4 cyl Lotus Twin Cam engine

[Justin S]

Are the Ford/Lotus twin can engines reasonably easy to rebuild? I am looking at a project which needs some TLC and wondering about spares and bits for this. I know Burtons do some spares. Does anyone know any specialists who can help also.
Cheers

[tr7v8]

I was involved in them a few years ago. They need careful assembly to be oil tight & reliable. Some bits are "OMG how much" expensive. I think most of the common bits are available now. I seem to remember some bits are a fiddle to get together.

[anonymous-user]

Compared to what? to a modern engine I'd say they are easy, compared to a 900 Lotus they are simple, but compared to a cross flow of the same period, they are a real proble, when I ran my Sprint the engine was current and the local garage didn't want to know, thye were scared away by the lookk, but there was nothing I could not do at home. By the time I had my Europe (late 80's) they were considered difficult, needed a period specilist, but I still did everything at home, the real problem with a twin cam is getting it out and in after the rebuild there is no room, not the bench build.

[NTEL]

Justin S said:

Are the Ford/Lotus twin can engines reasonably easy to rebuild? I am looking at a project which needs some TLC and wondering about spares and bits for this. I know Burtons do some spares. Does anyone know any specialists who can help also.
Cheers

John Toovey Race and Road in Cannock. I was there last week and noticed a Lotus 4 pot Twin cam that he had just rebuilt. He looks after my old Ford V6 and can very highly recommend him.

[Justin S]

Cheers for the replies. I am just weighing up options for cars at the moment and although having worked on plenty of crossflows of that era.I believe they are a bugger for oil leaks etc . I am looking at a body off job, so access will be better than with the body on............

[Sam_68]

Justin S said:

I am looking at a body off job, so access will be better than with the body on............

It's not clear whether you're talking about the Crossflow or the Twin Cam being prone to oil leaks (they both are, but the Twin Cam much more so), but you will not be able to make a proper job of rebuilding a leak-free Twin Cam with the engine still in the chassis, so don't even try.

One of the reasons the Twink has the reputation it does is because DIY Joe Bodgits have tended to try and do jobs like changing the water pump in-situ (you need to remove both head and sump to do it properly) on the cheap.

With the engine out and on a bench, it's perfectly possible to build an oil-tight Lotus Twin Cam, with modern sealants (or even with the old, recommended sealants like Wellseal and a bit of care).

Be aware that setting the valve clearances is quite a painstaking job and, depending on the valve sizes fitted, it's possible for the valves to clash and bend each other as you torque down the bearing caps if you do it in the wrong order.

If you're not familiar with the engine, get a copy of the factory workshop manual and Miles Wilkins' book before you start.

Apart from Burtons, QED Motorsport are the specialists when it comes to spares, though these days they only supply spares and not build engines.

If you want an engine built and have (very) deep pockets, Nick Stagg (if you can track him down) or John Smirthwaite (if you're prepared to put up with the wait, as he's usually backlogged) are the names to go for.

[Justin S]

cheers Sam. I am looking at another Lotus elan now with a good engine but buggered chassis, but comes with a new chassis to swap, so engine and box will be out. The engine is not oil tight, but goes well apparently. I am going to see it in the next week or two to see if it is something I want to undertake to keep another Lotus on the road.