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[EuropaTC]

i am noticing that some of the cooling system has been repaired with some 1 1/4" pvc pipe. it is labeled as good for cold water.
i guess it has been working..... is this the usual repair method?

  

not really although I can see how it would work depending where it's located in the system. Fortunately our cooling systems aren't highly pressurized or even that hot so things like pvc pipe will work. But it's not a good long term solution unless you know exactly what sort of plastic it is. Depending on the make-up it might have operating temperatures below normal engine temperature or well above anything the engine could cope with.

Brian

[BDA]

What sort of pressure is your fascia (or do you mean the crash pad?) under?

ahh! i am trying to learn the terminology. learned the dash is a fascia, and the dash cover is a crash pad.
so the fascia is "lifting" the body between the windscreen and the front boot a bit more than 1"(at the fascia) and takes some force to hold it in place to align the screw holes
i think this weekend i will play with fitting the crash pad.
mabe i can prop the body up so i can take the fascia on and off without distorting the windscreen opening.

Oops! Sorry to spring terminology on you. Sometimes you just get too used to using it. You got it right. Crash pad is not universal but it is fairly common.

I don't think there should pressure on the windscreen area from the fascia - that's what had me a little confused. I'm speaking of the Twin Cam here but I would be very surprised if the S2 was different.

There should be some fiberglass that extends into the cabin from the windscreen mounting area. It should be fairly flat and parallel to the floor. At the rear edge, there are tabs that go down where the fascia is attached with the four stainless steel screws along the top. There are brackets that attach to the bottom of the fascia an the interior wall of the cabin just forward of the doors. As I explained, I didn't actually venture in to this area very deep but I'm pretty sure that the crash pad is squeezed between the fiberglass part previously mentioned and the fascia on the rear end and some how attached around the windscreen area so that it doesn't show.

That's the general lay of the land. There is probably more detail in the workshop manual. Since you have it apart, none of this may be a surprise to you in which case, I apologize for boring you with it.

Now as far as the pressure you're seeing, it sounds like maybe the previous owner (PO) did some work there that was incorrect. Since the fascia is vertical and bolts onto the vertical tabs that hang down from the fiberglass part behind the windscreen, it shouldn't be pushing up on anything much less the area where the windscreen is attached. Maybe some pictures of what it's doing would help.

[rascott]

i should use the correct terminology.
that fiberglass sheet that the fascia screws on to needs to be lifted to fit the fascia. this affects the windscreen opening considerably(and visibly flattens the body in front of the windscreen).
and seems to make a windscreen fit.
you see my interest.
i think the front of the crash pad may just tuck under the windscreen seal, but this one had some little screws in there. they must have been put in with the windshield out, as near as i can see.
i'm not clear why it's called a crash pad. it has no padding.

i will try some descriptive photography this weekend, and see if i can get the picpost thing down.

[rascott]

not really although I can see how it would work depending where it's located in the system. Fortunately our cooling systems aren't highly pressurized or even that hot so things like pvc pipe will work. But it's not a good long term solution unless you know exactly what sort of plastic it is. Depending on the make-up it might have operating temperatures below normal engine temperature or well above anything the engine could cope with.

Brian

it seems the transfer pipe to the swirl tank pipe was replaced(mabe some of the other side also(?), up near the radiator) and has a real long hose wrapping past the exhaust down to a connection at the backbone.
i'm sure it all made sense at the time.
i will be getting a closer look at it soon.
it probably should be a different material around the exhaust, huh. mabe there was some sort of heat shield for the manifold?

[BDA]

Ok. I think I'm being slow here... Is the fascia too tall that you have to stress the fiberglass around the windscreen? It shouldn't, IIRC. I don't think mine required that. On the other hand, if I understand your post, it helps make the windscreen fit so maybe it is intentional, but it just does not seem right... I wonder if the S2 fascia and TC fascia have different heights???

The original "crash pad" was foam filled to protect your noggin in the event of an accident.  Aftermarket replacements were generally made of ABS without foam since nobody bumped their head on it in the first place! 

As for your water pipe that is plastic in your case. I would replace it with steel (or stainless if it fits in your time and material budget). Maybe this picture in the workshop manual will help you understand some of the water plumbing (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2work/k/s2k.pdf). This page of the parts manual might help, too (http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2parts/k/s2ka.pdf).

[rascott]

windscreen/fascia/crash pad "progress"-
removed the re-assembled fascia a few times after blocking the fiberglass panel it attaches to.
nothing underneath looks out of order.
i removed the crash pad padding(cover), as it was mostly peeled off anyway, and checked fitment.
after taking this arrangement apart a few times, my re-assembled fascia began to come apart again, and i need to save it for my copy, so i have to make some mends.
but it seems that, with some massaging, this could work out....
i may remove the blocking to show how much "lift " the fascia gives to the windscreen opening, but not before the "new" fascia is done.
i am working on the picpost thing, and am glad my cameraphone is smart.
my back hurts.

[BDA]

Great progress! It certainly looks like everything goes together as it should. I hope I didn't bore you with the obvious but you never know what a PO did. Is the stress in the windshield area caused by the height of the fascia?

Speaking of which, I found a pdf of an S2 dashboard in the lotuseuropa yahoo group files section. It might be helpful in your restoration. I tried to attach it but it was too big. Here's the link (you probably need to be a member to get to it. A good thing to do anyway): https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lotuseuropa/files. The file is "S2 Dash E size.PDF"

[rascott]

the contortionist act of dash(term describing fascia/crash pad unit) handling has caused me to abort that piece of the puzzle until my back feels better. i don't pretzel as well as i used to.
i finished stripping the front and cleaned things up.
i found more black widow in the r/f wheel well, and i'm sure one still resides inside the left radius arm.
the panel around the radiator is torn(pic thru headlamp hole), and the headlamp assemblies had been made to fit, and both coolant pipes are sch40PVC thru the  backbone.
i wonder if copper would be a suitable material for those pipes?
the radiator looks serviceable, if i can figure a way to repair the two fan studs i broke off.
i also noticed something bent where the front swaybar meets the r/f a-arm(i will look further).

[BDA]

Believe me, I know what you mean about the contortions required to work under the dash (fascia). There is only one position and your butt is up high and all the blood rushes to your head. I did find it more comfortable to work under the dash after taking the seat out - but it looks like yours is out already. At this point, I might take the dash out and work on it outside the car. It has to come off anyway, right?

Hopefully your radiator is in good shape. You probably want to get it cleaned out at a radiator shop. They should be able to replace the studs that hold the fan, too. An option you might consider is a new aluminum radiator (http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINUM-AUTO-RADIATOR-FOR-Lotus-Europa-S1-S2-TC-/351092213905?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item51beba0891&vxp=mtr). I have one. They are very nice.

I think I have heard of somebody using copper tubing for the coolant pipes. Another alternative is stainless. I reused the original pipes as they were in good shape but I wish now I had had stainless steel ones made.

The crack in the 'glass around the radiator area is pretty minor and should be easy to fix. If you are new to working with fiberglass, this will be a good first project. Use mat, not cloth.

The sway bar attaches to a stud on the bottom of the shock. If it's bent, carefully bend it back. I'm not sure if is worthwhile to fix it or if it can be fixed if it breaks. Depending on the condition of the shocks and your budget, you may want to consider new ones.

Good luck and watch out for spiders!

[EuropaTC]

As a minor point, you don't have to use the studs on the radiator to mount the fan, I have brackets which mount the fan directly to the bodywork rather than the top & bottom sections of the rad. I'm doing some work on that area with wiring just now, so rather than describe I'll take a picture and add to this post later on.

Brian

ps - I've also been doing some "behind the dash" work as well. Did people really build cars like this in the 70s ?  No wonder they were expensive back then, or maybe Lotus had a "double jointed pretzel with skinny arms" test for anyone who applied for a job.....

Edit to add - this is how my fan mounts up front, there's no connection at all to the radiator so you could get away without repairing the studs. Just  3 simple aluminium brackets all going into the bodyshell.

[jbcollier]

The coolant pipes are not well supported (rubber grommets at either end of the chassis box section) and copper might fatigue and fracture.  Besides, copper is expensive.  Mild or stainless steel is the way to go.

[rascott]

Edit to add - this is how my fan mounts up front, there's no connection at all to the radiator so you could get away without repairing the studs. Just  3 simple aluminium brackets all going into the bodyshell.

thanks for the picture and suggestion. looks like a clean way to do it.
i have that area bare and am studying my pieces.
i also need to fabricate another screen for the wheelwell side of things. the top part was o k. the rest was stubborn.
i'm not sure who won.
i'll probably first try and make the fan quiet, but still run.....and then buy a replacement 'cause i broke it.
re: fan wiring- i noticed that ground that went to a fan switch(i don't have one). could be handy to have a thermoswitch override.

[rascott]

Mild or stainless steel is the way to go.

i'm sure you are right about the material.
i am going to see what it would take to remove those plastic things. they look fine at the front, and i see no sign of sag thru the chassis.
it should be interesting to see how the stuff was holding up.

[rascott]

it's raining, so the lotus needed to be "garaged"- 'cause it leaks like a sieve, but holds water like a bathtub.
i climbed around in my "shop" and routered out a fascia first attempt. i was so pleased with the blank that i put some holes in it, to see if i could.
it fit up with no problems, and will be a better pattern for the next version.
this was some sheet PVC.
speaking of PVC- i got a better look at the coolant tubes(SCH40PVC) in the chassis.
the "hot "one has sagged quite a bit. the return is still straight.
the radiator works.

[BDA]

That first pattern looks pretty good! Do you still have the issue with the pressure in the windscreen area?

It might be a good idea to plan on pulling the engine. With that done, you can replace the water tubes with something nice. If you can find somebody who has a set that can be copied, that would be great! I'm not sure if that's something anybody is going to stock. On second thought, you might give Sports Car World a shot. They used to have an extensive collection of used parts nobody else seemed to have. You can email or call Dave @ Sports Car World dot com, (972)-620-7285

Keep up the great work and thanks for the pictures!