Idiot qestions for lazy newby (merged for ease of skipping)

[Jon V.]

Bill Wrote:

> > The engine... oh, screw it. You people will laugh at me anyway, so I
> > might as well... The engine is a Lotus 907E.
>
> Hey,  they didn't laugh at my Spider (not out loud anyway),

Naw, they just took a look at it on your web page and realized that
laughing would just make them look silly. I don't have my car on a web
page... FOR GOOD REASON! If I had MY car on a web page, people WOULD
laugh!

> so I doubt they'll  laugh at a Lotus.  Worst case you'll have to put up
> with some good natured 'Brit' comments.  At least you don't have to
> listen to the "Fix It Again Tony" cracks :-)

That's just it... the car *isn't* a Lotus... and if it *was* it would be
"Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious" or one of the less presentable
versions.

Only the engine is Lotus... so you can begin to see my shame.

> > Just to put the record straight, Lotus used the bottom end of
> > exsisting production engines and used their own heads and cams. In the
> > case of your engine, it was the Ford (you have my sympathy). But take
> > some consolation, the other option was the French Renault.
>
> If it's a Ford 2L block you should be able to find all the parts you
> need without much searching.  I think I might start by scrounging an
> intake from a 2L Mustang, or maybe just buying an intake gasket,  to see
> how things line up.

It could just be my phenomenal ignorance biting me once again, but I'm not
entirely sure that the 907-912 engines really are Fords. I am unaware,
and one of the things encompassed by that lack of awareness is any '70s
Ford fourbanger that used cylinder liners, for example. *

It doesn't really matter though, 'cause the head is VERY different from
any Ford I've ever taken a hammer to. Its got one of those seriously
practicality-doesn't-matter DOHC setups with the plugs way down in a
grotto between the cams, etcetera, and I don't think that anybody else's
FI manifolds will bolt on. The nice thing is that the "standard" carbs
(aka the carbs that I don't have) are port-on-port, so I might be able to
convert one of those manifolds to FI by fitting a plenum etc... but DAMN
those manifolds are frigging expensive. I need to revise my previous
estimate of $900 to recarb. After checking again that is $1400... with the
difference being in the manifold.

Anyway, I keep reading, and keep studying, and I'm finding fascinating
factoid after factoid... which I love. The wish lists and grand schemes of
yesterday look laughable today, and every once in a while I catch a glimpse
of something really interesting just over the horizon.

How about this question... Does anybody know of a source of throttle plate
assemblies for an individual throttle injection type system? Or, almost as
good, plans/diagrams? I have access to a CNC milling machine on an "if
you'll fix it" basis, and I bet I could fabricate the parts myself if I
really needed to... but I'm no machinist and the mill has a blown servo
card ($1500 to replace, or probably $1.50 to fix if I took the time to
figure out what was wrong), so I would rather not go that route.

-Jon

* The story as I understand it is that the older Lotus engine(s) (the
"TwinCam" to be specific) were Ford blocks with replacement heads, but
Ford was telling lotus that they would stop production of the blocks... so
Lotus started development of their own engine, and the result was the
907... which they are still producing in a 2.2L version with EFI and
turbo(s) under the 910 or 912 designation.  This ain't no Pinto engine,
that's for sure. The block is aluminum, the total weight is about 270Lbs
for everything in front of the clutch (starter included). You can see a
picture of the engine with some VERY optimistic specs (displacement
especially) at http://www.caribinfo.com/ukinfo/lotus/engines.html Mine
has a snazzy yellow and black paint job, though...



> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 13:41:17 +0100
> From: JMACKENZ at uk.ibm.com
> Subject: Re: Idiot qestions for lazy newby
> 
> Is this vehicle a Lotus Sunbeam?

Oh no! I've started a guessing game. Nope... the car isn't a Lotus at
all... just the engine.

-Jon

> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 07:39:57 -0700
> From: neilaura at accessworldnet.com
> Subject: Re: DIY_EFI Digest V4 #491
> 
> >Hell, I just celebrated a unique event in my ownership of the car... 500
> >miles of driving and only stranded once! 
> 
> You have been conned!!.
> It is a physical impossibility for a British car to be reliable for 500 miles.

Well... it did leave me stranded once during that period... that's really
only 250 miles of between incidents.

...

> You have not been shown the "twin trailing boot" brake backup system.
> Oops sorry, that's British motorcycles.

You actually claim to be British?!?!? I don't THINK so... if you were
British you'd know that even the cars have TTB brake backup systems... you
just kick through the rust plates (where floorboards go in Japanese cars)
and drop leather.

> >Anyway, I've had a couple of very interesting responses, and I've
> >insulted an entire country, but I still don't have a clue...
> 
> Insults don't work with the British.
> Whatever you say about us is quite probably true. (except the sheep rumor)

I thought the sheep thing was for N'Zealandies.

> Trying to drag this conversation back on topic.

I'm so ashamed....

> Is anyone on the list experimenting, developing or just thinking about an
> analogue fuel injection system?.

AUIGHGGGHGHGHG!!!!!!!!!!

I take back my doubts about your Britishness! Lucas has corrupted your
sole, and turned you against the light of the electronic age!!!

I had an air cooled VW with a mechanical FI system once... it worked very
nicely when it worked, and was a PITA when it didn't. (Once failed a CA
emissions test with that car... because Nitro measurements were TOO LOW!
had to screw it up and have them retest it.)

-Jon

And...

That's about it... Having so much fun with the conversation I can't even
remember if any of my questions have been answered.... prolly not, but who
am I to complain... by the way, if the length of this is pissing you off,
please, please, please yell at me OFF the list... I don't know how many
times I've seen that same mistake made again and again of people bitching
about long pointless threads by starting long pointless threads... but
maybe that doesn't happen here... 

Anyway, thanks all, and here's hoping that more (of the right sort of
stuff) will come of it!

-Jon


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