1971 Elan S4 DHC Pics

[elangtv2000]

Here are some shots of my 1971 S4. Last year I rebuilt the motor, gearbox, driveshaft, rear diff (converted to 3.54), and suspension in a four-month span, all in the small garage shown in one picture. With the workbench, lathe and mill, and big toolbox that you can't see in the photo, there's just enough room for an engine stand and some elbow room.
The Twink sports a few more horses than previously; 83.65mm JE forged pistons, 10.38 cr, balanced, square main caps fitted, baffled oil sump, head lightly ported, new bronze guides, new seats, big valves, CPL2 cams, new followers and springs.
There are a number of other improvements; TT forged outer axles, CV axles, street performance springs, Spax in rear, AVOs in front, among other things. The aluminum radiator, fans and controllers all went in a couple of months ago. The latest is a change from Nader nuts to 3-eared spinners, just 'cause they look so good. Yes, that dual gauge is incorrect - needed one until I got a replacement with the correct dial, so that goes in this weekend.
I think an S3 coupe would be a nice partner, so hopefully next year...
Really enjoy seeing all of your photos of your cars - brilliant!
Cheers,
Greg Tatarian
FST FLWR - Elan S4 DHC

[elancoupe]

Beautiful car, nice job!

[alexblack13]

Nice. Very nice! Good to see the car so well looked after and loved.

A credit to you sir. Well done.

Alex B....

[elangtv2000]

Thank you Alex and Mike for the kind words!
Also, thanks to all of the contributors who help each of us keep our cars on the road.
Cheers,
Greg

[collins_dan]

Greg,

Looks like you did some electrical upgrading. I particularly like the dual fan arrangement. I am planning to do the same thing this winter. A couple of questions: are they 10" fans? how did you wire them?

Thanks,

Dan

[elangtv2000]

Hello Dan,
Yes, a fair amount, but nothing extensive was needed. I replaced the alternator with a small unit from RD Enterprises, swapped the two-circuit fuse box for a 4-circuit, added a relay or two, tidied up previous owner wiring, etc.
The fans are SPAL, 10", and are wired each to its own Derale brand controller. Each controller has its own sensor installed in the top radiator tank. The unattractive black silicone blobs were needed to provide protection for the wires as it's a sharp bend. The controller temperature set points are just slightly different, as we've been having plenty of hot weather and I want the fans to operate together, but the set points can be staggered so one fan starts at a higher/lower temperature. I also wired up a manual switch in the cockpit to override the controllers (the Derale provides a circuit for this so you are still running power through the relays). The controllers can handle two fans, but I wanted the added flexibility.
Cheers,
Greg

[RotoFlexible]

The fans are SPAL, 10", and are wired each to its own Derale brand controller.

Beautiful job, Greg. What led you to choose SPAL over Derale or one of the other brands available in the US? I am planning to install an electric fan (perhaps two) this winter to replace the engine-driven unit, and the Derale 9" looks good. (The 10" model won't quite fit between the top and bottom tanks on my radiator.)

[elangtv2000]

Thank you, Andrew. I chose SPAL primarily because the radiator manufacturer supplies them as options with their brackets. I had custom brackets made up with the hopes they would fit behind the radiator and serve as pullers, but the manufacturing process introduced additional tolerances, so I had to modify the bracket to fit in front, making the fans pushers, as they had been previously with the standard type wide radiator I had in there before. Derale is widely available, however SPAL has a good reputation.
Cheers,
Greg

[RotoFlexible]

Food for thought. The installation is certainly tidy. Thanks!

[CBUEB1771]

I chose SPAL primarily because the radiator manufacturer supplies them as options with their brackets.

Greg - Very nice indeed! Who is the water radiator manufacturer?

[elangtv2000]

Thank you, Russ.
The radiators are made by Wizard Cooling in New York. I went with aluminum rads because in addition to myself, I had a customer and a friend (I do some work on British cars for other people as an occasional enterprise in addition to my real business) who each were ready to swap out their old radiators for more efficient aluminum ones to handle the higher summer temperatures we've been getting in our region. I chose Wizard (and my customer and friend for the same reason) because their design closely follows the Triumph/Lotus tank design and duplicates the mounting brackets, and they were willing to work with me to modify their designs. However, I did have to provide top pipe angle data and drawings so Wizard could modify the outlet to suit the Elan application, and I worked with them to help them develop a couple of fan mounting brackets. Since I've installed these radiators, I've refined the modifications and provided those to Wizard, so they should be able to manufacture stock Lotus Elan replacement radiators that are a straight replacement with absolutely no modifications needed. (For the record, I have no financial interest in Wizard Cooling.) The current design fan bracket must be used in front due to interference between the fans and the front pulley of the engine, unless the radiator is moved forward, which is something neither my customer nor I wanted to do (though my friend did, so he mounted his fans as pullers, which is more efficient).
Cheers,
Greg