Re-key Elan Locks

[brassringfarm]

There have been several comments about the need to re-key locks after getting new lock mechanisms. I had four different locks on my '65 S2 and now have common locks on the doors, trunk and glove box. It took me about 15 minutes per lock to re-key them (yes - once the locks were out of the car!). I took some digital pictures of the process - if anyone wants to tackle it themselves and wants step-by-step instructions - send me a note offline.
Paul Zimmerman

[Arno Church]

Yes , please, Paul
Arno
***@***.***
----- Original Message -----
From: ***@***.***
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 5:28 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


There have been several comments about the need to re-key locks after getting new lock mechanisms. I had four different locks on my '65 S2 and now have common locks on the doors, trunk and glove box. It took me about 15 minutes per lock to re-key them (yes - once the locks were out of the car!). I took some digital pictures of the process - if anyone wants to tackle it themselves and wants step-by-step instructions - send me a note offline.
Paul Zimmerman

[Brian Walton]

Elan locks originated from Morris/Austin. They had only 14
combinations.

Just think if you had 14 different Austin/ Morris keys on your chain you
could enter any Elan in the world!

Anybody seen the front cover of the May edition of the NZ Classic Car.
Gee the Elan looks good in comparison to the Elise. Or am I really
getting just too old.

Brian

[Elanman99]

After many years of fair wear and tear, accident damage, and carelessness I
ended up with 4 different keys to my Elan. I have now got this down to 2 by
fitting remote central locking. Being a convertible I have actually
disconnected the external door locks (on the basis that I can always
unbutton the hood).

I am now working on eliminating the last two keys!

Ian

68 S4 DHC


----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Walton" <***@***.***>

Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 9:20 AM
Subject: Re: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


Elan locks originated from Morris/Austin. They had only 14
combinations.

Just think if you had 14 different Austin/ Morris keys on your chain you
could enter any Elan in the world!

Anybody seen the front cover of the May edition of the NZ Classic Car.
Gee the Elan looks good in comparison to the Elise. Or am I really
getting just too old.

Brian

[Unibrain]

I've posted the pics and description on my website at
http://www.unibrain.org/motorsports/elan/rekey.htm

I didn't post the picture of Paul's freshly painted Elan body. Very pretty
green with a yellow strip.

- Jim
www.unibrain.org

-----Original Message-----
From: ***@***.***lto:***@***.***
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 8:29 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


There have been several comments about the need to re-key locks after
getting new lock mechanisms. I had four different locks on my '65 S2 and now
have common locks on the doors, trunk and glove box. It took me about 15
minutes per lock to re-key them (yes - once the locks were out of the car!).
I took some digital pictures of the process - if anyone wants to tackle it
themselves and wants step-by-step instructions - send me a note offline.
Paul Zimmerman





the Disclaimer! CopyrightC 1999, 2000, 2001 LotusElan.net and the email

[conor1_ie]

Great site, heading home to change all my locks. Will this work for
the ignition???

[johnc]

A great DIY addition -- many thanks.

In the case of door locks, I am thinking S1 if it makes a
difference, how does one remove the door lock from the door latch
assembly?

I turns out I was looking at this area just today, but for a
different reason. I want to remove the chrome door lock surround
for replating. Which means one must first extract the lock assembly
from the door latch assembly first.

Regards, johnc


--- In ***@***.***, "Jim Boone" <jim@u...> wrote:

[was]

Be very careful and choose a good plating shop. The material is thin,
particularly at the sharp bend point in handle, and the stripping
process can make a hole there.

Weldon Smith

johnc32779 wrote:

[elanse66]

Jim,

I was looking at you site and notice that you removed the gel coat from your
Elan. I am at just that stage right now and have be trying to figure out
what to do. I have heard that I should grind away the gel coat and use
fiberglass tissue and resin to recover it. I tried that on one fender and
it is a LOT of work and not too pretty. I was thinking of just
sanding/grinding away the gel coat and just use a spray on filler like
Ureafill (spelling ??). What exactly did you do? And what is that body
shell that looks brand new sitting beside your Elan?

Thanks
John

66 Elan SE
26/5765

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Boone [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 9:44 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


I've posted the pics and description on my website at
http://www.unibrain.org/motorsports/elan/rekey.htm

I didn't post the picture of Paul's freshly painted Elan body. Very
pretty
green with a yellow strip.

- Jim
www.unibrain.org

-----Original Message-----
From: ***@***.***lto:***@***.***
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 8:29 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


There have been several comments about the need to re-key locks after
getting new lock mechanisms. I had four different locks on my '65 S2 and
now
have common locks on the doors, trunk and glove box. It took me about 15
minutes per lock to re-key them (yes - once the locks were out of the
car!).
I took some digital pictures of the process - if anyone wants to tackle it
themselves and wants step-by-step instructions - send me a note offline.
Paul Zimmerman





the Disclaimer! CopyrightC 1999, 2000, 2001 LotusElan.net and the email

[Unibrain]

John,

I'm not doing the fiberglass repairs. I've had Randall Fehr Restorations (
http://www.seanet.com/~rsfehr/restorations.html ) do the fiberglass repairs.
The left hand door was in such bad shape I wanted a professional to do the
work.

The best thing is not to grind off the gel coat. Each crack should be
repaired. There is a good description on
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/body.shtml Mine car had so many cracks
that doing the standard repair was impossible so we were forced to grind
away the gel coat, cover the car in a thin veil of tissue and then restore
the original shape with filler. Both spray-on and hand applied filler were
used. The real trick is reproducing the shape. Without another car to
match curves and contours too, I'm not sure how one would reproduce the
shape. An example of this is the character lines that run down the front
fender and into the headlight bucket. When the gel coat was removed, the
line all but disappeared and had to be recreated with filler.

http://www.unibrain.org/motorsports/ela ... CN0803.JPG
That is a brand new body for a Lotus Elite that Randall is restoring. The
scale is a bit deceptive because of the angle of the photo.

- Jim
www.unibrain.org

-----Original Message-----
From: John Krebs [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 8:25 PM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


Jim,

I was looking at you site and notice that you removed the gel coat from your
Elan. I am at just that stage right now and have be trying to figure out
what to do. I have heard that I should grind away the gel coat and use
fiberglass tissue and resin to recover it. I tried that on one fender and
it is a LOT of work and not too pretty. I was thinking of just
sanding/grinding away the gel coat and just use a spray on filler like
Ureafill (spelling ??). What exactly did you do? And what is that body
shell that looks brand new sitting beside your Elan?

Thanks
John

66 Elan SE
26/5765

[elanse66]

My Elan is in about the same condition as yours was. The are the typical
spider crack caused by bumps but those aren't the problem. The whole car is
covered with smaller cracks that don't appear to be the result of any type
of impact. I stripped the car back in the early 80s so the gel coat has
been exposed for a long time. It has spent time both inside and out. When
it was outside it was covered with a plastic tarp. This is just the body
shell I am talking about. The rest of the car consists of parts on a shelf.
The body is the only big hurdle. I was hoping to hear that you didn't have
to do the tissue and resin thing and still got a good result. I
experimented with grinding away the gel coat and applying tissue and resin
but it resulted in a thicker build-up then I had anticipated. I'll get some
pictures posted on my web so everyone can see what I have.

Thanks
John

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Boone [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 9:45 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Gelcoat repairs - was RE: Re-key Elan Locks


John,

I'm not doing the fiberglass repairs. I've had Randall Fehr Restorations (
http://www.seanet.com/~rsfehr/restorations.html ) do the fiberglass
repairs.
The left hand door was in such bad shape I wanted a professional to do the
work.

The best thing is not to grind off the gel coat. Each crack should be
repaired. There is a good description on
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/body.shtml Mine car had so many cracks
that doing the standard repair was impossible so we were forced to grind
away the gel coat, cover the car in a thin veil of tissue and then restore
the original shape with filler. Both spray-on and hand applied filler
were
used. The real trick is reproducing the shape. Without another car to
match curves and contours too, I'm not sure how one would reproduce the
shape. An example of this is the character lines that run down the front
fender and into the headlight bucket. When the gel coat was removed, the
line all but disappeared and had to be recreated with filler.

http://www.unibrain.org/motorsports/ela ... CN0803.JPG
That is a brand new body for a Lotus Elite that Randall is restoring. The
scale is a bit deceptive because of the angle of the photo.

- Jim
www.unibrain.org

-----Original Message-----
From: John Krebs [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 8:25 PM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


Jim,

I was looking at you site and notice that you removed the gel coat from
your
Elan. I am at just that stage right now and have be trying to figure out
what to do. I have heard that I should grind away the gel coat and use
fiberglass tissue and resin to recover it. I tried that on one fender and
it is a LOT of work and not too pretty. I was thinking of just
sanding/grinding away the gel coat and just use a spray on filler like
Ureafill (spelling ??). What exactly did you do? And what is that body
shell that looks brand new sitting beside your Elan?

Thanks
John

66 Elan SE
26/5765

[Brian Walton]

Remember S4 and Sprints will crack more than the earlier cars...they
had thinner bodies by one layer of laminate.

Brian

[johnc]

Sounds like you speak from experience:-)

Subsequent to you heads-up I looked at my S1 door handle and didn't
notice any areas that were particularly thin. Was you experience
with an S1 handle?


--- In ***@***.***, Weldon Smith <eUs@c...> wrote:

["Mark Spiers"]

Brian,

Remember that they also had less resin in the matting because penny pinching Chapman told the body shop to use less as a cost cutting exercise. That'swhy S4's and Sprints blow up into shredded wheat when they connect with a stationary object, ha,ha.

Rgds,

Mark
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Walton
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 1:05 AM
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Gelcoat repairs - was RE: Re-key Elan Locks


Remember S4 and Sprints will crack more than the earlier cars...they
had thinner bodies by one layer of laminate.

Brian

["Mark Spiers"]

John,

Stress cracking on Elans is common, so don't be surprised by smaller stresscracks over curved surfaces. It's the way the bodies flexed. If you repairthem, within 5 years of good road use, they'll be back.

Rgds,

Mark
----- Original Message -----
From: John Krebs
To: ***@***.***
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 12:36 AM
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Gelcoat repairs - was RE: Re-key Elan Locks


My Elan is in about the same condition as yours was. The are the typical
spider crack caused by bumps but those aren't the problem. The whole caris
covered with smaller cracks that don't appear to be the result of any type
of impact. I stripped the car back in the early 80s so the gel coat has
been exposed for a long time. It has spent time both inside and out. When
it was outside it was covered with a plastic tarp. This is just the body
shell I am talking about. The rest of the car consists of parts on a shelf.
The body is the only big hurdle. I was hoping to hear that you didn't have
to do the tissue and resin thing and still got a good result. I
experimented with grinding away the gel coat and applying tissue and resin
but it resulted in a thicker build-up then I had anticipated. I'll get some
pictures posted on my web so everyone can see what I have.

Thanks
John

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Boone [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Friday, May 16, 2003 9:45 AM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: [LotusElan.net] Gelcoat repairs - was RE: Re-key Elan Locks


John,

I'm not doing the fiberglass repairs. I've had Randall Fehr Restorations (
http://www.seanet.com/~rsfehr/restorations.html ) do the fiberglass
repairs.
The left hand door was in such bad shape I wanted a professional to do the
work.

The best thing is not to grind off the gel coat. Each crack should be
repaired. There is a good description on
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/body.shtml Mine car had so many cracks
that doing the standard repair was impossible so we were forced to grind
away the gel coat, cover the car in a thin veil of tissue and then restore
the original shape with filler. Both spray-on and hand applied filler
were
used. The real trick is reproducing the shape. Without another car to
match curves and contours too, I'm not sure how one would reproduce the
shape. An example of this is the character lines that run down the front
fender and into the headlight bucket. When the gel coat was removed, the
line all but disappeared and had to be recreated with filler.

http://www.unibrain.org/motorsports/ela ... CN0803.JPG
That is a brand new body for a Lotus Elite that Randall is restoring. The
scale is a bit deceptive because of the angle of the photo.

- Jim
www.unibrain.org

-----Original Message-----
From: John Krebs [mailto:***@***.***
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 8:25 PM
To: ***@***.***
Subject: RE: [LotusElan.net] Re-key Elan Locks


Jim,

I was looking at you site and notice that you removed the gel coat from
your
Elan. I am at just that stage right now and have be trying to figure out
what to do. I have heard that I should grind away the gel coat and use
fiberglass tissue and resin to recover it. I tried that on one fender and
it is a LOT of work and not too pretty. I was thinking of just
sanding/grinding away the gel coat and just use a spray on filler like
Ureafill (spelling ??). What exactly did you do? And what is that body
shell that looks brand new sitting beside your Elan?

Thanks
John

66 Elan SE
26/5765