Steering

[Bigbaldybloke]

Thanks, that’s interesting, I need to spend a bit of time to understand that geometry.

[EdWills]

All of the Elan racks I've rebuilt or serviced had only one length, i.e. same both sides. A nominal 7.59" or about 193mm from the center of the pivot ball to the end of the threads.

Hi. As a newbie, and a Lotus Seven owner, I know nothing of parts fitted to the Elan except for the steering and front suspension parts. I am a rank amateur, but I have been completing research into steering racks from the Alder and Alford/Triumph range and how Lotus modified them for use on the various road models (Seven/Elan/Plus 2/Europa). On the Lotus Europa Community forum site, the site administrator has posted a very helpful article from the Club Lotus magazine by Brian Buckland that is mostly appropriate for the Elan. I also have a copy from an old Dave Bean parts catalogue that shows the parts used on the various racks for the Elan, Plus 2 and Europa (DBE Elan, Plus 2 and Cortina parts catalogue). It is possibly a copy from a Lotus manual? I am guessing that all the parts shown are no longer available from DBE. It does indicate that the 'special' tie rods for the Elan were 6" long. Mr. Buckland advises that Lotus produced these for the Elan. As another example, Lotus modified the tie rod and outer ball joint for the Seven by removing 3/8 inches and 1/4 inch from the tie rod and outer ball joint respectively. A few errors have inevitably creeped in regarding measurements on the various racks and tie rods. A Seven site for example quotes the tie rod length for a Herald/Spitfire at 8.715 inches (ball centre to thread end). This is incorrect as the measurement of 8.715 inches for a Herald/Spitfire is actually the distance from the centre of the outer swivel (steering) ball joint to the centre of the tie rod ball joint. This measurement is shown in a couple of shop manuals and published books on the Spitfire/Herald. I recently contacted a company in Germany called 'Bastuck' who sell the German manufactured steering racks for the Triumph Spitfire and possibly other Triumph models. When I inquired regarding their use on a Lotus, the sales rep was very interested. He sent me some emails of the rack with the gaiter slid out of the way. There is no inner tie rod locking nut fitted on these racks. He also would not say if the rack could be taken apart in order to add necessary rack stops. I am not sure how stops could be added for the Elan or Seven if the tie rod cannot be temporarily removed. I would buy one to find out, but the cost is quite high, and may be useless after I'm finished with it! Triumph forums have likewise fielded questions regarding these racks, but as they are a fairly new product, no one had been required to disassemble one for service. These racks are more expensive than units produced in Argentina. The S. American versions are sealed for life, are unable to be serviced, and according to Triumph forum contributors suffer from poor quality control and premature wear. Dave Bean Engineering had a German rack delivered from British Parts North America, but advised me that they may not be suitable for use on a Lotus. Unfortunately the sales rep did not advise why this was, or how far they had taken the rack apart before returning it to BPNA. If anyone is interested, and the site administrator will allow me, I can add the photos from Bastuck along with the DBE page. Cheers EW

[SENC]

The Buckland article is from CLN Volume 3 in 2011. The spacer table is posted below, but if you want the full article all back-issues of CLN are available for download (for a reasonable fee, I think) to CL members. Some while back I purchased and downloaded all back-issues and marked for Brian Buckland's articles so if you're searching for a particular one I may be able to help.

Speaking of steering rack spacers, I have a rack I found and rebuilt as a back-up that has, as I recall, the S1-S3 spacers. If any of you have S4 or Seven S2 spacers but need early spacers and would like to trade, send me a pm.

[Craven]

May help
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=46854

[EdWills]

May help
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=46854

Hello. Thank you for the reference. further down the page, 1owner69Elan has advised regarding rack stops for the Ford Mustang. Mr. Frank Becker at Bastuck (distributor of the German manufactured Triumph Spitfire rack) also advised that the nylon clips designed for the Mustang are the same inner diameter to fit the Bastuck rack. I do not know the width of these clip-on spacers, but by stacking them beside each other, I would guess that the 1.75 inch for the passenger end of the rack, and the necessary width at the driver's end (there is no lock nut installed at either end on the German rack) could be accomplished. Mr. Becker also advised that metal half pieces would also work on these racks as long as a method of securing them together could be safely accomplished. Temporarily pulling back the rubber gaiters would be the only disassembly necessary to the rack. This would only leave the tie rod and thread length to be determined for use on the Elan. I think that I need to bite the bullet and purchase one hopefully for use or as a spare. If deciding to rebuild a Triumph Spitfire rack, British Parts North America advise that their replacement tie rods are 7.125 inches long end-to-end. The thread portion is 2 inches long. Prices seem to vary wildly on this part. I noted that one U.K. supplier sells them in the 70 U.K. Pounds Sterling range, while BPNA sells them for $16.00 U.S. With the huge price difference, one would hope that the U.K. produced items are of a much higher quality than the cheeper versions. If you require the rack end bush, shims for the inner ball joints, pinion shims, rubber 'o' ring for the upper pinion bush, locking tab, and gaiters, one or two Triumph suppliers carry all of these. Cheers EW

[Craven]

Tie rod for an Elan is a special, even with the correct length rod the thread length needs to be reduced. I believe this is required because the tie rod end supplied these days have a longer shank than original; even with the reduced thread length the adjustment for track width is only just possible. Also the tie rod ends may have a different ball centre height and or taper which will alter the effective rack height affecting the bump steer setting.

[EdWills]

Hi.
Hopefully I've correctly attached the Dave Bean page regarding the Lotus Elan/Plus 2 rack. Also photos sent by Mr. Becker of Bastuck showing the tie rod ball joint on the German manufactured rack. EW

[EdWills]

From Dave Bean Lotus Elan, Plus 2 and Cortina catalogue

[Craven]

Don’t assume you can shorten a Triumph tie rod to fit an Elan, it can’t be done, as the thread is rolled formed the thread diameter is larger than the rod diameter. This may apply to the Bastuck rack.

[EdWills]

Don’t assume you can shorten a Triumph tie rod to fit an Elan, it can’t be done, as the thread is rolled formed the thread diameter is larger than the rod diameter. This may apply to the Bastuck rack.

P1030562.JPG

Hi. The only way to overcome this is if a company - such as Bastuck - could be persuaded to produce racks with tie rods to suit the Seven, Elan, and Plus 2, then rack stops could be added by the purchaser to suit their particular requirements. (The Europa requires a rack tube extension that may be impossible to add to these German racks?) If Bastuck found it profitable to produce them for the number of Triumph Spitfires still driving around the planet, possibly they could be persuaded to produce them for Lotus vehicles (although I fully realize that the unit for the Triumph Spitfire does not require further modification or any changes on the production line). Mr. Becker seemed interested in the possibility of serving Lotus owners, but who knows if it will come to anything? According to Brian Buckland, the Elan tie rods were specifically produced by Lotus, and as you note, the 7" tie rods cannot be modified safely.
May I enquire where you obtained the brand new looking tie rod in your photograph please? Is it 6 or 7 inch?
Cheers, EW

[Craven]

Pic is of the new Triumph one, I believe an Australian company makes the correct length ( 6” ) replacement for the rack.

[EdWills]

Many thanks. EW

[rgh0]

Pic is of the new Triumph one, I believe an Australian company makes the correct length ( 6” ) replacement for the rack.

Lotus Marques lists them on their website

https://lotusmarques.com/parts/catalogu ... rack-parts

cheers
Rohan