Blog about restoration of a "hedge fund" '86 Excel

[crofty1984]

Thanks for the info and words of encouragement Andy! Where is this helper spring? I know of the big one on the clutch obviously, and the smaller one at the pedal that pulls it back up to the stop, but is there another?
Thanks,
Dan

[pompey ice]

Hi Dan , If you get a chance can you trace the rubber/plastic pipe that comes from the number 1 cylinder [ nearest the radiator ]
there's a union on the intake manifold between carbs and cylinder head , all I have is the union and a bit of rubber pipe ,I thought
it was for the vacuum advance but like your engine mines fitted with the centrifugal advance so not needed
many thanks Ian

[crofty1984]

I'll have a look next time I'm down, see if I can find what you're on about. What do you want to know about it?

[pompey ice]

Hi Dan , Where does the pipe end up and what is its purpose , I see your pipe disappears to near the offside headlight area

many thanks Ian

[amarshall]

Hi Dan , Where does the pipe end up and what is its purpose , I see your pipe disappears to near the offside headlight area

many thanks Ian

Vacuum feed for the heater mechanism on pre-86 cars. Links to the "vacuum reservoir". I think.

[ttedj]

Thanks for the info and words of encouragement Andy! Where is this helper spring? I know of the big one on the clutch obviously, and the smaller one at the pedal that pulls it back up to the stop, but is there another?
Thanks,
Dan

Dan,
Think Andy was refering to the spring which goes from the clutch release fork to the gearbox casing. You can see it if you look down from above into the drivers side engine bay.
Ted

[crofty1984]

Dan,
Think Andy was refering to the spring which goes from the clutch release fork to the gearbox casing. You can see it if you look down from above into the drivers side engine bay.
Ted

Actually, I can't say with 100% certainty that the helper spring is on there. That could be my issue! I'll have a look next time I'm over.

[crofty1984]

Well I do have the helper spring. I was down there on Saturday.

I've re-routed the hydraulics a bit to try and make sure there's no air traps, I'll bleed again soon.
When the clutch pedal's not attached to anything the return spring isn't man enough to bring it back to the stop, so I'll replace that. Though the master cylinder connection arm seems to not be long enough. I know it goes off on the wonk, but it's a struggle to get it back to the stop, either the M/C isn't going back all the way or it is, and the arm's not long enough. I'm going to make a longer "fork" and use that in conjunction with a new spring and a good re-bleed.

Had the engine running again. There's no real diagnostic reason to, but it made me feel better

Checked the voltage to the R/H lift motor. It's got power to it. Took it off and plugged it in the other side. No movement so guessing the motor has had it. I've re-installed the L/H light pod about a dozen times. Getting the adjustment right is SO fiddly! Every time it's a pod-out job as I can't quite compress the spring enough to get it onto the arm. Still not got it.

[AndyC]

If you want to do a comparison, just give me a shout as mine is up on the ramp so most bits are accessible (not all as there's a trailer underneath the car and ramp at present).

Andy

[Jason.goad]

Well I do have the helper spring. I was down there on Saturday.

I've re-routed the hydraulics a bit to try and make sure there's no air traps, I'll bleed again soon.
When the clutch pedal's not attached to anything the return spring isn't man enough to bring it back to the stop, so I'll replace that. Though the master cylinder connection arm seems to not be long enough. I know it goes off on the wonk, but it's a struggle to get it back to the stop, either the M/C isn't going back all the way or it is, and the arm's not long enough. I'm going to make a longer "fork" and use that in conjunction with a new spring and a good re-bleed.

Had the engine running again. There's no real diagnostic reason to, but it made me feel better

Checked the voltage to the R/H lift motor. It's got power to it. Took it off and plugged it in the other side. No movement so guessing the motor has had it. I've re-installed the L/H light pod about a dozen times. Getting the adjustment right is SO fiddly! Every time it's a pod-out job as I can't quite compress the spring enough to get it onto the arm. Still not got it.

Hi. Re:- headlamp motor, it's probably full of water. There isn't much to go wrong in them and they are quite easy to overhaul (i managed it, so must be easy). give me a shout if you want some pointer/tips.

http://www.lotusexcel.net/phpbb/viewtop ... =27&t=7192

re:- clutch master cylinder. I found the length of the arm on the new cylinder to be a bit on the short side. Mine is right on the last few threads, I'm thinking it might be better to take off the rubber boot, undo the snap ring and replace the new arm with the original. Hope that helps.

[ttedj]

re:- clutch master cylinder. I found the length of the arm on the new cylinder to be a bit on the short side. Mine is right on the last few threads, I'm thinking it might be better to take off the rubber boot, undo the snap ring and replace the new arm with the original. Hope that helps.

Found the same with a new master cyclinder. My clutch pedal now goes right to the floor but the clutch is fine and bites about an inch or so down.

Definitley need to replace the clutch pedal return spring. I think it is actually the same spring as on the clutch fork arm.

Have a look at the slave cyclinder and how much of the rod is protruding. If it is stuck out a long way, it would suggest a problem in the clutch itself - ie it is not being pushed back in properly. If not, more likely a hydraulic problem. You should be able to push the rod back into the slave cyclinder and then see how much it moves when you push the pedal. If it moves about an inch or more I would think that the hydraulics are mostly fine. (Rod is only about 2 inches long)

If the hydraulics are fine, the clutch fork rests on a small ball (pivot) in the bell housing. From the toyota world, the clutch arm can crack giving a lot of play and therefore less clutch movement. When I did my clutch that was fine but the clutch release bearing carrier had worn allowing the fork to move about an inch forward. The slave cyclinder had taken up this slack though as it is auto adjusting.
Just a little musing and I hope it helps a bit.
Ted

I

[crofty1984]

Thanks for the advice all!
A bit more from the blog:
So, another update.
I have actually done a little work since last year, so here goes.
Firstly, the carb trumpets have been put back on with nice new shiny washers, so that's the filter change done. Thought I should at least finish one job.

Next, I've been trying to get the driver's side headlight pod back in.
The pod's held in by a pair of (13mm head) bolts, which act as axles. There is a threaded rod coming from the crossbrace which attaches via a rose joint to the motor arm.
The motor works (intermittently) so it's been a case of install-test-remove-adjust length of rod-reinstall... the battery's had it apparently so only offers enough juice now and then, which combined with flaky switchgear is not an ideal situation!
After a couple of dozen remove and refit jobs, I managed to work out that you don't actually need to remove the whole pod each time, there's an adjuster. Stupid boy.

Also, while refitting the pod I managed to unscrew the rose joint completely, which then bounced into a pile of hay. Using clever engineering, I pressed a cardboard box into service as a sifting, er, thing.

Also, the clutch definitely doesn't work. Rolled the car forwards and backwards a few times in neutral to free it off a bit (with air-filled tyres!), put it into gear, clutch down and... absolutely solid.

I'll get there though. Slowly but surely.
Next up is to re-bleed the clutch, replace the clutch return spring in the pedal box and make a longer rod for the master cylinder (well, longer forked bit actually) to see what good that does.

[crofty1984]

It's embarrassing how few and far between these updates are getting. Unfortunately, every penny I have is going into house-buying like a grown up. Still I've managed a little.


After what seems like forever, I've finally got one of the headlight pods in and adjusted so it'll go up AND down! Goes with a bit of clonk, but I'm told that's normal. The headlamp is installed and lights up! The process wasn't helped by a dying battery and the fog lamps being on, draining the current. Also the relay's a bit sticky. Hopefully a bit of using it will help.
Must remember to tighten the "axle" bolts.


The other motor was shot, so I thought i had nothing to lose by taking it apart. Note for anyone else doing this: you don't actually have to spend 2 days contorting yourself into a bizarre number of shapes trying to get the whole bracket assembly off (the bolt heads are behind the motor body), you can just take the motor off. Trust me, I've done the research.


Opening up the motor (2 long bolts) showed that the magnets were still in place, there was some brown gunk baked onto the inside of the case, but all seemed present and correct on that side. The electrical connections to the brushes had burnt out though. The initial plan was to solder the wires directly onto the end of what remained of the brushes, but that went badly wrong, needing me to find new brushes themselves. For some reason they're like hen's teeth. Also, the 3 tiny screws that hold the electric board into the case are impossible to find. After asking round 5 different places in Norwich, including 2 specialists I gave up and decided to re-use the old ones.


Anyway, the hunt for the brushes was fruitless, but on ebay there was a new-old-stock brush plate from a different variety of the same motor. I've managed to connect it up to the loom inside the case, removed unnecessary microswitches, so fingers crossed, it MAY work. If not, it's off to the refurbishers with 90 quid in my fist. After the house.


I also got a new spring that needs attaching to the clutch pedal. I'm going to make a new bracket for it too.

Photos (this stolen from the blog):

New brush plate half way through disassembly - note microswitch and round plug type.


New plate soldered in to old housing, nice rectangular connector


Also, I got fed up of being jammed upside down in between the seat and steering wheel. The centre piece and foam just pop off, then it's one nut to get the wheel off. Top tip - put the nut back on loosely. When that wheel finally lets go after some persuasion, and 30 years in one place, you'll punch yourself in the face with it. I'm happy to say this is one occasion where I figured that out before actually making a fool of myself and breaking my nose!


One of my helpers. He's a bit rubbish coz he int got no fumbs. But I guess he could store o-rings and large washers on him.

[alanbell]

the purpose of a hedge fund is to balance long and short options so that one does not lose money and stands a chance of a profit if the preferred option comes off, something that is not possible with any lotus, how I wish it was.

[crofty1984]

If we're looking at the financials, I've spent infinity times the purchase price on parts alone!