Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

As I?m going thru the recent purchase of my 65 Elan S2 I?m pulling together a parts list of what needs to be repaired or replaced (not much, this is a nice original car). One of the things that has me scratching my head is the passenger side finger window lift. It has two bolt holes going through it. The drivers side is the ?norm? with one bolt. I?ve never seen the two bolt finger lift. I have seen the later version that was a solid Block that had two bolts.

Anyone have any insights or ideas?

The series two had a different window lift "knob" from the S1.
Please take a look here:
https://kelvedonlotus.co.uk/product/window-lift/

And this is the S1 window lift "knob"
https://kelvedonlotus.co.uk/product/window-pull-s1-2/

gherlt wrote:The series two had a different window lift "knob" from the S1.

Not all of the S2 cars had the later lifter, approx the first 250 S2 cars had S1 parts as the change over happened.
My early S2 has the S1 lifters.

Gherit, I am familiar with both types of window lifts that you have provided web links for (thanks), but I have never seen the two bolt window lift that is on my S2. It doesn?t seem to be ?home made? so I am intrigued to figure out if this was a factory production piece before the two bolt solid lift was produced.

The other odd thing is the drivers side is one hole and the passenger side two holes. We have all heard the stories of using up old parts in the midst of a model update in the early years of the Elan, so I have to wonder.

Brian, to your point of early S2 cars......

Certified Lotus wrote:Gherit, I am familiar with both types of window lifts that you have provided web links for (thanks), but I have never seen the two bolt window lift that is on my S2. It doesn?t seem to be ?home made? so I am intrigued to figure out if this was a factory production piece before the two bolt solid lift was produced.

The other odd thing is the drivers side is one hole and the passenger side two holes. We have all heard the stories of using up old parts in the midst of a model update in the early years of the Elan, so I have to wonder.

Brian, to your point of early S2 cars......

the 2 hole version does look hand made to me : protruding pan head screws that appear too short (plus the whole set painted grey?) ... my guess is the window was broken and the bit lost, so a replacement was made for both (glass and lift).

i have to agree with nmauduit. The 2-hole looks home made, compared to that other 1-hole original.

Professionally made, highly polished, lightweight and strong Aluminium S2 - 26R Window lifts available here.
Check them out.
http://elantrikbits.com/window-lifts-s2-26r/

how are those S2 lifts attached? I see smooth chrome on both sides. How and where are the screws? is there a cover? or do they press fit and lock into place?

S2 window lifts can be attached with RTV... BUT allow about three days to cure. If you are in a hurry, a small dab of epoxy will hold them after allowing for a shorter curing time.
With RTV, the lifts can be removed in the future (If required) using a very slender chisel shaped tool to prize the lifts apart, epoxy of course is permanent.

thanks, but still doesn't answer my concern/question on how they are assembled in place. I see threads through the top of the glass looking down. Mine is loose and floppy and i'd like to tighten/secure, but how? I just see solid chrome on either side without access to any screw heads or nuts. were they originally a press fit of sorts?

Hi
The outer part has two pegs that slide through the matching holes in the window glass. Before the two parts are assembled, they need something to keep them bonded together. We have used clear RTV, but it requires a long curing time... several days in a cool climate, or they can be bonded and held with epoxy, but if there is a need to remove the window lifts from the glass at time in the future, the epoxy method will prevent that, where as with the RTV, they can be removed.
The pegs on the outer part are a loose fit into the holes of the internal finger lift part.
Hope this helps to explain these strange little parts.

thanks CJ. so the short answer is a press friction fit with sealant (recommended RTV). That makes sense and I assume that is the way they did it at the factory? the threaded "pegs" scared me thinking there must be nuts on the other end somehow hidden or capped off out of sight. thanks for the clarification.

The locating pegs are plain, no threads, just a loose sliding fit into the lift itself, which is on the inside of the glass.

Thanks for everyone?s input on S1 and S2 window lifts. After much research it is evident that I have two different windows. The drivers side (left here in the US) has a hole drilled in the glass for the single bolt window lift and the passenger side window has two holes drilled in it for the two hole lift. The current passenger side window has a ?custom made? finger lift. The OEM version would be the solid metal piece with two pins.

Interestingly enough both the side windows and the winshield have the same stamping in the the glass from the UK. Is this configuration from the factory? Who knows, but I am suspect that the passenger window is a replacement.

So, I am looking for a used two pin window lift (I want a used one for the worn look). Anyone have one they want to get rid of? (Similar to the photo below).