S1 Elan Rebuild - My Story
Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 11:02 am
I bought a 1964 Elan S1 last summer and drove it for a few months while reading everything I could on the forum and the many books I had. The car had been through a cosmetic restoration and partial mechanical, but lots of things were wrong and not up to my standards. Clearly the PO and the shop that worked on it didn't know the full details of an Elan and it required much needed attention (motor mounts on backwards, my friend Bruce pointed that out right away).
The big items where an engine that smoked white smoke all the time and smelled like oil (although didn't burn any oil or use any water) and the front and rear suspension needed replacement as the car bounced around like it was only on springs. Then all the little stuff which is too much to list but drove me crazy regarding the way things were done.
So I had a major decision to make. Do I restore to "factory spec" or "enhance" the car to have a true "fast road" sports car with a great period look. I agonized over the decision and in early winter decided to rebuild the car using primarily 26R spec with the goal to make it comfortable for the road (I don't expect to track this car). The hunt was on for all the parts I would need (some of them "unobtainable") and determining how far to go with the rebuild. Typical for me, I bit the bullet hard.
Sourced a twin cam engine that had been in storage for many years and shipped it to a race engine builder on the East Coast who builds twin cams for historic race cars. My direction was to build a reliable engine with very good mid-range torque and produce about 160HP at the crank on 93 octane pump gas. No crazy redline spec so the OEM crank stayed in (after magna flux) with new rods, pistons, cams, bearings, etc. etc. Details to follow after the dyno in a couple of weeks.
Spent the entire winter sourcing parts and slowly filling my garage (and emptying my wallet) with everything I thought I would need for a rebuild.
Recognizing that the increase in HP had a downstream effect (I've build a couple of track cars) I decided to use Tony Thompson Racing (TTR) parts for the drive train and rear suspension. All the usual things, rebuild the differential with new bearings, seals, hub shafts, drive shafts, braces, etc. Bought TTR's fast road exhaust system and had the header ceramic coated.
Also ordered selected parts from RD Enterprises (Ray is only an hour drive from my house) and Dave Bean in CA (Thanks for all your help Ken). Seems I got one of the last crash pads from Type 26 before they stopped making them. QED supplied the larger airbox for better breathing. Bought a new reproduction radiator from Coolex Heat Transfer in the UK.
The big turn was acquiring a 26R chassis a couple of weeks ago that had been in storage since new that was already black powder coated and located only a couple of hours from my house. Thanks Bill!
With the engine builder giving me a time frame to completion in a couple of weeks, it was time to get the rebuild going.
Yesterday my friend Drew and I removed the body from the chassis. Neither of us had ever done this before so after reading as much as I could figured it would take is 8 1/2 hours from start to finish. It took us 8 hours with a 45 minute lunch break included. Now that I have done this I could probably do it in 6 hours next time (or even less).
What did I learn so far?
The design of the chassis is amazing and pure mechanical art.
There are 18 bolts that hold the chassis to the body (NOT 16).
The drilling of new holes in the chassis and tapping some of them is going to require patience and exact placement of the body.
Mice like the drive shaft tunnel as a nesting place
Here are a few photos from the day:
Engine bay before disassembly
I made large pads for my lift to support the body
Up in the air for work to be done
Engine bay ready for body removal
Jack stands and 2X4 to support chassis while lifting body with two post lift
This also allowed us to be underneath the car to remove chassis bolts
Interior was a bit torn apart to get at the chassis bolts
Separated from the body (after we found the chassis bolts behind the dash!)
Time for a beer!
The big items where an engine that smoked white smoke all the time and smelled like oil (although didn't burn any oil or use any water) and the front and rear suspension needed replacement as the car bounced around like it was only on springs. Then all the little stuff which is too much to list but drove me crazy regarding the way things were done.
So I had a major decision to make. Do I restore to "factory spec" or "enhance" the car to have a true "fast road" sports car with a great period look. I agonized over the decision and in early winter decided to rebuild the car using primarily 26R spec with the goal to make it comfortable for the road (I don't expect to track this car). The hunt was on for all the parts I would need (some of them "unobtainable") and determining how far to go with the rebuild. Typical for me, I bit the bullet hard.
Sourced a twin cam engine that had been in storage for many years and shipped it to a race engine builder on the East Coast who builds twin cams for historic race cars. My direction was to build a reliable engine with very good mid-range torque and produce about 160HP at the crank on 93 octane pump gas. No crazy redline spec so the OEM crank stayed in (after magna flux) with new rods, pistons, cams, bearings, etc. etc. Details to follow after the dyno in a couple of weeks.
Spent the entire winter sourcing parts and slowly filling my garage (and emptying my wallet) with everything I thought I would need for a rebuild.
Recognizing that the increase in HP had a downstream effect (I've build a couple of track cars) I decided to use Tony Thompson Racing (TTR) parts for the drive train and rear suspension. All the usual things, rebuild the differential with new bearings, seals, hub shafts, drive shafts, braces, etc. Bought TTR's fast road exhaust system and had the header ceramic coated.
Also ordered selected parts from RD Enterprises (Ray is only an hour drive from my house) and Dave Bean in CA (Thanks for all your help Ken). Seems I got one of the last crash pads from Type 26 before they stopped making them. QED supplied the larger airbox for better breathing. Bought a new reproduction radiator from Coolex Heat Transfer in the UK.
The big turn was acquiring a 26R chassis a couple of weeks ago that had been in storage since new that was already black powder coated and located only a couple of hours from my house. Thanks Bill!
With the engine builder giving me a time frame to completion in a couple of weeks, it was time to get the rebuild going.
Yesterday my friend Drew and I removed the body from the chassis. Neither of us had ever done this before so after reading as much as I could figured it would take is 8 1/2 hours from start to finish. It took us 8 hours with a 45 minute lunch break included. Now that I have done this I could probably do it in 6 hours next time (or even less).
What did I learn so far?
The design of the chassis is amazing and pure mechanical art.
There are 18 bolts that hold the chassis to the body (NOT 16).
The drilling of new holes in the chassis and tapping some of them is going to require patience and exact placement of the body.
Mice like the drive shaft tunnel as a nesting place
Here are a few photos from the day:
Engine bay before disassembly
I made large pads for my lift to support the body
Up in the air for work to be done
Engine bay ready for body removal
Jack stands and 2X4 to support chassis while lifting body with two post lift
This also allowed us to be underneath the car to remove chassis bolts
Interior was a bit torn apart to get at the chassis bolts
Separated from the body (after we found the chassis bolts behind the dash!)
Time for a beer!