Isn’t that your car lurking in the background? Points and prizes if you can remember where and when the photo was taken…the ruddy great aircraft in the background is a bit of a giveaway…
I took some bits for plating. By the time I got home, I was too tired to do much else.
Richard Hawkins
I reckon that was a very long time ago at the RAF museum ? in Hendon. There was a Lotus or Classic Car show and I remember that I won a prize.
Probably the only time I won a prize for my Lotus state.
But I am not sure that one is my car, in the photo it seems to have a black soft-top, but mine is a coupe so the top is yellow.
Interesting though, that car seems to be yellow over black, which I had thought was unique to my elan.
Made a little more progress on adapting a Quaife quick-change gear lever to my Voight T-9 conversion gearbox. Photos in the reasonably near future.
I replaced the inner rear A arm bushes with poly units I got from TTR.
At least I did the r/h side but that was after a struggle to get the rear pivot bolt out since I had installed it when the chassis was just sitting empty and I didn’t realise that the diff unit prevents the bolt from sliding out forwards. Well, at least it tried to! I removed the torque rod and levered up on the diff and managed to slide the bolt out but…
I then discovered that the bushings I was replacing were special and in offset housings to increase rear negative camber-from the cars days as a successful racer. I hadn’t noticed when I cleaned and painted the A arms during my rebuild.
You’re right it is a dhc, my mistake. The photo was taken in 1985 at Hendon. I have a few more some where, I must dig them out.
I took advantage of the fine weather and drove a hundred and thirty mile round trip to see my friend Mr. Bogg, he’s a lovely fellow and at eighty-two he’s as active as man half his age. The Yorkshire Wolds are beautiful at this time of year. Oh and the Sprint drives so much better after Dave worked his magic.
After over 7 years of a full nuts and bolts restoration and following a false start at the end of June, I finally drove the car 26 miles. 
After my first set of nerves, got more confident and started to enjoy my first successful drive.
June was my first drive of only 4 miles, because when up to operating temperature I had a metallic clicking sound from No 3 cylinder and returned home.
Must admit I was paranoid that the noise was due to my engine being bored oversize + 0.060 inches, some years previous and that on reading Miles Wilkins book, which stated that an LB graded engine should be no greater than +0.040 Inches.
I ended up buying an ultrasonic measuring gauge and was most relieved that the measurements proved that the water jacket thickness was OK. Thanks to Rohan and others for their input.
Great day, great weather.
So what had caused the horrible noise? Cam clearances?
Interesting comparison. When I did mine not to long ago, I put a glass table-top on top of some office-type carpet on a concrete floor, put a sheet of plastic over the glass to save having to scrape any glue off the glass that might seep out an edge, put the dashboard face-down onto the plastic, then topped it with a couple of ten-pound dumbells and several stacks of large books. Can’t remember if I used a roller before doing all that, but it worked a treat and stuck well and evenly. Used an X-Acto knife to cut out the holes and trim-up everything. Didn’t count the coats of poly (mostly sprayed), but applied dry-transfer labels about 3/4 of the way through the coats.
I traced the cause of my non operating front and rear heated screens to a faulty ?10.00 70amp relay, happily it wasn’t the ?80.00 timer relay
All fixed and ready for winter mornings.
The clicking sound was due to the No 4 piston touching the cylinder head gasket.
Gasket was for 84 mm and the bore was oversize +0.060" = 3.307" dia, which is also 84 mm.
On the first assembly the gasket must have moved although I did use 2 old bolts.
For the second assembly I made some bolts which had the bolt dia the same as the thread dia and used a 85mm gasket. Result no more clicking.
I also installed a new set of Cam Followers, these also helped to reduce the clatter.
Completed 2 run outs in the car, total distance 58 miles and so far all’s good.
Nothing really - it all seems to be working!
I will take it out this Sunday for a drive - I use my +2 every Sunday in summer to get to various walks around Essex with my wife. I also use it for two short breaks every year somewhere in the country. Oh - and the occasional trip to Hethel.
Jobs for this winter are:
- Rear wheel bearings will need changing before long - I might do it this year.
- Check the compression - if not OK then it’s head off for a valve grind.
That’s about it apart from general servicing.
Dave Chapman.
Replaced the wind deflector that I attached to the roll bar several years ago.
It was looking a bit tatty and the wire inner that ensures it keeps its shape had rusted out at the bottom.
Probably due to a 4 hour trip we made, top down, a couple of years ago during a torrential downpour.
The rain simply blew over the top apart from a few dribbles on the top of the roll bar.
With the heater on it was actually more pleasant than the usual wet trip with a flapping top, fogged windows, and poor visibility.
Goodness knows what other drivers thought as we steamed past in a cloud of spray.
Neither of us got the slightest bit wet, until we stopped…
Not much traffic in your part on NZ then!
Not where we were driving at the time, up around the East Coast of the North Island, Gisborne way.
A real step back in time.
The sort of place where you come around a corner and have to slow down in order to dodge what looks like a pig dog meandering down the road dragging a lead.
Half a k on you slow for an enormous sow that’s sauntering along the edge of the road, and wonder if there’s a connection…
One place I couldn’t figure out what the white things on the road were, until I caught up with the ute dropping them, and realised that docking must be on as they were lamb’s tails.
About four or five years ago I was in Huntly on the way to the power plant and there behind the main street was a S3 pre-airflow fhc. The car was very original, it was white with slightly flared wheel arches. I should have taken a picture. I wonder how many Elans are in NZ?
Just a quiet Sunday checking the Elan over for racing in 3 weeks. New front pads and topping up the fluids was all that was required.
cheers
Rohan
In our case, a noisy Sunday running the 26R replica at Wakefield Park near Goulburn in NSW Australia. Driver Len Goodwin almost got a pb doing 1.08.4 and came 11th outright in a field of about 100 cars at the Combined Sports Car Association Supersprints despite a damp track. Lots of fun and great company!
Alan P.