1969 S4 DHC, s/n 8439

[gino1]

Hi Andy,

The link is : elan-photos-f18/elan-coupe-1967-restoration-t14164.html

Gino

[abstamaria]

In 1977, I ordered an engine from Vegantune to replace the Stromberg-carbureted engine that came with the Lotus. In 1998, I replaced the Vegantune with a steel engine from QED, using an original "L" block (a block with "L" embossed near the RG engine mount). Here is the QED engine as it now sits No. 8439. It is a very "high-spec" engine.

The cockpit is still in "racing" node, with a 26R-style radiator and swirl pot, a fuel-pressure regulator, and Aeroquip hoses, but it is otherwise original. I have not used the QED on the street since the car was retired from vintage racing, but hope to do so early next year.

[abstamaria]

During yesterday's once-every-8-years storage clean-up, I found this wood dashboard for my 1969 Lotus Elan. A friend who managed a shop that made doors cut the blank for me and sprayed it with a thick plastic-like coat. At home, I sanded that coat down with an orbital sander, then by hand with very fine sandpaper until it was glass-smooth. Then, I installed the labels, using Letraset by hand, a letter at a time. That was in 1978 or so, 31 years ago.

In 1998, I had an "off" at a vintage race at Subic. The accident stressed the steering column and body, cracking the the dashboard. In the rebuild that followed, I replaced the dashboard with a beautiful one made by a craftsman in the U.S. But I kept my handmade dashboard. I marvel now how young eyes and hands were able to place each letter down so precisely and wonder whether it is now time to let it go.

[cabc26b]

Hi Andy,

Not that you were asking - My 2 cents -

Unless you have no space to keep it...Don't let it go. I'm not pack rat but pieces like these ( for me anyway) provide spontaneous trips down memory lane - Bent control arms, broken gears, old dash boards. body panels. steering wheels. ancient pieces of magnesium etc i like to keep them if they are tied to an experience.

george

[abstamaria]

Thanks, George. It's hard to let it go. It's been with me more than half my lifetime. My best, Andy

[abstamaria]

It is hard to believe, but it may have been almost ten years since I drove my Elan. The last time might have been its last race at the now-gone Subic Raceway. Since then we moved houses and rebuilt the new garage and workshop, which turned my attention to those things.

I also brought the Elan back to road-trim as best as I could, removing the roll-bar, putting back the carpet underlay, etc., but keeping the rod-end suspension. I removed the Fuel-Safe bladder tank and installed a new aluminum one, made in England and just a bit shorter lengthwise so that the larger tire on the 26R rim would fit. Over the last five years, I sold the Elise and my beloved 23, so I am now down to one Lotus, the very first Lotus I bought.

We removed and cleaned the carburetors, put in some petrol, and #8439 started right away. We tuned the carbs, and I took her for a 2.2 kilometer run around the village. A few to-do things, but she ran well. I am quite pleased and so decided to report this wonderful event to you.

Here is the Elan in my workshop today, with my friend and mechanic Krish cleaning the carbs.

Andy

[abstamaria]

The last sets of Weber repair kits that I bought came in cardboard packs. Once upon a time, they came in neat plastic boxes and included a float. I still have two of those boxes. In case Weber doesn't use those boxes anymore, here is a photo I took today during #8439's carb rebuild.

Andy

[abstamaria]

I have been checking my files to see if indeed it had been almost ten years since I drove the Elan. It seems that is true. The last race I joined in the Elan was in November 2001, at the Manila Sports Car Club's annual vintage race weekend with the Japan Classic Car Association (JCCA).

Here I am exiting the paddocks in the Elan and headed for the track. That's MSCC club secretary Sophie delos Santos in her TR4A behind me. Note that MSCC assigned race number "45" to my Type 45 Elan, while Sophie's car has "44," coveted among TR enthusiasts.

At this point, my Elan had already shed its Tony Thompson roll bar, which was effective but not very attractive, as most conforming designs. MSCC's rules are a bit more relaxed.

After such a long lay-up, all the jets were clogged, and there was thick, gooey muck at the bottom plates of the Webers. I've installed a switch for the electric fuel pump and plan to turn off the pump when near home, hopefully draining the carbs. Will this work?

Andy

[abstamaria]

As I reported in the 2-versus-4 post lift threads, I had #8439 on the lift today for the first time. I bled the clutch and adjusted the ride height, jobs so much easier when the car is on a lift.

I took the car out for a spin, too, so it's really good to be driving her again.

Andy

[abstamaria]

This is the locally made trailer that we used to bring the Lotus to the races. There were two circuits, one on an airport course at the old US naval base at Subic, North of Manila, and another South of Manila.

[abstamaria]

Pardon these pictures of #8439, but I have just been rediscovering new things after my attention was diverted from the car (for ten years!).

Here is #8439 in 1977, about two months after I purchased her from La Monsa Motors, in Mahwah, NJ. I lived in Manhattan at the time and garaged the car at an uncle?s country home in Browns Mills, NJ, where this photo was taken.
As bought, #8439 was in JPS livery, black with gold stripes. She had the federal sidemarkers and incorrect ?World Champion? badges that went past its year of manufacture, later removed by me. And the safety, earless KO nuts. During restoration, we found traces of the original yellow paint beneath the black, but the car was otherwise very original.

Ignorance is bliss, and we used the Elan with few tools and no spares and no worry about fragility and such, throughout the year, driving with the top down with snow all around and going on trips up to Maine and down to Atlanta. She performed without a hitch.

That?s me in the photo, 35 years ago, enjoying a fulfilled dream - Lotus ownership. The car has aged far better than me.

Andy

[RedS4]

Hi Andy
Can you tell me about your current spinners? I notice they are opn-centred - were they cast like this or are they closed-centres that were machined to get that "26R look"? Also, what is the width of your alloys?

Cheers

[abstamaria]

Hello, Evan. Those are 26R spinners, from Tony Thompson Racing. They are aluminum and quite light, especially as compared to the standard KO spinners.

Andy

[abstamaria]

In 1980, I began the restoration on #8439, taking her down to the bare chassis. I completed the restoration in 1982, bringing the car to very original specification. However, I painted the car BRG over white and replaced the U.S. Stromberg-carbureted engine with a new one I ordered from Vegantune in 1977.

I used the car extensively for club events in the years that followed; in 1995 I decided to restore the car again, but this time for racing. I kept the original chassis, but installed some bits from Tony Thompson, including his roll-over bar. I removed and stored the carpet underlay and replaced the rear bulkhead with an aluminum sheet to the same pattern. I had the usual plumbed-in extinguisher and a Fuel Safe fuel tank with the bladder encased in an aluminum shell that looked like the original Elan item. This time, I had the car painted yellow over white. It looked good, actually.

Here it is in a race at an airport course at the old U.S. Navy base in Subic, North of Manila. That's a real Shelby GT350 in the photo.

Andy

[abstamaria]

This was taken about seven years ago, when I was in the process of bringing the Elan back to road trim. That was in my old workshop.

Luckily, I kept almost all of the original carpet underlay, so was able to reinstall this. You can see the pad for the boot section above the diff on the floor, and the aluminum bulkhead on the tool cabinet. The last piece was very nicely done, actually, and I thought about simply carpeting it. It had cutouts for the roll-over bar struts though, so I decided to install the original cardboard item.

Best,

Andy