Christopher smith

Just a tech note of caution---- A real gel coat applied over mold release on the fiberglass mold at the original factory is a thermosetting polyester, so generally more resistant to chemical strippers than most paints . 2 part paints are also thermosets as are the peroxide initiated polyesters used to build fiberglass parts and autobody fillers (2 part putties). However, be aware that thermoset polyesters do not resist strong alkaline conditions that have been used in hot tank strippers and also strippers ( the old toxic really effective paint strippers) that contain methylene chloride must be used with caution- read the label. Anyone using a stripper on an old fiberglass part may want to try just a little first on a less obvious part if there is one. If anyone has to remove paint that is of the newer 2 part ones ( the kind professionally applied with great caution to breathing hazard) good luck- not sure how that may be done.

I am not so sure about heavier, mass produced cars having better designed ,stronger parts and some of the failed Lotus parts may have come from cars weighing 50-90% higher. Some engineers at the big operations are restrained by cost considerations and therefore look at the parts bins from existing models when designing a new car (just like Lotus did). Having owned many, worked on friend's street driven cars and moderate budget race teams, I have observed quite a few unusually worn or outright broken parts. For the race driven cars I am only referring to parts that are not particularly stressed by the forces imparted by racing as it is unfair to fault unusually stressed parts that were designed for road use. I am however referring to Jaguar, Lancia, Mercedes, MG, Triumph, AH, Sunbeam, Chrysler, Ford ( USA, UK and Germany) and others. What I do fault is the idea that factory replacement parts should be installed, failure after failure. At a minimum, highly stressed parts should be crack tested and carefully installed but perhaps redesigned or substituted with better materials or only subjected to light loads with relatively conservative driving. Speed with reliability should not be seen as inexpensive or easy.

I had what was probably a series 2 nose in less than perfect condition but I gave it away a couple of years ago. It came with my series 1 back in 1980s when I imported it from UK. I purchesed a new nose from Caterham back then and they said it would fit my series 1 . It did with a bit of coaxing and a fabricated bracket so maybe they are not so different after all. I wish good luck in any case.

I always liked the look of Lotus clamshells as they were required by USA law early on as in the series 2. My series 1 was equipped with clamshells by a previous owner in the UK so I stuck with them. I used to race a Sunbeam Alpine against the 7 America model in SCCA F Production ( the one with the AH Sprite motor , the super 7 was in D back then) and admired that look.

That sounds long enough for many of us who might have put off hardened valve seats and alcohol resistant parts to get them in place.

did a quick look using perplexity search for history of octane improvement and chemicals in lead substitutes. The latter looks a bit like alchemy with magnesium complexes so it looked a bit shaky. Not sure I would fully trust the info sources fully since a lot of the test data was probably proprietary. But it did sort of confirm the idea that aromatics ( benzene, toluene etc.) are common now with only a few unmodified vintage motors asking for lead. Way back (1960s) Amoco premium used to claim lead free way before Federal mandates but I recall very poor spark plug life with my 340 Barracuda. Adding benzene on purpose rather than just as a trace from refining, seems very irresponsible but I suppose they like the evaporation characteristics ( low boiling point) perhaps for colder climates in winter. Somewhere I heard that unhardened valve seats could benefit from lead early in life but once the seats were lubricated that lead was not critical. Probably no way to confirm that so might be risky.

Just a reminder on safety. Boosting octane without lead may mean adding organic ( chemist definition) compounds like toluene and xylene. So please be careful to avoid significant skin contact and breathing since there may be some residual benzene content and that is super bad. Not that lead is great, but aromatic hydrocarbons may cause issues years after contact. So I am a bit wary of very high octane no lead fuels. Sorry for organic chem 101-- I know almost everyone hated it.

I am thinking (hoping) that the 100LL might be around for a while for vintage aircraft such as the B17, B24 and Mustang I saw at a show in New Jersey. I suppose they follow some rules about complete overhaul every X number of hours. But better parts may not be available? It is not like those of us with old British cars stuck on the side of a road when an engine dies.

I understand that Avgas 100LL (as in low lead) does not contain alcohol and Sunoco and VP have a variety of grades that may be ok. Extra octane beyond what is needed should be ok. They are expensive of course. All seem to work in a 1500 pre-crossflow with 10.2 to 1

Great plate! I am using 59 L7 . In Pennsylvania the antique plates are very limited as to the number of letters/numbers, so that was my pick. You sure have some great roads as I recall. One time the car rental guys at SLC stuck me with a Continental Town Car. I recall how scary the thing was on your mountain roads and certainly felt best to keep that vehicle "in Town". How is that race track west of town?

I usually fly a Union Jack mounted to the rear of the roll cage and sometimes add a flag of Scotland - the yellow one. Too many stupid SUV drivers around here and I want them to at least notice me.

Not directly pertinent to your current issue but----Maybe the same motor I have? The 1500 Cosworth was based on the early Cortina GT. The real early series 2 ones had a "ropeseal crank" so yours is probably the newer version. When we built mine fully intending to race SCCA, we used AN ( Army- Navy) aircraft plumbing using, I think, the -8 size to the cooler and Accu-Sump. Mostly the braided stainless steel kind. If you end up replacing any lines, you could consider that approach that virtually all race cars and many high performance street types now use. I would be happy to lend my copy of a great book to anyone interested-- Carroll Smith's --- Nuts,bolts. fasteners and plumbing handbook. From 1990 but a lot newer than much of the technology we work with now. Or simply call Ken at Dave Bean Engineering and describe what you want to do- he has the parts probably.

Thanks for that info. I have that Bean catalog but had not seen the Formula Ford info. That 15 ft/lb seems right for the pressure plate ( clutch cover ) but wonder if blue Loctite means a bit higher maybe if it acts to lubricate the threads a bit before it sets up. It took more to undo the bolts yesterday and I assume they had Loctite on them from 10 years ago. But of course that is no indication of the torque I should use for assembly. I was going to ask Ken at Bean Monday when I order more parts. I did note that the old release bearing was very tightly jammed on the slave cylinder (noted a bit of corrosion after only a year) and wonder if that was causing my release issues when hot.

Thanks guys- sure appreciate the good suggestions. Sure is a lot of stuff that can go wrong I guess. I expected lots of stuff to break back when I was racing but now even light duty is tricky- for me anyway. Actually I did not touch the pp or clutch disc when I replaced the master , slave and release bearings but also did not think to remeasure clearances. The pilot was lubricated but not the splines and both measure fine, having an extra 5 mm depth for the input shaft and correct diameter for the pinto trans input shaft. PP sure looks fine and no unusual colors on old disc, pp face or flywheel. When I put in a new clutch and pp I would always go gradually in cross pattern and I will use blue Loctite. Anyone know the torque required off hand? I tried to pull the release bearing off of the slave by hand and it is stuck on, it spins fine but slight wobble and I think I see a tiny chunk of shiny metal shard in there so hope that replacing all that will fix the problem.

Indeed that was a good place to go. Someone mentioned getting the dimensions wrong and self destruction due to pushing too far. I am checking the dimensions again but that may be it. When it was all together I noticed the release bearing was touching the pressure plate fingers but assumed it was ok since there is no provision for return on the Saab design concentric. Perhaps the newer release bearing I installed was thicker than the one I had used for years with no problem. Also, still not sure why that would be fine for up to 8-10 starts and then get noisy. Also, I did not see any mention of lubricating clutch splines but maybe I should?

Thanks- I was planning to call Ken on Monday. Made some more measurements just now and maybe the spacer behind the slave cylinder was set for a thinner release bearing. Will check more but rough measurements look like release bearing is always touching the pressure plate fingers even with pedal up all the way.. Never noticed clutch slipping and still do not, but wonder if that could account for my issues. I did see the release bearing touching the fingers with pedal up peering in the side port but since there was no sign of clutch slip I thought it was ok. Maybe when I push the clutch pedal I am somehow making the fingers hit the clutch disc (bottoming out ?) despite adjusting the pedal stop so it is not much beyond release point.

Many thanks for the input.The clutch slides on the input shaft splines fine- slides easy and no wobble but was not lubricated. I did notice the friction material may have worn and the surface is just 1.5-2 mm from the recessed brass rivets. No signs of abuse. No metal powder and very little black dust. The trans side of the disc is the protruding side. No signs of heat or wear on the pressure plate or flywheel surfaces either. Pilot bearing has about 1-1.5 mm clearance on the trans input shaft diameter and still has grease. So not sure why, but seems it is not disengaging when used a bit or hot maybe. And not sure why it worked fine for years and only developed these symptoms when I replaced the master, slave and release bearing. Unfortunately I discarded the old release bearing so can not measure but the originals and replacements were Bean Engineering so I presumed the same. The slave measures the same. did not check the trans oil yet. I am pushing 80 and my very hot garage has slowed me down.

Looks like I found where the noise is coming from. The nasty looking scrapes on the clutch disc splines are all I see so far that might make the noise. The input shaft for the pinto trans looks and feels fine. Still hoping to understand why it worked fine for years of mild use but now gets nasty after maybe 8 to 10 starts since I put in a new replacement slave cylinder and release bearing. I did not change the clutch or pressure plate when I put in the new slave and release bearing since it probably only had maybe 500 miles of mild use. Almost seems like the splines on the trans input shaft do not go far enough into the clutch splines and when it gets used (or gets warm?) it is not far enough in maybe . I will take it further apart and take a lot of measurements. Any ideas?

Sorry but did not label correctly- it is the old rusty one that had a leaking slave cylinder after 5-6 years of mild use. I was just trying to show the snake sort of route the -4 flex line takes. It worked fine and the 2 person pedal bleeding technique was easy originally but I have tried all sorts of bleeding methods with the new set-up. No bubbles seen now but still get that grinding noise after 8-10 starts , when bellhousing is hot. I hope to have the engine out this week to see what could be causing the noise. What does seem strange is that With the pedal down and clutch disengaged I can just reach a finger in there through the side port and can turn the release bearing with mild pressure. Not as easy to turn as when clutch pedal is up but I would think the pressure of it pushing against the pressure plate fingers would keep it from turning . The bearing, slave cylinder and the pressure plate are not getting hot, just the bellhousing.

Thanks guys---I did have some trouble with the 2 new master cylinders and the pedal would not come all the way up.. The threaded push rod Tilton used in the new ones was about 5-6 mm longer than my original one. I found that it made the pedal hit the frame when in the up position so had to shorten it, otherwise trying to bleed the system was not pushing fluid into the line. I guess the piston was covering the port. But fixed that so in the pedal up position there is more than 7-8 mm clearance from the frame so the piston retract fine now.. I have an adjustable pedal stop and tried a few distances from firewall so as not to push the slave cylinder piston out of the housing but to allow release part way to the stop, maybe 20 % of pedal travel or 50 % of travel adjusted differently ( did not help). I can visually observe the effect by how far the release bearing travels when the pedal is depressed.( I was also wary of pushing it too far and making the pressure plate fingers scrape the clutch discbut it does not look like that could be the case..Both times coupling the engine to the bellhousing, it just required minor jiggling to line up but no force once the trans input shaft found the splined center of the clutch disc. I did not undo the pressure plate but maybe should have but it had worked fine for years so saw no need. I guess I need to pull it all apart to see what is scraping.

MV8--- Gave it a try. About 10-12 starts then grinding noise started again when trying to put it into 1, 2 or R, so shut it off. Then put it into 1st, pedal down to stop, ignition off ( and also tried 0n), hit starter- no movement at all, no grinding noise either. repeated all this again-same. Adjusted stop up a bit- same So I guess if I might need to take it all apart so I am not risking much if I trash something driving it. The tough part is hooking up all the motor mounts, electric, oil cooler and accu-sump lines, radiator hoses etc..Seems to drive ok , no noise once pedal is up and car moving

MV8---Thanks for the detailed analysis. My pedal has a stop that is adjustable and I have tried to set it just a bit past the point of release but also tried it set well past the point of release.No difference in stopping the grinding noise issue unfortunately. I can observe the release bearing travel and even touch it through the side port where the fork would have gone in , but is no longer there. I see the release bearing travel has been the same cold or just after a series of starts and that grinding sound with the clutch pedal against the stop, when trying to put it in gear. I guess I will try one more time with vacuum bleeding out the bleed port before I give up and yank the engine again ( a pretty tight and complex job with a 1500 in a series 1 frame and oil cooler lines etc. needing to be dealt with). perhaps I will find some damage or old oil contamination on the clutch disc that, rather than making for clutch slip might make it grab when hot? Seems to work fine for a few starts. I had overfilled the engine oil last year and had some slip past the rear main seal but not sure how that would have gotten onto the clutch disc and never had clutch slip issue.

Tried another couple of bleeding methods including an extensive reverse pressure bleed feeding a lot of fresh fluid up from the bleeder to the master cylinder. No bubbles at all. and no change in how the slave/release bearing works. It still makes the awful grinding sound trying to put it in a gear with the pedal full depressed but only after 10 starts. I can see no change in the slave cylinder or release bearing movement and it looks like it is pressing against the pressure plate fingers no different before about 10 trial starts or after them when the bellhousing is hot and the noise starts. It does seem strange that I can easily turn the release bearing with light finger pressure when clutch pedal is up and with a bit more finger pressure when pedal is down -(not expected) and it did not get hot. I am getting set to yank the engine again since the hydraulic part seems fine. Perhaps I damaged the clutch disc or pressure plate somehow earlier when I reinstalled the engine but why is the noise only when hot or after some starts?. Any thoughts are much appreciated.

Great video! I keep hearing just how crazy the clutch hydraulic systems are. I even thought that maybe after a few starts maybe the heat in the system expanded and pressurized trapped air somewhere in the line and forced the release bearing too far so it pushing the pressure plate fingers into the clutch disc thus keeping it from releasing. I would think that would give the symptoms I have experienced. Not sure if that could happen. But ,in any case, a better fluid bleed sounds like it might fix it. I think I can set up a pressure feed of clutch fluid up through the bleed port and through the lines up to the master cylinder. But I will try that method in the video first. I hope something works.