sonus
Europe
Posts: 1,392
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What an amazing car and even better thread ;D I will be following this thread closely (that's a couple of times a day  ) And keep the updates on the split rims for the MGB coming too, I might just convert my MGB GT from Knock offs. As much as I envy your Lotus, I'm finding myself envying your petrol head friends at least as much. I've got a great collection of good/longtime friends, but none of them are into cars. ..... The thought of a skilled, well educated and reliable team of willing people sounds awesome, and is clearly a blessing to you. Happy New Year, and thank you for posting OFTEN! x2 |
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Last Edit: Jan 2, 2012 13:43:55 GMT by sonus
Current
1968 TVR VIXEN S1 V8 Prototype
2004 TVR T350C
2017 BMW 340i
Previous
BMW 325d E91LCI - sold
Alfa Romeo GTV - sold
Citroen AX GT - at the breakers
Ford Puma 1.7 - sold
Volvo V50 2.0d - sold
MGB GT - wrecked by fire
MG ZT 1.8T - sold
VW E-golf Electric - sold
Mini Countryman 1.6D -sold
Land Rover Discovery TD5 - sold
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We get an esprit in for servicing every now and then and always use spreader plates, didn't once and it was fine but better just to not risk it. Great write up btw  Thanks Dude, The spreader plates seem to be working a treat and Gaz (Pickmeup) who was down at the unit today working on his MX5 (my old red one) remarked on what a neat solution they are with the way they slot perfectly over the feet of the ramp to keep them in place and secure. They only take seconds to remove all four to revert the ramp back to 'normal' Having checked the thickness of the GRP on the floor, I am sure it would be OK without the spreader plates, but as you say, risking it just isn't worth it for the sake of 'finding out' ...as was brought up earlier in the thread, I did love the friendly spirit that was around at the Xmas playboy with he Lotus. I was feeling rotten for most of Christmas day but as soon as I'd jumped in th car early boxing day morning I was buzzing and ready for some atmosphere and car talk. It was great to see this project unfold from the start and hope that if I can be of use in any way during the build that I can be. Thanks Chris, it was a great three days. Great fun, great company and such a brilliant way to spend some time when most people would have been chomping their way through the leftovers, watching curse word TV or queuing up for hours to buy something cheap that they never needed or didn't want. I know where I would rather be and judging by the turnout, I am certainly not alone with that thought. ;D No suggestions for the bolt, I'm afraid. I did have a similarly difficult to remove bolt, and was eventually able to drift it out using a long punch. The Imp uses the same semi-coilover setup at the front. The easy way to remove the spring is to put a jack under the lower arm, and raise the arm just enough to take the tension off the shock end-stop. You can then undo the shock's top mount and gently let the jack down, releasing the spring as you do so. No need for spring compressors at all. BTW, Protec are able to make shocks with adjustable damping and lower spring seats - but the standard top mounts - for the Imp, so will be able to do so for the Lotus. If you do convert to coilovers it would be worth strengthening the metal around the top mount, as the forces will be more concentrated. Howver, I'm sure you've thought of this already. Thanks James. I don't think a drift would really work on this bolt, certainly not without mashing up the thread or mushrooming the end over. I wound the nut back enough to have it flush with the end of the bolt and give some space under it to be knocked through a bit....but even with the arm clamped tight and using a lump hammer (with some considerable force) it just wouldn't budge. I did my bedtime reading last night and the trunion bolt is, just as I suspected, a straight bolt with a sleeve through the trunion knuckle. I reckon it's got itself well and truly seized onto the sleeve. I have, however, today just paid for a shiny new 10ton floor mounted hydraulic press. I used the money in the tool kitty (£80) and my £140 Christmas money to buy it on the VAT free Machine Mart sale. £220 is a lot to spend in the scheme of things at Area 52, but I think it will be invaluable....and the first thing I want to try it on is this trunion bolt ;D I will be using some of the future tool kitty money to pay myself back some of the cost but figured it worth buying because it gives more options for doing stuff with bearings, bushes etc... I collect it Friday and will hopefully have it constructed and installed shortly after. As for the suspension, I did think of your method last night while plotting through things as I tried to go to sleep. After reading the manual it seems the bottom shock mount can be removed without having to compress the spring because the shock limits the spring tension before the arm is at the bottom of its travel. Basically the spring tension is held by nothing more than the top shock mount, not the lower arm or anything else once the car is in the air. This means I don't have to follow the same procedure for removal in future if I don't want to and the lower arm can be completely removed with the spring still under tension. Likewise all of the hub assembly. When Pro-Tech make the coilovers I will get them made in the conventional way so that the spring is tensioned/held via the damper shaft. This can then be inserted into the wheelarch complete but I will make my own top-hat for it which will be flat and wide to spread the load across the supporting face of the suspension tower. The standard conical ones would put way too much pressure on too small an area. I will, as you say, beef up the suspension tower anyway. As long as the pin on top of the damper shaft is long enough, it can be fitted as per the original units. A flat rubber disc between the top hat and suspension tower and the normal bush on the top of the pin and all should be good. I just need to work out the optimum shock lengths and the spring rates. A visit to Flexo Springs with one front and one rear spring should help establish the ideal spring rates...I'll probably stick quite close to the original rates because I want to maintain a nice ride and won't be slamming the car, the wheels won't be protruding and there is plenty of room in the arches for travel even when the car is lowered. Happy days! What an amazing car and even better thread ;D I will be following this thread closely (that's a couple of times a day ) And keep the updates on the split rims for the MGB coming too, I might just convert my MGB GT from Knock offs. As much as I envy your Lotus, I'm finding myself envying your petrol head friends at least as much. I've got a great collection of good/longtime friends, but none of them are into cars. ..... The thought of a skilled, well educated and reliable team of willing people sounds awesome, and is clearly a blessing to you. Happy New Year, and thank you for posting OFTEN! x2 Thanks for the comments guys - I am glad you like the car and I hope to keep the updates coming as things progress. As for the guys at Area 52, they really are a special bunch and between everyone, there is a hell of a wealth of knowledge and experience. A lot of the build will be done by myself...I don't like depending on people and generally like the playweekends to be about other peoples cars, but from time to time it is great to have the combined help of the 'crew'. I don't think any of them are ever afraid to get stuck in. I think we are all very, very lucky to have each other and we never take anyones help or assistance for granted. Ever! In other news, SHOCK HORROR....after mulling it over lots and lots, the vacuum system for the headlights might be staying! Yep...the factory spec 'pops up after 12hrs' mechanism might just remain. I won't go into all the reasons and thought behind this right now, but I had an idea the other night and would want to try and make this work before going down the route of motorised units. The idea of fitting low-pro rectangular units remains. |
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Less words, more lotus pics plz! ;D
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Koos
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So will you use the vacuum system to pull the lights closed, but limit the height they rise up by? Gutted I missed the last playday, was plagued by in-laws staying a day longer.  |
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Full of automotive and culinary delights visit:  1994 Subaru Legacy Estate Turbo 1985 Vauxhall Nova SR 1995 Fiat Cinquecento Sporting |
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Twin round projector lights would look good....
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Koos
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,719
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Excellent progress, going to keep a close watch to see this develop over time, gonna be a cracker!! Is it going to be staying black Bruce??
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Really looking forward to seeing more on this! ;D The calipers are 3 pots! Yep...two cylinders on the outside and one larger one inside. Never seen this arrangement myself. I'm guessing that they are Girling? '60s Volvos (with front discs & single circuit brakes) & various Jags of a similar era used three pot Girling calipers, which may be of use for tracking down rebuild parts. |
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VIP
South East
Posts: 8,302
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Twin round projector lights would look good.... Nooo, everything else on the car [bar the wheels and the stock headlamps] are angles. Rectangular lights would suit much more. |
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Agreed, something rectangular would be very nice indeed.  Which is not to say round lights don't work.  But you have to be careful with pop-up lights, it's all too easy to get carried away.  |
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To save all the speculation and further suggestions, here is what I am going to be doing and have been intending to do from the start...as well as a good photo comparison of how and why I am choosing this route. Have a look at my old MX5 with the standard pop-ups:  Now take a look at my MX5 with the proper Lo-Pro lights fitted. These are fully raised...this is how they look when 'up'  Just a bit of a difference to the originals  Now look at the Elite:  It's far more angular than the MX5, the bonnet line is longer and sleeker. The massive round lights just jar totally with the lines of the car (low, sleeker headlights weren't really available in 1974) and if the low-pros work well on the MX5, they are certainly going to work even better on this. It's going to happen, there is no way around it and I was planning most of the headlight system out in my head last night after reading all the info on how the vacuum system works. It's the way forward! |
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This is just perfect.
I'm not afraid to admit that this is the first time ive even heard of this cars exsistance, and reading through this thread, ive clearly been missing out.
Its a ridiculously attractive car imo, ive no doubt your going to turn into something even more awesome.
Thank you for enlightening me :')
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Those front uprights look the same as what's in the Scimitar, i.e. Triumph TR4/5/6 I believe.
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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This thread makes me wonder why there's "remove bookmark" written on my screen.
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Brilliant !!
Looking forwards to the updates,
Good luck,
:-)
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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Until I can get around to setting everything properly on the rear suspension, I can't get the current camber issue sorted (there are a number of things that are probably causing it and hopefully this can be addressed before too long), but I am currently thinking of narrowing the rear track about an inch or so. I have found some (for want of a better word) flipping tasty wheels but they are 9" with an offset of 0!! Obviously I need to get the rear sorted so that I can properly measure clearances and how much room I have/haven't got under the arch, but I'm SO in love with these wheels that if I can't fit them on with the current suspension set-up then I'll be considering taking anywhere from 1" to 1.5" out of the track each side. I don't want them protruding from the bodywork and I absolutely will not consider wider arches (ruin those lovely lines? I think not!) so the suspension is the possible target for adjustment. I'll only do this if it doesn't affect the geometry too much and will also make a few bits adjustable while I'm at it. The rear driveshafts form the upper arm so these would need to be shortened which isn't an issue, the shock location/mount isn't an issue and the lower control arm is a simple thing to shorten (and make adjustable) but I'd have to make a jig for the big radius arm in order to keep all the mounting points true, then allowing me to move the outer mounts inwards to the desired position without losing the geometry. Possibly making the radius arm a tubular affair while I'm at it.  If anyone can see anything obvious as to why this couldn't be done, please let me know? First things first, I need to get the rear camber sorted before I can start measuring up for clearance. Luckily I have a 9" wheel (ET15 which would therefore only need a 15mm spacer to make it correct) to use as a 'template' ;D |
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Yet another impresive project!
I have zero knowledge of the lotus engine power output, but i cant help but think if it's simular to an MX5 and you have a MX5 engine - is it not temting to stick it in.
But your normaly right Bruce, so I shall shut up now lol.
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You cannot move the big radius mount 1-1.5" inwards? Assuming that the big radius arm is the triangular thing behind the upright (29) The roll centre would changed by narrowing the IRS, but don't know if it would be in a positive or negative way (lower or higher roll centre). However, the end result would have a higher springrate. So if the roll centre would be lower. The roll would be kept under control by the stiffer springs. I'm not at all an expert, so feel free to disagree  |
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 Click picture for more |
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You can't taunt us and not show the wheels!
*n
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Top grammar tips!
Bought = purchased. Brought = relocated
Lose = misplace/opposite of win. Loose = your mum
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Some years ago, I investigated narrowing a Jaguar XJ40 rear IRS on behalf of a kit car company. That's quite a similar arrangement - i.e. the drive shaft acts as the top wishbone. I made a CAD model of it with it narrowed by 2.5 inches per side, and took measurements through the range of suspension travel. Obviously the results would be different for the Lotus if the suspension mounts are widely different but, broadly speaking, narrowing it shouldn't be an issue - the change in camber as the wheel would move up over a bump was slightly greater, but I don't remember the roll centre height or wheel scrub changing much.
If you do think you'll have to narrow it, it's not too difficult to get the measurements you need to work out roll centre height changes, etc.
Great project BTW.
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I still reckon the round lights look better, but beauty is in the eye of the BHolder, so go for it dude! Whats the flipping gorgeous wheels? BBS's would rock IMHO. |
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Koos
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Ax GTi Turbo
