Dave's Pages

Project Diary

July 2004.

	Gotta drop the Porsche engine again to finally fix that top end noise.
	Found a set of 841 pistons and cyls on ebay - can use the liners in the 843! Yay!
	Dave welded up the Europa seats - nice save. Thanks Dave.

June 2004

	WORK. I need a source of unlimited money to allow me to quit my job. Not much done on cars other than completing one successful gearbox rebuild. Not bad really.
	Shop completely paralyzed again.
	Found out that one of my 843 engine liners was cracked. SH1T!
	Mike gives me gack the 914 with the engive intstalled, but everything else still apart.

May 2004

	Really gotta get the Europa engine fitted to the chassis!
	Track day with Porsche - great fun, leaked like a sieve - water in, oil out. Ended up with an ominous valve train noise.
	Tore down the Porsche. Engine out for a new oil cooler and gearbox apart for a rebuild. That began a journey...
	Made a list of needs for the Porsche - two full pages. Not bad for a car that I considered finished.
	Not much happening on the Europa other than getting wheels and gas tank sandblasted, and seats repaired. Gathering the last of the engine parts.
	Engine oil leak solved in Porsche. Valve noise worse. Getting scary. Engine has to come out again. Aargh.

April 2004

	Gotta get the engine fitted to the chassis!
	Found the 843 looked pretty good. Nice engine choice maybe - more modern, good for this car.
	Had Rob check the 843 head - VGC!
	Bought two sets of NOS Gordini pistons and a pile of other stuff. Tx Stephen.
	Located an Austin Marina powertrain for the Locost project if it ever happens.
	Bought a pile of other parts.
	Went to the PCA driver's ed day in the Porsche - what a laugh - I learned why race cars are so carefully prepped. Developed a minor top end noise though
	Worked on the Webers - found that all the stuff they say in books about cleanliness of fuel, fuel pressure and float level are true. A bit of tweaking pays off big.

March 2004

	Gotta get the engine fitted to the chassis.
	Last day of March break. Doors done, new door pins made of SS, head off the 843 - off to the machinist, rear hub carriers blasted, helicoiled and back, chassis parts back from being painted - I can reassemble the front and rear hubs now, need brake parts.
	First day of March break. Repaired the last of the fibreglass issues on the doors. Removed the spare 843 from the hatch of the dead fuego without injury and with my neighbour's help. Later, while putting a 15lb steel thang in the back, the hatch slammed on my right hand. Possibly fractured, very nasty bruises at least, work done for the day.
	Ever generous, Ian sent me his rear lower link mounting bracket to copy.
	Checked the frame and found that while it is 1/4" too narrow at the back, it is at least straight.
	Found that Marcel Dube's frame is not quite to spec.
	Body shop wants doors back so they can get the car out. The body will be done WAY before the chassis. Hardly ideal.
	Lots more ebay.
	Lots of small ebay purchases.
	Thinking more on engine options after I realized that the 843 has complete engine management and ignition control.
	Trial fitted the engine and found that the rear hoop has to go. Drank plenty of coffee and pondered till I decided on how to attach the gearbox using those GM mounts.
	Asked fellow hockey Dad Jim about simple engine mounts and he suggested GM V8 tranny mounts. $14 ea at Napa.
	After having fitted the doors we found that one is a bit off, and will require the lower front edge be brought in a bit. A PITA, but the price of the non-adjustable doors. Lots of prep required.
	Painted the steering rack.
	Bought a Fuego Turbo, NG1 box, and a complete 843 engine.
	Dave the hot rod builder dropped by asking for my help to make some fiberglass parts for Mustang LX based Lotus 7 replicas he's making. He's a whiz at metal fabrication, chassis making and fitting. We started talking barter and I'm considering this. Got Harald's help and found that the Austin Marina rear axle shares the Europas bolt pattern so I could use my stock lotus wheels, and the many other Europa parts I have lying around. Hmmmm.....

February 2004

	Feb 28 - hit 98 paid hours on the body. Without the doors. Have to fit those as the POs adjustment system precludes adjustment, and some fractures were found once the paint was removed. Rather ironic that my hours and hours of paint stripping created hours and hours of bodywork. The car does look straight though.
	Cleaned up the trunk box in preparation for repair of its the many cracks.
	Primed the engine mounting brackets and steering rack.
	69 hours in the body so far, plus my 100 or more!
	Feb 23, moved this site to a real server. Posted a bunch of new stuff. This month I have salvaged the pedals and rehabbed the steering rack.
	Repaired fiberglass in the doors, trunk lid and front boot.
	Disassembled, stripped, cleaned and painted the steering rack.
	Getting closer to a strategy for gearbox mounting.
	Updated this site.
	Received ebay engine bearings advertised as "Std." that were .030 under and clearly marked that way. Second time an ebay purchase was not as represented, though I'm sure through ignorance rather than intent.
	The body has been filled and straightened and is now ready for primer. Wayne the bodyman tells me never to attempt to strip the paint on a Europa, it should be sanded by the bodyman. I exposed pinholes and gouged the gelcoat enough to create more work than it would have taken to sand the car.
	Paid for a further 44 hours on the body. Not done yet.
	Feb 19. body has been primed, doors stripped of hardware and disassembled. The aluminum door hardware was broken. Every part of this car is broken.
	Disassembled the steering rack, trying to cure a 'clunk' once per pinion rotation. Every part of this car has issues.
	Realized how much grease I've played with and how little I know about it. Looked it up in the web and found the NGLI website, and noted the fascinating courses they offer on the subject. Perhaps in my next life.
	Dug the chassis out of the snow, moved the it into the garage and stared at it a lot, trying to figure out an elegant way to mount the new 5-speed. Decided to mimic the 914 gearbox mounting arrangement.
	Recalculated budget. Coming in at around $12,500 CDN net of the parts I sold, including the TC engine. Has the potential to go higher than that. Yikes!
	Body looking good. Beginning the refurbishment and reassembly of the hundred small parts of the project - feels like I'm just starting out, not hundreds of hours into it.
	Removed the front suspension bushings with a bolt, socket, and blowtorch. Replaced them using the vise. Easy.
	Mike welded the elongated holes on the front wishbones, and now have the chassis bits in for paint.
	Found that my rear trailing arms were quite rusted. One is beyond salvation for sure. The other looks useable. No reason to assume it is rusting badly inside like the other did... right? I'll probably buy a new set from Marcel Dube. What did I say about the budget?

January, 2004

Glad that sorry year is behind us...

	Worked to clean up my pig-sty of a workshop, and succeeded, also got my ALL of my engine parts to Rob the machinist.
	Disassembled all of the front suspensions that I have and cobbled up the best of all parts. Will use the TC wishbones, S2 rest.
	Gotta get some of the other parts out of the attic...
	Afraid to recalculate budget. Will do that when all engine costs become clear. This will be soon.
	Jan 11 Visited the body at the shop - 25 hours so far with at least another 40 to go. Now I'm really afraid.
	Tore apart the rear suspension, found lots of problems. Mo' money.
	Bought some engine parts on ebay. Met my first crazy ebay seller - Mental Mike from Cambridge. He probably likes me even less.
	Despaired of using either of my stock pedal clusters, spent hours determining how to implement a $500 Wilwood setup. (very nice) Then salvaged one of the stock set. Budget Bonus Points!
	Heard of another Europa S2 for sale. And a Series 1 E-type. And a cheap Porsche 944. All in rough shape. All tempting. Will I never learn?

December 2003

	Dec. 5 Nearly bought a donor Toyota MR2, couldn't quite agree on price. Then found out that John Pels doesn't have a TO bearing adaptor for the 395 gearbox, and that Ian's crank is good, making the Renault option that much more feasible. I'm really glad Ian traded that engine for Wilkins's book. I still think the Toyota option is probably one of the best, but am not prepared to get into that level of fabrication and messing around. Hung the doors and entombed the body in a tarp. Rec'd a scary estimate on body and paint.
	Dec. 12 or so. Ordered Ebay "as used in Lotus Europas and Renault..." pistons for 695 for what appeared to be a reasonable price, and found that there are two locating base diameters. The liners aren't compatible with any of the three cases I have, and were never used in any Lotus. Doh! Start investigating Renault options very seriously and created engine page with Renault data.
	Got the electrical bill for November. Ouch! Running that 1000w heater continuously outside.
	Dec. 18 Rec'd new triplex windshield from Brown's lane Jag in Markham. Expensive, but competitive.
	Dec. 20 Body is off to the body shop!
	Spent most of December travelling for work. Totally exhausted. Xmas holidays and a badly needed break, working methodically to organize the out of control piles of parts and other junk that had paralyzed my shop.

November 2003

	Nov 1, 2, 3 Miserable damp rainy weather, but warm enough to fiberglass. Installed the firewall, or at least part, then stopped to consider where to put the battery. Hemmed and hawed, consulted with the Lotus faithful and found the smallest batteries to be the inexpensive generic U-1 used in scooters and lawn tractors, or the fancy Odyssey 680 type, which is half the size and thrice the price. of the U1. Mocked up both in cardboard and determined that they won't fit in my 'trick' location between the gas tank and the seat back. Oh well, one real nasty fitting job avoided. I did discover that they will fit handily behind the rear fender, an area I had already reinforced.
	Also tangled with the shoulder belt mounting points and snapped one off, requiring that I remove its mounting plate as well. I'm now also considering seat belt options, and am leaning toward a four-point harness.
	Nov 7, 8, 9 2003, secured the firewall and returned the car to the stand. The body is really stiff! Still have to finish glassing in around the perimeter of the firewall from the engine side, but the result even now is impressive. Removed the shoulder belt plates and the broken screw. Luckily I have a spare screw. Plates are still useable. I have been fiberglassing in temps just above freezing and using the small heater, tented with a tarp, to cure the fiberglass. Hardly ideal, and I'm going to have to call it quits for the season soon.
	Nov 15. Really cold. Marked the stress cracks and will take advantage of a few warm hours if I get them, but I may be done for the year. I am very close to my objective of having the body repairs done this year. Just another afternoon.....
	Nov 18, 19 Warm nights, got the veil done! Fixed a few more things too, still have the doors and luggage box, but have met my objective of glasswork done before winter!!!! An hour with a grinder and a die grinder cleaning up the glasswork and its ready for the body shop. Spoke to Rob Burbine (Machinist) and he tells me the Gordini's valves are shot but the crank is good. Its gonna be expensive. Still tempted by the 4AGE Toyota...

October 2003

	Began frantic fibreglass repairs, racing against the onset of winter. Will they never end?
	Learn that it is easiest to repair a Europa when it is upside-down.
	Rad tested, appears fine, will need some sheet metal repair – rust.
	Engine is at Port Perry Engine and Machine. Rob will give me a verdict soon.
	Realize that the D-Jet EFI hardware may not clear the stock bonnet and I may need to bulge the bonnet to clear. Gotta trial fit everything to see how.
	Exhausted and sick with a cold, built this site. Made a note on one of the pages that leaving the windshield in place is a good idea to retain the car's stiffness and avoid crunching the A-pillars.
	Oct 14 - Took a week's vacation to do 20hrs worth of glass work. 30-40 hours later, I'm almost done...the underside.
	Knocked the car off the jack stands. It landed on the roof and popped the windshield out. Very funny.
	Friday Oct 17 Cold. Too cold to work with resins and filler efficiently. Still glassing, built the Lotus Erect S2 (stand for working on the body.) The bottom of the car is done. I will work on the firewall tonight, sanding it first, then applying resin and very fine glass cloth. After that the shell can be righted.
	Oct. 20 Shell is righted, finished all structural glassing. Laminated a layer of cloth and mat to the rear fender boxes and chassis flanges below. Immensely strong! Too bad the whole car wasn't built like this.
	Still have to fill the crunched snout and grind and glass stress cracks...
	Oct 22. Changed my tack on the firewall, and will cut the old one out with a zip disc and replace it with a polypropylene honeycomb cored fiberglass composite panel - made of a product called nida-board. 4 oz cloth, >1.5 oz mat,> .25" nida board, <1.5 oz mat.< 4 oz cloth.
	Weather has gotten very cold and I couldn't make the first firewall panel. Cut out one piece of the firewall though.
	Am contemplating tarping the body shell and leaving the body till spring. If the weather stays cold I'm done. But all I need is aboout two more days of decent weather....
	Oct 24 This is gonna be a big job, and I'm debating whether to remove the entire firewall, or do it in two stages, lower 2pcs then upper piece. This would prevent any distortion of the body once the firewall is removed, however I do have to wonder whether it will move much after all of the stiffening I';ve done. The other problem is the cold. I laminated part of what will become the lower pieces tonight in temperatures just above freezing, then tented the sandwich under a tarp with a heater. We'll see how it works out. Perhaps tomorrow I will get some more glass (I'm running out) and some more nida-core for the main firewall.
	Oct 25 Removed the entire firewall. Nasty job, but a zip disc is perfect. No body parts severed from either the car or myself. Still have to work it over with a grinder. Out of mat, cloth and nida-core. Finished the cored board for the lower firewall panels as well. Cut out the opening in the underside for the second tank too.
	Oct 26 have the firewall area nearly prepped. Amazing how careful you can be with a grinder. The body doesn't appear to have shifted much after the firewall was removed, though I may brace up the floor to make sure it isn't sagging there. No big deal.

September 2003

914 is finished, Lotus Restoration Begins in Earnest

	Investigating labour cost to have engine rebuilt.
	Mike has agreed to do body ‘on the cheap’ at his convenience to keep his body man busy. Now we’re getting somewhere.
	Total cost est about $11500 CDN, hopefully that won’t prove to be a joke.
	Get pricing on Gordini rebuild parts. Worried about budget.
	Find out that lots of small pieces are missing from the Gordini.
	Learn from Harald about Marcel Dube's beautiful chassis, made in Canada.and at $2000 Cdn much less expensive than UK alternatives. Decided to order new chassis and be done with it. Worried about the budget.
	Find out that Dave the garage fabricator would have fixed my old chassis $800.
	Speaking with Mike Clarke from the Europa list. He just finished a very similar project, lives near here and is a mechanic. Amazingly helpful and a very nice guy. Europa list members are a terrific help and very willing to offer assistance. How did people do this before the internet?
	Stripped entire car with methylene chloride and acetone. 3 gallons each. Not cheap
	Thinking of eBaying that Wilkins book for funds against the project cost.
	Found out that Miles Wilkins book is now back in print. Much less expensive.
	Ian still wants to trade my copy for his dead R16 engine, which will hopefully have the parts I require to finish either the incomplete Gordini or the incomplete 697. What a help Ian and the other Europa listers are!

June 2003

For Fathers' day, Doris tracks down and pays dearly for a brand new hardcover copy of Miles Wilkins Lotus Twin Cam Engine - the absolute bible on the subject, long out of print. I tell her I sold the engine months before.

Spring 2003

	Feeling neglected, 54/1871 again attempts suicide by inverting in driveway during strong windstorm. Roof, door post gets crunched. Found lying on roof in driveway, looks like dead frog. Gas tank now drained and easily accessible. Gas runs under house….
	Lucky! Purchased R17 Gordini 807-13 and 395 gearbox from Barry in Barrie, sold Lotus Twin Cam to desperate international super spy for a decent price. Net into car now about $1000. Never a better time to get out from under this project, maybe even make some money on it...

November 2002

	Thinking of Toyota 4AGE engine conversion. John P. sounds like he's onto something and I like that engine. Needs John's adapter plate which at this point is made of unobtainium.
	Contemplating a Gordini (807-XX) engine now, need bell-housing from R17, R18 or Fuego regardless. Nice to have the later NG-3 ‘box as well. Gordini - 129 lbs vs TC 240lbs….

October 2002

	Removed more parts and discovered that the rad piping is cut down stuff from the twink, and could be improved by using the drawings in the twink service and parts list, trial fitting the engine to determine the bend required to get one of the pipes close to the neck for the water pump.
	Also, the small pipe to the swirl pot could be revised or attached to the chassis. It was just hanging there. Just like the brake and fuel lines.
	Discovered even more corrosion in the front chassis box, and found cracks in the base of the T. They all break there. Replacing at least the bulkhead if not the whole chassis is probably required. Chassis must be imported from the UK and are very expensive. Discouraging.
	More research on the Twin Cam engine is discouraging. Very romantic, it says Lotus on it. Heavy, expensive to service and mine has a Stromberg carb-only head and manifolds.
	A bit discouraged. Spares are clogging my workshop. Must sell some parts…
	Stripped chassis completely and got carried away. Cut open rusty suspension console and decided that I can repair it after all. Will need a new master cylinder.
	Twink is on the engine stand and the clutch looks new. I get the lowdown on the block from a very helpful and humourous Harald from the Lotus list. It is a 'rare and desireable' block. Hmm...
	Will need to investigate removal of secondary throttles and tubes, and to convert to header.
	Around this time I comment to my Father about his greater-than-normal interest in this project. He thinks the Lotus is cool. I suggest he pick up 1/3 the restoration cost in exchange for use of the car till he tires getting in and out of it, at which point I get it back. He is a very fit, very young 62. I am a sore, weather-beaten 40. Not sure it this was such a smart idea... At least I have a goal now. The car must be on budget and reliable. I will resist the temptation to upgrade everything.
	Hooked up with PO and discovered that TC engine s/b good, and that original engine was toast and tossed. He had parked the car in disgust after he realized how badly the engine conversion had gone.
	Worked on suspension box. Got it clean and prepped for repair.
	Noted on Europa list that stock rad may be adequate for the TC.

September 2002

	Determined that the Rear x-member should probably be replaced. found cracks in rear of chassis. Engine not centred in chassis, mounts welded to frame, forward bulkhead appears flimsy, quite a bit of flaky rust inside. Considering learning to weld. This has to be the worst engine transplant ever.
	Discovered that water pump bearing is shot.
	Steering rack mounts seized, damaged screws removing. Bought tie-rod tool.
	Stuart from NZ sent excellent detailed info on his TC conversion. Beautiful job.
	Reading up on the TC's reliablility record makes me realize I should simplify engine removal....

July & August 2002

	Traded old McIntosh Stereo and some cash for 54/1871, plus remains of a crashed twink. Rear wheel bearing got hot while towing home on a borrowed car dolly, so I pulled over and called a flat bed. $200.
	More spares purchased July ’02 including wheel bearings, stock 697 engine in pieces, a Weber carb, lights, swirl pots c/w mouse nests, gaskets, buckets of hardware, a crank for some other engine and a promised gearbox that failed to materialize.
	More spares purchased including spare gauges and a complete set of lights, plus copies of the twink and S2 parts AND service manuals.
	Rebuilt Stromberg carbs . Attempted to start engine. Car attempts suicide by dousing itself with gas from a chafed fuel line. Fortunately, there was no spark nearby, including anywhere in the ignition system. I was unable to ignite any fuel, anywhere. Cold compression check and 18psi cranking oil pressure suggests engine may be OK.
	I notice water pump pulley is wobbly, meaning water pump needs replacement. This is the TC's Achilles heel, and might explain that extra rad... Repair means removing the head. Bummer.