Restoration of S2 Elan - EOK

[Geoffers71]

Got the head back from the engine builder today and now all sorted. All shims around 100 thou or so and tappet clearances all bang in the middle of the tolerance range. So put the head back on the block and timed as per the book The inlet valves are now big valve and the inlet camshaft an SE one so that should give a tad more power than standard.

I think I've got the cam cover colour not too far off, although it's not as silvery as the original I don't think. What you reckon?

So the rolling chassis is complete although I can fit the exhaust headers I suppose. I was proposing to wrap the headers to try and get as much heat out from under the bonnet as possible. Anyone else done thus?

As you can see I've scraped quite a lot of the paint off the main body already. Guess I have no excuse to get back to it in earnest now

[rgh0]

You should be able to fit the headers with the body off. I would ceramic coat the headers (inside and out) they look nicer and last longer than wrapping them. I have wrapped headers in the past and it works also and keeps a bit more heat in the pipes and out of the engine bay than the ceramic but it gets dirty and starts to fray after a while and the headers corrode quicker than when ceramic coated. I have also stuck the aluminium faced woven Kevlar heat shield insulation to the side of the foot well that faces the headers as the fibreglass can get pretty hot there.

You will however need to remove the carb studs from the rear two cylinders and the elbow you have for the heater hose on the thermostat housing to fit the body on over the engine

cheers
Rohan

[Geoffers71]

Hi Rohan, Thanks for the tips about the carb studs and the heater pipe, useful to know that before finding out the hard way

[Geoffers71]

An update on where I am with EOK's restoration. Lots of diversions recently including the Le Mans Classic, but I have been getting on with the boring, boring job of scraping off 3 layers of paint . I've done the nose, down the RHS and across the back down to a thick primer for the most part in a rather fetching pink colour .

I've been repairing damaged areas as I go along, grinding back, layering with tissue and resin and skimming with filler, but I've lost some of the stress cracks in the paint removing process. This either means that the cracks were in the paint and that's OK, or they're too fine to see now. I need a method to highlight them again, such as a fine coloured liquid or some such that will creep into the crack and highlight them again. Anyone any suggestions ???

I've also fitted the exhaust headers by way of a change of scenery.
[attachment=0]SNV32442.JPG[/attachment)
I was intending to wrap the exhausts, but there just isn't room They're very tight together and I also couldn't get one of the nuts on, so that idea binned. BTW anyone recognise the brass connector that is fitted where the temp sender or the heater valve should :be? Can't be standard and can't see a reason for it so I guess I'll just take it out.

[mbell]

BTW anyone recognise the brass connector that is fitted where the temp sender or the heater valve should :be? Can't be standard and can't see a reason for it so I guess I'll just take it out.

Looks similar to the connector on my +2 engine. The +2 has a different heater setup so doesn't need the heater valve, just an elbow and heater pipe straight to the matrix.

You should probably remove it and install a standard Elan heater valve.

[Elanintheforest]

Looking very good Geoff, and it looks like you're winning with that 'orrible paint stripping task!

It seems that the S1 and S2 Elans used the pink primer, but for some reason it was stopped by the time the S3 came along.

The way I've re-found the stress cracks in the past in primer or bare fibreglass has been just to wipe the body over with a wet cloth, and the 'wet' pulls away from any cracks. Just a small area at a time, and look along the bodywork with a lamp shining along, rather than at, the bodywork...if you see what I mean.

Another way is applying a coat of dark gloss paint from an aerosol, which has the same effect with the paint pulling away from the crack and showing it up.

I do think though that a lot of the cracks were paint-related rather than get coat. That black layer wasn't too carefully applied back in the early 1970s!

Mark

[Geoffers71]

Getting pretty fed up with rubbing back, destresscracking, tissue laminating, skimming, rubbing back, long boarding and starting over again However I'm getting there. Back half is pretty much there. The good news is that many of the stress cracks that I could see before I removed the paint were in a layer of the primer. It seems that a previous respray had used this white primer, very thick and very brittle, over the original red. This layer contained many of the cracks and so they disappeared when this layer was removed. ...but there were some in the gell coat too. I think I've got all of these. Most were easy enough, but both rear wheel arches had many small cracks radiating from the edge. The whole arch had to be ground off to within 2" of the edge, 2 layers of resin and tissue and then reprofiled with P38. Very, very time consuming, but I think it's pretty much there.

This close relationship I've had with the body (ooer missus ) has thrown up a number of strange things that are puzzling to say the least Firstly the inside of the rear panel, where the lights fit, has been re-inforced with layers of mat and resin...very, very badly. It's very uneven and there were huge blisters (2 to 3" across) of cured fiberglass that were not attached to the original surface. This is what it looks like AFTER I had ground off the blisters. It looks better now than it did

I can't see why this was done as the exterior surface seems untouched, but there must have been a reason. I could continue to grind back to try and get a more even surface, but I don't know what I might reveal, and it isn't that important as it's not really seen...it isn't is it??? What would you do ?
Another oddity (see next post)

[Geoffers71]

Under every wheel arch there is evidence of new fiberglass

This looks much more professionally done, even though some of it is over the original red paint. There's also similar "reinforcing" around the central tunnel. Again there doesn't appear to be any repaired damage as such, just a layer of fiberglass, and this has been done under EVERY wheelarch as well as other selected places:? Any suggestions as to why this was done? Extra strength maybe for racing (although lightness ought to be the priority), repair after major replacement panel surgery? Really baffling ! Don't think it's an issue, but would like to know

[Elanintheforest]

I can't offer any insight Geoff, other than maybe the previous owner thought it may help reduce stone damage! I would pull off anything that looks suspect, but if the wheelarch bit look like a strong bond I don't see any harm in leaving them. If they do weaken once the car is in use, then at last it's just a local repair, not interfering with the outer paint finish.

You should have seen the Cortina heater box fitted to the inside of the bulkhead, using about half a kilo of fibreglass! Luckily most of the bond was poor so it came out reasonably easily. In this photo you can see the inside of the Cortina heater, and just make out the 1/4 inch thick fibreglass underneath!

Note that in the boot, high up, are some fibreglass 'tabs' which locate and support the wiring loom. They are original.

Mark

[Geoffers71]

Thanks Mark, I can't see any tabs in the boot, but the extra glassing is VERY thick and consists of at least a half inch of solid resin/mat which has to be ground off as it seems well and truly attached. This is a very dirty/dusty business and I don't relish getting into it if I don't have to. Will have to see if I feel I HAVE to do it later

[Geoffers71]

Guess you all must be wondering what I've been up to for the last couple of months.....you haven't ? Oh well here's an update anyway
I've been working on this pesky body scraping off paint, rubbing back, grinding ot stress cracks, tissue and resin, filling rubbing back and on, and on, and on..... Don't want to see another scraper for a long , long time
Anyway ALL paint is now removed from all panels ( Oh OK not the hardtop yet, but that can wait) and I've got the finish as smooth and level (used my flexi longboard ) as I could.
The plan is to spray the final finish in Cellulose (Cirrus White), but to prime in 2K high build. As I can't (dont want to, mustn't ) spray this it is being ROLLED on with fine 4" foam rollers. There is no need to thin this mix as you would if spraying, so the thickness builds up very quickly and it's surprising how smooth the finish can be. It will all be flatted back with W&D anyway. So, here's what I did today in about 4 hours

continued next post

[Geoffers71]

Despite my care in prepping this first coat always shows up the areas that are missed. Particularly pin holes, scratches and shallow areas. The pin holes will be filled with stopper and a graphite guide coat used before reverting to the long board again. Anothe two coats of this primer before final flatting again.
So glad to have got this prep stage behing me, just need to take extra care over this next stage as it is this that makes the difference. Need to slow down and not to rush. Just have to wait before starting re-assmbling all the bits

[Geoffers71]

Just finished and flatted back the third coat of primer and it looks close to the final painting very soon The weather is ideal at the moment, warm, dry and little breeze so it would be good to go The paint arrived today, cellulose in Cirrus White and I also asked them to supply an aerosol to help with touching up later if needed. I now have to decide on the order to do things. I have to trial fit the body to the frame so that I can mark the bolt positions, then remove it again to drill and tap where necessary. Now I'm tempted to paint the underneath of the body before fitting and then to fit and paint it when it is finally back on the frame. Or I could paint the whole body while it's off the frame and fit it when all done. What do others prefer?
The advantage of painting when ON the frame is that the final coats can be applied with doors, boot lid and bonnet fitted, and there is also less chance of damaging finished paint.
Regarding the fitting of the body on the frame. The engine and transmission are already fitted as you've all seen. The exhaust headers are fitted as are the fuel line and the brake lines. I've removed the inlet manifold studs and the heater valve. Is there anything else I should do now while the body is off?
As you can see I've really tried to slow things down and not to rush things (Just can't help it )

[rgh0]

I presume you have the handbrake cable and linkages fitted to the chassis also. Did S2's have the reverse light switch in the gearbox ? fitting and adjusting that with the body on is also a pain.

cheers
Rohan

[elanfan1]

Looking like a very very nice meticulous job you are doing there Geoff - the car should be stunning when finished and a great credit to you.

Steve