Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Poor explanation, the pawl can be moved on its pivot in and out of engagement with the ratchet Wheel, the spring steel thrust plate on the pivot shaft will hold it in either the engaged or the disengaged position.

They must have designed it to do that but why I cannot imagine, limited mileage insurances werent around back then, perhaps it was just to keep the mileage down without clocking the vehicles, perhaps for fleet users.

Why I keep this rubbish in my head I dont know because I cannot recall what I did ? minutes ago! When you started this thread it sounded very familiar, the photographs confirmed it.

Hi Chancer,
Thanks for that.
I could not tell how it worked. I had all the parts out, cleaned, and lubricated as I thought was correct.
Sometimes the pawl engaged with the wheel and sometimes it described a circle in the air near the tooth tip. It seemed to be random whether it engaged or missed by about 10 thou. It did only seem to fit one way with no variation possible that I noticed. But I wasn`t looking for that then.
However it is back in the car now, and as the spring is very light, I agree it is unlikely to do any harm.
Also, what I have done is easily removable by the next man who thinks I am a plonker for doing it wrong.
All I need now is the rain to stop.
Eric