LOCO does Pikes Peak

[scannon]

The Lotus Colorado club (LOCO) did a drive up Pikes Peak Sunday morning.

There were 19 Lotus cars plus my Caterham, a Miata and a BMW M3.

 

I had expected it to be a slow parade up and down the mountain since it was Sunday and there would be tourists. However, the few cars we encountered usually pulled over at the first safe spot and let us fly by.

 

When we got to the top we parked in a group for a photo op. The leader decided to move us to the other side of the lot and my car would not start. The car had not overheated on the way up, the temp gauge barely made it to 100C, far less than I see on the track. I then suffered the embarrassment of being pushed up a short incline to where the other cars were.

 

After checking out the view and the tourist trap at the summit it was time to head back down. I gathered up a few people to push me over to where I could coast to the paved road to try to start it or at lease coast to the bottom. I tried the starter one last time and the engine fired right up. OK, all's well and headed down the mountain.

 

The next stop was Garden of the Gods park for lunch and another photo shoot. On the way we had to go up a short, steep hill to get on the highway. There was a stop sign and traffic. The car in front of me kept having problems getting going with a stick shift on the steep hill. We had to inch up this hill so many starts and stops were required.

 

When the car in front of me finally got moving I managed to kill my engine. It started but my left foot was on the brake and right on the throttle. I was shuffling my feet to get the left foot on the clutch and right one on the brake when my left foot gets under the clutch pedal and pops the pushrod out of the clutch master cylinder. No clutch at all.

 

Most everyone went on but two cars stop to help, an Elise and the Lotus 7 S4 who happens to have a tool kit. I figure its an easy five minute job to remove the pedal cover and pop the pushrod back into the master cylinder. Not so. Two of the bolts holding the pedal cover on would not come out, the rivnuts had loosened and were spinning inside the pedal box.

 

It was mid 90s and no shade and I was getting frustrated. I rolled the car back down the hill to a flat area and sent one of the helpers to the road above with instructions to wave me through when it was clear enough for me to start the car in gear, drive up the hill and run the stop sign. This worked on the second attempt as he stopped traffic coming from one direction and it was clear from the other. I drove to the lunch stop without a clutch, only running a couple more stop signs.

 

After lunch I recruited the club prez who is of a much slighter stature than I am to contort and worm his way head first into the foot well and see if he could put the pushrod back in. After a few attempts he succeeded and I was able to make it home with no problems.

 

The problem with the clutch pedal is that there is no physical limiter to prevent the clutch pedal from being pulled up. The only thing holding the pushrod in the cylinder is the rubber boot a large washer and the mushroom head on the pushrod. The boot had a tear in it which made it easy for the washer and mushroom head to pull through. I've fixed this problem with a 10mm bolt through the boss in the front of the pedal box where a mechanical clutch cable would have mounted. The end of the bolt now limits the forward travel of the clutch pedal.

 

This link will take you to some pictures taken by one of the club members of the cars and scenery.

 

 

If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area it is well worth the time to drive to the top of Pikes Peak, even if you don't have a Seven along.

[Croc]

Great write up and pics Skip! I guess the road is sealed all the way to the very top except the top is still dirt as seen in the photos?

 

One of these days I will get around to doing that drive - but I want to do it in a seven. Need to work through that problem....

[11Budlite]

Nice photos, thanks for sharing Skip!

[scannon]

Great write up and pics Skip! I guess the road is sealed all the way to the very top except the top is still dirt as seen in the photos?

 

One of these days I will get around to doing that drive - but I want to do it in a seven. Need to work through that problem....

The road is now paved all the way to the top but the parking lots are still dirt and gravel. The older section of the road near the bottom has been patched but still in decent condition and the newer sections are very smooth and fun to drive.

 

Croc: buy another Seven from Caterham USA and when you come out to pick it up we can arrange a trip to drive Pikes Peak.