The Lotus Grand Tourers

Has anyone replaced the wooden panels which reside at the sides of the radiator cowl? Are these available to purchase anywhere or do you have to cut your own? Mine are so rotten they would not be any good to use as patterns. Do these panels actually do anything or can I just forget about the fact that they are rotten as I imagine most are by now.

I believe they can be bought from Lotusbits, or the club does have a pattern so you can cut your own.

They are part of the crash structure, so I would replace if they are rotten.

TAR wrote:They are part of the crash structure, so I would replace if they are rotten.

Indeed. Remember Colin's mantra - 'add lightness'. If it *is* on a Lotus, it *will* have a reasonably important function.

TAR wrote:They are part of the crash structure, so I would replace if they are rotten.

They are indeed, and Mr. Kimberley is most insistent that they need to be there.

amarshall wrote:

TAR wrote:They are part of the crash structure, so I would replace if they are rotten.

They are indeed, and Mr. Kimberley is most insistent that they need to be there.

I remember!

Pete

You can get replacements from LotusBits and somewhere (I can't find where at the moment, but someone on this forum will know) someone has produced a very full write-up, with pictures, of how to replace these plywood parts.

amarshall wrote:I believe they can be bought from Lotusbits, or the club does have a pattern so you can cut your own.

When you say "the Club" do you mean the LotusExcel.net club or the official Lotus Owners club, if the latter then I haven't been a member for over ten years so I don't think they will lend me their pattern.

Unless anyone here has a pattern I could borrow?

tonypoll wrote:You can get replacements from LotusBits and somewhere (I can't find where at the moment, but someone on this forum will know) someone has produced a very full write-up, with pictures, of how to replace these plywood parts.

If anyone can find that article it would be very helpful.

NickC wrote:

tonypoll wrote:You can get replacements from LotusBits and somewhere (I can't find where at the moment, but someone on this forum will know) someone has produced a very full write-up, with pictures, of how to replace these plywood parts.

If anyone can find that article it would be very helpful.

Here is a fairly recent thread: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=10506&hilit=plywood

richardw wrote:

NickC wrote:

tonypoll wrote:You can get replacements from LotusBits and somewhere (I can't find where at the moment, but someone on this forum will know) someone has produced a very full write-up, with pictures, of how to replace these plywood parts.

If anyone can find that article it would be very helpful.

Here is a fairly recent thread: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=10506&hilit=plywood

Thanks for that Richard, at least I have a better idea of what to expect now.

Lotusbits havn't got any panels in stock so would take a couple of weeks to make them, unfortunately that means that the weather would most likely have caved in by then and I need to get the radiator back in so as to get some antifreeze in the engine before it gets too cold. I flushed the system out so no antifreeze in there at all at the moment.

Unless of course I can find someone with a pattern I can borrow so that I can make my own?

I might have to put the radiator cowl back in and take it all out again new year, in the summer. I wonder if I actually need to put the radiator back in to run the car? If I could find some way of blanking off the top and bottom radiator hoses that would allow me to run the engine for a short while, until it warmed-up too much, without having to refit the radiator.

NickC wrote: I might have to put the radiator cowl back in and take it all out again new year, in the summer. I wonder if I actually need to put the radiator back in to run the car? If I could find some way of blanking off the top and bottom radiator hoses that would allow me to run the engine for a short while, until it warmed-up too much, without having to refit the radiator.

I'd connect top and bottom hose together with pipe/hose connectors so that the water pump can work properly without fear of strain and cavitation etc. You'd then have proper water circulation such that the temperature sender is really detecting the heat generated within the water jacket.

Would be an interesting exercise to see how long you can run the engine without a radiator! I'd guess you could keep it going for a while at this time of year (need antifreeze of course).

Lotus-e-Clan wrote: ...
I'd connect top and bottom hose together with pipe/hose connectors so that the water pump can work properly without fear of strain and cavitation etc. You'd then have proper water circulation such that the temperature sender is really detecting the heat generated within the water jacket.
...

Would be good if I could find some but having spent a few hours today around various car spares shops it does not look like getting an appropriate extension pipe is going to be easy. Thinking about it when the engine is cold and the thermostat is closed there is no water flowing around those pipes anyway so might be easier to find a couple of suitable bungs to block the ends of the pipes.

Hi, if you are after coolant hose to bypass the rad, have you tried Burton power in Ilford?
Regards Dan

Danny wrote:Hi, if you are after coolant hose to bypass the rad, have you tried Burton power in Ilford?
Regards Dan

Good suggestion, thanks Dan. They are only 20 mins aways from me.