Re Alternator oh and hello all

[absm100]

Hi Everybody,

I am new to this forum and the proud owner of my first Lotus, I bought the Elan M100 Turbo 1990 and it's going to take some time to wipe the smile off my face.

The car was BRG until some unsympathetic previous owner sprayed it (badly I might add) yellow but the car is essentially sound but need's work to breath new life into this 24 Year old girl.

I previously rebuilt a SMART Roadster to a stunning show worthy state and I now have the confidence to attempt a really worthwhile restoration the, The Lotus!

Well if you have read this far you must be wondering what I am on the scrounge for well everything basically the first job was the Cam belt, 8 Hrs and some sore knuckels and a full swear box later and I am happy with the results. I will of course be taking the engine out for a full rebuild, but for now I am just looking at remedial/essential engine work. So I will be concentrating on the interior waterproofing beautifying etc. Ass about face I hear you cry....! I know but I only get limited time in the workshop for big work and therefore have adopted an outside in approach for now.

If any forum members can assist with valuable parts/knowledge sourcing i.e. where best to shop and find all those hard to find parts I would be most grateful. I am not a rich man and expect to be a lot poorer cash wise when finished but I could really do without paying top dollar for everything I buy.

Parts I need this week

1. Alternator new or repair kit, boy these repair kits are elusive need a diode pack but will buy new alternator if I absolutely have have too

2. A Frame rubber seals I have found they go on eBay for £150+ is this a fair price or can I get them another way
i.e. I have read that seals from other car models can be adapted is this a fools errand?

3. Door cards and other interior parts I can see that second hand parts come up all the time on eBay are these available in new condition? would love to make the interior as spectacular as possible.

Well that's all for now folks thanks for reading.

Tony

[dapinky]

Hi Tony,

Welcome to the forum

You sound like the sort of bloke who is happy to get stuck in, and buy what you need, but want to save as much as possible in doing so.... like most of us!

As you go along, I'm sure that there are plenty of questions which you'll have (some of which can be answered by using either the search box or on the WikiLEC pages (link at top of page, underneath the banner).

However, some of the stuff isn't relevant to now, and links are to parts which were available a while ago.

To try and answer some of your questions:-

1) The altenator is a Nippon Denso part (as per Isuzu) - New ones can be got on ebayfor £156 delivered, or you could risk a S/H one for half of that.

If it's 'only' the electronic bits, then you may find a local re-build is the best way to go. (unless someone else on here pipes up with a known source or a good S/H one available).

2) For the A pillar seals, there are 3 options (plus whatever else you can come up with yourself!)...

...new ones are available from lotus at about £150 a pair - easy to obtain/fit, look good, and match the others you already have - but are original design and will degrade over time (they are recently remade, so NOT 25 years old stock)

...Jamie (Dromong) has made some up from rubber, and people who have bought them are happy with the way they work.... see this thread.

... depending on the state of your current ones, they *may* be repairable with silicone or sikaflex - probably not permanent, but may well do you for now (cheapest option!).

3) The door cards are no longer available new, but some S/H ones appear every so often - but possibly no better than what you already have. They can be tidied up quite easily with an application of correct coloured vinyl paint (or a different colour if you wish) - dependent on condition currently, and what you wish to achieve. Other owners have covered them with leather (with mixed results)..... I've not seen these exact items, but others on here have used "topgaters" on ebay for various leather bits - a pair of door card covers (with whatever colour stitching you want) are £140 delivered (which seems quite reasonable to me).

Finally, someone will come along in a short while (probably enright) to suggest you put your location on your profile so answers can be more easily tailored to your needs (ie UK/USA/Rest of the World) - all my answers sort of assume that you're UK based.

[rip]

Hi Tony,

Green but was yellow?
I know of one like that. It was sprayed a lighter than usual yellow & lived in Houghton Regis near Dunstable. I have not seen the owner on here for some time though.

[absm100]

Hi Rip,

Right on the money you guy's are good beyond belief, I did indeed buy the car from a nice chap in Dunstable Jason I believe his name was. Well she's mine now and in for some much needed TLC if you know anything about the car I would be interested to hear what you have to say, I am still deciding whether or not to go back to BRG or strip down to chassis and do a proper colour change.... all in good time!

Will post pictures soon

Tony

[cliff]

Hi Tony and welcome.

I bought my alternator from Wood Auto, this one I think.

http://www.woodauto.com/zoomImg.aspx?Ref=ALT30391

Better get a new swear jar, I did mine with the raft out and it was fiddly. It doesn't look like a fun job.

http://wikilec.9600.org/index.php/Alternator

[absm100]

Hi Cliff,


Alternator ordered nice saving on the cost thank you!

Swear Jar ready to go, I have the old one out so I know what I am in for Lol

Tony

[absm100]

Well I got the new alternator installed and all is going well, I had a bit of a struggle getting it in but after removing the crank pulley and right hand engine mount bolt then lowering the engine a tad the new alternator went in without too many coins in the swear box

Next Job will be the A Frame seals which puts me ahead of target.

I am also looking for clues as to what is preventing my turbo & oil pressure gauges from working, I have checked the obvious like good connections to the sensors but drawn a blank is there an electrical test I can perform?

Regards

Tony