Elan Engine Bay Quiz

[Elanintheforest]

This photograph is from an Elan currently for sale on ebay.

So who can spot what's unusual about it, and for extra points...why was it like this? The answer applies to the Plus 2 130 and Elan Sprint equally.

Mark

[elanman999]

Mark,
The writing on the cam cover is upsidedown. and I'd like to know why as I have one of those at home.
Cheers
John

[trw99]

Hi Mark

It's been an hour or so and no-one has replied!

So, what I notice is the cam cover. This appears to be a "rarer" early Big Valve cover, with the legend read from in front of the car. Sometime in mid 1971 the fins on the cam covers and the ?LOTUS Big Valve? legend became more sharply defined, with the Lotus font changed, the legend being read from the cabin end of the car. Presumably new castings were made, either by a new manufacturer if they were outsourced, or by a change in casting at the factory.

As to why, I would guess that an owner may have tried to either "upgrade" his engine by fitting Dellorto's and spraying the cam cover red (only found on some UK cars after May/June 1972), or they were trying to pass the car off as being built later than it was. Conversely, they may have just got hold of an earlier cam cover to replace a bust later one and decided to spray it red.

In addition, the electric fan is fitted to the left of the radiator as we view it, when they usually left the factory fitted to the right.

Am I close?

Tim

PS One reply why I was typing!

[Elanintheforest]

You're absolutely right, and the reason is interesting, and makes the cover quite...well, very...rare. And it wasn't a mistake.
Lets see if anyone else gets the reason
Mark

[garyeanderson]

The rear reading cam covers are a lot easier to read on a Twin Cam Europa.
Gary

[Elanintheforest]

We replied at the same time Tim...I thought you'd know it straight away.

The reason I'd heard for the writing being the 'wrong' way round was for the launch of the Big Valve head at the motor show...the cars were displayed with their bonnets removed, and the punters could read the big valve script from the other side of the ropes. I'd also heard that only a batch of 50 were made this way...but that is only hearsay.

So, Tim, do many early Sprints have this cover?

Mark

[john.p.clegg]

Where are the plud leads and what is the red thing over the sparkplugs?

John

[trw99]

Mark

How many? You have got to be joking! Not even the factory know for sure how many Sprints were built, let alone those with Dellortos, or five speed boxes......!

I believe that most of the S4's converted to Sprint spec by the factory had these covers and, as I said, my guestimate is the casting was changed around April/May 71. Certainly the first UK road test cars had the early cover.

Happy to know what others have on their Sprints, provided they know they are original spec!

Tim

[robcall]

I've got one.Engine no N24208.

[elansprint71]

Lots of rust on the inner wings- do you think they will weld up OK?

[ianf]

Mark,

Mines this way round, N24211, in the build record as 6th April 71.

Ian

[ppnelan]

How's this for a theory:
Better-built engines were fitted with the standard cam cover, as regular maintenance only requires it to be read with the bonnet open. 'Friday afternoon' engines had the writing the other way up as they spent more time with the bonnet off undergoing major repair...

P.S. PLEASE can some invent a 'tongue in cheek' emoticon...

Matthew

[Tony Mongillo]

Mine is that way as well.

7104070164K. April, 1971

Tony

[Jason1]

Mine is also that way around.

I thought this was normal, maybe it is for early engines??

[gjz30075]

Toward the rear for my Jan, '72 Sprint