Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Thin steel Robbie, about the similar thickness to a coke can, as the overlapping pipe is a little bigger than the inner I managed to get about one and a half maybe 2 circumferences around the inner pipe with the shim, because it is so thin it is rather malleable. The exhaust clamp squishes all of it circumferentially, the thin steel distorts a little as I had a test go and took it apart. No leaks with a little increased back pressure from a rag in the end.

Innes

Ah got you - cheers Innes

Robbie

Update -

Not a happy chappy.

So fired the car up the other day after sealing up the exhaust and it was noticeably quieter, still pretty loud but at the time I just put this down to it being a non-standard exhaust and it being a "TTR fast road, boy racer exhaust".

Fired the car up today to check if my wiring to the reverse light switch was working and after hearing how loud and "boomy" the exhaust was decided to go on the hunt for a leak. No leaks on any of the joins or the manifold flanges but while checking the manifold flanges felt lots of hot exhaut gas against the back of my hand.

Turns out the manifold is massively leaking at the 4 to 2 stage where exhaust pipe from cylinders 1 and 4 meet and where 2 and 3 meet. I took a picture of where it's leaking, it appears I'm missing some welding...



Can't believe I didn't notice this till now.

Other peoples opinions?

Innes

So yeh the previous photo was pretty rubbish so here are a better series of pictures, took the manifold off!
On further inspection, it appears I am missing a weld it seems (pardon the pun) on the 2-1 join on the pipes from cylinders 2 and 3. Annoying I didn't notice it when I unboxed it and fitted it to the car, my excuse being most people wouldn't actively look for a brand new part bought off the self to be wrong.

I was able to cover the flanges with my hands and play it like a trumpet, blowing air in the open end it was easy to hear and feel the air escaping at the join.

You can see where the exhaust gases have escaped blowing the carbon on to the tube surface.

I wonder if the supplier follows this forum? He really needs to know about the quality of his products...

So what do TTR say?

Robbie

Phoned TTR today, after emailing them the pictures last night. They were very understanding and offered me several options.

1. Me get a local to weld manifold and they would re-imburse the costs.
2. Direct swap my manifold for one of theirs currently in stock, free of charge.
3. Me post them my manifold and they will get their exhaust guru to weld it, back to me within 10 days, free of charge.

Error down to a human mistake from a batch of manifolds being made. We aren't all pefect robots in this world. They had never had this problem before.

My manifold is from a older batch which was made by their best exhaust man who has now retired (the only person they had who could make such tight curves with sand.) They said their new exhausts are made differently but give the same power output.

I have opted for them to weld my current manifold, saves further problems if a local repair was not ideal. I think in this case sealing the flanges probably wasn't the problem here it was the missing weld.

Happy with this outcome.

Innes

Innes,
Bad luck mate, I have been caught out by new parts myself in the past, I now check twice and even disassemble things like master cylinders to make sure the seals are in correctly (yes that happened to me with a new master cylinder).

I find it a good idea to get a friend to check as well, at least you can put some of the blame on them when stuff like this happens.

I never have any problem with Mr Thompsons parts, possibly because I refuse to deal with him.

Keep the faith, you will get there in the end.

Nose badges!

Might upset some purists here, my car originally having a good old yellow and green one. I plan on putting a black one on as I feel it suits the slightly more complicated paint scheme of the JPS better.

Anybody tried the cheap period looking ones on ebay? (~?15) which have the correct -ish font.
(Not opening up that thread here and now).
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-NOSE-BA ... 232838368d

Also noted that SJ sports cars do a black and gold nose badge, anybody have one of these? Or would it just look tacky and going at bit over board with the whole black and gold everywhere! All colours seem to be available with SJS for ?40.

My original yellow and green badge is in good nick but not amazing (not selling it before anybody asks).

Here are the options -







Innes

Hi Innes,

I bought one of these badges and was not impressed, cheaply made and just did not look right, so much so that I put my orginal, slighlty damaged, one back on.

I also sent you a pm.

Chris.

Innes,
I have a black badge on my +2, it supposedley had one originally (1969), it works okay on the Royal Blue and because of the chrome edge it doesn't get lost, so would work on yours.

I would have no problem fitting the black and gold badge either, it could always be a conversation piece where you swear blind that they came from the factory that way. I like a bit of tasteful controversy and we all have our own view about whats right or wrong. The badges are easy to swap after all, so go with your mood.

On my S4 I have a correct new old stock yellow and green badge, it makes the reproductions look shabby. It's probably the only original part on the car

Would I be correct in saying that the shift pattern badge on my gear knob is silver/chrome with a black in-fill yes?
(Essentially similar to the black and silver nose badge style).

Innes

Innes,

Congratulations on your outstanding dedication to this project and the quality of work you are doing. I did note that the first group of photos contains a clue as to why you are hooked on this stuff. I'll give you a chance to go back and look for the clue...









Wait for it......



Wait for it.....


Your second photo of the number plate tells it all: This car is pure Opium

Yes Ross quite fond of that numberplate, I assume it is the original unless one of the previous owners was a drug dealer in the late 70s early or 80s Last tax disc the car had was 81 and has been off the road since. Members of my family refer to the car as "Poppy" for the obvious connotations. (Do people still refer to cars ships and planes as a she?)

More photo's of progress to follow soon chaps.

What car cleaning products do people in the UK use for paint work by the way?

Should I have any felt/ insulation/heat foil on the underside of my bonnet? Concerned about the heat affecting the paint, especially with my fast road manifold (increased heat in the engine bay?) once the thing gets fixed finally.

Innes

Hi Innes,

Well done on the car, very impressive. Ships and aircraft are certainly still referred to in the female form, must be something to do with high maintenance costs, bottom scraping and lots of cosmetic paint! However, the Russian Navy refer to their ships in the male form.

Hopefully my +2 will be up and running soon. Was thinking of driving it up home to see the folks in Aberdeen in July. Might stop in Dundee for a Peh! It would be great to meet up if your amenable? I certainly felt for you when you were talking of you exhaust manifold woes. I bought a stainless set from a well known supplier and found out that the no. 1 flange was welded on slightly off true. This coupled with the extreme bend of the pipe meant that I couldn't even get the nut on the stud let alone turn it! I decided to leave it and come back to it at a later date with a fresh pair of eyes. Eventually I figured it out but it took abit of huffing and puffing.

All the best,

Pete