red in the picture but look better in reality and are a great fit.

Hood cleaned and re-proofed by MAC Auto Valeting in Scunthorpe, they did a great job and as it turned out, very timely.

Drove to Frankfurt on Sunday through some horrendous weather, storms coming down the A1, torrential rain trying to get through the Blackwall tunnel but the hood kept me dry. A few drips here and there but on the whole, pretty good.

XIL drove beautifully, the only problem I had was when one of the headlight pivot bolts decided it wanted to stay in England. One tywrap later and good for another 350 miles. Now replaced with an M6 x 16 cap screw.

Lots of cruising around with the top down, this is on the Rhein ferry from Nierstein with a boot full of wine from my favourite Weingut (Vinyard).

Back to work in Belgium tomorrow so a nice blast up the autobahn to look forward to.

[Rice crispy]

Looking excellent

[cliff]

Had a valuation done by Club Lotus for the insurance company, several k more than I expected. Cost another £19 for the additional but as this is agreed value, money well spent.

Couple of pics of some of my favourite scenery - the vineyards around the Nierstein and Oppenheim on the Rhein about 15 minutes drive from where my son goes to school. I used to live in the white apartment block next door to the vineyard - terrible place to live.

These pictures really show how good Chris P's pods look. I was thinking about LED's but the older Elise lights have grown on me, they are going to stay.

[HJ2]

Very very nice indeed!

[cliff]

Time for an update,

I have been using the Elan as my daily driver in Europe for the last three months. She has taken everything in her stride including the monthly trips from Tongeren in Belgium to Gross Gerau (near Frankfurt). This is 200 miles of motorway with lots of unrestricted sections, noisy but fun.

Apart from ripping off the front lip in a multi storey car park, the only problem has been the weather.

Had some sun on Tuesday so had a run out.

The E25 on the way to.

I have never been Belgium's biggest fan but the scenery and the area around Spa is beautiful, I did over 100 miles just cruising around.

There are some public driving days coming up and I am seriously tempted.

http://www.spa-francorchamps.be/en/trac ... rience.php

However she has started using a bit of water and there are some oily deposits in the water bottle, nothing on the oil filler cap yet but I have a feeling that HGF is not far away.

At 20 miles short of 160K, I don't think that is unreasonable, the cam belt is due next month as well, so I think the winter project will be an engine rebuild. I may be a bit odd but I am actually looking forward to doing it.

[cliff]

Just before leaving Belgium for the UK, my RH headlamp motor failed so both lights manually raised.

A pleasant drive to Rotterdam, the ferry to Hull and a pre-booked MoT. I was a bit apprehensive but the tester told me that as long as the lights were in the up position and were working, he could not fail it for that. Good to know.

An advisory on the rear wheel bearings, a pass and compliments on the car from the tester and the sales staff.

For the not so good news, belts are due, there is a lot of white smoke especially when cold, and there the 3rd gear synchro is on its way out. So the plan for the next couple of months is:

Engine out, strip and rebuild
Gearbox overhaul & replace worn synchro
Replace clutch
Replace/re-condition injectors
Steering pump & rack re-condition
AC compressor re-condition
Starter motor re-condition
Replace idle control valve (sticky)
Inspect and repair wiring loom and conduits
Replace vacuum hoses
Repair headlight motors

Anything else I can think of or find along the way, there is sure to be some project creep.

[HJ2]

Good job!

Good to see not just tinkering but also the joy of driving the Elan!
Give me a call when you'll pas Rotterdam! Always welcome for a drink or dinner.

(Whohee! 2.500 posts!)

[cliff]

There is an Elan under here somewhere.

Bonnet off and light pods out. Not needed for engine removal but one of my motors has gone so might as well tidy up everything and replace the broken captive nuts so I can finally adjust the pod gaps.

Started disconnecting.

There is another switch near the clutch cable mounting, shorted out with a green cable. Anyone know what it is for?

[cliff]

Beware project creep.

Corrosion.

Split crimp on the ac pipe.

The engine should have been out and stripped but having flu put a stop to that. Just the mounts to go when I get back next month though.

On the plus side if anyone in N.Lincolnshire or N. Yorkshire need to borrow an engine crane, drop me a pm.

[cliff]

Finally out.

Quite straight forward except for the rear mount. There is very little information about this type either in the service manual or on LEC.

5 Bolts secure this thing to the engine/gearbox. The forward 2 are 19mm bolts which go into the engine, with a breaker bar and 3 12" extensions they can be reached from the RH wheel arch. The center bolt is 17mm and goes into the gearbox, again, reached from the RH wheel arch. The rear 2 are 17mm bolts with a 17mm nut on the lower and 16mm nut on the upper. The lower bolt can be reached from the RH wheel arch and can be removed using a ground down 17mm ring spanner. A spanner on the 17mm bolt and the upper nut can be removed from the LH wheel arch. In hindsight, I would have removed these first but you live and learn.

Gearbox off.

The clutch plate is quite worn and it would have been false economy not to replace it. There are also some odd wear marks, although I have not had any problems with the clutch, only worn synchromesh into third.

Usual dirt and corrosion, this will all be sorted along with replacing AC and oil hoses, treating the rust, painting etc, the usual project creep.

During the removal, I managed to crush the jackshaft flange. I will try to dress it out but I do have a spare if I need it.

[Jamie N]

That looks like some serious stress inducing work there Clive, I think if it was me at that point there i would be fitting something else back in that space . Hope you are feeling better after your wee bout of man flu, bet you got that from those filthy Airline air conditioning units

[cliff]

I think if it was me at that point there i would be fitting something else back in that space .

Would love to but I don't think this will fit.

http://www.bpeusa.com/BPE440ENGINESRT8.asp

Fits the Cherokee though.

[Simon_P]

During the removal, I managed to crush the jackshaft flange. I will try to dress it out but I do have a spare if I need it.

So did I! if you try to remove it I think it comes off the long way - Tried to get mine off the short way and it is no more - if you don't need your spare... I do!

[cliff]

Will bear that in mind, thanks Simon.

Intake removal - how that is done with the engine in place I have no idea.

Off finally, seriously over complicated!

Manifold off

Flywheel & exhaust manifold gone. Almost time for the head.

AC, oil and engine fuel pipes ready to go for refurbishment.

[dapinky]

I used to have an engine stand like yours, until i found a proper one in a skip when the workshops at the Traffic Unit closed down (I do still use the "Mk 1" version for 4 engines in the garage, though - except i do believe that a 1 litre paint tin is just the right height to replace the concrete block and timber - - okay for storage, but yours is probably far more stable when you're working on it)

[Ian T]

Intake removal - how that is done with the engine in place I have no idea.

Having just done it, I can vouch for it being possible, and I did take the time to write it up... When I have got all the photos together I will have a go at transferring it to the Wiki. See here in the interim: http://www.abs-zero.com/how-to-guides/h ... -manifold/

Great pics Cliff, nice to see you getting stuck in.

Ian.