Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Famous Frank wrote:Oh my! I'm older than I thought.

The oval / elliptical intermediate exhaust pipe was INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY ON ALL EARLY ELANS! I'm just not exactly sure when they stopped installing them. It was for additional ground clearance.

To my knowledge they have not been available for decades. Mine are built to factory specs with the only deviation being they are made with 304 stainless versus mild steel. Which is why no one has seen one in years. Mild steel exhaust components many times did not last much more that a year. It's what kept companies like Midas in business. I've included a pic from an original Elan Parts Manual. It depicts the oval / elliptical exhaust pipe used on the S1 Elan, the non SE S2 Elan, and the non SE early Elan Coupe. I'm assuming the oval / elliptical pipe went out of production in the 1966 / 1967 time frame.

Oh wait, I just talked to a young gentleman in Starbucks this morning. He never heard of Midas.

Thank you all for the elliptical / oval education.

Frank

Even after all these years I keep on learning new things about these cars. Thank you for that.

The yellow is a Kevlar reinforcement layer bonded with the carbon fiber for abrasion and impact resistance.

Mazzini,

I've been watching your comments for years and I too learn something new all the time. And there are many others on this forum that continue to teach me more about these magnificent vehicles. I envy your 5 gears! I'll get there some day!

Bought my first Lotus in 72. Love them more today than almost 50 years ago. If I get to count models or slot cars purchased my first one was around 1964 / 1965. I remember it was a Lotus 30.

Frank

Hello Frank,

Remember I bought one of your interior trim kits from you a few years ago? I think you were in the process of changing jobs, it was awhile ago but I hope everything worked out for you.

The stars - quality over quantity is far better.

I'm returning my S2 to original for and would love one of your original pipes and I may still have a solution to get one into the UK for reasonable money. Please drop me a PM when you have a moment.

Cheerio and all the best,

Rob

Frank,
I would love one or more of the pipes, just not sure how I get them to the UK. I did ask my exhaust guy here (UK) if he could do it but we worked out we would need a large run to cover the tooling costs.

Frank will you be manufacturing the expansion box too?

mrdoow wrote:Heavy gage aluminum straps anchored to the rear and forward body mounts to provide a forward seat frame anchor point other than FRP.

I did something similar but less radical in my former Esprit. The FRP floor was quite sturdy, but I moved the holes by about three inches and so made up some steel pieces that would go between the holes and slightly beyond, one above the floor and one below for each of the four mounting points, with bolts/nuts connecting the pieces through the empty holes as well as the bolts through the new holes and into the seat. Why? Because being too tall for a stock Esprit, I removed the adjutment-rails from the seat then bolted it to the floor as far back as it would go, and with two holes so close together x4, I figured that I might have weakened the floor a bit near the mounting points. The bolts through the old holes not only only provided a little more attachment strength but also solved the problem of holes through which water might get in, and allowed for the old holes to be used again when I sold the car and the new owner wanted the rails back in and the seat back to its original position.

Sorry about the thread-hijack! Back to exhausts now.

@ mrdoow - I used spintech and DrGas to make an all stainless oval/round system awhile back and was able to source all the pieces in stainless including some of the oval to round transitions - I went oval for peace of mind on ground clearance -

It is correct that I had to manufacture a large number to cover the tooling cost. That's the cost of doing business. But they are sure nice to look at!

Mazini, I remember and thank you. Job has worked out just fine, And I'm working on making a run of the forward downpipe WITH the Expansion tank just as the originals. Hope to have a prototype in the next few weeks.

We get exhaust shipped to the USA. I'm sure there must be a way to ship some to the UK. I'll keep you informed.

All the best, Frank

Next time you fly up to Chicago, can you bring a couple up as carry on's? I'm sure the airline won't mind.

Thanks!

Zog, how many should I put you down for?

Ha! I haven't taken a plane in years. I'd rather drive. !!!

Frank,

I will take 3 pipes, 3 sets of door arm rest pads, 2 center console pads and 1 console. (And maybe a small business loan to pay for all of that!)

Thanks!

Bob