New member / owner, Northampton

[burble61]

Hi,

just achieved a long held ambition of Lotus ownership with a '91 SE in Norfolk Mustard Yellow. Its been a goal since a "behind the scenes" tour of the car & F1 factory in the late sixties (my dad was doing some work there). Not sure my 2016 profile would fit in one of the F1 models the mechanics plonked me in then though.....

Ear to ear grin on first driving it around some country roads certainly made the wait worthwhile.

Photos to follow once I understand the technology.

A big thanks to all the contributors on the forum - the insight here was invaluable when looking around, and even more so when starting on the growing list of jobs. Already "enjoying" the bespoke nature of the Elan - although an early win was finding that a part not even on the Parts List (well not the one I have anyway) was identical to that from an old Mini...allowing me to fix a developing fault on the vacuum lines.

Jobs list (for now, in no order)

1. Fix lock on glovebox, which was parted from the latch - sorted the lock, just waiting on one last grubscrew....
2. tidy up the vacuum piping to the Bailey BOV - to remove the existing pipe strewn across the engine bay....(can I use the spare takeoff on the throttle body for that, as its much closer to the BOV??)
3. de-rust and treat the radiator mounts (so looking forward to that...)
4. improve the panel alignment around the front of the drivers door - its well out of line.
5. replace battery, de rust & tidy up battery compartment
6. fit monkey metal dial fascias (red on black difficult to read sometimes, probably go for black on white).
7. Replace the gasket through inner wing for the air pipe.
8. check & treat all the suspension components.
9. soft top - at least do something about the window
10. elanscan
11. refurbish turbo heat shield - not in bad condition, but untidy...and replace the 2 missing mounting bolts
12. do something about the windscreen header rail, where the plastic has cracked and flaked to expose the aluminium.
13. check the brake lines, subject of an advisory on a past MOT

That should keep me going for a bit. Any recommendations for other items I should consider checking early on?


Regards to all

Burble

[dapinky]

Hello and welcome.

All the jobs you list are things which have been tried before, and sucess achieved!

As such, they are likely to be more fiddly and time-consuming more than impossible/expensive.

I can't see anything on your list which would be beyond a 'handy' person with a few tools and a bit of time - not all of it needs doing in one go, and (apart from the brake lines) won't put you off the road for any great length of time.

Depending on which brake lines are affected, it may or may not be an easy/accessible fix. Hopefully it will be the steel lines which run along the rear wishbones - these are a common fault due to age/exposure to the elements - easily exchanged for copper/cupro-nickel/cunifer pipe....the time consuming part is always bleeding the syatem fully afterwards (but there are various posts on the forum about the way to approach it, involving removing the caliper (5/8" bolt head, one of the few on the car which isn't a metric part) and tapping with a hammer whilst bleeding.).

If it is the ones which run the length of the car, they are quite easy to replace, but getting access at the front/top can be a bit awkward - a proper car-lift helps, but it is still possible on the ground with axle stands/ramps.

The vacuum pipe can be routed to the unused port on the back of the plenum (next to the one which is already used) which is covered with a black rubber bung - the pipe to the plenum is slightly larger than the others, so stretchy silicon vacuum hose is easier to use, but rubber will work, but may be over-stretched and lead to later failure by splitting when perrished.

The radiator brackets generally rust, but rarely beyond redemption - another fiddly job to remove, but once you see where all the bolts are, and work out how to reach them, replacement is often very easy!

[lotusflasherman]

Hi,

just achieved a long held ambition of Lotus ownership with a '91 SE in Norfolk Mustard Yellow. Its been a goal since a "behind the scenes" tour of the car & F1 factory in the late sixties (my dad was doing some work there). Not sure my 2016 profile would fit in one of the F1 models the mechanics plonked me in then though.....

Ear to ear grin on first driving it around some country roads certainly made the wait worthwhile.

Photos to follow once I understand the technology.

A big thanks to all the contributors on the forum - the insight here was invaluable when looking around, and even more so when starting on the growing list of jobs. Already "enjoying" the bespoke nature of the Elan - although an early win was finding that a part not even on the Parts List (well not the one I have anyway) was identical to that from an old Mini...allowing me to fix a developing fault on the vacuum lines.

Jobs list (for now, in no order)

1. Fix lock on glovebox, which was parted from the latch - sorted the lock, just waiting on one last grubscrew....
2. tidy up the vacuum piping to the Bailey BOV - to remove the existing pipe strewn across the engine bay....(can I use the spare takeoff on the throttle body for that, as its much closer to the BOV??)
3. de-rust and treat the radiator mounts (so looking forward to that...)
4. improve the panel alignment around the front of the drivers door - its well out of line.
5. replace battery, de rust & tidy up battery compartment
6. fit monkey metal dial fascias (red on black difficult to read sometimes, probably go for black on white).
7. Replace the gasket through inner wing for the air pipe.
8. check & treat all the suspension components.
9. soft top - at least do something about the window
10. elanscan
11. refurbish turbo heat shield - not in bad condition, but untidy...and replace the 2 missing mounting bolts
12. do something about the windscreen header rail, where the plastic has cracked and flaked to expose the aluminium.
13. check the brake lines, subject of an advisory on a past MOT

That should keep me going for a bit. Any recommendations for other items I should consider checking early on?


Regards to all

Burble

First, Welcome, Second, some answers :

2. Yes you can.
7. I bought a genuine Lotus one several years ago and it perished in such a short time I concluded it had probably been in a bag on a shelf for a decade or two... quite pricey too!
I now use these.. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUSTIN-HEALEY-SPRITE-MG-MIDGET-58-79-FUEL-TANK-NECK-RUBBER-GROMMET-AHA5445-/351234413642

'Other things' - do you know the history of when the cambelt was last changed?

[burble61]

Thank you for the warm welcomes.

Dave, good to hear most of these jobs are reasonably straightforward (says he optimistically). You were spot on re the "overstretched/perished/split rubber". In the Parts Manual, it looked like the vacuum hose came straight off the port. On mine, there is an elbow reducer into a smaller diameter hose (maybe a previous repair?) that had split. I have the Mini equivalent part fitted now, but silicone hose is on the way and that sounds a much more durable solution.

Time I have plenty of as i'm semi-retired...the only thing I might avoid at this stage is brakes, although a good friend has more experience in these things and could probably "advise" (= "Do" ) . (Aside - I have definite garage envy, what with his rolling road, 2 lifts, pit and full machine shop).

LotusFlasherMan - I forgot to say the SE is on about 59K miles, two lady owners (yes seriously). Re the grommet, thanks for that advice. I'm guessing the link was for an aftermarket part, so should be more durable - on the list it goes! Re cam belt - it came with a detailed service history, but not recently a Lotus one. The timing belt,tensioner, idler & water pump were changed in June (2016). The underbody was cleaned down (with emphasis on suspension parts) in 2014 , then waxoiled. Its only covered about 2K miles since then.

Only other new points on the immediate list

1/ check timing/emissions. Engine runs well enough & performance seems consistent with other examples but very subjectively it smells a bit rich on idle (says he with almost no insight into this....)

2/ having got under the engine bay, looks like the longeron is very slightly deformed - looks like a mark a jack would make.

Regards

Burble

Regards

Burble

[lotusflasherman]

Sounds like you've got a good one with the high cost jobs already done. (Cambelt change is every 60,000 miles or 5 years so put that in the Calendar for 2021 .. )

The ebay link is for a grommet for the tube to a Spridget petrol tank that is the same diameter as the Elan air pipe and they appear new stock.

I have a Pacific Blue SE on SORN that was previously owned by 3 women, all in the same family - Mother, then eldest daughter, then her younger sister so it lived around the posh part of West London and did very little mileage.
When I first got it I it seemed to smell of oestrogen and Chanel No 5... I almost expected it to run great for 3 weeks and then have a week of being temperamental...
I put 130,000 miles on a Calypso Red SE but it got written off and I paid top price for the very low mileage PB SE which made me reluctant to use it so it then started to suffer all the usual niggly faults due to lack of use ..
Bought another even lower mileage PB SE and use it frequently all year round, having learnt from my mistake on the other one ..

The OE brakes are OK but sliding calipers were a poor design choice. Need to keep them sliding freely and rear discs don't work hard and are prone to rust a bit. When they are rusty it will fail the MOT on handbrake. I clean mine up with an abrasive flap wheel on an angle grinder if they look a bit rusty. Only takes a few minutes and keeps them working the best they can.

Remember it is a Lotus Elan, made to be driven. Some owners seem to think they have a Lego Elan and spend all their time putting it together and taking it to pieces ...

[rip]

Sounds like you've got a good one there but, as Phil suggests, it may have been a little underused recently & would benefit from a bit more driving, so enjoy it.

I think I made a list once of things I wanted to do. Other things get in the way though: a group buy comes up which is too good to miss, then the car gets a fault which needs to be fixed.
9 years later & I still have my list but it looks a little different now.

[burble61]

As promised, a few pics....sorry for delay, been using it bit as per advice!



Need to look at the panel alignment between sill and lower wing - what mounting bolts i've been able to see look seized solid, so looking forward to that one...



Interior is reasonably tidy. Glovebox lock was separate, fixed now. Will be taking out the seat spacers on drivers side to give a better position (well, for me anyway). Seals around windscreen are 'orrid..and window trim corners missing (I have one of them but it was so loose it was going to drop off). Seems a 3D printed version now available, so an early purchase.... A patch where plastic has broken off the top rail is just visible - possibly age/UV - will need to see how far thats gone & fix. Will be seeking advice on how best to do that....



passenger side panels much better aligned!



boot contained original, unused toolkit - wasn't expecting that.



Turbo heat shield held on by that single bolt... Vacuum tubing was quite perished so replacing that - first part made a noticeable difference. Tube strung across cam cover is vacuum input to BOV....to be replaced shortly by line using spare port on throttle body to tidy it up.

Loads of jobs to keep me busy over the winter months...still at the ownership stage where I smile every time I see it!

Burble

[rip]

Loads of jobs to keep me busy over the winter months...still at the ownership stage where I smile every time I see it!

Burble

So am I...after over 9 years of ownership!

[lotusflasherman]

Loads of jobs to keep me busy over the winter months...still at the ownership stage where I smile every time I see it!

Burble

I see you have a Bailey Recirculating Dump Valve that is not 'recirculating'. Ideally it should 'blow off' into the filtered side of the air filter and straight back into the turbo. More efficient and quieter too.

Short length of hose, 'top hat' connector through a hole in the air filter canister and couple of jubilee clips is all you need... something for the 'things to do list' ?

[burble61]

Phil, yes, "Project Recirculation" is now in the top 3 to do (others being finish off replacement of the vacuum tubing and replace the thermostat which is stuck open).

A question for you and any others who have done this....it looks reasonably straightforward, albeit with care marking up and cutting into the air filter housing. What bulkhead fitting into the casing did you use? I have some the right size from a garden project, with a max temp rating of 80 degrees C. would that suffice (i'm assuming it would, given the filter housing is made from a similar plastic) or is a higher spec part needed in this position?

Thanks

Burble

[lotusflasherman]

Phil, yes, "Project Recirculation" is now in the top 3 to do (others being finish off replacement of the vacuum tubing and replace the thermostat which is stuck open).

A question for you and any others who have done this....it looks reasonably straightforward, albeit with care marking up and cutting into the air filter housing. What bulkhead fitting into the casing did you use? I have some the right size from a garden project, with a max temp rating of 80 degrees C. would that suffice (i'm assuming it would, given the filter housing is made from a similar plastic) or is a higher spec part needed in this position?

Thanks

Burble

I prefer to use a 89°C thermostat, particularly in winter. (Heater works much better). There's some crap advice on the forum about using a Mini thermostat but you need one with a 'jiggle pin valve' and Mini 'stat sits horizontal so doesn't have one. Vauxhall Astra Van sits vertical so does and is just the job. (Jiggle pin stops air getting trapped in the 'stat housing so should be fitted uppermost, or at 12 o'clock)
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-ASTRA-1-7-DTI-16V-1-7-CDTI-16V-00-10-Replacement-Thermostat-/400593866420?hash=item5d45414eb4

For the RDV I couldn't find another 'through connector' similar to the Bailey supplied one I have on the other SE so used a 25mm aluminium blanking plug and drilled it out to make one. (Step drill is very useful)
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alloy-Hose-Blanking-Plug-Bung-Silver-BOV-Dump-Valve-New-Aluminium-CNC-Pipe-/221847809272?var=520733911436&hash=item33a728ecf8:m:m3s948unYgH79uN3pRnviuA

I cut a thin slightly curved slice off the hose and used that as a 'curved washer' on the connector inside the air filter housing and the curved end of hose outside deals with a flat shoulder against a slightly curved container. Seemed easier than trying to curve the aluminium shoulder.

Hope that helps...

[lolaman]

You are not alone in owning an Elan in Northampton there are two of us on the north side at Kingsthorpe. Mine is a bit of an ongoing project too, nothing major just gradual cosmetic improvement.

I have elanscan if you need to use it.

[burble61]

Phil, thanks for the advice on both, much appreciated. I'd seen comments re Mini thermostat which had left me puzzled (and so looking at the "genuine" Lotus part). I'd best get on with it now!

Lolaman, nice to have local company! I'm on the south side (near Wootton) - will PM you shortly, before I get around to setting up an Elanscan myself it would be really helpful to have a baseline & see what works (and, possibly, doesn't).

Regards

B61

[Chas54]

Hello

Just hoping someone might know a source for the rear brake calliper sliding pin rubber seals.
Mine are perished and a bit fragile although the pins are spotless.
I tried a Ford10 rack rod boot I had lying around but it was a fraction to big to enter the calliper hole.

Regards
Charlie

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Used on many GM cars in the US: Lumina, Pontiac Grand Prix +++++

Try Rock Auto

Look for late 1980 to early 1990 models.

1989 Buick Regal: 2.8L 173cid V6 is a good example.

They also offer a slider kit which has new sliders and boots.

If you can't find any, I have some but I am in the US, so no easy (cheap) or quick way to get them to you.

They are around $5.00 for a set of 4

[Rambo]

Why not try SJS ?

Rear caliper repair kits are readily available

https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and- ... rchresults

[Chas54]

Rambo

I was sure I had searched SJS but must have missed them. I can see they are there, Ive wasted hours scouring the internet for a source.

Thanks for pointing it out.

I had to put the caliper back with a holed seal

regards

Charlie