There wasn't anything fundamentally wrong with the radiator in the car. It had been upgraded to triple core early in my ownership of the car - probably in 2000 or 2001 primarily to assist with cooling when towing the caravan. So its been in the car at least 16 years and some of the core fins were looking a bit tatty. Plus, its always had the standard plastic overflow pipe that's a bit feeble and the standard clip-on thermostatic fan switch mounting is, frankly, rubbish.
So, to go along with the rebuilt engine and repainted engine bay I looked around for a localish radiator repair specialist with a decent reputation. Turns out that Cropper and Jones in Ellesmere Port fitted the bill - they even gave some advice on what to do with the fan switch mounting, which was to solder on an M22x1.5 boss to accept a standard Peugeot 205 threaded switch.
So here are the pics of the rad that was dropped off one day and was ready for collection the next day, rebuilt and pressure tested. Excellent service and a sensible price from C&J.
Switch installed - the electrical terminals are different to the standard switch, but are easy to convert to standard 6.3mm female spades
After giving the K&N filter a clean last week, this week I took the 'beam to Skip Brown's for some essential maintenance.
Top of the list, and crucial to the Lotus engine was a new cambelt and tensioner. To help with reducing oil leaks, a new pair of cam cover gaskets went on too. Finally a fresh set of NGK BPR7ES plugs went in.
Inevitably, after the cam cover gaskets were changed there was a lot of oil to burn off the exhaust manifold, which looks far more alarming than it actually is.
Then on to the rollers. After a few tweaks to the mixture and the carb balance, everything looks very healthy.
Result was 160bhp at the wheels (about 58 seconds into the video), which I'm very pleased with.
Not the cheapest day ever, but Skip's know so much about the car - its in good hands.
A little bit of last minute work before the Retro Show at Santa Pod tomorrow. Checking and topping up the gerabox and diff oils. Quick check and touch up of any damaged underseal too.
Swapping out the tired looking trackday wheels for the smarter ones and a thorough interior clean and glass polish. Maguires Gold applied early July so no need for a polosh this time. Looking forward to next weekend, never done an indoor show before.
Come say hello on the Avenger and Sunbeam OC stand.
aka Sunbeam Lotus Owners' Club National Day meeting.
Having never been to this venue, or any other drag racing event, it was great to see that this year's SLOC national meeting would be held at the strip near Wellingborough.
Many of us met up at the Premier Inn (very clean, really good firm beds and decent pillows!) in Wellingborough on the Saturday night before and enjoyed the food and beer in the Beefeater next door. There were one or 2 tweaks being made to cars, the most significant of which was one that was pouring water out of the cooling system. With Sunday being forecast at 23 degrees, this need sorting. Yet again, its amazing what can be achieved with a cable tie.
Up early on Sunday I cleaned my 'beam in warm sunshine, even at 7am.
There were around 10 'beams in total spread around the car park. Some headed into Santa Pod around 7-30, the rest making their way out before 8-30, everyone going early due to advice from those who have been before - apparently the queues can get quite long.
Having never been before, interesting to see that Santa Pod has parallels with how I remember Croft before the major upgrades for the BTCC. Its an old airfield with grass banks for spectators, lots of fields to park in and link roads formed from the former runway/taxi layout. However, although Santa Pod has some portable buildings like Croft used to, they're much more modern, its also got an excellent and very large grandstand and some buildings for maintenance vehicles etc. Good to see all the essential kit such as the commentary/timing office on the gantry, tractors to keep the track maintained and the temporary buildings for the VIP Suite are all modern and well maintained.
Scattered around the venue this weekend were many clubs associated with or relevant to the "Retro" scene. Cars predominantly from the 70s and 80s, but modified for performance, to suit a certain style such as Euro, restored to standard or give the rat look. There was live music, DJs, show n shine competition, drag racing demo runs, stalls, retro gaming (although I never found that bit) and, of course, "run what ya brung" sessions. I counted 21 Sunbeam Lotuses in attendance, plus one Sunbeam with a Cosworth Turbo engine.
Thanks to the SLOC Chairman and committee for arranging this event and providing the excellent access to the VIP suite. Much appreciated.
I'LL WRITE SOME MORE LATER. IN THE MEANTIME, HERE ARE THE PICTURES AND VIDEOS:
SLOC Area, Early In The Morning
SLOC At The VIP Suite - Jet Car In Prep
Double Engined R5 Turbo
Double Engined R5 Turbo
This is what a 10,000bhp, 5.59 second quarter mile with 266mph terminal speed looks and sounds like. Note that every single one of the bangs shook the whole building we were standing in and thumps the stomach. As the car launches you'll see how my camera is pushed back by the pressure in the air. Awesome is not a good enough word.
Please note that all the images on this blog are subject to copyright. Please ask permission before use. For this post, SLOC members may use any of the images for personal or club related use.
