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SCA Enthusiast posted:Whoo boy reading that first sentence before the image loaded put some images in my mind. No, he already sold the white Ferrari.
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Jul 13, 2017 15:22
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Slightly off topic but ha ha ha ha holy cow this is such a bad idea. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Lotus-Other-modified-with-ground-effects-spoilerss-/222577985447?hash=item33d2ae87a7:g:X9IAAOSwtGlZMbXj&vxp=mtr
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Jul 14, 2017 18:29
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mekilljoydammit posted:Slightly off topic but ha ha ha ha holy cow this is such a bad idea. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Lotus-Other-modified-with-ground-effects-spoilerss-/222577985447?hash=item33d2ae87a7:g:X9IAAOSwtGlZMbXj&vxp=mtr Carb'd turbo? Always a bad idea. Modern "body kit" on a '70s car? Always a bad idea. Bad idea? Agreed.
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Jul 14, 2017 20:13
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There is some amount of hp and some price point where I would consider that car. Maybe 10x less than what it's listing for. Another Twin Cam Special came up: http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-lotus-europa-twin-cam/ The writeup has fewer details and talk of preventative mods, but it is a JPS.
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Jul 14, 2017 22:16
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 Don't mean to threadjack, but since we're talking about early '70s Lotus: I stopped at an estate sale near me today and found a '72 Elan. 59k miles, original dead owner. Passed at $19k, because I couldn't find reliable pricing... they want the car sold by 3 today... thoughts?  
meatpimp fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Jul 15, 2017 |
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Jul 15, 2017 18:00
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Seminal Flu posted:
Buy it you pleasant fellow!
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Jul 15, 2017 21:57
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When did it last drive? If it's running nicely, I think 19k is not bad. 15k would be a goood deal. All assuming it's at least running. Missed that post earlier. I went out for a drive -- the carbs seemed happy today, and I'm getting more precise with my throttle control. Here's a quirk -- you sit really low in the car, enough that (at my height, anyways) that your line of sight is below the bottom of the rear window. I tried to simulate how high up it is when you look over your shoulder to pass:  So you have to raise yourself up a bit to see over the window and trunk:  e: notice that seat belt clip -- the shoulder belt was digging into my neck, so I got clips to lower it some. The bucketing of the seat is low enough that the lap belt doesn't quite stay tight to my hips, which I know is not great in a crash. But I assume I'm on my own if I get hit anyways.
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Jul 15, 2017 22:43
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kimbo305 posted:There is some amount of hp and some price point where I would consider that car. Maybe 10x less than what it's listing for. This car is in my town, if anyone is curious enough about this car, I'd be happy to take a look- I have lift access and all that jazz at my uncles shop in the same area of the county. I don't have a BAT account otherwise I'd have reached out to this guy already- there's a pretty good chance I have friends in common with this guy, car guys are fun to talk to.
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Jul 16, 2017 02:43
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I have a soft spot for the smiths gauges. My 83 honda accord def had a in cabin trunk release latch.
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Jul 16, 2017 04:45
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kimbo305 posted:When did it last drive? If it's running nicely, I think 19k is not bad. 15k would be a goood deal. All assuming it's at least running. It runs and drives, but I passed. I think it may have cleaned up really well. I took the picture of the dash first, before I started thinking about buying the car itself. A clean period dash really pops. If you have yours redone, make sure to get the correct lettering underneath the clear. It's such a proper, period look.
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Jul 16, 2017 17:15
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I think if I wanted to go whole hog on the car, I'd find a way to get the 126hp carbs and head, then redo the dash and veneer while the glass is off, and maybe a repaint. But the car is still a good driver. Sunday I drove it around quite a bit, dodging potholes everywhere. Getting a bit better at a smooth takeoff -- I blip it gently and set my foot at where the revs start to rise, and let out the clutch from there. The more warmed up the motor is and the further let out the choke is, the smaller/tetchier the gap from "really stiff spring to open up the throttle valve" to "revving the nuts off of it and sure to overwhelm the tiny clutch." Any advice on how to nurse the choke as the motor warms up is welcome. As mentioned earlier, there's two gas tanks. There's a tiny hose at the bottom to bridge the two, so fuel levels will balance slowly, but you want to fill both up. Which means you'll always look awkward half the time at the gas station: 
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Jul 18, 2017 04:46
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kimbo305 posted:Any advice on how to nurse the choke as the motor warms up is welcome. kimbo305 posted:As mentioned earlier, there's two gas tanks. There's a tiny hose at the bottom to bridge the two, so fuel levels will balance slowly, but you want to fill both up. Which means you'll always look awkward half the time at the gas station:
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Jul 18, 2017 07:28
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There at least used to be some company that would machine off the intake manifold stub from the Stromberg head and weld on stubs to accept Webers. Couldn't tell you what it would be. Comedy option would be finding an old Cosworth BDA
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Jul 18, 2017 14:13
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Krakkles posted:I'm guessing it's more sensitive than the vehicles I've had to operate chokes on (mostly bikes and old trucks with huge engines), but I've always had good luck with "leave the choke alone until you notice it idling high". quote:
12.5gal. I got it below 1/4 and filled up 8.8gal, so accurate enough. The fuel pickup is at the bottom of one of the tanks, and presumably the float is on that side, too. I swear I've seen the fuel level rise a bit after driving, so maybe the bridge is really really slow?
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Jul 18, 2017 17:18
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My first two cars had manual chokes. I used to use full choke at the start, then slowly push it in as the motor warmed up, just leaving it on the edge of almost stalling at idle.
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Jul 19, 2017 01:01
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You Am I posted:just leaving it on the edge of almost stalling at idle. Oh yeah, the inconsistent idle means I get to manually set the idle or blip the motor up to keep it running in the first couple minutes. It's fun to do it at lights 
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Jul 19, 2017 01:03
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I don't even know how zenith/strombergs or su type carbs even do chokes. Those types of carbs I never worked on, does anyone know? Be glad you even have a choke like function because a weber IDA is a pain is the arse when cold due to lack of choke. My old car was much more streetable when I switched from IDAs to IDFs (which in itself had a weird choke set up, like extra gauze filter air inlets and fuel circuit rather than the usual just restrict main air inlet and just up the rpm with a linkage like most standard OEM and weber carbs). Besides webers, the rotaries hitachi and nikki, and a few 1300, 1500, 1600, 1800 and 2000cc 4cyl mazdas and some fords I haven't dealt with carbs a lot. Seen a rochester and holley a few times, and a predator and dellorto I tried to help tune back in the day, but not zenith/strombergs . Closest to them I've been is having a few friends with SUs in datsuns, but they were a mystery to me in 1990 and remain so (something something needle damper dashpot and oil... blaze out) Fo3 fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Jul 19, 2017 |
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Jul 19, 2017 03:15
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Fo3 posted:(something something needle damper dashpot and oil... blaze out) Yeah, when signing over the car, the PO showed me how to unscrew the dashpot off the top of the carb, check oil level, and then top off as needed. I need to figure that out eventually.
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Jul 19, 2017 03:54
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Wasn't it the original mini that had the dashpot in the carbs share oil with the engine so if you'd change weights the carb response would change? I'm so glad I don't have to tune and balance 4 weber 40 IDFs on my 914 anymore.
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Jul 19, 2017 15:10
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I have a zenith/stromberg in my MGB that looks identical to yours with the oil in the dash pot. It has a manual choke too. Check the oil weekly and fill as needed. Your needle valve is down in there too and you need a special tool to adjust it (lean or enrichen). Also, I strongly recomend that you get a spare one of these. http://www.englishparts.com/product...kwd=&origin=pla If that fails you are dead in the water (and they do fail), throw it in the glove box and forget about it. You can replace it with just a philips screwdriver. I really hate stromberg carbs. So much.
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Jul 19, 2017 15:31
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How do carbs work without a choke?
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Jul 19, 2017 16:37
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Fo3 posted:I don't even know how zenith/strombergs or su type carbs even do chokes. Those types of carbs I never worked on, does anyone know? An SU carb still has a "normal" throttle butterfly, and still admits fuel into the carb through a jet, the same fundamental mechanics of any other carb. The big difference is that the jet on an SU is adjustable, it's basically a bigger hole with a tapered needle poking into it - pull the needle out, the jet effectively gets bigger. The dashpot is a sealed chamber, containing a piston connected to a cylinder that pokes out into the main bore of the carb, restricting it. There are tubes connecting either side of the chamber above and below the piston the the carb bore on either side of this restriction. The throttle butterfly is downstream of this. If you open the throttle, the low pressure area behind the restriction also creates a low pressure above the piston in the chamber. This is relative to the pressure below it being linked to atmosphere. So the piston moves up, taking the cylinder that pokes into the bore with it, effectively enlarging it. The oil-damping system in the dashpot is "one way" - it damps the piston coming up, but allows it to drop straight down when you close the throttle. So by the above, you've got a variable-size carb, in effect. Now, the aforementioned tapered needle that restricts the jet. That's attached to the bottom of the "restricting" cylinder, so it moves up with it, increasing the jet size as your carb gets "bigger". There is also a mechanism to lower the jet itself away from the needle on throttle openings, so you get that throttle-opening enrichment you need. The "choke" doesn't really deserve that name, as it doesn't work by restricting airflow, it artificially does the "jet drop" function to give a larger jet for the cold start enrichment. BloodBag posted:Wasn't it the original mini that had the dashpot in the carbs share oil with the engine so if you'd change weights the carb response would change?
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Jul 19, 2017 17:18
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Applesnots posted:I have a zenith/stromberg in my MGB that looks identical to yours with the oil in the dash pot. It has a manual choke too. Check the oil weekly and fill as needed. quote:Also, I strongly recomend that you get a spare one of these. http://www.englishparts.com/product...kwd=&origin=pla If that fails you are dead in the water (and they do fail), throw it in the glove box and forget about it. You can replace it with just a philips screwdriver.
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Jul 19, 2017 17:48
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kimbo305 posted:What's the check, a fill line on the plunger? 1/2" from the top or slightly below the inner tube, overfilling isn't an issue as the extra oil just goes into the intake. BloodBag posted:Wasn't it the original mini that had the dashpot in the carbs share oil with the engine so if you'd change weights the carb response would change? Mini engine and transmission have a common sump. Yes, using different weight oil will change the throttle response. Think of the piston as an accelerator pump, how fast it moves will determine how lean/rich it gets under load. SU produces it's own dashpot oil but people have used all sorts of oil depending on temperature, altitude, etc. Keith Calver posted:This subject is a regular message-board poser. Many of us have touted our preferences and discoveries whilst playing about over the years. One problem with trying to deal with it on the message board is the sheer volume of information offered and available against the time available to post it. Personally I try to keep my answers as short and informative as possible. Apart from the fact it costs a fortune to be active on the web site here in good old 'Blighty', long dissertations can put folk off from reading it all. I've posted information as I have found it on this subject several times, but not always the same answers as the situations and engine configurations vary so much. There are no hard and fast answers, but I gather from what I've heard recently some of my earlier advice posted has been misconstrued. So, to try and set that right, and give a good working basis on what to use where, here are my choices -
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Jul 19, 2017 18:52
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Yep, reconfirming my belief that I should never own a carb'd vehicle.
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Jul 19, 2017 20:05
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The 1973 badges came in, and they're not good  .On the car:  Corroded, but surely restorable.  Not a great macro shot, but you can make out that the letters are milled into the badge:  And the replacement from SJ Sportscar, which is just decals:  Emailed the shop to see if these are reproductions. I'm on the fence about putting inferior parts on, though that would give me the chance to fix up the corroded one.
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Jul 26, 2017 03:19
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Larrymer posted:Yep, reconfirming my belief that I should never own a carb'd vehicle. SU's can be a special kind of hell to understand but actually a very simple and easy carb to work on. Also the best tuning method is using a hose pipe - stick the pipe in one ear, stick the other on the lip of the carb mouth - SU's have a tone about them that indicates with the A/F is as good as it's going to get. Also the legit best way to balance multiple carbs.
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Jul 26, 2017 03:45
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While I was putting the battery tender on, I double checked the plungers on the Strombergs. They resist before the bottom of the plunger cap touches the carb body, so should be ok. Diagram:  Pointless closeup: http://i.imgur.com/EcPa1fi.jpg
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Jul 26, 2017 05:22
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Parts site confirmed that the badges are repros, saying the orginals have been NLA for 25 years. I should have realized that going in, but I guess I would have expected, given the price, that the repros would be better made. Still haven't decided if I'll swap them.
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Jul 26, 2017 19:51
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You'd think in this day and age it wouldn't be that hard to have new ones milled.
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Jul 26, 2017 20:35
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I'd be surprised if you're the first person that hasn't been happy with replacing nice milled pieces with decals. If there isn't already someone making true reproduction pieces I wonder if you could find someone to make a bunch if you did a group buy type of thing on some lotus forum somewhere. Only somewhat related but I remember you looking at some Lotus 7 and similar cars before settling on this one. What was it that steered you away from them other than potential registration issues? I've got a growing itch that is best relieved by a horribly impractical sub 1400lb car of dubious construction quality.
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Jul 26, 2017 21:51
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And just for the record, that parts site didn't have any pictures of the parts, just a text description that didn't indicate originality.NitroSpazzz posted:What was it that steered you away from them other than potential registration issues? Nothing. If I lived in a state where I could drive a car of OBD-II year vintage that didn't have wipers or emissions control, I would have gotten that supercharged Birkin Lotus clone.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:21
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I bet anyone with a basic namebadge engraver could replicate the "proper" badges.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:25
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Yes they can't be hard to make or lotus wouldn't have made them.
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Jul 28, 2017 16:31
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MIlling the badges also saved some weight. 
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Jul 28, 2017 16:35
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Took the Europa to Larz Anderson Museum's weekly car show. Today was Day of Triumph, with other British marques allowed. Whoever was on the gate didn't recognize the car -- "... it's a Porsche 911?" only to be corrected by the New England Triumphs president, who let the car in. Parking the car on the lawn means free admission to the show, apparently. Which I suppose has been the #1 perk of driving this car so far. I wasn't in the concours judging, so I got put in the weeds with a Marcos:  The Marcos owner had had two Europas and was happy to see it. Took a lap of the cars and checked out the museum. Ran into the seller of the Europa, who was there with his TR250, easily one of cleanest cars in the whole show. This was in the bathroom of the museum:  When we tried to sneak out of the show, I wanted to avoid blipping up the throttle to settle the idle out, which of course doomed me to multiple failed starts of the car. I stalled reversing off the grass onto the road, and some organizer ran over asking if I needed help. I gave the most sincere, "nah, I'm all set. You know how it is." To which he laughed "I sure do." A smattering of pics here: http://imgur.com/a/dRlSD People liked the Europa a lot. You can see it with a few people around it in the background of the blue Spitfire. One kid was posing with it and hoverhanded the trunk lid. I was all the way across the lawn at the time and couldn't tell him to lean on it if he liked or get in the car for a picture.
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Jul 31, 2017 00:42
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All that rust has to be great for the lawn. Glad that you are representing the Europa lifestyle.
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Jul 31, 2017 01:34
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I'd like to know more about this coveted Mr T award
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Jul 31, 2017 07:55
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Multiple running (presumably) TR-7s 
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Jul 31, 2017 21:26
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Sten Freak posted:Multiple running (presumably) TR-7s I don't think any of them have the original engine.
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Aug 1, 2017 02:35
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