Picked up TCS

[Grumblebuns]

Picked up 74/3747R this past summer. The car was put up for sale after the engine blew a head gasket following a complete engine rebuild and a complete restoration. According to the PO, he found a head bolt finger tight when he was trying to figure out the cause. He put the car up for sale shortly after, as is.

After taking a closer inspection of the car in the comfort of my garage, I'm coming away more impressed with the detail work that the PO put into the car. The car is fairly stock. The non stock items are the Nissan F10 brake master cylinder with the boosters removed, Dave Bean cassette water pump, Spax shocks with new DBE springs. The interior is in very good condition. The carpet has a little wear and the drivers side seat has a tear in the seams which is typical and expected for a car that has around 70k miles. I need to finish replacing the head gasket and reinstall the motor/tranny.

I'm hoping to have the car drivable by the end of December and assess what else needs to be done.

Oh, the car is a JPS #188.

Joji Tokumoto
Fallbrook, Ca

[Lou Drozdowski]

Wow, A great looking and well kept JPS. Good luck with it... please send more pics when it's road ready! ld

[cal44]

Sweet.....what a great find

mike

[3929R]

She looks great!

[Grumblebuns]

Looks like I haven't updated my progress in quite a while.

Over the winter while the engine was out, I adjusted the valve clearances,  installed a new head gasket and head and turned the engine over by hand with the flywheel. Didn't feel like anything was interfering and all the timing marks lined up so buttoned everything back up. After the engine and tranny were mated and during the torqueing of the bell housing bolts I discovered one of the threads in the bell housing holes stripped. I swear I didn't do it. Re-separated the engine/tranny and called my neighbor who happens to be a mobile mechanic to install a helicoil for me.

The engine/tranny installation back into the car was uneventful. I just had to be super careful not to scrape or chip any of the paint in the just detailed and painted engine bay and frame.     

[BDA]

Congratulations!!! It looks great!!! 

[pboedker]

Nice progress and photos, Joji! 

And apropos, just as I received the fabricated springs for the 5th gear detent plunger and am about to go to the garage and mount them before doing a test drive 

[Nuk]

  looks great 

[Grumblebuns]

I finally made enough progress on 3747R for an update report. Started up the car for the first time yesterday, the details are on another thread:

http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=831.0

I figured out the reason for the high idle this morning. It's been so long that I messed around with the Strombergs that I forgot that each carb has it's own separate idle adjustment. Yesterday I backed off on the front carb only. This morning I noticed the adjustment for the rear carb, backed off on it, problem solved. It idles beautifully at 900-1000 RPM.

As the engine started to come up to temperature, I noticed coolant starting to leak from the cap on the header tank. I'm suspecting that it was the original cap. Once the engine cooled down, I replaced it with a used spare that I had laying around. Restarted the car and watched it warm up. The replacement cap was holding pressure and I was waiting for the cooling fan to kick on before 90 deg C. When the temperature gauge hit 100 deg C and the fan still not started, I shut the engine down. Doing a continuity check on the Otter switch contacts showed the switch still open. obviously Tango Uniform.

Appears that I'm dead in the water till I get a new switch ordered and installed next week. I'll also take the opportunity to install a fan relay and override switch at the same time.

I did notice the difference in current draw between the gear reduction starter and the OEM starter (on my S2). Where the S2 would pretty much peg out the ammeter on start, the gear reduction starter would draw less than 10 amps at a much higher cranking speed. That was pretty impressive, a worth while modification.

Joji Tokumoto
Fallbrook, Ca   

[BDA]

Way to go, Joji!! You're making great progress! You need to finish this one so you can finish the YBB!

[Roger]

Your starter feed bypasses the ammeter, I hope! You must have a greedy solenoid on your S2.

[Grumblebuns]

I still haven't figured out the lack of amp discharge on cranking the starter with the new wiring arrangement.

Received and installed the new otter switch. The old one came out rather easily, the new one went in even easier. That has me worried a bit. Unfortunately during the otter switch swap out, I lost the entire volume of the coolant in the radiator. However, tested the switch today and it works, but at an uncomfortable high set point. I was ready to shut off the engine at around 95-100 deg C when the fan finally kicked on. This car will definitely need a fan over ride switch.

Although it has never happened to me in the years that I've driven a Twink, there have been too many horror stories of the otter switch popping out under pressure. I'm hoping that my retaining bracket will minimize that possibility. I need to fabricate a spacer to take up the space between the bracket and switch.

[BDA]

I think it is a really curious thing that they decided to go with the push in otter switch rather than one that is threaded... Did you also replace the rubber grommet?

I think you're smart to work up a retaining mechanism. Of course another option is one of those aluminum radiators from China. They are really inexpensive at a bit more than $150 delivered! Of course that brings along other things that have to be done to use it.

[pboedker]

I had the switch pop out a couple winters ago. Too little anti freeze, apparently. Also cost me a new heater valve. 
After trying for some time to get the switch to stay put (but without luck), a local Lotus friend told med that Reliant Scimitar uses the same otter switch and a small spring clip, to hold it in. I attach a photo showing it.

I bought a new grommet and clip from http://www.qrgservices.co.uk and re-used the switch. Good email-communication, fair price (total 15 UKP, half of it VAT and shipping) and fast shipment. 

It's not so easy to see on my lousy mobile photo, but the clip has a round hole for the grommet+switch and each of the 'ears' has a rectangular hole  that grips the edge of the switch so that it can't move out further than on the picture. The clip is made of 'spring metal' (direct translation), so that it  compresses and grabs the switch. 

[jbcollier]

Take the rad out and solder a 22 mm x 1.5 nut to it.  Lots of rad fan switches available in that size.  No more worries and a greater choice of on/off temps.