Ready to go back together

The head is back and the new gaskets and bits are here. It was a major job cleaning the block and scraping the old gasket off. I hope to put the engine back together in the next few weeks.

Head and valves OK

The machine shopped checked the head and valves - everything looks good. So, we're down to replacing the head gasket.

Much to my chagrin, the MLS gasket that was used is probably the component that failed. So I think I will go with a copper gasket this time.

Head off

Some pics (that is not a valve hitting the piston, it's a little finger scratching to see the build up).

Head strip down

Stripping the Lotus Twin Cam head down is a fairly straight forward process. With Miles Wilkins book in hand, and some tips from the community, it takes about 4 hours. It's now ready to go back to the machine shop.

The camshafts and the exhaust valves all look good. I was concerned that cylinder 3 exhaust valve was sticking, allowing oil to leak into the cylinder, but the port looks clean. I imagine oil was leaking onto the hot exhaust and hopping up onto the block.

I have ordered new gaskets from Burton Power in the UK. The new head gasket, made by Cometic, is composed of stainless steel and has bonded membranes so that adhesives are not required.

Engine problems

I finally fixed the vacuum leaks and took the car for a drive. It was running beautifully until it didn't.

When I got the car home, I found oil leaking from the exhaust manifold on cylinder 3 and the back-left of the engine. This is most likely two separate problems, a stuck exhaust valve and a blown head gasket.

Electric headlight motors

My headlight vacuum pumps are suspect, so I've decided to convert to MX-5 electric motors. There will be quite a bit of fabrication work involved, but these should be a nice upgrade.

Discussion link:

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/lotus-chassis-f36/electric-headlight-lift-t36805.html

Quote:

"...using MX-5 motors is much cheaper and simpler. You can use the existing attachment holes in the pods, and the wiring needs no extra switches on the dashboard - it all operates from the existing headlamp rocker switch through a changeover relay. Switching the rocker to the headlamps position actuates the motors and the pods are fully raised in less than one second with the lights already on."

Another drive, made it home

Drove the car around the block a couple of times today.

The car ran great going down hill, but driving up was a different story. I am beginning to suspect a fuel delivery problem.