The revival of 650143R, 1970 with TS.

[Richard48Y]

Sadly Venolia is out of business.

Looked up the price for dual MC's with balance bar last night.
Yow, I have my vertical mill running again so need to find that drawing for building my own.

[Richard48Y]

Found this one, https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ycpxbus25awspu1/AACOu2lI85sLq18BrMTPiVSua?dl=0&preview=Pedal+Assembly+Base+Plate.pdf

Thought I had seen another that does not require the steel spacer tubes?
Time to dig through my materials pile.

[BDA]

It sounds like you’re interested in fabricating your own but I think Lotus Supplies has everything you need. Dave Bean would be worth a call, too, if you want to buy it rather than make it.

[Richard48Y]

Depends on price.
If it is $300+ before you get to the MC's I will certainly make my own.

[BDA]

At that price point, you’ll enjoy the experience of making your own! 

[Richard48Y]

Seeing yet another TC join the fray makes me wonder.
Which is the more rare Europa variant, S1 or S2 with TS head?

[Richard48Y]

RE my pistons, "They look standard R17 pistons, slight dome and a valve relief each side".
Wondering what the compression ratio would have been with these?

I may have found out why #4 was low on compression.
Slight valve face mark on the piston, so maybe a bent exhaust valve?
No visible damage but if I pull it and chuck it up on the lathe in a collet I should be able to measure run-out.

Trying to decide if my cam is good to reuse.
It LOOKS fine to the eye, but some of the lifters had wear.
So I guess it will be V blocks, a dial indicator, and degree wheel to examine and compare each lobe.\
That bring up another question.
Many current cam companies demand that a new cam be run-in at around 2,000+ RPM for twenty minutes or so.
Seems harsh for a fresh engine, necessary on a Renault with new lifters?

Really curious to learn just how "Hot" this engine really was.
Couple of project that have been delaying me are finally nearing completion.   

EDIT: Not easy to find specs on old engines.
Looks like 77mm R17 was 9.25-1 and 78mm Gordini was 10.25-1.
Not sure if there were different dome heights or just the increased bore.

[Richard48Y]

Playing with engine calculators it seems Gordini had more dome, 1mm does not increase compression significantly.
Something wrong with these calculations, result should be around 11.7-1.
Trying to determine how much would need to be milled off.

Bore: (diameter) 78mm
Stroke: 84mm
Cylinder Head Volume: 44cc
Effective Dome Volume: -23.1cc (Per Wossner site)
Use (-) for Dome and (+) for Dish.
Deck Clearance: 0
Compressed Gasket Thickness: .045" ?
Number of Cylinders:   4
Compression Ratio :   16.19 : 1
Total Displacement (in.3) :   98.01
Total Displacement cc's :   1606.72

[jbcollier]

Yes, sounds like your pistons are 9-ish:1.  You probably also have a mild cam grind.  You can gain a lot with wilder grinds but you can also lose a lot as well.  No point in max power at 8K if it means an overhaul every two years.  I happily went with a torquier grind over a race grind.  Lots of useful low end torque, still a nice high end hit and it it pulls strongly to the redline.

The key to proper cam/follower break-in is adequate lubrication.  The followers and cam are splash lubricated so you need rpm to get sufficient oil flow/splash.  This is why the 2K+ rpm for 2 minutes recommendation.  It is important.  Do it.  I preset the timing, bleed the cooling system as best as possible before start up.  There are many cam/follower lubes out there.  Use a good one!  Use lots!  After the cam break-in and full warm up, I change the oil and filter, and let the engine cool overnight.  I then retorque the head and reset the valves.  Then I restart and finish the fine tuning.  Next oil and filter changes at 100, 500 and 1000.  At the 1000, I also retorque the head and reset the valves after an overnight cool off.  After that, I follow the normal maintenance schedule.

Follower wear is normal on these engines.  High revs means even more wear.  Mine will easily rev to 8K but I redline it at 6500 because I want a longer time between overhauls.  8K also leads to issues with cranks cracking.

I suspect your valve marks on the piston are due to over revving and valve float.

[Richard48Y]

Trying to figure out my current color.
Same as my avatar but looks a deeper Blue standing still.
I had thought it to be Glacier Blue but now see that it may be a darker Blue than that.
Trying to decide between Glacier, Wedgewood or even French Blue.
Could be something else entirely since it was originally L10 Bahama Yellow.
Since I have no concern with ever selling it I am free to make it any color I like.

Sample color pics taken tonight.

[Richard48Y]

Seems Glacier Blue may be a little lighter than my current color but looks great.
Also looks like it may have made a come back for newer models.
Apparently rare back in the day, I wonder why?

Lotus Code: LO 18   
Glacier Blue, Metallic
Lotus Part No: A050B6223V
PPG Colour Code: 14170   
ICI Code: P0794403
Available: Jul 73 - Oct 73   
Also called Ice Blue - an Austin Healey colour in 50s, Rover colour in 60s, Triumph colour in 70s

An example I found on-line.

[TurboFource]

I like it!

[Grumblebuns]

My TCS has the paint code of L18 which is more of a green, turquoise color.

[Richard48Y]

After additional Web lurking I am leaning toward the current color being French Blue Metallic or something close to that.
I have found some variations of LeMans Blue that appear as a close match too.
I think I will take a door with me to the paint shop for matching.
Nothing says I have to retain the current color but I like the look of the car when it ran the Hill-Climb shown in my avatar.
Have to resist "Arrest Me Red".

[Richard48Y]

Can not stand making so little progress any longer!
So I have decided to do the 'Inexpensive' part first.
That would be the bodywork and dash as it does not require any major purchases.

Tonight I got the driver side door off.
Seems the pins may not be original as they have no way to pull them from the bottom.
I will take the door with me when I go to Carson City for paint code matching.
Finally noticed a door tag that says my car was built 3/70.

Been too busy trying to get an old MG Midget on the road.
Finally have it running but nearly all electrics are dead.
Guess MG dash wiring may be good practice for the Lotus.
Should at least have it moving on its own in a few more days.

With the Midget mobile I will have space to remove the Lotus body.
It will go up on steel sawhorses for now.
As everyone here knows, body off will make the mechanical much easier.

Hoping to sell a couple of vehicles I am no longer enthused about to fund the Lotus.