Need to order a chassis

[S11TGL]

Hi everyone, i am new to the forum and i am looking for some advice before ordering a replacement chassis for my 1972 Sprint DHC restoration project.
My car is very original and i would like to keep to the original Lotus design as much as possible.
Is there any difference in quality between the different suppliers?
Galvanised or powder coated?
I would love to hear from anyone who has been through this kind of project in the past and would be open to any suggestions or recommendations when it comes to parts suppliers.
Thanks in advance for any replies
regards
Simon

[Europatc]

Good evening Simon,
I stand to be corrected but I don't think the galvanised chassis is available due to the process causing distortion. I would recommend that you have a look at Spyder engineerings web site. They make alternate parts for Lotus. As for other parts there are plenty of places to source parts from. The main two would be Paul Matty in the Midlands and Susan Miller in Suffolk. The web is a wonderful place to find those pieces you need. Its always worth asking as well particularly for some of the harder to find parts. If you haven't already I would join a club, again always useful for advise.
happy rebuild
all the best
Stuart

[pharriso]

While there may be many distributors I believe all Lotus OEM style chassis come from Fibre Glass services (Miles Wilkins) who holds the Lotus license, I believe the chassis are actually manufactured by Gartrack.

These chassis are not available galvanised anymore as the process was distorting the chassis. I took this picture last month of a chassis that appeared to be powder coated, not sure if this was something done by Matty or Miles:

[richardcox_lotus]

Yes all chassis go through Miles and he can arrange powder coat or painted finishes if you ask nicely else they come bare & he will leave it up to you to arrange.

If he doesn't have any in stock he tends to order them in batches so you will need to ask about lead times.

[trw99]

Simon welcome and good to learn of another Sprint getting back to being on the road.

Can I ask, what is the trouble with the original chassis? I would be interested to know.

Tim

[Europatc]

Simon forgot to mention, don't throw anything away. Some parts are no longer available and old parts need to be reconditioned
all the best
Stuart

[KevJ+2]

Simon,
I bought my chassis from Spyder this year and found Andy & Sean very helpful and informative. I bought a Lotus type replacement painted by them in 2 pack black (they would paint it any colour of my choice).They advised me not to have a galvanised unit due to distortion, but Susan Miller told me that it doesn't so who knows?
Spyder also did me me a good price and sell many other relevant parts. The only problem was delivery cost, so I collected it myself.
Good luck,
Kev.

[alan]

imho there is only one choice "Lotus Chassis" from "Miles Wilkins". Galvanised if possible.
I have a Lotus Chassis Galvanised that was fitted by Miles Wilkins on my 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint fhc no problems and very happy
Alan

[martinbrowning]

Hi Simon, Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your car. I agree with Alan - Miles is the best option especially as you say you want to keep your Lotus a Lotus. Remember to be polite (sure you would anyway) - if/when you meet Miles you will know what I mean as he doesn't suffer fools gladly!!
Looking forward to updates on progress,

Martin B

[rgh0]

Does anyone know what if any differences exist between the Spyder Lotus style chassis and the Wilkins / Gartrac Lotus Style chassis and the various versions of the Elan chassis made for Lotus originally by John Thompsom Motor Pressings during the Elan production run?

cheers
Rohan

[Grizzly]

Simon

How bad is your chassis? i friend of mine had had a chassis that was good apart from the Vacuum reservoir and a bit of corrosion in the NS front strut recess. I believe he took it to Spyder cars who repaired it for him then had it shot blasted and Powder coated. When it came back it looked like new and he kept the original chassis number.

I was lucky with my Elan Sprint as it just wanted Blasting and Powder coating but when i rebuilt my +2 there was some badly repaired shock recess damage which had messed up the alignment and as it was an every day road car so i went for a new Galv chassis, i did hear allot about distortion so i measured it all before fitting and there was noting untoward. The only annoying thing that i found with the Galv chassis was i painted it Hammerite Black with Hammerite primer under it and its flaking off (looks scruffy)

[alan]

imho Galvanised chassis do not need painting anymore than my galvanised watercan in the garden, which has been alright for the last 25 years living outside
That's what galvanising is all about

[Gray]

Hi

I believe it was mainly the Plus 2 chassis that distorted when galvanised as they are larger. Distortion could be up to half an inch twist from memory. It probably depends on how carefully it was hot dipped.

Galvanising is essentially sacrificial, so will eventually deteriorate. Working with a corrosion expert on a structure some years ago the conclusion was epoxy based paint would be better as it could be repainted if required. Galvanising is prone to paint not adhering, although I have seen it done.

[Grizzly]

imho Galvanised chassis do not need painting anymore than my galvanised watercan in the garden, which has been alright for the last 25 years living outside
That's what galvanising is all about

I agree you don't need to paint but i was going for the Original look and now it look original all right there is big areas the paint has come off hence why i said about the paint

[rgh0]

http://www.gaa.com.au/index.php?page=pa ... alvanizing

everything you wanted to know about painting galvanised steel.

The original style Lotus chassis is really to lightweight to reliably hot dip galvanise with success. To low a bath temperature and the galvanising does not stick. To hot a bath and the chassis distorts and both these problems have been observed with the galvanised chassis. However they appear to have been successfully done at least part of the time, but maybe they are no longer available?

cheers
Rohan