Lotus Elite Restoration | Dellorto DHLA Carb Rebuild | Classic Obsession | Episode 24
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- Опубліковано 8 бер 2023
- Gary embarks on the restoration of his newly acquired Lotus Elite and starts by rebuilding the carburettors. Whilst weighing up what's required for the full restoration, he gives the paint a quick refresh to assess its true condition.
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Your rebuilding of the carbs brought back happy memories Gary. I used to love helping my late uncle work on his vintage cars and I remember at the age of eight him handing my a carb from an old Austin and a little bag of bits and pieces and said, right! See if you can strip and rebuild it using only common sense as a guide and I did and it worked perfectly, the reward was to get to drive his thirties Alvis down at the car park in Dawlish warren one early Sunday morning, still one of my proudest moments. One thing with the lotus rebuild I’m looking forward to is you sorting the interior. The fabric used never felt that strong in the first place bit it did look spectacular especially in the shade you have, very space 1999 in its looks!
Whatever happened to opener to each video with it's catchy tunes??? I loved that. It was so enjoyable to see that at the beginning of each and every video.
A fantastic job on rebuilding those carbs.Not an easy job, yet you make it look so simple.Never get tried of seeing a pro like this at work.A Rolls a Lotus and a Porsche a wonderful trio as can be.
Can’t wait to see this brought back to its former glory, or see the look on Tom’s face when he sees it!
Geez! That was a very mechanically intensive period history! Reminds me of years spent under the hood staring at increasingly complicated bits and pieces!
Watching this one all the way Gary on your resto journey. The Elite and Eclat have been on my radar for some time. Good old Tom will love the end result...blimey he looks like that guy that was in Vicar of Dibley 😉👍
Watch out some or all have rose jointed suspension part and makes for a very rough ride on a test drive , I waited till the Excel came out with Toyota parts all rubber and drove like a dream , and my teeth stopped falling out .
Yes I did the same on my two Excels , but with Webber carbs . Nice car but the one I test drove had rose jointed suspension and a very hard drive back in 1975 . The Excel Toyota is much more a friendly drive . Loved both of mine a real drivers car . Great work .👍
These are superb films, don't know how I ended up watching 1, but now I'm binge watching the lot. Was just talking about you with my much better half saying how much you remind me of me. Then I googled you. I had no idea about your illustrious past!
Top marks, great knowledge and expertise
Another great episode and top quality production. Why only 13k subs ? Should be 10x this
These videos Gary are now ESSENTIAL viewing for me….absolutely wonderful…so detailed and cathartic……more please very soon .
Best regards . PS You’re a brave man working on that kitchen table LOL
Hey Gary - Great viewing as usual and great to see the kitchen table being put to good use 🙂 Got to say that how far to take the restoration is a bit of a conundrum. From viewing on the screen, they both look like with the right attention they look saveable which will satisfy many people and also allow it to be used as a daily driver without worrying too much about more scuffs and scrapes. Then again - a full restoration would take it to a whole new level. Whatever you decide , will be the right thing to do - a nice leather interior would look superb though! What you've done to the paint so far has improved the look of the car no end and even giving it a simple wash made the motor look loved. keep the episodes coming and look forward to the next stage of the Lotus and the Rolls . Cheers Stew
I always love your intro, driving the Corniche, what a beauty of a car she is, even after all those years.
Working on the kitchen table - you must have a really understanding missus. Love the videos, quickly becoming one of my favorite channels.
Great episode Gary. Lotus’ hold a special place in heart to be honest. A forgotten era.
One of the best strip downs I have seen everything is in frame sharp focus close up & each step is neither filmed to long or too short a time & good explanation.
Hi Gary, I recently found your channel, really enjoying the Vids, look forward to the next one ! Kind regards from a fellow UA-camr Mike AKA MEC from MEC-TEC 👍👍
Enjoyed that Gary 😀👍🏻
Thanks for another easy watch video.Quite a while since I had a set of Dhlas apart .Back in the day the banjo copper washers would leak if the weren’t renewed or annealed ..plenty of fires
Personally I'd like to see the original interior saved, and maybe the paint too - but of course that's easy to say, sitting here in my armchair, having never even touched a Lotus let alone worked on one! Either way, looking forward to it! And best wishes to Tom if he happens to read comments! He's the real deal!
Love those wheels
I know..they’re in great nic..regards
Can’t stop looking at the 928 in the background. Like your other cars it will be stunning when done. What’s the plans for it Gary ?
Hi John. Needs rear, nearside wheel bearing, Cambelt (as hasn’t been done for 16 years!) repaint both sides and just enjoy. Service historys great. Regards.
How does the Misses feel about carb rebuilds on the kitchen counter ;-). I love this channel! Thanks Gary
She was out!!
Another great episode Gary. Can’t wait to see how you progress with this classic.
Thank you, really big thank you to help show carb rebuild, as I am ordering my parts now for mine. cheers.
Great car design. I had the Eclat version in silver. I suspect it's scrapped now, HAG 859T, bought from a south London car auction, Belmont's of Charlton. Both rare today. Disregard the negative comments Gary. Made my morning watching.
great kits very intricate lucky can still get all the new bits for these cars your need a bigger garage soon ha nice music as well
Sorry car. Well done for keeping another one alive, great video!
Amazing, how on earth do you remember how it all goes back together....
I love this Lotus. The last one I saw was at a London Concours two years back. It had a unique Champaign coloured interior!
Nice
Thank You exellent work🍀
I didn't realise this was also Tom's old car,
Manual 928 and a lotus, bit of a boy in his day wasn't he👍
My wife would kill me using the kitchen table
whats that beautiful cool music at the end of your video...reminds me of some new old music...
Hi. Just a little tune I put together for the programme and kindly strummed for me by my brother Lee. Regards.
Wow i was hearing the sound and it sound like very familiar to me from the old las days...i am from germany and was in the 90s a big fan...very heartley greetings to your bro...hope someday he makes like geniusly music again...
Brilliant again Gary, thank you!
Another great video. Really enjoyed that. Thanks Gary
Hi Gary, did you have a look in the distributor to check if it had contact breakers or electronic ignition, I had an old Esprit and it had contact breakers so I replaced them with a Lumenition kit and re-set the timing so I wouldn't have to look in the distributor for a while as it is a right nuisance to get inside with the air box in the way, anyway onwards and upwards.
Regards
Dave. 😀
Hi Dave. You know, I didn’t. I’m planning on taking the engine out, body off and fitting a new chassis and running gear so that’s the last on a very long list. You know I didn’t even bother balancing the carbs after rebuilding and refitting them as I won’t be driving it till the resto is complete. Regards.
@@classic.obsession Good one Gary, if you need any info on the engine / carbs you can always contact me as I spent a lot of time on that 907 engine in my Esprit and there are some simple tweaks you can do on the intake system to improve things, also I am not far from you. The lotus went years ago but I kept most of the MK2 escorts that I owned at the same time
Regards
Dave. 😀
Nice start to the beginning of a restoration/refurbishment.
The 'bobbles' on the carbs are Thackery washers. Like a double spring washer. Designed to keep the carbs just snug enough to sit and seal on the rubbers in the manifolds, but still able to move enough to not froth the fuel due to engine vibrations.
Looks like a big ultrasonic bath is going to be added to your shopping list.
Had a Europa Twin Cam back in the day, the old boy mechanic that helped me restore it preferred those carbs to Webers, he felt they stayed in tune longer.
I think the camera work is betting better and better Gary. Great Job!
chemdip by berryman would have been perfect for this job to let all parts soak completely submerged
Good gosh…what a lovely car! I’ve admired these since they were introduced. I liked them in the maroon shade they had back then. I really enjoyed your carburettor rebuild, too. Me…I’d just remove the emblems and flatten down the paintwork, polish it, wax/ceramic coat it, put the brightwork back on and leave it at that. I like everything about it. Continued good luck with your refurbishment!
Love it great watch liked seeing the carbs being stripped, I have nearly finished a nut & bolt job on my Europa Twin Cam, so I’m finding this so interesting- 👍
It’s a great car! Thanks for posting. Look forward to more content….
Thanks Gary. You can buy a cheap an ultrasound bath used for cleaning false teeth. These can clean carbs too without costing an arm and a leg. 😊
Hi, Gary another great informative video, it proves what can be achieved by patients & knowledge. Corniche Chrome is something I'm looking forward to, as I'm an avid viewer & a Silver Spur Owner.
Love this channel... big thumbs up subbed and keeping to watch till after work..👍👍
Looked at several of these in the 80’s always loved the shape as it reminded me of the Pink Panther car. Had to get rid of my TVR due to a baby, was advised not to buy one as utterly unreliable, went for Scimitar GTE instead never let me down, but always wished I’d bought the lotus especially in gold 😊 keep up the good work
I would purchase a sonic cleaner, it makes short work of the cleaning, and looks amazing! Just make sure you buy the right cleaner. I did my e type and they were amazing.
So, a guy named James Hargreaves is saying on the internet that the music at 1:30 is Gary's bother Lee. For those who don't know, Lee Mavers was in the 80s/90s band The La's and wrote possibly the greatest song ever written, There She Goes. Is this true?? It does sound a bit Beefhearty! For fans of the band this would be massive. Can anyone confirm?? (Sorry to get in the way of the carb/spark plug talk petrol heads).
I'm from there too. I really hope there's still Lee making tunes out there.
Gary himself in another comment confirmed it is indeed his brother Lee playing guitar.
Do yourself a favor and replace the velocity stack nuts/washers with flanged nylocs. Much easier to get back in place! Distributor access and filter change are so much easier with the airbox off, that it's worth making that bit easy.
Looking good, Gary . Funny , you mentioned about the possibility of car catching fire from faulty carburettors , that’s exactly what happened to some of the early Reliant Scimitars GTE models ( another sought after fibre glass model ) , the un- knowing said it was bad electrical , but in actual fact was cause by faulty fuel unions o a bad batch of Weber carbs . Back to the Lotus , enjoyed the vid once again .
Love your videos on UA-cam. Lots of interesting and beautiful cars. But I think you may be a bit old school when you wash and polish the cars. I think you will get even better results with, for example, a DA machine from Rupes, microfiber washing gloves and a bucket with a grate at the bottom.
Really looking forward to upcoming videos with beautiful classic cars.
Best regards from Norway.
Just did mine on the Jensen Healey,,,,,Someday the Esprit when get a make over too.
It’s interesting that it seems that you’re working in the kitchen of your home. I hope your wife doesn’t mind. Especially when you seem to have a big garage and work area. Unless that’s not your home.😅
The lights better and she wasn’t in!! Regards
You should definitely treat yourself to a sonic cleaner. You can get ine at a reasonable price now and it would make light work of cleaning the carbs.
While you are in the kitchen, stick the carbies in the dishwasher, that will make their nice.
Thanks for this video, I’ve got my own elite to restore and the carbs are next. When is the next part coming out?
Hi. October. Regards.
Great video Gary. I love the background music you use. What is it please?
The guitar stuff is his brother Lee (The La's). Great musician, terrible car maintainance guy (as evidenced in an earlier episode)
@@jamesohanlon7119 Thanks. Well, I'm a great car maintenance guy but a terrible musician... so it's all good. I'm going to search for Lee Mavers and The La's music now.
@@ColinBarrett001 enjoy the journey. And look beyond the great There She Goes - Lee’s songs are absolutely fantastic. There’s lots of unreleased stuff on UA-cam which is unbelievably great too.
Car was kept in a garage and driven in North West England / North Wales so sun fading of red paint not a problem....
Great vid, what's the tune playing in the background 1:30 into the vid it sounds lovely
Is that on your kitchen table Garry 🧐
🤘😎🤘
I have always thought the lotus was a fantastic looking cae
Gary I have bought a 1976 lotus elite . it starts up every time but for only 3 to 4 seconds then stops . ? ... I can do this all day long cheers
What a great job
Just want to see the final job
Hope you're passing all yout knowledge to someone else because Gary, all you know abot cars its irreplacable
They’re a bigger version of the SHB Dellorto’s when I work on Lambretta’s.
I am currently working and cursing a 1971 VW, are you planning to do any videos on them?
I like the way you do these videos and the music isn’t annoying like the others.
Hi Jay. Yes, I’ll do a Vw camper. Regards.
@@classic.obsession Nice one. I’ll look for to that. I am learning bits on mine and it’s great fun. Cheers
Gary knew his hearing was going when he realised his wife had said she wanted carbonara on the table for when she got home.
Good to chat with you at Chateau Impney about my Excel. Do you have any experience with Phoenix Motorsport in Accrington? They are a Lotus specialist, but I am not sure if they sell parts or just do the work using parts they order in.
Nice to meet you too Anthony and thanks for the info! Regards.
@@classic.obsession no problem
What's your opinion on using Paint Protection film ? I had my challenger covered it in it from roof to rocker.
Hi. I’ve had no experience with it but have heard really good things. Regards.
@@classic.obsession I'd recommend it, it's saved my paint a few times already this wonderful winter here in Ontario Canada. Loving this videos, some portions remind me of a series we had here for a while called Motoring TV started back in 1988. Can't wait go see how the 928 Restoration goes, and to hear what you think of the Heavy steering and Throttle. cheers!
So how about that distributor checking out while the carbs are off? :)
It's only original once!
Gary, did you take photos of the Dellorto before the strip down?
Hi Craig. No, I was filming it! Looks really complicated but once you get into it, it’s pretty straight forward. Therapeutic. Regards.
@@classic.obsession Oh yeh! I knew that!! Lol - I love the Dellorto carbs on my Lambretta scooters, beautifully designed, made & so easy to strip down and probably a lot easier than your Lotus carbs I dare say…
I do love your show, ATB - Craig
The Lotus is minute compared to the Rolls!
Tom was too busy living and driving to clean his cars.
Luckily those carbs havn´t had water standing in them, it reeks havoc on Dellortos, Weber did this much better.
Do we get a part 2?
Hi yes be around end of October. Porsche 928 GT first. Regards.
If you insist on driving the Lotus we will have to call you Gaz
So why not new jets
Why?
Great Vid as usual Gary, terrible music also, as usual 😢😅
Eu amo a música.
Sorry but you can't call this a restoration by any means. For Gods sake do the job properly. Engine sounded worse after the carb rebuild. I'm not going to comment on the paint rebuff as that was ridiculous.
Wow! You definitely aren’t a fan…
I was hiding behind my hands when the window squeezer was used to dry it off
Aren’t you a bundle of joy. Listen to what he is saying. Purely dipping the toe into how you can make a car look more reasonable with some quick TLC. Let’s hear your views at the end of the job. And for the the engine noise, this is greatly distorted using most recording devices and not a true reflection.
@@ricey6105 exactly.
Phil: tell us you’ve never rebuilt Italian carburetors without telling us you’ve never rebuilt Italian carburetors…
Phil, you understand he was making a video, for you and I to watch? Maybe he was busy doing other stuff but thought an update of some kind would be better than no update? I have certainly washed and polished parts of a car to get an idea of the finished product... it doesn't mean that's me finished! As for the carbs, I'm sure he'll have everything tuned nicely by the end.
Gary I have a friend who knows these cars inside out. He had a lotus specialist garage in Ilford for 10 years. If you can send me a private message I’ll give you his details