Almost there....but then a set-back

Having got the brake master cylinder sorted out, I set about bleeding the clutch and brake lines using the Eezibleed. The clutch was no problem and all was going well until I got to the rear left brake caliper. The nipple didn't want to budge and, after filing down the sides to get a goof grip with a spanner, the head simply sheared off. I tried a number of things to try to move the remaining bit without any luck. So in the end, I got the caliper off. This is a bit of a tricky job (first time anyway) as the handbrake cable has to come off and the caliper needs to be rotated by hand while loosening the feed hose connection.

Calipers before refurb

I took advice from a few people about repairing the broken bleed nipple and even invested in a repair kit from Ebay, but in the end I had to give up and take the option of getting the whole caliper refurbished. Since the handbrake operation seemed pretty poor anyway, I guess this isn't a bad idea. When I took the right hand one off (might as well get both done and it was a much quicker job having learnt the lessons from the left hand one), the handbrake lever seemed completely seized so I'm convinced it's a good exercise. It's not particularly cheap and it's going to take at least a couple of weeks (hopefully, holiday season won't add to the delay) but it might make a difference when it comes to the MOT. Speaking of this, the electrics finally seem to be playing ball! Having got a bit worried about the tacho (rev counter) not working and even trying out a replacement cable wired on the outside of the car for a test, it was all finally traced back to the fuse box. I had previously tested all these but hadn't actually noticed that one crucial one was missing. With this back in place, it mostly seems to be OK! Wipers, gauges (mostly) and lights (mostly) all work - probably enough to get through the MOT. I've ordered a new solid state voltage stabiliser to replace the mechanical thermocouple one that's in there. This maintains a 10V feed for the fuel and temp gauge (both of which are a bit dodgy) but the original one is prone to jumping around as it simply switches the 12V supply off for a while and relies on the gauges reacting slowly. Other owners on the Lotus Forums have commented that this can leave the gauges wandering around. The solid state version should avoid that and once it's in, the instrument panel can be finally put back together and left alone.

OK, so the colour's wrong!

Of course, one other critical job was getting the replacement bonnet on. It seemed this wasn't going to be straightforward until I noticed that the extending arm that holds the bonnet up was really too long. When I drilled a new hole to shorten it, the bonnet fitted reasonably OK and even seems to be fairly secure when the latch is closed (it's not really a positive spring-loaded one like on modern cars, just a lever under the steering wheel that you push forward). The front corners are a little raised as the rubber seal that runs around there needs a bit of flattening. This might settle down in time.

So very few jobs left before attempting the MOT. I've noticed the ignition lamp is staying on when the revs are low, so the alternator may be playing up. The belt seems to be quite loose again (the engine has been running quite a bit but still not got fully hot) so first check will be to tighten that up again. If there's still a problem then a new alternator will be in order, but Lotus Bits have a reasonably cheap replacement in stock. A stronger current might help the low rev running of the engine if the spark isn't particularly strong at the moment. The timing and carb balance may still need some adjusting and then final job will be to sort the tracking - again the chaps at Lotus Bits have been very helpful with explaining their "string" method which they reckon is more accurate than gauges - we shall see if it proves to be as easy as they say...

Now running properly

Having removed the distributor cap, cleaned it up and secured all the leads, we started the engine with the cap still loose so it could be rotated by hand to try to find the best position for start-up. Rather unexpectedly, it started without too much problem and didn't seem to be overly sensitive to the cap position. If anything, it was better in the fully retarded position so it was tightened up there and now it starts fairly reliably either cold or warm (not really been properly hot yet). A pretty loud auxiliary belt noise was obvious though, but eventually I found a way to get some tension into it - wrapping some electrical cable around the alternator a couple of times and then pulling it tight while doing up the bracket seemed to do the trick. So now we have a real running engine! Sounds pretty good too, although I'm sure some timing and carb adjustment is necessary - something I'll let the guys at Lotusbits have a look at when I get it up there for an MOT and front-end respray.

Refurbished and refitted brake master cylinder

Getting close to this point now (at last!). The brake master cylinder finally showed up and everything went together OK. Some fresh fluid has been added but now need to make use of the Eezibleed system to get the clutch and brakes working. This uses the pressure from the spare tyre to pressurise the cylinder while you release the bleed nipples - saves someone sitting in the car and pumping continuously on the pedals! the only problem is access to the nipples and having a suitably small spanner - some on order now from Ebay!

Also been trial fitting the bonnet, as this will be the last job before it is potentially drivable. Seems a little wonky on first try so will have to remove and do some slotting work with a file to get the holes in the fibreglass a little bigger. Hopeful that this won't prove too tricky. What might be more troublesome is getting all the electrics sorted - some of this (e.g. windscreen and washer jets) need to work to get through the MOT...