Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

So Gary I think you should start the new thread!
You car at the habour looks grand by the way.

Mark

Nah, towers easily fixed with aluminium foil, apparently

Original frame, freshly gusseted and coated with POR-15 (look for separate post later on what I learned.)



I thought to take a picture of the Chassis Number before the 2nd coat of paint. Sadly, the "26/" is buried under that ugly weld on the left. OH, and Gary, I did find the weep holes. Silly little things, really. Luckily, no tinfoil for me. Nice and solid turrets, and now blanked off at the top of the opening.



Dave

bilcoh wrote:Original frame, freshly gusseted and coated with POR-15 (look for separate post later on what I learned.) Dave

Dave,

The lower pivot pins look a lot straighter than before:

Ref: elan-f15/elan-chassis-now-that-not-right-t23322-15.html

Looking forward to learning how you proceeded.

BTW: I believe that the "option" of replacing the pin as discussed (and included in later Lotus Manuals) was influenced by insurance company concerns over repair costs i.e. replacement frame

Richard, you really had to bring that up, didn't you?!? I was debating whether I'd come clean on what I decided to do about the suspension pins. The peanut gallery weighing in when I first aired the issue was decidedly split, with some taking the "why risk it" view with others saying "you'll probably be fine (but then, it's not my car)". I really have been feeling mixed about whether I'd tell the truth, but now that you've called me out.........

I'll discuss details in a future post about the frame mods and refurbishment that I plan to post, but the short story is that I fabricated a 3' lever bar that fit over the pin, but didn't touch the threads. I built a jig allowing me to see whether a front pin was aligned with it's neighboring rear, and with lots of before/after measuring, was able to move the offending pin back into alignment. One other was just slightly out as well, and I moved it back into place. Oh, and the good news was that the turrets themselves were straight and true, so no worries there. I was emboldened by what I found about the properties of the EN16T material and have decided to place my chips on cold straightening. It'll certainly be a shame if Mark's right and the little bugger just snaps off on me going round the first hard right-hander.

But, decision's been made, so full speed ahead, right? As I said, more photos and details later.

Dave

I was just beginning to wonder why this thread is in the "Gallery" section.

My 71 Plus 2 S130 still has its original chassis, protected with Mike Sanders. Last time on the road: 1978. My sin was to grind the original pistachio color away. Sorry! But I honestly think just the BabyElan looks superb in lime green.