Thirty Three Pounds...

of bolts. That's what the boxes from McMaster Carr weighed according to UPS. Inside were 18-8 stainless steel fasteners that will be used for non-structural uses in FrankEnSPRIT.

I hate rust. That is one of the reasons I like cars like Lotus. With fiberglass bodies, galvanized frames and aluminum drive trains, rust is usually not a problem (fuel tanks not withstanding). There are still a lot of steel fasteners in the car, and that is what the bolts are for. I am replacing as many of the bolts, washers, nuts, and screws as I can reach with stainless parts. So,engine accessory bolts, cover bolts, gearbox cover fasteners, exhaust, interior, ductwork - all of these fasteners will be changed out for stainless.

There are some fasteners that really shouldn't be replaced with stainless parts, including parts like suspension bolts, body to frame mounting bolts, and anything that would take a lot of shear forces or impact forces. There are a couple of reasons for this. First - stainless is relatively hard, and because of that, relatively brittle compared to steel. Hardness can cause problems for bolts that take a lot of impact stress, like suspension bolts. The constant hammering from bumps, turns, starts and stops put a lot of stress into the bolts and the mounting points in the frame. A hard bolt will transmit those forces into the frame and could damage the mounting points by bending them. A brittle bolt (vs one that will bend) is a problem, since it is much better to bend a suspension bolt than to have it shatter under load. Shattered bolts mean wheels don't stay attached to the car. Usually at the most inopportune time. So those will be replaced with brand new parts from a quality supplier to better ensure the quality of plating, hardness, and threads. Those won't go on until all of the suspension parts have been refinished.

In other news, there is another Lotus garage sale going on this month. There aren't any new parts in the list this time and the prices haven't come down, but there are still some things that I didn't buy last time that have been ordered through Bell & Colville. Unfortunately, Andy has resigned but Tom seems to be just as attentive, so I expect another great experience. This time I am picking up some fuel tanks and front and rear shock absorber sets from various years of Esprits. The fuel tanks are more insurance than needed parts. These tanks have a habit of rusting, and the tanks in the '83 have never been out of the car or inspected. With a spare set of tanks in the barn, they will never rust, so I won't have to replace them. At least that is the plan. The dampers will give me some options when it comes time to actually drive the car and set up the suspension, and the whole lot of them is less expensive than a single pair of adjustables, so it seems like a pretty good deal.

Finally, there are plans to put the engine and gearbox into the car. I am off the week ahead of the July 4th holiday. Tim will be coming down the first weekend to help me reassemble a spare Citroen gearbox I have for the '83 car, which will free up some space in the barn by consolidating parts. I think I have found a source for all of the clutch acutating parts (fork, adjusters, spring) for the Renault gearbox and those parts should arrive in time to put the gearbox and engine together. Once that is done, the whole lump can be dropped into the frame and I can start hooking up wiring harnesses, plumbing, etc. Stay tuned...