Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Lattice question for the Forum. - I'm looking for very good to almost new Lattice Work for my S2 26R body shell.

Does anyone know if there is a difference in the Lattice Work that surrounds the door openings on the inside of an Elan S1/S2 versus the Lattice Work that is installed in an S3/S4?

Many thanks,
Frank

Hi Frank,

I've just spoken to St Wilkins (he of Fibeglass Services) and the only difference is that the S3 & S4 frames were made of thicker material than for the 26s but they still fit. I personally glassed in the later types he supplied in 1991 and don''t remember noticing the difference. You need a LHD set as (I'd forgotten) they include brackets for the pedal and wiper motor assemblies.

Presumably you are only doing a pretend 26R otherwise the roll-over cage would do the job of the sideframes.

Frank,
I've had all series and to be honest have never noticed any difference in the lattice work at all. The lattice runs behind the boot to mid arch to support the rear arch

All 26R's were all right hand drive as I'm sure you know.

I'd not use an Elan without the lattice, as the shell flexes a lot. A roll cage adds no strength to the shell, it simply runs through the sill area and rear arch boot area. In my road car i've replaced the inner panels with nomex foam and glass panels

When I had the accident in my 26R the lattice absorbed a lot of the impact and kept doors opening and closing, even when the rear passenger wheel had moved forward bending the back of the lattice, so its stronger than it seems, also required for jacking.

Cheers

V

V
That's interesting, I didn't realise that all 26R were RHD. But I'm not sure that Frank's is really one.

It was Miles (Wilkins) who said the roll-cage would do the job, so I quoted him, but I don't know on what basis he said that. I never saw a racer in his shop and as he is just round the corner that was prettty often.

Everyone, thank yo for the responses and the continuing education. I love this group!

My 26R is real! Aren't they all? I purchased it from Dave Bean Engineering and Dave owned it for numerous decades. I have some of his correspondence where he states if he sold it "bring a casket"! He also states it will be his retirement and most likely his last 26R restoration.

Yes, all 26R's are RHD. I prefer LHD and I'm struggling on how to rebuild the car.

So is there a difference between RHD and LHD Lattice? I've heard no and I've heard yes. I still don't know.

As for the cage, and installing Lattice, I believe all 26R's came with Lattice initially and they did not leave the factory with the nice safe roll cages everyone is racing with today. All they left the factory with was a small single behind the driver roll bar. I don't plan on doing any serious racing. I'm almost 70 and will be in my 70's when the car is completed. As such, that is why I believe they all came with Lattice. I want to restore the car to the same standard it left the factory. That be lattice and that single roll over bar for the driver. Although I am planning on installing the side impact bars in the sill also.

I do plan on driving it on the street just as they were back in the 60's. Many were driven to the track.

So where do we go from here? I have a line on some used Lattice that needs repair. That will test my fabrication skills once again. Ha!

Stay safe and healthy! Thank you.

The lattice is the same LHD or RHD the bracket for the wiper motor is always on the left and brackets for pedal box outer mount is on both sides.
cheers
Dave

bigvalvehead wrote:The lattice is the same LHD or RHD the bracket for the wiper motor is always on the left and brackets for pedal box outer mount is on both sides.
cheers
Dave

I guess Miles had never seen a LHD car in that depth!

Good luck with the rebuild, Frank. No insult was intended but many people make 26R look-likes, flared arches, faired-in headlamps and red cam covers etc,

Miles used to chop out a slot in the rear body work to get the lattice tail in from the top, then rebuild the body and glass in the tail. I sawed my tails off and a friend MIG (?) welded the pieces back together. One original tail was intact while the other was rusted out so I glassed-in the new tail. In both cases I cleaned back the galvanising for the weld and wrapped wet cloths around the lattice.

Gary Anderson used to fabricate his lattices from steel rod and fit them from the front after cutting out a slot from the back of the front wheel arch! That was a while after I joined the forum so perhaps 2014-16 when he posted.