Road trip!

Yeah, it's been a while since my last entry...sorry. But I have been doing some work on the car and buying some parts such as a cap, rotor and points for the distributor though I found evidence of a possible conversion to an electronic ignition.
This weekend my wife Julie, and I will be going to Birmingham, Alabama to pick up a complete 1976 Elite interior. Although use, it is SO much better than mine and will save me a lot of money to reupholster to insides. I'll post pictures after we get back of the horrible old interior and the nice new one.
Stay posted...

Timing belt

After getting a couple of brand new timing belt tensioner bearings, I was able to install a timing belt and manually crank over the engine by hand. It seems to turn over well so far, which could be a good sign. Now I just need to work on some of the wiring disaster so that I can get power to the starter motor. Then I will be able to perform a compression test and a leak down test. You can see in the photo, the new belt in place:

There are plenty of frustrations ahead because of chewed wiring harnesses and such. Sometimes I think about ebay for this project...

Some new parts

Check out my cool new customized Wells Fargo debit card:

And I got a factory workshop manual that covers every single nut and bolt and screw in the whole car. It will make working on it SO much easier:

And I got a set of Eurospec bumpers. I bought them from a guy in England who was selling them on Shopadilly.com, which is an British ebay of sorts. They are so much better looking than the US versions and mine are rotting away anyhow. The front bumper (the lower one) has the turn signal lenses from my car and weren't included.

So now I will move on to taking the car apart down to the bare chassis which I will de-rust and paint and then  rebuild the car up from there.
Thanks for looking at my blog.

Title

I finally got it! A most important piece...the Virginia Certificate of Title for a Vehicle for the Lotus.

One thing that makes a car difficult to sell is not having a clear title. Not that I'm planning to sell it soon, it's just a great thing to have in case I decide to. Also I will need it in order to register it and get tags so I can drive it.

Nose badges and handbook

I have acquired a brand new nose badge. Here is the old one with big chips and gouges in it:

And here is the brand, spanking new one:

Nice, eh? Another really great thing that came with this car is the ORIGINAL glovebox owner's handbook:

With vinyl pouch even. These are really rare especially in a "barn find" car as the one I bought. It has lot's of valuable information which will help me to restore the car.
Soon I will be getting the first shipment of parts from the Elite I "bought" in Albuquerque,NM. The seller is removing parts from it and shipping them to me. His car does not have an engine or trans but does have lots of important parts I need. I'll show pictures of the loot when it gets here.

Taking it apart...

On Saturday 5/21, I officially began to take apart parts of the engine so I can replace the timing belt. I was able to get various covers off and I think I am pleased to find out that the valves may not be bent after all. The camshaft turns easily and all of the spring caps are returning to the completely closed position, or so I hope.
The crankshaft turns well also...a good sign for sure. The water pump does not turn which is not good to the tune of about $200. The alternator is also seized but that is just a Chrysler part and can be gotten cheap. The a/c compressor is also stuck but that is no surprise. Next I have to get the crank pulley off so I can get the new belt on the lower gear and then the rest of the gears. If that all goes well, I can proceed with the compression test and leak down test to see if the piston rings are okee dokee.
Front of the engine:

 The camshaft in the head:

What an adventure, perhaps.

The Clock

Here is the cool speedometer clock with LOTUS emblem that I received as a birthday gift from my daughter Amy and her husband Mark:

Thank you very much Amy and Mark!!