engine sitting too high....

[wondo]

hi,
i just finished putting my twin cam into a spyder chassis and get a feeling that the engine is sitting maybe a little high in the bay...
on closing the hood i get a mark in the insulation material, so the engine is clearly hitting the hood.

i used spyder fail safe engine mounts.

anybody experienced this problem before?
the spyder stuff lacks a bit of a "manual" so maybe i made some idiotic mistake while "trying"...

[elansprint71]

I had to adjust the height of the body onto the Spyder chassis using packing pieces to get the correct clearance (which I had measured on the old chassis); if the top of the engine is contacting the hood/bonnet you will pretty soon get star cracks.
Don't forget that engine mounts will settle a little as you drive the car.

[1964 S1]

Hello, I'm not familiar with the Spyder chassis engine mounts but I know with a stock Lotus chassis there is a right and left mount and it is possible to put them on upside down. Are the Spyder mounts identical and is there a top and a bottom?

[wondo]

if i take the body off again and raise it with plates around the engine bay would mean that i loose the fixing points at least in the front domes...
the holes are already drilled, and it is no option to drill new ones right on top of the old ones.

i guess i`ll have to try and adjust the bonnet a bit, and loose the insulation material glued to the inside.

being aware of my "skills" i didnt use the search function of the forum before asking, now i did and i found out that this is quite a common problem with all different kinds of solutions...
if you try to help please bear in mind that i use a spyder spaceframe and spyder "fail safe" engine mounts.

[wondo]

the spyder mounts fit only in one way, changing sides etc. results in too less width and wrong angles on the mounts so you can`t fix the engine.

i could gain one inch by turning the chassis side mounts upside down, but that would mean that they are not "fail safe" anymore.... is that really an option?

[reb53]

On the Spyder chassis don't the mounts go on the chassis and the steel tube bits go on the engine? i.e. the opposite of the usual Lotus way.

I replaced my chassis with a Spyder chassis without any info at all and fell into this trap, ( pre Internet days). Made the engine way too high until I modified it.
Never occured to me that they were completely wrong....

Ralph.

[robcall]

Its a while since I fitted a Spyder-but I think Ralph is correct.The mounts are fitted to the chassis not the engine and to operate failsafe are fitted upside down

[ttaunton]

I remember having this problem with a factory fresh Lotus chassis 30 years ago, and I have had the problem with a Spyder chassis also. Packing pieces are a nightmare to implement if you think about it..far better to slot the engine mounts or re-drill them to sit the engine a bit lower in the frame. This is what I have always done. Works a treat.

regards
Tony Taunton

[garyeanderson]

I took a couple photos for a sanity check, I hope that they are helpful. There are two engine mounts that are avilable through the usual suspects, one raises the intake side on a stock Lotus Elan folded steel chassis for the early weber head Elans and is more money to buy. With the Plus2 (which Russ has pointed out in his later post) Lotus changed this and used only the Ford (less expensive) mount. They also changed it so the Elan when they were equiped with the stromberg carbs and used the 2 Ford mounts. Spyder has only used the Ford mounts since day1 on both the Elan and plus2.


Ford Mount on the Left Lotus mount on the right

View of RHS engine mount




edited to fix early morning brain fade...

[CBUEB1771]

We are talking about a +2 here, right? The +2 uses two of the Ford type mounts (identical on both sides) regardless of carburettor type. This certainly applies to the Lotus chassis, I don't know of changes made by Spyder except for them reversing the mounting such that what is normally the four-bolt attachment to the engine is now to the chassis.

[wondo]

yes, it`s a +2.
i fitted the spyder mounts exactly as in the pictures above, with the rubber part on the chassis and the tubes on the engine.
i think re drilling the rod parts a little lower will do the trick.

thanks to all for your good advice.

[elansprint71]

Seeing as you are dealing with Spyder I guess those comments about Lotus chassis are not really helping?
Slotting the holes in either the mounts or tubes will help, I suppose that you have slackened all the bolts and let the weight of the engine "drop" rather than tightening it all up whilst the engine weight is on the crane? Daft question, I suppose.

I had no trouble packing up the body from the chassis using pieces of Paxolin, cut to size and drilled, I started with about 6mm thick at the front of the car down to nothing at the back.

[rdssdi]

I installed a body on a Spyder chassis and indeed it did require fitting. Shim the front where the body attaches to the steering rack platform until there is sufficient clearance for the hood (bonnet) to close. Keep in mind the front of the valve cover being the high point may need the hood insulation removed at that area to maximize clearance. The engine will move under load so there has to be sufficient room to allow movement without hitting the hood (bonnet). 1/4" to 3/4?

Be certain the engine mounts and transmission mount are properly fit. Once you commit to drilling body mounting holes in the chassis it cannot be un-done easily.

Once the front end is shimmed and you are satisfied with the body fitting everywhere mark the holes that must be drilled. tap those that require tapping and refit the body with the shims.

I used rectangular stainless steel plates to use as shims. Covered a large area. I would guess 3 inches by 4 inches but that could be wrong. If you need pictures let me know and I will get a few under the car.

Bob