Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: TurboFource on Monday,January 25, 2021, 01:38:29 PM
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I was just curious why none of the tubing I have taken apart so far on the Europa has a bead formed into it
to prevent the hose etc. from coming off? It does make disassembly easier...... ::) but the point of having them
is to prevent the hose from coming off easily....
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The tubes I'm thinking of are the transfer tubes and the heater tubes. Are there others?
The transfer tubes fit pretty snugly in the grommets in the frame so having a bead would make assembling that much harder.
I don't know why the heater tubes weren't beaded.
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BDA is right, if you bead the main coolant tube ends, you can't get them through the grommets. I just put a three or four rivets at the end of each tube after installing. Works the same as a beaded end but you can drill them out if you have to remove the tubes. All the other tubes I made up myself and beaded their ends.
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How did you form the beads, JB?
There are a few rather spendy gadgets around but I'd like to avoid those considering the small number of beads needed.
There's also the range of sizes to consider - 1/2 inch for the heater tubes and 1-1/4 inch for the coolant tubes.
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I just put a three or four rivets at the end of each tube after installing. Works the same as a beaded end but you can drill them out if you have to remove the tubes.
That's clever John - where did you learn that from?
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I had the beading tools already from when I worked. They are expensive so look for a shop that has them. An aircraft, race-prep, or good restoration shop should have them.
It is clever. Not my idea though. Read it somewhere.
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I agree, it's clever and simple!