Restoration of 2358R

[Certified Lotus]

Someone local (Southern CA) convinced him to dismantle and they took the back end of the shift tube with u-joints and left the front tube. I got hit by a "drive by". Not the way I operate as I still believe in a "handshake agreement".

[EuropaTC]

I have sympathy with you,  I'd also be  "displeased"  with that sort of seller. 

The sad thing is that he's now left with something that's virtually unsaleable because it's the joints that wear out and the front tube is very easy to repair should the front gearstick holes become elongated.  No doubt he was persuaded that he'd get more cash by selling seperately but I'll bet it ends up in a skip.

Brian

[4129R]

If you can work out an easy way to get the whole system (both tubes) from Norfolk UK to the other side of the pond economically, I believe I have a reasonable spare.

Not something DHL/FEDEX could easily handle. 

[andy harwood]

I shipped a complete shift tube set, in 2 pieces, from NC to the northeast last yr. Because it was over 4 foot long, UPS/FedEx charged a premium. If I remember correctly, about $100.

[Certified Lotus]

Thanks for all of you listening to my disappointment over the non-transaction. A bit frustrating but I'm moving on! 4129R I sent you a PM.

[Certified Lotus]

Yesterday was my trip to Quicksilver Racing to drop off the TC Weber head engine for rebuild.  3 1/2 hours each way from my house but always worth the trip as Sandy Shamlian  (Owner) is a great insight to what is going on in the racing scene and knows more about engine building than anyone I have ever met.  He's also a great guy!  My friend Chris came with me to keep me company (a Lotus Elan owner and former Formula Ford racer) to see Quicksilvers amazing machine shop. Sandy was kind enough to provide Chris a complete tour of his facilities in great detail.  I had my Elan S1 Weber TC rebuilt at his shop two years ago and was very impressed with his work and the performance of the engine once installed in my 64 Elan.

So the Europa TC was loaded into the back of my pickup for the early morning drive which was relaxing as Chris and I discussed all thing Lotus and no traffic was apparent the entire drive down to Maryland. Photo below of Chris and Sandy discussing the details of engine head modifications in front of one of the many specialty machines at Quicksilver. 

[BDA]

I knew of Quicksilver from my racing days in the latter '70s. Just the fact that they're still around speaks volumes. They would be an easy choice for me. Can you remind us of your plans for your motor? State of tune. Dyno? Head porting? Balance? Dry sump? Aluminum flywheel? Etc...

[Certified Lotus]

No dry sump. There is no reason to have one for a road car. I also don't build race engines for road cars, too tempermental and expensive.

I'm waiting for Sandy to tear the engine down before I make any hard decisions. Need to understand what condition it is in and what has already been done to it before I come up with a plan. It will come back to me with more HP and a better torque curve than stock. I always have my engines Dyno'd after they are built. If you don't have the documentation to show the HP/torque/rpm stats, I am always suspect of owners "talk". Show me the Dyno results........

[BDA]

That all make sense. It's interesting how many street cars have a dry sump (e.g. Porsche, Ferrari) and I hear even some motorcycles. I have a dry sump, too, but I while it might give me "cool racer stuff" points, I'm not sure I'd do it again. The oil in the tank drains into the sump over time and then you start on no pressure. I'm looking into ways to ameliorate that situation. So far, the least expensive and most fun way to do that is drive the car more often!


I hope you share your dyno sheet when you get the engine back.

[FranV8]

The Corvette C7 gets a dry sump too if specifed in the more performance oriented Z51 trim (or more extreme Z06 model).

However - for the Lotus - don't we suffer oil starvation in hard cornering as stock?  So it's either a baffled sump, dry sump or Accusump as solutions?

[Certified Lotus]

I had accusumps and baffled oil pans in my Lotus track cars. I only add aditional baffling and modify the oil pick up tube in road cars.

Corvette knows these cars are used for track days, there is good reason to have dry sumps as an option.

[jbcollier]

Pretty much all the British motorcycles with a separate oil tank are dry sump.  Some have the separate oil reservoir in the cases themselves (Vincent).  Wet sumping, where the oil drains back into the engine can be an issue.  You shouldn't start an engine that has wet dumped.  Drain the sump and pour the oil back into the oil reservoir.

The surest solution is to fit a shut-off valve in the scavenge line.  Works very well as long as you remember to open it before starting the engine!  Maybe a shut off valve with an electric switch that either triggers an idiot light, or, locks out the starter.

[FranV8]

Certified, would it be rude of me to ask for details of your baffle arrangement and pick up mods?

[Certified Lotus]

Certified, would it be rude of me to ask for details of your baffle arrangement and pick up mods?

Unfortunately they are Quicksilver racing's design and proprietary to them. They also make a modification to the oil pump and add a small shield where the fuel pump cover plate is attached. Several modifications from their many years of building racing engines. The only way to get them done is to have them build you an engine.

[Certified Lotus]

Here is the dyno plot (and photo of engine in Quicksilver's dyno room) from my weber TC engine in my Elan S1 (Quicksilver build). Engine stand dyno under load.