I'm at the point that the details are important. You know, this little things that get looked over because your excited to get the Elan back on the road. And some of them take some major thinking and redoing.
I decided that I was going to keep this car as close to stock as possible. So one of the major issues was the air box with the weber carb/throttle return spring. Despite wanting to keep this car as close to stock as possible, I refuse to install rubber fuel line. Only braided fuel line and aluminum fittings are used on any of my cars. The braided fuel line requires some extra clearance so a portion of the air box bracket is ground out in a curve to make plenty of room for the fuel line without rubbing.
- Air box back plate
- Air box bracket with ground out area for fuel line
I had ordered a new throttle return spring and of course the size of the spring diameter and the holes in the air box bracket and the weber throttle control were all different. That meant removing everything I had just installed and drilling out the holes so the spring would fit. Hours of labor, thank goodness my friend Drew is here to help as no short cuts for me.
- Throttle return Spring
Another thing I notice while the radiator was out (I had it professional cleaned out and pressure tested) was the steering rack brackets seemed cocked. When I dismantled the brackets I noticed the shims were not correct for this car so I ordered new one and installed them on both sides.
- Steering Rack Shims
- Steering rack with new shims installed
I went about draining the transmission and differential oil and replaced both. Drew worked on replacing all the vacuum lines for the headlights. I had ordered all the correct parts from RD Enterprises so we were well prepared.
- Headlight vacuum line and valve install
Finished installing the radiator, hoses and all the brackets for the cooling system. Filled with anti corrosion anti-freeze.
- Elan S4 Engine bay
Installed the rebuilt starter motor and the generator. Replaced the bolts, nuts, washers with grade 8.
Installed a few new grommets in the engine bay (the old ones were dried out and cracked).
Bolted the exhaust system back in and lowered the car onto the ground calling it a day. We didn't get as much done as anticipated. People kept stopping by to see what was going on as the word is out we are restoring Lotus sports cars in my garage. It was also a 62 degree F day in mid-December and the weather is bringing everyone out !
Next week is tracing out all the wiring in the electrical system. No idea how long that will take, but I'm well prepared......I had a copy of the wiring diagram made 4 times larger than normal so tracing all the circuits would be easy