my Elan SPRINT refurbishment by LOG36 ??

PostPost by: rgh0 » Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:21 am

All late heads had the casting boss for the Europa camshaft extension seal. Normally when these heads were fitted to Elans or Plus 2, the head was not machined for the cam extension and had the normal half moon plug fitted. But knowing Lotus it is certainly possible some heads intended for Europas found there way into Elans and had a larger blanking plug fitted to the larger cam seal opening

cheers
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:23 pm

CBUEB1771 wrote: There should be a letter stamp on the top of the head on one of the round bosses near the spark plug wells. That might resolve the question of origin.


Russ, there is no "letter" to be found. There is a round "quarter sized" (in American money) raised boss as you suggested in the spark plug well at the very front near timing chain end, but there's nothing legible on it. From what i've gathered now from the group, maybe my only problem is having the wrong motor mount installed, throwing us all into some guessing/confusion?

Parts arrived from RDent and I dropped them off at the shop.
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PostPost by: CBUEB1771 » Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:12 am

Ted,

I should have more clear in my post about your engine being canted over. I don't think there is any reason to suspect your cylinder head is not original, only that you probably have the wrong engine mount on the inlet side. Rohan offered a very good clarification that all of the later head castings incorporated the boss for the Europa-style seal for the extended inlet cam. I did not know that but it makes perfect sense.

The original Stromberg cylinder head for mid-1971 Elan +2 has "S" stamped into the round boss just forward of the #1 spark plug hole in the spark plug well. There was a post on this site that explained the significance of these letter stamps. However I have also seen plenty of heads with no letter stamp on that boss.
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Sun May 01, 2016 9:21 pm

Well I got the answer to the mystery concerning the canted engine. I inquired from the original owner and he reported back to me as follows:
QUOTE "somewhere in the mid 80's I built an 1800 engine with weber carbs - got it in the car - started it - tuned it - took it out for a test run and it blew up - put the original engine back in - guess we forgot to change the motor mount back to Stromberg" UNQUOTE
So that answers that! I'm glad he kept the original engine around to put back in.

Today I pulled the plugs and looked in the cylinders. Still oily wet on plugs and piston tops. I was able to easily crank over the engine with a socket on the front pulley. Next I'll check for spark and fuel delivery and report back. Taking it slow and easy, step by step.
TED
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Fri May 06, 2016 2:56 pm

Great news to share! Engine runs!!!
only for a few seconds by squirting gas in carbs, but no funny noises, banging or knocking, so I feel good about the integrity of the motor itself.
Of course I found a lot more issues that will need to be addressed, such as plastic fuel lines coming into fuel pump, going out of fuel pump to carbs. Not sure how far back before the pump they go? Hopefully not back to the tank itself??
Points needed a quick cleaning/filing, but with very little effort, she ran!
while battery connected, i found all lights, hazards, high beams, interior light, windows regulators, etc. all working good, so that's a big relief.
Making a big list of parts to gather...
Last edited by tedtaylor on Fri May 06, 2016 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TED
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PostPost by: lotocone » Fri May 06, 2016 3:11 pm

Great news about your engine Ted. About the fuel line, mine was plastic from the tank to the pump. When I replaced it, Don Tingle sent me a new one that was also plastic and it has been leak free. I completely understand if you want to use a metal one instead.

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PostPost by: Certified Lotus » Fri May 06, 2016 4:42 pm

Fantastic Ted! Congratulations!

Regarding fuel line, you have a big decision. Original or safety. I've had too many British car engine fires to even consider a plastic fuel line.

Steel braided is all I will use in the engine bay all the way to the carbs. And if your changing out all the way to the fuel tank, the same.

Most car shows here in the US do not take away points for non OEM fuel line. Safety first.

By the way, did you change the oil and filter before running? If not, change before trying to run the engine again. It was in storage a long time. All fluids and filters should be changed. Drain the fuel tank completely and put a gallon of gas in it and drain again. Blow out the fuel line from tank to carbs with compressed air. Install inline fuel filter. Flush the radiator and heater box. Plenty of sludge in there. Just a full day of work :-)

The carbs probably need rebuilding or at least disassembly and cleaning.
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Fri May 06, 2016 6:39 pm

all good info Glen, thanks!
The oil looked like new, as well as the filter, so i was comfortable with a simple quick test run. That's all i needed to hear it run now and to give me the green light to move forward with confidence. I will do all the points you wisely brought out.

While underneath taking off the rear suspension parts that were "temporarily" bolted in place to allow rolling the car around, i found the plastic fuel line goes all the way back to the tank. Also found the plastic fuel line broken right above the rear differential. Probably got knocked when he removed the rear diff those many years ago.
struts-001.jpg and

I attacked the roll bar today and removed same. It measures 33 1/2 inches tall (from centerline of lower seat belt bolts holes, to the top of bar. It was a dog to get out since a lot of the interior needed moving around (carpets, rear cardboard bulkhead, seats, center console, etc.) Now that it's out, I can move the seat back far enough now so that I can fit inside. Sorry to see it go and my wife complained saying that she only liked the looks of the car because of the rollbar!! Go figure! I'll miss the look and the added safety, plus it was a great "handle" to grab onto to move the car around. It was nicely made and attached at 6 points (3 each side) of both lower seat belt mounting bolts and the two rear body attachment points at the upper frame extensions near where the strut tops mount.

Every time I do something or look at the car, the longer the list of things to do gets! I just keep making a list, some mental notes, and try to stay focused on making progress toward the end goal.
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Sat May 07, 2016 12:40 am

One of the rear shock absorbers on the rear strut was collapsed (as reported by original owner and reason for the rear teardown), so i disassembled them to find "replacement" shocks supposedly for a "Lotus Elan Coupe" dated August 1974. So obviously early on, the original owner "beefed up" the rear shocks for some unknown reason. Add ride height? Stiffer ride? Why coupe shocks unless they are exactly the same for drop heads?
struts-002.jpg and

struts-003.jpg and
TED
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PostPost by: nmauduit » Sat May 07, 2016 10:02 am

tedtaylor wrote: Why coupe shocks unless they are exactly the same for drop heads?

Koni 1371 are for all elans (2 seaters as well as +2s), only the front ones are different (1691 are for 2 seaters only, s1 to sprint). There are no koni model specific for FHC vs. DHC
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:13 pm

OK, I'm back in action after a "Honey-Do List" completed. I had to renovate the side porch of our home with new floors, new ceiling, new awnings, new screens, new railings. I've been more of a carpenter than a mechanic! :D
Here's the outside:
delay-006.jpg and

Here's the inside:
delay-005.jpg and

So in order to get back to work on the Sprint, I placed an order for parts with Ray to get me going. I also picked up the rear differential from my mechanic. $500 later, it's finished and ready to install:
delay-003.jpg and

I thought I had a broken plastic gas line and was ready to install the complete new line, only to find out that only the connecting "sleeve" from tank to plastic line was broken. That, and all the other "rubber" gas line venting the tank filler line had to be replaced. So I opted to simply replace the "sleeve" with new and was able to keep the original plastic fuel feed line in place.
delay-001.jpg and

delay-002.jpg and

Now onto putting the rear drive components back into place. I installed new U-joints for the drive shaft yoke and flange readying for install. I read that in order to get the yoke into the transmission, i have to remove a side plug under the console by the passenger seat.
here's the U-joints partially installed:
delay-004.jpg and

hopefully I'll have more and will continue towards completion. LOG36 is only 1 month away!!!
TED
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PostPost by: Certified Lotus » Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:34 am

Ted, I'm very impressed with your carpentry skills! And as they say "happy wife, happy life". So now onto the fun of completing your Sprint restoration. If your really lucky, after putting in the rebuilt rear and reinstalling the drive shaft, new shocks and changing all the hydrolic fluid you should be ready for a test drive :D
I'm confident you will have this done by LOG!
Glen
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PostPost by: pharriso » Fri Jul 01, 2016 12:16 pm

tedtaylor wrote: LOG36 is only 1 month away!!!


Go Ted Go... you can do it... you can do it!....
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PostPost by: tedtaylor » Fri Jul 01, 2016 3:54 pm

Help! Opinion please....
the manual dictates that the grease joint face rearwards (toward differential) on the rear U-joint flange to diff flange, but the extended grease nipple interferes with the flange end.
see here:
delay.jpg and

Now i read in BB's manual that the prop shaft does very little in movement since diff is "fixed" in position by attachment to frame, so if this is true, will the amount of movement (up & down) be so small that this grease nipple should not be a problem installed like this?
Please respond with your experience/opinion.
thanks!
TED
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PostPost by: john.p.clegg » Fri Jul 01, 2016 3:58 pm

Ted
My opinion,you're correct,carry on.

John :wink:
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