lotus elan chassis replacement.

[andygrundy]

Brian Buckland's book recommends using a 6mm neoprene sheet spine saddle between the new chassis & the body instead of the felt originally used. It doesn't seem available resistant to petrol & brake fluid. Does anyone know a supplier of suitable material ?

[Grizzly]

As long as the chassis is well painted (Or Galv coated) the felt will be fine. The reason i wouldn't use Rubber is that it has more friction than the felt so with it moving will take any coating off corners etc plus most have a second car for Winter use so the felt never really gets soaked as it might have done in daily use.

[andygrundy]

Fair enough; thanks for the advice.

[rgh0]

I have used closed cell neoprene foam. It does not adsorb moisture so it helps prevent corrosion of the chassis. Not a lot of oil or petrol gets between the chassis and body and you need to be more concerned about moisture. The bottom edge of the rubber deteriorated a little where oil got on it but after 30 years it was still in much better condition than the felt matting I removed after less than 10 years of the cars life.

cheers
Rohan

[andygrundy]

Thanks Rohan, I was concerned that felt would trap moisture against the chassis, so it is useful to hear your experience. I will give it some thought.
Regards, Andy

[RichardHawkins]

Andy,

If you want to use rubber and are concerned about damage from fuel and oil Viton foam sheet will be more resistant than Neoprene. Viton foam is available from Ram Gaskets at Redruth in Cornwall. However, Viton is expensive.

Richard Hawkins

[andygrundy]

Richard, many thanks for the info. I will get a price from Ram gaskets.

Regards, Andy

[vstibbard]

I use a closed cell foam rubber which has a high temp adhesive backing on one side and aluminium foil outer skin which is visible and allows body to slide down nicely. Its ~12-14mm thick.

V

[andygrundy]

Hi V, That sounds perfect; I'll see if its available in the uk.

Many thanks, Andy

[Hawksfield]

Hi

When I refurbished my chassis in 1986 I found the felt was totally soaked with oil, so I refitted it and it has been satisfactory to date.

[andygrundy]

Wow thats impressive, as is the fact that you've had your car over 30 years.

Thanks for the info. Regards, Andy

[Grizzly]

Thing is the Felt between the Body and Chassis isn't really the problem thanks to the Lotus Unique rust prevention methods. The problem is the strip of felt over the diff, that has the issue with Moisture and there are plenty of pictures of Chassis with that cross member rotted out for that reason but you don't see many holes in the Trans tunnel.

(This is a picture i found on Google so i hope if it's some one's on here they don't mind my putting it on as an example)

[andygrundy]

Thanks for the info Grizzly, sounds as if closed cell neoprene would be a good idea over the cross member.

Regards, Andy

[billwill]

as is the fact that you've had your car over 30 years.

Thanks for the info. Regards, Andy

You will find that long ownership is not unusual on this forum. I've had my Elan since 1969, thats 47 years and several others here are similar.

Probably we REALLY know a good thing when we get it


Not sure if we actually have any members who bought their car NEW in the 60's.

MIne is a Two-Owner car; any One-Owner cars here?

[Bill]

One owner car? Yes. Origional Chassis? Yes.

I bought my car - 26/0538 - in Dec 1963 from the factory (there were no dealers in North America at the time and the factory was happy to sell to me direct). it was shipped to Vancouver via the Panama canal and I finally got it in April 1964. So I have owned it (had possession) for over 52 years.

This last hour I have just returned from a British car shoe - Brits on the Beach in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island - a lovely day , about 300 cars attending, we being the only Elan.

I have driven the car continuously over the years - hill climb competitions in the early years and daily driver thence a complete refresh 20 years ago and sports driving since (The island has more than enough rural roads to maintain Lotus driving skills on). There are 52,000 miles on the clock (the island is fairly small you know).

I have my own facilities and do my own work and am currently doing a '72 sprint coupe - Spyder chassis / suspension, Zetec conversion.

I guess I am not dead yet

Bill