Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

THANKS FOR THE ?CLAT ADVISE. I THINK I?LL PASS ON IT.



I BOUGHT MY ELAN ABOUT 8 MONTHS AGO. IT HAS 1968 RUNNING GEAR AND FRAME AND
A 1966 BODY.



THE ENGINE IS NOT TOTALLY STOCK, WITH A FORD 711 BLOCK BELOW AND A LOTUS TOP
END.



I AM IN THE PROCESS OF CLEANING UP THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND DETAILING THE
ENGINE.

THE PO HAD OLD DIRTY REDLINE AIR FILTERS ON THE DUAL WEBER 40 DCOE?S.



I WANTED TO GET A BETTER LOOKING NEW AIR FILTER AND FIRST I BOUGHT SOME K &
N?S.



FOR SOME REASON THERE IS NOT ENOUGH CLEARANCE AT THE CARB CLOSEST TO THE
FIRE WALL

AND THE K & N RUBS ON THE BODY. THE HEIGHT OF THE K & N IS 4 3/4". I NEED A
FILTER

THAT IS NO MORE THAN 4 1/2" TALL.



SO I BOUGHT THESE REALLY NICE LOOKING RAM FLO AIR FILTERS THAT FIT NICELY.

THE THING IS THAT THEY ARE MEANT TO BE USED WITHOUT THE TRUMPETS,



IS THIS A PROBLEM?



THANKS,



JOHN KENNER

66 OR 68 ELAN?

John

The engine mount on the exhaust side is a standard Ford part but the one
on carb side is a special Lotus one that raises that side of the engine
about 3/4" (from memory). Mine had a standard Ford mount when I got it
(an understandable mistake as they are very similar to look at) and the
air box used to hit the footwell. Cured when I got the right mount.

As for air filters, Webers are renowned for spitting fuel. They
shouldn't do it if the car is running right but if the tune goes off and
the air filters become soaked with fuel and become a potential fire
risk. It would be my guess that this is the main reason Lotus used the
air box and remote filter in the first place. Filters on the carbs
would have been cheaper. The air box allows the trumpets to do their
job properly as well.

Cheers
Peter

JOHN KENNER wrote:

John,

The "trumpets" do affect the performance of the webers.

I would not suggest removing them for convenience sake.

I grabbed this from a short search on the topic:

Ram tubes, trumpets or air horns (stacks) should always be fitted to a
modified engine. As a general rule:

1. Short ram tubes are usually used for high rpm applications.

2. Longer rams are usually used to maximize mid-range response.

I have individual "socks" on my Europa Webers, not sure if they would fit in
the Elan but I don?t recall the Elan being a lot tighter than the Euorpa.

Regards,

Briggs Pletcher

Dear all,

Is there a good source for Weber airboxes for the Type 45 Elan?

Andres
Manila

Hi list,
Does anyone know a part number for the air filter for a 72 +2? I have
tried various numbers with my motor factor and they either get a filter
that is just too big or too small. The Elan is not listed on their
database, now there's a surprise.
I tried the part number given in the workshop manual but they can't find it.
Any help greatly received.
Regards
Jeff 72+2

Jeff,

My filter is from England and the brand is Motaquip. Their part number is
VFA 108.

Hope this helps.

Frank Howard
'71 S4 SE
Minnesota

Jeff,

In my +2 I have converted the filter from an E21 3 Series BMW, using one half of metal airbox which I have trimmed off. It's a flat filter which is fixed to the floor benhind the grill, and its rated for 179 hp.

Much better than original.

Sean Murray

Jeff,

Try the following web address for Bean Engineering (Lotus parts only),
they are in the US and might be able to help. This is where I got my air
filter (K&N) for my 72 +2 Elan, it had the double barrel type mounted in
the front nose.

http://www.davebean.com/

Regards,
Jeff Rodgers
Tiger, Healey, Morgan, Lotus, 2 MGA's

I routed a new - wider diameter hose to the nose, and worked up a strap
mount for a conical K&N filter on my old +2. Worked great!

Aaron
"1956" Westfield Lotus XI

I purchased a K&N filter from summitracing.com (part #KNN-RU-4410).
It's cone shaped, about 4 1/2 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches diameter. I
eliminated the hose and round air filter box and just connected it to
the front of the stromberg carb cover (don't know the tech name for
it). It fits perfect. I've also seen where someone used the original
hose and made a mounting bracket to position it close to the front
grill for cooler air intake.

Dan
'70 S4 SE

Hi Dan
Thats me that makes the brackets for fitting K&N filters onto Elans.
There are a few methods for fitting modern/K&N filters to Elans.

1.You can just bolt on straight to the carbs two "pancake" type filters.
Disadvantage is you have to overcome losing the back mounting plate of the
air box for your throttle cable to connect to.
Also you then need to modify the engine breather as it usually vents into
the airbox.

2. Put a filter in the nose cone to replace the original air cannister using
airbox and original flexible ducting. I have this set up and have not
experienced any disadvantages other than very slight increased induction
roar and obviously non originality.

3.Bolt filter straight to airbox same as your set up. I thought about doing
this on my Elan but deceided that the extra weight hung off the end of the
airbox would cause quite a "moment" of force on the carbs and give rise to
air leak problems etc as they only bolt up lightly on the thackerys and O
rings.

4. Fit element into the original air cannister. Disadvantage is that you
still have the very restrictive air cannister so you would not necessarily
benefit that much.

Clive

http://www.cliveyboy.com