Project Rotus #14 car

[solder_guy]

Got busy today .. removed the seat back and bottoms .. and swept and vacuumed all the debris which had built up for a long time. Also cleaned out the back storage area.



Partially removed the carpet. Gotta cut out a pattern for replacement.



Removed the two fender mounted mirrors. They were crap anyway. Makes the car look alot more lean.



I need some new seatbelts right away. These are too old and dry rotted. Four point on the driver and three point on the passenger.



The seat bottoms were damp from moisture exposure. They are currently drying in the sun .. upside down in the yard. All will be reupolstered .. over the winter.



Rob Mitchell

[Boxologist]

i have a 5 pt simpson(short strap) i don't use. i would just need to find it.

[solder_guy]

i have a 5 pt simpson(short strap) i don't use. i would just need to find it.

I spent some time tuning the two carbs yesterday. Then took two laps around the block! Whee!

For some reason my car does not have a VIN plate. Dennis Hedges is going to stamp one and get it in the mail to me soon. 1981R070000000014

Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

What's the best way to get your bonnet (hood) to fit better? Well my solution yesterday was to bend it around the upright of our driveway basketball goal. It fits much better now! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

Rob Mitchell

[slngsht]

Mine is a little bent out of shape too, but it also has a huge hole in the middle

[solder_guy]

Mine is a little bent out of shape too, but it also has a huge hole in the middle

That's a ventilation feature! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif

Yesterday I discovered that there is a horn button in the center of my steering wheel. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif And there is a tension pin in my dash making contact with the spacer. So I have all that is necessary to have a centrally fuctional horn!

But the horn innards were corroded. So today with just a little sanding, the button switch is in perfect functional shape! Plus I added some electrical grease to prevent future corrosion. A centrally located horn I shall have and use frequently! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

Spent the afternoon at a junkyard .. just looking for stuff. I was hoping to find a spare distributer so I could find out why cyl #3 is not getting reliable spark.

I did find a dual horn setup .. to replace the one that is broken on the Rotus. I still need to wire it to the button in the center of the steering wheel. That will require a relay to activate.

I also found another brake fluid float cap. I have two now .. just need one more and I can wire them up to a lamp in the dash to detect low fluid in one of the three master cylinders.

Why does work interfere with Project Rotus??

UPDATE: For some reason the mechanic had crossed spark wires 2 & 3. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/confused5.gif Now the engine runs much more reliably! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/hurray.gif

Rob Mitchell

[Boxologist]

hella supertones. one of the few things that will be louder than A se7en.

[solder_guy]

Hella Supertones. one of the few things that will be louder than A se7en.

I like these! Thanks for the suggestion! 118 dB!

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061031_143114_supertone.gif

Rob Mitchell

[slomove]

I got the WOLO "longhorn" from Amazon for $24. http://www.wolo-mfg.com/417c.jpg



I had to shape (flatten) the trumpets with a hot air gun to fit behind the grille. Very nice impressive big rig sound. But like all compressor horns there is a noticable reaction time.



Gert

[slngsht]

I have one loud pipe on each side attached to the gas pedal http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smash.gif

[slomove]

I have one loud pipe on each side attached to the gas pedal http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smash.gif



Ah, good idea....but don't you get a speeding ticket every time you honk? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

[slngsht]

I have one loud pipe on each side attached to the gas pedal http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smash.gif



Ah, good idea....but don't you get a speeding ticket every time you honk? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif





http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/rofl.gif<edited><editID>slngsht</editID><editDate>2006-11-19 14:40:00</editDate></edited>

[solder_guy]

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061031_143114_supertone.gif

Got these mounted on the front behind the grill / nosecone. Man are they loud! 118 dB! I had to do some drilling of brackets and soldering to make a dual wiring harness. They look great behind the grill!

Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

Got a new row of LEDs for the CMHBL third brake light. Gotta drill into the rollbar to mount. Getting the original seatbelts bolted in place finally. Grade 8 hardware. Maybe go for a spin around the block tomorrow.



Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

Low profile 28 LED stip is mounted on the roll bar as a CHMSL third brake light. Looks great. Pic to follow.



Fooled around with the dual carbs again .. no progress .. still wants to die at low idle.



Rob Mitchell

[No_6]

Where did you order that LED strip from? I've been wanting to get one of those.

[solder_guy]

Where did you order that LED strip from? I've been wanting to get one of those.



This is the one that I chose off eBay. 28 LEDs. They mention that one has been mounted to a Lotus:



http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061211_083730_LED_10_J.jpg



>10" LED Third brake light (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10-LED-Third-brake-light-Truck-cap-topper-Spoiler-Wing_W0QQitemZ170060049169QQihZ007QQcategoryZ33713 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)



Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA<edited><editID>solder_guy</editID><editDate>2006-12-11 08:39:24</editDate></edited>

[Al Navarro]

FWIW, I went with a Wolo LED unit based on another sevener's recco...



http://www.wolo-mfg.com/light.htm



Scroll down to LTB-10.

[JohnCh]

Here is a pic of the Wolo installed on my roll bar



http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/bootlid-600.JPG



Edited with a smaller photo. The original is >here (http://home.comcast.net/~cobar/images/bootlid.jpg)



-John<edited><editID>JohnCh</editID><editDate>2006-12-11 12:45:03</editDate></edited>

[solder_guy]

wolo LTB-10 is even lower profile than the one that I chose! How does it attach to the rollbar? How many LEDs?

Rob M

[JohnCh]

I searched for something like the Wolo for a long time. I wanted a third brake light with a very low profile and a lot of LEDs (I believe the LTB-10 has 50 LEDs). The Wolo was perfect and to top it off, it was cheap!



It comes with a mounting tab at each end that is designed to attach to the mouting surface with a screw. I drilled and tapped a small hole in the roll bar for each tab and then attached them with either M3 or M4 dome head allen bolts with a bit of blue locktite. I was a bit paranoid about drilling the roll bar, but after speaking with several race shops, they all agreed that 2 little holes in those locations wouldn't compromise the integrity enough to worry about.



-John

[Boxologist]

FWIW, I went with a Wolo LED unit based on another sevener's recco...



http://www.wolo-mfg.com/light.htm



Scroll down to LTB-10.



hey, Al, did u mount the wolo lights? how did it look with the Jill Judd hood?

[solder_guy]

I have had so little time to work on the car lately due to my work schedule.



I've been servicing the left rear light assembly recently. One brake bulb was out.



I had to jack up the car with a scissors jack due to the low clearance and remove the wheel to access the light assembly. I then wired in the new 3rd LED strip on the roll bar.



In the process of doing this, the 1" thick wooden block spacer broke in two. So I used some wood glue to get it back together.



It's still jacked up so that I can get some LED 1157 and 1156 bulbs. I want to get this done right once so that I don't have to do this just to replace a bulb again. I've used bulb grease on every electrical connection thus far.



Bought a replacement 4 cyl VDO tach off ebay. Now installed and working.



Got the VDO clock looking good in working order (Thanks to Mazda for his old clock for parts.)



I've been trying to id the wiring harness that Dennis Hedges installed. Why does the instrument dimmer knob only dim one VDO gauge?? Some wiring is new and some is original. I checked the functions of all the fuses. Five ID, two still unknown, and one fuse slot is unused.



For some unknown reason the wiper motor failed. So I worked with it for a little while and it started working again. (Mazda: remember that I asked you to ID the round and rectangle thing mounted in front of the passenger seat.) It is a Lucas ws wiper motor.



But I recently got an engraved VIN plate from a friend. Epoxied and Riveted in place. So now I am FINALLY ready to get inspected, tagged and insured.



Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

Recent parts acquisitions:



New fiberglass rear fenders

New Caterham tail light assemblies

New 7" chrome headlights

New Calipers x2

New rear drum cylinders

New master cylinders x3

Used master cylinder float caps (from the junkyard)

New clutch slave

Used Grant F1 Steering wheel (looks great)

Used Grant Security System (release system)

* it needs a new lock cylinder and keys (ordered from Grant)

New Steering wheel storage bag (ordered from Grant)

New Grant to Toyota steering spindle adapter

Used brass horn pin from the junkyard.

New front 7 Grille


When warm weather strikes again .. the car is getting a new look!

Rob Mitchell

[Al Navarro]

FWIW, I went with a Wolo LED unit based on another sevener's recco...



http://www.wolo-mfg.com/light.htm



Scroll down to LTB-10.



hey, Al, did u mount the wolo lights? how did it look with the Jill Judd hood?



We may have covered this in emails or PMs, but...my guys chose not to drill into the bar, and used foam tape and zip ties on the tabs. As for the Jill Judd and the Wolo, on a good day you can see it, on a bad day it's a dim glow beneath the hood. However, this is just a matter of having someone retrim the hood with a higher center cutout. Jill and Nick did not have the luxury of having my car to work on in person, so it's no surprise.

[solder_guy]

Red Rotus work was slow for a while due to an illness in the family. But this week I've gotten busy.



Yesterday I installed two new front calipers and pads, two new rear drum cylinders, three new master cylinders. I still have to replace the clutch slave cylinder. Then hopefully I can bleed all three circuits tomorrow!



Grant Security System Wheel setup looks and works great!



Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

Bled the brakes yesterday .. but had a leak at the master cylinder banjo bolt for the front brakes.

Today took the banjo off and found a warped brass washer. Replaced it with a thicker / newer brass washer .. and rebled and no leak!

Then I delt with a frustrating drum situation that finally came together after much fiddling. Whew! I sure wish I had discs in the back.

Now on to the clutch slave install and bleed.

I hope I have time .. my wife wants me to go shopping for a new TV today. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/yawn.gif

[solder_guy]

I noticed that the lug bolts in front are longer than the ones in the rear of my car which has a Corolla drum rear end. So a trip to the junkyard confirmed that mid '70s Toyotas have longer bolts and use longer lug nuts.



So at the junkyard I pounded out 10 longer bolts (2 extra in case I messed up a thread) by wacking on a lug bolt over each one. And today I installed eight on the Rotus rear end. They have about four more threads and give a little better nut bite.



And I installed a new ground wire on the steering shaft for the center horn circuit.



Rob

[solder_guy]

Replaced a rubber cover (acquired at the junkyard) over the bare brake pedal. I boiled the cover in water in a pot for a few minutes to soften it up and then easily installed it.



I'm replacing the points dizzy with magnetic dizzy and electronic ignition today. Should run better.



Rob

[solder_guy]

I got ambitious .. and today I removed the windshield .. and unbolted and removed the scuttle. The car looks surprisingly slick and basic without these parts.



Finally I can look at the dash wiring and plan on making some changes.



First things first though .. I easily wired in the Hella Supertones relay so that I finally have the horn function working on my new Grant wheel through the vehicle security system. I had to test it out a few times .. hope I didn't disturb the neighbors too much! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/reddevil.gif http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrinjester.gif



Now I need to drill a new instrument hole for the VDO fuel gauge. Thanks to Dennis Hedges for leaving some wires for the gauge sender. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/yesnod.gif



And finally I can begin wiring in the control box for the Muth Signal Mirrors.



Still need to figure out a system for a turn signal switch and lever.



Rob

[solder_guy]

Got the new turn signal switch mounted and wired in appropriately. And the light at the tip of the lever flashes too! (Two Diodes wired in parallel keep the signal from bleeding to the other side.)

Got the Muth Mirror Multifunction Signal circuit box mounted and wired in for all functions.

The pushbutton is now an antitailgate brake switch.

Horn and High Beam relays work great!

Still need to wire in the three fluid reservoir float switches.

Still need to wire in the battery cutoff switch.

As I go I'm replacing all nuts and bolts with stainless steel ones.

Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

During a lul at work last night (0300) I thoroughly scrubbed and washed my two doors. Then I switched the hinge nuts and bolts to stainless with acorn nuts. They look new again.

The three fluid reservoir float switches (from the junkyard) work great .. and signal a LED light in the dash when fluid level is down.

I gotta get a bigger drill bit to drill a hole to accommodate the battery cutoff switch.

I harvested a complete cruise control circuit and servo from a junkyard Celica today. Gift from a friend who is junking his old Celica. I've already mounted a momentary up, momentary down toggle switch for Set / Resume! :d This will not be set in place until I switch from Carbs to EFI.

BTW: I received the two stone guards for the headlights .. they look great! I think that they mount inside the headlight ring .. but still have to investigate that.

Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

I fooled around with the stone guards and a new headlight assembly last night .. The guards came with three clips .. which I was able to fit within the headlight ring .. and then clip the guard within the clips .. not elegant but functional ..

Today I mounted the battery cutoff switch in the dash at far right .. First I cut the vinyl covering the steel dash plate into wedges .. and taped them away from the intended hole area .. then used two successive step drill bits to drill and achieve the proper diameter. Then I pushed the switch the wrong way though the dash which forced the winyl wedges to stay in place for the proper placement of the switch from behind the dash. Looks great! Works great!

And I wired in the connector to recharge the battery at the same cutoff terminal.

One of those projects that went just perfect from the beginning to end.

Rob

[Robert O. Urfer]

awesome. Time for some updated photos.

[solder_guy]

Today I realized that I made a mistake when I installed the new calipers .. so I jacked up the front end and remounted both calipers properly.

Then I cleaned one headlight .. it had dirt in it .. and was not seated properly .. I had to take a hacksaw to the bolt holding the ring because it was totally rusted. I need to buy new stainless bolts to hold the rings in place.

I also wired in a relay by which the three reservoir float sensors can activate the dash light. This is much more reliable than before .. because the sensor switches do have some induction leak.

Then I finally figured out the problem with the Muth Multifunction Module simulating an alarm tic. Got that function working with a toggle switch in the dash. It makes the mirrors briefly flash about every 5 seconds. So now I can be better seen when on the road.

I also tested the horn function .. by which the Muth Module makes the mirrors flash rapidly.

I still need to wire in the function by which the Muth Module makes the mirrors flash rapidly when the car is in reverse.

Today I also ordered the Back Off XP module .. which will make the LED lights on the roll bar flash when the brakes are applied and when the car is in reverse.

Rob Mitchell

[solder_guy]

Busy weekend .. worked the whole time .. so I only got back to the car today.

There was a small problem with the Muth Multifunction Module. The simulated alarm tic was interfering with the turn signal function. So after some brief thought .. I did some wiring testing and relocated one wire. Easily corrected. This wiring project is now finished with the exception of locating the reverse switch on the transmission.

Saturday I received the Back Off XP module in the mail. Well made circuit in a small package. When I'm off on Wednesday I'll install it.

Gotta clean up the car and get rid of all the tools .. awaiting insurance cards in the mail.

Rob

[solder_guy]

Got busy today ..

Called DeKalb Co to send a police officer to do a VIN search and certify that the VIN is Ok. The officer was impressed with what he saw. :)

Cleaned and put everything back together .. Scuttle and windshield back on. Then drove her to the gas station for the first time .. for the first "fill'er'up"! :)

Then went for an evening drive .. about 5 miles at dusk. Felt good. Got a few stares! I experienced the footwell warmth for the first time. :)

Hopefully I can get her tagged tomorrow. Georgia allows for up to six vanity plate selections. Hopefully SE7EN is not taken.

Rob

[slngsht]

Got busy today ..

Called DeKalb Co to send a police officer to do a VIN search and certify that the VIN is Ok. The officer was impressed with what he saw. :)

Cleaned and put everything back together .. Scuttle and windshield back on. Then drove her to the gas station for the first time .. for the first "fill'er'up"! :)

Then went for an evening drive .. about 5 miles at dusk. Felt good. Got a few stares! I experienced the footwell warmth for the first time. :)

Hopefully I can get her tagged tomorrow. Georgia allows for up to six vanity plate selections. Hopefully SE7EN is not taken.

Rob


:hurray: that's awesome!

[solder_guy]

Car has been on hiatus for the duration of my vacation .. Now back to the car.

I got to it yesterday .. cranked it up and it was running worse ... revving up to 4000 ! So I fiddled with the carbs a little bit and finally just drove it to my mechanic friends' shop. They looked it over and got it running much better. Not perfect but much more manageable.

This morning I'm going back to the shop and we're going to put it on the lift just to check out the undercarriage and make sure everything is OK with fuel lines and whatever. Plus I hope to find the reverse switch and wire in the reverse function for for the Muth Mirror Module.

I had a problem with the pin connection in the Grant Security Steering wheel interface .. So I bought a new pin at Radio Scrap and will solder and glue in place. The later Grant Security connections are better.

Still having a VIN problem .. which I hope to resolve soon. Tag to be done after that.

Rob

[solder_guy]

Also bought a few more Ladies' belts at the thrift store to better secure the spare tire in place. Three are better than one. See the pic on the back cover slip of Robert Ortenburger's book, Lotus and the Independents.

Rob

[solder_guy]

We put the car up on a lift yesterday ..

First we had to put down 4 pieces of wood onto which we rolled the car .. to get enough clearance to allow the four lift pads to fit underneath.

Then the first thing we noticed is that the two rubber fuel lines are dry rotted and terribly close to the drive shaft at the differential. So we replaced both fuel lines .. and then fabricated a bracket and screwed in place to secure both fuel lines away from the shaft. Of course I did spill gas all the way down my shirt in the process! :cuss:

Car is running better ..

Rob

[solder_guy]

Did some fine tuning of the dual Mikuni Solex carburetors today .. the car is running great! Also worked to make the bonnet hood fit better at the nose cone .. not perfect but better. Time to drive to the pool!

Rob

[solder_guy]

Update:

Ever since just before 7/7/7 my car has been blowing multiple fuses .. thus it's absence at 7/7/7. Well after some frustrating troubleshooting which went nowhere .. :banghead:

This morning I finally thought to isolate all four turn signal flasher bulbs and test the connection to each one. Well I isolated the problem to the left rear light assembly. With Rotus you have to jack up the car and remove the rear wheel to get to the back of the light assembly. There I discovered that the tire had rubbed the insulation off some wires .. which I had previously covered with electrical tape! Thus one wire was shorted to ground! After more electrical tape I decided to make cardboard spacers to permit an extra 1/2" spacing af the assembly away from the tire. Looks ugly .. but I don't care as I'm going to replace these cracked fenders and mount new Caterham light assemblies in a month our two.

So now the Rotus is back on the road again! :hurray: Well I do have to correct some troubleshooting destruction .. :banghead: DUH!

Rob

[BobDrye]

Not to be hard on you, but have you ever heard of heat shrink? I think that rear fender clearence between the tire and fender is almost always close. :cheers: :cheers:

[solder_guy]

have you ever heard of heat shrink?

Of course .. but I did not want to cut and splice the wire ..

I think that rear fender clearence between the tire and fender is almost always close.

That's why I'm going to trash it! :)

BTW: I received the TOPGEAR vanity plate in the mail today.

Rob

[slngsht]

That's why I'm going to trash it! :)

BTW: I received the TOPGEAR vanity plate in the mail today.

Rob




:cool:

[solder_guy]

I've been having trouble with the horn working reliably through the Grant Security System that I have. It is the old design with a 1/16" pin which protrudes and can bend! So I finally got fed up .. and got the newer design of the Grant Security off eBay .. and it is much much better --- It has two tiny button conductors in each of the two connecting parts. :) So now the horn works every time! :)

I'll put the old Grant System up on eBay soon for people who do not care about the horn function.

I had to put more insulation on the taillight assemblies today .. the tires keep rubbing it off !! All will be replaced when I mount my new fenders.

Also today I put wrenches on every bolt in the front suspension .. all turned with little effort. So I will take apart the suspension probably tomorrow and send the Koni Shocks back to the company to get them rebuilt .. and the suspension parts will go to the powder coaters ..

Rob

[solder_guy]

Finally got around to attacking that Supra rear end that I yanked and bought at the junkyard this past Sunday. I dismantled the disks while my friend attacked all the existing brackets with a metal saw and chisel. Then I grinded all the rough edges to make a clean solid rear axle. It's not LSD .. but I'm keeping an eye out for one from an '80-'81 Supra.

Now to drop the Corolla rear end .. make cardboard templates of the Rotus Brackets and then ask my friend to fabricate and weld.

Rob

[solder_guy]

Drove the Rotus to the mechanics' shop .. it's now inside .. and today I stripped all the little bits off the body and windshield off .. mirrors off. Tomorrow .. I diagram the rear light wires .. and then all the fenders come off .. in preparation for painting. Still need to modify the Supra rear end (disc brakes) and switch out the Corolla rear end (Drum Brakes).

We'll get down to the bare bones tomorrow! :)

Rob

[solder_guy]

Got her up on four jack stands today .. took apart the front suspension and removed the two front Koni shocks. Then with a friend's help .. we got the springs off the shocks. Also removed the two front hubs ... Then removed the two front clamshell fenders ..

That's all I had time to do today. Now to send the two shocks back to Koni for a rebuild and repaint. Now I go to work for 24h. It's terrible when work interferes with car shop time.

Rob

[solder_guy]

Gotta love air guns! Made taking the suspension apart .. a breeze!

Rob

[BobDrye]

Gotta love air guns! Made taking the suspension apart .. a breeze!

Rob



When we went 600 miles on the mid-september blat I carried a bag with over $1000.00 worth of impacts powered by 36 volt Li-ion batteries, but it was Steve Taylor's giant hose clamp and a screw driver that fixed the problem. In a modern repair shop we use batteries more than air, but air is still "great"

[solder_guy]

Beginning to get the small detailing done that this car deserves. So far I've ...

Removed all the stupid plastic rings around each of the VDO gauges. The reason for the rings is that the holes for the Speedo and Tach were cut too large .. so the rings held these gauges in place. So my brother in law is cutting two small metal rings with his drill press for these two gauges.

My friend welded some additional metal to the front clam shell fender supports so that they will support small amber LED torpedo lights ... with the wires running through the tube back to the frame.

We've been sanding and priming and painting the two front turn signal lights.

Also beginning the process of mating the two rear fenders to the existing body holes.

As I go .. I've been replacing rusty hardware with stainless steel nuts and bolts.

I've been thinking of Keith Tanner's method of shoehorning standard bucket seats into his locost .. well I found some smallish seats from a Honda Passport in the back lot which feature removable headrests .. they might fit the bill. And I grabbed the wide rear view mirror from it too. I like it because I can position it higher at the level of the top of the windshield.

Thinking of spraying pickup bed liner into the floorwells .. which are so discolored over time.

Supra rear end is on hold .. because the junkman came to the shop and hauled away scrap metal .. which included the supra calipers and brackets! :mad:

Rob

[solder_guy]

Got the seats out .. got the rivets and bolts out to get the covers off the tunnel and fuel tank .. what a rusty hulk! Plan is to make a new aluminum one ..

It's just some aluminum sheet that is protecting me from the spinning driveshaft .. We are going to weld some loops in there!

Also the hand brake is supported by the aluminum cover. So it will be welded to the new loops ..

I sure wish that the junkman had not grabbed my supra calipers and brackets :cry:

Rob

[locostv8]

...Thinking of spraying pickup bed liner into the floorwells .. which are so discolored over time...
I plan on doing the tub inside and out with Linex, possibly making polished covers for show want to drive not polish.

[solder_guy]

I plan on doing the tub inside and out with Linex, possibly making polished covers for show want to drive not polish.

I'll have to look into Linex.

Today I got the rusty fuel tank out .. the last little bit of fuel that we drained had rust in it. Definitely time to upgrade to aluminum.

I learned about a feature that I was previously unaware. The shape of this tank is an upside down U which straddles the diff. Well there are two gas drains which lead to two gas lines which run the length of the tunnel to near the gear shift knob. There the two lines are tied together via a valve which selects which of the two lines to pump from. So when I are running on empty on one side of the U, I can turn the valve to drain the other side of the U while I look for a gas station. Maybe I'll keep this setup .. unless someone has a better solution.

Rob

[locostv8]

...I'll have to look into Linex...

Most of the DIY bed liner is just heavy-duty paint. Linex is a two part polly and can be sprayed on any thickness, in fairly thin coats it is quite lite. The thing I like is that it has a lifetime guarantee. Instead of spending most free time polishing you just use a pressure washer.

[solder_guy]

I've been trying to recover from the loss of the supra calipers (which the metal junkman took from the shop) :cuss: So I've been weighing my options. Maybe buy Mazda's rear end if it will fit my car. Maybe trash my existing rear end ... etc.

I just bought a sand blasting box. ($20 0ff eBay) So today I was blasting the front springs clean. Tomorrow I will blast the rear springs.

I got the Koni shocks back from Koni in Kentucky. Totally rebuilt. So after I prime and paint the springs I can get the shock assemblies back together.

Rob

[solder_guy]

So behind in getting anything done on the car .. just too busy at work ...

Rob http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/664646353_Franklin7.GIF

[solder_guy]

Work has been busy and too much happening during the holidays. But the last few days I've been sandblasting more and more parts which I then hand over to my friend who primer paints them. Making some slow progress.

Rob

[11Budlite]

Keep plugging away Rob!! Got any new pics of your progress?

Bruce :7drive:

[solder_guy]

It's been a long time since updating progress ..

I have new loops welded over the driveshaft. This makes for a stable platform for the ebrake ..

I have a new MGB Lucas windshield wiper motor .. and have figured out how to use the early '70s Toyota WSWiper switch to work with it.

Our shop has a new attachment for aluminum welding so we've touched up the aluminum rocker arms in the front suspension.

I modified the fuel union for the upside down fuel tank setup.

Next is to weld up a custom aluminum fuel tank.

Still thinking about disk brakes in the rear ..to replace the drums .. and maybe a LSD.

Rob

[solder_guy]

While I was at work .. my friend was busy replicating the original Rotus fuel tank in aluminum .. 13 gallons! Wow!

This evening I installed a new VDO fuel sender .. I had to angle it to fit inside the alum tank .. works great!

Rob

[locost7018]

Do they do special order tanks for Locosts??? Russ

[solder_guy]

Do they do special order tanks for Locosts??? Russ

I'll ask ..

Rob