S2 Elan Door Check Strap - Brackets and Fittings.

[ceejay]

Would any S2 owners out there have some pics or drawings of the door
check straps and all of the fittings?

After owning and driving my S2 for nigh on 26 years without them
I thought maybe I should fit a set.

The reason they are not fitted is that they were never with the car
when it was first purchased.

There has been two OMG moments when the door was not shut
properly, and it (passenger door) flew open while cornering and
almost parted company with the body.... The sound of fibreglass
reaching it's maximum yield strength is akin to listening to HT
steel being over strained before it snaps.... Not nice.

Thanks in advance
Ceejay.

[types26/36]

I dont believe S1/2's had any door check strap, when I built my car (it had been completely stripped) I could not find anything or in any manuals I asked Miles Wilkins and according to him they only had a piece of sponge fitted as a check strap, he supplied me a couple of pieces of square sponge but I could never really find how they were supposed to work .....

[ceejay]

That is interesting, probably the reason why there were non in all of the bits that came with my S2.

Thanks for the feedback.
ceejay

[mazlot]

The sponge fits vertically just in front of the leading edge of the door opening. This is the drivers door opening, in a RHD car

[Quart Meg Miles]

And I thought it was just a draught excluder. Time to beef it up, methinks, as that door no longer shuts itself.

[types26/36]

[quote="mazlot"]The sponge fits vertically just in front of the leading edge of the door opening. This is the drivers door opening, in a RHD car

Ahh.....there you go...think I tried that and thought....even THAT is too cheap for Chapman

[garyeanderson]

Mark t asked back on July 1st in a topic called

Door Stops
elan-f14/door-stop-t25585.html
here is the brief text of what I posted

"This pair came out of 26/4020 they are 14 x 2 1/4 by about an inch and are open cell foam rubber type of material. pretty soft stuff and were glued vertically to the forward inside surface of the door pocket."

I took this picture of the ones I removed from 26/4020

[ceejay]

Thanks for posting the pics, perhaps it may help to use a medium
density foam for the door cushion, normal foam may be a bit too soft.
Ceejay

BTW.
I was pricing the door check strap fittings on SJ cars
and the price for all of the bits (not really that many in total)
was getting up there a bit.

[Bill]

The foam IS the door stop / restrainer for the S1/S2.

Cheap? - yep!
Adds lightness? - yep!
Does it work? - you bet!

Bill

[dpo#4]

Dear Ceejay,

26-5648 came with foam blocks back in '78 and they're still there. Elan doors are pretty wide, which eases entry, but also loads the hinge points terribly. I found the leading door edges split at the molding joints, likely from flinging the doors open. Grinding/layup/grinding ensued. Foam blocks do distribute resistance over a wide area - maybe a denser, pointier block would work more progressively? The original foam compresses too easily to nearly no thickness. I've seen a picture of a later style (arm-into-door, as in modern cars) door check, and there were fractures around the hole in the door after just a few years of use. Lots of lightness for all that loading. Well, if they built them heavier we'd end up with Corvettes. - Ray