47 Bodied Project Starts - Slightly Delayed. Big pile of bits to sort out.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

I got the roll at Home Depot for less than $30.  It works very well. I installed around the gas tanks to keep the temp down as well.

I've got it in the roof of the barn, but hadn't thought of using it on the car. What temperature is it rated up to?

[StrawberryCheesecake]

I bought a stack of bits from Banks today... getting exciting. Spyder next!

[BDA]

Almost like Christmas! 

[StrawberryCheesecake]

I had an hour or so of playing with the giant Lego set tonight. I swapped the rear hubs over from the Spyder disc conversion ones, to what I've been told on here are a different Spyder product.
Rear disc conversion uprights (I think)


Other uprights, which came with bearings and stub axles fitted. I think this is how it's meant to go together - spacer behind the hub flange





Bought some MGF rear discs and tried to fit them - they don't quite fit over the hubs, but the stud pattern is fine. Has anyone else had to grind hubs down when fitting MGF rear discs? I guess that's probably a question for the UK folks only.

Bolt pattern OK


Fit over hub NOK - it's not far off though. I guess a tickle with the grinder will fix it.


Standard front disc on top of MGF rear disc - rear is about 5mm bigger.


quick Test fit of newly bought Revolution Alloys - 5.5 x 13 on the front, 7 x 13 on the rear.


If anyone UK based has the sleeve nuts for them please let me know.

A bit tight to the top of the rear upright, but this is without sleeve nuts on them, and the disc will space it out a smidge.





Pop Quiz: Does anyone recognise the car behind? Clue - it's French! It's also not mine.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Front Suspension:

These are the lower front wishbones that came with the car, complete with a Spyder ball joint hoop / bracket. I don't suppose they'll fit with the stock spitfire/herald hubs, but has anyone done it? I think there are advantages in getting rid of the trunnions for a more modern ball joint setup (lower maintenance, fewer bits to lose, etc).



The diameter of the ball joint loop is about 43.5mm.

Based on a quick search online, I see nissan ones that look similar (they seem to push up through the loop, and be clamped in / pulled through by the bottom ball joint nut that secures it to the upright, although struggling to find sizes to compare and find the actual part. \

EDIT: The more I look, the more I find that look to be the right type.

EDIT2: For example.... this looks similar, but I need to do more measuring.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Japanparts-BJ-499-Ball-Joint/dp/B00DZJXI3Y/ref=sr_1_19?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1444258528&sr=1-19&keywords=lower+ball+joint+43mm

[StrawberryCheesecake]

A-ha! Looks like the MGF disc clearance over the hub is a known problem - mentioned in the first post.

http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=436.msg2843#msg2843

[rascott]

i like all these bits and pieces, and look forward to progress reports.
re: pop quiz--- perhaps a caravel, mabe @'64(?).
richard

[EuropaTC]

Hub to disc clearance - yep, it does need a touch shaving off. But otherwise it's a very neat fit and has the advantage of not having to re-drill the stud holes, I've been very pleased with mine.  I had clearance problems with 13" cosmic alloys but I was going to 15" rims anyway. Not so much the disc, but the width of the caliper I used caused the problem.

About the ball joint, I wonder if it could be the same as the Elise S1 ?   It looks about right and as I've a couple of spares for mine I'll measure one up later this morning.  It would make sense, they are easily available and a known solution. You could even use Elise alloy uprights/hubs which gives you the same bolt pattern plus ventilated discs & bigger brakes. If you go that route there might be a wheel clearance with 13" wheels, it will need checking.

Brian

Edit to add.

The Elise S1 joint is roughly 42mm, measured with a ruler across the splines.  I can do a more accurate measurement later on if it looks a possible option. It turned out I'd already got a photo, so this is what they look like;

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, it's a Caravelle - thought it might take longer than that. It's a '68/69

@ Brian - Sean @ Spyder told me it's not an Elise one. Apparently The Elise uses a top ball joint in the lower position, which is less than ideal.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Box of bits from Banks arrived on Thursday... short of time but threw the suspension on for a quick look on Friday evening. Not sure if I've got all the bits the right way round at the front, but I'll have a look at the manual and figure it out. Should the anti-roll bar be in front of the wishbone.

[EuropaTC]

Should the anti-roll bar be in front of the wishbone.

As standard the drop link is the last thing on the threaded bar at the front, so the opposite way to what's shown in your photo. But that's assuming that your adjustable top arms are the same dimensions and offsets as the Lotus ones, which may not be the case. It'll come down to the castor angle you've got with the set up as to where it ends up ?

Brian

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Hi Brian

Thanks for confirming. I thought it looked wrong at the time, but didn't have the time to fix it - I was busy helping a mate pull the outer panels off his '72 3 door Range Rover - it's off to get some serious welding.

Meanwhile, back on topic, I'm in the process of offering bits up to see how they go together, rather than doing a final fit. I'm planning to take all these bits off again, to do a clean up, paint or powder coat (where needed) and then do the final fit. Hopefully this process will help me identify most of the missing bits, and figure out how to build it correctly.

[StrawberryCheesecake]

So.... I've not been on here for a while... just busy with other things. I've been quietly pottering along with the Lotus, as time allows. I've got hubs and suspension on each corner, and various bits attached to the chassis, at least loosely to check how they fit.

Tonight's job was fitting the steering rack. The car came to me as a pile of bits, so I'm not sure until I try to fit something, if the bits I have are actually the right bits for the car. The rack appears to be too short for the chassis and wishbone combination - even with the track rod ends adjusted out as far as they'll go, I have about 30 degrees of toe-in. The chassis is on stands and the suspension is on full droop, but I can't see degrees of bump steer being designed in!

The rack body is 18 3/8" wide, and from the end of the steering arm, to the far end of the other one, it's around 41". Could someone check if their rack is the same dimensions? Also, i've heard that the standard Herald / Spitfire rack has longer steering arms, so maybe that's the solution if the combination of spyder chassis and rose jointed wishbones, along with standard uprights, isn't giving the standard track width.

Any thoughts or measurements would be appreciated.

[jbcollier]

All the Europas used extenders/spacers to lengthen the each tie rod.  S1/2s used extenders between the outer tie rod end and the tie rod.  TC/S used extenders/spacers between the rack and the inner tie rod swivel.  The latter method gives less bump steer.  For confirmation, you can check the parts manuals here:

http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm

[EuropaTC]

The dimensions are given in the S2 workshop manual and appear to show the distance from the end of the rack to the centre of the track rod end. I've never cross checked myself so don't know if there are any typos in the original data but it should be a good starting point ?

Brian