Spring is here and the Plus 2 has just returned from a lovely weekend in Wales having covered 660 (almost trouble free) miles. In fact the car ran beautifully and was very enjoyable to drive. There was moderate rain on the motorway on the way up and we got stuck in a good amount of traffic, however the freshly greased and correctly parking wipers performed well, the car did not overheat (or even get that hot the fan only coming on a couple of times) and also did not leak. In Wales some of the road surfaces were less than perfect, and it is always surprising how well the plus 2 rides over the rough stuff. It was in its element on the twisty stuff which is most of the roads around Snowdon. It could do with a 5 th gear on the motorway, but that is true of all the 4 speeds. Having said that I love the gear change on the 4sp cars and would not swap for that reason alone. I would try a higher geared differential though.

The only mishap was that one of the bolts holding the front of the bonnet where it pivots fell out. I was travelling at about 70mph when it happened, and that corner of the bonnet did pop up a bit, but apart from a chip on the paint caused by the courteousy light plunger getting caught no harm was done. In fact the screwdriver that I used to replace the bolt is still there, so I must remember to replace the bolt. This time I will secure it with a nyloc or some threadlock. Same for the other one which thankfully stayed put. As for the brakes they performed well apart from some sponginess, and perhaps a very slight pull to the left, although that could have been the camber of the road. I expected the car to use some brake fluid because the servo (the cause of the spongy brakes) has been leaking internally, but even though I did a fair bit of heavyish braking it used none. I guess that the servo has decided to stop leaking right now. There was a new (old stock) Girling servo on eBay which I regret not buying.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. These were taken with my Olympus E300 and 14-54 lens. By the way, anyone who wants to come along is welcome so please let me know if you are interested in coming along next year!

Now that the car is back in the land of the living I can turn my attention to some of the more minor but annoying faults. These include the door locks, the bodies of which have rotated in the doors and feel a bit funny, various stone chips which need painting in and the hole in the dashboard where a radio should go. Also on the menu is adjusting the doors so that they close a little more tightly (even though they are considered good already), replacing blown dashboard bulbs, and a general tidy up. I have replaced the vacuum hose that feeds the servo because although it looked OK there was some fine black dust coming from it, and a leak there can cause problems with the servo and No4 cylinders. (see below). To fill in the dashboard hole I have taken the facia from an old radio cassette player and thrown the innards away. Music in the car is provided by my ipod and a Logitech docking station which I remove from the car when parked. The Logitech has a built in lithium battery so I do not need to worry about a power lead. I cannot be bothered to plumb in a modern system which would require a hidden amplifier and new speaker holes to be cut.

Recently I have been noticing an ever increasing smell of petrol around the car. A slight whiff is not unusual on a Lotus. On investigation I found that the two banjo connections that feed the carbs were slightly loose and weeping petrol, so I have tightened them and used a little threadlock to stop them coming loose again. Great I thought, that has fixed that. How wrong I was. I opened the garage the other day, and I swear that if I had caused a spark the whole thing would have gone up. There is some carpet under the front of the car to catch oil leaks (yes I have the odd drip!) and it was completely sodden with petrol. Well, under the car I go (having pushed it out). It turns out that the braided steel hose that goes into the pump has undone itself. Another symptom of a car that has not been driven much since being rebuilt, but possible on any car. I have tightened up the connection, but it is awkward to get to, and to get it really tight the carbs need to come off, so for now I will keep an eye on it and do it properly the next time I take them off.

There has been a lot of debate recently about engine oil and which is the best one to use for our twincams. Most of this is a result of newer formulations being optimised for economy and tighter environmental concerns and perhaps not having the necessary additives to prevent wear on our valve trains. I like the idea of modern synthetic oils and last year settled on Mobil 1 15/50 Motorsport oil. Not cheap at ₤45!!!! for 5 litres. I have done some more research on this oil, and the blurb from Mobil says and I quote, "Mobil 1 15W-50 is also recommended for older valve train designs that may benefit from a higher level of anti-wear normally not required for newer generation vehicles. Mobil 1 15W-50 will also provide better anti-wear protection for higher valve spring tensions in certain racing engines." So as far as I am concerned that is case closed on oils for me. Price aside that is, and I am looking for a cheaper source than Halfords. top

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