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[rascott]

forgive me, for i know not of what I'm doing, sometimes.
i am finding the workshop manual good as reference, but a bit sparse in details.
rd enterprise's parts manuals have helped me figure a lot out. there is a small fan shown in the heating/ventilation section(+that blower unit), so i assumed mine was just missing. i couldn't see signs of removal.
brian- i had to laugh, 'cause i was looking at this 3" computer fan in my shop, thinking "this would fit in there....".
4129r has it right on the ergonomic basics, and the racecar conversion, and this one is gonna feel pretty spartan, i suppose.
and i'm still looking at that handbrake spring- can't quite see what it "hooks" to at the rear- just a hole?
i think i know what bda refers to and don't want to try that yet.
jbcollier- thanks for the triumph tip. i know of a place to look. i think the anti-block screen makes sense. there must have been a screen for that opening originally?
i have appropriate weather to do some fiberglass work today, if i don't get too distracted.
i hope to fix the windscreen opening.

[EuropaTC]

Yep, the current drain is so low that I've just added it to the existing circuit.   Since then I've thought a bit more and now I'm going to add another one so there'll be one fan on each "bank" of the heater radiator. You can feel air flow through the vents as it is, but to pinch a phrase "you can't beat cubic inches" so I think with a fan each side pointing the air in exactly the direction you want it going might be almost modern. Well, maybe not "modern" but at least not quite as asthmatic.

JB, yes I think you could fit a spitfire motor & fan on these cars, the tin box housing the radiators has a round blanking plate where presumably a normal fan would be fitted. As you'd expect there's plenty of room between the radiator banks, my fan is 80mm and just fits while facing the direction I want the air to go, so that's the sort of depth you have. 

You'd easily fit a conventional motor fan although I suppose it would have to be on "suck" and the air flow bouncing off the back plate and finding it's way out to the sides.  The downside for me would be that a conventional fan motor would intrude into the cabin space just where the end of my stereo wants to go.  But there's nothing to stop you from fitting a modern thinner profile fan motor and there's no argument that it's a better solution than the OEM Lotus one.

Brian

[4129R]

I took the engine out to get to the hand brake cable.

Actually, there are 2 x C clips holding the single cable in place in the Y of the chassic. You need amazing dexterity to get to these C clips. I had one of the steel radiator tubes out to get to them.

As for the U clamp, once you unclip the 2 x C clips, the cable can be fed up into the box between the seats, under your elbow, and then you can prise open the U clamp on a work bench with a metal chisel and hammer, and then use a vice to clamp it on the new cable.

Getting the C clips back again is a challenge.

Getting the spring from the U to the chassis bin the Y is f'ing near impossible.

Getting the bolt back in holding the reaction level to the chassis is also f'ing near impossible. I used a length of wire around the lever with the cable already attached to it, threaded the wire through to the front where the spare wheel is kept, kept the wire tight with a long piece of wood, then tensioning the wood with my leg, I managed to get that sleeved bolt through the lever back into its place on the chassis. Don't forget the washers on that sleeved bolt. That took me 2 days to work out.

HTF they did that on the moving production line ..... maybe it was installed before the body went on the chassis, maybe they had 6 year old children with thin arms, maybe they had some ingenious device.

Have a first aid kit ready to deal with cut fingers and hands.

Good luck, and make sure when you do this, you are in a good mood and have plenty of patience. Therapeutic music in the background helps !

[jbcollier]

The Spitfire fan is a squirrel cage fan so in the centre and out the sides.  There was no wire mesh originally.

[rascott]

after removing the broken windscreen again without totally breaking it(it cracked some more), i started to prepare the damaged area for repair.
i removed a previous repair, and began a more serious repair than i expected.
also, i attempted to show the sag in the windscreen opening with the windscreen removed and no fascia support.
it's more noticeable in person....
i ended up really scrambling, when i ran out of resin, and the other can turned out to be some sort of jelly.
i think i can salvage the mess tomorrow.

re: parking brake-
4129r- you have given me much to consider. i will approach the problem as recommended. i like your attitude.

adon021415
had a harp and gave it another coat of looking at. this poor little guy must have spent it's whole life at the bodyshop.
i see the same treatment on the other side, but better done.

[EuropaTC]

The Spitfire fan is a squirrel cage fan so in the centre and out the sides.  There was no wire mesh originally.

Ahh, I didn't appreciate that and now you point it out I can see how that will work much better than the Lotus design. As it's the same period I'm surprised they didn't go that route back in the 60s. I suppose it depends how far back the motor protrudes into the cabin or how deep your radio is. It would be too tight on mine I think.

Rascott - there's some serious work going on there. The photo shows the front dip at the base of the screen quite well, it's a puzzle how it got like that. Maybe left in storage for years with something heavy on it ?  That's going to be tough to sort out, at the moment I can only think of more glass work, maybe cutting the base near the plenum chamber and re-aligning with the windscreen taped in place ?

Brian

[4129R]

If you need any more help with the parking brake assembly, don't be afraid to ask. When someone tells you how to approach a problem, it makes it much easier to understand how to do it.

I tried to put the reaction level in place with the sleeved bolt, then attach the square metal hook and wire to the U clamp, and wasted over a day and much skin trying to do this. 

Have fun.

[rascott]

never was very good at the  cosmetic thing, i think there is beauty in function, and use that as an excuse.
my 4th layup was a total disaster, as i mixed the resin too hot, but the next couple of goopies came out good enough, and may work.
i hope i didn't change the opening too much, and will pretend with my broken windscreen again, if it stays together.
i am also experimenting with painting techniques and mabe color.
the red coating on this is real thick, and the chips and flakes are being a problem. i see a lot of sanding in my future.

[BDA]

Looks good to me! It's so easy to change/fix fiberglass so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

There is a whole science to mixing resin that includes the temperature, humidity, etc... I never learned that. I just figured if it within 10 minutes or so after I mixed it, it was good! 

[rascott]

i may try a different color. mostly interested in seeing what kind of a finish requires how much work.
i will have to work on technique......., but the color may work.
i have succeeded in getting the handbrake cable off of the lever. i disconnected the cables from the brakes, to get some slack, pulled the lever and jammed the horseshoe.
i haven't monkeyed with the spring yet.

[BDA]

I'll bet you're glad you live in California about now! Thursday, the low is supposed to be 2 degrees around here! That's ok, it should get up in the 20s! I know that doesn't compare with Michigan or Canada for God's sake! But this is REALLY COLD for us!

The green looks good! Good luck with the rest of the hand brake. I suspect it's like the TC in which case it will be a bear!

[4129R]

i may try a different color. mostly interested in seeing what kind of a finish requires how much work.
i will have to work on technique......., but the color may work.
i have succeeded in getting the handbrake cable off of the lever. i disconnected the cables from the brakes, to get some slack, pulled the lever and jammed the horseshoe.
i haven't monkeyed with the spring yet.

Only about 2 days to go to dismantle the cables. Then you had better take a week off work to put the new cables in and connect them all up.

I would book some time with a therapist for after, and you can always cancel if you don't need them, or if you can't stop the bleeding.

[EuropaTC]

... or if you can't stop the bleeding.

 

[Runningwild]

As far as the emergancy brake assembly goes, I came across an electric actuated cable assembly. It's called E-Brake and is rather expensive but would eliminate all the in chassis routing.  The assembly mounts to the rear chassis and with a push of a button it pulls the emergancy brake cables. There seems to be a few different manufactures so hopefully prices will come down. I plan on using one when I get the car to that point of restoration.   Tom

[BDA]

That E-brake system is pretty nice. As  you say, it's certainly not cheap! It might be difficult to mount if your car is already built since it would go in the backbone and it would have to be mounted very well, but it might be something that would work for those who have Richard's rear disc conversion since the ebrake is worthless.