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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Got the van safety checked

After a week of stormy weather that left parts of Maui and leeward Oahu flooded, the morning was nice enough to finish up the van and take it in for its annual safety inspection. To prepare I installed new wiper blades and a left brake light bulb.

The plan was to do that early, then spend a couple hours on the E9. Got a late start after breakfast with the family at the new Koa's in Hawaii Kai, but what really derailed the plan was the van refusing to start. Sounded like a dead battery, turned out to be corrosion on the negative terminal wires ... long ago I had to replace both connectors with the clamp-on type, due to corrosion.

I mentioned the rain. This week we hosted a conference in Waikiki and since the van was not road worthy I thought it would be nice to give the Lotus a little more road time. Tuesday was beautiful. Wednesday was dark and rainy, so knowing I would get wet getting it started I took my nice clothes in a plastic garbage bag. My plan was working perfectly until I failed to see a traffic island while turning left onto Kuhio. Bam! Bent something in the left front suspension. So, work on the E9 will be interrupted some more.

Remember the shower? The epoxy patch is working perfectly. Tomorrow work begins on the upstairs bathroom renovation, to continue through Monday.