de greasing, cleaning under side & scissor lift

[andyj007]

Im looking to make a start on my elan sprint re commision..
it all looks pretty good underneath, bar a nice covering of gearbox or engine oil splattered along the underside .
as a start, i thought id take it out side , jack it up remove teh wheel , liberal use of degreaser and scrub and carefull use of a combo pressure wash / washing/ mit brush..

is this a good idea? also can anyone recommend a degreasing product ? are there bio degradable ones?


i keep looking out for a simple scissor lift that would work for the elan, in my garage, most seem suitable for only if you have the wheels on, as im going to rebuiding all four corners this is isnt really going to work.. any suggestions?

[TBG]

A good coating of oil underneath is a very good way to preserve it.

[andyj007]

thats true, and no doubt why its it great condition.. lol.. but as im going to be refreshinging everything id rather get it clean then add some oil back again after

[gjz30075]

Nice one here, should fit your needs.
https://www.quickjack.com/

[elans3]

Apart from maybe the floor, I wouldn't pressure wash anywhere else on an Elan, or any other classic GRP bodied car for that matter.
Unless you're 100% certain that the paint protection underneath the wings (and every other place with the exception of the floor) is 100% waterproof and resistant to a power washer, then I'd clean it by hand, and not with water.
The biggest enemy of the paint finish on an old GRP car is osmosis, ie water getting into the fibreglass from underneath and migrating through to the top, giving you microblister of the paint.
That's one of the reasons why you see so many cars that have had a decent paint job, marred by microblister in a short time after. Water gets forced into the fibreglass, starts to migrate through, and particularly after a hot day out in the sun - bingo - microblister.
It's time consuming, but do it by hand, try not to use any water, and then paint asap afterwards. If you do use any water at all, try to dry out where you've been asap afterwards with a hairdryer. Better not to use any water at all.

[mbell]

Nice one here, should fit your needs.
https://www.quickjack.com/

I have a BL-5000 that I am pretty happy with. It only just fits in the +2 wheel base so you'd probably need a Bl-3500 for an Elan or use BL5000 rotated 90 degrees.

[bitsobrits]

I wouldn't agree with not using water, but do agree with avoiding high pressure water. Fully wetted GRP doesn't have issues with moisture ingress (they make moto fuel tanks out of GRP!). Lotus cars, however, are not known for fully wetted GRP layups, so caution is in order.

I've been using biodegradable Simple Green (Lemon-for it's better scent!) for my annual undercarriage clean for the last couple of decades. Raise one end up on ramps, soak it, brush it, then rinse it down with hot water from the garden hose.Repeat on the other end. Then I get it up on the lift for a dry off/wipe down and inspection before cleaning the top side and tucking it under cover for the winter.

[donselan]

Does anyone have experience with the BL-3500 on a regular Elan? It seems like although it would fit between the wheels there is a problem with the lifting points. The maximum lift point spread is 50.5 inches. I think that to lift close to the wheel arches this is not enough. I would need closer to 53 or 54 inches.

The alternative is to fit the lift crossways. Does anyone on the forum have experience with this technique?

Thanks,

[mbell]

I had similar issue with the +2 and BL5000 so I made up some spreaders, out of a couple of lengths of 2*4 and foam, that are slightly longer than the lift. This allows the weight to be spread over larger area and pick up more of the floor. They also are long enough to pick up the lifting points on my daily car.

[andyj007]

some great advise on the degreasing thank you.. i will try without pressure washer, the paintwork isnt in the best shape and i dont intend it to be either, my intentions to have a 100% mechanical sorted useable car for fun, with old age bashed patina, but perfect mechanical.. body work with micro blisters, not too much of problem. i really do like to use my cars... so providing its respectable , i will be ok.. having said that i do not wish to make this any worse.. so will take my time

ive found these lifts online
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Post-Lift- ... Sw28Bc0p2h

and some pictures of how it would need to be utilised.. thoughts ? a few pictures down in this link shows you a similar lift and made up spreader beam for the chassis which is simple to fabricate..
http://www.sebclassics.com/blog/2019/03 ... s4-sprint/

[MartinH]

IMG_1296.JPG (35.18 KiB) Viewed 1375 times

IMG_1301.JPG (69.99 KiB) Viewed 1375 times

Andy

I recently bought this from a company called tyreon

https://www.trucktyrechangershop.com/pr ... issor-lift

It can lift the car up to 1.4 meters it sits between the wheels and has 4 arms with adjustable hieght pads which go to each corner of the tub. I then use approx 7mm pieces of wood to spread the load even more at each corner. It is rock solid at full height.

They claim it can lift 2.7 tons......., wouldnt want to try it personally so lifting a 650Kgs Elan is a breeze

Martin

[nmauduit]

I prefer not to lift my elan by the fiberglass body if I can: I've seen too many fractures at the corners of the wheel wells and sills to be caused by that, even if it is a light car, supporting the wole weight by a non structural bodywork applies a stress I'd rather avoid.

Then if somehow I had no options, I would carefully pad the length of the supporting rails (rubber of appropriate hardness) so as to spread the load as homogeneously as possible, and not applying all the weight at few small locations due to the irregularities in the glassing process.

[andyj007]

Martin greta pics thanks.. Do you think that lift would be able to adjust the outriggers to lift like the pic ? to get onto the chassis , i can make up a spreader beam as indicated if need be ..
i d also like access to the chassis, to clean, looks a bit restricted, but could still be workable.

i like the manovability of this and that i can move it outside in the summer..

[MartinH]

Andy

It won't allow the outriggers to turn in as in your picture. However I also have a long plank of wood( could also be a steel beam) with two blocks attached to clear the exhaust to fit on the chassis which will allow the use of the lift without dierctly lifting on the tub.

I have seen posts on here where people are happy to lift directly on the f/glass. I use squares of wood approx 7mm thick in each corner to further spread the load if lifting on the tub

I can get to most things on the car when it is on this lift. It is not as good as a two poster but I havent got the height in my garage to have the benefit of one of those.

[The Veg]

I'll second the thumbs-up for Simple Green. I don't know if it's available in the UK but I've been using it for various things for thirty years and it's great stuff. Biodegradable, non-toxic, and can be used in any strength from straight to diluted 1:50 in water. I've used a straight soak in it to de-carbonise a motorcycle cylinder head, and I've used a spray of a weak dilution of it to treat my shirt-collars before laundering.