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:

Post 11: Got the Block to Landers, Two more Weeks to wait!

   The block was still not ready when I went by this morning, it would take just 20 mn or so to get the camshaft bearings in... 
Still wasn't quite ready this afternoon when I went back, so I just waited and watched. The bill ended up less than I expected at $337.
   I took it straight to Landers, we checked the fit of the new WISECO pistons he ordered ($550 or so), very nice...
   Now, it's just a matter of putting all the pieces back together, and get the engine ready, hopefully by the end of next week. Then we will bolt it back in the car, put all the components back in, rewire everything, put in the new ignition system, tune it all up...
  I hope to have it back the next week end, and drive it to Beatrice for the Fourth of July....

Post 10: The Block

     I went by the place that was putting new sleeves in the block late afternoon, and found them ready to put the crosshatch in the new sleeves. The block looked really black even after pressure washing, so we decided to dip it for deeper cleaning, and replace the camshaft bearings, which will get messed up in the process... A few more $$$$$ of course, but worth it I think to make it look like new, especially as far as resale value... I went by Landers to talk over the new Ignition System, and pick up the camshaft. They should be finished by to morrow evening. 
   I miss driving my toy really bad, may be I will have it back by next week end....

Post 9: Sprucing up the Engine Compartment

    I have been working on and off at polishing the Valve Cover, and cleaning up various parts. Got a Blue Anodized Billet oil cap  for it:

 The Alternator was polished, and the bracket and the front of the pulley were painted blue:

    The peeling black paint and rust was stripped off the electric fan frame and motor and they were repainted blue:

     I cleaned the Distributor(which was converted to Electronic), and the vacuum timing unit got the same treatment:

    Same goes for the Fuel Pump, the dipstick, and various brackets:

    I stripped layers of black paint off the copper cooling system upper unit and polished it:

   The exhaust manifold was totally stripped of old yellowed white paint, sanded, and spray painted flat black with High Heat Exhaust Paint:

   I started to clean up the coil, but it is so old and nasty I decided to replace it. So I ordered from BRD Racing a new more powerful "Blaster Coil",  and also the Multiple Spark Ignition System MSD 6AL, which incorporates a Rev Limiter that can be set to any RPM:

    That will come in handy on the Autocross track to avoid going over 5500 EPM going out of curves in second gear.

    I picked up the aluminum custom Radiator all cleaned, pressure tested,  and welded  tight:

    That still leaves the wiring to be straightened out , taped, encased in plastic conduit, and tied to the space frame.
    Also, the bracket that holds the Brake and Hydraulic Clutch Master Cylinders is badly rusted:

    I will take it out, sand it, and paint it blue. The clutch cylinder could be repaired too, as well as the hydraulic lines.

Post 8: Forget the Blue Rocker arms, we need New Pistons and four sleeves, $$$$$$$

  This morning, we ordered a new set of Eagle Connecting Rods, all the coated  bearings, and all the gaskets from BRD Racing, including the Cometic Head Gasket.
  But then, Landers called me back this afternoon for a little talk.
  Bad News:  the edges of the pistons show substantial damage. So we called BRD Racing to order a new set of 89 mm pistons. But it turns out that 89 mm pistons are now out of fashion, and they don't even make rings for them anymore.
  The guy at BRD Racing, who has been rebuilding these engines for 20 years, advised us against using such big pistons anyway, suggesting the sleeves bored at 89 mm were too weak, and corrosion could cause them to crack and fail. He advised going back to 87 mm(stock is 85 mm), and use domed pistons to increase compression. So that's what we did.
    Of course, that means that instead of replacing one sleeve, we now have to replace all four... More $$$$
  Will this ever end?
 Until the parts get here and we get the block back, the engine will be sitting in an orderly fashion in Landers shop:

Post 7: Got the head back!

    I was originally supposed to have the head back within a few days, but it ended up needing a good deal of welding to repair cracks and pitting, and a spring had to be ordered, so it was only finished on Friday. It almost looks like a new one , though a  little pirating remains in the combustion chambers, and there are a couple of slightly ragged edges...

   Final cost $250.  
   I am hoping the block will be ready to morrow, and I expect we will order the parts in the next couple of days..
   The rocker arms and push rods look pretty good, so there is no need to replace them, except to replace them with lighter ones with rollers to increase the engine red line... It would be nice to get that engine from the stock 5500 RPM to 6000 RPM+ in second gear for Autocross.

     I do love the Anodized Blue Titan Rocker Arms, but that seems like a lot of money for 8 little pieces of aluminum, and they may not be as durable steel.

Post 6: More $$$$$$$$

   Landers took the engine apart yesterday, and found that none  of the piston pins had clips. It's apparently the way some people did it back when the engine was last rebuilt, using larger pins that were tight... The pin in piston #1 had slid out and was rubbing against the wall of the cylinder, causing deeper and deeper gouges. I wonder how the whole thing didn't blow up...
   He also noticed that two of the rods didn't have match marks, which makes us wonder... The bearings look good, and the other 3 piston pins look fine too.
   However, we want to go back to the standard practice of using loose pins and clips. While we have the whole engine apart and spending all that time rebuilding it, we both feel that we should go the safe way, and install new rods and new bearings.
   I looked around on the Internet, and found a lot of reasonably price Aftermarket Performance parts at BRD RACING, including two types of rods: EAGLE rods, and their own BRD Brandt.

   I somehow prefer the machined Eagle rods with their side H section cuts:

   They also carry high performance Calico Coated bearings:

   There is another outfit called TOYHEAD AUTO  that specializes in 3TG parts, but does carry performance parts for the 3T engine too. They offer OEM as well as Molybdenum Bearings:

    BRD Racing also carries Cometic Head Gaskets in different thicknesse:

Post 5: Engine Out for rebuilt...$$$$$$$$$$

    I towed the Lotus to Landers shop yesterday morning, they took the engine out, and I brought the car back home at the end of the day:

The engine compartment is a mess, and I will take advantage of the couple of weeks it will take to rebuild the engine to clean up, paint and straighten things up:

The wiring is a loose mess:

The expansion vase, wiring and rack all need attention :

  The motor mounts are all rusted up:

  The aluminum panels are dirty and dull, but the chassis itself looks like it is going to clean up well:

    

         I hope the tow bar attachments can remain in place, or at least refitted permanently, so the car can be towed around behind Rachel's Honda Elements for future trips to the Dragon or to Autocross meets around the South: