Cosworth YB Turbo Into Elan

[stevebroad]

It's been a while but progress has been slow. However, my new ARBs and front adjsutable wishbones have finally arrived. The bones will allow insitu adjustment of both camber and caster.

[stevebroad]

Blimey, last progress post was August, sorry about that.

However, not a lot has happened due to family issues and life generally getting in the way.

Rear ARB didn't work so I had a new one made locally. Will use some of the tube, vertical links and bar clamps from the original.

New ARB fitted:



Adjustable front wishbones looked too chunky and heavy so a few hours on the mill removed a fair chunk of weight:



Chassis studs have been fully threaded so I can now adjust caster as well as camber without having to remove the wishbones (there will be spacers between nuts and rod ends):



Decided to go inboard with the rear dampers as this allows wider wheels to be fitted as well as allowing corner weighting without adjusting spring heights. Also means smaller (lighter) dampers can be used. Fulcrum has been designed and they are being made this week:

Artist impression of fulcrum :



Launching will be critical to achieving the times we are predicting. We need to dump the clutch but this transmits a lot of stress to the transmission and tyres. A way of softening this shock has been found by using a 2-way adjustable valve. Demon Tweeks sell an item that is adjustable only by removing and changing shims. Our version is adjustable from the dash

I liken the use of this valve to changing a standard on/off light switch to a dimmer switch. No matter how fast you turn the dimmer switch the light comes on smoothly rather than all at once. By restricting the speed at which the clutch fluid can return to the master cylinder we introduce a tiny bit of slip allowing tyres to hook up better and saving on transmission stresses. I believe some Jap cars are fitted with pre set valves for the same reasons.

[stevebroad]

Received a call today to say fulcrums were made and ready to be picked up, so here they are. Only significant change from the drawing above is the addition of an extra hole to allow for some adjustment if required.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Ooooh some lovely sparkly bits

[Spyder fan]

Steve,
Any pictures of the body? When will you be trial fitting it to the chassis?

[stevebroad]

Body has been trial fitted some time ago, but will need to be re-fitted so that it can be adjusted to fit the inboard damper setup. I will then hack away at the inner arch areas in order to accommodate the wheels, if found necessary.

At one time I was planning to get a daytime only MOT, but that has changed so I am going to have to remove the covers so that 26R style clear covers can be fitted. Wheels are 17" off a Sierra Cosworth I was stripping at the time and were being used to keep the chassis off the ground and check for clearances at the front.

[stevebroad]

Message to Paul Jones

I can't reply to your PM. It is telling me that some people have disabled message receipt and when I submit it is says that no recipient defined. Drop me your email address and I will reply that way



Regards

Steve

[stevebroad]

Geez, I haven't posted on here fo many months.

Picked up my sister-in-law from Heathrow on Christmas day. Love her to bits but she was also bringing over 40 imperial titanmium bolts from the States Many happy hours ahead lightening them.



Spent the last few months removing weight from wherever I could. Taken almost 2kg from chassis. Replaced steel with aluminium wherever possible. Lightened fibreglass/carbon fibre seats. Trimmed waterpump pulley:



Lightened brake discs by nearly 4 kg.



Modified rear upper wishbones so they are adjustable in-situ



Made a sliding window thingy:

[stevebroad]

Blimey, has it been over two years since I last updated this thread?

A lot has happened in the intervening years with many design changes. However, the suspenson is now finished and the engine and gearbox are about to go back in for the, hopefully, last time.

My suspension guru has done away with the ARBs as he reckons he can control things with bespoke dampers and droop limiters. However, ARBs can be fitted at a later date if required

Sequential gearbox will be controlled by flappy paddles and pneumatics.

A few photos to show where I am up to: (the right hand side of the photos have been cropped for some reason)

[deryck]

what a shame!

[stevebroad]

what a shame!

In what respect?

[Bud English]

what a shame!

Yeah, what a shame some folks can't appreciate that cars aren't jointly owned by all the enthusiasts of the marque. They are owned by individuals. Individuals that have the right, ability, and enthusiasm to do what they want with them.

Steve - I hope it's as much fun when it's finished as you seem to be having working on it.

[Stratosboy]

[quote="stevebroad"]
Yeah, what a shame some folks can't appreciate that cars aren't jointly owned by all the enthusiasts of the marque. They are owned by individuals. Individuals that have the right, ability, and enthusiasm to do what they want with them.

Steve - I hope it's as much fun when it's finished as you seem to be having working on it.

Here here Bud, well said!.....keep up the good work Steve...fantastic build.....what a shame I haven't got your skills!

[stevebroad]

Thanks for your comments guys, of all kinds

Building it has been great fun, interspersed with pain & frustration. If driving it ends up half as much fun as building it then it will be fantastic!

I respect the 'keep it standard' group, we all have our preferences. There are a lot of beautifully restored cars out there. However, a lot are restored to a condition far better than when they left the factory. Is this not a modification away from the original spec?

If trying to keep a car standard, I struggle to see how you can define when a Lotus Elan is restored to factory spec. Are there 3 Elans out there that left the factory with the exact same spec? Also, the Elan started out as a kit car, so did the builders stick rigidly to the build spec?

Although there aren't exactly a lot of Elans in the world, there are enough to allow all factions to choose their way forward with their own cars. Live and let live and appreciate other cars for what they are, even if they aren't what you would do.

[Chancer]

I assume that the cables I see are droop limiters, why the multiple holes in the lower bracket or is it again for lightness?

What are you doing for a handbrake?

Really interesting photos, great work, its many magnitudes harder to work within existing parameters like the chassis, suspension etc like you are than just building a silhouette racer.