Cost of a chassis change?

[Jason1]

After the post about the Red +2 that needs a chassis change I was wondering how much would it cost to do this yourself (so no labour charge)? I had a figure of around ?2,000 in my mind but after a bit of digging I now have to revise this to around ?3000.

So this should be easy to answer for some of you guys on here? To the guys that have done this recently what did you spend and what did you spent it on?

To start with I was thinking:

Chassis and sill members from Spyder = ?2394
Brake pipes from Spyder = ?81.54
Lotocones x2 from Spyder = ?70.99

But what else did you guys buy? I am thinking rubber bushes all round, a big bag of nuts and bolts, felt saddle. What else?

Jason

[JJDraper]

You could keep an eye on fleabay. New chassis do come up from time to time..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Elan-Sp ... 478wt_1318

(no connection to seller)

I think I have seen half a dozen in the UK in the last year, but its always worth checking them out. Ask questions like 'How old' and 'Has it been drilled'. This is important, as some stalled restos date back decades. Better stil, go an inspect it, you may be able to do a deal for other bits.

The chassis may be OK, but always worth checking.

Jeremy

[billwill]

While you have it apart, one tends to do various other things too because they are easier to get at. Such as inspect & change suspension bushes, have brakes refurbished, check & change steering joints etc. Paint any bits not already painted by Spyder etc etc. Check propshaft, diff & final drive shafts & doughnuts or drive joints.

All these can be done with the body on, but since you will be transferring them from old to new chassis it makes sense to make sure that they are in top condition.

[GerardJPC]

There is a bloke who makes the proper Lotus pattern chassis for the Europa in small batches. I do not know if he also does the Elan, which is of course very similar. SJ Sports have his details. I was quoted about ?1900 for a new Europa chassis before I sold my Europa.

[elansprint71]

Think of a number and double it.
I'm struggling to believe that you have been around for so long and yet have not grasped the basic Lotus fact that just about everything will need to be changed, once you start.
There are no end of lists around of things to do when changing a chassis (dare I mention the archives, let alone the web?).

Your list has only three items; ten years ago there were two pages of items on my Excel spreadsheet then and added a further page by the finish.

There are just so many jobs which are so much easier to do without the plastic tub in the way and so many things which will break/crumble to rust once one starts dismantling. For example- remove seats... runners are shot: buy new S/S ones from Susan. Take a really good look at drive-shafts... buy new ones from Susan. How on earth has that handbrake even functioned at all... buy new parts from Susan/Classicar............

You get the idea.

[stugilmour]

Jason, I pretty much replaced everything during the rebuild, including shocks/struts, wishbones, steering rack, brakes, CV conversion, etc. This was mainly based on the difficulty of sourcing various parts in the Great White North. Andy/Sean were able to pack a ton of stuff in the steel chassis box, so seemed like the right thing to do. They were kind enough to add a few boxes of stuff from Susan as well.

I somehow sold my wife on this idea; all good until she saw the bills! Was pretty funny when she said "the only original part on the car is the steering wheel". I sheepishly showed her the new Moto-Lita.

Items I wished I had done at the time include the diff (changed to a 3.55 later, but seals were bad anyway and I missed this fact) and the recently changed rear bearings; what a PITA that was! Way easier with the body off.

[tcsoar]

Hi Jason,

You will need to add the cost of a few of crates of beer for the helpers getting the body off, then back on, then off again, then on again, then off again last time honest, then back on, then err guys sorry but I think I need it off again etc etc etc

Chris.

[Jason1]

I have no plans to change my chassis. I was just wondering if there was someone out there that had done this recently that could offer a realistic figure for someone that was contemplating such a project?

I was trying to make a point to a poster on here that spending over ?5000 on a +2 that needed a chassis was a false economy and that he would be much better to spend ?7000 on a good drivable +2.

Are we still guessing at ?3,000 or is there someone out there that has done it recently?