Australia now has one more Elan

[robertverhey]

Thanks Chris, yes as you said it came out as a unit and the c shaped plate is obvious once it's out (but I have to say, not at all obvious in the exploded parts diagrams). Strange that both workshops manuals instruct that a spring compressor be fitted before the top and bottom bolts are removed. Unnecessary and I daresay, pretty impossible!

[robertverhey]

Quick update, improvised a suitable press from some bits from the hardware store. Those pipe fittings used to secure posts to concrete (for carports and such) were the perfect size, one 50mm I/D one and a 32mm I/D one (though in retrospect two 32mm ones would have done as well). Plus some threaded rod, washers and nuts. Less than $20. worked a treat.

For future ref I'd attach the two nuts at the base one either side of flange, to stop the rod turning while you tighten the top nuts...and you'll need pretty much all of the thread shown, as these babies are way, way compressed!

Happy to find some Konis therein, with plenty of life left. Anyone been able to source those shrouds?

[Bombay Racing Green]

Hi Robert,

Good work on those dampers. I was lucky to bag a pair of refurbished replacements from here so I have the original pair sitting around. I also have a pair of Elan Armstrong units in reserve. Although I cannot vouch for their working condition, the shrouds are in a reasonable condition. Would you be interested in them to scavenge for parts? I could send you some pictures if you like. Thankfully, through work, I get a decent discount with FedEx so shipping shouldn't be too bad for these heavy items.

Nice work on the car by the way!

All the best,

Peter

[robertverhey]

Many thanks Peter, but I did track some down locally through Elan Factory in Melbourne. $A25 each but shipping will be cheap, especially because I feel a big parts order coming on!

Chassis now fully stripped, cut in half and sent for scrap, what a filthy frustrating job that was. Nothing salvageable and N/S rear tower pretty much folded in under gravity....not much metal left there!

But now the incremental task of refurbishing can commence....at least a year in it I reckon

"First floor, chassis refurbishment.....ground floor, body shop",


Question, does anyone sell a chassis restoration nut and bolt set? There's very few I'd be prepared to re-use, so if someone sells the whole shebang that will save a lot of searching and matching in engineers supply shops.

[lotusfan]

Hi Robert

The Elan Factory used to produce a list of the nuts and bolts in an Elan, that will at least identify the sizes for you. Don't know if they sell them as a bag of bits though.

Exciting times !! - enjoy.

[tcsoar]

Hi Robert,

Spyder themselves do a complete nut and bolt set for their chassis, they can also supply the spindles that attach the front wishbones to the chassis if you did not get these with yours. I bought an unsed Spyder for my +2 and found them very helpful with all the bits needed to complete the chassis rebuild.

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/bolts,_spindles_&_services.htm

Chris.

[robertverhey]

These now look a bit better.....

[alaric]

Looks great. My car has just arrived in Italy but luckily fits neatly under the terrace of the house. I look forward to seeing more of your restoration.

Sean.

[RedS4]

Are they new shrouds on the dampers or a good paint job and new stickers?

[robertverhey]

Hi

Shrouds are new, courtesy of ?lan factory in Melbourne. $25 a pop.....bewdiful

The shocks themselves, I painted them with engine enamel and sourced some repro Koni stickers

[vstibbard]

Hi thre Robert, it may be optical illusion, but tseems like the shock absorber bolt holes are no longer circular if so think about replacing or at least welding washer inside box section to stop further movement and unusual knocks.

V

[robertverhey]

Hi yes your eyes don't deceive they are a bit worn t'be sure but there didn't seem to be much lateral play when I trial fitted the (old) bolts. Awaiting a large shipment from UK including bolts, so we'll see how it shapes up. Will certainly be using washers. Might weld them in if there's excessive lateral play.....

Robert

[RichardHawkins]

Robert,
I have only just read your post, and hope my comments are not too late.

My chassis is a Lotus replacement,and when I came to to fit the front wishbones, I discovered that the lower wishbones would not swing past the bottom of the front chassis upright. The wishbone clashed with the weld where the upright joins the front chassis crossmember. This would not have been a problem to rectify, but the chassis was already finished, so I had to damage and repair the coating system.

Richard Hawkins

[robertverhey]

Hi all
Progress is slow and often problematic, but most things can be sorted by lots of head scratching and lateral thought. But I have two questions about rack fitment

Rack has now been cleaned up and reset, but I'm having trouble getting it to fit the spyder chassis as the pics below show





The holes in the rack mounting outriggers are too far apart by about half an inch. I can get them through with a struggle, but this seems to put a lot of strain on the brackets and rubber mounts. Has anyone fitting a Spyder chassis encountered this before?

Also you'll notice I've acquired some slightly more robust mounting brackets (as shown on right side of pic). These are the same dimensionally as the old ones (ie the u bolt in old ones has same alignment problem), but they grip over the top of the rack flange as well, presumably giving some more certainty in lateral location. Anyone used these, and are there any downsides? If so I'll revert to the older style

Thanks for any advice

Robert

[AHM]

I think that the front central hole is for the body mounting. The rack mountings are behind and off-set.