1970 S4 Elan SE w/rear end damage

[pharriso]

Rick, Can you update us on what you did with your S4?

Hopefully it's being repaired....

[Elan45]

Stresscraxx,

You need to learn about Clecos. They are essentially temporary pop rivets. They come in various sizes, 3/16, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16 and I even have a few 1/4" ones. They are about 2 inches long and open up to about 1/4" and then close by spring. The most useful ones use a special pliers to squeeze , insert into the drilled holes, as you've described, and close. Do your repair, then grab the Cleco w/ the special plyers, squeeze and remove. I like using the 3/32 size and inserting directly into a fiberglass crack with small pieces of aluminum sheet on top and bottom of the crack.

Carrol Smith mentioned Clecos in his wonderful books, saying that "like peanuts, no one can have too many". So I store mine in peanut cans, multiple cans for different sizes. They are wonderful for aluminum sheet fabrication, their intended use. Try Aircraft Spruce for good pricing. Pegusus I think sells them and probably Eastwood.

When I was restoring my Eleven, I had access to a surplus store and I often would go there on my lunch w/ a small piece of aluminum w/ a 5/32 hole in it and a pair of Cleco plyers and try each used Cleco function in the hole. 10 cents apiece. I found it strange that the Eleven was assembled w/ 5/32, but I ended up w/ 3 cans of that size, enough that I did a trial assembly w/ Clecos before using the real thing permanently.

Roger

[tonyabacus]

Good picture here of the different types of Cleco fasteners
https://eumro.co.uk/cleco-fasteners-skin-pins.aspx

[StressCraxx]

Stresscraxx,

You need to learn about Clecos. They are essentially temporary pop rivets. They come in various sizes, 3/16, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16 and I even have a few 1/4" ones. They are about 2 inches long and open up to about 1/4" and then close by spring. The most useful ones use a special pliers to squeeze , insert into the drilled holes, as you've described, and close. Do your repair, then grab the Cleco w/ the special plyers, squeeze and remove. I like using the 3/32 size and inserting directly into a fiberglass crack with small pieces of aluminum sheet on top and bottom of the crack.

Carrol Smith mentioned Clecos in his wonderful books, saying that "like peanuts, no one can have too many". So I store mine in peanut cans, multiple cans for different sizes. They are wonderful for aluminum sheet fabrication, their intended use. Try Aircraft Spruce for good pricing. Pegusus I think sells them and probably Eastwood.

When I was restoring my Eleven, I had access to a surplus store and I often would go there on my lunch w/ a small piece of aluminum w/ a 5/32 hole in it and a pair of Cleco plyers and try each used Cleco function in the hole. 10 cents apiece. I found it strange that the Eleven was assembled w/ 5/32, but I ended up w/ 3 cans of that size, enough that I did a trial assembly w/ Clecos before using the real thing permanently.

Roger

Thanks so much, Roger. I didn't think of it at the time and didn't have the tools then. I have used clecos in the past when I helped strip and rebuild an SCCA GT1 Jag XKE. I did almost all the tin work, including building the flares and blending them into the original Jag wheel arches. I do have them now and just finished using them along with my strap duplicator to repair the belly pan of my Crossle Formula Ford after I slid sideways over curbing at my last race. They all worked a treat. Hop you enjoy the upcoming driving season!

Dan Wise

[chuckathon]

Rick, Can you update us on what you did with your S4?

Hopefully it's being repaired....

I purchased the Elan and am doing the repairs. I have all the puzzle pieces in place and just need the time to start the fiberglassing. I will have it back on the road this calendar year. At least that is the challenge I made myself. .

[2mAn]

Rick, Can you update us on what you did with your S4?

Hopefully it's being repaired....

I purchased the Elan and am doing the repairs. I have all the puzzle pieces in place and just need the time to start the fiberglassing. I will have it back on the road this calendar year. At least that is the challenge I made myself. .

Please start a thread with pictures of the progress (or continue this one if you'd prefer)

[chuckathon]

A quick update. I have made very good progress in 2023 on the Elan. It will be back on the road soon. I got a bit behind in 2022 as my daily drivers decided to cause issues. I was able to acquire some S3 parts from a wrecked Elan. This made dealing with the complex curve in the left corner of the rear end easier. It worked out perfect. Everything is now fiberglassed together and very strong. Next stop is a lot of sanding and preparing for paint.

[chuckathon]

This was back in February. The point of no return. I used a laser level to get a straight cut. The oscillating saw is great for fiberglass work.

[Lens4]

Well done very satisfying to do and do well Len

[chuckathon]

New corner dry fitted before fiberglassing. The funny thing is this Elan was originally blue before it was yellow anyways.

[JonB]

How did you prepare the new section for the S4 rear light cluster? Won’t fit like that..

[chuckathon]

How did you prepare the new section for the S4 rear light cluster? Won’t fit like that..

This Elan will no longer have S4 Taillights. I saved the smashed light bucket in case I ever wanted to piece it back together.

C

[JonB]

This Elan will no longer have S4 Taillights. I saved the smashed light bucket in case I ever wanted to piece it back together.

C

Nice.. I prefer the earlier rear lamps. S4 ones look too big to my eyes; which is a shame, as my car is an S4...