S1 Elise 2.0 Duratec Conversion
Discussion
Did a little more work last night and pulled the lower wishbone.  With the wishbone out of the way the engine sat down on its mounts and the crank pulley cleared the chassis.  It's a little hard to see in the pictures but the clearance is there.
The engine now sits correctly on its original unmodified gearbox mount.
I've got some threaded bar to temporarily brace the wishbone during welding and I've located a place that can Zinc coat the wishbone once it is finished.
The engine now sits correctly on its original unmodified gearbox mount.
I've got some threaded bar to temporarily brace the wishbone during welding and I've located a place that can Zinc coat the wishbone once it is finished.
pthelazyjourno said:
I had a few laps in one with just north of 200bhp - I thought it was silly fast all things considered.
Loud though, and quite lumpy on idle.
I really liked it. If I was going to go down the engine conversion route, it'd be the one I'd go for. Lightweight, engine in the right place, lots of original parts, there's a lot to like.
Sure you'll love it.
With north of 200bhp it would have been running uprated cams, probably accounts for the lumpy idle.Loud though, and quite lumpy on idle.
I really liked it. If I was going to go down the engine conversion route, it'd be the one I'd go for. Lightweight, engine in the right place, lots of original parts, there's a lot to like.
Sure you'll love it.
300bhp/ton said:
Looks like an interesting project.
How does it stack up cost wise vs running ITB's and some cam/head work on the K-Series?
Also will it alter the centre of gravity or the weight distribution at all?
It's probably comparable in cost but you end up with a relatively unstressed and reliable 180bhp. Cams and head work will push you north of 200bhp. You can get the same power (though not torque) from a K but it's pretty highly strung at those levels and will need treating as such.How does it stack up cost wise vs running ITB's and some cam/head work on the K-Series?
Also will it alter the centre of gravity or the weight distribution at all?
ianstewartshouse said:
Hi Gregor, looking good. When is the build plan ed to complete?
Hi Iain, I think we can have the engine running relativly soon but I have some tidying up in the engine bay to do. I'm not trying to make the car a concourse winner but there are some parts that could abviously do with a rub down and lick of paint whilst the rear clam is off.All going well I think we could have it all back together before Christmas but there may be unforeseen hurdles.
Looks like I've hot my Photobucket bandwidth limit for the month. It will reset tomorrow and the pics will return.
Okay a bit of an update.
Quite a bit of progress made but it is harder see now that the engine is in place. Our newly fabricated bracket was bolted back in place under the gearbox and the shift cables attached. It works a treat and the gears shift as before. I know somebody will ask why we painted the bracket green. Answer: Because that’s what we had sitting on the shelf.
We did a bit of fabric maintenance, though this time I invested in some black hammerite, and painted the steel supports that bolt onto the lonerons. You can see in some of the previous pics that they were looking pretty grotty and you can just make out the fresh coat of paint below.
The exhaust manifold was then temporarily fitted.
Which allowed us to temporarily fit the exhaust link pipe. We did this because I need to get a Lambda bung welded into the link pipe and we wanted to identify the best position. Lambda thread is M18 x 1.5 by the way. You can see below where the sensor is going to go (Photo sponsored by Sharpie)
The throttle cable was then installed. The will need some adjustment as I’m not sure I was getting 100% throttle opening with the throttle pedal on the floor. There may be some adjustment needed at the pedal end. I’ll know more when I can hook up to the ECU and get readings from the Throttle Position Sensor.
In addition to the throttle cable the custom loom was installed. Everything went together well though I am a little concerned about the 3rd engine harness connector.
You can see that the custom loom has four wires at its end of the plug the original Elise end has three and even then only two of the pins actually meet up. This could be a problem but I could also be worrying about nothing, I shall have to wait and see.
Another pic of the manifold. I have a special gasket form SB Dev which has the EGR port blocked off, I’ll be using it for final installation.
There will be no progress next week as I am away but in the meantime I have left my exhaust and wishbone with Wallace Performance. They will relocate the brace and weld in the lambda bung. Once these things are back we will be pretty close to first startup.
Quite a bit of progress made but it is harder see now that the engine is in place. Our newly fabricated bracket was bolted back in place under the gearbox and the shift cables attached. It works a treat and the gears shift as before. I know somebody will ask why we painted the bracket green. Answer: Because that’s what we had sitting on the shelf.
We did a bit of fabric maintenance, though this time I invested in some black hammerite, and painted the steel supports that bolt onto the lonerons. You can see in some of the previous pics that they were looking pretty grotty and you can just make out the fresh coat of paint below.
The exhaust manifold was then temporarily fitted.
Which allowed us to temporarily fit the exhaust link pipe. We did this because I need to get a Lambda bung welded into the link pipe and we wanted to identify the best position. Lambda thread is M18 x 1.5 by the way. You can see below where the sensor is going to go (Photo sponsored by Sharpie)
The throttle cable was then installed. The will need some adjustment as I’m not sure I was getting 100% throttle opening with the throttle pedal on the floor. There may be some adjustment needed at the pedal end. I’ll know more when I can hook up to the ECU and get readings from the Throttle Position Sensor.
In addition to the throttle cable the custom loom was installed. Everything went together well though I am a little concerned about the 3rd engine harness connector.
You can see that the custom loom has four wires at its end of the plug the original Elise end has three and even then only two of the pins actually meet up. This could be a problem but I could also be worrying about nothing, I shall have to wait and see.
Another pic of the manifold. I have a special gasket form SB Dev which has the EGR port blocked off, I’ll be using it for final installation.
There will be no progress next week as I am away but in the meantime I have left my exhaust and wishbone with Wallace Performance. They will relocate the brace and weld in the lambda bung. Once these things are back we will be pretty close to first startup.
Edited by GregorFuk on Friday 4th November 13:40
A little bit more progress today. I picked up my modified wishbone on Friday and spent Saturday applying a few coats of Hammerite; this afternoon it was time for fitting.
As you can see there is now plenty of room between the wishbone brace and the Duratec sump. Mission accomplished!
Unfortunately it wasn't all success today. One of my other jobs was to fit a new fuel filter and it didn't go to plan at all. The union on the feed side of the filter was super tight, too tight in fact. I ended up with a rounded bolt and no way to get the filter off other than resorting to the hacksaw. I'm not happy about this and now need to find a way to get a union back onto the end of the metal pipe that terminates the fuel line. The line is 8mm in diameter and has a wall thickness of 0.9mm.
If anybody has any ideas on how I get myself back on track with this answers on a post card please!
As you can see there is now plenty of room between the wishbone brace and the Duratec sump. Mission accomplished!
Unfortunately it wasn't all success today. One of my other jobs was to fit a new fuel filter and it didn't go to plan at all. The union on the feed side of the filter was super tight, too tight in fact. I ended up with a rounded bolt and no way to get the filter off other than resorting to the hacksaw. I'm not happy about this and now need to find a way to get a union back onto the end of the metal pipe that terminates the fuel line. The line is 8mm in diameter and has a wall thickness of 0.9mm.
If anybody has any ideas on how I get myself back on track with this answers on a post card please!
Time for a bit of an update.
My Walterscheild fitting arrived a few days ago and worked a treat. I now have a new fitting on the end of my fuel supply line on which to screw on my fuel filter. As you can see from the picture it has worked perfectly, I'm very pleased. I'd recommend the solution to all Elise owners who hit a similar problem, I gather that it's not that uncommon.
With the fuel feed problem now resolved the rest of the fuel piping was fitted. A 3bar fuel pressure regulator has been mounted.
And the rest of the fuel piping ran to the fuel rail and back to the tank return. It was the first time I'd put together hoses of this type so I am quite chuffed with the results. All piping is a work in progress and will be tidied before the clam goes back on.
The final coolant pipework has been fitted and the header tank bracket removed from the bulkhead. We'll use the bracket to relocate the header tank but we're not quite sure to exactly where at the moment. We'll wait to see what sort of room we have once the clam is back on. For now we've 'secured' it to the chassis brace, being careful not to damage the fresh paintwork.
We also temporarily mounted the exhaust silencer so we could test fire the engine without waking the dead.
So with all of that done, and the ECU hooked up it was time to go for a test fire!
The result.....a smoothly running Duratec....I wish. What we actually got was a lot of popping and banging coupled with the odd eyebrow removing burst of flame from the intake trumpets. The throttle bodies need setting up for sure. I've been reading how to do it and have spoke with EA amongst others on the process. It seems like methodical process of trial and error is required to get things running right. The ECU is mapped and ready to go so I have no worries there I just need to get the engine idling and the throttles balanced.
This project has always been a learning experience but the learning curve has taken a sharp up-tick!
The first evening of attempting to get things running smoothly was a bit of a disaster but after the fact I identified that I'd missed an important step and not de-linked the bodies for the balancing process so I was on a loser from the start.
The second evening started poorly but slowly toward the end of the evening results started to come. Unfortunately just at the point I managed to get the engine sitting at a 2000rpm 'fast idle' the car battery ran out of puff preventing that car from being started.
Other commitments mean that it will be next week before another attempt can be made to get things running smoothly but I am confident that we are almost there. In the mean time the battery will be stuck on charge and I'll concentrate on re-growing my eyebrows.
My Walterscheild fitting arrived a few days ago and worked a treat. I now have a new fitting on the end of my fuel supply line on which to screw on my fuel filter. As you can see from the picture it has worked perfectly, I'm very pleased. I'd recommend the solution to all Elise owners who hit a similar problem, I gather that it's not that uncommon.
With the fuel feed problem now resolved the rest of the fuel piping was fitted. A 3bar fuel pressure regulator has been mounted.
And the rest of the fuel piping ran to the fuel rail and back to the tank return. It was the first time I'd put together hoses of this type so I am quite chuffed with the results. All piping is a work in progress and will be tidied before the clam goes back on.
The final coolant pipework has been fitted and the header tank bracket removed from the bulkhead. We'll use the bracket to relocate the header tank but we're not quite sure to exactly where at the moment. We'll wait to see what sort of room we have once the clam is back on. For now we've 'secured' it to the chassis brace, being careful not to damage the fresh paintwork.
We also temporarily mounted the exhaust silencer so we could test fire the engine without waking the dead.
So with all of that done, and the ECU hooked up it was time to go for a test fire!
The result.....a smoothly running Duratec....I wish. What we actually got was a lot of popping and banging coupled with the odd eyebrow removing burst of flame from the intake trumpets. The throttle bodies need setting up for sure. I've been reading how to do it and have spoke with EA amongst others on the process. It seems like methodical process of trial and error is required to get things running right. The ECU is mapped and ready to go so I have no worries there I just need to get the engine idling and the throttles balanced.
This project has always been a learning experience but the learning curve has taken a sharp up-tick!
The first evening of attempting to get things running smoothly was a bit of a disaster but after the fact I identified that I'd missed an important step and not de-linked the bodies for the balancing process so I was on a loser from the start.
The second evening started poorly but slowly toward the end of the evening results started to come. Unfortunately just at the point I managed to get the engine sitting at a 2000rpm 'fast idle' the car battery ran out of puff preventing that car from being started.
Other commitments mean that it will be next week before another attempt can be made to get things running smoothly but I am confident that we are almost there. In the mean time the battery will be stuck on charge and I'll concentrate on re-growing my eyebrows.
It's been a whilst since my last update but there's been enough progress now to make one. The last blog entry left the car with a flat battery and refusing to run.
First task was to get the battery charged up again so we could have another bash at firing the car up. Charging the battery was not an issue however even with it fully up to charge the car still refuse to turn over; the starter motor was spinning but it was not engaging properly with the flywheel. A look at the labels on the side of the starter motor told us that it was the original item, new on the car in 1998. It seemed like all the continual cranking had finally killed it off, so a failed starter motor was diagnosed and a new one was required.
Finding a new starter motor was easy and fitting it was even easier with the rear clam off. With the new starter installed the engine was once again turning over but it still refused to run! Another two nights were spent trying to unsuccesfully fire up the car but it was having none of it. This wasn't aided by the fact that I could not get the dongle for my ECU link cable to work so I was blind to what the ECU was seeing. A bit of a pause and re-think was required.
I first contacted Specialist Components to see if they could help me with my ECU comms issues. After following their advice, trying the dongle on another laptop and with a fresh XP install there was still no joy. The dongle was then sent back for testing and happily for me diagnosed as faulty; a rare occurrence but Specialist Components were very quick to sort me out with a replacement. Thanks to Simon at Specialist Components for sorting me out.
So now I could communicate with my ECU but the car still would not run, it was still spluttering and backfiring. I decided to have a look at the throttle bodies and see if I could identify an issue there. Using a mirror I was able to have a look down the bodies and see what the butterflies we doing, from doing this it was clear there was a problem as when the idle screws were adjusted there was no corresponding movement at the butterflies, and when the screws were completely wound out the butterflies were remaining open. It became clear that the problems were being caused by a sticky throttle linkage so the linkage was completely removed and we tried again. Result.....still nothing, less than nothing in fact as there now wasn't even a cough from the engine, this seemed like a definate step backwards!
Next we decided to check the spark plugs, it is all about suck, squeeze, bang, blow after all. The first plug we removed was wet with fuel and completely coked up. A quick test showed it not to be sparking. A second plug was removed and the same thing was found. Problem found? All plugs were removed and then mounted in a vice. We then heated the tips with a blow torch and scrubbed them with a wire brush. This had the plug tips looking far healthier and a second test showed them to be sparking again.
The plugs were then reinstalled, the throttle bodies were given half a turn on the idle screw, finger were crossed and the the key was turned.
The result?......She fired up and began to idle! I've stuck a rough video on you tube so you can see the results. First have of the vid is on cold start-up so the engine is a bit lumpy, the latter half is with the engine warmed.
http://youtu.be/UWt260Wmy8A
So the engine is running and the coolant system has been bled. We've found a small coolant leak from the modified water housing but it's a minor issue. More to come.....
First task was to get the battery charged up again so we could have another bash at firing the car up. Charging the battery was not an issue however even with it fully up to charge the car still refuse to turn over; the starter motor was spinning but it was not engaging properly with the flywheel. A look at the labels on the side of the starter motor told us that it was the original item, new on the car in 1998. It seemed like all the continual cranking had finally killed it off, so a failed starter motor was diagnosed and a new one was required.
Finding a new starter motor was easy and fitting it was even easier with the rear clam off. With the new starter installed the engine was once again turning over but it still refused to run! Another two nights were spent trying to unsuccesfully fire up the car but it was having none of it. This wasn't aided by the fact that I could not get the dongle for my ECU link cable to work so I was blind to what the ECU was seeing. A bit of a pause and re-think was required.
I first contacted Specialist Components to see if they could help me with my ECU comms issues. After following their advice, trying the dongle on another laptop and with a fresh XP install there was still no joy. The dongle was then sent back for testing and happily for me diagnosed as faulty; a rare occurrence but Specialist Components were very quick to sort me out with a replacement. Thanks to Simon at Specialist Components for sorting me out.
So now I could communicate with my ECU but the car still would not run, it was still spluttering and backfiring. I decided to have a look at the throttle bodies and see if I could identify an issue there. Using a mirror I was able to have a look down the bodies and see what the butterflies we doing, from doing this it was clear there was a problem as when the idle screws were adjusted there was no corresponding movement at the butterflies, and when the screws were completely wound out the butterflies were remaining open. It became clear that the problems were being caused by a sticky throttle linkage so the linkage was completely removed and we tried again. Result.....still nothing, less than nothing in fact as there now wasn't even a cough from the engine, this seemed like a definate step backwards!
Next we decided to check the spark plugs, it is all about suck, squeeze, bang, blow after all. The first plug we removed was wet with fuel and completely coked up. A quick test showed it not to be sparking. A second plug was removed and the same thing was found. Problem found? All plugs were removed and then mounted in a vice. We then heated the tips with a blow torch and scrubbed them with a wire brush. This had the plug tips looking far healthier and a second test showed them to be sparking again.
The plugs were then reinstalled, the throttle bodies were given half a turn on the idle screw, finger were crossed and the the key was turned.
The result?......She fired up and began to idle! I've stuck a rough video on you tube so you can see the results. First have of the vid is on cold start-up so the engine is a bit lumpy, the latter half is with the engine warmed.
http://youtu.be/UWt260Wmy8A
So the engine is running and the coolant system has been bled. We've found a small coolant leak from the modified water housing but it's a minor issue. More to come.....
Right, time for a small update.
The engine is now running nicely, it starts from cold and holds a steady 1000rpm idle. The throttle bodies are balanced so the misfiring has stopped. I'll try and get some video for a further post.
Jobs to do before completion are.
• Refill gearbox with oil.
• Replace a worn ball joint.
• Replace / layer up the existing heat shield with new heat shielding.
• Apply heat shielding to the back side of the clam.
• Apply heat shielding to exhaust for protection of offside inner CV boot.
• Refit clam
• Attach oil catch tank to clam
• Install ECU in boot.
• Relocate Header tank in engine bay
• Install boot lid & interior
• Install undertray
It's quite a list but in reality most are small jobs that don’t require too much thinking; putting the clam back on will most likely be the fiddleiest. I plan to refill the gearbox and replace the ball joint this weekend.
For the ball joint replacement I'll be using Elise Parts custom tool. I'll let you know how I get on.
Also from Elise parts I've purchased two sheets of Nimbus GII Twin Heatshield. I'll use one sheet to replace or cover the existing piece of heat shielding that sits above the exhaust. I'll use the other to cover the boot partition on the clam to protect it from the exhaust heat.
I've also bought myself a bit of bling. I purchased an oil catch tank from Ralloy.
Over half the price of an equivalent MOCAL tank but it looks just as good to my eyes. I'll be mounting it on the engine side of the boot partition approximately where the original ECU used to sit. If anybody can tell me where I can find the 710 fluid I need to fill it with, I'd be most grateful.
The engine is now running nicely, it starts from cold and holds a steady 1000rpm idle. The throttle bodies are balanced so the misfiring has stopped. I'll try and get some video for a further post.
Jobs to do before completion are.
• Refill gearbox with oil.
• Replace a worn ball joint.
• Replace / layer up the existing heat shield with new heat shielding.
• Apply heat shielding to the back side of the clam.
• Apply heat shielding to exhaust for protection of offside inner CV boot.
• Refit clam
• Attach oil catch tank to clam
• Install ECU in boot.
• Relocate Header tank in engine bay
• Install boot lid & interior
• Install undertray
It's quite a list but in reality most are small jobs that don’t require too much thinking; putting the clam back on will most likely be the fiddleiest. I plan to refill the gearbox and replace the ball joint this weekend.
For the ball joint replacement I'll be using Elise Parts custom tool. I'll let you know how I get on.
Also from Elise parts I've purchased two sheets of Nimbus GII Twin Heatshield. I'll use one sheet to replace or cover the existing piece of heat shielding that sits above the exhaust. I'll use the other to cover the boot partition on the clam to protect it from the exhaust heat.
I've also bought myself a bit of bling. I purchased an oil catch tank from Ralloy.
Over half the price of an equivalent MOCAL tank but it looks just as good to my eyes. I'll be mounting it on the engine side of the boot partition approximately where the original ECU used to sit. If anybody can tell me where I can find the 710 fluid I need to fill it with, I'd be most grateful.
Another bit of work done today on the Lotus, nowhere near as much as I'd have hoped for but never mind.
Two jobs were done today. The first was a replacement of a sealing o-ring that sat between the engine and the throttle bodies. I'd managed to damage one of the four o-rings that seal the bodies against the head. Although the car seemed to be running fine it was something that bugged me so I contacted AT Power and asked if they could sell me another set of o-rings. AT Power were very helpful and generously sent me out a new set of o-rings free of charge. With the o-rings to hand I removed the throttle bodies with the engine in-situ and replaced the damage item. The bodies then needed re-installed, a small amount of re-balancing, and the throttle position sensor reset. Once done everything was up and running again.
The next job was to replace a duff lower ball joint. For this I'd purchased Elise Parts ball joint removal / installation tool. The tool is pretty simple in its make up and function clamping round the ball joint and pushing it out of the wishbone.
So. Tool on.
Tighten left bolt..........
Tighten right bolt..........
Tighten left bolt..........
Tighten right bolt.........
And........bend tool........
I'm pretty sure that's not the way it was supposed to work
Rubbish tool? Operator error? Extra stuck ball joint? Who knows, I'll say no more on the subject. Suffice to say I spent the rest of today's tinkering time removing the lower wishbone in full so I can take it to my local garage who'll press out and replace the ball joint with their hydraulic press.
Lastly as promised some video from when I re-balanced and set up the throttle bodies.
http://youtu.be/TgyTxggmDDk
As you can see the engine idles nicely enough but to my eyes it seems to be running a little rich with puffs of black smoke on hard throttle blips. It also tends to bog a little on sharp openings of throttle from idle. Don't think there is anything I can do about either of these issues with the car as it is. The ECU comes with a generic map for the Duratec engine and AT Power throttle bodies but I think it will need a couple of hours fine tuning on Wallace Performance's rolling road once it's back on four wheels to get things running just so.
Anyway, that's all for now. Next on the list of things to do is fitting new heat shielding. Oh, and refitting that wishbone.
Two jobs were done today. The first was a replacement of a sealing o-ring that sat between the engine and the throttle bodies. I'd managed to damage one of the four o-rings that seal the bodies against the head. Although the car seemed to be running fine it was something that bugged me so I contacted AT Power and asked if they could sell me another set of o-rings. AT Power were very helpful and generously sent me out a new set of o-rings free of charge. With the o-rings to hand I removed the throttle bodies with the engine in-situ and replaced the damage item. The bodies then needed re-installed, a small amount of re-balancing, and the throttle position sensor reset. Once done everything was up and running again.
The next job was to replace a duff lower ball joint. For this I'd purchased Elise Parts ball joint removal / installation tool. The tool is pretty simple in its make up and function clamping round the ball joint and pushing it out of the wishbone.
So. Tool on.
Tighten left bolt..........
Tighten right bolt..........
Tighten left bolt..........
Tighten right bolt.........
And........bend tool........
I'm pretty sure that's not the way it was supposed to work
Rubbish tool? Operator error? Extra stuck ball joint? Who knows, I'll say no more on the subject. Suffice to say I spent the rest of today's tinkering time removing the lower wishbone in full so I can take it to my local garage who'll press out and replace the ball joint with their hydraulic press.Lastly as promised some video from when I re-balanced and set up the throttle bodies.
http://youtu.be/TgyTxggmDDk
As you can see the engine idles nicely enough but to my eyes it seems to be running a little rich with puffs of black smoke on hard throttle blips. It also tends to bog a little on sharp openings of throttle from idle. Don't think there is anything I can do about either of these issues with the car as it is. The ECU comes with a generic map for the Duratec engine and AT Power throttle bodies but I think it will need a couple of hours fine tuning on Wallace Performance's rolling road once it's back on four wheels to get things running just so.
Anyway, that's all for now. Next on the list of things to do is fitting new heat shielding. Oh, and refitting that wishbone.
Mini update.
As the weekends work didn’t go as well as I’d hoped I put in a couple more hours on the Lotus last night and spent it hacking away at my roll of Nimbus GII Twin with tin snips. The result is a new rear heat shield.
My original plan was to line the existing, and rather scabby looking, heat shield with the Numbus but I now think I’m going to ditch the original shield and just use the new Numbus shield on its own.
I’ve also ordered up a set of Aero-Quip style connectors that will allow me to connect braded JIC -6 hose directly to the standard Lotus fuel pump. This will let me make a much better job of the fuel return line which at the moment employs Jubilee clips; something I was never 100% happy with.
In other news Wallace Performance turned around my wishbone in double quick time. The ball joint has been replaced and the wishbone is ready to be reinstalled.
More updates soon.
As the weekends work didn’t go as well as I’d hoped I put in a couple more hours on the Lotus last night and spent it hacking away at my roll of Nimbus GII Twin with tin snips. The result is a new rear heat shield.
My original plan was to line the existing, and rather scabby looking, heat shield with the Numbus but I now think I’m going to ditch the original shield and just use the new Numbus shield on its own.
I’ve also ordered up a set of Aero-Quip style connectors that will allow me to connect braded JIC -6 hose directly to the standard Lotus fuel pump. This will let me make a much better job of the fuel return line which at the moment employs Jubilee clips; something I was never 100% happy with.
In other news Wallace Performance turned around my wishbone in double quick time. The ball joint has been replaced and the wishbone is ready to be reinstalled.
More updates soon.
Update time.
Saturday was Lotus day, another load of work done on the project.
First step was to bring the rear clam out of hibernation and get it ready for reinstallation. Because the inlet and exhaust are around the other way on the Duratec (When compared to the K) the heat shielding in the engine compartment is on the wrong side. A second roll of Nimbus GII Twin was used to shield the boot partition from the heat of the exhaust manifold.
With this done the oil catch tank was then bolted to the clam, I have positioned it where the original ECU used to sit. My plan is to cut hole through the boot partition and mount the new ECU in the boot itself on the opposite side of the partition to the catch tank.
The next job was to finalise my fuel return line. The Aero-Quip style connectors that would allow a direct connection to the fuel pump came within three days from the US. Coupled with a 90deg Aero-Quip fitting these would make for a jubilee clip free fuel circuit. Now, if anybody has tried to access an Elise’s fuel pump through the port behind the passenger seat they will know there not much room to work with. This caused problems because the combination of the new fuel fitting and the 90deg bend meant that the complete connection is much longer than the original plastic item. Fitting the connection has previously been described as “fiddly” but I’d call that an understatement. A F***ing B***stard is probably more accurate a description! The problem is that the distance between the fuel pump nozzle and the chassis is exactly the same length of the connection once tightened up. Obviously before the connection is tightened up it is fractionally longer, making it impossible to get into position.
After an hour of skinned knuckles and swearing we were getting nowhere fast so we finally conceded that we’d have to drop the tank to get the fitting on.
This was a pain to do but it’s a simple job and with the tank dropped the connection popped on with no issues.
The tank was then re-installed, you can see how tight the fitting is against the chassis in this picture through the access port. At least we know it can’t fall off….
A further picture of the fuel return line running through the bulkhead and back to the fuel pressure regulator. Looking at it now it was worth the effort.
With that job done the next task was to install the new exhaust heat shield I’d made earlier. The decision was made to re-use the original shielding and sandwich it together with the new item made from Nimbus GII Twin. This was simple enough, the new heat shield was riveted to the old one and then the two were riveted back into place on the chassis. Job done!
With the heat shielding in place, the fuel line fixed and wishbone re-installed the next job was to put the rear clam back on. This was one job I wasn’t looking forward to, as the clam feels so flimsy and fragile, still, it could not be avoided.
So,
Spacer washers were held in place with tape.
And the clam was manoeuvred back into position. The keen eyed amongst you will notice the lack of exhaust pipe. Luckily on the Janspeed system that is fitted the tail pipe is detachable, taking this off made getting the clam on much easier as we didn’t have to worry about threading the pipe through the hole in the calm during the refit.
A view from above shows how snugly the engine fits.
A second from the side. Note how wet the floor is. That's because the clear skies in the first picture had turned to a blizzard by the end of the afternoon.
It feels like we’re on the home straight now but there are still a few head scratchers to solve. The first is a neat way of mounting the ECU in the boot; the second is finding somewhere to mount the header tank. Answers on a Postcard please.
Saturday was Lotus day, another load of work done on the project.
First step was to bring the rear clam out of hibernation and get it ready for reinstallation. Because the inlet and exhaust are around the other way on the Duratec (When compared to the K) the heat shielding in the engine compartment is on the wrong side. A second roll of Nimbus GII Twin was used to shield the boot partition from the heat of the exhaust manifold.
With this done the oil catch tank was then bolted to the clam, I have positioned it where the original ECU used to sit. My plan is to cut hole through the boot partition and mount the new ECU in the boot itself on the opposite side of the partition to the catch tank.
The next job was to finalise my fuel return line. The Aero-Quip style connectors that would allow a direct connection to the fuel pump came within three days from the US. Coupled with a 90deg Aero-Quip fitting these would make for a jubilee clip free fuel circuit. Now, if anybody has tried to access an Elise’s fuel pump through the port behind the passenger seat they will know there not much room to work with. This caused problems because the combination of the new fuel fitting and the 90deg bend meant that the complete connection is much longer than the original plastic item. Fitting the connection has previously been described as “fiddly” but I’d call that an understatement. A F***ing B***stard is probably more accurate a description! The problem is that the distance between the fuel pump nozzle and the chassis is exactly the same length of the connection once tightened up. Obviously before the connection is tightened up it is fractionally longer, making it impossible to get into position.
After an hour of skinned knuckles and swearing we were getting nowhere fast so we finally conceded that we’d have to drop the tank to get the fitting on.
This was a pain to do but it’s a simple job and with the tank dropped the connection popped on with no issues.The tank was then re-installed, you can see how tight the fitting is against the chassis in this picture through the access port. At least we know it can’t fall off….
A further picture of the fuel return line running through the bulkhead and back to the fuel pressure regulator. Looking at it now it was worth the effort.
With that job done the next task was to install the new exhaust heat shield I’d made earlier. The decision was made to re-use the original shielding and sandwich it together with the new item made from Nimbus GII Twin. This was simple enough, the new heat shield was riveted to the old one and then the two were riveted back into place on the chassis. Job done!
With the heat shielding in place, the fuel line fixed and wishbone re-installed the next job was to put the rear clam back on. This was one job I wasn’t looking forward to, as the clam feels so flimsy and fragile, still, it could not be avoided.
So,
Spacer washers were held in place with tape.
And the clam was manoeuvred back into position. The keen eyed amongst you will notice the lack of exhaust pipe. Luckily on the Janspeed system that is fitted the tail pipe is detachable, taking this off made getting the clam on much easier as we didn’t have to worry about threading the pipe through the hole in the calm during the refit.
A view from above shows how snugly the engine fits.
A second from the side. Note how wet the floor is. That's because the clear skies in the first picture had turned to a blizzard by the end of the afternoon.
It feels like we’re on the home straight now but there are still a few head scratchers to solve. The first is a neat way of mounting the ECU in the boot; the second is finding somewhere to mount the header tank. Answers on a Postcard please.
impboy said:
hi to gregorfuk please can you tell me who made up the gearbox adaptor plate for you as i want one made up to mate a zetec to an audi transaxle hope you can help
regards keith
Sorry Keith the adaptor plate came with the kit. It's easy to see how you'd go about making one if you had the box and engine in front of you, but it is something I never had to do.regards keith
Another two sessions on the car the week and it feel like we are almost there.
First job was to fit the exhaust tips back onto the exhaust system. I was hoping that it would be possible to connect the tips through the hole in the rear clam but unfortunately the angles weren’t right and I could not get the pipes to slide into one another. This left a choice, remove the calm or remove the rear silencer..... I went for the silencer option as handling the clam is always nerve wracking (keep it clean people
). The silencer was duly removed and the exhaust tips attached. The silencer was then negotiated back into position underneath the calm, a fiddly job to say the least.
Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of the story as it became clear that the new exhaust system had offset the silencer box by about 15mm to the near side. This meant that the exhaust tips no longer sat centrally in the hole in the clam. So the exhaust silencer came back out and 15mm was cut from the tail pipe end of the silencer. The silencer was then reinstalled, bolted up and the result can be seen below. Perfectly central exhaust tips!
Next Job was to relocate the header tank. The original tank position was too close the airbox inlet making it impossible to route ducting pipe to the airbox. Thankfully the original position wasn’t too far off and there was scope to relocate the tank further to the left on the bulkhead. The header tank bracket had already been removed from the bulkhead, it’s simply stuck in place using Tiger Seal, so relocating the tank was simply a matter of sticking the bracket back to the bulkhead a couple of inches to the left. A simple job leaving an OEM looking result.
The third job was to locate the new ECU. There had been a bit of head scratching about whether to mount the unit in the engine bay or the boot. Eventually it was decided that it would be neater, and kinder to the ECU, to mount it in the boot. Making this mod involved the first and only alteration to the Elise calm, cutting a hole from the engine bay through to the boot. As small a hole as possible was cut and the ECU was then mounted to the boot wall using extra strong Velcro. Again the result looks almost OEM and once the boot carpet is back in the ECU will be hidden from sight.
The last job done was routing pipework to the breather tank. There are two fitting on the tank and two breathers on the engine, one on the rocker cover and on from the crank case. We found one of the old pipes from the K installation fitted the job perfectly for routing to the rocker cover, using some Ford spring clips that came with the Duratec added further to the factory feel.
We have still to plumb in the pipe from the crank case as we need a 16mm hose joiner, this is on order and will be a 5min job to fit.
There’s only a few jobs left to do now. But it’s all simple stuff like refitting arch liners, the boot release + lid, and the passenger seat. One more session should have the car back on four wheels and ready for a test run!!
I’d best go buy a TAX disk!
First job was to fit the exhaust tips back onto the exhaust system. I was hoping that it would be possible to connect the tips through the hole in the rear clam but unfortunately the angles weren’t right and I could not get the pipes to slide into one another. This left a choice, remove the calm or remove the rear silencer..... I went for the silencer option as handling the clam is always nerve wracking (keep it clean people
). The silencer was duly removed and the exhaust tips attached. The silencer was then negotiated back into position underneath the calm, a fiddly job to say the least.Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of the story as it became clear that the new exhaust system had offset the silencer box by about 15mm to the near side. This meant that the exhaust tips no longer sat centrally in the hole in the clam. So the exhaust silencer came back out and 15mm was cut from the tail pipe end of the silencer. The silencer was then reinstalled, bolted up and the result can be seen below. Perfectly central exhaust tips!
Next Job was to relocate the header tank. The original tank position was too close the airbox inlet making it impossible to route ducting pipe to the airbox. Thankfully the original position wasn’t too far off and there was scope to relocate the tank further to the left on the bulkhead. The header tank bracket had already been removed from the bulkhead, it’s simply stuck in place using Tiger Seal, so relocating the tank was simply a matter of sticking the bracket back to the bulkhead a couple of inches to the left. A simple job leaving an OEM looking result.
The third job was to locate the new ECU. There had been a bit of head scratching about whether to mount the unit in the engine bay or the boot. Eventually it was decided that it would be neater, and kinder to the ECU, to mount it in the boot. Making this mod involved the first and only alteration to the Elise calm, cutting a hole from the engine bay through to the boot. As small a hole as possible was cut and the ECU was then mounted to the boot wall using extra strong Velcro. Again the result looks almost OEM and once the boot carpet is back in the ECU will be hidden from sight.
The last job done was routing pipework to the breather tank. There are two fitting on the tank and two breathers on the engine, one on the rocker cover and on from the crank case. We found one of the old pipes from the K installation fitted the job perfectly for routing to the rocker cover, using some Ford spring clips that came with the Duratec added further to the factory feel.
We have still to plumb in the pipe from the crank case as we need a 16mm hose joiner, this is on order and will be a 5min job to fit.
There’s only a few jobs left to do now. But it’s all simple stuff like refitting arch liners, the boot release + lid, and the passenger seat. One more session should have the car back on four wheels and ready for a test run!!
I’d best go buy a TAX disk!
JR Ana said:
Good work - makes me want to buy another lotus... I had an S1 Elise and an S2 Exige, this will be a nice toy to say the least, best keep it on the black top! Maybe I could join you and Nigel for a run out one day? It would be nice to see the car. Well done! Scott D.
Hi Scott, Nigel's told me of your Lotus past and your latest toy. I'm sure we can all have a run out.Very small update, probably not a very interesting one to look at, but it’s exciting to me!
More Lotusing last last night and the car is ready to roll. Unfortunately we didn’t finish till late in the evening so the first commissioning run will have to wait till tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing how things go but I’ll be taking it easy at first and will have a fire extinguisher close to hand! The undertrays have been left off as the car is booked in for a session on the rolling road on the 14th and I want as much cooling as possible.
More updates to come.....
More Lotusing last last night and the car is ready to roll. Unfortunately we didn’t finish till late in the evening so the first commissioning run will have to wait till tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing how things go but I’ll be taking it easy at first and will have a fire extinguisher close to hand! The undertrays have been left off as the car is booked in for a session on the rolling road on the 14th and I want as much cooling as possible.
More updates to come.....
Just making room for the next project Nigel. Next time it's your turn to pick up the tab
So, the first running report.
So last night was D-Day for the Lotus. It had already been dropped of the stands and was ready to roll. It was a bit of a thought to actually get in the thing and take it for a drive; I was almost scared to do it.
Impressions..........
The car was instantly drivable, no kangarooing or spluttering. If someone got in the car and took it for a drive you’d never know it had undergone a heart transplant. The engine is tractable and pulls cleanly with no funny noises, rattles or bangs. From the driver’s seat the only indication that something has changed is a slightly firmer throttle peddle.
The car is significantly quicker. The in-gear torque is much much stronger and the car has gone from feeling slightly asthmatic to proper pushed into your seat fast. The engine pulls strongly from all the way through the rev range with an extra kick around 5.5K. Overall it feels like it now has the power it should have had in the beginning. So far I am very happy.
Things still to do.
The engine is running noticeably rich at the top end. It puffs out black smoke if you give it a boot full of throttle, a sure indication of overfueling. I have a rolling road session booked on the 14th which should take care of this. Until then I’ll give it limited light running just to shake things down and identify any issues.
Engine cover. I need a cover to fit over the rocker cover to stop rain water filling up my spark plug holes. I did get an engine cover with the kit but it looks like it’s been designed to fit a different rocker cover, Ford have obviously changed the design. I can either modify the one I have or find a suitable alternative. I’m open to suggestions in this one.
Once the car has been rolling roaded I’ll post up some videos etc. Stay tuned.
So, the first running report.
So last night was D-Day for the Lotus. It had already been dropped of the stands and was ready to roll. It was a bit of a thought to actually get in the thing and take it for a drive; I was almost scared to do it.
Impressions..........
The car was instantly drivable, no kangarooing or spluttering. If someone got in the car and took it for a drive you’d never know it had undergone a heart transplant. The engine is tractable and pulls cleanly with no funny noises, rattles or bangs. From the driver’s seat the only indication that something has changed is a slightly firmer throttle peddle.
The car is significantly quicker. The in-gear torque is much much stronger and the car has gone from feeling slightly asthmatic to proper pushed into your seat fast. The engine pulls strongly from all the way through the rev range with an extra kick around 5.5K. Overall it feels like it now has the power it should have had in the beginning. So far I am very happy.
Things still to do.
The engine is running noticeably rich at the top end. It puffs out black smoke if you give it a boot full of throttle, a sure indication of overfueling. I have a rolling road session booked on the 14th which should take care of this. Until then I’ll give it limited light running just to shake things down and identify any issues.
Engine cover. I need a cover to fit over the rocker cover to stop rain water filling up my spark plug holes. I did get an engine cover with the kit but it looks like it’s been designed to fit a different rocker cover, Ford have obviously changed the design. I can either modify the one I have or find a suitable alternative. I’m open to suggestions in this one.
Once the car has been rolling roaded I’ll post up some videos etc. Stay tuned.
scz4 said:
Nice one, can't wait for the demo run and some blasts of the Lecht this summer
Out of interest, what's the rev limiter set to? I believe the later Duratec's in say the MK3.5 MX5 got stronger internals and thus 500rpm more to play with, but not sure what age yor engine is.
Rev limit is 7000 rpm. Not heard of Duratecs with stronger internals, possible I suppose. Out of interest, what's the rev limiter set to? I believe the later Duratec's in say the MK3.5 MX5 got stronger internals and thus 500rpm more to play with, but not sure what age yor engine is.
Greg_D said:
You'd struggle to fit the cissy sc in there, a rotrex would be a pig as well (doesn't look much room at the crank end)
I'd say nothing is impossible, it just depends on how much you want to spend and how much you want to hack away at the original car. My plan has always been not to overwhelm the car with power. I know you can get 350bhp and over into an S1 by going the SC Honda route but I have a feeling that this would destroy the delicacy of the original car. The car has yet to be mapped but on the short drive I have had it does not feel short of puff.
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