Lotus Europa Community

New spacers arrived today!  Took my time removing the old paper gasket and sealant from the block and fuel pump.  A little Brakleen and a soft touch with a scraper cleaned it up real nice.  Applied new sealant to the mating surfaces and snugged up the two mounting bolts to a rather low torque (under 5 ft lbs).  Covered the threads with loctite and am hoping that snug is tight enough.  Going to let the sealant set for a day and will start it up tomorrow with results to follow.   

Quote

…it's a consideration that most imperial measurements were based on their highness' anatomical figures...

Now that’s the first time I’ve heard the origin of RCH! That makes a lot of sense! Since it has its origins in (presumably) British royalty, I’m surprised our Brit friends aren’t more acquainted the term!

I want to know who was the first to attempt to measure it so they could define the term...

Yeah, our cousins are a pretty lusty bunch, though they try and hide it.  They sent the humorless ones over here packed into sailing ships (that line 'stern impassioned tread' comes to mind...and here I am in Fall River, wrenching on my car so I can get to the British Cars in Bristol show in a couple weeks, less that 40 miles from that rock in Plymouth harbor)...guess the powers that be didn't appreciate stern impassioned disapproving wagging fingers being pointed in their direction...lol  Maybe it was that or a stroll to the Tyburn Tree...

Quote

… I measured it at 1.4 mm.  give or take.

Would that be give or take an RCH? 

indeed.  We now return you to our counting the angels on the head of a pin discussion of the arcana of Europa ownership...

Thanks Bryan. Another question....

Can you check the wire dia of the spring for me, it looks like 1.2mm... What is an RCH spring... excuse my ignorance.

BDA answered the second question.  LOL.  Common engineering term, considering a yard (IIRC) was the length between the Royal nose and upturned thumb of some monarch or the like, so it's a consideration that most imperial measurements were based on their highness' anatomical figures...

In answer to the second question, I measured it at 1.4 mm.  give or take.  I don't think it's necessarily critical; the stiffer the spring, the more force to get 5th, so, with no way to measure rate, it may be a case of assemble a sample of different rate springs of that length and have a go.

Here is picture of the steering from For Sale: 1974 Yellow Lotus Europa TCS 5 spd (Survivor) that's on the classified section, and picture of mine in the 72 Twin Cam, perhaps a prior owner "doctored" a later wheel to accept the horn, but they look almost the same to me.

Cutting the close out spring is tricky business.  I did it on a 914 transaxle...a couple of times.  The first try, I cut off too much of an old spring and I ground a pound of meat a couple of times passing by reveres.  Bought a new spring and cut again.  I'm close but I could do another round to make it perfect.