Chassis to body saddle

[William2]

Are there any tips or recommendations for what to use for the chassis saddle packing that fits over the centre chassis spine? I read somewhere that a suggestion of using 1/4" black foam is a possible alternative to felt.

[Spyder fan]

A word of caution regarding alternatives to the standard sound deadening felt. Spyder tested some space blanket type material, it seemed very dense and wouldn't absorb water unlike the felt. So they fitted it thinking "that's gotta be good". Once the car was completed and running it was discovered that every single bit of resonance from the engine and gearbox was being amplified and transmitted to the cabin through the alternative material. It turned out it was too dense and didn't allow any damping or isolation. After 8 Hours of labour to remove and replace the body shell, the problem was cured by going back to good old fashioned felt.

[fatboyoz]

William,
I used 12mm closed cell foam. I also used the same foam as "underfelt" for all of the carpet inside the car. All spray glued on to the fibreglass prior to sticking carpet to it. 4 years later, no drumming and very quiet when driving.
Cheers,
Colin.

Are there any tips or recommendations for what to use for the chassis saddle packing that fits over the centre chassis spine? I read somewhere that a suggestion of using 1/4" black foam is a possible alternative to felt.

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

For what it's worth, when I rebuilt my S4 Elan I decided to use the oil sodden original piece of felt.
It fitted & would do the job it was intended to do & a big plus; all of that old oil should protect my expensive Spyder frame from corrosion that could otherwise be caused by dampness.

Good luck
John

[nomad]

The only part of my S1 original frame showing absolutely no rust and original paint was what was under the oil soaked "saddle" felt. Its going back on.

Kurt
26/3754

[Maulden7]

For what it's worth, when I rebuilt my S4 Elan I decided to use the oil sodden original piece of felt.
It fitted & would do the job it was intended to do & a big plus; all of that old oil should protect my expensive Spyder frame from corrosion that could otherwise be caused by dampness.

The only part of my S1 original frame showing absolutely no rust and original paint was what was under the oil soaked "saddle" felt

Can concur with both of these posts.

Dave M.

[rgh0]

The only part of my S1 original frame showing absolutely no rust and original paint was what was under the oil soaked "saddle" felt. Its going back on.

Kurt
26/3754

I had the opposite problem in my Plus 2. I had a rear suspension A arm inner bushing bracket on the chassis crack and took the body of to repair it. Once I had the body off I discovered the bottom inch of felt each side had trapped water and the chassis was rusted through along it full length at the bottom on both sides. But then the car had a relatively leak free engine and gear box so maybe not enough oil leaks in its earlier life to protect the chassis I put in a new chassis and used closed cell neoprene foam rubber the same as I had done some 10 years earlier on my Elan. I am going to lift the body of the Elan chassis in the next few weeks for the first time since 1980 to do a small chassis crack repair it will be interesting to see what state the rubber saddle is in.

cheers
Rohan

[AHM]

It will be interesting to see the result Rohan.

All things considered it is not much rust for 20 or 30 years - I put the old felt back.

[Bud English]

In the 8 years before I bought my +2 it had lived only in the UK and Florida. Like you, Rohan, I found my chassis to be rusted only under the felt. Luckily it was superficial and cleaned up easily. I'll be interested in what you find when you remove the elan body as I've bought a closed cell foam pad for when mine goes back together. Hopefully, neither the pad nor I will have perished from old age by then.

[William2]

One advantage of the close cell is that you can get it with and adhesive backing and it is also used for sound deadening.

[rgh0]

Body started coming off today - all the front end engine related stuff disconnected I will hopefully get the rest done tomorrow and lift it off and be able to have a look at the saddle.

cheers
Rohan

[rgh0]

Chassis and body separated today. The closed cell neoprene rubber saddle is in good condition after 33 years. A small amount of deterioration at the lower edge but otherwise perfect. I will trim it back a little as I had run it to the bottom flange and the small gap between the rubber and the bottom flange had filled with crud which is a potential source of corrosion, however none had occurred as enough oil to protect !!. Overall the chassis in great condition with no corrosion, the paint system I used worked as intended.

cheers

[nomad]

Well, it looks to me as if any system used is going to be plagued by the potential dirt that will hold moisture on the bottom "sill" of the chassis. The foam looks as if it work's well though, Rohan.

Kurt.

26/3754

[Hawksfield]

Hi John

For what it's worth, when I rebuilt my S4 Elan I decided to use the oil sodden original piece of felt.
It fitted & would do the job it was intended to do & a big plus; all of that old oil should protect my expensive Spyder frame from corrosion that could otherwise be caused by dampness.

I did the exact same no problems in 30 yrs