Elan S2 OEM exhaust downpipe

[Certified Lotus]

Does anyone still make the OEM exhaust downpipe with the canister ? I have looked at all the usual Elan parts suppliers on-line and can?t find any mention of these. (For reference it is part number 3 in the diagram below)

[GLB]

Glenn, I had to have one made, same with single side inlet and outlet silencer. I have a friend in Arizona who is an exhaust fabricator for expensive Italian cars. He made a beautiful set up for me. He did have to have the car to do it but it is perfect. I can put you in touch if you want. Gary

[Certified Lotus]

Thanks Gary, do I dare ask what it cost? I?m assuming you also did a thorough search and these just aren?t made anymore.

[GLB]

I traded some fiberglass work for it. I paid about 250 for the stainless steel and nothing for the labor. I can find out if you want. I will be out of town for a week and I'll check when I get back. Since my car is apart now I could give him my system and see if he could duplicate it if you want. If all you want is the down pipe and resonator I would not think it would be too expensive. He guarantees them for life. Gary

[rgh0]

I pulled one of these of my Elan 40 years ago in good condition and threw it away 20 years ago wish I had kept it

I have never seen anyone making them in the last 40 years but easy enough to have custom made good replica if you want total originality and cost is not barrier to that quest. Lots of specialty old school exhaust shops around that will do it you just need to track them down in your area and a few dimensions for them to work with or the car itself will help

cheers
Rohan

[Certified Lotus]

Gary, I would greatly appreciate it if you spoke with your friend about making another. Especially as you already have the parts sitting to be copied. Let me know.

Rohan, there are a couple of custom exhaust shops in the area I live but I?ve been to them all and they really don?t do more than put various pre-made pieces together and bend tubing. It?s one of the reasons I had Power Flow Exhausts in the UK build me a custom exhaust system (including headers) for my Europa. They did a fabulous job!

[Gray]

They weren't available from Lotus when I had my first Elan an S3 in 1974! I helped out occasionally in the parts department at my local Lotus dealer.

I made a pipe up without the canister from a Scimitar GTE downpipe, I remember welding two bits together, I think to shorten the height, next to an immaculate early 911 that would be worth a fortune now.

[Mike Ostrov]

I have one if needed from my S2, resting on the shelf at the back of the 27 foot Lotus storage container.
Lot of surface rust . Pipe straight and 14 inches from end to canister. Angled inlet bell opening -no dents. Canister - no dents. Holds water. LATHOM embossed on the canister upside down in addition to: embossed 26-S-705, also upside down..

Next month I have an open house shop day and still have one of my Weber TC's on my small engine/transmission dyno. Always wondered what the canister would sound like and might install it to test any sound abatement with my db meter. Will do some de rusting.

Pictures available upon request.

Also found an original S4 windscreen rubber, used, with the mitered corners (one corner un glued) and some S4 partial side window frames.

Cheers. Mike Ostrov 510-232-7764 Richmond, CA and 78F today at the shop.

[Certified Lotus]

Just so everyone knows I offered Mike $50 for his used downpipe. You will need to offer more. Good luck!

[Certified Lotus]

Thanks everyone. I have found a down pipe. Greatly appreciate the the global community and the spirit of helping with our projects!

[The Veg]

What does the canister do?

[Mazzini]

It's a collector for the exhaust gasses. The cast iron manifold is restrictive. I had one on my old S3 thirty years ago. The exhaust was quiet, but at higher RPM's on the over run it had a really pleasing rasp. I can remember driving through an airport access tunnel with the hood down just to get the full effect.

[Famous Frank]

As some of you may know, over the years I've taken on the project of manufacturing some no longer available original parts, such and my S1 / S2 Door Arm Rest pads, Seat Covers, Consoles, etc.

I too would like to have some original exhaust components, first for myself, and second to add to my product line for other Lotus owners throughout the world.

Glenn, you mentioned you found a downpipe. Is it an exact example with the resonator or something close?
May I ask if you can take a pic and maybe supply the info as to where you found it?

And Gary, you stated you have a specialist in Arizona that made a perfect one. Is it possible to see a pic of that and could you supply his information. I would love to fins a way to reproduce them for future use.

And as always, thank you both and also thanks to the rest of the forum members. Without them we would all be lost.

Frank

[Certified Lotus]

Frank, the down pipe I bought is an exact OEM part. I bought it from an Elan owner In Australia. Here are some photos of it. Note the top pipe off set on the canister. This is a very tight fit next to the chassis and any copies will need to be exact.

While your making early Elan parts what don?t you have the plastic trim made that goes along the underside of the dash. I have a sample of that too.

[GLB]

Frank, Here are some pictures of my exhaust. Not identical to original but fits well and next run could be modified if desired. We only had photos and drawing of original. My builder loves v band clamps and so do I after having it on and off a couple of times. 10 Minutes and no grief or leaks. If you are interested I'll contact my builder and see if he is interested. I am using a stock exhaust manifold. He told me that he built the muffler and resonator from scratch and I asked for a quiet system and it is very nice. He says he can vary that by the amount of ceramic sound deadener around the pipe in the muffler. the system is straight through and he guarantees it for as long as he lives and can repair it. He is a one man shop now. says he has never had a failure. The heat shield is removable and protects the slave cylinder. Gary