Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: RafM on Saturday,November 06, 2021, 05:05:32 AM
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1973 Twin cam
Would anyone know the thread size for the steering wheel securing nut?
Thanks, Raf.
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9/16 Whitworth, why do you ask?
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Thanks for the info jbbcollier,
Getting to the last stages of my rebuild, the car came in pieces from the PO.
I have a nut which appears to be correct but won't go on, just checking in case I need to get a tap & die to clean up
the threads (which look ok)
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IIRC, the hex of that nut is 1 1/8”. It’s a thin nut. I didn’t know it was Whitworth. I will make quadruple dog sure I don’t lose it!
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The nuts are readily available from any British sports car parts shop as they are from Triumph Spitfires.
I think it’s 26 tpi, you could get a thread file and touch up the threads on the column.
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The nuts are readily available from any British sports car parts shop as they are from Triumph Spitfires.
I think it’s 26 tpi, you could get a thread file and touch up the threads on the column.
I could not find it shown on Rimmer Bros exploded steering diagrams.
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I believe its item 25 here https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/shop-by-model/triumph/spitfire/steering-suspension/steering/steering-column-upper-spitfire-mki-1500-1962-80.html (https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/shop-by-model/triumph/spitfire/steering-suspension/steering/steering-column-upper-spitfire-mki-1500-1962-80.html)
£4.60 from Moss Europe
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On the Rimmer site, the nut is listed with steering wheels, not the column:
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-105438
You'd also want the washer/clip that goes underneath:
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-204741
(it's listed with the horn push)
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On the Rimmer site, the nut is listed with steering wheels, not the column:
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-105438
You'd also want the washer/clip that goes underneath:
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-204741
(it's listed with the horn push)
The nut behind the steering wheel was hard to spot !!!
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And I thought that I was the loose nut behind the wheel. :FUNNY:
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1972 Twin Cam
I've fixed the problem but it's not straightforward.
As the car was bought as a half done project it's not clear what parts came off of the original and what have been sourced along the way. I have found plenty of
parts that are not correct for a TC (or even a Europa)
The steering wheel boss was shorting against he slip ring (photo 1) as soon as it was placed on the column. I made some adjustments to the centre column to create a gap
and added insulation tape in a few places.
Pic 2 is the back of the boss, the spring contact rubs against the slip ring on the column cowl to pass the 12v supply, the cable goes through the wheel into the horn push.
Pic 3 is the back of the horn push showing the 12v supply cable.
Pic 4 is the front of the horn push showing the metal contact rings that make the circuit when you push the horn. It's a sprung loaded mechanism that is insulated from the rest of the
wheel & boss. The green side is the earth route, the red circle shows the gap and the 12v supply is connected to the top ring.
Pic 5 is the horn push on the wheel, the washer and nut hold it all in place and the centre cap clips in place on top.
With this type of horn there is no contact 'pencil' or cage fitting used. I'm not certain the column and steering wheel are actually a correct match but I have made it
work nicely. The wheel sits perfectly within the steering column.
Hope this is useful if you get similar problems.