Lotus Elan rear axle, diff...

[Rouet Michel]

Good evening

My name is Michel Rouet, a belgian living in the south of France, and.. I don't own any Lotus today..;(

In fact, I'm registered here to ask something. I'm the owner of a strange english car, a very rare Elva Courier GT.. with a very strange chassis.. a mix of a Courier MK2 and MK4, with IRS....
I've a big problem with the rear transmission. Originally, the cwp comes from a Riley 1500 the casing seems to be specific of a old Elva monoplane, and today, with a MGB engine very strong and powerful, its brake the cwp, and the transmission axles for the second time. That's why I'm looking to replace the rear transmission by a stronger one, and it seems that the Elan rear axle , on pictures, is more of less the same that the actual.
Before to transform all the rear chassis to fix a Elan rear axle, I would like first to know if this part is coming from an other car, or if it is specific to the Elan.
The second question is: can somebody here send me the external sizes of this part ? and some pictures of the fixation points ?
I hope you can help me.. if you want to see the car, go to www.racing-bull.com
best regards to everybody, Michel

[SonnyS]

Good evening

My name is Michel Rouet, a belgian living in the south of France, and.. I don't own any Lotus today..;(

In fact, I'm registered here to ask something. I'm the owner of a strange english car, a very rare Elva Courier GT.. with a very strange chassis.. a mix of a Courier MK2 and MK4, with IRS....
I've a big problem with the rear transmission. Originally, the cwp comes from a Riley 1500 the casing seems to be specific of a old Elva monoplane, and today, with a MGB engine very strong and powerful, its brake the cwp, and the transmission axles for the second time. That's why I'm looking to replace the rear transmission by a stronger one, and it seems that the Elan rear axle , on pictures, is more of less the same that the actual.
Before to transform all the rear chassis to fix a Elan rear axle, I would like first to know if this part is coming from an other car, or if it is specific to the Elan.
The second question is: can somebody here send me the external sizes of this part ? and some pictures of the fixation points ?
I hope you can help me.. if you want to see the car, go to http://www.racing-bull.com
best regards to everybody, Michel

Hi Michel,

hope they dont mind but maybe these guys have a spare axle for you to measure up. They seem to be in your neighborhood
right-side-pond-f28/elan-owners-the-french-riviera-nice-cannes-monaco-t26394.html

The aluminum case is a Lotus part that hangs off the frame with rubber mounts with a Ford axle inside but diffrent ratios were used

I just found a pic from the rear on here download/file.php?id=22612

Regards Sonny

[UAB807F]

Hi Michel,

An interesting car, and one with some history behind it as well. As Sonny says, the casing is a Lotus item but the inner workings are Ford components from the period. Lotus differentials do come up for sale on places like Ebay, but you might have to search for a good one.

As an alternative, have you considered the differential from a Ford Sierra ? That seems to be quite common with kit cars these days and will probably be easier and cheaper to find. For example, this website has a good description of what is available;

http://www.super7thheaven.co.uk/Sierra_Rear_Differential

Brian

[Quart Meg Miles]

This is the Workshop Manual drawing of it plus a couple of photos which might help. The Sierra unit should be cheaper if nothing else!

The top mounting holes are 12" (305mm) apart and the total width about 14" (355mm) and the unit is suspended from them;
The lower mounting holes are about 8?" (222mm) apart and are about 8?" (222mm) from the top of the unit, used for torque control only;
The length of the whole unit is about 19" but others, with a unit on their bench, can give a more accurate figure;

All the mounting rubbers are easily obtained. If you have more than 110 BHP then you ought to consider the Sprint reinforcements to strengthen the casting. I have no details of them.

My previous car was a Courier Mk1 with MGA engine and CR box and had been raced but I used it for four years on the road before buying a reliable car, a Lotus Elan!

in 1967 I saw a coupe in poor condition for sale in a London garage, believed to have been the Earls Court exhibition car, and it had inboard rear brake drums. Is yours the same?

[prezoom]

Michel, you have a PM.

Rob Walker
26-4889

[stugilmour]

Michel, if you are looking on eBay UK for the actual diff components, try using "English Axle" as your search term. This will give you all the bearings, C&P's, diff carrier, complete units, etc, but may not give the Lotus specific back plate & seals/gaskets.

Unfortunately "English Axle" as a search term doesn't work so well in Google as it thinks you want a definition in the English language.

HTH