Driveshaft conversion

PostPost by: chrishewett » Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:25 am

My brother and I are finally well on the way to completing the restoration of +2 car number 17. We are now trying to decide on what driveshaft conversion to fit.
I used Mick Miller shafts on my first +2 s130 and was very pleased with them until I broke a diff output shaft. I replaced them with 100 ton billet output shafts from ttr at £500. That was ten years ago or more.
Back to the present- I am keen on the rd enterprises kit which includes the updated output shafts. Not cheap at £1300 but not much more than any other kit if you buy the output shafts separately.
Searching on the forum brings up a lot of dated posts. Would anyone who has done this upgrade more recently give me some feedback? Especially the rd enterprises kit. Chris
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PostPost by: HCA » Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:33 am

I quite fancy the Elantrikbits shafts from Australia. They have good reviews and from their story have the idea well engineered. But like RD, a tad expensive due to the import situations from their respective countries.

I am not quite ready to this change, but will probably go for Elantrikbits despite the cost.

You might be ok soon though when your prime minister gives over your health to the US and crosses out any climate change clauses on Australian imports - you might be able to get both at a decent price! What a choice! And who said brexit was bad :lol:
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PostPost by: 661 » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:57 am

Just fitted the elantrikbits CV's to my Elan.
They are excellent and Col is delightful to deal with
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PostPost by: mbell » Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:35 pm

I have the Rdent shafts on my car (came with them). They are a nice bit of kit IMO and haven't had any significant issues.

The main advantages are the new inboard output shafts and lower angles, avoiding needed droop limited shocks. If you need new diff output shafts then they are worth considering. If not its hard to justify the cost compared to the Kelevadon ones.

I recently rebuilt the rear end on my car that meant removing/stripping them. A few comments based on that:
- The modified output shafts block the diff bolts coming out if fitted the correct way. So either have to cut them or completely remove the output shafts to get the diff out. If you fit the bolts upside down (nut at bottom) they can be removed with out cutting or removing the output shafts, but you have to remove the fuel tank to remove the diff.
- The CV joints are just VW Beetle type ones and the shafts can be split from the ends by removing 6 bolts, the inside joints may come out easily or jam. So can remove diff without pull the output shafts out of the diff.
- I had some weeping of CV grease on the outer joints from between the CV and hub plate. I've refitted with Aviation gasket sealer to see if that addresses it.
- The hub plates to outer drive shaft is via bolts, that have been cut down to length to keep the correct shank length. On mine the cuts weren't very well done and also had some issues with interference with the brake caliper mount on rebuild, so had to file them down very slightly. (Clearance to hub is very tight and access for tools is very limited but that also applies to the standard setup.)
- I'd generally advise taking them to pieces to remove them or do things like fit new rear discs. Much easier to split the CV joints off than wrestle with the complete shafts.

As they were on the car when I got it I am not sure how old mine are they could be quite easily be early ones and some of these area improved in recent one.
'73 +2 130/5 RHD, now on the road and very slowly rolling though a "restoration"
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PostPost by: steve lyle » Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:30 pm

I have the cv drive shafts from DBE, but I believe they have the same supplier.

No downside at all, imo. DBE sells the output shafts separately, and did those too.

My install challenge was getting the old outputs out of the diff. Ken at DBE said they would just slide out after removing the snap ring. Not for me. I had to use a slide hammer, i had a shop fab up a steel plate to adapt the hammer to the old drlve shaft bolted to the OS. That did the trick.

For the cv shafts themselves, you’ll need a 12 pt drive socket that VW used. I had 40 years worth of tools, but I didn’t have one of those.

Well worth doing. I did have a boot fail recently, but I think that was a freak thing.
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PostPost by: chrishewett » Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:12 am

Thank you all for the helpful replies.
I am more set on the rde kit. I have emailed them for a quote. I assume that I will have to pay import duty on them. Does anyone have experience of buying from the USA?
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PostPost by: HCA » Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:11 am

Dead easy!

Order the items from RD, make sure they deduct all local taxes not applicable to export. They will give it to their shipper who will liase with a shipping agent - or if RD use one of the big boys, it will be the same - who will act as the agent for Uk customs, calculate all taxes due from you, send you a bill, you pay it and the items will be delivered. Simple!

I doubt it will happen, but if you are lucky, it will slip through the net and you pay nothing! I brought parts in during my muscle car phase, and regularly paid duties on small packs, then one day after rounding off some cam lobes on a Cadillac I had, ordered a full top end repair kit. It was expensive, packed in a big box, and delivered without a demand for any duties or VAT!
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PostPost by: 69S4 » Sat Oct 16, 2021 10:41 am

HCA wrote:
I doubt it will happen, but if you are lucky, it will slip through the net and you pay nothing! I brought parts in during my muscle car phase, and regularly paid duties on small packs, then one day after rounding off some cam lobes on a Cadillac I had, ordered a full top end repair kit. It was expensive, packed in a big box, and delivered without a demand for any duties or VAT!



I've been buying motorcycle parts from the US for many years and that's a good summary - sometimes you're 'lucky', sometimes you're not. I had three oil pumps sent over in a package recently and they were just delivered as normal, no paperwork or duties or anything.
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PostPost by: USA64 » Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:07 pm

It can make a big difference how the parts are declared by the shipper. For example -car parts- vs -replacement parts not for resale-. It might pay to look into it. Every country is different and shippers are frequently not knowledgeable, and, or, do not fill the forms out themselves. :|
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PostPost by: jeff jackson » Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:03 am

I have just taken delivery of the Elantrikbits from Col.
If you are in the UK, it does not matter if the parts are new, reconditioned, vintage car parts or secondhand, we still pay the VAT on them.
I do now have a dispute with the revenue people because they have charged me VAT on the Aus dollars price, not converting it to Sterling then charging me, so I have paid twice as much.
Claim going into them today!
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PostPost by: alan.barker » Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:25 am

Hi Jef,
could you tell us how much the CV shafts are costing from Aussie please.
To compare with the RDent from USA at £1300. (+ custom + post)
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PostPost by: William2 » Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:44 am

As far as I'm aware it is necessary to fit droop limiting shock absorbers when converting to solid driveshafts. At some point I'm going to buy the Kelvedon ones.
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PostPost by: Mazzini » Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:23 am

William2 wrote:As far as I'm aware it is necessary to fit droop limiting shock absorbers when converting to solid driveshafts. At some point I'm going to buy the Kelvedon ones.


Not so with the US (Bean/RD) or Australian (Trikbits or Lotus Marques) CV shafts, but true of the Kelvedon offering.
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PostPost by: alan.barker » Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:58 am

+1 and RD/Bean replace Diff Output Shafts which are the next weak spot after the Doughnuts :oops:
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PostPost by: alanr » Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:04 am

William2 wrote:As far as I'm aware it is necessary to fit droop limiting shock absorbers when converting to solid driveshafts. At some point I'm going to buy the Kelvedon ones.


The OP says he has a +2 and I have previously understood that limiting the droop was not necessary when fitting the Kelvedon driveshafts to a +2 and limiting droop is only necessary when doing the solid Kelvedon driveshaft conversion on an Elan?
Maybe someone can confirm/clarify?

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