Engine slanted?

[alaric]

Haha well I did take a G&T with me and say hi to the ol car. I just needed an excuse.

It may be that my engine mounts are wrong too. Its a 711M block so I think needs different mounts but I'm not sure on that. I'd be interested to hear what Spyder say. I suspect the previous owner got it right though. He was very thorough.

Sean.

[TonyWylde]

Hopefully I'll be able to get an answer on Monday. I'll keep you informed. Stay indoors mate, it's horrible out tonight even with a g&t. Cheers,
Tony.

[EPC 394J]

I can only really speak about Lotus chassis I’m afraid, but I do know that, on a Plus 2, the engine mounts for that are identical on the left and right. I believe Lotus made their own slightly taller mount for the carb side of the ‘baby’ Elan due to insufficient clearance between the carbs/airbox and the footwell in those smaller cars. I believe this is clearly confirmed if you scrutinise the parts manual for the Plus 2 and the two seat. Different part numbers are only quoted on the two seater. That additional clearance is not required on the Plus 2. Indeed if you do fit the taller mount on a Lotus chassis, to give the engine the leans, unless you are lucky, you will find the front right corner of your cam cover will interfere with the bonnet. That’s how Spydercars rebuilt my car, so forgive me if I say I wouldn’t necessarily trust their opinion. (I’m sure other Plus 2s will have the incorrect setups too!) Their suggested ‘solution’ was to bush the body to raise it on the chassis. All totally unnecessary. Of course their version of the Plus 2 (fitted with a Zetec) sits considerably higher than an original anyway, and perhaps that’s what their chassis does and is the look you prefer? If so, crack on.

[TonyWylde]

I'm going to speak to them tomorrow just to confirm the engine mounts that they supplied are the right ones. As Rohan said his didn't use the original spacers. There's an area of doubt that I want to clear up before I put the body on, just because I have niggles that are building up and it's slowing things down now. If it turns out to not be important I'll probably slot the carb side mounting and level the engine up. Once you've seen it you can't un-see it and it would be something that bothered me. Sad aren't I.
Cheers,
Tony.

[Roland]

Tony,

My car carries its original chassis but it went through Spyder reconditioning service in 1999, so it has a Spyder front crossmember and will be similar to a Spyder chassis.

It has always worried me in the past that my engine has too much tilt on it, the high side is correctly on the carb. side. I have investigated this a couple of years back and it seemed to be OK.

Just having put my I phone on the cam cover it shows 3.3 degree's of tilt off the horizontal.

Regards

Roland

[TonyWylde]

Same as mine. I'm worried the cam cover or maybe the airbox will hit the bonnet. I've got to drop the body on to spot the drilling points, so I can get a proper look then, but that won't be for a few weeks. I'm waiting on a call back from Spyder now, so I'll let you all know what they say. I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill, but I want to clear up any issues as I go, not have a car that's nearly right.

[TonyWylde]

Hi everyone. I just got off the phone to Spyder and it seems I was worrying about a non existent issue. The engine is meant to tilt slightly up on the carburetor side, so I can relax. Thank you to everyone who chimed in, I think this forum really is great and I appreciate everyone's help, I genuinely do.
I just hope I didn't start anyone else worrying about problems that don't exist!
Thanks again,
Tony.

[EPC 394J]

The engine is meant to tilt slightly up on the carburetor side, so I can relax.

It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that this is what Spyder thinks. They rebuilt my car in that way and it wasn’t long before the bonnet’s paintwork showed signs of stress. (To be fair, that was the second bonnet, as the first bonnet flew off at speed as I returned home in my freshly rebuilt car from Whittlesey!)

If they’ve designed their Plus 2 chassis like that, then fair enough I suppose, but one might wonder why? The Plus 2 doesn’t have the footwell/carb clearance issue that the two seat Elan does. But it definitely does have a cam cover/bonnet clearance issue which the 2 seater doesn’t. As I said, check the part numbers in one of the online parts catalogues.

Finally, should their be any interference, it will definitely occur at the front right hand corner of the cam cover, not the airbox or carb. Once you get your body on that will become obvious.

[TonyWylde]

I don't suppose any of you helpful blokes knows how much clearance is needed between the bonnet and the cam cover? If I put a lump of blue tac on the engine and carefully shut the bonnet what would I be looking for? I'm assuming the engine can rock on its mounts to some degree so just "not touching" might be asking for a battered bonnet. The engine looks as if it could be lower in the chassis by a good half an inch, or will that open up another can of worms...gearstick position perhaps?

[EPC 394J]

Tony

I apologise if I’m causing you totally unnecessary angst.

So far, nobody with a Spyder chassis seems to have had any problems. So I can only assume the geometry of the Spyder designed chassis allows for what you have? If they say that’s correct for their chassis, then just go with it?

Perhaps their engine mounts/chassis allow the engine to sit slightly lower than in a Lotus chassis? Or perhaps it makes the body sit slightly higher? I wouldn’t know.

All I can tell you is, it certainly surprised me when I realised just how bloomin’ high the front of that cam cover is when fitted under the beautifully contoured body and bonnet

[TonyWylde]

No need to apologize. It's good to hear different thoughts so hopefully I can make a more informed decision. And for what it's worth, my dealings with Spyder haven't been entirely plain sailing either. They will always help out over the phone though. I'd recommend them as long as you can accept a bit of fine tuning on the assembly.
Cheers,
Tony.

[alan.barker]

When i have fitted Body to Chassis i put a blob of blue tack ontop of Camcover.
Close Bonnet very gently and when reopened look for 5 to 6mm clearnce.
Shim Body along Chassis Flanges if needed to get clearance.
The worst for clearance is the "big valve" cover.
Alan

[TonyWylde]

So is shimming the body preferable to dropping the engine slightly?

[alan.barker]

Imho best to shim Body than drop Engine.
I think if you drop Engine you will need to change the height of Spacers at Gearbox Mount. To keep transmission inline. Unless someone can say different.
Alan