My Elan S3 DHC restoration thread (warning: picture heavy)

[tomjones20194]

Brian -

Thanks for the pictures. Very helpful. Looks like the switches are set up about 80% correct. Not a big deal, but I may eventually get to changing back to stock configuration.

[tomjones20194]

Had some time this weekend to work on my Elan. Removed the gas tank and emptied the 15+ year old gas out and cleaned the tank. Removed the brake and clutch master cylinders. Both have seized pistons. Removed the Weber carbs so I can get to the fuel pump which needs a rebuild. Ordered the following from Paul Matty: new brake master cylinder, new clutch master and shave cylinders, new braided clutch connector line, and fuel pump rebuild kit. No idea on how long shipping will take as this is the first time I have ordered from them. Here?s a couple of before and after pictures:

Looks like I will also need new carb spacers and o-rings

[knockoffnut]

The S/E would have been delivered with chrome strips along the rockers. These were often removed but you may see the holes if you strip the body during restoration. S/E also included knock off wheels. My understanding is that the black nose badge was used for a year after the sad passing of Jim Clark.

[tomjones20194]

Very successful weekend working on my Lotus. Received the shipment from Paul Matty on Friday...

Removed the fuel pump and rebuilt it using the rebuild kit from Paul Matty

Rebuilding it requires removing the one-way valves in the center of the unit. They are held in place via small metal tabs created with a die or stamping process. Had to take a dremel to remove them.

Put new valves in and took a punch and created new tabs to hold them in place. Here is it reinstalled.

Got the new brake and clutch master cylinders installed and cleaned and reinstalled the carbs with new spacers and o-rings (thanks Michael!)

Bought a new battery, cleaned the starter connections, plug wires, fuse block, voltage regulator, new oil and filter and flushed the cooling system.

After a turning it over a few times and giving it a good dousing with carb cleaner I got it running!! Let it warm up and it idled and ran very smoothly. Quite surprised at how well it ran in fact. Especially since car has been sitting for over 22 years. Tried posting a short vid clip of it running but the forum site says .mov are not allowed.

Up next are brakes and clutch... :fingerscrossed

[tomjones20194]

Been a while since I posted on this. Here?s a list of items addressed over the last couple of weeks.

- Bled the brakes
- Bled the clutch
- Drained and replaced transmission oil
- Correctly installed the new battery in the trunk/boot (PO had the old battery in the bottom where the spare tire goes)
- Installed spare tire correctly.
- Retorqued all engine seal bolts to correct settings, e.g., valve cover, oil pan, etc.
- Debugged various electrical gremlins. Still a few to take care of.

Tried to take for a test drive and clutch plate was seized. Got it freed up after bumping the starter a dozen or so times while in gear with the clutch pedal depressed.

Successfully took it for a 7 mile test drive this AM.

Pics and more to come soon...

[tedtaylor]

If you live in Virginia, USA, why not order parts from Ray at RD Ent rather than across the pond?

[mbell]

If you live in Virginia, USA, why not order parts from Ray at RD Ent rather than across the pond?

In my experience, even with shipping, it's often more cost effective especially if buying a reasonable amount to purchase from the UK.

[prezoom]

Curious? Does the Matty fuel pump rebuild kit contain the diaphragm shaft seal? Otherwise, it is just the generic kit for the Triumph TR4, available from most any vintage British vendor.

[tomjones20194]

I wanted Girling brake and clutch parts and could only find them from Paul Matty. Shipping was ?20 or roughly $25 which was reasonable for the amount of stuff I bought and it only took 5 business days to arrive.

I did buy the knockoff removal tool from RD. Good shop and will purchase from again.

The rebuild kit had two diaphragms that needed to be installed - see pics above. It also came with the large center shaft diaphragm that is installed between the upper and lower halves of the pump.

[SGO 2F]

I had the same problem when I registered my 1967 Elan +2 in both Colorado and Minnesota. Both DMVs said flatly, that I could not change the title to show a "/" rather than a "1". Neither state indicated a reason, so I just went with it. This was back in 1990 and 1995, respectively.

I've never heard why Lotus changed the VIN format in 1970 from Type/number. For some time I've suspected that it had something to do with the computer itself and the idea that Lotus became computerized as of 1.1.70.

As you may remember the following characters are invalid as file or folder names on Windows using these 9 characters: / ? < > \ : * | ". Thus, the earlier format with a slash can not be used.

Cheers,
Richard

[tomjones20194]

Drove it to work on Wednesday of this week. Was comfortable keeping up with 55mph traffic. Not unexpectedly, tires have some flat spots from sitting so many years. Will replace them soon. Front right caliper sticks sometimes so just ordered the parts to rebuild it. Here are some pics from the outing.

[TeeJay]

After a turning it over a few times and giving it a good dousing with carb cleaner I got it running!! Let it warm up and it idled and ran very smoothly. Quite surprised at how well it ran in fact. Especially since car has been sitting for over 22 years. Tried posting a short vid clip of it running but the forum site says .mov are not allowed.

Hi Tom.
Well done on the work you have completed on the Lotus, always good to see positive progress.

I would be very interested in the video. Is there any chance you could post it on YouTube and provide a link. Or PM it, assuming that its allowed?

[tomjones20194]

Here is a link:

https://youtu.be/jvMnKWuynNc

[lotocone]

Nice to see you have had the Elan out on the road.

[Andy8421]

Tom,

Well done getting the Elan running again. I noticed from your video that you don't have the airbox fitted over the air intakes and the coil is mounted on the inner wing opposite the carbs.

Air doesn't just flow into carbs, there is a complex series of negative and positive pressure waves going through the carb. At certain speeds, the carbs actually blow fuel out of the intakes. Unless you put the airbox back on, this may be asking for trouble given the position of your coil.

Have a look at the following video at 1:15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSSYcVTUrT8