Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Lotus Elan +2 with galvanised Lotus Chassis complete with 2.0L Zetec. All Drive train strengthened and complete with fully adjustable track suspension

Hi Rich,

thanks for the Photos.
I'll try to take some of the possible Oil filter alternatives, that I've found, for the other thread soon.
Just a couple more questions:-
That Exhaust Manifold looks very much like mine; who made yours?
You appear to be using the "Raceline" Water Rail, have you noticed any Coolant temperature fluctuations?

Cheers
John

P.S. I bet you didn't expect to have to answer so many questions so soon

Old English White wrote:... I have to say that it is neatly made .
Nice work .
Question ; Is that mod cheaper than having your original twincam rebuild !?! Or what were your goals !?!
Christian.

Hi Christian,

I think having the original twincam rebuild would have been a much simpler job but depending on final specification possibly a little more expensive.

But my reason for the engine change was to increase the cars performance and reliability with the intention of going back to the Lotus Action Day at Castle Coombe and surprise a few baby Elans after previously struggling to keep with them down the start finish straight. Although I have not had the chance to test this, I feel sure the +2 will now.

Rich

D.J.Pelly wrote:Hi Rich,

thanks for the Photos.
I'll try to take some of the possible Oil filter alternatives, that I've found, for the other thread soon.
Just a couple more questions:-
That Exhaust Manifold looks very much like mine; who made yours?
You appear to be using the "Raceline" Water Rail, have you noticed any Coolant temperature fluctuations?

Cheers
John

P.S. I bet you didn't expect to have to answer so many questions so soon

Hi John,

The Exhaust and System was made by Exhausts By Design near Bicester/Oxford. Very good quality at a very reasonable price.
Yes I have used a Raceline Water Rail and it has worked very well. Although It was the only option available because there is not enough room between the Bulkhead and the Engine to use the original Thermostat Housing, I even had to relieve the Bulk Head to fit the Water Rail.

The car keeps cools very well and the temperature stays very stable, the little valve like piece of metal was removed from the Thermostate to make sure it opens when the engine is at the correct temperature, making sure that the Rail doesnt have cold water trapped in it leading up to the Thermostat.

Regards

Rich

hi.
i am about to start on the zetec to lotus chassis conversion on my +2. i see from other posts that i will need to fit different engine mounts, where did you get yours? or where they "bespoke" for your car?

i have a formula four 1.8 zetec with uprated cams which should give 130 bhp. not sure if i should change the drive shafts from doughnuts to cv joints, as i understand it the lotus twincam bhp was 130, so the drivetrain should not be overstretched by the zetec. what sump do you have fitted, i am thinking of using a shallower design to improve clearance.

sorry to bombard you with questions, but believe me i need as much help as i can get.

thank you.

Keith

That sits really nicely Rich, and looks like a Plus 2 should. How did you avoid the Elan-on-a-Landrover-chassis look, which Spyder seem to adopt on their cars?

Mark

Elanintheforest wrote:That sits really nicely Rich, and looks like a Plus 2 should. How did you avoid the Elan-on-a-Landrover-chassis look, which Spyder seem to adopt on their cars?

Mark

Mark,
This looks like a 2 year old topic. I expect that Rich's exhaust manifold has been ground to dust by now

Keith,
Probably best to post your question in the Mods section, and some of the hands on converters out there will be more than pleased to point you in the right direction. 130bhp won't trouble the gearbox or diff too much providing they are in good order, the consensus of opinion regarding rotoflex versus cv joints for the driveshafts is slowly leaning towards cv joints, possibly due to the available quality of new rotoflexes which some say are very poor compared to in period.

Regards

Spyder fan wrote:Mark, This looks like a 2 year old topic. I expect that Rich's exhaust manifold has been ground to dust by now

That's why I was asking....to see if the particular manifold design for this car has overcome the clearence problem. But I'm probably missing something!

Mark