Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi Patrick

I read about your Targa exploits I hope the damage was not to bad

The guy with the plus 2 is Keith Edwards. I will look closer next time I see his car to see how he mounted it.

My seat project has taken a back seat ( sorry for the pun) to other jobs in recents months including trying to finish off my spare engine and gear box build.

I have found a local guy ( who is a lotus club member) who makes seats that are approved for things like the Elfin clubmans and cobra replicas. He can make one that will suit the Elan together with any mounintg frame I need. Once I get a little spare time and cash I was going to work with him on the detailed development.

regards
Rohan

Hi Rohan
Yes, I've pondered the seat issue for a while for the obviuos reasons (7.5Kg each!), but have put up with it for now. I phoned Pat Thomas about the floor issue. He laminates in a Kevlar floor in new shells for racing (WRC sump guard material). My old shell is a bit of a nail (prob 80 - 100 Kg weight saving in there), but it's all nice and shiny and I can't spring $10,000 for a new one just yet.
I'm convinced the solution is to find some other poor sap who's spent $75,000 building a 26R replica with all the good bits and relieve him of his pain with an offer.
Cheers
Patrick

Elans that race in the UK tend to go for the Cobra Daytona seat and fittings.

The Daytona is a rather big and heavy seat, I would have thought that their Roadster 7 seat would be a much better option :unsure:

Hi

I have raced an Elan for the last three seasons in HSCC events.

Most current racers who want an FIA eligible seat built to modern specificatiions use the excellent Cobra Imola seat.

It is a great fit, needing only about 3/4 inch removing from the outside shoulder 'wing'. This can be done very easily and tidily with no cosmetic clues.

I am 220lb and it is a tight fit, but once strapped in with a 6 point harness, it all feels perfect.

My advice would be to not consider for a minute any non FIA seat.

Oh, TTR and caged can both do an excellent front cage to complement the rear one.

Fitz

Looking up the spec 18.1 for my new harmonic balancer I happened across the SFI Foundation article on seat belt issues. Hey, I installed the Schroth seatbelts correctly afterall! Not much choice though the way Lotus installed the lapbelt bobbins.
<a href='http://www.sfifoundation.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.sfifoundation.com/</a>
-Keith