New car arriving

[alexblack13]

Hmmmm! Chassis is now stripped out, and it is in good condition. The front & rear suspension etc however is not.

Needs. Caliper overhaul (If not too far gone) X2

Discs X 2

New spring support tubes (If I can get them out of the ally
housings. They are in a right state!

New A frames

New dirive shafts (doing these anyway)

All new bushes... Everywhere... inc' the diff



Front is much the same. Except the discs and calipers are in fair condition

Shocks/springs/backplates/wishbones etc all more or less u/s

I have never seen a car with 7 months MOT remaining in such horrible
condition mech' wise. Thank god the engine and box is fine.

I need a break !!! Anyone got any good condition bits for me???

[Elanintheforest]

Hi Alex
Give Spyder a call...they allways have a lot of the parts you are talking about for sale at the shows, taken off cars that are having Spyder chassis / suspension conversions done. And they don't seem to charge too much. The front and rear wishbones are very lightweight parts and you're probably better off buying new...but you never know what Spyder may have.
Try Classicar Automotive to get the calipers overhauled...if they can be done, they'll do it.

Mark

[alexblack13]

Thanks Mark.
I will do that. Trouble is I can't find any original top/btm wishbones for the thing. No one seam to remake those in the same style etc.

Calling spyder now..

Cheers.

Merry Xmas and a Happy new year to all.........

[tdafforn]

the original top and bottom wishbones have issues. The outboard bolt holes get trashed, becoming oval, and letting the suspension move in ways that it wasn't designed for..
The remanufactured w-bones are more bulky around these holes!
Tim

[richardcox_lotus]

For rear A-arms, you could try Pat Thomas @ Kelvedon, as he used to make adjustable versions. I know he does a lot of Elise related info now, but may still have some stuff left !

[alexblack13]

Hi all,
Spyder only has new available (Looks like I may have to go this route)

The top and bottom front wishbones are the later reinforced type with extra steel welded in around the balljoint/trunnion/shock mounting holes and they are fine. It is the rest of the wishbones that are u/s with rust nearly all the way through. Rear A frames are so rusty they are actually crumbling away as I am removing them. Tried gripping them in the vice(they are going in the bin mind) and they just fell apart! And this is from a car with 6 months MOT remaining !!!!!

The chassis is now completley stripped and about to go off for a LIGHT encounter with the shotblaster. I am in two minds whether to powder coat it, (Its a galv' chassis) or give it a couple of coats of etch primer and a couple also of black enamel, with stoneguard type underseal on the inside faces.
Any opinions? Advice? I have my ears on good buddies....

I will keep you all posted.....

Alex B

[mikealdren]

Alex,
I don't think it'll still be galvanised after its been blasted! You can remain original with red oxide primer and a coat of chassis black but I would look at some of the more high tech options developed for oil rigs, railway engines etc. I've had good results epoxy in the past, it adheres well and is very tough.

regards
Mike

[alexblack13]

Hi Mike/All,
The grit git assures me he will not lift off the galv' coating/plating. He can use a softer medium to take off the dirt and light corrosion only. But I might go the whole hog and have it powder coated
which is very tough. I am just thinking cost at the moment as I need so many parts for the car now most of the running gear has been binned. I am now looking at two new struts for the rear. I may not be able to save the ones on the car!

Time will tell.

Alex B

[garyeanderson]

Hi Alex
Sounds like a new chassis is a prudent investment with so much other money going into this project. I like to know I have as good of a chassis as I can, three or four years of neglect can really do a number on things.

Gary

Hi Everyone.
My first post on this forum, so here goes I am taking delivery of a sprint dhc this wekend which is in need of some serious TLC.
It has had a new Lotus galv' chassis about 3 years ago so I don't think it will need the body off. Plan ''A'' (providing inspection goes to plan )
is to remove and renovate each corner with whatever is needed to bring up to spec'.
Question...being away for so long (I sold my +2 s130) quite some time ago) I have lost touch with what's what so... What about mods? Anything recomended whilst I have the suspension/brakes etc off the car? New poly bushes for eg?? How's about brake parts? Uprated discs/calipers??
I aim to strip off each corner, beadblast carefully any parts needing painted, powdercoat where applicable, then rebuild. Engine is fine. Body will need painted but is good. Interior is tired but complete and intact.

The car has a genuine lotus hard top with it. Does anyone know how this attaches to the top of the screen and to the rest of the car for that matter?

Any comments/help appreciated.

Alex B

[patrics]

Hi Alex

All your suspension parts in the original style ? shock tubes, bushes and wishbones are all available from Tony Thompson Racing. There is a pdf of what?s available, prices etc on the web site: www.tonythompsonracing.co.uk

If the chassis is so good why shot blast it? Why not just degrease it and coat in Waxoil.
Also powder coating can be okay or just expensive rubbish that won?t last 5 minutes.

Having said that it?s probably easier to fit a new chassis where you can line it all up your self, and tap the holes properly.

Like Gary said your spending a lot of money so it might be best to fit a new chassis, after all when you come to get it valued the first question will be ?has it had a new chassis? if the answers "no" it would be valued accordingly - probably less than the cost of a new chassis.

Cheers
Steve

[mikealdren]

Alex,
I'll echo Steve's comments on powder coating. Also, if it isn't done well and corrosion gets under the coating, it then tends to trap the moisture under the coating and this can actually accelerate the corrosion.
Mike

[alexblack13]

Hi All,

Thanks for the input men, I am listening and considering the various options. The chassis is in v good nick but has a bit of surface only salt corrosion on the front uptights and just a little at the rear. This is minimal and would wire brush off to as new. The galv' coat underneath is more or less untouched. It is a little dirty also which will pressure wash off. Loads of oil down the center inside of the frame has kept this as new. The rear is almost as new. So, in short a good clean and start rebuilding would do most of us I am thinking get it painted for two reasons. Hopefully extend its life, and make it look the dogs whatsits also. The blast process I was talking about is fairly gentle and would bring it up very nice.

How's about a coat or two of etch primer then the couple of coats on black enamel ? This would make me feel better and the frame look like new .

[alexblack13]

Should have read further !! Sorry Guys...

The car absolutely does not require a new chassis. Just to make that clear. Thank god !! It was replaced by PO in 1999.

The powder coating company I use are industrial grade experts doing this day in day out. It is their busy to get it right and what they have done for me so far is perfect. As for getting it off or it falling off !! I have tried to remove it once or twice. Not easy.

I am not saying for def' I am going this route mind. Just an option I am considering

New chassis is not a (requirement) option. It is as solid as the day it was fitted.

Thanks also for the info Re Tony Thompson. I know them. I am going to give them a call soon..

Thanks again to everyone for the input.....

Alex B.

[alexblack13]

Update... Took all the advice and just had it steam cleaned.

It (the frame) Came up very well, Cleaned up a treat. So now the question is. Do I ''underseal'' it? Or .. How's about the product all the classic car nuts are raving about and coat it with (satin Black) Epoxy Mastic. 2 Ltr chassis kit is 60 quid delivered, but it gets a great report.

Anyone used it? One of my nieghbours has used it on a couple of cars and says you can't get a better coating for a chassis than this.

Google it ...

let me know what you think...

<<<<< Welding goggles off..

[mikealdren]

Alex,
It's along the lines I was thinking of but..........

There are several requirements for paint. Basically it needs to keep water, salts etc off the steel to prevent corrosion. Ideally it should also be self healing or prevent corrosion if/when the film of paint fails.

To achieve this, it needs to stick well and be resistant to both occasional damage (trolley jacks, tools, large stones thrown up etc) and continuous abrasion form road muck.

Zinc galvanising gives you the best basis for preventing corrosion spreading. When it's new and shiny, not all paints stick well to zinc (IIRC cadmium primers used to be recommended) but once the zinc has weathered (like yours) that issue is gone.

I've used 'pure' epoxy (not filled with mastic), it stick to surfaces very well and gives a strong film. I would recommend a further level of protection over it and I've used a rubberised paint in the past. Stonechip would also be fine. Unfortunately, I didn't keep either car for long enough to check the long term results.

I haven't tried the combined epoxy/mastic. I followed your epoxy search and I did find an american site that didn't recommend it for bridges in seawater! It's hard to find anyone who's used it for long.

What we really need is someone who has long term experience.

My plans for my current car (Spyder parts not galvanised) are to cover the paint provided with Dinitrol 4941 over 3125.

Mike