SENC

We appreciate your diligence in protecting us!

Well-edited, @JohnCH! How much did you have to cut to get to this concise, non-offensive post?

Adding a few more. This end also M10-1 thread (EDIT - correction that I believe this is actually 1/8" BSP, as noted above), and I got some close-ups and measurements of the fitting for you.

A few pictures for @escondidoron... Ron - I measured the engine end fitting - it is M10-1.0 (EDIT: thinking on this further, it does not make sense that this would be an m10 fitting, it is more likely a 1/8 BSP). I'm betting this end is the same, but I didn't want to force it.

Thanks for all of your efforts on our behalf - know this isn't easy, but also know it will be great on the other side!

This should go quickly, looks to be an excellent project from someone who knows these cars. I wish I had the space, and have passed this along to several others. Good luck!

In addition to the weak valve springs, teardown revealed some minor scoring in one cylinder, a touch of pitting in another, and some scoring on a couple crankcase journals and bearings. Since it is the original engine, plan is to have it pressure tested and inspected with hopes of boring out the cylinders 1 millimeter and installing new pistons, then regrinding the crankshaft, skimming and decoking the head, etc.

Winner!

The green truck. Have had it since 2010, put a bit over 200k miles on it. It has been a dependable truck and great for its towing and off-road purposes, solid for highway travel, and acceptable around town (other than mpg). Nothing exciting, but I like it. My wife does not.

Well done indeed, on both counts!

Agree, would love to see the luggage rack!

Yes, but with a 4 wheeler your odds are twice that of a two wheeler! :conehead:

A primarily photo update, but pulled the engine and gearbox in recent weeks - currently sorting the gearbox and prepping case for painting (along with a spare I've had on the shelf). Internals look great. Have also dropped the rear axle and removed dampers and springs all the way around - having them checked and, if necessary, rebuilt.

Equally interested in the history of your car - thanks for sharing! I've had a good time building history on mine, and know how fun it can be learning new tidbits. Well done!

I think we're going to need the full story!

Welcome! Can't wait to see how to get wine from gears, will save me a lot of $$$! ...Back after watching - beautiful car, sounds great, and fun road! Well done!

Thanks gents, good stuff! If you develop a technical section for Lotus Sevens, I'm happy to contribute the various bits I've collected.

Merry Christmas all! My daughter's gift to me:

Agree with @Bent Wrench - chased a similar issue on my pre-crossflow through HT leads, dizzy and cap, etc. before finding weak valve springs on 3 while doing leakdown testing and checking valve tappet clearances.

Congratulations?

Congratulations! Can easily imagine the smiles you had on the trip home!

Pulled the cam cover this evening to check valve/tappet clearances, do another compression test and a leakdown test. Though running strong, had some notchiness at idle and low rpm/low load running and idle mix adjustment just wasn't working right on 3 and 4. Compression test was perfect, 175s across the board, but leakdown test showed some air loss on 3 - then discovered weak valve springs. This likely explains the challenges I was having adjusting idle mixture screws on 3 and 4. So, will start the search for valve springs and will pull the engine in the next few weeks. This will give a good opportunity for a more complete inspection, and to pull the gearbox for a good cleaning and rebuild.

I've been tweaking on the Webers a bit the last few weeks as weather permitted - Colortune confirmed I was a bit rich at idle and through the range, yet I was needing a larger idle jet and accelerator pump jet to solve the slight popping on overrun and the slight hesitation from low RPM to WOT. My latest tweak was to try one of Keith's w45 idle jets. Since I don't have a way to measure manifold vacuum on these old manifolds and carbs, I took a guess that they'd be on the weak side with the slightly more aggressive Cosworth cams and chose his w-jets over his hypo-jets (for engines with stronger vacuums). The idea behind his idle jets is to allow a more consistent and predictable mixture from the idle jets throughout the rpm range, as from his perspective and testing one has to use richer jets than necessary at idle/low rpm to make the desired smooth transition to the main jets. His w-jets are themselves tweakable with exposeable air holes to adjust mixture at a small scale. Testing yesterday was a nice leap forward for me, with a much smoother transition, further reduction and maybe elimination of the popping (will need to drive more to confirm), and continued strength and power above 3k rpm, where this engine is clearly happiest. Also got to take a close British friend and car guy for a ride yesterday and for him to give it a drive - fun for both of us. Thought I'd also share the following recommendation I posted on lotuselan.net, as some of you here might find it useful, too. Like many, I've become accustomed to digital navigation aids and most of my old road maps have found their way to the circular file. I use my phone and either Waze or Google almost exclusively in my daily vehicles, but there is something about the simplicity of the Elan and Seven that won't let me mount a big, ugly, modern phone even temporarily. These cars also beg to be driven by road signs and conditions as seen through the windscreen rather than digital alerts. Having said that, there have been several times I've wished for a simple nav aid rather than stopping to pick up my phone to look for directions, general or specific. I watch indiegogo and kickstarter from time-to-time, and a couple years ago noted a neat system for bikers from a british company, called Beelline Velo. They've since released a version for motorcycles called Beeline Moto, and I picked one up a month ago to trial - and think it is as good a fit for our cars as anything digital can be. It is a small puck-shaped device that simply points in the right direction and notes the direction and distance to the next turn. It works via an app and gps on your phone, and you can download the app and try out the functionality without purchasing the device. As a bonus, the relatively basic app allows a simple way to plan a multi-waypoint (up to 23 I think) trip if you're trying to take the scenic route. I haven't yet determined where I'll mount it on the Elan, but in the Seven it peeks out just below the dash and through the wheel - out of the way, inobtrusive, but easily visible when I want or need it and easily removable for use in another vehicle or on a bike. Thought some others here might find it useful. https://beeline.co/pages/beeline-moto

You have my vote! Had a ball doing just that today.

Love that S2 with twink, though there doesn't appear much 1961 left in the car. Good looking and bet it goes like stink, but a high price for a bitsa.