Body-off procedure
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 1999 7:10 pm
Greetings Listers:
Motivated by the need for a replacement chassis, this weekend I helped
Charley Terhune, the owner, remove the body from his Elan. The used
factory frame was very sound so I bought it. I noticed that '72 Elans had
not only the red oxide primer, but also a coat of creosote-like material.
Both protected the steel very well. Charley will install a Spyder frame in
due course. (BTW he has 3 Elan engines --2 with Stromberg heads -- and two
disassembled Plus 2s, and a Cortina body with roll cage, if anyone is
interested...the usual disclaimer of no financial interest applies, contact
him at <[email protected]>).
We compiled most of the following procedural steps to help us move in an
organized manner. Possibly it may be helpful to others, so FWIW as a
procedure that successfully reached its goal without damaging anything, I
thought I'd send it on. Although one can pull the body with engine in
place, we opted to remove the engine and tranny first.
Place car on jack stands to allow access to underside
Drain radiator, engine, transmission
Remove bonnet
Disconnect hoses, remove radiator
Disconnect water temp sensor and heater control valve on head
Under the car/
Unfasten and remove tailpipe/muffler
Disconnect speedo cable, parking brake cable
Disconnect clutch slave cylinder, remove slave cylinder
Disconnect battery cable, ignition switch wire from starter, remove starter
Loosen but leave in place transmission mount
Disconnect brake lines from tandem master cylinder
Remove exhaust manifold nuts
Remove airbox, Remove carburetors (Strombergs in this case)
Disconnect oil pressure line from block
Disconnect primary ignition and high tension wires to distributor from coil
Disconnect fuel line from fuel pump
Remove transmission shift lever, plug tranny opening with wadded paper towel
Depending upon lift possible with your engine hoist, may want to put car on
the floor now
Loosen engine mount bolts on the chassis
Connect engine hoist and sling
Remove engine mount bolts
Disconnect transmission mount cross member (just reach in from either side)
Hoist/manuever engine to gain clearance to remove exhaust manifold/down
pipe, remove same
Remove engine and tranny from engine bay
Remove horns mounted on front body/chassis through bolts
Remove 12 UNC body chassis bolts from underneath
Behind dash at the tunnel top, remove two UNF bolts on each side
Behind carpet panel below the convertible top storage area remove the two
UNF body/rear strut bolts
Nearby on the outboard sides remove the bolts and clevis holding the seat
belt at shoulder height...trust us, we KNOW these will successfully resist
all efforts to lift the body off. NOTE unlike the early series cars, there
are 20, not just 16, bolts holding the body onto the chassis
To lighten the body for lift off: Remove fuel tank, Remove seats (could
also remove doors, we didn't).
With four strong backs or an engine hoist or wooden blocks, jack and
saw-horses remove the body from the chassis.
Break out the 6-pack (we didn't, we went home for dinner, it had been a busy
day).
We will award a "very erudite and distinguished Lotus person" title to the
one who can guess which two of the above steps we discovered only when the
body was about a foot above the chassis!
HTH someone. Best regards, Ray.
Motivated by the need for a replacement chassis, this weekend I helped
Charley Terhune, the owner, remove the body from his Elan. The used
factory frame was very sound so I bought it. I noticed that '72 Elans had
not only the red oxide primer, but also a coat of creosote-like material.
Both protected the steel very well. Charley will install a Spyder frame in
due course. (BTW he has 3 Elan engines --2 with Stromberg heads -- and two
disassembled Plus 2s, and a Cortina body with roll cage, if anyone is
interested...the usual disclaimer of no financial interest applies, contact
him at <[email protected]>).
We compiled most of the following procedural steps to help us move in an
organized manner. Possibly it may be helpful to others, so FWIW as a
procedure that successfully reached its goal without damaging anything, I
thought I'd send it on. Although one can pull the body with engine in
place, we opted to remove the engine and tranny first.
Place car on jack stands to allow access to underside
Drain radiator, engine, transmission
Remove bonnet
Disconnect hoses, remove radiator
Disconnect water temp sensor and heater control valve on head
Under the car/
Unfasten and remove tailpipe/muffler
Disconnect speedo cable, parking brake cable
Disconnect clutch slave cylinder, remove slave cylinder
Disconnect battery cable, ignition switch wire from starter, remove starter
Loosen but leave in place transmission mount
Disconnect brake lines from tandem master cylinder
Remove exhaust manifold nuts
Remove airbox, Remove carburetors (Strombergs in this case)
Disconnect oil pressure line from block
Disconnect primary ignition and high tension wires to distributor from coil
Disconnect fuel line from fuel pump
Remove transmission shift lever, plug tranny opening with wadded paper towel
Depending upon lift possible with your engine hoist, may want to put car on
the floor now
Loosen engine mount bolts on the chassis
Connect engine hoist and sling
Remove engine mount bolts
Disconnect transmission mount cross member (just reach in from either side)
Hoist/manuever engine to gain clearance to remove exhaust manifold/down
pipe, remove same
Remove engine and tranny from engine bay
Remove horns mounted on front body/chassis through bolts
Remove 12 UNC body chassis bolts from underneath
Behind dash at the tunnel top, remove two UNF bolts on each side
Behind carpet panel below the convertible top storage area remove the two
UNF body/rear strut bolts
Nearby on the outboard sides remove the bolts and clevis holding the seat
belt at shoulder height...trust us, we KNOW these will successfully resist
all efforts to lift the body off. NOTE unlike the early series cars, there
are 20, not just 16, bolts holding the body onto the chassis
To lighten the body for lift off: Remove fuel tank, Remove seats (could
also remove doors, we didn't).
With four strong backs or an engine hoist or wooden blocks, jack and
saw-horses remove the body from the chassis.
Break out the 6-pack (we didn't, we went home for dinner, it had been a busy
day).
We will award a "very erudite and distinguished Lotus person" title to the
one who can guess which two of the above steps we discovered only when the
body was about a foot above the chassis!
HTH someone. Best regards, Ray.