1980 Lotus Elite 504
Discussion
Sorry i've not got around to updating this thread, been up to my eyes in other stuff.
Anyway got the breaking down issue sorted, found it was the new Facet pump, on bench testing it it would run for five minutes, start to splutter then die after a few minutes more (while still running), so £70 down the drain and a load of time and money chasing the fault elsewhere.
What do i think of Facet pumps now.
The new unbranded £12 E-bay pump working great.
Got the MX5 front seats fitted, have made a big difference, sit a bit higher than the standard Lotus seats but soon got used to it.
So used the car pretty regular for a few weeks but the water pump was getting noisier, not leaking but play in bearings, was wanting to fit a new cam belt too so decided to take the car off the road, thought i'd get an exchange pump from SJsportscars but it turns out my pump is so bad (impeller damaged and shaft welded) only option is to get mine rebuilt so they are dealing with this and i should get the pump back in the next week or so.
Couldn't resist cleaning up some of the removed bits.
New cam belt was easy to fit (with the bonnet off for access), tesioner bearing is fine so just left that.
Made the decission to go through the whole cooling system so have removed the rad to check it and the hoses, replace rotten hose clips etc, two mind whether to upgrade the standard fans or not ?
Also ripped out the remains of the redundand air con bits, surprising amount of weight in this alone.
Anyway got the breaking down issue sorted, found it was the new Facet pump, on bench testing it it would run for five minutes, start to splutter then die after a few minutes more (while still running), so £70 down the drain and a load of time and money chasing the fault elsewhere.
What do i think of Facet pumps now.
The new unbranded £12 E-bay pump working great.
Got the MX5 front seats fitted, have made a big difference, sit a bit higher than the standard Lotus seats but soon got used to it.
So used the car pretty regular for a few weeks but the water pump was getting noisier, not leaking but play in bearings, was wanting to fit a new cam belt too so decided to take the car off the road, thought i'd get an exchange pump from SJsportscars but it turns out my pump is so bad (impeller damaged and shaft welded) only option is to get mine rebuilt so they are dealing with this and i should get the pump back in the next week or so.
Couldn't resist cleaning up some of the removed bits.
New cam belt was easy to fit (with the bonnet off for access), tesioner bearing is fine so just left that.
Made the decission to go through the whole cooling system so have removed the rad to check it and the hoses, replace rotten hose clips etc, two mind whether to upgrade the standard fans or not ?
Also ripped out the remains of the redundand air con bits, surprising amount of weight in this alone.
Markgenesis said:
Your'e right, i'm making the classic mistake of assuming something is ok because it's new.
Annoying when you have to pick which new bit is duff!It'll be a cracker once you've worked through all of this though, but is unfortunately making me think "I couldn't be doing with all that hassle" as much as I think "I really want an Elite".
Is it just proving it's reputation?
Al
Mistron said:
Is it just proving it's reputation?
Al
I don't think so, i'm just working through the neglect by previous owners.Al
I think a lot of the reputation has come from poor maintenance and neglect, also lack of preventative maintenance like the water pump being noisy, on an MGB for example that may not have been a huge problem if ignored, just an inconvenience, but on the Lotus if the pump bearings collapse or sieze, the fan belt gets thrown into the cam belt and wrecks the engine (like my engine most have lost their cam belt cover).
Years ago i ran Hillman Imps (one as a daily for a while), a car with a very poor reputation for reliability but with regular maintenance and a few mods Hillman Imps are perfectly fine (and fun), even as daily drivers in modern traffic.
I'm finding the Lotus expensive for parts though, just the parts to do the water pump and the rear wheel bearings is costing me about £300 so many would question the running cost with the value of the car but that's something that's never bothered me.
I think it's a superb looking thing though
, drives superb (when it's running) and sounds great (for a four pot) so all the hassle is worth it. Mistron said:
Did you use wrinkle finish paint on the cam cover? Looks like it?
If so, I just bought some to do the dash on the special, and I'm not sure if I'm meant to use the primer that was supplied with it, or to put it on base alloy?
Al
Paint on cam covers is just Halfords rattle can red, with rattle can primer, the wrinkle finish is just the rough casting of the alloy.If so, I just bought some to do the dash on the special, and I'm not sure if I'm meant to use the primer that was supplied with it, or to put it on base alloy?
Al
Never used wrinkle paint before so not sure about the primer on alloy, i'm guessing it'll need some kind of primer though.
Dont have a handbook BV, do you want a few quid for it or a couple of pints bought if we ever meet
Well my daily driver Discovery started chucking out smoke big time today, has been smoking on start up for a few weeks but now doing it all the time, also it's MOT and TAX are due so i may need to get the Lotus together pretty quick as it looks like it'll be my only driver for a while.
Got my recond water pump back on Tuesday, been working silly hours this week though 10 am - 11 pm 
so spent a couple of hours on it Wednesday morning and got it back together, bonnet on, anti-freeze in and fired up on Thursday morning and test drove to work.
Drove great with no issues at all.
Had the rad and fans out while waiting on the water pump, flushed the rad, made up new rad top brackets as these were missing (the only thing stopping the rad flopping about was the top hose), could have gave the fan shrouds a coat of paint but decided to leave them as i'll probably be upgrading them (fans are an odd pair anyway)
Also checked all the hoses, fitted new hose clips and tidied up the wiring and hoses.
So it's been used regularly for the last couple of days, coping absolutely fine, even during biblical rain driving home last night and a shopping trip to Morrisons this morning, running and sounding great (had to tweak the carbs though), next jobs to tackle are the drivers door hinge, rear wheel bearings and new steering U/J's, still needs a fresh set of tyres too.
so spent a couple of hours on it Wednesday morning and got it back together, bonnet on, anti-freeze in and fired up on Thursday morning and test drove to work.Drove great with no issues at all.
Had the rad and fans out while waiting on the water pump, flushed the rad, made up new rad top brackets as these were missing (the only thing stopping the rad flopping about was the top hose
), could have gave the fan shrouds a coat of paint but decided to leave them as i'll probably be upgrading them (fans are an odd pair anyway)Also checked all the hoses, fitted new hose clips and tidied up the wiring and hoses.
So it's been used regularly for the last couple of days, coping absolutely fine, even during biblical rain driving home last night and a shopping trip to Morrisons this morning, running and sounding great (had to tweak the carbs though), next jobs to tackle are the drivers door hinge, rear wheel bearings and new steering U/J's, still needs a fresh set of tyres too.
Had to smile when you said you were taking it for a test drive, isn't every drive a test drive in a Lotus?
Falken tyres were what I used on mine in the eighties, it was either Falkens, Goodyear NCT which were reputed to be the same as Falkens but cost more, or the extremely expensive Michelins. Falkens did the job and I continued to use them on my DD for decades until swapping to Kumho which seem to last as long and grip better.
I see that you can buy the same size tyres today for the same price as back then, if only we could say the same for fuel.
Falken tyres were what I used on mine in the eighties, it was either Falkens, Goodyear NCT which were reputed to be the same as Falkens but cost more, or the extremely expensive Michelins. Falkens did the job and I continued to use them on my DD for decades until swapping to Kumho which seem to last as long and grip better.
I see that you can buy the same size tyres today for the same price as back then, if only we could say the same for fuel.
The Elite is still running great (touch wood), using it regularly, reliability issues seem to be sorted, re-gained my trust/confidence in the car and starting to really love it
Treated it to an oil and filter change over the weekend, Mobil 1 10/60 fully sinthetic with a Lotus filter, so full engine service is pretty much complete now.
Headlight pods are proving irritating/comical sometimes, right one raises off the switch ok, left one needs a helping hand, if i drive the car for a bit then stop (like when i stopped for fuel the other night), switch the headlights back on the left will raise and the right stays firmly shut (not even able to lift by hand), luckily i was driving on street lit roads so got by on the side lights.
Taken to carrying a small piece of hose blanked off so that i can unplug the vacuum feed from the engine when it happens in future.
(touch wood), using it regularly, reliability issues seem to be sorted, re-gained my trust/confidence in the car and starting to really love it Treated it to an oil and filter change over the weekend, Mobil 1 10/60 fully sinthetic with a Lotus filter, so full engine service is pretty much complete now.
Headlight pods are proving irritating/comical sometimes, right one raises off the switch ok, left one needs a helping hand, if i drive the car for a bit then stop (like when i stopped for fuel the other night), switch the headlights back on the left will raise and the right stays firmly shut (not even able to lift by hand), luckily i was driving on street lit roads so got by on the side lights.
Taken to carrying a small piece of hose blanked off so that i can unplug the vacuum feed from the engine when it happens in future.
Edited by Markgenesis on Monday 3rd November 19:58
Couple of points:
Get a cam belt cover or at least the lower part. If a stone is thrown up and gets between the belt and pulleys it could snap the belt and you really don't want that!
I think/pretty sure the recommended oil for the engine is 20/50 and putting 'modern' oil in is not a good thing.
Get a cam belt cover or at least the lower part. If a stone is thrown up and gets between the belt and pulleys it could snap the belt and you really don't want that!
I think/pretty sure the recommended oil for the engine is 20/50 and putting 'modern' oil in is not a good thing.
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