Restoring a '71 Sprint

[PhilJohn]

Hi everyone, I'm a bit new to this site, but have been amazed at the depth of knowledge and general helpfulness from the posts I've been reading.

I wondered if you would be interested to hear about an Elan Sprint I am in the process of restoring back to its former glory? I bought the car in complete and original condition nearly 2 years ago and have been slowly and painstakingly dismantling it ready for complete renovation. At present, my car looks more like an Airfix kit, rather than one of the worlds all time great sports cars!

My Sprint is a 1971 drop head finished in Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours. When I was a kid I loved the Lotus F1 cars that raced in those colours, so I'm looking forward to getting back to its original paint finish; when I bought it, it had original paint, but had just faded badly over the years. Also, the car had been in storage for about 10 years and although complete, was in fairly poor, but original condition. I was lucky with a number of other things too; my car had a galvenised replacement chassis back in the late '80s, which has held up reall well, so only minor renovation required. Also, the engine was 'blue printed' by Twin Cam Techniques at some point. The block is painted blue and the engine carries a metal plaque to this effect. I have no idea what this means, but a very helpful guy called Kim from LDC said this was good. I have an absolute mountain to climb to get it finished, but it's going to be stunning when it's done!

Would you believe I've never actually been out in one of these cars yet, as my Lotus experience to date has been all M100 Elan!! I'm sure it will live up to all the accolades and praise though! I plan to do some sensible mods to improve the enjoyment and usability of the car, without detracting from the original, ie an alternator in place of the dynamo; Spyder tubular front wish bones; a larger radiator to aid summer cooling. I was really interested to read the posts on the TTR/Susan Miller drive shaft conversion. I really wanted to do that, but feared I would be burned at the stake!

Any thoughts or helpful suggestions would be much appreciated. If there is any interest, I will post some photos of the project and send regular updates - which might help me keep the project on track!

I live in Tamworth near Birmingham, so if you're passing, you're welcome to come and view the car/give me encouragement/lend a hand.

Many thanks for all the help and advice I've recieved from this site so far and I'm sure going to be needing your help in the future.
Phil

[adigra]

Hi Phil,

Very exciting! I'd love to see photos as you go along.

Having just done 300 miles in a Sprint on a hot day I can completely agree with wanting a better radiator (this car has a QED engine, but standard radiator). We never overheated, but even with an electric fan had we hit a traffic jam I fear we would have. Coincidently, this car also runs a regular dynamo without any issues, but according to many people more expert than me fitting an alternator is one of the best "mods" you can do.

Best,
Adi

[RichardS]

Hi Phil

Great to hear that another Sprint is being reborn. You will know every nut and bolt and nook and cranny by the time you have finished!

I fitted Sue Miller's drive shafts and haven't been burnt at the stake yet. I haven't yet driven my Sprint since fitting them but I think they will be a much better long term bet than the rotoflexes.

Lets see some pics!

Richard

[rocket]

Hi Phil..

Good luck with your project.I live down the road from you and drive a plus 2 which is far from perfect in looks but a very reliable useable car,also to me a lovely car.Several on this site will tell you the 2 is a poor relation to the elan but i enjoy it.If you need a hand with anything just ask,im no expert but having owned my car a while now i have aquired some details of use to you..Also id be happy to take you a drive to give you some idea of how lovely a twincam is..


Ian.

[neilsjuke]

I fitted drive shafts from Susan Miller great for all parts see set below may be of use

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16638375@N ... 202952079/

Neil

[PhilJohn]

I really dont know how I managed to get this topic duplicated, but apologise for messing up the forum. Thanks to everyone who has PM'd me and for all the support shown. I'll get some pics up as soon as poss. Meanwhile, thank you. Phil

[elansprint71]

I really dont know how I managed to get this topic duplicated, but apologise for messing up the forum. Thanks to everyone who has PM'd me and for all the support shown. I'll get some pics up as soon as poss. Meanwhile, thank you. Phil

Phil,
Good to hear about your resto. If you fit MM shafts, you will need to fit Tony Thompson's heavy-duty diff mounts; I didn't and then trashed a pair of new "ordinary ones" in a couple of thousand miles.

wrt duplicate thread, I'll press the "object" button, which should alert Jeff and I'll ask him to merge the threads.

[richard sprint]

Phil

We are both at a similar stage of restoration, mine being year 72 and yellow over white and is a full nut and bolt rebuild - probably about 40% complete so I'm sure we wiill be facing many similar issues.

Fully back your comments on the value of this site the help has been extensive, friendly and the depth of knowledge quite amazing.

I could not decide on the driveshafts couplings and have decided intially to use the good old rubber doughnuts! however a system manufactured by an Australian company is worth a look www.elantrikbits.com - they look just right to me though have not seen the sue miller ones.

Any way 'good fettling' to you over the coming months - I'm visiting a body shop tomorrow to view their work and to drop the diff off..

[PhilJohn]

Wow, where did the last six months go to? I can't believe my last posting was back in July last year. Thanks to so many people who have been kind enough to get in touch and for the encouragement you've given me. Progress hasn't been exactly fast, but the chassis has been refurbished in the area where the galvanising had broken down - where the 'saddle' goes over the chassis spine - and the whole thing has been sprayed with 'Rust Bullet',an American paint which has given the chassis a lovely tough silver finish, not unlike galvanising. Removing the paint from the body is a work in progress; I would say we're about 75% of the way to completion. We're now shot blasting, refurbing and painting rear suspension components ready for re assembly. The diff has been refurbished (not by us but through Paul Matty), Spyder front wishbones have been acquired and I've just ordered ?600.00 + worth of replacement parts which should hopefully enable us to get to rolling chassis stage. So it's all systems go - if only it could get a few degrees warmer!
I would love to post some pics on here, but not being very IT literate, I'm not sure how to do it. If anyone could advise me, I'll get them sorted. Thanks once again, with special thanks to Andy and Brian for their helpful encouragement.

[gjz30075]

Be sure to register your car with Tim's site: http://www.lotuselansprint.com/

Greg Z
'72 Sprint