Post 17: Is it back for Good?

    Long story short, we rebuilt the engine, replaced the clutch, put new shocks on, installed the new ignition system with REV limiter, and I started breaking in the engine. The summer was very hot, and the car tended to overheat when stuck in traffic on a hot day, so I didn't ride all that much. I only put on 480 miles. But I burnt a whole lot of gas, the car always smelled of gasoline, and gas dripped from the bottom of the tank.
   Then one day about a month or do ago, I noticed a noise when I moved back and forth from first to reverse. It got worst in the next couple of days. Clack! I was afraid the gear in the differential had worn. So I took the car back to the shop.
     It turned out the car was equipped with a Racing Gas Tank, with a rubberized fabric bladder enclosed in an unsealed aluminum enclosure. These bladder last 10 to 15 years, and the car was 30 years old! I had no choice, and we sent the tank to have a bladder custom made and fitted in. That took several weeks, and cost about $1200. 
    In the meantime, we figured out that the noise was actually coming from broken brackets attaching the frame to the rear end. Landers had some new heavy duty ones made and welded them on. That sounds simple enough, but in order to do all this, the whole back of the car had to be taken apart. Lots of labor...This car is a money pit!
     I finally got the Lotus back last night, put the trunk lining back in place this morning, re attached the cowl and the hood
    I am getting ready to go on a little test drive, fingers crossed. The weather is beautiful and cool, and I hope to ride the car through the winter when the sun is out. I will just have to wear my sheepskin jacket, and just got on eBay a "cool" warm matching  Bomber Cap:

    All I need now is a pair of UGG Shearling Gloves:

    I am also definitely going to need warmer high top narrow Driving Shoes, and I just found exactly the right ones, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS LOOKING, the "OMP Vintage Carrera High Racing  Boot" in Brown:

Post 16: Still in the Shop!

   After taking to the expert, we finally decided to order a custom double kick out steel oil pan 1" shorter than the standard pan from BRD Racing. The reason for the two kick outs is to increase the oil capacity, which is especially critical since we are raising the bottom of the pan by 1".
  The kick outs have baffles to keep the oil from flowing out when cornering .

    We were supposed to get it this Friday, but it's apparently harder to make than expected, so it will be next week...
    We will have to cut an inch off the oil pump to make it fit.
   As far as the shocks are concerned, I wanted to order the GAZSHOCKS  that Dennis Brunton used in his STALKER cars, and he was very nice talking to us and giving us advice. The problem is that the shocks are in short supply(3 weeks wait) and have to be shipped from England. 
   So I am checking on using VIKING  Performance Double Adjustable shocks instead: 

    I have just sent them the following specs to get suggestions and a quote:

       1. Rear shocks are 14” extended(off the car), 13” with the car on the ground empty. I would guess about 12” with 2 passengers. 

       The load on the rear is about 200lbs per shock empty, up to about 400lbs with two 200lbs passengers(the seats are practically on the rear wheels):

        2. Front shocks are 12 5/8” extended(off the car), and 11” with the car on the ground and the lower A arm horizontal. 

The angle of the shock   A= 32 degrees,  d1= 9”,  and d2= 12"

     The weight on each of the front shocks is about 300lbs empty, and probably around 350lbs with two passengers.

     We are thinking of 9” springs in the front and 11” in the back, with spring rates in the neighborhood of 200lbs in the back and 400 lbs on the front, but are certainly open to suggestions.

     The mounting bolts are 1/2” . The mounting tabs are somewhere between 1.25" and 1.5” apart, but the eyelets on the shocks all seem to be about 1” wide.
   The car is used mostly for “spirited" street and country road riding, but also for Autocross occasionally. No track riding in perspective, I am getting too old for that.

  As I said, I want a stiff ride and short suspension travel. Handling definitely come before comfort.

  Also, the oil pan is very low (2” from the ground. We are fitting a custom oil pan that is shallower, and should give us an extra inch of ground clearance, but I still would not mind adding a little bit of height at the front end using a slightly longer shock. 

   Being able to adjust the shocks up for street riding and down for Autocrossing would of course be ideal, but my budget is limited, so the Warrior is really my only choice.

   What are your recommendations? 

Post 16: Still in the Shop!

   After taking to the expert, we finally decided to order a custom double kick out steel oil pan 1" shorter than the standard pan from BRD Racing. The reason for the two kick outs is to increase the oil capacity, which is especially critical since we are raising the bottom of the pan by 1".
  The kick outs have baffles to keep the oil from flowing out when cornering .

    We were supposed to get it this Friday, but it's apparently harder to make than expected, so it will be next week...
    We will have to cut an inch off the oil pump to make it fit.
   As far as the shocks are concerned, I wanted to order the GAZSHOCKS  that Dennis Brunton used in his STALKER cars, and he was very nice talking to us and giving us advice. The problem is that the shocks are in short supply(3 weeks wait) and have to be shipped from England. 
   So I am checking on using VIKING  Performance Double Adjustable shocks instead: 

    I have just sent them the following specs to get suggestions and a quote:

       1. Rear shocks are 14” extended(off the car), 13” with the car on the ground empty. I would guess about 12” with 2 passengers. 

          The load on the rear is about 200lbs per shock empty, up to about 400lbs with two 200lbs passengers(the seats are practically on the rear wheels):

 

        2. Front shocks are 12 5/8” extended(off the car), and 11” with the car on the ground and the lower A arm horizontal. 

The angle of the shock   A= 32 degrees,  d1= 9”,  and d2= 12"

     The weight on each of the front shocks is about 300lbs empty, and probably around 350lbs with two passengers.

     We are thinking of 9” springs in the front and 11” in the back, with spring rates in the neighborhood of 200lbs in the back and 400 lbs on the front, but are certainly open to suggestions.

     The mounting bolts are 1/2” . The mounting tabs are somewhere between 1.25" and 1.5” apart, but the eyelets on the shocks all seem to be about 1” wide.

Post 15: Got the Car back, Took it back to the Shop

   I finally got the car back on the 14th, and started breaking in the new engine. It sounds different, much tighter, smooth, no rattles and clicks. It runs well.
   I had gotten some "pretty cool" gas hoses covered with stainless steel mesh and Red/Blue Anodized aluminum clamps to look good, but they didn't fare too well, and we may have to go back to plain rubber hoses to stop the gas leaks. Then the old aluminum oil pan rubbed a little bit going very slowly over a speed bump in a parking lot and caused pin holes dripping oil. It must have become paper thin at the weld over years of rubbing, and that last one was just the last  straw:

   
     The original pan was modified and that protrusion added to the right in order to fit the oil pump (turned sideways) for counterclockwise ring racing. The pump is mounted in the center now, so there is no real need for it, and I am trying to find a plain stock oil pan, heavy duty steel if possible. 

    That will diminish the oil capacity some, but I don't see it being a big problem. We could always add an oil cooler I suppose...
      I also realized that the shocks were shot, and that we needed both to repair/ replace the oil pan, and find longer shocks to raise the car at least one inch. So the car went back in the shop last Thursday. I went by the shop this morning to take a look at the pan and the shocks:

    The front shock(bottom) is about 12 5/8" with a 9" spring that seems too stiff for such a light car.
    The rear shock(top) is 14" with an 11" spring.
    I figure we could use a 14" shock up front.
    I did some research on the Internet and found a couple of options, but the advice of the guy at O'Reilly's turned out best. He suggested GazShocks, which are made in England, and happen to be distributed in the USA by Brunton,  the manufacturer of a Super Seven copy. I just emailed them asking for their recommendation.

Post 14: Even more parts needed!

   The new high performance water pump we got has a different bolt pattern than the old, so the 5" steel pulley doesn't fit, and I had to order the one designed for the pump fro BRD Racing:

   Their water pump pulley come in either 6" or 7", and the idea behind a bigger pulley is that " The 2TC and 3TC Water Pumps Are Notorious For Cavitating When RPM's Get high Causing coolant flow to suffer.  This Pulley Combined with our High Performance Water Pump Will Keep Your Street or Race Engine Cooler, Even in the Most Demanding Situations!". 
   They recommended mating it with their 3.5" crankshaft pulley, which I ordered as well.
   I am a little concerned as just how much slower that's going to make the pump RPM, and the Alternator as well.... But I talked to the experts at BRD, and they say that's what we want....
   The engine is basically finished now,  and we are just waiting for the clutch to arrive on Tuesday to put it back in the car. 

Post 13: More Parts to be Replaced

     I had hoped the car might be ready to register it for an Autocross Class at the Atlanta Track on July 9, but it's just too tight to be ready. I had asked Landers a couple of times about replacing the clutch, but it was only decided this morning. The only clutch unit I could find is at NAPA in Ohio, and because of the 4th of July it won't be here until next Tuesday... Patience...

    In the meantime, the engine is being re assembled:

Post 12: Not So Fast, more Delays, One more week to wait...

   As it turns out, BRD Racing didn't have the rods in stock, and had to order them, so they ended up shipping them to Landers only yesterday, which means the week is shot. The car won't be riding around on the 4th of July as I had hoped, may be it will for Bastille Day on the 14th...

   In the meantime, I ordered from eBay a Cleanable Blue Anodized Fuel Filter:

and am checking on Braided Fuel Hoses with Anodized Aluminum Clamps: