Another Elan on the road again.

[mart2elan]

Hi all,
It's ready. After 3 years and a great deal of work it finally is ready. I started in january 2006 with a abandoned project from Ebay and finished 3 weeks ago with a beautifull Elan S4 DHC SE.
It's now registerd, on the road, and it drives like ..... I don't have the words for it (not even in Dutch) Perfect.
In the last 2 weeks i have already driven 600 miles and without any problems. It seems that everything is working without any trouble.
The last 3 years i have been lurking on this great forum weekly. For almost every question i could find an answer in the archive or on the active topics. I want to thanks all of you for the great information on this forum.

The car is a january 1970 S4 SE and orignal FHC and RHD. I have converted it to DHC and LHD.

I will try to attache some pictures.

Marten

to start with

left side

right side

front

droped hood

licenced

[peterako]

Wow!

Beautiful!

Well done Marten!!

Must admit I'm a bit jealous

And what better country than The netherlands, with the tallest people in the world, to make the Elan look even more tiny

How about a word from Heroes? - 'Yah Kah!!'

Peter

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Great job, looks great & welcome.
I'm not sure how much 3 years "Lurking" costs ? though
John

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Wow!

Beautiful!

Well done Marten!!

Must admit I'm a bit jealous

And what better country than The netherlands, with the tallest people in the world, to make the Elan look even more tiny

How about a word from Heroes? - 'Yah Kah!!'

Peter

Why do they grow so tall there then?
Is the ground so wet or is it Nature's answer if the Dyke's bursting?
Nix f?r ungut
John

[Carlos A]

Congratulations! That is a beautiful car! Post pictures of the engine bay.

Best Carlos

[types26/36]

Very very nice! and in one of my favorite colors (BRG) normally I would have had reservations' about turning a fixed head into a drop head but seeing the before picture I think it was well justified and it looks like an excellent job.......well done and I am amazed you lurked without having lots of questions, you obviously know your way around motor cars....
congratulations and have lots of fun.

[mart2elan]

Thanks for all the reply

John,

I managed to keep the costs down by doing almost everything myself. The only thing i have not done was the painting (spaying).

You asked "Why do they grow so tall there then?"
I can only guess on that. Probably because we always have to stretch the body when looking over the dyke to guard/watch over the water.

Carlo,

I will attache some extra pictures of the engine bay in this post.

Marten

Front separated

Back separated

Lift down

Back dash

Engine 1

Engine 2

Engine 3

[peterako]

Drool.......

Fantastic!

[mastijo]

Congratulations on a fine job

I finished mine 2 years ago

I am curious of what you used for the filler strip between the front bumper and the body

I bought a replacement part but it came in as a straight piece and when I tried to bend it kinked

I wound up taking my original that was broken and gluing it back together and then painting it. It is better than nothing but that is one thing I still would like to get right

Thanks,
John
64 S1

[nebogipfel]

.......
I am curious of what you used for the filler strip between the front bumper and the body

I bought a replacement part but it came in as a straight piece and when I tried to bend it kinked .........

I apologise for jumping in here, but all you need to do is buy another new strip and this time warm it either in hot water or with a hair dryer and you will find that you can form the curve with no problem.

I fixed mine into position with a thin bead of polyurethane glue. The result was a neat permanent strip with no ugly screws in the ends.

[mastijo]

I tried that and it didn't work

The problem is the backing strip. It is much thicker than the facing part. When I warmed it enough to bend it the part that shows curled

[pamitchell]

You need to notch the center rib to make smooth bends.

[Frank Howard]

Marten,

Very nice, especially the paint. Looks like once you've located some underdash trims, you'll be through. Perhaps you're have them and you are holding off installing them until you are convinced there are no more reasons to assume the "Lotus Position" under the dash. I've done that. I see you even installed a power antenna! Prediction: You will use the top only when absolutely necessary. The car feels and sounds like a completely different car with the top down. Enjoy the fruits of your labor Marten!

[CBUEB1771]

I will attache some extra pictures of the engine bay in this post.

mart2elan,

I am very curious about the throttle linkage and return spring mount on the top of the front carburettor. I saw something like that on an Elite several years ago but have not been able to get any more information. Where did you find this?

[mart2elan]

John (mastijo),

The filler strip is a replacement from Paul Matty. The only thing i did was warm it with a hair dryer and it fitted without any problem. No glue. It's just hooks between the bumber and the nose edge of the body.

Frank,

The underdash trim is a missing part. I hope i can find a trim set in a reasonable condition sometime to complete the dash.

Until now i have only driven two times with the hood up and i agree with you that it feels and sounds completely different with the hood down. The sound is fantastic espacialy when you put down the throttle.

Russ,

I don't know the type and brand of the throttle linkage. It came with the car (one of the few parts in good condition). It's a very solid linkage but it needed some extra springs to put it down into idle position.
If you like i can post you some close up picture of the linkage.

Marten