Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

It took me about a year to find one, but I finally tracked down a 1971 Lotus Elan DHC. It is everything I ever wanted in a roadster and I always look forward to the next drive. So far I've modified the rear axels with CV axels and replaced the front cover on the engine with Dave Bean's. I'm hunting down starter problems and have cleaned the battery terminals. Big improvement but going after the ground straps, then the starter terminals next, as the problem has not completely gone away. This car also gave me the opportunity to meet Tom Cotter. Long story, but we completely disassembled his Elan last February for restoration. Unfortunately, the pandemic has caused a major interruption in the project.

Hi Pete,
Welcome to the club. Can never have too much earthing.
Cheers,
Colin.



uote="Pete M"]It took me about a year to find one, but I finally tracked down a 1971 Lotus Elan DHC. It is everything I ever wanted in a roadster and I always look forward to the next drive. So far I've modified the rear axels with CV axels and replaced the front cover on the engine with Dave Bean's. I'm hunting down starter problems and have cleaned the battery terminals. Big improvement but going after the ground straps, then the starter terminals next, as the problem has not completely gone away. This car also gave me the opportunity to meet Tom Cotter. Long story, but we completely disassembled his Elan last February for restoration. Unfortunately, the pandemic has caused a major interruption in the project.[/quote]

Welcome!

Welcome, where abouts are you in NC?

Thanks everyone, I'm just north of Charlotte.

Can’t be too far from SENC then!

Pete M wrote: I'm hunting down starter problems and have cleaned the battery terminals. Big improvement but going after the ground straps, then the starter terminals next, as the problem has not completely gone away.

Something to check here is the ground connection in the bottom of the boot, ( "trunk" for you... ).
It can appear to be tight but the bolt actually screws down into a bobbin before going through the chassis.
So it can be really tight, but it's only tight in the bobbin, not onto the chassis underneath.
I ran a drill through, took the threads out of the bobbin, put a bolt right through, and now the earth strap connects with the chassis as it always should have.

Ralph.
N.Z. ( No Covid cases today !! ).

I had this earth problem on my car after body settled down after fitting new 'chassis' the bolt head moved out of contact - easily remedied by tightening up but a through bolt does make sense.

Hi Pete, Welcome. I just passed thru Charlotte on I 77 on our bi-annual migration between Ohio and Florida. We modified our trip this time to take 3 days, to ease the strain on my wife's back. But even though we passed by a couple of relatives, we didn't stop as a way of keeping our social distancing.

Roger

Welcome Pete!

I'm down the road just NE of Atlanta. My road-warrior job takes me through Charlotte now and then, and will next week but I won't have time to stop and say hi.

Post some pics of your car, we'd love to see it!

Would love to meet passers by anytime after the virus is no longer an issue. Trying to figure out how to add a photo of my car...

Pete M wrote:

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Would love to meet passers by anytime after the virus is no longer an issue. Trying to figure out how to add a photo of my car...

Pete, your car looks great!

Add me to the Lake Norman meet-up list! Exit 30.

Pete, Welcome! On your starter problem, having recently resolved mine, there are a couple of things to consider in addition to grounding, as I chased that rat for a long time. My S4 had a high torque starter, which technically no longer requires a solenoid, so the previous owner had removed it as part of the installation. If your prior owner made a similar mod, that may be your problem. It means that the voltage coming from the ignition switch needs to be sufficient to drive the pinion in, which has a fairly high requirement. The fix is either add back the solenoid, or add a relay, which ensures full voltage going to the starter. Good Luck! Dan

Personally I'd use a solenoid for a semblance of originality in the upper engine bay.
Obviously the cable needn't be as heavy but you can still go for a decent cross section to ensure the pinion pulls in - remember the battery is at the back and the starter itself will drop the voltage available.

The bad starting continues. Had the starter reconditioned and the technician told me oil was getting in it. I'll be investigating that next. I had smeared the terminal with white lithium but that hasn't worked. Has anyone else had this issue. The obvious answer is stop the oil leak but this is a british engine. I had new seals installed with the installation of the new front cover. How do you seal the starter?