45/6994 Elan S3 Rebuild

[ethanlance]

Pretty excited about this latest weekend project. When I began the restoration of my car, I thought it was cool to keep my Lotus positive ground and running with a generator. How novel. However I never restored the generator, and as a result, it never really charged the battery well.

At idle the car would eventually drain the battery.

But, not anymore, because I've installed an alternator! And I got to solder the tachometer to negative ground, as well. Fun weekend job.

[gjz30075]

Nice job Ian. You could go this route also:
https://classicmotorsports.com/project- ... generator/

[TBG]

Greg - you need very deep pockets!! Dynalite is £406....................D

[gjz30075]

I bought a different brand for considerably less, albeit several years ago. They are about US$320 today
and I wanted the OEM look. Ethan's conversion is far less expensive

[lance54]

Well done Ethan. That tachometer mod can be a tricky one.

Did you route the output cable all the way to the battery with a big fuse?

One of these will make the connections easier.

[ethanlance]

I bought a different brand for considerably less, albeit several years ago. They are about US$320 today
and I wanted the OEM look. Ethan's conversion is far less expensive

I agree, the OEM alternators look better. That's one reason I kept the generator all these years.

[ethanlance]

Well done Ethan. That tachometer mod can be a tricky one.

Did you route the output cable all the way to the battery with a big fuse?

One of these will make the connections easier.

C344C156-D1D9-4E9A-A83C-29299A496D54.jpeg

Hi Clark, no I did not know to do this. Is that the output from the alternator that would go back to the battery? Or do you mean the output from the tach?

I have the output going to the A terminal on the regulator. And also disconnected some of the wires that used to go to the regulator as per the instructions that came with the RD alternator.

[lance54]

The RD instructions are suitable for sure. I installed without the original regulator so the output cable went directly to the battery. The battery side of the starter solenoid would have been and alternative as well.

[ill_will]

Hi Ethan,

Do you have any info on the chain drive sack trolleys you used to lift the body onto the chassis? (Brand/model/what they are for originally...) I could use a pair!

Many thanks,

Will

[ethanlance]

Hi Ethan,

Do you have any info on the chain drive sack trolleys you used to lift the body onto the chassis? (Brand/model/what they are for originally...) I could use a pair!

Many thanks,

Will

Will, no I don't have information on those. I borrowed them from a local lotus mechanic here in California.

If you can get your hands on a pair, I recommend. I was able to put the body on chassis by myself and in just a few minutes.