Angie's new car......

[Steve A]

The front pads I believe are Volvo 200 series Mintex MGB 576

[RonR]

Just to confirm - I have Mintex MGB576 pads fitted to my Hi-Specs.
Mintex racing list the HiSpec Billet 4 calipers in their catalogue, and the MGB576 is listed on the Hi-spec site as equivalent to the 143.

[dapinky]

Thanks all, I'm happy that the ones I have in the RA basket will fit, as they appear to be a standard cross-ref part....... the biggest issue was confirming that the pads (which are USA part numbers) actually cross-ref to a UK fitment - because of the different regulations in use in USA & EU, there is no common cross-reference of brake pads between the 2 markets, Having spent half a morning on it, I am now happy! (and £18 is far better than £150!)

[378S2]

Congratulations on the new investment Dave!

[Tuga2112]

i think its about time you Change your forum signature Dave.

[dapinky]

i think its about time you Change your forum signature Dave.

Well, technically, it will be Angies, so I only have the one..... but I might change it anyway!

[dapinky]

Short update...... not much to report!

Spent a lot of time ordering parts..... much of it has arrived, but still waiting on some rear disks and suspension bushes from SJ's. The current discs have an MOT advisory of "pitted and scored" - and are rusty, so I was considering just getting them turned on a lathe..... then I went to have a proper look at them, jacked up the drivers side and took the wheel off....... that was when I made a bit of an odd discovery - one of the wheel bolts had a 17mm head, the rest were 19mm - not a big deal, thinks me, the S2 BBS wheels (and a fair few Vauxhalls) have a 17mm head, so to avoid having any mis-matched bolts, I'll get one of my spares out of the crate....... all was going swimmingly until I tried the bolt in the wheel - it just went in without and thread engaging!

Examining the bolt with the 17mm head showed that the threaded shank is 2mm wider

So, with the wheel off, I can see that someone has (presumably) stripped a thread in the hub, and simply tapped it out to take an M14 thread, and then fitted a bolt from something which fitted (VW?/LandRover?/who knows). So now I had a situation where one hub not only needs cleaning up on a lathe, but also the hole needs to be properly fixed with a helicoil.

But the actual disk has seen better days, and is actually quite badly marked where the handbrake pads have been in contact with the surface for the past 6 years. It will take a fair bit of cleaning up before I can even get a calliper (measuring, not brake!) on it to see how much 'spare' material is present before it would become too thin, and how evenly it may or may not end up.

I put it firmly into the "I can't really be arsed" box as it could be a lot of effort and expense to end up with something which was scrap - so I ordered a new pair from SJ's, and they are in stock, so will go in the same delivery as my other bits....... still, at some stage in the future I will have a pair of crappy old hubs/discs to play with on a lathe to see how easy it will be to machine the OE one down to take an Astra disc (Part number DSK117) as per the hub units which were made a few years ago..... and if it can be done without weakening the structure too much - but that is for another day!

Oh, and having ordered my cam belt and waterpump from Rock Autos (which arrived in the usual 4 days), and deciding I'd double up to have a spare....... I was having a bit of a sort out and found a box with a waterpump, belt, tensioner, idler, PAS and Alt belts in the garage........ so now I have enough for the next 3 replacements

Anyway, you lot all want to see pictures, and as there is no interest in looking at PayPal receipts, I have actually done a bit to the car. Bearing in mind that it has been sitting outside in the British weather for the last 6 years, the first thing was to get it in the garage, open the hood and see how wet it was. I have had the dehumidifier running for a few days, and collected nearly 10L of water from the air, and the car still looked a bit damp.

So, I decided to remove the seats, fully expecting the bolts to be seized solid - surprisingly, the inner captive ones came out really easily, but the (far easier to get at) outer ones were a bit stiff, with 2 breaking off before the nut let go - still, the seats came out.

A bit of a hoover up revealed that, although a bit damp, the carpets seem good ..... Jon supplied a pair of new seatbelts as the fitted ones didn't retract very well, but they may just need a good bit of exercise/cleaning - if not, I'll fit the new ones. The B pillar covers came out eventually - someone has used a lot more butyl strip to fit them than i have seen on other cars - and the same on the sill covers - so then the carpets came out for a good clean/dry.

The passenger side was far wetter than the drivers side - and the underfelt had done it's best to soak up 6 Winters' worth of rain and hold it against the metal outriggers - still, no good sticking my head in the sand - it has to be addressed......

...... so, I removed the sponge and about half a gallon of rainwater came with it - and I was presented with this sight.....

......well, you'll have to wait for it, because the Forum is broken (again) at the moment and won't let me upload pictures - but you can probably guess what it looked like

Ah well, a bit of work to do.

[Fredjohn]

Looks like I made the right decision by default. Not into welding!

Sure you'll make a good job though Dave.

PS met Neil (Enright) by chance in ski resort restaurant yesterday. What are the chances?!

[chrism]

Yeah always surprises; but like all our Lotus 'adventures' it often turns into such a pig of a job that when we stand back at the end and say 'Yep I did that...' it's a real buzz.

Pity about the pics; armed with your info I tried to download an image from Win11 in the usual 'upload attachments' way and got the 'image file too big...' as you probably did, then tried to upload another using the 'Postimages' app (I've been playing with out of frustration with the incessant ongoing upload problems) and that worked fine so I reckon the LEC system donesn't 'shake hands' with everything we expect it to(?)


Apparently 'Imgur' works too but Postimages is really simple. I must say I was apprehensive about abandoning my usual image posting way - but Postimages is actually even simpler so why not give it a go? (Another bonus is that you don't have to log on, then re-find the post, to look at a pic...)

Yep we all want to see pics. And invoices: I wanna grab some rear calipers and a water pump soon (for the shelf ) and I'd like to see what you ended up choosing from RA...Pity we can't get hold of the rear discs as well tho'. I'm wondering if it's worth finding out more about converting to the separate hub/disc arrangement and sealed rear bearings? (My MoT man advised 'a small amount of play...' when it passed last Weds with the tapered parts.)

[Fredjohn]

Chris
A small amount of play should be acceptable, if not mandatory when cold! Expansion of hub when running and hot takes up the slack.

See WSM for tightening the rear hub nut. Go armed with it for next MOT!

[Tuga2112]

i upload my images to imgur and then put links to them on the forum.

i thought the forum servers didnt have space to host everyones pictures so there was limitations in place ?

[dapinky]

John

I saw on FB that you and Neil had met up.... good effort!

Okay then, here's the extent of the work required in the sills....

I think even you could have coped with the "devastation" I found - Passenger side just needs a clean, brush on some rust killer and squirt of Waxoyl - drivers side could do with a thin strip cutting off the bottom and a new bit welding in - I shall do it, but it would survive without - just a good clean, prep and treat/paint (with a new bead of Pu Adhesive).....

..... all 4 jacking points pretty perfect (the bolts all came out easily for a squirt of waxoyl inside the closed box).

I have to say, as "project" cars go, this one is far better than many we see out on the roads - but it will all get a good going-over before it gets handed over to the good lady (otherwise I'll only have to do it anyway at an inconvenient time).

[dapinky]

...Pity we can't get hold of the rear discs as well tho'. I'm wondering if it's worth finding out more about converting to the separate hub/disc arrangement and sealed rear bearings? (My MoT man advised 'a small amount of play...' when it passed last Weds with the tapered parts.)

As John says, they all do that! I once had a "discussion" with an MOT tester (newly qualified, and in his first week of testing, whilst being observed by the boss - who was trying not to laugh because he is a friend of mine and knew exactly what I was going to say to the newbie....) - the MOT manual says that the test for the rear bearings (and front on a RWD car) is an objective one, with no defined standards as to what constitutes "too much" play. When Pete told me that the only fault on the car was the rear bearings, I asked him how much play was in them.... he could only answer "too much"....
.... meanwhile Ian cracked and just asked me to educate Pete about the car, explaining to him that I was a forensic vehicle examiner, qualified MOT tester, and VOSA Test Centre examiner....

I showed him that when the car is set up as per the Lotus specifications for disc 'float', it may look like "too much" play, but actually isn't, and that as the bearings get hotter, they tighten up. If they were set tighter to start with, they would overheat and break up in a heavy use situation. (I got my MOT certificate, and he didn't get a 'failure' from his boss!!)

The rear discs are available from either SJ's or PNM as a "remade" part, and this is what i have purchased. I have the separate hubs/discs on my car (only really got them because at the time new rear discs were stupid money) and will be seeing how easily (or not) the old hub units can be machined to take the Astra disc..... hopefully there will be enough material present to do the work and retain sufficient strength - but we'll see.

[Tuga2112]

The rear discs are available from either SJ's or PNM as a "remade" part, and this is what i have purchased. I have the separate hubs/discs on my car (only really got them because at the time new rear discs were stupid money) and will be seeing how easily (or not) the old hub units can be machined to take the Astra disc..... hopefully there will be enough material present to do the work and retain sufficient strength - but we'll see.

do i understand correctly that you are suggesting taking the rear hub/disc combination and machining out the disk in order to be able to use the hubs by themsels and effectively separating the 2 parts ?

I recall spending 160 quid a few years ago when my rear disks needed replacing. it was a very pricey pair of rear discs have i missed out on some new developments ?

[chrism]

I think it was a group buy initiative around 2009.

A bespoke hub was made that you could attach a cheaper GM (Astra?) disc to. New hub + disc were only a bit less than the original set-up - but subsequent discs made the conversion extremely good v-f-m.

I think some benefitted but the system 'drowned' in numbers and stalled, amongst other difficulties, and the LEC page was locked. All in the past it seems...

(I'm wondering, if dealers can remanufacture the originals then why can't this upgrade be done too? Hmm...I wonder if Olds Cutlass discs are the same? Just looked; could be, but looking at the pics not sure about hubs...)

[Tuga2112]

hub.jpg

I think it was a group buy initiative around 2009.

A bespoke hub was made that you could attach a cheaper GM (Astra?) disc to. New hub + disc were only a bit less than the original set-up - but subsequent discs made the conversion extremely good v-f-m.

I think some benefitted but the system 'drowned' in numbers and stalled, amongst other difficulties, and the LEC page was locked. All in the past it seems...

(I'm wondering, if dealers can remanufacture the originals then why can't this upgrade be done too? Hmm...I wonder if Olds Cutlass discs are the same? Just looked; could be, but looking at the pics not sure about hubs...)

i am aware of the group buys from jeemy, not sure if 2009 was with him or someone else

[MPx]

Bob Brown I think....

[dapinky]

The first batch was designed and made by Bobbin Rastard himself (Bob Brown) - I got a pair from that run, and they are fitted to my car with Astra discs (DSK117 is the Apec part number).

After that, Jeemy made a batch, and they were all sold by him, with nowt to do with LEC (apart from him advertising on here) through his company.... all was well..... but it didn't last

He took orders for a second batch, and people paid a deposit.... then it got hit by delays and was all about to go belly-up with him not answering calls, emails or letters.....

.... then he managed to get some units sent out to those who had paid - BUT there was something like a 40% failure rate where they hadn't been machined properly, and the bearings were far too loose (falling out!) - the whole thing was at the same time he was taking orders for a lot of non-existent parts before disappearing with wads of cash......

That said, the drawings still exist for the hubs (as per the first batch made), so getting some made is always an option.

But, my though is that it may be passible to remove material from the OE hubs to end up with something akin to the Bob Brown design, that an Astra disc will fit one. I haven't examined the units enough to see if there is enough metal to do it and still leave enough thread for the wheel bolts to do up correctly, or the bearings remaining held intact..... as I say, a job for another time.

[Tuga2112]

But, my though is that it may be passible to remove material from the OE hubs to end up with something akin to the Bob Brown design, that an Astra disc will fit one. I haven't examined the units enough to see if there is enough metal to do it and still leave enough thread for the wheel bolts to do up correctly, or the bearings remaining held intact..... as I say, a job for another time.

a big metal lathe would be all you need... now finding a person with one and the spare time.... ?

[dapinky]

a big metal lathe would be all you need... now finding a person with one and the spare time.... ?

It's been many years since I last worked a lathe - but it isn't that hard to operate, and the work doesn't need to be as accurate as for many other things...... just need to find one which is available.