I know that I should have been busy decorating the hall or looking for my next source of income but the sun was out and I had a list of 'to-do's'.............

I needed to change the CAM gasket as it was leaking so while I was at it I decided to repaint the CAM Cover's...........

Before.....



After.....



Actually not as good as it looks in the photo. The crappy Halfrauds paint that I used has not gone on too well so I will be removing the RED paint and re-painting on the next sunny day.

Removed and cleaned the plugs, my b had been running a bit rough over the past couple of days, found out that was because the plug cavities were under a couple of mm of water o I think I got it wet when I jet washed the engine last weekend)......

Removed, service and cleaned the air-pump on the top of the throttle housing - turned into a bit of a 'what the fkuc' moment as when I removed it some dodgy FIAT dealer had used a bit of cardboard and rubber seal instead of a gasket - no wonder I had intermittent 'hunting' issues!! Cleaned and replaced using instant gasket!

Attempted to fix the wiper relay to stop it making a horrid 'clicking' noise, fingers crossed I have done the job...

Although I was outside all day I still have a list of 'to-do's', lets hope Friday is sunny!!

Good stuff although I don't like the black paint mate sorry. I know that you have financial constraints but if you have any mates in a body shop they would etch prime the cover and paint it for very little and it would look superb even in red :yuck:

Hammerite time? :slayer: Nice improvement, though not too keen on the black

Here's hoping that it'll rain so you can do the hall and look for a job

Hmmmm, know what you mean about the black, looks better in the flesh but still not 100% sold on it - mind you it was miles better than first thing this morning!!

By the way, shouldn't you have had your filter further down?

If it were going to stay on there I would re-site it but I am planning on getting a GSR kit (once the money starts rolling in again).......

The filter clears the bonnet but could do with being a bit further down, to be honest I don't have the pipe needed to create the bend and I don't want to spend a small fortune on additional intake pipe if I am going to replace it with another kit!

Just a quickie LRB what difference does the strut brace do? And is it the same as the ones you see on Ebay?

PS The green filter just doesn't go

Your right about the Green filter - :yuck: - but it does make a FANTASTIC noise!!

The strut brace makes a big difference, no more 'scuttling' or drifting in fast corners, it really tightens things up - and yup, its the same as the ones on eBay. If you buy one make sure you get the correct one for your car, some of them will not accomodate the ABS unit!

LRB,
What is this, what does it do and where do you get it from?

Hope you decorate the hall better

jokejoke joke!!

I want to paint the cam cover among other things. Is it just heat resistant spray paint? I promised my girlfriend I wouldn't do any more B work will the weather warms up. Any project, no matter how simple, takes me hours.

What about all red for the cover LRB?

sjladopoulos said:

LRB,
What is this, what does it do and where do you get it from?

Click to expand...

It's an oil breather pipe filter, usually the pipe connects to the air intake and the hot gasses produced in the cam cover are then consumed into the throttle and burnt in the engine, trouble with this is it can gum up the throttle body. The best oiption is an oil catch tank (same as the Doc has fitted) but this costs a bit more and takes more effort - I went for the easy option.

Oh, and before anyone mentions it I know that you are not supposed to vent the oil fumes into the atmosphere!! :devil:

superspotter said:

Hope you decorate the hall better

jokejoke joke!!

Click to expand...

Erm, actually have to agree with you!! I will be re-doing it some time in the future as I am not happy with the finish - if I finished the hall to the same standard I think my wife would throw me out!!!

nicholasb said:

I want to paint the cam cover among other things. Is it just heat resistant spray paint? I promised my girlfriend I wouldn't do any more B work will the weather warms up. Any project, no matter how simple, takes me hours.

What about all red for the cover LRB?

Click to expand...

Yup, I used the very high temperature gloss paint (black) from Halfrauds (brush on) and high temperature spray paint for the red - looks OK from a distance but I will re-do it at some point as the red has not taken as well as I would have hoped and the black has brush strokes in it.................

Still better than it was though............

Mmm, not too sure on the black either... Been looking at doing something with mine, keep seeing all your colour co-ordinated ones on here and think they look great...

The red bit looks good though... (Yes, both on the valve cover and the car)!! Mmmm black car red valve cover... maybe!!

Been toying with the idea of taking it off and polishing it and then getting it chrome plated.... ?? maybe a bit of an overkill??

Thought it was just a trim panel but looking at it now I guess once it's removed car is out of action??

May have to re think as it's my only vehicle.... and it would take a while for me to polish it to a mirror finish.... and then a few days for the chrome plating....


always thought the B didn't corner too well......

May have to invest in a strut brace though if thay make that big a difference...:devil:

Sorry Alan, I have your book on our order list. will hopefully get it at end of next month... but in the mean time......

Book?

I don't think you need the cover on to run the car it just covers the plugs.

If you drive the B properly, correct gear for correct speed it corners brill

Should have ask me m8, I would have blown over the cover for you LRB for a pint. (Rocker cover would be two pints

Mind you the paint will still set you back £50 ish. Its always money, money, money.

FYI the old engine bay pic below shows your green filter LRB.

Ps I like the black with the red stripe.

docorangepeel said:

Should have ask me m8, I would have blown over the cover for you LRB for a pint. (Rocker cover would be two pints

Mind you the paint will still set you back £50 ish. Its always money, money, money.

FYI the old engine bay pic below shows your green filter LRB.

Ps I like the black with the red stripe.

Click to expand...

Thanks Doc, I might take you up on the offer in the summer (when I re-do it again!!).....

As for the cover, its in two parts. There is a top cover with the embossed emblemts on it, this can be removed and you can run the car with no issues - the CAM cover itself (which sits underneath the top cover) renders the car useless once its been removed.

OH and DR, also get yourself a set of Eibach springs - coupled with a strut brace you will notice a BIG difference in the cornering.....!

I agree! I went for an aluminium brace as it's lighter, but I don't think it really makes any difference (compared to a steel one that is).

LRB, I'm not sure what you mean about the air pump by the throttle body, have you got a close up picture?

Thanks!

Alan.D said:

Book?

I don't think you need the cover on to run the car it just covers the plugs.

If you drive the B properly, correct gear for correct speed it corners brill

Click to expand...

Book was refering to the police driving skills.

Good to know about the cover, when I saw it refered to as a valve cover I thought that it couldn't be removed without laying up the car...

Mmmm... correct gear for speed... guess I need to get the book sooner than I thought, slow down or get another lotus (Damn it! there's only one on the island....)

Ok.. ammend wish list.... strut brace... new springs....

Yup, 'ere ya go............took me ages to find a piccie though as its obstructed by the strut brace so here's a photo taken the day after I bought her!!

Big improvement LRB, that looks well, nice work
Does the oil breather help much?

Mark