Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

My speedo angle drive needed rebuilding or to be replaced. I contacted Nisonger here in the states and they said send it in and they could do it. Bottom line is they couldn't fix or replace it so they sent it back without any charges. Now what do I do? I've been told if they can't do it no one can here in the states. Is there another angle drive out there that can be modified to fit, or am I screwed until I find another one. Frustrating because the snow has almost melted, and I want to get back on the road again ASAP. They did repair my speedo and I do have a replacement speedo gear but it doesn't do much good without the angle drive.

Russ,
Have you checked out ebay? There are several on there at the moment - both US and UK. They are also available new in the UK from these guys.....http://www.speedycables.com/accessories.html but maybe too expensive with the shipping on top.
Regards,

I've checked eBay without success. I checked the Golden Gate Lotus Web Site and they have a cross reference to a Smiths BG2402/03 which I understand still needs to be modified to fit. It's from a Morgan 4/4 Series III and I did find a potential source here at $200 I guess I'll call them Monday for availability. Looking at the picture it may be a simple as removing piston ring and replacing the fitting with the one on my drive. Found it here. http://www.gaugeguys.com/Smiths/accessories.htm. Not sure why Nisonger wouldn't have this unless it's no longer available. If possible I want to source it here in the states to save a little money.

APT in Bloomington Mn had one made for me by Smiths in England. About $180 delivered in about 6 weeks. My understanding was that it was made to order.

Hello Russ,

Did the flexible piece break inside the fitting? Does it still turn? Mine broke many years ago. I disassembled the angle drive and drilled out the broken piece. I made a new piece from mild steel stock by grinding the round stock to a square drive. Then I pressed the piece in where the original flexible piece went in. Its been in service for more than 20 years.

Palo Alto Speedo might have one, or Bean.

I bought a new one from Ray at RD Enterprises only a few weeks ago. Expensive at about $200 but they are available new from the usual suspects, don't know what Nisonger's problem was.

Hi,

I am sure I saw these new on a Triumph web site recently, I if I recall correctly they were not that expensive, i will take a look tonight and see if I can find them again.

Tonyw

I'll be honest, I didn't ask RD, and I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Ray.Truth is, I didn't ask RD because I thought Nisonger had it covered. I did talk with Bean about it, and they didn't have the angle drive or gear when I talked with them. I thank Gary for hooking me up with the gear though as I struck out with all the usual sources on that. I will call RD on Monday to see if he has an angle drive. When I first looked into my problem I thought it was just the gear because the speedo seemed to work when I connected a drill motor to the angle drive. It was extremely stiff though, and when I tried it the second time it didn't work at all. It wasn't the speedo, because when I bypassed the angle drive it still worked (although not well). Nisonger confirmed the speedo was not right, but for whatever reason couldn't help me with the angle drive. I need to find out why, because they never told me until I recieved the package back today. Just a note saying they couldn't fix it.

StressCraxx wrote:Hello Russ,

Did the flexible piece break inside the fitting? Does it still turn? Mine broke many years ago. I disassembled the angle drive and drilled out the broken piece. I made a new piece from mild steel stock by grinding the round stock to a square drive. Then I pressed the piece in where the original flexible piece went in. Its been in service for more than 20 years.

Palo Alto Speedo might have one, or Bean.

, heck I thought I was the only one to think up that bodge ! When mine broke I also stripped it down and made a small mild steel insert, just to put me on until I could find a new one. Out of sight, out of mind and it's still there.....

Hi all,

This is what I was talking about.. http://www.mossmotors.com/graphics/prod ... 21-511.pdf

I think it is the same as a lotus and I also think the cost of 48 pounds is a little steep but then if you have to have one...

Tonyw

Susan Miller of Mick Miller Classic Sportscars here in the UK supplies the angle drives on a exchange basis - have just replaced mine at ?30.00 GBP plus VAT and post and all sorted
Just thought I'd add this as a useful bit of info

Nico S3 SE DHC 1968

Ken at Dave Bean had mine rebuilt for me a few years back.

Dan

Tonyw wrote:Hi all,

This is what I was talking about.. http://www.mossmotors.com/graphics/prod ... 21-511.pdf

I think it is the same as a lotus and I also think the cost of 48 pounds is a little steep but then if you have to have one...

Tonyw

And only $50 US on the US site. Good find.

I vaguely recall that on a plus 2 I owned in the '80s I dispensed with the right angle drive and just plugged the speedo cable in direct....might have even been enough room to route it between chassis and body, to reduce the radius of the initial curve.....but memory a bit dim on this

Robert

Thanks for everyones help. In the interest of saving time and not money I ordered one from Ray at RD. The price is steep at $225, but I can be on the road sooner and that's priceless. It was in stock and an exact replacement. I didn't bother calling Nosinger since they didn't charge me anything to look at it anyway. I'll keep the old one and next Winter I'll make it a nice little project to try and rebuild. Decided to buy new headers as well as I want to replace the entire exhaust system after I get it running for the first time. Anybody have a recommendation for good replacement performance muffler that isn't too loud?