E9 nose patch continued, and Lotus lower links.

When I arrived at the shop yesterday my car cover, the new one, was as far off the car as the lock cable would allow. Meaning mostly on the ground. Sorry, no photo, but you can imagine. Then Carl tells me that on Friday a mini-tornado circled the building, spinning rubbish up into the air and blowing all the loose papers off his desk. Yet all this time it has been dead calm. Weird. At least the Lotus didn't go airborne.

I began by unpacking the Lotus parts shipment that arrived this week, two lower links and spindles for both sides. while they look good, one link, the front I think, is slightly bent. I am thinking there are no straight links left on the planet. I checked it with a straight edge, the bottom is perfect, the top is slightly concave. Much straighter than mine.

Next I turned to the E9. Ground last week's welds, checked for a tight weld, and wire brushed clean. I decided to apply filler at the end of the session, in case something else needed doing.

Next came the Lotus lower links. The outside had been wire brushed but the inside were still painted and funky so it was off to the media blaster for some glass bead action. After a wipe down with acetone I shot them with acid etching primer.

While the paint dried I applied POR-15 Epoxy Filler to the new E9 nose patch. After the second coat of primer was shot I used POR Patch to add a fiberglass patch the the small line of rust holes just inboard.

By next week I should have new inboard bushings to press in and the anti-roll bar drop links. Maybe I'll take a day off and do the whole lob in one session. We'll see.

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Still nosing around

Saturday was the usual short day, just three hours. I was able to focus on the E9 and got a lot done, given the time. A great follow-on the Friday's long session.

Started with roughing up the POR-15 applied yesterday, followed by a layer of Technifill. While that set I cut out the patch for the big gap in the RH edge. Once I got started I just kept going -- I do enjoy working steel. Session ended with welding the patch in place.

My new car cover for the Lotus arrived. Put in on over the old one, just until the suspension parts arrive. Didn't get to work on the punch list.

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All BMW

Since Monday is a holiday and I never take enough vacation I decided to take today off (it's Friday) and work on the E9.

On my way I stopped in at Redline for a fresh can of Technifill. Later when I used it I noticed right away how much smoother it went on. Old, lumpy filler just isn't worth it.

I found more rusty spots on the bottom edge of the RH nose, so after a round of sanding the LH side I dug around with a wire brush in the die grinder, then treated the exposed holes with POR-15 clean and prep while a fresh batch of Technifill set on the other side.

After lunch I finally started working on a jig for the roundel mount. Now I just need a block of fine grained wood.

After another round of sanding and filling I finished by patching all the little holes with POR Patch and fiberglass. That will be set up by tomorrow morning.

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E9 nose, Lotus ground

My plan was to get a batch of Technifill on top of the fiberglass put on the E9's nose last week, then work on the Lotus ground issue. Maybe even jump back and forth. It sort of went that way, but now there is so little time.

Trimmed the glass cloth and blended the edges with a sanding block. Roughed up the area with Scotch Brite pad. That's when I discovered my big can of Technifill is going bad. Last week I bought new activator, now I need the filler. Mixed up a batch with what I had and the new activator did its thing.

Switched to the Lotus. Jacked the rear, found the engine ground strap at the RH engine mount. Removed, wire brushed the connectors and the chassis connection points, reassembled. No improvement, starter only cranks enthusiastically with the booster grounded to the alternator mount.

The next link in the chain is the engine mount. I don't way to remove that, so I am considering adding a second ground connection directly to the bell housing.

At that point I was out of time. Bummer. I guess three hours is better than no hours.

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Lotus lower links, part 1

On the way to the shop I stopped off at Redline Automotive for a new tube of POR Patch. The last one set up solid.

At the shop Tom showed me his latest find, an early Toyota Celica with an eight valve twin cam motor sold only in Japan. Hemi heads, twin Dellorto carbs, a lot in common with the Lotus twin cam. Not exactly running.

I started with the lower links I picked up last Monday from Patrick. One is almost straight, the other is bent back 0.25" at the shock mount tube. After pressing out a rubber bushing I straightened the link in the press. Ended up pretty straight, but the edges buckled in. With a bolt through the shock mount the inboard ends are a long way from parallel. I have another set on order, so I'll wait for those.

Next I patched some small holes in the E9's nose with fiberglass cloth and POR Patch. Next week I can continue filling and shaping this area.

I did work on one of the Lotus punch list items, curing the hard starting. My previous tests suggest a bad ground. I removed the bolt the battery ground cable attaches to and wire brushed the mating surfaces, but no improvement. The next thing to try is the ground strap at the bell housing.

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