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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

Nlc - Lister Bell Stratos Build Thread


Dr H

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6 hours ago, richbk said:

Nearly there Leigh, after such an epic build and so many challenges over come.

can not wait to see it in the flesh.

 

and if the 1st post on this thread is a true marker it has been a 3 year journey almost to the day 👍

It is indeed three years to the day that I made my first post......and suggested it might take a couple of years :lol:. I was supposed to have a 12 month wait for the kit but I got it 6 months early as a few others in the queue

Most of the challenges have been a result of me wanting to do things differently than the standard kit I guess, and delays in getting things done by others. But such is life.

Still a long way to go yet though. One the body is on there will be paint, lights, door handles etc. Then trimming the interior, fitting glass and seals and the like.

So don;t expect anything finished soon!

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5 hours ago, Phil S1 said:

Some more inspiration for you here Leigh, not that you need any :)

Turn the volume up!

https://petrolicious.com/films/1974-lancia-stratos-group-4-sliding-the-rally-queen

Erik has become a bit of a Stratos legend with his recent exploits.

Looking at that video, it seems like the car has has 'round' arches put on it. It used to have 'square' arches

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Red wheels work really well with the white.

I'll need to get straight through pipes on mine at some point, the sound is awesome!

 

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Spent a day on the car today, not done this for a few weeks.

Fitting some loom brackets I had made and for holding loom connectors, fully wiring up the low coolant level and some other bits.

I've been keeping a detailed record of the time I've spent on the car. Every quick half an hour messing, as well as hours/days spent doing stuff that has ultimately not worked. I've also included time spent by others - doing the wiring.

After today's effort I've now logged just over 600 hours so far.........

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23 hours ago, Dr H said:

Spent a day on the car today, not done this for a few weeks.

Fitting some loom brackets I had made and for holding loom connectors, fully wiring up the low coolant level and some other bits.

I've been keeping a detailed record of the time I've spent on the car. Every quick half an hour messing, as well as hours/days spent doing stuff that has ultimately not worked. I've also included time spent by others - doing the wiring.

After today's effort I've now logged just over 600 hours so far.........

Could have done it in a month, with a few days to spare! 😊

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  • 2 weeks later...

Car being dropped off at Lister Bell on the 24th for body fit. Should take 1-2 weeks. They will be fitting, gapping etc. as well as fitting all the handles, lights and the like.

Wiring be finished off at the end of the week before.

Recently I've been putting some finishing touches to the current wiring by having brackets made.

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Left to right: Engine fuse box and main loom connector, (top) speed sensor bracket, (bottom) bracket for engine kill switch relay, bracket for connectors.

Engine fusebox is fitted below one the main chassis arms at the rear. Contains the fusebox and the large main loom connector (I will be leveling up the conduit connected to the inertia switch - it annoys me atm!

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The speed sensor was a single unit just for the gauge:

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But we wanted to fit one for the ECU too. Just extended the bracket design and put another one on the other side of the driveshaft connection. It picks up off the bolt heads/nuts.

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There are numerous connectors that need securing. This bracket was for the Lambda and the cam position sensor.

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Removed three studs in the gearbox that are used for mounting in the Alfa and made a bracket to hold the connectors. They are a very tight push fit into the bracket and hold very solid.

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So just a bit more tidying and making a couple more brackets. Engine kill relay will be connected to a small latch switch that will be hidden in a suitable place.

Have been considering a plumbed in fire extinguisher. No idea why I've started to think about this now........maybe I'm doubting my building skills! Was thinking of one of these. Gas, nice and small and a remote electric release. Gives 2 nozzles in the engine and 2 in the cockpit. Internal and external buttons. Anyone any experience of these?

https://www.f-e-v.co.uk/product/fesg1500e-fia/

So finally looks like another big milestone soon. Will be great to see it with a body on. I'll bring it back home, do a few bits and bobs and then send it for paint ASAP.


A bit of inspiration for me. This is a LB built by a chap in NZ. A Stradale with an Alfa engine. Love the number plate too, he's an aircraft engineer lol.gif


 

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Another Lotus 'link' on my build!

The headlamp list motors used on the LB are Mk1 Mazda MX5 units. These usually have to be sourced used. New ones are available but in short supply and almost £200 each. Never one to be scared of a bit of research I started google part numbers and discovered it's actually also a Toyota (MK1 MR2) unit and is used on some Lotus cars.

So rather than spending £400 on a new pair of Mazda units, or having to used a crappy old one I managed to source 2. A single one from each of SW Lotus and SJ Sportscars. They are Lotus Excel (86 onwards). Both units deliver ended up costing me £240 so a considerable saving. The one from SJ just arrived:

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FEV are well-known extinguisher manufacturers, I was looking at their systems at the Autosport Show earlier this year for the racecar I'm currently restoring/rebuilding.

Good call with the headlight motors - it's often worth a bit of part number searching as it's amazing how many items are common to a number of vehicles and with very different prices!

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Not sure the headlamp motors was a coup! The wiring is slightly different and I'm trying to work out if they are usable!

Also fixed the picture link in the post above to the NZ car.

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It seems that the Mazda unit has an inbuilt relay (or sorts). On the Mazda unit - if I connect a perm live and earth the motor does nothing until I then add another 12v to either the 'up' or 'down' wires. Adding 12v to these wires moves the spindle 180 degrees and it then parks. Like in this video:

From 2:50

If I connect 12v across the main feed wires for the Excel motor it spins continually. Looks like it would need extra relays wiring up to make it work as the Mazda one.

Too much hassle as it might mean other mods needed to the LB wiring....

 

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