How to identify original chassis

[832ark]

Hi

I have a '68 +2 that I believe is still on its original chassis, can anyone tell me how I identify if this is the case?

I also need to remove the pedal box and I can find plenty of threads about the pedal box itself, just not how to remove it. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Many Thanks

Alistair

[mikealdren]

Alistair,
Welcome to the forum. If your chassis is galvanised, it's a more recent Lotus replacement. If it's tubular it's a Spyder chassis. If it's a stressed skin chassis with a tubular section from X-member, it's an early Spyder refurbishment of a standard Lotus chassis.

If it's non of these, it may be an original chassis or it could be an early replacement, IIRC galavanising started in the late 70s but some cars had already had a new chassis by then. Original chassis are usually (always?) painted in red primer and black chassis coat.

Do you have a workshop manual? They're invaluable and fairly readily available either 2nd hand (e.g. Ebay) or new, South West Lotus usually have a good price for a (loose leaf) manual without a binder. You'll need one and the Service Parts list is also very useful for exploded diagrams as well as part numbers.

The pedal boxes are not all the same and I've only seen the later ones but they are fastened from below by studs that go down through the bulkhead. Disconnect the hydraulics and throttle cable and remove enough trim from under the dash to access the retaining nuts. Manouevre the pedal box assembly upwards through the bulkhead.

Lots of people cut a square section out of the top of the pedal box to make access easier for assembly. Cut a hole and screw a cover plate back when you've finished. You'll find lots of threads here on bushes and modifications but I've found the original design ok.

I would recommend refurbishing/strengthening/reinforcing the fibreglass aperture where the pedal box fits before re-fitting.

Let us know how you get on and good luck.

Mike

[fatboyoz]

Alistair,
I don't know if the +2 is the same as my S4, but my old chassis had a chassis/subframe number stamped in to the r/h chassis rail just forward of the engine mount. It was also red. The Lotus Replacement chassis has a number beginning with LR (then four or five numbers) written with a vibrating pencil on the L/H chassis rail forward of the L/H engine mount. The chassis is galvanised.
I replicated the stamping on the R/H chassis rail of the new chassis so that the regulators have something to look at when necessary.
Colin.

Hi

I have a '68 +2 that I believe is still on its original chassis, can anyone tell me how I identify if this is the case?

I also need to remove the pedal box and I can find plenty of threads about the pedal box itself, just not how to remove it. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Many Thanks

Alistair

[832ark]

Thanks for the advice there guys. I'll have a look for those numbers on the chassis rail. Am I looking for them from the top or from underneath? I've not got a workshop manual but I've had a look at the pedal box, is it just a case of removing the hydraulics and throttle cable and then removing the bolts (approx then lifting out from above? There appears to be a sealant around where the pedal box joins the bulkhead. What kind of sealant should I use when I refit?

Thanks once again

Alistair

[paddy]

There was a thread here:

elan-f14/chassis-identification-t17458.html

with various comments about possible locations (or not) for chassis numbers.

Paddy

[Jason1]

Hi

is it just a case of removing the hydraulics and throttle cable and then removing the bolts (approx then lifting out from above? There appears to be a sealant around where the pedal box joins the bulkhead. What kind of sealant should I use when I refit?

Yes it is that easy, just disconnect the 2 hydraulic pipes and the accelerator from the carbs and undo the nuts underneath. It is a bit fiddly to get the pedals through the hole but it is worse getting them back in.

I made a rubber gasket from an old pond liner and used silicone sealer when refitting.

Jason