Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131062685683?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Anyone know where this item comes from?

Perhaps some of you know where to buy it cheaper?

If I had a twin cam engine for sale, I would put it up for a 10 day auction on Ebay. People here would tell me it was worth ?1000 needing a rebuild, ?2000 sort of okay condition and ?3000 freshly rebuilt, but Ebay would reveal the correct "market value" of ?2000 needing rebuild, ?3500 sort of okay and ?5000+++ for freshly rebuilt.

Values for our cars are rising and those that can afford them are increasing, be warned.

[quote="Spyder fan"Anyone know where this item comes from?
Perhaps some of you know where to buy it cheaper? .[/quote]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/touch-latch-p ... tid=202891

types26/36 wrote:[quote="Spyder fan"Anyone know where this item comes from?
Perhaps some of you know where to buy it cheaper? .

http://www.screwfix.com/p/touch-latch-p ... tid=202891[/quote]

Can you post a link for cheap engines or gearboxes?

But do you really need 10 pcs !!!!

At ?8.24 for a pack of 10 you could use 9 and sell the other on Fleabay to recover your cost...

John

.....but think..... you could have bought 10 TC cylinder heads back in the 60's for ????......

Decent twin cam heads sell for more than complete YB turbo engines.

stevebroad wrote:Decent twin cam heads sell for more than complete YB turbo engines.

well, values may be rising, but does that matter if you have no intention of selling?
I'm sure they are not rising because of the cost of replacing engines/heads/ etc...
these are almost 'consumables' for those who use their cars, and heads in particular will be junked once they've been skimmed to [and beyond] the limit.....
I suppose once prices of these components rise sufficiently, someone spots a niche and re-manufactures
components accordingly, but with a limited market [a few thousand at most?] it seems unlikely that I'm going to get a cheap new head when I need one [some unkind people would say I could have done with a new one a long time ago ]....are you guys buying up engines and heads and sqirrelling them away for when you need one? are we going to be forced to go zetec???
fred

Elanconvert wrote:

stevebroad wrote:Decent twin cam heads sell for more than complete YB turbo engines.

well, values may be rising, but does that matter if you have no intention of selling?
I'm sure they are not rising because of the cost of replacing engines/heads/ etc...
these are almost 'consumables' for those who use their cars, and heads in particular will be junked once they've been skimmed to [and beyond] the limit.....
I suppose once prices of these components rise sufficiently, someone spots a niche and re-manufactures
components accordingly, but with a limited market [a few thousand at most?] it seems unlikely that I'm going to get a cheap new head when I need one [some unkind people would say I could have done with a new one a long time ago ]....are you guys buying up engines and heads and sqirrelling them away for when you need one? are we going to be forced to go zetec???
fred

Hi Fred
You can recover almost any head - it is just a question of cost to rebuild versus cost to buy another head suitable for the use intended. They can go a lot thinner than most people think.
And YES I am squirrelling away heads for when I need them as they are a consumable when you race unfortunately and I hope I have a lifetime stock now . In the end you can always buy a new SAS or QED head it is just a question of price versus an engine change cost and hassle and you idea of what's right for an Elan in terms of an engine and for how long the suppliers stay in the business making new heads


cheers
Rohan

hi rohan
that's a bit of reassurance! about recovering heads I mean...
how thin can you go?
i.e. if I were to find one to 'squirrel away' what's the minium height I should accept?
thanks
fred

Clearly the thicker the better but if the cast lettering on the side of the bottom face of the head is still visible even if the tops have been taken off a little then it can be used, you may need to do a little adjusting of seat heights and chamber volumes and check valve lengths needed and spring installed lengths but all this is relatively cheap to do when rebuilding a head as most of it needs doing with a standard head if your doing it right. Hardness is the biggest issue - a soft head while theoretically recoverable with heat treatment is going to have to be less than free to be worth the exercise. Corrosion is the other killer issue as welding up a lot of corrosion can get very very expensive also.

cheers
Rohan

rgh0 wrote:Clearly the thicker the better but if the cast lettering on the side of the bottom face of the head is still visible even if the tops have been taken off a little then it can be used, you may need to do a little adjusting of seat heights and chamber volumes and check valve lengths needed and spring installed lengths but all this is relatively cheap to do when rebuilding a head as most of it needs doing with a standard head if your doing it right. Hardness is the biggest issue - a soft head while theoretically recoverable with heat treatment is going to have to be less than free to be worth the exercise. Corrosion is the other killer issue as welding up a lot of corrosion can get very very expensive also.

cheers
Rohan

rohan
do you mean the numbers n the top roight in this photo?
would this one be worth saving?
thanks

fred

cast raised numbers on bottom face of head not back face. I will take a photo of one of my spare heads that is thin tomorrow and post as an example

cheers
Rohan

Elanconvert wrote:

stevebroad wrote:Decent twin cam heads sell for more than complete YB turbo engines.

well, values may be rising, but does that matter if you have no intention of selling?

Yes, it matters. I want to make sure my insurance will cover it in the event of........
I don't want surprises.

Greg Z

gjz30075 wrote:

Elanconvert wrote:

stevebroad wrote:Decent twin cam heads sell for more than complete YB turbo engines.

well, values may be rising, but does that matter if you have no intention of selling?

Yes, it matters. I want to make sure my insurance will cover it in the event of........
I don't want surprises.

Greg Z

good point....hadn't thought about that.......
fred