LinksI'm continuing my quest to return 3291R to decent mechanical condition (acknowledging that I'm also working on renovating the interior to some extent...). Somewhere along the line, a (d)PO thought it was a good idea to remove all the fuel vapor containment devices...the catch can, charcoal canister, and the VCG breather (PCV, after a fashion) gubbins and throw them in the packing cases of parts that I'm digging through.
In doing so, they just cut the vent lines from the fuel filler necks and left open to the atmosphere. Accordingly, I get a whiff of gas smell in the cockpit from time to time. And, to be honest (though I'm not a tree-hugging ecomentailst), it does bother me a bit that I'm just venting hydrocarbon vapors to the outside world when I don't have to. So...I'm starting to assemble the bits to put things at least back together to close off the system to free atmosphere.
To that end, I've acquired a nice air/oil separator for the PCV system (and will go about plumbing that in, mounting the can in the right rear dead space next to the boot and running the air back to the backplate of the carb air box), and would like to plumb the fuel vapor containment system. For that, besides a healthy run of hose to run back and forth as per the diagram in the parts manual...I need to source a charcoal canister...if not to feed back to the base of the carbs (the ports for that are capped off right now), at least to filter the vapor from the ports on the filler neck.
So...has anyone sourced a useable charcoal can? Is my idea without merit? z
Heretical, I know...putting emission stuff back on...but, thinking of doing my small bit (not to mention not getting fuel vapors in the cockpit...).
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Upholstery replacement covers came in from lotus-supplies! Except…they sent 4 (!) headrest covers and no kneerolls. lol. guess that is meant for the 4-door Europa saloon. Sent an email off…offered to send 2 back in trade for the kneeroll covers.
With the new pattern for the facings…had a spare basketweave arm rest left over from an S2 (the original in the car was the ambla pattern); swapped that in, since the new upholstery is basketweave (which I prefer).
Quality seems nice; and the price is most agreeable, even figuring in shipping.
Recovered one of the bottom pads last night “just to see”…pretty pleased how it turned out. I think it will dress up the interior just a bit, no?
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Too bad the streets here in Fall River are mostly reminiscent of photos of Berlin after Army Air Forces did their urban renewal flights in '44-'45. Only when you get on the interstate or MA 24 towards Boston (Bahstin?) does it smooth out and you can enjoy the music. Thinking a nice set of headers and free flow muffler would sound even nicer, but have other fish to fry on this resurrection before thinking of tweaking exhaust systems.
Biggest hurdle of getting it on the road, running decently (I pulled the plugs and the carbon deposits have mostly been burned off and the insulators on all four are tanish color. So...) in a straight line for short distances is done. Now comes the "OK, I know it works, now let's clean it up" phase. That includes pulling the lump, dropping the gas tanks, putting in newly restored ones, cleaning up the rear of the chassis and body, as many of the seals and gaskets as I can get to, new clutch, and putting it all back together. I have a punch list I'm working from...but the order (and length) changes day to day. Not in any serious hurry, but not wasting time obsessing over order or methodology to get it fixed. Guiding principle: do it right the first time, and use locktite where needed...lol
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Back when I was starting down the road in February...the original tach would go crazy with the normal point system, too. I think it's just time to send it out to West Valley and have it gone through and converted. I won't be driving the car much except for around town. A contact in the UK advised me that based on the photos I sent him of where it's leaking...it's probably the pan gasket, so, I'm going to try replacing that (and the front seal) first in the next few weeks. Give me a chance to strip and paint the oil pan, too, before going deeper into deconstructing the engine room. Will send out the tach this week and just 'do it'.
But going to drive it around a little more. Love the sound of pressing down on the loud pedal...and the resonance of the exhaust system through the existing muffler... :D
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Luckily I picked up a spare tach (same prefix, different suffix on the notation at the bottom of the dial; probably has more to do with the yellow/red markings than a mechanical or electronic change to the unit) from a fellow participant a couple months ago...while out and about leaking oil over the streets of Fall River...the original tach at normal cruise speed suddenly bounced a couple times and went right to red line (and I was only doing 60 in 5th gear and the tempo of the mill did not change. Damn.
So...went home, assumed a partial Lotus position (if you take out the steering wheel, it's a lot easier on the driver side), disconnected the old tach and removed. Will send out for repair/calibration later...installed new old shelf spare (it's good to have spares, right?) tach (which is from an S2, albeit with a lower yellow at 6K vs 6500 on the TC) after burnishing up the connectors, a little penetrox anti-corrosion goop on the cleaned fittings, and reinstalled. Fired up the engine (with my garage handheld tach/dwell meter hooked up to the coil), and calibrated the new old tach to the reading on the dwell meter. Must be lucky, had set the idle by ear when I was syncing the carbs...and the idle was at 1K on the dwell meter...it now reads 1K on the Smiths tach after tweaking the adjustment pot on the back of the tach.
OK, so it's an S2 tach in a TC. lower yellow/red. That's ok. Says I'm idling at 1K agreeing with the dwell meter. I can live with that.
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Did 50 miles in 3291R this afternoon...Not totally dialed in (occasional clutch judder on starting off in 1st gear...haven't changed the clutch yet, and I know the adjustment is way off...but, will deal with it), lots of leaks to address (out comes the lump and tranny when I'm finished (or fed up) with the issues, but want to drive it a little), heater valve likes to open while driving along (will replace it when I pull the engine..for now, will just wire it shut). But, it's busy marking its spot in my driveway right now, cooling off after a spirited run along the back roads of Bristol County MA, with some interstate to get home. Pretty sure in this area that it's not a common sight from the number of stares I got at stop lights and folks passing me on I-195.
"Nice Ferrari, man...". LOL.
Brakes work fine (reservoir is topped where I left it after bleeding), shifting is pretty OK...have to consciously keep it in the 3-4 line when downshifting...topped up the 365 with MT90 (it was down close to a quart...funny how the shift and synchros work better when the oil level is where it should be, and notice that the shift shaft seal is in need of replacement), but, oh, the sound when I turn the wick up while accelerating...wonderful note for an old steel muffler and cast header. Bet a new tubular header and stainless silencer would not be a bad upgrade when that time comes.
A good Europa day (even with the niggles to take care of before the next run...it's not a destination, but a journey...)
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Thought I'd mock up the radio-delete gauge panel on the new dash for 3291R. (I have a bluetooth/line input amp for the door speakers that will get mounted in the front plenum...don't know anyone that listens to OTA radio...sad to say, since my degree was in communications and worked as a DJ and radio production engineer for the first 15 years of my career...:(). I know, delete the ammeter and replace with the voltmeter...but...want to keep the changes as simple as possible rather than hacking into the harness or changing the stock connections. This additional panel only has 3: switched +12 (yeah, you have to reset the clock..big deal, since when I put her away, I pull the ground off the battery so even with constant current, clock would stop..and yes, I know about putting a 1/2A fuse in parallel with the ground to keep some trickle voltage there for radio memories etc. No radio, no memories....:)), ground, and gauge lighting, all of which are accessible without major surgery on the harness. KISS principle at work.
When I get to that stage, I'll either veneer the panel with something close to the burl, or just paint it a satin brown and be done with it.
Oh, what the hell. I installed a radio a was done with it.
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No, not talking about finding things under your skin that need removal...but that big honking power unit behind your behind.
Basically, the good book says (eliminating the stuff at the beginning...):
Raise the rear of the car and place a stand beneath each side of the chassis at the rear.
Remove the rear road wheels.
Disconnect the clutch cable from the lever at the bell housing.
Remove the silencer (muffler) assembly.
Remove the bolts securing the silencer (muffler) mounting bracket to the gearbox.
Unscrew the bolts retaining the lower suspension links to the gearbox bracket, allowing the links to drop clear.
Drive the roll pins from the inner universal joints on the transmission shafts by means of a drift (Part No. X046F6171Z)
(I have a set of roll pin drivers...)
Free the drive shafts from the gearbox output shafts by withdrawing them outwards from their splines noting the spacers and shims fitted on the output shafts.
Remove the starter motor.
Place a jack under the rear of the gearbox.
Remove the reverse indent cover.
Remove the two bolts from the rear cross member, lower the gearbox, and remove the jack.
Remove the bolts from the clutch housing, and pull the gearbox rearwards until clear of the clutch shaft.
Basically, disconnect everything, pull back. Is there enough space to pull out and back? Would seem that it's going to tilt the engine back...anything I should be aware of? Or is it just easier to go even further and drain the coolant, strip down the engine to a long block, and pull together?
Just spitballing; I like to have a strategy before diving in. (pulling the whole lump would let me attack all the aged cooling hoses, leaky gaskets and seals and clean up the back end of 50 years of spooge.
Of course, this means I would not be driving her until the end of the summer. But that's ok. I stripped down 693R and built up from a bare frame in 5 months back in 07...so, I don't waste time thinking about how long...just how well I can get the job done.
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This is so important, I hope Joji doesn't mind that I lifted it from Joe's site:
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Joji Tokumoto's Remove Brake Booster Documentation:
Overview of the Europa brake hydraulics
Before removing the brake lines from the booster, it would be best to mark and tag the lines to and from the boosters both from the PDWV and to the connections at the “manifold “(the collection of fittings on the top left frame rail) as front brake circuit or rear brake circuit. I’ve also included the federal dual brake system diagram for reference, Pic 1. It has been colorized to make it easier to follow the convoluted mess. Since the replacement master cylinders are usually single bore 0.70” 0r 0.75”, it may not matter if the connections are swapped. However convention should be followed by maintaining the stock configuration.The only exceptions are if using the S2 tandem master cylinder. Stock configuration must be maintained.
Following the diagram, this is the flow path of the front and rear brake circuits from the master cylinder, to the boosters and back to the front and rear brakes. The front circuit has been colored in RED and the rear in Yellow.
The brake lines from the master cylinder are continuous until they terminate at the area I call the “manifold” on the top of the left frame rail where the lines transition to two female tube nuts coupled by a double male connection. At this point determine the lines for front and rear brake circuits. On my TCS the two bottom lines came from my master cylinder. Physically tracing the lines determined that the second line from the bottom was the front circuit and the bottom line was the rear circuit, Pic 2. Both lines continue to the PDWV, Pic 3.
At the PDWV, the lines for the front circuit enter the rear port at the bottom of the PDWV and the rear circuit enters the front port. Both lines exit the respective top ports of the PDWV and connect to the boosters above. The bottom servo serves the front brake circuit and the top servo, the rear brake circuit, Pic 4.. The PDWV maintains the difference in thread size for front and rear brake circuits, ⅜-24” threads for the front port (rear circuit) and 7/16-20” threads for the rear port (front circuit).
The outputs from both servos return to the “manifold” on the left frame rail. The line for the rear brakes connects to a four way junction where the lines split up to supply the rear brake drums and a brake light. The front line connects to a double male coupler where the line continues to the front of the car to supply the front calipers via a three way junction on the front “T“ section of the chassis, Pic 2.
Running the jumpers:
There are a couple of ways of running the bypass jumpers, either keep the PDWV in the system or totally get rid of it. Although I decided to keep mine and the directions are for this method, I’ll also describe how I would run bypass jumpers with the PDWV removed.
In bypassing the boosters, the brake lines exiting top ports of the PDWV to the boosters and the lines exiting the boosters to the “manifold” are disconnected and removed .Measure, cut and bend enough tubing to reach from the PDWV ports to the respective line connections for the front and rear brake lines at the “manifold”. As stated in the intro above, the line from the front port of the PDWV connects to the rear brake four way junction while the rear port connects to the single line connector going to the front of the car, Pics 5,6,7..
The hardware required are:
(1) male tube nut, 3/8-24 with a bubble flare on the PDWV end
(1) male tube nut, 7/16-20” with a bubble flare on the PDWV end
(1) female tube nut, ⅜-24 with a double/inverse flare on the “manifold” end
(1) male tube nut, ⅜-24” with bubble flare on “Manifold” end
Appropriate lengths of 3/16” Cunifer or steel brake tubing
Keeping the PDWV in my view makes for a neater looking engine layout and arguably maintains the brake failure warning light feature. Others however may prefer to bin it for simplicity and fewer complications. I see a couple of ways of doing it this way. First way is to run jumpers from the couplings on the incoming front and rear circuits directly to the outgoing front and rear circuits on the “manifold”, Pic 8. If using jumpers at the “manifold”, the front brake circuit jumper will require two ⅜-24” female tube nuts. The 3/16” tube on both ends will need to have a double/inverse flare to mate with the male couplers in the existing line. The rear brake circuit jumper will require one ⅜-24” female tube nut with a double/inverse flare on the existing male coupler end and a ⅜-24” male tube nut with a bubble flare on the four way junction end. I would recommend making the jumpers long enough to allow a gentle bend on the tubing without kinking.
The second way is to connect the fittings at the PDWV with unions, Pic 9,10. This may be the easier option if removing the PDWV. The original fittings and lines use bubble flares at the PDWV. Ensure that the unions also use bubble flares. The rear brake lines uses the ⅜-24” fittings. The front brake lines unfortunately use the 7/16-20” fittings at the PDWV. Finding unions using 7/16-20” fittings for 3/16” lines may be difficult. If unable to locate the correct union, the only option may be to convert the front brake line circuit to and from the union to ⅜-24” fittings with new brake lines.
Final thoughts. I traced the lines from the master cylinder back to the rear "manifold", the PDWV, boosters and back to the "manifold" on my TCS and I'm fairly confident that I did not cross lines but who is to say that I didn't make a mistake. I really urge anyone doing this modification to trace the lines back personally to ensure that the info on this write up is accurate.
Please take extreme care when modifying the brake lines. When forming flares, use the proper tools to ensure that the cuts are straight and square and that the ends are deburred properly. Doing that and using a good quality flare tool should allow you to make acceptable flares. Also please make sure that you are using the proper flare for the proper application, bubble vs double/inverse For fittings and cunifer brake lines RD Enterprises and Fedhill USA are good places to check. For flaring tools, a good quality tool and an “on car” flaring tool sold by several vendors is the only way to go. I used the one sold by Eastwood although Amazon has several similar ones.
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Practice on some scrap 3/16 line so you get the feel of it. It's doable; the brass fittings can strip, so use good ones (ie the amazon cheapies will fail...I went through 5 couplings until I got smart and went to the local NAPA store and got decent quality fittings). First time through, took a couple hours and choice anglo-saxon metaphors...when I got all the right parts...took longer to bend the pipes than to flare and fit.
And it's easier when the lump is out. I did mine bent over the rear quarter and paid for it at the chiropractor over a couple visits...lol.
Oh, yeah, when you go to bleed the system with all the spaghetti in place, remember that the furthest wheel is actually the front left. Front left, front right, rear right, rear left in terms of distance from the MC. I'm a big fan of the Eezbleed kit...did a complete bleed out and flush of the system in a half hour (and that included 3x around the car in order to ensure that the air was gone, and the old fluid was flushed.) Nice hard pedal now, with about 1" of throw.
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