Diff housing finish?

[paddy]

What was the original finish, if any, applied to the alloy diff housing? Was it painted, lacquered or just left to oxidise?

Thanks - Paddy

[65 Lotus]

The "pumpkin" was painted a red oxide primer color.

The custom aluminum Lotus housing was not painted.

[rgh0]

On my S4 the diff nose was painted black and the alloy casing was bare. This was the original finish as they had never been out of the car when I got it in the early 70's.

However as with all things Lotus this probably varied over time from early to late cars depending on how they wer buying the noses from Ford and how they were getting the alloy castings made and finshed and also probably varied day to day during assembly depending on what they had to hand at the time

cheers
Rohan

[paddy]

Thanks folks for the replies.

Paddy

[sebring]

If you do decide to paint would suggest you consider a heat dissapative paint type that is used on brake components (calipers/drums etc) as this will aid cooling and tend to last longer - you can get it from a variety of outlets and in several colours

[garyeanderson]

George asked last August, the photos are of a diff I had, it could have been from an Elan or Cortina. I have not seen them painted other colors (well, except by me and I think black was what I used).
http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtop ... ght=#88165

Below is a photo taken this morning. It is of 26/4997 differential housing in place. I bought the Elan with around 40,000 miles on the speedometer and the last inspection of the Elan was 1969 so it had been on the road for roughly 4 years, the head was in the boot so it more than likely has not been messed with, even by me.