What did you do to your Lotus today

Vegantune of Spalding the firm that redid your engine, certainly don’t exist anymore, see the recent topic about Evante cars.

If it has the waterpump inside the timing case your engine is basically an improved Lotus Twin Cam engine; that’s what Vegantune used to do in their earlier days.

The engine number is usually stamped on the ledge where the Distributor sits, but it may be on the back surface which is therefore nearly impossible to read unless you take the engine out of the car.

On my early car the number (2417) is stamped on the head just below the core plug on the back.

Sorry, for some reason I can’t upload a photo but the stamping is between the core plug and the had gasket.

That’s such a great feeling. Congratulations!

metallic porn :laughing:





Anyone have a smoke?

Are we talking about the engine parts or what appears to be a stainless steel work bench top?

Front or back?

nice work

I prefer a soft aluminium work bench top as less chance of damage to alloy components ! but i still like it clean and shiny :laughing:

cheers
Rohan

10:00hrs and I’ve achieved success.
The seized electric washer pump needed attention. Amazingly the top cover retained by 3 screws instead of the modern methods of breakable plastic pegs and glue.
Pump and motor assy stripped to reveal evidence of water contamination to the motor, once cleaned and lubed it works a treat. Hopefully when allowed out I’ll be able to source the single replaceable O ring seal.

Today I have successfully repaired a non functioning electric window motor on my Plus 2. It has been very ‘lazy’ since I’ve had the car and then decided to simply pop the fuse rather than work, so with the introduction of relays, a replaced motor from a donor door acquired some time ago and correctly winding the spring into tension I now have fully scuffed and bleeding knuckles, revitalised building site terminology for things that don’t go to plan but also a fully functioning window that zips up and down and doesn’t need the engine running to do so…whet hey

Survived another nerve wracking outing amongst the beasts. Had to park as the drive thru window at the pharmacy is too high.
Don’t want to encourage a “garage queen” but it just ain’t friendly out here.

We feel for you! We cannot reach the payment slot on continental autoroutes - so in the past we had to get out and walk around under the noses of enormous trucks and SUVs - all impatient. We now have an Emovis tag on the windscreen that automatically takes payment and opens the barrier. Works in France and Spain and soon Italy I believe. A good bit of kit that is very cheap to have.

Bought one of these from Amazon:
amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 … rod_image#


it is an inexpensive FM radio with builtin MP3 player and Hands-free mobile phone answerer, with a classic ‘look’.

I will fit it later.

I’m not worried about originality. When I had the Elan totally refurbished by Vegantune of Spalding back in 1983 I supplied a (then modern) new radio with cassette player and of course as was common in them thar days, they did not return the old Phillips (?) radio to me. So since then I’ve has the ‘new’ radio with AM, FM and cassette player and haven’t got the original radio to refit.

Fitting the new gadget won’t be easy though for me, (though it would be for most owners) because back then there was a spate of car break-ins to steal radios & CB sets. So I had a special bespoke dashboard made which does not have a DIN rectangular hole for the radio, it has a smaller rectangle hole and two round holes for the knobs. Deliberately done so that it is impossible to get the radio out from the front; the dashboard has to be taken out.

I also had a rectangular extra glove box created just below the standard glove box position (the original glove box container was replaced by a smaller one. The small box held the CB radio and had a door which closed to hide the CB radio. The opening for the CB radio box is rectangular (and might be DIN compatible), but I fear that if I put the MP3 unit there, then the microphone in the new unit might be too far from the drivers mouth for good Hands-Free phoning.

Had a look at my new ARP bolts…



Had it on a dyno… two sets of results here, ten years apart, different companies, very repeatable.

Only one difference between the two, can you spot it :smiley:

cheers


Peak HP now 200 rpm higher?

What is the PS1-4 line on the charts?

The other trace is oil pressure, and is the main difference. Absolute numbers not being my bag,compar I thought it was interesting very interesting to look at the two graphs. Car has QED 420 cams.

Fitted the updated pumped for two reasons, first the car will be doing a Swiss Alps tour, so long stints on the autobahn from Rotterdam to Switzerland, and also the much higher temps going up and down those big passes. And second, I might do a couple of track days, but that a might.

Cheers

Very wise to have a better oil pump. I have a twin row high capacity pump and it all helps to keep things calm and cool in long continental blasts and being a hooligan in the Alps!!

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For being a hooligan in the Alps I prefer to use this… Mr Green…