Her first laps

So 2241R finally moved under her own power! Of course, if I have a car that moves, I have to give it a little bit of gas! I took it very easy, but I was able to get the car to the driveway. Once she was in the driveway, I had to try to go a little further... So, I drive her around the house! Three times!

After that, I just let her rest in the driveway, sitting next to the other cars. For the first time in almost 30 years, she was just like any other car, waiting to run to the store, or do laps around a track.

She has a fuel leak somewhere around where the two tanks are plumber together. That will be the first thing that gets fixed. Next, the shifter has a lot of slop when it is in gear. You can move it almost the entire throw after it shouldn't move. That will probably be next. The brakes are really light, and they need to be replaced with something that has a dual master cylinder in order to pass state inspection. I think that may be more important than the shifter.

More work, but she runs!

The clutch is trickier than you would believe...

I really had thought that the throwout bearing extension would fix all of my problems. And then the Ford clutch exploded. It turns out that my pilot bearing was just a touch too long, and it was pushing against the clutch splines. So, a new clutch and pressure plate were ordered. Once the new clutch was here, I just wanted to be sure if it fit the transmission. It turns out that the Ford clutch never fit the tranny. I don't know how I managed to make that mistake, but I think I must have been trying it at a slight angle, causing it to bind, and give me the impression that it was lining up perfectly.

Now I am back to the original Lotus clutch. I am sure it won't be able to support the full power of the Zetec engine, but at this point, I don't have much choice.

A little grinding on the pilot bearing, and the clutch has enough clearance. I installed the new Exedy pressure plate, just for good measure.

I double checked everything, and then put the tranny back on the car. Double checking everything, I turned the key. Everything seems to be running alright, so I pushed in the clutch. Everything seems okay there too. Put the car into reverse gear, click. Slowly let the car out, and holy cow it moved!

That's right! 2241R moved under her own power!

It is almost ready...

I've gotten the brakes bled (I think). I've gotten the throttle cable figured out. I had a little issue with the clutch, but now I built the extension for the throwout bearing, and will test it soon.

I hope tomorrow is the day that it moves.

I need to post the drawing for the extension, so that others can build one as well.

The throttle cable is an interesting solution, and I need to take pictures of it for future reference.

It RUNS!

I filled the coolant system, topped off the oil, and decided it was time to start the beast. I turned the key a few times, with the engine trying to start. On the third or fourth time, it fires, catches, and runs. It runs like crazy. It holds at a good 1K RPMs, and seems to be running at about 14.7AFR. I gave the throttle a little goose, just to see what would happen, and it revs.

Everything seems to be working. I still have a ways to go, but it is getting close. REAL close.

Next, I think the seats need to go into the car, and throttle pedal needs figured out. After the brakes are bled. Otherwise, I'll be tempted to drive it.

Sooooo close.

A lot of things have been crossed off the list in the last couple of days.

Swirl pot is complete:

This involved welding shut the holes that were original to the spare pot I had. The only take away I had from this, was this: Use a good welder for any welding you need to do. Although it did not ruin the swirl pot, I could have easily had a major loss if something had gone slightly wrong with the crappy welder I was stuck using. Once I was done with the welds (which were poor at best) I 'spackled' over top of them with some epoxy. I'm told that this epoxy is specially designed for ultra deep water performance, so I am not too worried about a little pressure from the coolant system.

Radiator is reinstalled:

I am especially proud of this feat. When removing the radiator, I broke off both bolts that hold the bottom in place. I was afraid that by trying to weld them back into place, I would blow through the radiator walls, and need to purchase a new one... Not a purchase I would be looking forward to. I decided to use a type of epoxy made by Loc-Tite that is supposed to replace welding. Whether I did not prepare the metal correctly, or I didn't mix it correctly, it didn't hold. As I was putting the radiator back into place, the epoxy broke off clean from the radiator. So, I attempted something that I had never tried before. I brazed the bolts back on. For the first time brazing, they came out beautiful. A little crooked, but awesome.

Coolant system is nearly complete:

With the completion of the above two tasks, the only thing I needed to do is complete the plumbing. I cut the pipes that run the length of the car, just below the heater hose plumbing. I don't plan on driving the car when I would need heat, so this made everything much easier. Of course, since I had plugged the holes in the swirl pot, I needed to eliminate the heater from the plumbing system anyway. While I was running the hoses, I found I needed a sharper bend than the hose would allow. I started the search for some stainless bends. They came in at about $30. When I was staring at the car, I realized that I had a perfect fit for the application. When preparing the coolant system, I cut off a piece of pipe with a nice bend in it. The only problem was that it had a little return hose line inlet on it. No problem, a little brazing, and it was perfect!

The engine is re-wired:

I only need to check that all of the sensors are reading correctly when the car is running. I am a little concerned about the VR sensor, and the O2 sensor. Nothing a little more re-wiring won't cure.

Things are getting done

The brakes are complete. There is a few little things that need to be cleaned up, but they are done. The rear brakes are installed, I just need to put the e-brake cables back on the levers. I am holding off on doing this until I have the cables freed up. I also need to re-attach the cables to the frame, as the original clips to hold them in place don't anymore.

I have also installed the alternator, and alternator belt. I needed to go to a shorter belt than I originally had picked out. I ended up using a 46.3" belt. I am very happy with how everything lined up, but I haven't run the engine with everything in place yet... My belt tensioner ended up working very nicely.

I've spent a few hours re-wiring the engine as well. I have the new engine side harness complete, and only need to fabricate a bracket to hold the connectors in place. I have also gotten the car side harness ready, but it will take some routing, sleeving, and labeling in order to finish it.

The seats need to go back in the car, but one bolt on each seat is completely seized. I think the only way to fix it is to drill out the seized bolt, and retap the hole. Since the original bolt is ultra hardened, I don't know if that is going to work though.

Right now, I think the highest priority thing to do is get the engine wiring complete. Once this is done, I can start trouble shooting it (again). The coolant tubing is being bent by a friendly exhaust guy, so that will be next. Once this is done, I can start the car again. Then more trouble shooting.

So the current task list:

Finish engine wiring

Check fuel pump and O2 wiring

Weld and complete coolant system

-Tubing to and from swirl pot

-Heater hose removal

-Heater tubing removal or renovation

Check cooling system is working (at least pumping coolant)

Finish exhaust system

-Weld, smooth exhaust tips

-Finish rear mesh and frame

More brake work

The front brakes are in! They are not only in, but they are completely finished! I still need to complete the rear brake lines, and mount the e-brake cables, but it is getting very close to the point where I can say that the brakes have been completely replaced.

I also have been getting the wiring harness ready to put it back in the car. There is still a lot of cleaning up to do before I can say that is ready, but another task that is getting close to being done.

Brakes are almost done

The main front to back line is done. All of the lines are made. Today I installed the reservoir, and hooked up all the lines to the master cylinder. I think I can confidently say that a few more hours, and I can cross off brakes from the list. The two lines that run from the main frame to the rear brakes need mounted, and the rear brakes are complete. The front brakes still need the flex lines mounted, and the fittings added to the front calipers.

I've already rebuilt the front calipers, and painted them.

I am getting close to finishing the brakes. I am really getting close.

Brake work is really not that bad.

Saturday night I got some more work done on the front brakes.  At this point, I have all of the lines finished, with the exception of the long line running from the front of the car to the rear.  I have to fabricate some small angles that will hold the AN to flare fittings in place and then the from brake lines will be complete.

I still have to rebuild the front calipers, and I have ordered the kit to do this with.  Hopefully, I have the kitchen early the week, and it is not a complete pain to do.

It might not be that bad after all.

I love the internet. After only a short amount of research online, I found the correct method of flaring brake lines that I alluded to earlier. I gave it a try, and lo and behold, it worked. Beautifully. I cut myself off a 3 inch piece of line, and tried to use the tool the correct way.

The first flare turned out near perfect. The clamping die is still causing problems because it swivels slightly offset from center, but I think I can live with the results. The second flare turned out slightly better, but still just slightly offset center. Once I clamp it into a fitting, they should be fine. Now I just have to re-do the front two brake lines, and start getting something done.

Brake work is not fun.

Yesterday was Steph's baby shower, so I spent about 6 hours out at the garage. Six hours should have been plenty of time to get a few things done. Not the case.

I thought that I would have some trouble, I would have been silly to think otherwise. Unfortunately, I had way more trouble than I would have ever thought.

To begin, working with the coil of tubing was very awkward, since it always wants to be in the way. Working with the tubing bender was not difficult at all. If fact, it was probably much easier than I would have expected.

Forming the flared ends was another story. First, I needed to borrow a tool from Autozone. The tool was not the best quality. It continuously wants to make crooked flares. Add to that, no one knew the correct method of using the tool, making it even worse. That's right, the experts that I relied on instructed me to use the tool in the reverse order. I spent close to 3 hours trying to form flares using the tool incorrectly, only to find out this morning how to use it correctly.

I was incorrectly instructed to use the straight flare tool first, and not use the die. So there was much frustration and ruined line. I will probably end up needing more line in the end.

I do have to give Jeg's kudos on these lines. The paint is excellent quality. It stands up to the beatings that I threw at it yesterday. Only when subjected to the tubing vise did it come off. And that is not a bad thing! It even took some scraping and digging to remove the paint after it was scraped off from the vise. This gives me great hope that this line will stand up to the beating of living under my car.

The ongoing brake saga

I was looking for replacement brake pads, and found out that a set (don't know if that's 2 or 4 pieces) is $70+! Yikes. Just for the pads!

Luckily, it turns out that I have a full axle set! Nice!

I still need to find a tubing bender for 3/16". I think I may need to just suck it up, and use one of the cheaper ones from Lowe's, 0r one of the auto parts stores. And a flaring tool.

Brakes, continued

I stripped most of the old brake lines out of the car last night. It wasn't too terribly bad, but it would have been a lot easier to do, if I had taken the body off of the car.

Master cylinder is installed, it just needs attached to the pedal. I can't do this until I get at least the front brakes installed, since I need to wheel the car out of its stall in order to open the driver's door.

The new brake line looks good, at least in the package. I went with Jeg's powdercoated steel lines. They were only a few dollars more than the plain steel lines, and it should offer more protection than me simply clear coating the lines by hand.

I've got all of Saturday to work on the car, so I hope to have at least the front wheel back together. Maybe even get the master cylinder hooked up.

Brake lines, continued

I received a quote back from R.D. Enterprises for the 4 braided brake lines. $140. Now, these would match up to the original fittings, and I would not have to replace everything. But the price is a little steep, especially if I can get a set from JEG's for $40. Except if I get the set from JEG's, I need to replace all of the lines, fuss with adapters, and figure out the entire system from scratch.

So, I put together a shopping list from JEG's. I figured I could replace the entire system for $170. That includes the braided flexible hose, and all of the hard line. For $30 more than if I had gone with the Lotus specialist, that's a no brainer. And once this is done, I will know exactly how the entire brake system goes together.

Another major project, but I am going to be more comfortable with the car when they are done. Now I just have to spend a couple days out at the garage tearing the old lines out. Sounds like loads of fun.

Brake lines

Last night, I started with the hopes to remove the brake lines running to the tee-fitting mounted on the front of the frame.

Starting with the return line from the (now non-existent) brake boosters, I started to take off the fittings. Of course, it wasn't that simple. This particular fitting proved to be completely seized. After several applications of PB Blaster, and waiting, nothing. Instead of stripping it completely, I decided to pull the whole assembly out, and disassemble it on the bench.

Since I wasn't going to use this particular brake line, I had no qualms about cutting it, and ripping it out of the car unceremoniously. Once I had that cut, the tee-fitting still needed to be unbolted from the car. This requires a tiny little hand, and 2 7/16" wrenches. You need to get your hand between the steering rack, and up into the frame through the access hole. In order to do this, and not drop my wrench into oblivion, I tied a piece of fishing line to the box end, and the steering rack. This way, when I did drop the wrench, all I would need to do is drag it out.

I did eventually get the tee fitting off of the frame. I took the whole assembly over to the bench, and started reaming on it. Then, the tube nut broke, and the whole tee fitting became garbage. The threads had permanently seized themselves, enough that an easy-out splintered and fell apart trying to get it apart.

At this point, I am considering replacing all of the brake lines. This way, I know all the fittings are new, and I know all of the fittings match.

Oil lines

Last night I attempted to finish up at least one project on the car, the oil lines.  The original remote kit hoses had started to leak, and I was just going to replace them with AN lines.

Unfortunately, the fittings that go in engine side mount were too big to fit next to each as they need to.  So, in another move to make this car project more hokey than ever, I ground down the one fitting to make it all fit.

Its not at all pretty.  It will probably leak all over the place.

And to top it all off I don't know where one of my fittings got to, and I couldn't finish the project anyway.  Eh, I guess its one more thing that can't get crossed off.

Brakes and sundries

I've got more projects than I can keep track of right now.

Currently, I am working on the brakes. I started by replacing the master cylinder with a Tilton Series 74 master cylinder with a 5/8" bore. I found another rebuilder that had used the same system, and was happy with it, so I went with that. After getting it, I found that another swap would have given me a dual cylinder setup, which I would have preferred. Maybe in the future...

I am debating on what kind of brake lines to replace the originals with, and if to replace them at all. I want to get the car up on a lift to check out the condition of the originals. If they are in reasonable condition, I'm just going to leave them on the car.

I got a buddy of mine to have the rotors turned down. They probably didn't need it, but I wanted to get the rust off of it and get the pits turned down.

Next is going to be the exhaust, or the coolant pipes. I was thinking I wanted to have both made out of continuous runs of tubing, but it seems like it is going to cost an arm and a leg to get it done. So, I think the exhaust is going to be a few angles and some straight pipe welded together, and ground to make it look good.

It seems like the tubing for the coolant may be able to bent out of continuous pipe, but it is going to require some big tools. Luckily, I may be able offset the price of the tools by splitting with some guys looking to do their own roll cages.