Well I am now in the process of installing the old front APs on the rear, got some brackets from a chap in Italy (great quality) but I seem to be struggling to get the air out of the new calipers, can someone help please?
I’m sure I have heard of people turning them upside down or on there side or something in the past, but as usual I wasn’t really paying any attention 
Oh final thing I pressume the caliper fits the same way up as the front with the crossover pipe underneath?
Flushing system
If no bubbles are in the system and you just want to refresh the brake fluid, you can either connect a pressure bleeder or bleed manually.
Order; OSR, NSR, OSF, NSF. Wheels off for the rears, but can do it through the spokes at the front.
Manually: For each calliper in turn, pump the brake pedal until it is solid then maintain the pressure whilst the other person puts a non-return valve on the brake nipple and releases it (11 mm spanner) until the pedal hits the deck.
Pressure bleeder: Fill bleeder with brake fluid, connect to reservoir, pressurise bleeder. One by one open bleed valves on calipers until fluid runs clear.
[edit] Changing brake hoses
When changing brake hoses or if you have air in the system a possible approach that can save loads of time or troubleshooting when bleeding is this:
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Before changing the hoses, remove the brake pads and fit very worn/old pads (or some strips of steel or wood) in their place
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Press the brake pedal a few times to extend the brake pistons in the calipers (the old pads or wedge are there to keep them from popping out completely!)
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Now disconnect an old brake hose from the car
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Disconnect the old hose from the calliper
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Connect the new hose to the calliper and tighten up
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Have a helper keep the open hose end up as high as possible
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Gently push back the piston in the calliper (hand/finger pressure for the fronts, screw back the rear) until brake fluid just comes out the open hose end
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Now connect the hose to the fixed line on the car and tighten connection
[edit] Bleeding rear callipers
For the rear callipers the rest of the procedure is:
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Pressurise bleeder
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Tap on the new brake hose and calliper with a plastic/wood hammer to dislodge trapped bubbles
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Open the bleed valve and screw the piston back completely
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Bleed it a little more normally and check if any more air bubbles comes out
Once it’s clear, close the bleed valve, refit pads and check pedal hardness after pumping a few times to seat the pads. Should be solid.
[edit] Bleeding front callipers
[edit] S1 and non-ABS S2
For the front brakes there are two ways to get rid of the small amount of air in the hose once it is re-connected to the car.
On an S1 and older S2 without ABS you can compress the pistons in the brake calliper completely. This will force the small bubble up towards the master cyclinder and out into the reservoir.
On a recent S2 with ABS this is not recommended as the air bubble could get trapped in the ABS hydraulic unit and to get it out you need to use the Lotus scan tool to set the ABS unit in a special ‘flush’ mode. In this case skip to the next method.
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If this worked you can bleed or flush the circuit as usual
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Close bleed valve
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Refit pads
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Test for pedal firmness.
If this worked then continue with the next calliper.
ABS equipped S2 or spongy pedal
On more recent cars with ABS, or if you still can’t get a firm pedal after the first try then there’s still air in this circuit somewhere and you need to bleed it the traditional way.
The approach here is a bit cumbersome because of the design of the callipers that trap air in the inner piston.
If this is the case then the approach is as follows:
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Pressurise the brake bleeder with a low (8 psi) pressure to stop fluid and air traveling upwards to the master cylinder
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Tap on the calliper and hose gently with a plastic hammer to dislodge any bubbles that adhere to the surface
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Remove a front calliper from the upright (2 allen head bolts), invert it so the connectng pipe is at the top and open the bleed nipple
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Tap the brake hoses gently and also tap on the inside of the calliper.
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Then (with your hands) squeeze the INNER piston in. This will empty the inner piston and force the bubbles to the front one. Make sure you push it completely in.
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Now carefully rotate the calliper normal side up again so the bleed nipple is at the top. Try to turn it so any bubbles in the outer piston will not try to go up the connecting pipe again.
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With the calliper ‘right side up’, tap the calliper again and squeeze the OUTER piston back into the calliper and watch for air bubbles escaping
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Close nipple
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Lightly bolt calliper back onto upright
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Refit pads
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Test for firm pedal after some pedal pumping to seat the pads
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If succesful then tighten calliper bolts
Conclusion
Using this method to fit new brake hoses and bleed the system the advantages are:
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You only introduce a tiny amount of air in the system, so less to get out again.
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You immediately know if you have air left in this specific part of the circuit if the brake pedal was hard beforehand, but now remains ‘soft’. (no long ‘hunt the problem’ sessions)
bloody hell that is complicated, however the last part seems to be the bit I need, thanks
Ade, call John and get him to drill and tap the centre of the rear pot. The 2 pots are very difficult to bleed properly with only one nipple on the outside.
With Johns mod you will end up with 2 bleed nipples, like you have on your 4 pots.
[quote=SeanB]Ade, call John and get him to drill and tap the centre of the rear pot. The 2 pots are very difficult to bleed properly with only one nipple on the outside.
With Johns mod you will end up with 2 bleed nipples, like you have on your 4 pots.
[/quote]
Agreed - this mod from John works very well
Sounds like it may pay for itself in saved SRF. 
I will get him to do that the next time the car goes in, however for the moment I will use the technique above, do you think sacrificing a goat will help? 
Depends, if you run a goat over due to having shit brakes then no it won’t help.
Surely that depends on the size and sturdiness of said goat? 
i like goats