Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

In true Lotus style, it is hit and miss if the Evora engine lid will stay up on its own.

Today, it did not, and crushed my Vernier caliper! Whilst good quality, it is the old style with the linear readout.

How much should I be expected to pay for a reasonably good one with a digital readout? I cannot spend hundreds of pounds, but I see Sealey are quite prolific on ebay with a caliper £80 odd - does anyone have one and can recommend?

Thanks

...new gas strut required.

I bought a genuine Mitutoyo a couple of years ago online for less than £40

Do not get me going on gas struts..!

And yours is digital yes? Mititoyo is good - I have a micrometer of theirs. I will look tonight.
Thanks!

Sorry, no mine is the old style analogue scale type (should have read you post properly!).

The machine shop staff at my employer uses Asimeto almost exclusively. From what I can tell they are reasonably priced and accurate. If I had to replace my Mitutoyo, I'd probably buy Asimeto based on the limited amount I use a caliper now.

There are Mitutoyo knockoffs, so pick your supplier carefully if buying one.
Starrett used to be a good but their quality went downhill about 10 years ago. Shame.

For me its Mitutoyo every time when it comes to precision measurements.

New you can get a digital electronic read out callipers for around the equivalent of 200 pounds new , the mechanical dial read out for around 150 pounds or the Verner scale read out for around 100 pounds. You can generally source for less on line from unknown suppliers with the knock off risk and used ones for less again on line

I prefer the mechanical dial readout version as easy to use and no batteries to go flat .

cheers
Rohan

HCA wrote:In true Lotus style, it is hit and miss if the Evora engine lid will stay up on its own.
Thanks

You can buy generic gas struts for not too much, certainly for less than the price of a good vernier caliper.

If interested I can post the part # & source etc.

A fellow Evora owner

If you are selective, there are excellent bargains to be had on eBay for used measuring equipment. I have stuck to the quality brands - Starrett (old before the rot set in), Moore and Wright, Mitutoyo. I have built up a collection of dial gauges, micrometers (internal and external), vernier calipers and a surface plate.

I have a couple of digital calipers, but as I don't do that much machining, the few times I use them the batteries always seem to be flat.

My one new purchase was a set of accurate Moore and Wright slip gauges that I check my other measuring equipment against. I recall the set was around £100. If you really want to measure accurately, it is good practice to check against the gauges before you measure and then adjust for any offset.

I may have been lucky so far, but everything I have bought used has been accurate enough to use without any further adjustment.

What is quite sobering for those of us who aren't in the first blush of youth is that the best source of equipment seems to be the clear out of "Dad's workshop" after he passes away. An incentive to get cracking on the Elan if ever there was one.

Edit: My son did buy a cheapo digital caliper off eBay for less than £10. I checked it for him against the slip gauges and within the resolution of the display, it was completely accurate.

pharriso wrote:

HCA wrote:In true Lotus style, it is hit and miss if the Evora engine lid will stay up on its own.
Thanks

You can buy generic gas struts for not too much, certainly for less than the price of a good vernier caliper.

If interested I can post the part # & source etc.

A fellow Evora owner

Thanks Phil - I made the mistake of buying on price assuming the supplier knew the weight of the lid etc - in fairness I must also admit that I ommitted to tell them that there is a GTE wing on the back as well which is just enough extra weight to make it 'hit and miss' I need to weigh the actual load and go to one of the manufacturers for a special loading. I presume yours are from the US, yes?

Thanks everyone - thinking on it (batteries aside...) I have been quite happy with a linear gauge for 25 years, and I do not do accurate machining anyway, I just replace what I have!

Just off the phone to a chap who is packing in his hobbies who is selling me his Mitutoyo 8"/200mm boxed caliper for £40 along with a couple of steel rules which I see as a result

Andy8421 wrote:What is quite sobering for those of us who aren't in the first blush of youth is that the best source of equipment seems to be the clear out of "Dad's workshop" after he passes away.

Yes that's going to be a complete nightmare. Important to keep an inventory list of what you have and it's value

HCA wrote:Thanks Phil - I made the mistake of buying on price assuming the supplier knew the weight of the lid etc - in fairness I must also admit that I ommitted to tell them that there is a GTE wing on the back as well which is just enough extra weight to make it 'hit and miss' I need to weigh the actual load and go to one of the manufacturers for a special loading. I presume yours are from the US, yes?

Indeed...