Re: Elan S4 being awakened after 35 year slumber.
Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 3:31 pm
A delay on getting the petrol tank made and the dash refurbished slowed things down a bit on the Elan over the winter, but that wasn’t a bad thing…I needed the rest.
If you are about to fully restore your Elan or just want to smarten up the dash, then plan ahead. My dash was away for 6 months, and the petrol tank also had a 6 month lead time to have made. Both were worth the wait as they really are perfect.
As I’ve just fitted the dash I have one more suggestion. Don’t be tempted to fit a repro dash if you can avoid it. They are tricky little sods to fit when all wired up, and I had to offer it up, figure out what was in the way, take it back and adjust something 4 or 5 times before it went on properly. If it hadn’t been the original dash I really would have doubted that it would fit at all.
Back to last November, I had a few jobs to do before the dash came back.
The underfelt and carpets went in pretty easily, although the original underfelt is probably a few mms thinner than the stuff I had so adjustments had to be made.
The hood frame was repaired with a couple of new rivets and rubbed down / repainted, along with the frame tray. It took a couple of trial fittings to get it symmetrical on the car as, when a rivet or two had failed, one of the bows went a little out of shape. Then it got cold and wet over Christmas / New Year so I took to warmer activities, mainly involving eating and drinking.
The dash arrived back in January, and the dining room table became the perfect workbench on which to build the dash up, cleaning up / renovating all the bits and pieces on the way. The ash tray took a fair bit of restoration, and I probably spent an hour or so on each switch. Can’t rush a good job.
The petrol tank arrived in February, and with much messing about the holes in the fibreglass lined up with the threads in the tank. The tank is perfect, but the original tank had been mounted at a very strange angle in the boot. One corner was held up but the rear panel, and consequently a couple of holes were 3 or more cms out of place. Much messing about with fibreglass to drill new holes and repair the old ones.
The tank was made by Andy at Axminster Panels, and I opted for the modification of having the pipe take-off and sender on the side rather than on the back. It seems a far more logical place to put them, allowing room to put a decent in-line fuel filter in the boot, and being able to see instantly if there is anything weeping from the sender unit.
Last week I couldn’t put it off any longer, and the built-up dash was connected up to the loom in the car, and all the circuits re-tested. Everything worked apart from the rear lights, but as I had cut the boot lid loom to take the lid off that was easily explained.
With the electrics working the choke and heater cable were fitted, along with the water / oil gauge and its temperature sender pipe and oil pressure pipe. The dash was offered up a few times, each time noting some other bit of loom that was in the way. Once they were cleared it became obvious that the heater was encroaching too far into the dash space, so it was taken out, the ‘Y’ section heater mounting bracket modified until the heater fitted as far forward towards the bulkhead as it could, and the dash offered up one more time. It fitted like a glove now, with a lot more space between the back of the ignition switch and the heater box than it had when I took it apart.
All electrics were re-tested, the dash screwed in place, wires tidied, glove box liner fitted and the gear lever fitted.
I had a good night’s sleep last night!
If you are about to fully restore your Elan or just want to smarten up the dash, then plan ahead. My dash was away for 6 months, and the petrol tank also had a 6 month lead time to have made. Both were worth the wait as they really are perfect.
As I’ve just fitted the dash I have one more suggestion. Don’t be tempted to fit a repro dash if you can avoid it. They are tricky little sods to fit when all wired up, and I had to offer it up, figure out what was in the way, take it back and adjust something 4 or 5 times before it went on properly. If it hadn’t been the original dash I really would have doubted that it would fit at all.
Back to last November, I had a few jobs to do before the dash came back.
The underfelt and carpets went in pretty easily, although the original underfelt is probably a few mms thinner than the stuff I had so adjustments had to be made.
The hood frame was repaired with a couple of new rivets and rubbed down / repainted, along with the frame tray. It took a couple of trial fittings to get it symmetrical on the car as, when a rivet or two had failed, one of the bows went a little out of shape. Then it got cold and wet over Christmas / New Year so I took to warmer activities, mainly involving eating and drinking.
The dash arrived back in January, and the dining room table became the perfect workbench on which to build the dash up, cleaning up / renovating all the bits and pieces on the way. The ash tray took a fair bit of restoration, and I probably spent an hour or so on each switch. Can’t rush a good job.
The petrol tank arrived in February, and with much messing about the holes in the fibreglass lined up with the threads in the tank. The tank is perfect, but the original tank had been mounted at a very strange angle in the boot. One corner was held up but the rear panel, and consequently a couple of holes were 3 or more cms out of place. Much messing about with fibreglass to drill new holes and repair the old ones.
The tank was made by Andy at Axminster Panels, and I opted for the modification of having the pipe take-off and sender on the side rather than on the back. It seems a far more logical place to put them, allowing room to put a decent in-line fuel filter in the boot, and being able to see instantly if there is anything weeping from the sender unit.
Last week I couldn’t put it off any longer, and the built-up dash was connected up to the loom in the car, and all the circuits re-tested. Everything worked apart from the rear lights, but as I had cut the boot lid loom to take the lid off that was easily explained.
With the electrics working the choke and heater cable were fitted, along with the water / oil gauge and its temperature sender pipe and oil pressure pipe. The dash was offered up a few times, each time noting some other bit of loom that was in the way. Once they were cleared it became obvious that the heater was encroaching too far into the dash space, so it was taken out, the ‘Y’ section heater mounting bracket modified until the heater fitted as far forward towards the bulkhead as it could, and the dash offered up one more time. It fitted like a glove now, with a lot more space between the back of the ignition switch and the heater box than it had when I took it apart.
All electrics were re-tested, the dash screwed in place, wires tidied, glove box liner fitted and the gear lever fitted.
I had a good night’s sleep last night!