One of the problems with undertaking a restoration over such a long period as I have done is that you “forget” what the original set up was for items like the camber settings on the front suspension. Last week I discovered the camber on the right front wheel was out of specification.
The steering on this car has always felt slightly vague from the moment that I first drove it after putting it back on the road. I put it down to the fact that I had reused the original rack mount bushes. So when I removed the subframe and engine assembly back in May to investigate what turned out to be a broken valve spring I replaced the rack mount bushes with poly bushes.
There was no improvement. It took my mechanic son this week to spot the problem with me wiggling the steering wheel and him looking and feeling for the problem. It was the lower steering column joint. The new rubbers which I fitted some years ago to the joint, and which sat unused on the shelf before I refitted it are clearly not up to the task. A quick search on the various threads on this forum showed that the alternative is to fit poly bushes or to replace the coupling with a proper “Hookes” type universal joint.
I have managed to locate some poly bushes here in New Zealand.
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The Auckland Lotus service agent carries them for they are also used on some Lotuses. They are a little thicker than those which I replaced and a couple have distorted when I tightened the screws which hold them.
I noticed a very slight feathering of the outer edge of the front left tyre so I had the car front suspension checked by an alignment specialist. It took some time for Stuart at Mag and Tyre Direct here in Christchurch to locate the set up information for the Dolomite range – it was not on his computer database. He went to the website
http://www.vitessesteve.co.uk/PDF/Dolomite_Sprint.pdf where he found a copy of the factory workshop manual and the information he required. It was interesting to note that the information he downloaded was more comprehensive than the issue (1) I have of the brown covered factory Dolomite Sprint workshop manual.
He carried out a detailed examination of the car and we finished up fitting one extra shim pack to the right front wheel. This has brought the wheel camber measurement back within the nominated tolerance.
I was impressed by his thorough and patient manner and I can report that the outcome is very satisfactory. His measurements showed that when Brian had joined the two halves of the car together he had done an excellent job.
The car tracks straight and true and the fitting of the poly bushes to the lower coupling has transformed the steering. It feels as good as any modern/new car now.
I changed the engine oil at 4,000 miles. It was changed at the 700 mile mark when I stripped the engine down to check two of the pistons and to replace the broken valve spring. The factory recommendation is to change at the 6,000 mile reading and I will do so from now on, changing at the 6,000 mile mark and then at every multiple of 6,000 miles. The oil was remarkably clean but I had another excuse. We had a wind storm here in September which felled a number of trees on the property and I am running low on chain bar lube for the chainsaws. Good clean, but used, engine oil will suit the chainsaws just fine.
I changed the oil filter too and struck a problem. The sealing ring supplied was too small and the oil filter canister would not seal properly. I have not struck this problem before and I must have changed many oil filters over the years. I checked the sealing ring against several other spare filters I hold in stock and while it was deep enough it was not wide (thick) enough. Perhaps it is time to upgrade to the more modern style of filters.
My dipstick did not have a sealing ring where it sits on the dipstick tube and I notice that oil has been creeping up the dipstick and dropping onto the ground. I have fitted one of those and hopefully there will be even less oil on the garage floor from now on.
This time last year I was contemplating completing the restoration and having the car running by Christmas. I missed doing so but since I have overcome the problems which plagued me through to the middle of this year, I have been well satisfied. On the last fill of fuel I calculated that the car is now doing just under 33 miles to the gallon.
I must have got something right. And I have a smile on my face which was not there this time last year.