Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi there Jeff@Jae,

some strange comments in your answer:-

Sumps, dry sumps etc.. Swinging or rotating pickups don't work because all the wetsump oil pumps made in the last couple of decades have the bypass directly back to the inlet not allowing oil to the swinger to keep it sealed and not sucking air. Just forget these things altogether.

We're talking here of a very old Ford oil pump design & the dry sump pumps, which fit in the same location, available for the twincam are really just that pump with a scavenge pump plonked on the end of it.

The design of a rotating pick-up is, as you mention, very difficult in order to prevent air leakage at that location without inhibiting the movement of the rotating part but I cannot fathom out what you mean when mentioning the bypass directly back to the inlet

If you can find the time to explain that more fully I'd be very pleased to discuss this with you further to improve my education.
A most interesting subject indeed.

Cheers
John

The orginal style twin Cam pump had the pressure relief discharge back to the sump. The replacement pumps made for many years return the pressure relief discharge back to the pump inlet.

I believe Jeffs concern is around the fact that when this happens you have reduced flow from the pickup to the pump and this may result in the swinging pivot not sealing and sucking in air at that point.

cheers
Rohan

Interesting topic.

We also used Col's excellent write-up to fabricate a baffled pan. Made some minor variations to attach things without penetrating the pan. Had the work done locally as I don't have the required skills.

Not sure if a result of the baffling , but found it important to re-calibrate the dip stick during an oil change to make sure I have the correct amount of oil. Researched in the archives and now understand this is a common issue on the Twink, although had not seen it mentioned here in a long while.

Jeff, what is the rough cost of one of your made up pans. I didn't know they were available when I had the engine out last winter. Sounds like a great winter project assuming one has to supply the pan for baffling and extended down time to get the work done.

tvacc wrote:Hi all,

Thinking about dry sumping my Elan with the Spyder chassis and the 26R body. I have a dry sump in my Caterham, so I know how to do it on a crossflow. Need help with the Elan.

Dont know where to buy, how much, or if anyone has a used setup out there.

I'm just finishing off dry-sumping my 1970 Plus 2S. I have been racing/hillclimbing the car for the last 9 years, but I have kept it a fully road-legal touring car, with radio, electric windows, heater, all carpet and trim etc.

Despite a lot of work on baffling the sump, I was still getting brief oil light flashes on occasion, and over the years there were more crank regrinds than I care to remember, so I decided to make the leap to dry-sump.

My other objective was to keep the car as a 2-seat road-going tourer, so putting the tank in the boot or the passenger space were not an option. I identified an AH Millington tank with piggyback catch tank as a suitably dimensioned option http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301588762581 along with QED supplied Titan 5-port pump.

To fit the tank I had to remove a portion of the nose floor and make up an alloy replacement to allow fitting the tank lower. This prevents opening the bonnet fully, I have brazed "finger wings" onto the nearside forward bonnet locating bolt to allow for speedy bonnet removal. The location for the remote filter meant that the right headlight pod spring had to be removed, so a pair of MX5 lift motors have been obtained very reasonably.

The pipework was tight, put manageable, using push-on fittings and hydraulic hose secured with jubilee clips. The correct rotary position of the elbows was important.

The oil cooler has been moved forward to just behind the grill.

It wasn't cheap, but I'm now looking forward to another forty years of enjoyable Lotusing !