Original Chassis

[billwill]

Where did that replacement come from?

[vincereynard]

I think it came from here - http://www.kelsport.net/parts/products. ... ctionID=50

But I scooted around quite a bit before finding a good shot of the front turrets.

Anyway they do not seem to make a chassis for the +2.

Another thought, it might be a 26R chassis, It seems to be festooned in extra strengthening bits.

[holywood3645]

Gartrac make the orginlal chassis.
http://www.gartrac.com/fabrication/lotu ... lLotus.htm

I still have the orginal one fitted to my 1969 S4 as it was in good condition when i did my 'body off'. It has had the AVO and TT mods completed powder coated and it still good condition. The car is in California and not exposed to to the UK elements.
I did coat the inner open section with the adheasive used to coat gas (petrol) tanks.
James

[vincereynard]

That looks to be closed off and strengthened as well.

40 odd years of refinement.

Where did that replacement come from?

Probably where Kelvedon get theirs from. The strengthening gussets look the same at both ends.

[gus]

>>>> It has had the AVO and TT mods completed powder coated and it still good condition. <<<<

uhhhh.....

not an original chassis now is it?

the point is an original chassis is a 'pig in a poke' you don't know what it is, and, no under no conditions was anything Chapman remotely involved in designed to last 50 years

I would not imply that all original chassis are in need of replacement, but when buying a car one must assume that it is and pay accordingly

This is different from buying, say a 1965 Chevy, where checking the body is required, but the chassis is almost always not the problem. Well, not any more than when it was new

[el-saturn]

36 / 4982 I S all original! had the rust free chassis zinc plated in 1981 (1st "coating" was actually using the zinc bath to get rid of the brown paint; 2nd coating was the actual zinc plating) --- at the same time the chassis got a safety devices cage: to save and stiffen the monocoque. in switzerland you'll really gonna have to fight yourself thru MOT without the original PLUS you'll only get a 6 year MOT free option with the original. what's the percentage of originals out there????? cheers sandy

[prezoom]

Well, I'm confused. All this time I thought the steel part was a sub-frame, like you find on modern unibody front wheel drive cars, and the fiberglass part was the chassis. Maybe it is just old age, and my brain is dropping some of its connections.

[holywood3645]

Gus
It's the orginal chassis that came in the car when new! Yes It has been strengthened and powder coated.

o?rig?i?nal
??rij?nl/
adjective
1.
present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest.
"the original owner of the house"
synonyms: indigenous, native, aboriginal, autochthonous; More
2.
created directly and personally by a particular artist; not a copy or imitation.
"original Rembrandts"
synonyms: first, earliest; More
noun
1.
something serving as a model or basis for imitations or copies.
"the portrait may be a copy of the original"
2.
an eccentric or unusual person.
"he was one of the true originals"
synonyms: individualist, individual, eccentric, nonconformist, free spirit, maverick; More

[gus]

The OP was not, as far as I can tell, wondering about modified, strengthened, polyunsaturated or whatever, but an original, as when it left the factory, still in the car, should I worry about it chassis.

And YES he should worry

The chassis in my car was starting to crack circa 1980, with around 70k miles, and the towers failed completely in 1986, at about 100k, along with serious cracking at the forward diff mounts and several other places. Oh, and one of the lower front suspension pins was out of position by at least an eighth of an inch. Rebuilt and towers cracked again in 1993.

The car was never in a serious accident and the chassis never appeared to be particularly 'rusty'

An original chassis that has never been out of the car is on its way to failure, was never designed with even the though of lasting half as long as it has.
If you are looking at cars it is my personal opinion that if the chassis has not been replaced, or at the very least modded to 26R type specs and refinished to prevent rust then you need to subtract the value of a new replacement chassis of your choice from the purchase price.

My replacement [spyder] chassis has lasted far longer than the original did while wearing much stickier tires,and no doubt driven harder, than did the original.

The chassis is a maintenance item with a finite lifespan.
Period.

[billwill]

Well, I'm confused. All this time I thought the steel part was a sub-frame, like you find on modern unibody front wheel drive cars, and the fiberglass part was the chassis. Maybe it is just old age, and my brain is dropping some of its connections.

Yes, Officially as far as the DVLC is concerened the steel bit is a subframe. Occasionally they forget and if you are foolish enough (as I was in 1978) to declare a new "Chassis number" all beaurocratic hell is let loose and it can take years to sort it out.

[LotusArchives]

I just replaced the original chassis in my car. The serial number of the chassis is for the original Elan S1 built in December 1963. It was in surprisingly good shape. No rust what-so-ever and not too bent up from jacks being used improperly. There where a few areas that had stress cracks and had been brazed, with the motor mounts cracking again at the top. The only reason I replaced it with a new chassis is due to building a higher horsepower TC and wanted a 26R chassis for the re-inforcement.

If you find one in good shape, why wouldn't you keep it?

DSC05567.jpg

If you sell or dispose of this chassis, remove any identification marks as people are buying up old chassis and other IDs to get other cars back on the road and then we have two cars with the same ID.

[Sea Ranch]

How is it we know that the chassis (sub-frame) "was never designed with even the though of lasting half as long as it has", as Gus is insisting? Official writings, books, interviews?

Inquiring minds . . .

Randy

[gus]

Nothing CC was involved in was over designed

Street cars were a way to finance his racing

In a world where the design life of a car was maybe 10 years at the time, is it fair to assume they were somehow designing a chassis made of 18 ga sheet metal to last longer than that?

Let us not displace his genius, it was not in longevity

[rgh0]

While I agree the corrosion resistance in the UK was not a strength of the original Lotus chassis its strength and fatigue resistance was pretty good considering it light weight

With a good paint system or galvanizing it should last many more than 10 years. My standard Lotus replacement chassis in the Elan has lasted 35 years and 20 thousand road miles and 40 thousand race miles with stiff springs and shocks and very very hard driving for every mile

It needed the rear spring mounts straightened and reinforced recently but otherwise is still in perfect condition

cheers
Rohan

[el-saturn]

..........back in 81, when i restored the complete car, i had my 100% corrosion free chassis zinc coated; added a rollcage to stiffen everything up and I'd say this package is stiffer than new and there are NO signs of any cracks --- NOWHERES!! cheers sandy