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I keep hearing about bicycle brake cable as throttle cable and in general I agree that it sounds good. Quality bike cables have an inner liner that makes them run very very smoothly. I would caution however to make sure that the liner is made of something that will withstand underhood temperatures. The alternative isn't pretty! EDIT: good bike cables are also flat wound, so no compression of the housing.

Sure, but we're talking about starting batteries in the thread. I was trying to determine whether the quoted entry was relevant. Reading the PDF file, it is clear. The section quoted starts "When used in cycling or stand-by power applications, an A/C powered charger can be used to recharge ODYSSEY AGM2 batteries." More relevant to automotive use of Odyssey batteries, also from the PDF: [quote] K. Winter Storage The ODYSSEY battery does not lose its charged energy during cold storage temperatures, so there is no need to trickle or float charge during winter months. To store off-season, measure the battery voltage to make sure it is fully charged, 12.84 volts or greater; recharge if necessary. Disconnect the negative battery cable to prevent any applied electrical load during storage. The ODYSSEY battery cannot freeze down to -40°F (-40°C), so it can be left in the vehicle. It can be stored for two years or more below 77°F (25°C). Charging is required at two years or 12.2 volts, whichever comes first. A 12-volt trickle charger can also be left connected to the battery if it is kept in storage for extended periods or if the battery is subject to parasitic loads during storage. The trickle charge voltage measured at the battery terminals must be between 13.5 volts and 13.8 volts. It is recommended to use the ODYSSEY battery charger for your battery. Additional information on ODYSSEY battery chargers, where to buy ODYSSEY battery chargers and ODYSSEY battery charging in general can be found at www.odysseybattery.com. [/quote]

That highlighted part has me scratching my head.

Since I'm having some issues with the new(ish) Webers on the Elan, I did some digging into rising idle. There is quite a bit to be found in google, including chapter and verse regarding throttle plate position relative to the orifices. But since you are able to return the idle to normal manually, I would tend towards a mechanical issue of some kind. It could also be mixture related. My Caterham has Webers and it runs properly when warmed up, however it is a bit cantankerous when cold. Webers aren't great at cold running. The Elan starts like a dream and runs progressively more cantakerously as it warms up. I put the Colortune on it and WHOA was it running rich! I'll find out tomorrow if it starts worth a hoot...

It appears as though you deleted anything in the way of description. So, it's orange. And you can't sell it. And now you can. Details please.

The spring will lose tension over time, but the timeframe is years or decades, not minutes. I'd be more suspicious of the carbs themselves, or the mounts. I just redid the mounts on my Elan and I was astonished at how worn out the stuff was. But then everything on that poor old thing is worn out...

I have a twincam but as far as I can see from staring at pictures the crossflow should have a similar return spring at the carbs. Ray sells them at rdent.com. EDIT: you might also want to ensure that the choke mechanisms are returning fully.

Or get a CTEK. I say this a lot, but I think it's a valid point; Jay Leno uses CTEKs on his hundreds of cars. I bought my first CTEK to attempt a refresh of the battery in a 2007 BMW E93. It took over a week to run through the process, but the battery lasted another 3 years (with regular use of the charger) so I was satisfied. I did have one charger go bad, but it failed by not charging the battery versus, say, catching fire, and the company promptly replaced it. So I continue to recommend them.

The line mechanic in me is whispering, "Customer states car is overheating. They just changed the thermostat." In which case the first thing I would look at would be the thermostat and its installation. Is the correct part? Is it installed correctly? Is there some mechanical issue that does not allow it to function as designed? That kind of stuff. Also, +1 for tossing the thermostat in a pot of water on top of the stove.

Ooooh, you had the optional gas heater. Deluxe! We had a '66 Beetle and a '66 Westfalia. The van was the worst. The nearly nonexistent heat had further to travel, and there was nothing in front of the driver/passenger but a sliver of steel. We bundled up like snowmobilers in that rig.

What is this "cockpit heater" you speak of...

My wife fell into that category with her Jeep Cherokee. She's a nurse -- retired now -- and had to get to work despite the weather, so the Jeep was a good choice. But she learned the hard way about "going" in snow being a poor indicator of how well "turning and stopping" would work. Drove off the road into a field, came back home with the proverbial tail between the legs, lesson learned, fortunately without major damage to her or the Jeep. I haven't been challenged by anyone yet while driving the 7. Then again I don't really drive it in places where that sort of thing happens. I'm lucky enough to have a wealth of little rural roads to run on, the kind that scare Verstappen wannabes in SUVs!

That is a serious looking radiator. I like the suggestion to check fan airflow direction. Not sure it would explain all of your symptoms. I don't think an air pocket would totally prevent flow to the radiator in an unpressurized system, but a pocket at the thermostat might affect its function. Re bleeding/burping: I have a Porsche 996. The engine is at one end of the car and the radiators are at the other end. Experts differ on how to bleed the air from the cooling system, with most choosing to evacuate all of the air before adding coolant. There are some who don't like inflicting that kind of violence on things; they lift the back of the car instead to ensure that the overflow tank is the highest point in the system, then add coolant slowly and do the run/burp routine you already follow. Based on that I'd say that you should be okay with the car on flat ground so long as the overflow tank is the highest point.

You wrote: Coolant didn't appear to be flowing through the thermostat to the radiator until over 195 F coolant temp. Coolant reservoir with the radiator cap is located on the firewall behind the engine (highest point in the system), so I had the car flat on the ground with the cap off and a funnel in the reservoir. Putting the cap on seemed to help get coolant flowing, but can't say for sure. The upper and lower radiator hoses and the radiator itself were all ambient temperature when the radiator fan came on around 190 F. From a purely educational standpoint, this stuff is normal. The thermostat controls the flow of water to radiator. Starting with a cold engine, the thermostat is closed and the coolant circulates within the engine (and accessories such as the cabin heater if fitted). The radiator and hoses see no hot water until the thermostat opens, apparently at 195 degrees in your case. As Croc mentions, there are different temperature thermostats. But it sounds as though the thermostat you have is working. It also sounds as though the fan thermostat is operating correctly. Check the lower radiator hose once the thermostat opens to see if it gets hot. If so that would probably rule out a serious radiator blockage. Also there may be value in 'burping' all of the air out of the system, usually something to do with opening the cap and letting the car run for a bit. Beyond that I'm afraid I don't have much else, other than tricks like turning the heater on to circulate more coolant and attempt to bring the engine temperature down.

Odyssey battery here as well. If they're good enough for Leno's fleet they're good enough for me.

The quandary is, how do they manage to make a profit? I am prepping a car for a trip I'm taking soon. Among the tasks I'm performing is an oil change, in the midst of which I realized that I did not have enough of the oil specified for that engine. I checked Amazon -- local suppliers don't carry the specific oil I needed -- and not only did they have the oil, they offered to ship it to me "same day or next day". This was at 4:00pm, so imagine my surprise at the "same day" offer. I was additionally surprised to see that if I chose "next day" I had a choice of THREE different delivery time windows; 4-8am, 10am-3pm, or "any time". Given that the car was in process and I wanted to get it finished and off the lift, I chose the early option. I also needed a couple of light bulbs, which Amazon also had, and also provided me with the same delivery options. All of these options added $0.00 to the total cost. This morning at 5:30am one of my Ring doorbells announced a person at the downstairs door. One minute later that person returned. At 5:50am, another person appeared at the same door, but just once. I went down and retrieved the deliveries. Four individual boxes, all identical in size, each containing one of the items I had ordered. Four items, four boxes, two separate deliveries. I don't understand how this business model works. Is it some kind of automated process at the warehouse? That may be why the boxes are all the same size and each contains a single item, also why these items "qualified" for all of those delivery options. Or do they pre-package items in anticipation of routine, expected orders? Would I have received more boxes if I had needed more oil, or more bulbs? None of those explains why I got two separate deliveries within minutes of one another. The whole episode feels a bit bizarre.

Hmm.

No pictures yet, terrible ad copy, full of weird characters on my MacBook, but I do believe I see "twincam Lotus" in amongst them. Hmmm.

What about new parts for old cars? Crossing fingers...

I had the Se7en out for a wee romp about two weeks ago. The weather was finally good enough and the roads clean enough in combination. It's so strange how this car affects me after I've been out of it for a while. It feels familiar but the thrill is elevated nearly to the same level as that first-ever drive. What a refreshing thing this Se7en is. One of the fun parts of having a little car (or two!) and a 4-post lift is that the little car is "width challenged" relative to the ramp spacing. The Se7en isn't too bad because I can lean over and watch the front tire roll on. The Elan however does not allow me to do the same, plus the track is narrower than the Caterham. I have about 2" to spare on each side. So I came up with a solution. I purchased an inexpensive 2-axis laser level and aligned it's vertical output with the center of the lift. Now when I drive up I can line the green light up with the center of the car and just drive on. Saves a ton of back/forth fiddling. Here's the laser in its final resting place, bolted to my toolbox.

$34 is not 25% of what my seat kit cost. My guess is pre-trump duties. Thanks for the data point!

Indeed it does. I have been hemming and hawing about getting a seat reupholstery kit for the Elan from an English company. Trump announced tariffs and so I thought okay, let's get in under the wire, and placed an order. They took my money. Then they told me there is a 7-9 week backlog... ...I'm going to stay the course anyway. I'll try to remember to update y'all as to whether I pay a tariff.

What, no clamshells?

This is not a bad suggestion.

That's the rig I've been looking at too. Seems like a lot of bang for the buck, and it has to be better than the jackstands-and-PVC scenario I'm dealing with currently. How do you like it?