Aussie ELAN recommission

[europatek]

Finally after two years working abroad and interstate we are at home and I have extracted the Elan from storage.
Battery in, turn the key and away we went. Great! Now at home with other projects pushed aside the Elan
is taking centre stage with my attentions and time. First job has been to fit some decent cooling fans - much hotter here than the UK, and a 74deg thermostat. Also tidied up the headlamp wiring and got the flasher working. Whilst in the nose I've removed the rusty old air filter canister for a good replacement and have made a bracket for the air horns. A mate recovered the steering wheel in leather. Next jobs are steering column rebush, rack rebuild and a general inspect, clean, paint, plate etc..... to get the car back on the road. Can't wait. Enjoy the pics.

[gordont]

Welcome back!
Will be good to have another on the road in Oz. Where are you? Sydney?
Gordon
Balmain, Sydney, oz

[RedS4]

Your car looks like the (better looking) twin of mine! I love the radiator - much bigger than imne (I think mine is standard) - what brand is it? Are you in Sydney? Love the shed - so organised!!

[europatek]

G'day guys,

I'm in Melbourne and a member of LCV. The radiator is the standard one. My car is an early S4 36/8229 and thus
has the larger S3 radiator and also the larger speaker/demister grille in the dash. The fans are 9" Davies Craig items and they just fit. Took some fiddling and fettling with the mounts but should keep it cool now.

Regards,
Matt.

[RedS4]

Hi Matt
My radiator is less than two thirds the size of yours - why on Earth would Lotus shrink it - especially as you imply that you used to have cooling issues ("should keep it cool now"). Mine has been off the roas for over six years so I have yet to see for myself how efficient the radiator is (it uses the standard two-bladed fan - I'm not confident...).
Attached is a pic to give you some idea.

[Elanintheforest]

It'll be fine going along, Evan. Just don't hit any traffic!

Both systems are fine in the UK, even on an S3 without the electric fan, but even still it gets marginal in summer in traffic. Lotus moved from the wide to the narrow ratiator when Triumph did the same with the Spitfire, from which the radiators are sourced (slightly different cap mountings and pipe positions).

For some daft reason I had a Dolomite Sprint when I lived in Melbourne, and I remember well the crawl back into town on a Sunday evening up the Princes Highway in 40 plus c, with the heater on full to try and stop the engine overheating. A bit uncomfortable, and the car didn't last too long! There are plenty of topics on here about more efficient radiators and cooling fans, and if anybody needs them...you guys do!!

Mark

[RedS4]

Yesterday was 43C in Sydney's west (where I am) and our traffic is more of a car-park... What's more, a previous owner lock-wired the heater valve shut, so unless I cut the wire (I just bet the heater would then leak)...
Maybe i need to think about a bigger radiator eventually! (I understand replacing the heater is a mongrel of a job - complete dash out etc??).

[Elanintheforest]

The heaters are pretty robust, but you'll probably need to change the heater hoses if they are original. You're right, the dash has to come out to change the heater, but the hoses can be done without taking the car apart...just.

Mark

[gjz30075]

Evan, more likely the valve will leak; perhaps why it was wired shut. As Mark indicted the heater cores are pretty solid and not prone to leaking.

Greg Z

[msd1107]

Well, if the car has sat around, the heater fan motor shaft is probably pretty bad. If it turns at all, you will probably hear nasty noises.

This is also a dash out, heater out bugger of a problem.

You can always hope for the best!

David
1968 36/7988

[RedS4]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The valve was wired shut at least two owners back - the last owner lived with it (ultimately storing the car as part of a static collection for most of his ownership so apparently didn't notice). The heater fan doesn't work at all - Dave's advice may be a self-fulfilling prophecy....

I suppose what I should do is "suck it up" and cut the lock-wire to see what happens regarding the water (leakage?).

[RedS4]

Well, after seven years of silence, I managed to fire up the engine! And what do you know - the heater/demister fan suddenly works too!! It also very quiet, so the noisy shaft thing that Davesuggested doesn't appear to be an issue!

But it did throw its fan belt...in the garage... (now fixed).

[europatek]

Work is underway in ernest. Pulling down the frontend highlighted the good and the bad. Thankfully most of it was good:- gal chassis looks great, rebuilt calipers look like they were just done, koni shocks a pleaseant surprise and wishbones rusted and pitted. All parts have been degreased, sand blasted and given two coats of killrust black enamal paint. Progress thus far:-
- steering column rebushed.
- rack dismantled and new parts sourced to rebuild
- airbox reco'd
- carbs cleaned
- front uprights rebuilt
- currently looking for a set of wishbones. Backup plan is fabricate my own. Just completed a 3D CAD model on ProE with flat patterns ready to laser cut.
All fasteners are being replaced with new zinc plated items and new nylocs of course.
I've included a few progress photos and a couple of the Elan's garage buddy - 66' Cortina GT with a twincam. Owned for 22 years and sympathetic restoration only.

[umbyfer]

I saw from the the picture attached in this topic the gasket for the air cover and back plate. I am looking for the right version of gasket for the air box for sprint weber version. I also have seen around that sometimes the cover is fixed by one bolt or two bolt or three bolts. Which is the right version.
Thank you to everybody for any advise.
Regards,
Umberto
Elan sprint 7108000193K

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi Matt,
I think your white Cortina would have been called "Cortina Super" in GB, the Supers had the Chrome trim along the sides just like yours & they were also available in twin tone paint.
The GT's were more often sold as 2 door Cars for the weight/stiffness advantages.
I know I'm way off Topic here; sorry.
John