, Well its actually a totally different type of Wrinkly Rocker altogether 
. Anyway, I just replaced my head gasket, which wasn't showing any signs of leaking but I knew it had never been changed in the lifetime of the car so I thought I would hit it with a pre-emptive strike and just do it now, I got the gasket from Murray Lotus in Edinburgh and fitted it earlier in the week, but whilst I had the access I decided to do a few other jobs, replaced a multitude of nuts and bolts with fresh new ones and cleaned all the awkward to reach bits, I also removed a fair bit of weight by taking off, and/or modifying bits that are not really needed, like the engine hoisting brackets (if I ever need to remove the engine I can bolt them back on), also hid all the unused wiring connectors and just generally made everything as clean and tidy as possible, the downside of making it so clean is I am even more reluctant to take it out on dirty roads 
but I will!.My Rocker Cover wasn't in bad condition but it wasn't perfect either so I thought it was time to redo it, I used VHT Red Wrinkle paint, it looks a lot better in reality than the picture but it gives you an idea, it certainly looks fresher than Ronnie Wood
.Whilst the head was off I had a closer look at the possibilities of fitting a B18 Type R engine in there, I came to the conclusion that it would be VERY difficult,maybe not impossible but there would be several major hurdles, one of the biggest would be the shift linkage, on the Honda it is two solid rods from the gear stick to the box, I tried offering them up to the underside of the car in the rough position they need to be and there is no space for them whatsoever, and I couldn't see a way round it, so that in itself virtually rules it out.
However, I had an EP3 Civic Type R (2.0) here whilst doing the head and had a good look at that possibility, it looks almost dead certain that it would go in fairly easily,the dimensions of the engine fit, the orientation is the same as the Lotus (engine on the right), although the exhaust manifold is at the back there is room for it, or a custom made one to fit, heat may be an issue?. The other good thing is it has gear cables. Obviously there would be a mountain of other considerations, but provisionally the K20 looks like a goer, a fantastic VTEC engine with massive tuning potential and a proven engine in the conversions world including many Lotus Elises . If I ever find an Elan with a totally blown engine I would definitely attempt to put a K20 in it.
No Air Filter on it in the pic. All unnecessary wiring and clutter removed from both inner clam sides.
