Valve timing notes

The Canadian winter has been warmer than most, but it's still too cold to work on the car. I'm using my time to plan for the spring.

I used 280 degree fast road camshafts (http://www.burtonpower.com/fast-road-camshaft-lotus-twin-cam-new-blf46-ltc.html) in my engine.

Some valve timing notes:

Power Band: 2000-7000rpm

Valve Lift: 0.380"

Duration: 280° inlet

Timing Figures: 34/66/66/34

Inlet/Exhaust Full Lift Position: 106° ATDC

Valve Clearances: .008" inlet/.010" exhaust

Windshield washer bag idea

My windshield washer bottle is a tight fit under the hood. I've been thinking of converting to a windshield washer bag. This old Ford Thunderbird model should do the trick.

http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_thunderbird/ford-thunderbird-windshield-washer-bag-see-clear-exact-reproduction-1957.html

Progress

More progress on the Lotus today.

Last week, I torqued the head down to 65 lb/fts over several days (25, 45, 65 & 65). This was a tip from the lotuselan.net groups, and although it may be overkill, it certainly helps you feel confident that everything is tight & right.

The next step was to find and mark TDC. I purchased a DTI dial gauge and base from Burton Power, and it made the job very easy; it should also help with the valve timing.

While I was checking the distributor, I noticed that 2 plug wires came off easily. And what's worse, on cylinder 4, the wire was broken inside the distributor connection. This would certainly explain some of my misfire issues. I'll order some new Magnecor wires this week.

Finally, I fished out the chain and secured it before calling it a day. I'll try to continue tomorrow.

Head back on

The head is back on. I've used a Percell copper-aluminum head gasket from Burtons with copper adhesive spray this time - let's hope this combination will solve my oil leak woes. Installation is a two person job, and an awkward one, with the engine in the car.

So, what went wrong? I don't know. The head and block were both checked and looked perfect. But I did find that 3 bolt holes (in the block) had a substantial amount of oil in them. My guess is the Cometic gasket (stainless steel / composite) allowed oil to weep between the head and block.

I spent about 7 hours cleaning the the block and front housing. An exercise I do not want to repeat...

Here we are today:

Made guide pins

The plan is to put the head back on this Friday. I made some mounting pins by cutting off the heads of the old bolts and filing the edges.

UPDATE: Be careful what you read online. Whoever suggested cutting the old head bolts, to use as guides, has given some bad advice - they aren't long enough to remove! Long wooden dowels from your local hardware store work perfectly.

British Car Day at Bronte Park

The British Car Day at Bronte Park was excellent: beautiful weather, nice cars and a great crowd. I picked up a few Lotus parts, a Smiths negative earth tachometer and a gear shift assembly for a baby Elan.

Delays and more delays

The weather in Canada has been unbearably hot recently, and I've been preoccupied with some house renovations. My plan is to get the twin cam back together in the next two weeks. I would really like to put more miles on the car before the winter arrives.