Fresh Europa TC owner, first issues

[Impromptu]

Hi everyone,
2 weeks ago I got an Europa Twin Cam from 1972. It looks nice and the previous owner used it regularly but sparingly. I bought it hoping it to be a good driver.  Some old photographs show that the car must have been rebuilt with a body off restoration in the early 1990s.

I did a few short runs with the car (nice to drive), and discovered it leaks from the gearbox selector shaft (4-speed, 352?), which I improved by changing the transmission oil to Red Line Heavy Shockproof Gear Oil.

There is some motor oil coming from the front of the engine (water pump side), but haven't been able to have a closer look where it comes from exactly.

But most awkward is that the flexible brake hose on the trailing arm is punctured and sprayed old brake fluid on the chassis and trailing arm (removing the paint in the process). I ordered new hoses at Lotus-Supplies, but I am still puzzled how the access these hoses on the rear trailing arms to replace them. Any suggestions, since the workshop manual doesn't seem to provide much help. Can it be done with the body on the chassis?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Jan

[4129R]

I did a few short runs with the car (nice to drive), and discovered it leaks from the gearbox selector shaft (4-speed, 352?), which I improved by changing the transmission oil to Red Line Heavy Shockproof Gear Oil.

There is some motor oil coming from the front of the engine (water pump side), but haven't been able to have a closer look where it comes from exactly.

But most awkward is that the flexible brake hose on the trailing arm is punctured and sprayed old brake fluid on the chassis and trailing arm (removing the paint in the process). I ordered new hoses at Lotus-Supplies, but I am still puzzled how the access these hoses on the rear trailing arms to replace them. Any suggestions, since the workshop manual doesn't seem to provide much help. Can it be done with the body on the chassis?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Jan

Oil leaks from those places are quite normal.

L  eaks O il T hrough U nusual S ources.

To change those rubber hoses, you just need patience, 9/16 spanners, and an extended 9/16 socket. It can be done with the arm in situ. 

[BDA]

   Impromptu!!

You got yourself a really pretty baby! Congratulations! 

I concur with 4129R. Almost all trannies leak a little bit. And replacing the rear brake hoses is not as hard as it looks.

Your car has some nice custom accents. I think I speak for everybody here when I say we’d love to see more pictures!

[jbcollier]

Hoses get old and fail.  After a restoration, people tend to think of the car as new even as it slowly gets older and older.  Everything on the car is now 30 years old.  Rubber, seals, etc will naturally deteriorate due to time, acids in the oil, ozone in the air, etc. I would fit new rear wheel cylinders and master cylinder just due to their age.  Flush the system with fresh brake fluid.  I would have a close look at the tires and change them if they are over five years old.

You can build a dry Lotus Twin Cam, but it is not easily done.  The first thing to check is the engine breather.  Engines are happiest with a small negative pressure in the crankcase.  Your photos show open bell-mouths but it looks like there are air filter bases there as well.  FIT AIR FILTERS!  Plumb the engine breather to one of the air filter bases.  That may help reduce any oil leaks.

Your rebuilt engine is now 30 years old!  Might be time to reseal it.  I would first clean it and see if you can see where the oil is coming from.  Valve cover leaks are VERY common.  After that, all the now-old seals.  The front crank seal and valve cover you can do insitu.  Rear main seal will require the transaxle out at the least.  If you are doing a full reseal, might be easiest to just pull the engine.

Transaxle, same thing.  Shifter o-ring is probably flattened and it can be changed with the transaxle in place.  Check that the transaxle breather is clear as well.

[Bainford]

Welcome to the forum, impromptu. That is a nice looking Europa you have there. Nice wheels, look a lot like a Cromodora.

I find the rear flexible brake line easier to access if the forward mount of the trailing arm is released from the chassis.

Cheers 

[dakazman]

                               

                               Impromptu

     Is this your first Europa? My first drive put a huge smile on my face, not my car but a friends. It gave me a huge boost in movation.
  Glad you found your way here.

  Dakazman

[literarymadness]

  You might want to check the camshaft half moon plugs. If they are not not sealed properly, they will leak and they are located on the front side of the motor (firewall side).

[Impromptu]

Thank you all for your welcome and reassuring tips. I will give it a go with the spanners and socket that 4229R suggested. Quite reassuring it should be possible with the arms in place.

BDA: I'll try to get a few more pictures asap and post them here in this thread. The car clearly is far from original, but the engine is still original, and the transmission could be too.

jbcollier: thank you for your constructive encouragements. Indeed the rebuilt is a long while ago now. Luckily the previous owner recently changed the brake calipers and the drum brake cylinders. When I flushed the brake fluid, I discovered the leaky hose. Since the photo of the engine was taken, I fitted an ITG JC40 airfilter, but upon your suggestion I'll connect the breather outlet to the filter. I hope I can postpone re-sealing the engine for another year or so, but I agree it would be good to try to do a more thorough job with the engine and transmission removed from the car.

Bainford: I'll see if I can release the trailing arm. This is going to be an interesting project 

Dakazman: this is my first Lotus. I like the older cars, and was attracted to the mid-engined layout and lightweight construction of the Europa. And it's so low, very cool! It attracts a lot more attention from people than any other car I have driven.

Literarymadness: thanks for the tip. Didn't even know they existed.

For now I would like to get the car on the road again by repairing the brakes. If time permits it would be nice to reseal the engine and transmission in the winter. Also I was thinking of replacing the probably original radiator since it shows some rust. I found some chinese aluminium versions on ebay. Very cheap compared to a refurbishment of the original one. Are they any good? 

[Dilkris]

Very good looking car Impromptu with what appears to be a very well presented interior.
Can somebody on the Forum please tell me what is going on with the auxiliary tapping's and pipework reporting to a common, but seemingly unused, T piece on the inlet manifold?? 

[Impromptu]

I got the impression from the old restoration photos that this was connected to brake booster before (vacuum?), but presently there is no brake booster. The circuit nevertheless resembles the federal variant with a MC with 2 lines going to the back of the car into the differential pressure valve and subsequently act on front and rear brakes. Why would the brake booster(s) have been removed? Braking is now rather heavy.

[Dilkris]

The vacuum for the brake booster/s is indeed tapped from the inlet manifold - but at one point only and not 4. 
There are many reasons for the PO removing the brake boosters, it is a subject discussed at length on this Forum. 

[SilverBeast]

Hi Impromptu
 

Nice car, you are in the right place for support and tips.

Maybe the PO was going to use nitrous....

[4129R]

Why would the brake booster(s) have been removed?

Maybe they stopped working and the owner could not find suitable replacements.

[Sandyman]

 ,Impromptu. I replaced my heavy, clogged rad with an Ebay 3 core aluminum one, including fan. About 200 euros delivered. It works great. If you feel that the brake peddle is to stiff your friends here can recommend a different sized bore master cylinder replacement that will solve this issue.
Sandy

[Impromptu]

Thank you all for your warm welcome and advice. It’s indeed my first Europa, and I am discovering the world of classic Loti.

With the help of my son, the flexible brake hoses are now replaced. We undid the arms in the rear to improve access. At the same occasion we replace the spring/dampers with adjustable AVO ones sourced from lotus-supplies. Getting the ARB back in was a bit of a hassle though. The car is a bit lower, and in the rear it seemed too low. Therefore we added helper springs, which raised the car 16 mm, without having to pretension the springs too much. The resulting ride isn’t harsh, and I put the dampers on 5/19 and 7/19 front and rear.

Next I started looking into the engine idle, which was around 1800 rpm warm. The idle screw on the Dellorto’s helped to reduce it to ~1000 rpm, but I am still looking into how to check the carburetor settings. First I wait for an air flow synchroniser to arrive, to set up the balance between the 2 carbs. I checked the compression. The tool I used wasn’t great, and needed some fettling before it worked. Although the values between cylinders are close, the absolute value seems low, even for a 9.5:1 engine: between 105 and 110 psi (butterflies wide open, engine warm). When I did this test I noticed 3 spark plugs were rather dark and 2 of them even somewhat wet. No good! I will see what I can do to set up the carbs, but if that doesn’t work out I’ll try if a local classic car garage accepts to take the car in.

To be continued.