Elan Super Safety

[elanman]

Hello gentlemen,
Lotus made a 100 or so Elans immediately before the S4 was introduced that they called an Elan Super Safety. Also known irreverently as an Elan S3 1/2, it was a way out of a problem when they were not quite tooled up for S4 production.

The interior door handle was changed from the S3 Hilman Imp component as was the installation of the new handle. I would be most grateful if any owner of a Super Safety Elan could supply me with a photograph of the arrangement. Not expecting anything for nothing I would be most pleased to supply a free book to the helping owner.

Brian Buckland

[nebogipfel]

Good morning Brian,

I can't help with your specific question but we have SS owners on here so I'm sure someone will.

I just wanted to add the wider point that your quest for historical information and it's inclusion in your excellent book is of great value and much appreciated.

I think it's vital to dispel the myths and get as much accurate info' as possible.

That was the motivation behind my recent thread .... elan-f14/bonnet-metal-hoop-when-was-introduced-t24719.html about the introduction of the final "improved" bonnet version. It looks like it was introduced during S4 production but it would be interesting to pin it down.

Apologies for thread drift ..... back to all you Super Safety owners

[types26/36]

supply me with a photograph of the arrangement.
Brian Buckland

Hi Brian,
Did you get the pics I sent you of the SS door handles? I can take some more of the interior if that's what you need or is the mechanism you want?
Brian (who bought the exh manifold)

[Elanintheforest]

Here's the S/S handle with trim removed.
Mark

[LotusArchives]

Hello gentlemen,
Lotus made a 100 or so Elans immediately before the S4 was introduced that they called an Elan Super Safety. Also known irreverently as an Elan S3 1/2, it was a way out of a problem when they were not quite tooled up for S4 production.

Brian Buckland

The Service Notes say the S3 Super Safetly was 7400-7894, thats alot more than 100 cars. Who's right?

[Elanintheforest]

I would imagine that 7400 to 7894 includes mostly the standard S3. The S/S was only made for the North American market, although a few semi-S/S cars seemed to have stayed in the UK!

Mark

[trw99]

Worth looking at these posts on the Super Safety:

post151541.html

elan-f14/bumper-colour-sunvisors-mirror-and-super-safety-info-t17156.html

Tim

[Elan45]

Brian,

I can remember reading a short piece, probably in the breaking news section of the front page of "Competition Press & Autoweek". I used to read them at the newsstand and buy every other one, but I must not have saved that one.
I remember it telling me it was Colin Chapman's way of poking fun at the upcoming US safety standards. But Lotus didn't keep very good records and I would imagine that months after the last Super Safety rolled out the door, someone was charged with a manual or parts book update and some one guessed at the start number of SS production. My SS is 20 units prior to the listed start point and this list has discussed SS models at least 100 units prior to mine. I don't know how they determined which units were to be SS and which were normal S3, but not all cars in the span of numbers were built to SS specs. A friend used to own 7450 and its only SS feature was the interior door pulls. The interior door handles were normal S3.

Other SS features are:
Low backed seats with runners that do not allow the seats to pivot forward as all Elan seats prior to this had allowed.

Recessed instruments in counter-bored holes in the dash. Flatter, larger diameter choke and heater control knobs, relocated to the previous bonnet release locations. Rocker switches replaced toggle ones and a brake fail lamp was added beside the hand-brake warning lamp. I believe, these dash changes survived into S4 production.

Most SS models were supplied with bolt-on wheels. Some had three eared spinner caps on K-O wheels with the ears pointing inward, opposite the normal spinners prior to this time. SS models were equipped with small Lucas rectangular reflector at each corner, resting on matching rubber plinths. I still have mine in a box, but I removed them from the car many years ago.

Relocation of the heater and choke controls required the same of the bonnet releases. They were combined into a single pull cable mounted to a small steel bracket fastened to the lower left corner of the dash. This bracket also included a location for a small push-button brake-fail lamp test switch.

This last switch was required as part of the Chapman "joke". SS models also had dual brake master cylinder. But the Elan was probably the first British production vehicle to use dual circuit braking. Later cars (Not sure of S4 Elans)would use a differential pressure H-block switch between the front circuit and rear to detect failure of one of the two hydraulic circuits, but evidently that device was not ready for the advanced Elan in late 1967. So, Lotus used a small micro switch mounted to the floor in the engine bay, directly under the brake pedal. This way, if the brakes fail and the pedal goes to the floor, the "fail" lamp on the dash lights. LOL
This happened to me on the way to the office over 35 years ago and I remembered the CP&A article. This car is now with me in Florida.

Roger

[pharriso]

if the brakes fail and the pedal goes to the floor, the "fail" lamp on the dash lights. LOL
Roger

Sounds like it should be renamed the "About to crash" indicator

[Elan45]

But I didn't crash that morning. No damage ever until we hit the deer 2-1/2 years ago. Rapid pumping of the pedal solved the immediate problem. I drove slowly on to work and very carefully for the next several days. The Elan was my daily driver at the time.

There has never been a re-occurrence. The cylinder has been rebuilt a few times since and has been on DOT 5 silicone fluid since 1985. I'd never go the silicone route again, but that is another issue.

Roger

[StressCraxx]

Hello gentlemen,
Lotus made a 100 or so Elans immediately before the S4 was introduced that they called an Elan Super Safety. Also known irreverently as an Elan S3 1/2, it was a way out of a problem when they were not quite tooled up for S4 production.

Brian Buckland

The Service Notes say the S3 Super Safetly was 7400-7894, thats alot more than 100 cars. Who's right?

My SS chassis number is 7279. It was shipped with all the SS changes, including bolt on wheels, the interior door pulls shown above, rocker switch dash, and the "chapman brake fail switch".

I have seen 7276 and it was pure S3.

[RogerFrench]

I have seen 7276 and it was pure S3.

So is 7374, at least from that viewpoint.

[lewiscopy]

I have a Super Safety that I bought for autocrossing before I became interested in Showroom Stock road racing in 1980. It has been sitting for the last 30 years, and I'm just beginning a body-off restoration. This website is an absolute goldmine for me. Although I've rebuilt the engine myself, a complete restore seemed out of my league until I found this site.

I cannot read the hand-engraved serial number perfectly, but it seems to be either 7674 or 7672. DHC with Webers.

It has the SS bonnet bump, rockers, door handles and 3-ear, inward-pointing knock-offs. I replaced the dash in 1979 with what I believe is an S4 dash, so it may not be correct for the model. Original color was BRG -- it's now sporting an Imron coating of yellow, which will be removed for new paint.

In addition to standard Elan items, I'm hoping to find one SS badge and surround, but suspect I'll have a better chance of bedding Catherine Zeta Jones.

I'm not sure if this thread is still active, but I'll be checking back from time to time for advice.

Thanks, all.

Bill Lewis
P.S. Don Tingle gave me lots of great advice back in the 70's. Glad to see he seems to be still active.

[mac5777]

This is the first Super Safety knockoff spinner I've ever seen close up. Never understood WHY bending back the spinner's ears was a safety concern. USA must have been deeply concerned after watching a James Bond movie.
The owner was interested to see if my Elan tool would work on his spinners. Surprised, it did fit, it just griped the ears at a lower position. Three of his spinners were in the proper torque range of 200 to 220 and one was loose.
I can now offer my Elan tool to the SS guys that have the bent spinner ears.

Sarto

[billwill]

It may be naughty of me, but I've never used a torque wrench on my spinners, after so many years I just know how hard to whack them with the hammer.