Technical

Europa Aerodynamics

Story and photos by Barry Ellis.

MY WIND TUNNEL

I had my first Europa Series 2 in the 70s and lived in country Vic with no speed restrictions on the open roads. It had a Kent race engine in it. I quickly realised that at around 120mph there was a dangerous amount of lift at the front. A friend of mine also had a Europa that he had put a Mazda 13B rotary into. He also said that by 120mph it was feeling a bit dangerous. Reference from the American car magazine (I think Road & Track) where they included wind tunnel test results in their road tests, confirmed that the Series 2 and Twin Cam Europas both had significant front lift at speed. I seem to have lost the magazines, so can’t quote their results. But on reflection, at the time of original supply, it was claimed that the Europa had the least drag of any production car in the world. Low drag and limited downforce. Mine with a Kent engine recorded 42 miles per gallon. Much better than any other car I’ve had.

I purchased my second Europa in 2004. As I wanted to race it, I realised that I would have to resolve the front lift problem. I was in Perth then & spoke to a local who told me that he had seen a Europa in the early 70s coming over the hill at the race track, and into the normal stiff Westerly wind, lift at the front, and do a complete summersault.

This was my 8th Lotus, so I’d had lots of experience in fibre glassing stuff. So I got started. I modified the front air inlet and radiator outlet. Then changed the front shape to include a spoiler and air dam. Added front diffusers to duct air into the front wheel arches for brake cooling. Added low side straight edges with air inlets at the back, much the same as the standard Esprit set up. Then covered the underside flat. Then diffusers across the lower back. And, last, a small Gurney Flap to the existing rear edge of the engine cover. In the design of all these modifications I referred to Competition Car Aerodynamics by Simon McBeath (2006).

Then the Wind Tunnel tests. I can’t help being a structural engineer. I drilled four small holes in the body vertically above the inside centre of the wheels. People at the race track often asked what the small holes were for. Then made rods that I connected to the suspension just inside of the wheels. I had marked the rods so that I could see/measure the relationship between the rod and the car body.

Then with myself and a passenger on board, he photographed the rod protrusions with the car stationary and on level ground. I then drove the car at the legal maximum speed of 110kph in both directions on a nearby straight, flat road. My passenger then photographed the rod protrusions again at that speed. Using the photos I calculated the body vertical movement at the test speed. And, yes I had downforce at both front and rear. It was 3mm at all corners. I then set up the car on wheel scales and loaded the car above the axles front and rear to get the same 3mm deflection. It was 110kg at the front and 45kg at the rear. Then by calculation I could ascertain downforces at any speed I was interested in. At the Perth race track I could attain about 260kmh.

I have a heart issue and couldn’t continue racing, but with a Mazda 12A PP in the car I was doing laps in the 66sec. This compared to a couple of 47s that raced there in the early 70s, much, much less weight, wider, proper racing tyres, best times in the 63sec.

Shed Tour to Automotive Craftsmen

March 2020

By Craig Wilson.

It is always interesting when you are invited into a business and find an owner who is not only a master of his trade, but a young lateral thinker with a 20-year vision mapped out.

This was my privilege in 2018 when asked by a mutual friend, Alistair Rees to talk with Adam Doyle-Smith about his business – Automotive Craftsmen in Browns Plains, Brisbane – and his vision to create not only a world class restoration business, but an institute to bring back the art of proper coach building, learning and restorations. Embracing the age-old artisan skills of metal forming with modern technology is the essence of this young man’s dream.

He started out as a schoolboy working in his school holidays in Brisbane or travelling to Melbourne (courtesy of his Mum, Sharon who joined us) and other places to learn the art from people like Peter Tommasini – Classic Car Restoration & Panel Fabrication Melbourne, Nick Contarino – Exclusive Auto Centre Brisbane, and work on some exquisite cars with Wolf Grodd – Sleeping Beauties Brisbane.

One of the recent projects was driven there by Wolf on the day for us to see. The 1925 Lorraine Dietrich is just amazing and a tribute to all those craftsmen who have worked on it. Adam built the body from the firewall back and it is spectacular workmanship. These cars won Le Mans in 1925 and 1926, so a pretty special car.

Long time friend and Lotus man, Alistair Rees is mentoring Adam on his journey and the development of the business. They have plans to reintroduce and develop the coach building trades and introduce specialist composite repairs and new technology including their current specialised IT solutions in the future.

When I visited in 2018 Adam was finishing off two US made Ferrari California replica alloy bodies which were not correct, and thus were entrusted to him to remake true to the original. He did a beautiful job on them too.

Adam, and his business associate Luke have spent four years restoring three 1960’s Lancia Flaminias – 2 GT Coupes and a convertible which is the last one to complete. As usual the Italian metal has rusted away to lacework and Adam has completely rebuilt the body structure and remade the alloy panels. Luke has completed much of the assembly and they are better than new.

And to the Lotus scene.

Many of you will know that Ashton Roskill’s Eleven met with some unfortunate body modifications en route to the Lotus 2019 Nationals in QLD. I recommended Adam to Ashton on the Lotus 2019 weekend and eventually Shannons Insurance gave the go ahead for Adam to repair and rebuild the car.

It looked very sad but is coming along nicely. Adam gave us a very noisy master class in how to transform a flat piece of alloy into one of the original 18 sections of the Eleven bonnet. It was truly mesmerising how he beat this piece of alloy on a tree stump with a hammer, shrinking and stretching the alloy into the shape then created a beautiful piece by manipulating the metal with the English Wheel. It is an art and he said it keeps him very fit.

Tony Galletly also bought along his pristine S2 Eleven for display. Looking beautiful as always. Thanks Tony.

For an old lean and continuous improvement specialist, it is great to see a workshop so well organised with a place for everything, clean light grey floors and everything in its place, even on a casual drop-in visit. The workmanship is amazing, the attitude is welcoming, and we hope the vision comes true.

Thanks to Adam, Luke and the Automotive Craftsmen team for a very enjoyable shed tour and we look forward to progress on the Eleven project.

[Show slideshow]

Ashton Roskill’s Eleven Rebuild

By Alister Rees.

As a follow-on from the article in the April edition regarding the Automotive Craftsmen Shed Tour and Ashton Roskill’s Eleven, we plan to give monthly progress reports detailing the repair journey of this classic piece of Lotus history.

Part 1

The story started when we were contacted by Ashton in March 2019 and he sent some initial photos of the damaged car. We requested further photos from different angles and after studying a myriad of different shots, we were able to arrive at an initial estimate based on the information gleaned from these photos. From our understanding the damage was mostly isolated to the front end. The fabrication of a new front clam was the focus of this repair.

We then began a drawn-out procedure communicating with an assessor in Sydney who unfortunately appeared to have little knowledge of Lotus of any type, especially not a thoroughbred from the fifties.

After several months of challenging discussions and delays the Eleven finally arrived at our workshop in late October 2019. With the move to Queensland a new assessor was then appointed by Shannons, and we were able to move forward with a proper physical assessment of the damage.

Once we were able to get the vehicle in the air for a full inspection it became apparent there was other damage not able to be photographed while on the ground.

The final assessment included: Twisted chassis (front and rear), under-body skin damage, front and rear shocker damage, damaged wheel bearings, bent swing arm, buckled wheels and intake manifold gasket damage. All this adding significantly to the original estimate.

Ashton was able to recommend a parts supplier in the UK and we duly contacted Mike Brotherwood with a parts list. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Tony Galletly who has been a great help in many areas and has a wealth of knowledge after his Eleven restoration.

Once we received the parts quote from Mike, we were able to submit our firm quotation to Shannons. Final approval was duly received on 28 November 2019. We commenced work on 2 December, placed the parts order and started stripping the car.

First task was to dismantle all the damaged components. After drilling out 680 rivets to remove the floor trays and sill panels, the bare bones of this iconic design were exposed. The simplicity of this car is an amazing sight. After the outer body had been removed, next up was the mechanical.

Documenting each part and its orientation, gave us the understanding we need to see the car through the eyes of its creators. Knowing how the designer intended the car to be, ensures Ashton’s Eleven will be repaired correctly and retain its originality. With the vehicle stripped down to the bare minimum for transport, it was time to re-align the chassis.

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Nick Contarino at Exclusive Auto Centre for the use of his state-of-the-art Car Bench chassis alignment system, to restore the Eleven’s frame to the original dimensions and alignment.

Before founding Automotive Craftsmen, Adam served his apprenticeship at Exclusive Auto Centre, and was awarded Apprentice of the year for Queensland in 2014. He was also runner-up in the National World Skills Competition held in Perth the same year. Luke also spent approximately two years at Exclusive Auto Centre repairing Ferrari and Lotus, (including composite repairs), after completing a panel beating and spray-painting apprenticeship in Sydney.

[Show slideshow]

Part 2

This month considerable progress has been made on the manufacture of the new front clam for Ashton Roskill’s Series One Eleven.

The reason a new front clam is being manufactured, is that it was not economically viable to repair the original to an acceptable level.

Part of the Automotive Craftsmen philosophy is “nothing is impossible to repair” however, economic reality must prevail, and sometimes it is more viable to build a new part.

Working with aluminium presents some unique challenges compared to steel, particularly 50-year-old aluminium that has been repaired before.

It is safe to say that with these classic hand-built cars from the sixties, most have had a few hits in their life, and if the previous repairs have been carried out by someone without an intimate knowledge of the intricacies of the material, this can present some challenges when the vehicle is involved in another shunt in the same area.

This was the case with Ashton’s car, as earlier in its life it had a new section replaced from the leading edge to just behind the headlights. (The weld line can be seen just above the badge in Photo No.1).

The quality of the weld leaves a little to be desired, and when these welds were dressed, quite a bit of material was removed in the surrounding area and the skin is very thin. After a detailed inspection there were several other areas where weld lines were beginning to fracture.

Another problem with this new front section that had been fitted, was the wing shapes were not symmetrical and the headlight pods were not correctly aligned. All these issues made the decision to make a new clam the only real option. All that remained was to sell this concept to the insurance assessor, which I am pleased to say we accomplished.

Traditionally, coachbuilding has been done over a timber buck or wire frame, however it is not always viable to make a timber buck for a one-off repair, and the coachbuilder has other options to choose from.

In this case Adam elected to repair the damaged clam, and use this as the buck, which gives the added advantage that Ashton has the option to use the repaired clam for track events.

The most severe damage was to the RH front corner. To re-instate this, required many hours of working and unfolding the aluminium to carefully massage it back to shape. The LH side also sustained damage around the headlight area, and while not as serious, still required considerable time and skill to hand form the 50-year-old aluminium. The damaged areas were now restored to the point where the aluminium was back to a neutral state.(Photo No.2)

To ensure the correct profile and shape were achieved, considerable research had been carried out using photographs from magazines and the internet to find the correct shape so this classic could be returned to the original design.

An obvious essential skill of a good coachbuilder is an excellent eye for line and detail, (far better than we mere mortals) and this is critical when working with compound curves and converging lines.

Once the original clam was repaired (75 hours) a decision was made to use the LH side to make the patterns and profiles, as it was considered identical to the original shape. Using traditional templating methods mixed with some modern materials, we were then able to copy the exact surface dimensions, panel lengths and join locations. This method is called the flexible shape pattern. As an added feature, the same templates and patterns can then be reversed and used on the opposite side. This gives the ability to create a symmetrical part. (Photo No. 3 & 4)

From these patterns, 18 pieces of 5005 aluminium were then cut to size. (Photo No. 7)

Using the traditional wooden stump, blocking hammers and the English wheel, many hours were then spent forming each piece. Gauging the shape by hand and eye, then fitting each individual section to the templates.
With all 18 parts fabricated and defined, the next task is matching the sections with each other. Taking 2 sections at a time, blending the shape into one another and fusion welding them into a single part. This weld line is then worked on the wheel to form a continuous even profile and trial fitted to the buck to check the form. A total of six pieces were then welded to form the new left front wing. (Photo No. 11)

Now sharp, precise and symmetrical, the iconic Series 1 Lotus Eleven shape was recognisable. The same process was then repeated for the right wing.

The next stage was to refine the shape of the centre bonnet skin. At first glance this would appear to be a relatively simple shape but was in fact the most difficult section to manufacture. Having such a subtle amount of shape at the rear then transitioning gradually to a full shape towards the nose of the car, provided a real challenge to achieve a consistent and even surface. For five full days, yes that’s FIVE, Adam and Luke shaped this bonnet together on the wheel in complete synchronization. With all the skills, attention to detail and patience, it still required 3 skins to be shaped to get the finished product that you see here. (Photo No. 5 & 6)

Perfection is never achieved without effort, and with such a highly polished finish the smallest ripple would be visible.

Now was the time to join the left and right wings to the centre bonnet skin. This is the stage that will make or break the front clam fabrication. Using the 3D templates and marking out the exact trimming point, Adam slowly made the surgically accurate cuts that will be the final join of this month-long endeavour for perfection. With a final check of all profiles and dimensions, the tack welding and fusion process starts. If any stage of the process is skipped or miscalculated, this will have serious consequences on the finished product. After the three major parts are fused into one, it is very gratifying to see the end result with all major reference points aligning. (Photo No. 12)

Total labour to fabricate new front clam to this stage — 312 hours

Part 3 – New Front Clam

Progress has been slower than anticipated, due to restrictions around the Covid 19 challenge that has affected most businesses in Australia.

In the June edition we finished at the stage where the three main sections of the new front clam were tack welded and fused into one piece with all major reference points aligning.

As this front clam is going to be file finished and polished, the two main welds that join the front wings to the bonnet are critical in their execution. Each of these weld runs is 1.4 metres long and must be performed in one continuous operation (photos 1 & 2). Any variation in pace will cause a blow hole if too slow, or a shallow weld if the pace increases slightly. Shallow welds are a serious problem, as over time these will crack from the continual vibration.

NOTE — to put this in context, this is two pieces of 1.6mm thick aluminium, edge to edge !

When these welds are completed, the clam is flipped over and the same process is repeated on the inside.
To add to the challenge, the new body has been shaped freehand over one side of the original body, (as mentioned in the June edition) as we are working without a buck. This can cause slight variations in the joins that need to be corrected in the file finishing stage, adding more tedious checks and test fitting over the chassis to ensure both the shape of the new front clam and the alignment with the car are correct (photo 3).

As the part is now too large to fit through the English wheel, these welds must now be dressed and blended out by hand using a variety of hammers and dollies, to bring the welded area to the same thickness as the surrounding metal. (At last count Adam has 43 hammers and 57 different shape dollies.)

With these final welds now blended in, the next step before file finishing can begin, is to fabricate a temporary brace to be tack welded across the rear edge to give some rigidity to the panel during the file finish process (photo 4). Once this is completed this brace will be removed (too heavy) and a 4mm stainless wire edge will be rolled in (to add lightness).

It is now time to start the file finish process which will initially be done on the centre section out to the centreline of the front wings. This area needs to be completed before the grille opening section can be fitted.
At this point I would like to give the reader an explanation of the file finishing procedure and why it is necessary.

The file finish process was used extensively in the “old days” to achieve a quality finish along with lead wiping on steel panels that were then painted. However, with the advent of polyester fillers in the 1960s, and under increasing pressure from insurance companies to drive down costs, file finishing became a dying art, now practiced by only a limited number of skilled craftsmen, when specified by discerning clients.

Now back to aluminium — An off-the-wheel finish is satisfactory if the body is to be painted, as any minor blemishes left by the wheel are faired with polyester filler before priming. However, as this car must retain its exposed aluminium finish, fillers of any kind cannot be used, so the file finishing is necessary to achieve the polished surface.

File finishing is essentially the process of refining the shape. This means adjusting the profile by hand, using specialist hammers and dollies to flatten any minute highs, stretching low points around join lines and correcting the overall curvature of the panel.

First a guide coat is sprayed on the surface (fast drying etch primer), then using a body file with light pressure across the surface, the guide coat is removed from the high areas and is left on the low areas, giving the “guide” to where the metal must be raised or lowered. (photo 5).

The highs are carefully massaged using a body-spoon. Then the low areas are stretched using a slapping file while holding the correct shape forged dolly tool under the skin.

A final check spray of guide coat is then applied, and the process repeated until a smooth flowing body shape is ready to be sanded. (photo 6)

The file is only used to highlight any highs or lows in the surface, NOT to remove metal, so that all minute blemishes in the surface are painstakingly removed by massaging the metal to a perfect form, rather than grinding and thinning out the material.

This is what defines a coachbuilding artisan from a panel beater (with all due respects to panel beaters of course) and will give the reader a clear understanding of why a polished aluminium body is a rare sight these days.

The skill sets required to achieve a true file finish for polished aluminium, requires a level of natural ability and skill that is very rare. The hand eye coordination, and the ability to “feel” the metal surface with the hand, is the reason the perfect file finish is so difficult to achieve.

Once this process was completed on the centre section, the next task was to fabricate the tubular grille frame and mounting points that hold the entire front clam onto the car. With the new frame fabricated, the grille opening skin was formed over the frame, creating the beautiful rounded edge of the Eleven’s distinctive front.

We then welded the grille opening skin into the front clam, (photo 7). The sub-assembly (consisting the tubular grille frame welded to the mounting points) was then fitted to the clam skin, and the front clam was trial fitted to the chassis for the first time. (photo 8)

Part 4 – The New Clam continued

In last month’s report we had arrived at the stage of the successful first trial fit of the bare skin to the chassis. The next stage is to fabricate the headlight buckets, then align and weld them into the correct position.

At first glance the buckets look simple enough – roll up a couple of cylinders, weld on a backing plate, no worries – job done.

1: The mounting rings were fabricated with a 6mm edge turned out at 90 degrees.

Life is not always that simple in Lotus land, so to make things exciting the bucket is tapered. Fortunately, we were able to make a flexible pattern from one side of the original clam, to give the required shape to cut the aluminium before rolling the tapered tubes.

The mounting rings were then fabricated with a 6mm edge turned out at 90 degrees to stiffen the mounting ring for the headlight assembly. (Photo 1). (Looks easy but is a time-consuming process). Most fabricators would simply use a piece of 3mm aluminium for this mounting ring, but that definitely would NOT be adding lightness.

2: The rings are then welded to the conical tubes.

3: The bucket and recessed area are scribed and trimmed.

These rings are then welded to the conical tubes (Photo 2) The bucket and recessed area on the clam are then scribed and trimmed VERY carefully to give an accurate join line ready to tack weld into place (Photo 3). The perimeter is then fully welded. (Photo 4).

5: The perimeter weld is dressed and filed.

The final stage is to dress and file finish this perimeter weld (Photo 5). A few moments studying this photo gives an indication of the patience and skill levels required to achieve this result on such a complexity of converging angles and compound curves.

6: A series of profile gauges were made.

Once the headlight buckets were completed the next major task was to fit the 5mm stainless wire edge around the perimeter of the clam. The major challenge with this task is to ensure the shape that has been so laboriously created, does not move when the wire edge is rolled in. This process cannot be done with the clam sitting on the chassis to maintain alignment but must be done upside down on the bench.

To ensure the true lines are maintained, a series of profile gauges were made so the shape can be continually checked during the process (Photo 6)

Once the clam is trimmed to its final shape around the front edge and wheel arches (including a 13mm allowance for rolling around the wire), the challenge is to then dress this 13mm edge at 90 degrees to the body, and maintain the consistency as it flows around the compound curves of the front and into the wheel arches. (Photo 7).

9: The edge is rolled with a nylon hammer.

The pre-bent wire is then placed into the corner and clamped in place with vice grips (Photo 8), while the edge is rolled over with a nylon-faced hammer and a sheathed steel dolly. (Photo 9).

The final dressing of the rolled wire edge is done with a modified vice-grip and sacrificial strips of aluminum to avoid gouging the edge.

When the wire edge is completed across the front and around both wheel arches, the clam is now fitted back to the chassis to mark the final trim line for the rear edge of the clam. Once this rear edge is trimmed and the wire rolled in, the temporary braces (Photo 10) are removed and the wire edge process is complete.

Part 5 – Chassis Restoration May 2021

The story continues from when we had progressed to the point where Ashton’s Eleven was now completely stripped down to the bare chassis.

After a thorough clean down and visual inspection, there were several issues that needed to be addressed
before the chassis was sent for sandblasting.

The first one to be rectified, had been identified earlier while dismantling the front suspension. We noticed some serious rub marks on one of the front chassis tubes where the coil spring shocker unit had been binding on the tube. When the new Spax Shocker Units and lower mounting brackets arrived from Mike Brotherwood, we trial fitted them to the chassis to adjust the clearance between the spring/shocker unit and the chassis. One of the new shocker brackets was machined 0.75mm oversize and would not fit through the rod end on the control arm (photo 1). This is an” L” shaped bracket, which was a challenge to set up in the lathe, but after several creative hours we achieved the correct tolerance.

Another problem we noticed when removing the original aluminium floor skin, was that the section of the chassis from the rear bulkhead back, had a 20mm kink (when viewed from above), in the lower chassis tubes (photo 2). The aluminium floor skin for this area had been trimmed to suit this misalignment (photo 3). As this appeared to be the original floor skin, this misalignment had obviously been there all along. We were able to realign this rear section that supports the rear bodywork, by setting the chassis up on the alignment bench and applying a load, to bring this section back into correct alignment.

There are two jacking points on the front of the chassis, and one of these had been highly loaded at some point in its life. The jacking point had deformed and crushed the chassis tube. The tube was repaired, and the jacking point straightened and re-welded.

We found some potentially serious safety issues on the chassis, where the roll bar mounting bolts had been overtightened and the bolts had started to pull through the tube. The tubes in this area of the chassis are of square section, so the tube was repaired, and crush tubes machined, (photo 4) and welded in position to provide a safer mounting system for the roll bar. The same tube damage had occurred at the exhaust mounting points, so these tubes were also repaired, and crush tubes inserted.

There are over 120 welds throughout the chassis, but there were only seven that showed stress cracking. These were meticulously cleaned and re-welded. One of these was a rear control arm mounting bracket which had a severe stress fracture (photo 5) and was at risk of detaching itself from the chassis.

The next challenge was to remove all the rivet tails that were now in the chassis tubes from when the rivets were removed from the aluminium skin. To facilitate this, holes were drilled in the tubes at strategic points to allow their removal. (photo 6). Once all debris was removed (to add lightness), (photo 7) these holes were then re-welded.

With all rectification work completed, the chassis was now ready to be sandblasted. Unfortunately, we had a delay in this process as there is only one company in the Brisbane area we trust to perform the task on a lightweight chassis, and of course they are always busy.

We had it booked to be done before Christmas but due to unforeseen circumstances, they were unable to do it before their 4-week shutdown. However, Peerless Sandblasting did an excellent job and we received the chassis back in mid-February, so it was well worth the wait.

The next step in the process was to have the chassis crack tested. This was carried out by IRIS NDT who came to our workshop and performed magnetic particle testing (photo 8).(This identified a further five cracks that were not visible to the naked eye. These additional cracks were then re-welded, and the chassis was now ready for painting.

This was carried out by our preferred Spray Painter, Old School Garage, who applied a premium grade epoxy primer, followed by Glasurit 2 pack high gloss, colour matched to the original acrylic used by the factory. (photos 9 & 10).

The final step in the chassis restoration was the weigh-in! Carefully suspended from our engine crane the digital scales showed 24.3kg. Now there’s a great example of lightweight engineering from Colin Chapman (photo 11).

A current delay we are experiencing, is the availability of the aluminium for the floor skin. After discussions with Ashton and Tony Galletly, the decision was taken to use a high strength material for this area. The ideal material is 2024 T3, an aircraft grade structural aluminium, however we have had difficulty sourcing this material at 1.6 mm thick in Australia.

It appears this is another material that is in short supply due to plant closures caused by the Pandemic, as there has been no stock in the country since late 2020. There is plenty of 0.4mm available which is the most popular for aircraft work.

We anticipate this will arrive in Australia in late May, and we can then resume work on the project, and get this iconic piece of Lotus history back on the road again and put a smile on Ashton’s face.

Key Fob Fun & Games

If you own one of these you need to read this!

By John Barram.

The security system and key fob on the Series 1 Elise are generally considered to be not one of their finer points. They are now 20+ years old and are getting tired.

I have only ever had one key fob with my car and thoughts of getting another “just in case” have come to nought as I have been assured that it would be expensive by those who do electronic car keys.

Then, recently I lost my keys with the one and only electronic key fob. The actual key is a simple mechanical key, no problem for a competent locksmith. But the fob!!

This is a Lucas 5AS system also used in the MGF and a range of Rover cars not generally seen here. My original thoughts were to just ditch the system and run without a security system other than the key in the door. Or I could probably add some aftermarket system. But I soon found that this route was not going to be simple and electronics are not my strong point. I then looked at retaining the original system, getting an old key on Ebay and getting it synchronised with my car electronics. Plenty of problems there, starting with 20 year old components.

Then my Google work finally came up with the answer. Remote Key Ltd in the UK is run by Ian Jameson and caters to owners of these Lucas systems. Ian advised me that these systems run at two different frequencies, 315MHZ for cars in the UK and Australia and 433MHZ for cars to Europe. To be sure of what I had I needed to remove the instrument pack to access the 5AS module behind it and, sure enough, my Lucas module had a nice yellow Lotus sticker on it proclaiming that it was a 433 MHZ unit for Europe. My confidence was rising. This guy knew what he was talking about.

Remote Key manufacture completely new key fobs which they mail out along with a little programming plug. You simply plug the programmer into the standard 16 way OBD socket near the ECU in an S1 Elise and the car will then recognise the new fob. You pay 75.00 UK pounds for the fob and programmer then get 30.00 UK pounds refunded when you send the programmer back to them.

So I bought 2 fobs, it took my five minutes to do the programming, and the Elise is back on the road.

Introducing Evija

EVIJA

The first all-electric British hypercar makes its world debut in London

The world’s first fully electric British hypercar, the all-new Lotus Evija, has been revealed. With unparalleled performance and a target power output of 2,000 PS, it sets new standards in terms of advanced EV engineering. Quite simply, the Lotus Evija is the most powerful series production road car ever built.

Like all Lotus cars throughout the brand’s storied 71-year history, the Evija has been precision-engineered to deliver an outstanding driving experience both on the road and track. It is the most dynamically accomplished model ever built by the company, setting new standards for Lotus driving performance. Above all else, it is ‘For The Drivers’.

As a name, Evija (pronounced ‘E-vi-ya’) means ‘the first in existence’ or ‘the living one’. It is highly appropriate; Lotus has an unquestionable reputation for its pioneering approach in both automotive and motorsport.

The Evija marks the start of an exciting new chapter in the history of an iconic and much-loved British sports car brand. It is the first hypercar from Lotus, and the company’s first model with an electrified powertrain. As the first completely new car to be launched under the stewardship of Geely – the world’s fastest growing automotive group – its significance cannot be overstated.

Exclusivity and desirability go hand in hand in the world of hypercars, and the Evija is blessed with an abundance of both. Production is limited to not more than 130 examples, making it among the most exclusive cars ever launched. It’s a figure set in tribute to the car’s project code, Type 130. Lotus road and race cars throughout the brand’s seven decades of success have been assigned a Type number, and the Evija is no exception.

Hethel, close to the historic city of Norwich in the east of England, UK, has been the home of Lotus since 1966. The company has confirmed production of the Evija will begin there during 2020.

As well as tempting the world’s hypercar buyers, the car will act as a halo for the rest of the Lotus range – the renowned Elise, Exige and Evora. It will do the same for a range of eagerly anticipated new Lotus performance models to come.

Speaking at the unveiling in London, “Lotus Cars CEO Phil Popham said: “The Lotus Evija is a car like no other. It will re-establish our brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans and on the global automotive stage. It will also pave the way for further visionary models.”

He added: “This is another amazing moment in the history of our company. The Evija is a true Lotus in every sense – it has been developed with an unwavering passion to push boundaries, to explore new ways of thinking and to apply ground-breaking technologies.”

A stunning piece of contemporary automotive design, the Evija features a dramatic Venturi tunnel through each rear quarter, giving it a truly breath-taking presence.

Russell Carr, Design Director, Lotus Cars, said: “We studied how Le Mans race cars use air flow creatively to go over, under and around the vehicle, but also through it. This concept of ‘porosity’ is key to the Evija and has enabled us to create a timeless design with exceptional amounts of downforce.”

The Evija signals the start of a contemporary new design language for Lotus, which will evolve and reappear on future high-performance cars.

Illustrative of the innovative thinking and ingenuity which has always been part of the Lotus DNA, the Evija is a technical tour de force. It continues the legendary Lotus bloodline that’s rich in firsts and technical game-changers, both in the automotive and motorsport sectors. While it is a glimpse of the future from Lotus, it remains true to the company’s DNA and the guiding principles of founder Colin Chapman, who built the first Lotus in 1948.

The Evija is the first Lotus road car to feature a one-piece carbon fibre monocoque chassis. The cabin, from the fully adjustable race-style seats to the multi-function steering wheel, is the very pinnacle of motorsport-inspired road car design and technology.

At the heart of the Evija is an ultra-advanced all-electric powertrain. It has been developed by technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering, famed for success in motorsport, from Formula One to electrifying the first four seasons of Formula E. The battery pack is mid-mounted immediately behind the two seats and supplies energy directly to four powerful e-motors. This highly efficient system is the lightest, most energy dense, electric power package ever fitted to a road car. With a target weight of just 1,680 kg, it will be the lightest pure electric hypercar ever to go into series production.

Engineered for precise and sustained performance, the Evija has five driving modes – Range, City, Tour, Sport and Track. It can race from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in under three seconds and accelerate to a top speed of more than 200 mph (0-320 km/h).

Matt Windle, Executive Director, Sports Car Engineering, Lotus Cars, said: “Every element of the Evija has been meticulously analysed and validated. Precision engineering is nothing without human engagement, and that’s why technology with soul is the benchmark for this and every Lotus.”

The Evija is priced from £1.7m plus duties and taxes. A £250,000 deposit secures a production slot. Order books are now, expressions of interest to purchase should be channelled through your local dealer or Richard Gibbs at Lotus Cars Australia.

LOTUSCARS.COM.AU

Ten years of owning a Lotus Esprit Turbo

Story & pics by Steve Blackie.

Ten years ago my first Lotus Esprit (1981 S3) burnt.

This was just after six weeks of ownership. Most people would have walked away saying “I’m not doing that again”. But, that was not the case for me. In those few short weeks, I had discovered what makes an Esprit one of the world’s best Grand Touring Cars. I had never driven a car that ate up country roads with such ease. And I needed to get another one as soon as possible.

So within 4 weeks of losing my black 1981 Esprit, I was the proud owner of a red 1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo with tan leather.

This was one of the 25 Australian delivered Esprit Turbos, which makes it unique, because Australia and the USA were the only places that were getting cars with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection in 1988.

This makes the car engine the same as the HCi cars that were sold in Australia from 1985 to 1987. The main difference being the 1988 was the first of the new Peters Stevens redesign, it is said that every panel of the car including all the glass was changed by only small amounts to soften the look with curves, without the loss of the overall feel of the car’s 1972 design by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

So why did I buy an Esprit?

That big wedge shape was what super cars looked like when I was a boy – Lamborghini, Ferrari and Lotus all made them. They were the cars pinned to boys bedroom walls. Let’s not forget James Bond drove one into the water, up the beach and to the snow.

Also Julia Roberts drove one in Pretty Woman, and Sharon Stone had two in Basic Instinct.

When I drove the Esprit, I had to buy it, then it burnt so I drove another and bought it too. In my view the Esprit was as good as Lamborghini, and Ferrari of its day, just a hell of a lot better value then, and still is even now.

The Esprit was built for 29 years from 1976 to 2004, with 10675 produced or about 300 cars a year on average. The Esprit, in its day was road tested against Ferraris as they were considered its main competition. If you would like to read more about how they stacked up in past and present views, here are some links:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/sets/72157629237085301/

https://www.lotusespritturbo.com/Car_Lotus_Turbo_Esprit_Ferrari_308GTBi.htm

https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/blog/opinion/clash-of-the-classics-lotus-esprit-vs-ferrari-308

Owning a Lotus Esprit

When you buy 20 plus year-old cars, you are buying cars that have a lot of parts at or close to the end of their life. With a lot of these parts, it makes no difference if the car is driven a lot or not at all, parts like rubber seals, foam rubbers, plastic and electrical components all break down with time and light and copper wires go hard with vibration. When I first started looking for parts for my 20 year old Esprit it was hard work, a lot of the parts had been made obsolete by Lotus, but had yet to be produced by anyone else.

Can you pick the 2 Esprits in this photo from Victorian Lamborghini club run?

It took me 9 months to find a set of rear discs, I found them in Pennsylvania, and 3 months later everybody I had contacted could get them for me again. This is why in the last 10 years there have been so many low-cost Esprits on the market, about 7 or 8 years ago there was a 1988 for about $20,000 (this was a car that cost over $200,000 new). In the ten years I have owned my Esprit things have changed a lot, and will only keep improving as more cars are being refreshed. Prices of cars being sold are rising again and to almost 3 times that low.

When I bought my 1988, it was an Australian delivered car, this didn’t mean much to me at the time. But, now I know that this means a lot, as the car had never been driven on salted roads in the UK, which in turn means a lots less rust on bolts, fuel tanks, and the chassis. When Lotus introduced the galvanised chassis in 1980 it was only given an 8 year warranty. My car chassis is 22 years out of warranty and still shows no sign of rust. A Zagame Motors Lotus mechanic once told me Australian cars were so much better, as they did not have rusted and seized bolts, thus making them much easier and cheaper to work on. I have even seen a 5 year-old personal imported Elise from UK that had to have struts replaced due to rust from the salted roads.

During my ownership of my Esprit, I have had to learn so much about sourcing of parts from all over the World. This was made a lot easier when I got my hand on a Lotus part books that covered 1980 to 1992 Esprits. When Zagame Motors rebuilt my gearbox, differential and later my engine, I was able to source all the parts that were needed. It is so much easier when you can look up a book and get a part number, though it took me a while to work out that the last letter is no longer used (it was the row number in the warehouse).

The types of parts that break down with time.

With my move from Melbourne to the Gold Coast about 5 years ago, I had more time on my hands, so I started doing more work on the Esprit myself. In Melbourne I had done some work like changing the seatbelts and the radiator. For things like the refreshing of brakes I still used Zagame.

For me, what started out as a bit of an engine misfire, turned into one of the greatest learning periods of my Esprit ownership. First I bought a new full workshop manual, the one that came with the car was missing, also the parts that covered the Australian wiring and K-Jetronic fuel injection. K-Jetronic had been used for years on cars such as Mercedes Benz and Porsche, but now I know that Lotus added to it solenoid switches and modules to control pick-up, warm-up (read pollution control), fuel pumps, over boost, rev limiter and others.

Then I started to refresh the aforementioned things that time kills. Seals and foam rubbers were easiest to do, as most could be bought off the shelf, here in Australia. The electrical components were not so easy.

I refreshed all the hardened section of wires, as well as putting new pins and plugs on it, (you can still buy all the Bosch plugs). I then moved onto modules, some I could buy some and some you could not. The ones I could not buy I rebuilt using frequency switches with solenoid switches. Then I refreshed almost all of the electronic parts of the ‘Lucas High Energy System’ and to my surprise the key to fixing the misfire was the coil.

The end result of all these hours of work is that the car now drives beautifully again, a true Grand Tourer!

Morning Run to JH Classic Restorations

Story by Craig Wilson, photos by Craig Wilson & Vyvyan Black.

Thanks to Giles Cooper for extending the invitation from Peter Janetzki at JH Classic Restorations to Lotus Club Qld members for what was a great morning at the restoration workshop facilities.

Meeting at Lotus Cars Qld dealership, Daisy Hill, we travelled the short trip south to Yatala and on to JH workshops (not far from the temptation of the Yatala Pie Shop). LCQ had 15 cars present and there were around 40 cars on the day. These ranged from Austin Healey 3000’s, a Bug Eye Sprite, Volvo P1800 coupe and a shooting brake, Alfas; Giuletta and GTV, a Daimler SP250 and two Valiant Chargers.

One of the big Healeys has had an amazing transformation with a Ford 302 V8 and sequential gear box. The design and build are immaculate and it looks factory fitted.

It is very pleasing to see real craftsmen enjoying what they do. Unfortunately, we do not encourage artisans in this country any more through our traineeships etc., and it is great to see Peter passing on his skills to the next generation. English rolling wheels and rescuing a rare Healey mudguard with careful working of the metal are part of the scene not used in normal panel beaters today.

The workmanship and amazing attention to detail is allowing enthusiasts to return many classic cars to the road. We saw an example of someone’s dream in the driveway. A rusted out – read typical, early 60’s Alfa Giulietta Spider. They are a beautiful car, but not a lot to reuse and probably years of work. It’s a journey not for those in a hurry.

There were also a couple of very special cars in my book. Volvo P1800 coupe and shooting brake wagon version. Those of you who grew up with Roger Moore as the Saint on our televisions knew the white P1800. Just so far ahead of their time in styling.

A beautiful dark blue Daimler SP250 with its little V8 was in for some detail mods and it was just amazing. Close to a Lotus with its 60s fibreglass body. The interior was trimmed to perfection and it looked fantastic. Styling on these was not everyone’s choice but the V8 engine is very interesting. It was the last project of Edward Turner, an English designer who among other things, created the famous Ariel Square Four motorcycle engine as a young man in 1928. Jay Leno has one in the same blue colour and has a very good YouTube video on it. He also has an Ariel Square Four.

The Healey Club and Alfa Clubs have been running this day for a few years and we thank them for the invitation, morning tea and BBQ lunch catering.

After lunch, I was also very surprised when they announced that a group of judges had inspected all the cars present to decide which car they would most like to take home on the day. One little red Lotus Elan was their decision, so yours truly went home with a very nice bottle of champagne. Thanks guys and the Alfa Club for the bubbles.

The whole day was very interesting with not only full access to the restorations, but some skilling sessions on panel work, wheel alignments etc. Our thanks go to Peter, his family and the team for their hospitality and welcome.

Finally, a big thank you to Giles again for the invitation, pity Gidget Healey had a hissy fit and wasn’t there for us all to see. Good luck with the big Peking to Paris rally prep.

Remember, there are around 100 older Lotus in SEQ and most are resto projects, so get out and bring them back.

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A Tale of Two Tail Pipes

Story and pics by Dick Reynolds.

Steve Lennox mentioned that he had a rather interesting muffler to give away. Never wanting to miss a bargain, I grabbed it. Thank you Steve!

Years ago whilst punting a Lotus Europa around, I hit on the idea of a motorbike muffler, ex 250cc, mounted directly to the gearbox, Formula Ford style. This worked a treat, even having a replacement track baffle – straight through! Here is the car with said muffler.

Looked at Steve’s muffler for a month or two, decided against it and moved on. Months later I heard the noise restrictions at events were going to be more stringently enforced. “Now where did I put that muffler?”

Found the thing, along with a code stamped on the side. Turns out it was off a Suzuki GSX 600/750R. Now they are about 160hp, so I figured that should be OK with my 110hp. So I removed the old muffler and proceeded to set up the new.

Having located the position on the car, I needed to make the connection between the extractor header and the muffler.

A quick drawing for the CNC man down the road, and a visit to the muffler shop and job done! The squiggles to the bottom left are to position the air/fuel sender nut for Dyno tuning – no ECU here!

The tail pipe exited onto the rear tyre, so a black silicone hose extended the opening past the wheel. Sounded more quiet, and no discernible impact on performance. First test was the Noosa Winter Hill Climb. First run and the lovely little black silicone tail pipe fell off! Come the Summer Hill Climb and the new tail pipe was riveted on.

Almost complete.

Six months down the track the thing is still there, and sounding great.

My 1969 Lotus 61 Formula Ford

Story and photos by Greg Bray.

This article is a little late after the event, but last September at the final historic event of 2017 at Lakeside my Formula Ford blew its engine.

It happened in the second race on the Sunday, half way down the main straight. I had never done a historic race meeting there before, and did not realise that my car would be under geared for that track.

All my previous events had been at Morgan Park, Warwick, which is ideally geared for my Formula Ford, but at Lakeside coming down the main straight flat out, I was over revving at only half way along it. All too much, and the engine just went BANG. Back in the pits, I found that l had a hole in the dry sump as oil and coolant was leaking out.

Back home in my workshop it was engine out, and I knew I was in for a big and expensive job. Sump off, finding the crankshaft had broken first at the rear, then it had bent two rear con-rods, smashed No.4 piston, bent two rear valves, broke the camshaft, ripped No.4 main bearing cap from the block, put a large crack all up No.4 cylinder wall, and a crack all around rear of block.

That’s what you get if the crank breaks when you’re flat out, not much engine left. My crank would have been the original, so it finally gave up with old age and fatigue.

After lots of new parts and work it was all rebuilt for 2018, and now going well. Pleased to say I won my class in the car at in the first historic meeting held at Morgan Park in May.

Meeting at Tint-A-Car

Story and photos by Vyvyan Black.

It’s always more interesting when we hold our Monthly Meeting at a car-related venue. This way we can not only discuss the normal business of running a club, we also get to rabbit on about whatever product or service the venue proprietors are offering.

And it’s not just us doing the rabbiting. The May meeting was hosted by Craig Mathie at Tint-A-Car in Bowen Hills, who explained the wonders of vinyl overlay as protection against sun, stone chipping and as a way of making your car as unique as your desires.

A well-attended and enjoyable event for all. Thanks Craig.

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Twincam Tips

Supplied by Barry Ellis.

A Lotus TC article written by a mechanic from Vegantune who has now rebuilt over 5,000 twincams for road and race use. Approved for reprinting from Club Lotus UK Lotus News 1982, No 4 for Barry Ellis – a member of LCQ as well as Club Lotus UK.

Torque Talk

Your workshop manual tells you how to tighten down your cylinder head, but is the instruction correct or complete? I think not.

Set your torque wrench to just 30 lbs ft. Now having tightened all the head bolts down finger tight move around in the sequence shown in your manual cracking the wrench at the 30 lbs ft figure on every nut.

Now up the break figure to 50 lbs ft and go around again in the sequence. Finally, do it again at the 60 lbs ft figure.

After the car has been run for about 5 hours on the road, the time has come to torque the head down once again. So now you must drain out the water, crack all the nuts off their setting and go round again tightening again to 60 lbs ft in the right order again.

Why? Because several head bolts will have tightened up by up to 10% with heat and block/head distortion. Had you just taken a quick trip ‘round the head, cracking the wrench on each bolt you would not have detected one or two which were now at the 70 lbs ft level and ready to stretch or strip.

Now refill the engine with water, let it tick over for a while with the radiator cap off and watch the trapped air come out . Now you can get in another pint or two.

If you have to refill a Europa you need to spend quite a while purging the system of air.

Either park the car facing down a steep hill or jack the back high in the air. Now fill her up and start the engine with the heater valve set to full heat.

If the system has been totally drained of water you will need about 15 minutes to be sure that all the trapped air has bubbled out. On the Europa I recommend having BARSLEAK in the cooling water all the time as they are prone to leaks in the heater matrix and in the tubes that run from front to rear.

You must also remove the heater hose at the thermostat housing and then put your thumb over the end of the hose (or kink it closed) and wait until cooling water comes out of the thermostat casting without a lot of burps or trapped air. There is a vent on the nose mounted radiator. Open this from time to time as you fill the car to let the air hiss out.

WARNING: Don’t let the water temperature get too high before you start work on bleeding – it can be rather painful sticking your thumb over a pipe full of hot water!

Rocker Arm Pillars

WARNING: The rocker arm pillar torque setting is ONLY 15 – 20 lbs ft so don’t go making expensive mistakes! And who said your torque wrench was accurate? Rolls Royce check test all wrenches in “sensitive assembly areas” every day!

Romano’s Dyno Day – 3 Aug 2017

By Dick Reynolds. Photos by Dick Reynolds and Shane Murphy.

“So why don’t we do a Dyno Day / Shootout some day? Good question! Why don’t we?” So we did!

Thirteen cars bowled up to Bob Romano’s, at Morningside and prepared to mount the Dynamometer. 40 psi in the back tyres, check the oil and water and back into the Dyno Booth. Hungry work this, so we put on a sausage sizzle, and Romano’s prepared coffee and biscuits.

Driver	Vehicle	hp	kg	hp/tonne
Tim McHugh	BMW 135i	350.0	1530	228.7
Andrew Rowe	Exige	196.0	875	224.0
Leon	BMW M5	400.0	1826	219.0
Martin O’Brien	Elise S	207.0	950	217.9
Daryl Wilson	Caterham	104.5	570	183.3
Shane Murphy	Lotus 7	86.6	498	173.9
Dick Reynolds	Caterham	82.5	540	152.7
Rob Stevens	Elise	115.0	770	149.3
Jon Young	Caterham	86.2	580	148.6
Mal Kelson	Elise	106.0	740	143.2
Richard Suggate	Elan Plus 2	101.6	840	120.9
Charles Williams	Exige	N/A	N/A	N/A
Steve Lennox	Europa	N/A	N/A	N/A

So what does it all mean? No idea!

The above of course, is all about engines, not chassis or driving skill.

I did do some “area under the curve” analysis, and discovered that torque and where the horsepower is, has a bit to do with overall performance on track. On the track, how much and what you had for breakfast – I suspect – is more relevant!

There is also the very important LAC Factor (a Martin O’Brien developed concept). That’s ‘Lard Arse Correction Factor’. Fortunately, no-one has asked for the figures.

Matt Plowman, who shared the morning with us in his Audi R8 V10, says the figures aren’t to be trusted, but I believe they are great for comparison later – on the same machine! Brilliant to see the Exige’s performing close to some serious BMW muscle. As usual the “Clubbies” were at it in our usual non-competitive mode, with Daryl absolutely romping home.

Outright horsepower “Major Gong” goes to Leon, with the BMW M5. Well done Leon. Wooden spoon to yours truly.

Power to weight to Tim McHugh, with the BMW 135i. Well done Tim.

Wooden Spoon to Richard in the Plus 2. (Impressive horsepower though, and four seats no less!)

A huge thank you to Chris, Rosa and all for their use of the facilities and care and attention with the cars – no damage at all! Maybe we should do this again in a year or so when all the modifications are complete.

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