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Garage / Re: Restoration of 3940R
« Last post by 4129R on Today at 12:18:03 AM »
Check those tank tops carefully for pin holes, and make sure there is plenty of paint on them to prevent future corrosion.

I have worked on 14 tanks, and several had lots of pin holes in them which lets water in very easily.

Also push electrical wire through the outlet pipe to make sure it is clear and not full of sludge. Put about 2 pints of water in the tanks and make sure it comes out of those pipes easily.

Also check the fuel gauge sender is not all rusted up, as they rust easily.

Finally, run a 1/4" UNF tap through the nuts on the brackets so the bolts go in easily when the time comes to put the tanks back in.

When you put the tanks in, put the bolt in nearest you (bottom rear) first, and it makes the other bolts easier to line up. Be prepared for lots of spanner rash as your arms take a pasting when you or working in that confined area. The fibreglass rubs on your arms which is only noticeable when it is time to wash up. A 7/16" ratchet spanner is the best way of tightening those bolts. 
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Garage / Re: Water in Fuel Tanks
« Last post by berni29 on Today at 12:11:16 AM »
Hi

A good way to find air leaks is with a smoke generator. No need to take anything apart, just seal off the entry point. Works great on modern induction systems with 101 pipes and connectors etc. A petrol tank should be easy!

There are quite a few youtube videos on making them. I have done that before, but now have a "cheap" Chinese made one. Was bought from Ebay or Amazon, cannot remember.

All the best

Berni
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Garage / 1st Gear Hard to Select, Jumping Out of 5th Gear
« Last post by 4129R on Today at 12:07:02 AM »
I have had an unusual problem which I found hard to understand.

When selecting 1st gear, it felt like the gearstick was not going far enough forward, and when driving along in 5th, it would occasionally jump out, into neutral.

The gear stick was vertical in neutral, so I had no reason to think the selector rod was at fault. It felt like it was about 1/4" too short, but the roll pins on the centre UJ were firmly in place, so I had no reason to doubt the rod was the right length.

It felt like the whole linkage was hitting something, and not going far enough back.

So I left the car in 1st gear, and looked closely at the whole rod linkage. Where the rod passes the exhaust manifold (header) it was hitting the manifold, so I had to move the UJ away from the manifold by adjusting the connection to the bracket where it attaches to the bellhousing.

I loosened the 3/4" nut and turned the bracket away from the rose joint as far as possible, but still the clearance was not enough. As I turned the bracket on the threaded rose joint, I noticed the bracket is slightly angled, so I turned it back 180' (half a turn) and the linkage was clear of the manifold. I had not realised before that the bracket (which is held to the bellhousing by the long 1/4" bolt with the 7/16" head) has a right and wrong way round to fit it.

We learn more all the time.
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The Paddock / Re: Lotus Europa 16V Gordini
« Last post by Mecky on Today at 12:00:54 AM »
Hi guys,

thank you for your kind words.

I'm in contact with the organizers of my racing series regarding that illegal tyre issue. The matter was brought to the person responsible for the technical regulations and now I'm waiting for a feedback from this person. I guess (and also hope), after that the person in charge of sporting regulations has to decide for a penalty. As the race result is already official and I have not launched an official protest (which requires to deposit a few thousand Euros out front), the penalty could only be championship-related. From my point of view, a points deduction would be correct.
The opponent used illegal tyres in qualifying and race 2. In race 1, he used rain tyres, which is OK. After qualifying, I just talked to the driver, who was using the tyres illegally, and he said: "I made my own rules now." I did complain to the technical scutineer before race 2 in pre-start area, so what happened in qualifying is difficult to police, I guess. But the infringement in race 2 was known to the scrutineer before the race and he has seen it with his own eyes. Thus, the points from this race could be deducted legitimately.
And as our points system only counts the 8 best results of a 10 race season, the penalty has only symbolical value. It doesn't cost the championship leader his chance of winning the title, as he still has 6 races left, in which he only needs to score 5 results to complete a set of 8. It would only mean that I would lead the standings after 4 races, because he'd have just 3 counting results while I've got 4. Nonetheless, a symbolical penalty would be enough for me to end my feeling of being treated unfairly.

The gearbox with shorter differential ratio is a big improvement, especially at this tight circuit. I'm using 5th gear three times in the lap, while I didn't use it at all with the stock differential.
As you can see in the video from my last post, there is still room for lap time improvement. But it's already a lot better compared to the laps on my Youtube-Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/Bierlogistiker), which were recorded in 2023 (with Quaife diff) and 2022 (with open diff) respectively. I have to admit that the Quaife diff is not completely without loss of traction out of tight corners, but the loss on the inside rear wheel is very marginal. I'm not sure if you can even tell from the video, but from experiencing it live, I can tell. It's a big upgrade compared to the open diff and it's not expensive. Comparison to a "real" limited slip diff, I have none.
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Off Topic Subjects / Re: Getting derailed
« Last post by dakazman on Thursday,May 23, 2024, 07:00:47 PM »
  Just when I thought I was getting back to the Europa, my daughter picked up a stray.
  Needs a complete set of 12v 20 ah 6 each batteries. All the ones in there were swollen so bad It took forever to get them out.
  Then she wants a full paint job.
 Dakazman
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Garage / Re: Water in Fuel Tanks
« Last post by GavinT on Thursday,May 23, 2024, 06:36:31 PM »
Oh, OK . . . 20mm off the deck.
I think my S2 has the pipes pretty close to the bottom of the tank.

Anyway, I reckon Fotog's idea has merit and should be easy enough to do without taking the tanks out.
What about making a wooden (MDF) bung for the filler neck and silicone it into place. Seal off any vent tubes and apply a little compressed air to the existing fuel line with your BA spraying the bubble solution.

Probably don't even need to drain the tanks, either.
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Garage / Re: Restoration of 3940R
« Last post by berni29 on Thursday,May 23, 2024, 02:51:35 PM »
Hi

Just a quickie to say that I removed both fuel tanks today. The bolts all came out reasonably easily (against expectations) and the tanks are at the metal finishers. There was about 5 litres of very old fuel in each tank. One tank also had a fair bit of rust in it. The outsides looked ok. I will soon know if they are any good once they are blasted.

The rear of the car actually has to be raised quite high to get them out.

All the best

Berni
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Garage / Re: Water in Fuel Tanks
« Last post by Fotog on Thursday,May 23, 2024, 02:25:41 PM »
Maybe!   :)
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Garage / Re: Water in Fuel Tanks
« Last post by 4129R on Thursday,May 23, 2024, 01:36:29 PM »
Water lies in the bottom. The outlet pipe is about 15-20mm above the bottom, so only water above 20mm will possibly pass through the pipe to the other  tank, but there is already petrol in the pipe so the water has to fight the petrol to pass through a pipe which is about say 4mm internal diameter.

So the leaking tank will have 20mm more water in it than the other tank.
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eBay - Craigslist Ads - Other Listings / Re: S1 on the 'bay, some assembly required
« Last post by TurboFource on Thursday,May 23, 2024, 12:18:37 PM »
That looks like a handy feature …. I have a hard time reaching way under there!
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