Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: SilverBeast on Tuesday,August 20, 2019, 12:57:05 PM
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I've just bought a 74 Twin Cam special - I'm assuming it is though registration document says Europa twin-cam. It has the Big- value
Valve head (well that's on the rocker cover anyway) and the 5 speed box. I have a few questions:
1. I thought carbs Dellortos were loose and nipped up the top manifold nuts, though not the bottom ones as I couldn't reach them at the time. I've since read up about Thackrey washers and now know they aren't supposed to be fully tightened. This was a couple of weeks ago. Will I need to replaced the o rings and Thackrey washers, or will I be ok slackening them and setting the gaps properly?
2. He's anyone got a decent photo and dimensions for the front bonnet prop, as mine is missing?
3. Same for engine cover prop. Though mine has hydraulic supports they are shot and don't hold the cover up. Were these ever fitted as standard (when Colin wasn't looking) or are they all aftermarket?
I'll no doubt be asking many more questions later, as I have a slow drip of hydraulic fluid from the bottom of the master cylinder and a very long brake pedal though they still seem to stop the car Ok. I need to do all those things I should have done before I bought it, like take all the wheels off and check pad wear and adjustments etc, and lift the car and check the chassis and suspension properly!
Cheers, Richard
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:Welcome: Richard!!
You have apparently have a '74 Twin Cam Special and the person who entered information on the registration document fat-fingered the description. My understanding is that the Brit cars did not have the big valve head but had Dellortos instead but I could be wrong. Obviously, it would be easy to replace the cam cover if that's what happened.
You might want to join two yahoo groups (lotuseuropa and sidedraft central). The lotuseuropa group is a good addition to this forum and sidedraft central, while mostly about Webers, can give you insights to your Dellortos. But back to your question. I have read opinions that Webers and Dellortos can be solidly mounted or "flex" mounted. The usual think is flex mounting with thackery washers and/or rubber replacements. If the washers are not broken, I would only consider buying new ones for spares (which wouldn't be a bad idea). As for the o-rings between your carbs and manifold, it wouldn't hurt to take a look a them. I suspect they are fine. Thackery washers should be tightened such that there is a gap between 0.035" and 0.050".
The prop rod for the bonnet is worthless to me. I never use mine preferring to gently lower it toward the front of the car and leave it there. It does not mar the paint. But I've attached a couple of pictures of mine to give you an idea of the dimensions. The dog leg section is what goes into the front trunk and the right angle part is what goes into the bonnet. The rod is about 1/4" in diameter. I think from the two pictures you'll be able to see what it's supposed to look like.
The later TCSs had gas struts so they are likely original to your car. My advice is to replace yours. Gas struts are one of the best things I've put on my car! Lotus Supplies Ltd. (http://parts.banks-europa.co.uk/orders_frame.htm) can surely sell you a set as well as places like Paul Matty, SJ Sportscars or any other dealer. You might also find an industrial supplier for them which would probably be more economical. Here are instructions to make your own strut system which includes a source and part number for the struts. Checking the link for the supplier McMaster-Carr, you should be able to get the specs for struts you can buy locally.
Good luck and don't be a stranger. Better yet, post lots of pictures of your car and let us know what your plans are!
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Thanks for your detailed reply. The props about what I expected. It'll be better than the u-shaped garden canes I'm using at the moment! I intend to replace the struts, it's just that most of those I've found are designed for a ball and socket fitting and mine use a unshaped end piece.
I've not done too much yet, mainly trying to fix the horn push. I suspect I need to ground the steering column shaft itself as it's ntermittent when turning the wheel and I'm pretty confident the contact to the ring is good as I've cleaned them up. PO disconnected heater fan switch (motor still works) to use it for the horn. It looks like the only way of turning the fan on is via a switch grafted onto the underside of the dash as the connection to the sensor in the radiator is disconnected.
I tried posting pictures but I'm using an android tablet and haven't figured out how to resize photos on it yet!
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..and I figured out how to resize the photos
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Posting those reminded me. The chrome trim above the sill guard is coming off at the back on the driver's side - just the last clip. I still have the rusty clip. How is this clip attached to the body normally?
Thanks again
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Do not mount the carbs solid. Engine vibrations will cause fuel frothing and leaning of the mixture -- ask any MGA twin cam owner. Probably you can just loosen things back to the factory spec. After doing that, just spray WD-40 at the o-rings. If the idle stays steady, you are ok.
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She's a beauty, Silver! Congratulations! You did well! :beerchug:
Is your horn in the center of the steering wheel, in which case I can't help you, or is it on the end of the turn signal stalk in which case I can tell you that the steering column shaft is not grounded?
The clips for the trim above the silver metallic sill covers are pop riveted to the body I think. I'm surprised it came off! If they are original, I believe they are stainless steel which doesn't matter here but just an FYI. You can probably get new clips at the places I mentioned earlier. I don't think the trim pieces are still available but there should be replacements at those places too if you need them. IIRC, mine came with double stick tape so I didn't need those clips.
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Do not mount the carbs solid. Engine vibrations will cause fuel frothing and leaning of the mixture -- ask any MGA twin cam owner. Probably you can just loosen things back to the factory spec. After doing that, just spray WD-40 at the o-rings. If the idle stays steady, you are ok.
Yeah I read about the frothing after I'd tightened them. Thanks for the tip about WD40.
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She's a beauty, Silver! Congratulations! You did well! :beerchug:
Is your horn in the center of the steering wheel, in which case I can't help you, or is it on the end of the turn signal stalk in which case I can tell you that the steering column shaft is not grounded?
The clips for the trim above the silver metallic sill covers are pop riveted to the body I think. I'm surprised it came off! If they are original, I believe they are stainless steel which doesn't matter here but just an FYI. You can probably get new clips at the places I mentioned earlier. I don't think the trim pieces are still available but there should be replacements at those places too if you need them. IIRC, mine came with double stick tape so I didn't need those clips.
Thanks. It's a runner and i can find all of the gears, most of the time! It has micro blistering which doesn't really show on the photos, but hey the body won't rust! I'll probably not be driving it in the rain anyway, as I can see daylight between the door seal and frame on on the diagonal of the quarter light on the driver's side, I haven't checked the passenger side. There are some tide masks on the carpet!
Yes horn is in wheel centre. Button just shorts horn ground wire to steering column which I understand grounds via steering rack. If it's just a poor ground via rack, I may rig up a contract to short column to ground via something like the pencil connector used in other horn mechanisms. PO had fastened the column clamp betwwen the upper and the lower half of the column too far down and shorted the column to the brass slip ring disc.
The clip was still in the trim. It looks like the rivet or screw that held it to the body has corroded. Clip should clean up ok. I just need to fix it
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Just to be clear, I, too, understand that the "soft" mounting for Webers and Dellortos is to combat frothing. The only reason I mentioned there was a differing opinion about that is because I asked on sidedraft central why sidedraft carbs were "soft-mounted" and was surprised that more than one replied that he mounts his solidly and has never had any problems and nobody warned him against the practice.
For the record, I uses thackery washers on the bottom bolts and the rubber replacement cushions on the top.
Thanks for the WD-40 tip, JB!
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The shift linkeage is something you need to do careful maintenance on. There are lots of places where slop can develop. You might start at the shift lever. At the bottom of the lever, there is nylon hat-shaped bushings and a shoulder bolt arrangement that transfers movement from the lever to the forward link tube. Check that they are in good shape. The u-joint between the forward and rear tubes wear out so check that. The joint is supported by a bracket on the bell housing. There's a rubber bush in that bracket that should be checked and at the tranny end, there is another u-joint that needs looking at.
As for your horn, I would check that you're not shorting out when you push the button. That happened to me on a VW I had so I had to make a spacer to keep that from happening. But then, there's no telling what the PO did.
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Stunning example Silver-B! And :Welcome:
I too have micro-blistering on my (I think) original paint. I decided it is minor enough to live with and the “patina” has some originality cred. I really like the single, tasteful gold pinstripe on the wings, as opposed to the overdone stripe tape that was standard on our TC Specials. We Yanks would give our left nut for one of those Webber/ Delorto heads. Interesting choice to paint it by your PO. Congrats and keep posting!
Tom (aka Surfguitar58)
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If you are using the original column u-joint, there should be a jumper wire from one side to the other to keep the column grounded.
Solid mounts can work on some engines. It all depends on the balance and resulting vibration. Four cylinder, inline engines have fundamental balancing issues that are not resolvable without adding balance shafts. So, follow best practice and use a flexible mounting system.
The internet offers a seemingly unlimited supply of idiots assuming the mantle of expertise. I'm sure someone has solid mounted sidedrafts and not blown up. If all you do is go from cafe to cafe, stoplight to stoplight, etc, you'll hardly ever have problems. Flat out, up a steep mountain pass for a half an hour, or more, is another matter entirely. I holed a piston once and see no need to repeat the affair. I was a young, know-it-all apprentice at the time. I'm much wiser now and know practically nothing at all.
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:Welcome:
Nice looking europa! Great group of guys here with sage advice. Always ask (I do) and everyone with knowledge or support chips in.
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Hi Richard and :Welcome:
Wow, that is a very clean looking car, it doesn't look to have been overly "improved" over the years so I'd call that an excellent find. I always like the black cars, I think the colour suits the Europa very well.
I'd echo JB's points on the carb mounting, every book I've read on the topic instructs that they have flexible mounts. If you're unsure of the age then I think I would replace the O rings, or at least remove and take a look. They aren't subject to a lot of heat there so the rubber normally stays flexible for many years.
My slight twinge of concern is if they are OEM then they'll be 40+ years old, and that's a long time for rubber to stay soft & flexible. If they are too hard and you slacken the washers off to get some movement then there's the chance of leaks; air leaks are a nuisance but petrol leaks aren't so helpful !
Access underneath isn't good so I made a cut-down spanner, probably only a couple of inches long because you don't need a lot of force on the nut. That, in conjunction with a lamp up top and a small mirror underneath gives a good view of the lower washers and makes setting the gap easy.
Also if they are Dellortos and have stood for years, watch for leaks from underneath as you re-commision the car and get some miles on it. Mine developed a split in the lower diaphragm after it had stood for too many years, which resulted in petrol weeping out. Again a personal thing and definitely not a panic "you must do this now !", but a rebuild kit is cheap enough, covers all the bases and leaves you with carbs that you know are set up correctly.
Brian
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Is had 100-200 miles a year from MOT website. MOT is still current. One of the things that attracted me to it was that it looks mostly original (and probably paid over the odds for the same reason). The dealer bought it from a gentleman who bought it from a friend who had had it with his father for a number of years. I understand one of them was more into classic motorbikes, and rebuilt the engine while it was in their care. It also had a banks replacement rear selector linkage (last section that goes to the gearbox) and drivers door hinge pin kit.
I intend to get in touch with last owner, if possible, once I've had chance to investigate more and try to get a bit more history.
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Hi Silverbeast. You can have your gas struts reconditioned here
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-struts/re-gassing-service
I have used them twice. Good service.
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Welcome to the forum, Richard. Very nice looking Europa you have there. You have found the right place for advice and encouragement. Cheers :beerchug:
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I reckon your car chassis number is between 74012340P and 74122407P, so only 67 UK models were built in 1974 as they were sending everything they built to the USA.
:Welcome:
Alex in Norfolk.
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Registered 01 11 1974, Chassis plate seems to indicate manufactured November 1973, almost as if the 01 and the 11 have been transposed at the DVLA....
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Just t o clear up what BDA wrote.
The UK-specification original TC did not have the Big Valve head that went on the Federal US cars. The TCS did have a Big Valve head, but it was the high-compression head as fitted to Elan Sprints, and the +2S 130, though again not in the US.
The US Big Valve head is a bit of a joke. Sure, it has very slightly larger valves but with the original compression ratio and Stromberg carbs it's hard to see why, except as a marketing gimmick.
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Registered 01 11 1974, Chassis plate seems to indicate manufactured November 1973, almost as if the 01 and the 11 have been transposed at the DVLA....
Sitting around for a year between manufacture and registration.
Very strange.
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Not in the US. I bought mine "new" but in fact, it had baked in the humidity of New Orleans at the distributor for about a year or so. They stacked up so much that the distributor offered really great prices such that at least one guy came in from California to get the deal.
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My understanding is that "7311" means it was manufactured in November of 1973. Registration would happen sometime after that. Might the registration use the American date designation 01/11/74 meaning January 11, 1974, as opposed to the European 01-11-74 meaning 1, November, 1974?
Detail nerds might be interested to note there are subtle changes to the nameplate between mine ("7310" = mfgr. October 1973) and S-Beast's ("7311 = mfgr. November 1973). On mine the brake fluid has "Crimson" crossed out and "Green" stamped in, and the order of the lube makers is different. Both plates have the same part number.
Tom
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I also have a Europa that was built in January of 1970 but not registered untill some time in 1971. I am going to try to get this changed along with an incorrect VIN once the car is certified to be road worthy.
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54-1173 was built in, I think January of, 1969 but registered as a 1970, I will be trying to get this fixed when I reregister it.
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Same here. Mine is a 70 , but title shows 71. I thought it was a motor vehicle typo.
Dakazman
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Very common back then for this sort of thing. Ducati motorcycles even left the last digit blank on their serial number plates. The dealers were meant to stamp it in when sold. Many didn’t which can make matters very interesting 50 years later at the local registry.
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So I took it into work again today, only 10min and noticed the following:
(I) Throttle seems to stick if you ease your speed down. I have to blip it to get it to go back down to tick over.
(II) When I put it in the garage the handbrake seemed to be still on a bit.
I'm assuming both of these are likely to be fixed with a bit of oil on the cables.
(III) When checking under the big bung in the front plenum chamber the wires for the fan override switch have been run under the pivoting bracket for the handbrake - seems like an electrical problem waiting to happen, if not worse.
(IV) The radiator thermostat (otter switch?) has been disconnected completely in order to connect manual fan override. Does anyone know of away to check this (I'm assuming it's broken) or a suitable replacement. I'm in the UK. I intend to reinstate the thermostatic switch and modify the override to use a relay.
I definitely need to lift the car and get the wheels off to give everything a good check over. I have two ramps, a trolley Jack and four axle stands, as well as the scissor jack that came with the car, though that seems to be missing the L shaped bracket mentioned in the online handbook. Any recommendations for lifting and supporting the car to get all four wheels off the ground, and to be able to get underneath and check out the chassis.
Any common chassis defect areas to look at in particular?
Any recommendations for cleaning the oil off the engine and gearbox so I can start tracing the minor leaks?
Clearly it's time to read Certified Lotus's epic thread and look for pointers!
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Jack up the front under the metal cross member where the metal plate attaches with 3 x 7/16" head bolts.
The rear is easiest to jack up centrally under the gearbox either at the rear mounting plate or where the suspension arms connect to the bottom centre of the gearbox.
Main places for rust are the bottom of the front box section described above, and the bottom of the Y where the chassis splits at the front of the engine.
Throttle jamming can be caused by any of the cable especially both ends where the cable frays, or the linkage where the rod goes under the plenum chamber.
For cleaning oil, I use a garden pump up spray that you would use for spraying weedkiller available from Homebase or B&Q. Put in a pint or two of paraffin and spray the mucky area. Leave to soak in for an hour and hose off with water.
The otter switch earths the radiator fan, so an ove-ride switch is another way of starting the fan working by earthing via a manual switch. Even new otter switches can fail, so a manual over-ride is very useful if you are using the car regularly in traffic. The car is only self cooling with a 50 mph wind coming through the front grill so the electrical fan is essential.
Alex in Norfolk.
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Firstly :Welcome:
Nice looking Europa you have there.
Does your throttle cable have a solderless nipple at either of it's ends? If so it's worth checking that the cable is adjusted correctly as if it is set slightly too tight it will give what you are describing in that the throttle can appear stuck/high idle speed when the pedal is released slowly but a blip can reset it back to where it should be. - solderless nipple will have a small screw that allows you to reposition the nipple along the inner cable. Otherwise it's as Alex has described with the additional possibilities of it being routed incorrectly or maybe it's is trapped/pinched by something?
Handbrake cable is adjustable but you have to access it inside the centre tunnel via the access hole - bit fiddly tbh - 'U' shaped piece on the rear cable with central cable from this to the translator (the pivoting bracket you have found under the big bung in the front plenum!). The central cable has a threaded end that passes through the U shaped part and this is where you adjust it.
Might be worth checking the condition of the rear shoes and their operation too as they may be binding slightly rather than it being the handbrake cable adjustment?
Banks is one of the best sources for any parts you might need in the U.K. If you get the opportunity to speak to Richard on the phone then he is also a very good source of information/advice.
Regardless of how your fan is controlled it is also worth making sure that it is spinning the correct way! - fairly common for them to be connected up incorrectly which doesn't help very much!!
'Gunk' is a pretty effective product for removing oil etc - should be available from most motor factors. Spray/brush it on and wash it off with water.
Jon
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Thanks to you both for your replies. Hopefully I'll get chance to make a start on these this weekend. Need to cut the grass first! And my daughter needs collecting from her weeks holiday on Sunday.
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Thanks again for all the replies.
I've started a new thread here->http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=3266.0 (http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=3266.0) to keep all questions/work I do on the car together.