Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: katanaman on Saturday,October 20, 2012, 01:44:45 PM
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Hi! I will keep posting these (dismal to me) updates as long as they interest you fellow owners. I last was fired up over the prospects the Portland area owners were experiencing with the new, simplified wiring harnesses from www.EZWiring.com , so I ordered one and will go ahead and give up on the cobbled up one that has been damning my efforts since August. I know that Jeff at JAE encouraged me to continue repairing the harness, but there are areas I hadn't gotten to since then that I have discovered really dried, brittle wiring in. And... the other object last weekend was to get myself to the closest Harbor Freight store and buy their $200 tent/garage to protect the car during the wiring project. You have to know that working on the car in Moreno Valley in 105 degree heat was bad, er, challenging. But now that I am home in Ocean Park, and summer finally drew to a close, the tent will help deal with the dreary cold and drizzle, let alone the wind we get here. Give the neighbor guys who get involved in this project a place out of the weather where they can throw their 2 cents in as they drink my homemade beer...
So... given the opportunity to just sit with the car in its new shelter, I took time to wax it after I washed it - I didn't want to shove it in dirty. I waxed out a big scratch I'd been looking at since I first saw the car -- it must've been a smudge! I have been encouraged by the closest neighbor to take apart the window motor and look mostly in the brush area for reasons it doesn't work -- that I'll do in the warm garage with the good cars in. I think I'll recoat it with that liquid wrench handle stuff once I get it fixed. I think the manual calls for an undercoat thing, but that will be nasty.
Yesterday I helped a neighbor 2.5 miles away with his 1970 Spitfire. It spit (hah - a joke) its pin out. What pin? It held parts related to the lever that rides on the cam that powers the fuel pump. But... after it fell out, Richard replaced it with an electric pump (it rained cats and dogs that night), it turns out that the pin also plugs an area that is bathed in engine oil splashed there by the crank. So, we had to wonder why this massive oil leak developed after the pump failed. First of all, cleaning the parts would help, but it sure is interesting how much one can discover just by inspecting a part and rolling it over an mulling its design. So... if no one complains how slowly this project crawls, I will update from time to time. Thanks, Dan
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Dan,
keep em' coming. I love a good story.......and pictures.......many pictures.
Mike
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Hi Dan,
Yes, keep the updates coming. All restorations take at least twice as long and cost twice as much as you initially thought so just keep posting as you progress along. Drop in the odd photo as well, it reminds you of where you started and how far you've come.
Restorations are never easy, if they were everyone would be doing them. We all have times when we just look at it and think..... :blowup: but I think you've got that covered with the homemade beer.....
Brian
ps - love the story on the Spitfire, another triumph (groan) of British engineering.....
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Hi Dan. Yes please, keep the updates coming. Cheers.
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Good stories told by great story tellers are always a pleasure to read. Please keep us informed of your adventures. btw, a neighbor had painted his AC Cobra replica and a friend's 1970s McClaren GT in a tent in his driveway. Using exterior fans, he kept positive pressure inside and not one speck of dust ever landed on either vehicle.