Hello from a newbie

PostPost by: jono » Thu May 17, 2007 3:41 pm

Hi,

My first post on this forum. I bought a Plus 2 for restoration a couple of months ago so you'll be hearing more from me during the next 10 or so years :!:

I also have a Caterham Seven but have always wnated to own an Elan 8)

My car is a 1970 Plus 2S on a Spyder chassis. The previous owner took it off the road 12 years ago and got part way through the restoration before giving up to have kids.

It's all there but in various boxes of bits so it looks like I'm going to have some fun.

Bye for now
jono
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PostPost by: dusty » Thu May 17, 2007 4:01 pm

Sounds very similar to me! Mines a '68 Plus2 and also arrived in boxes!

All good fun :shock:

Jon
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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Thu May 17, 2007 4:31 pm

Arrived in boxes? You lucky sod!
Mine is in component form in the extreme...the engine is apart to the last nut and bolt, as is the servo, the carbs, the steering rack and the wiper motor, the distributor....well, everything really. Bare shell and no chassis, of course. It's going to be like one of those 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles of the sky. And it's been apart since 1978. But it's worth doing as it's chassis 50/0032 and an ex-factory demonstrator (which probably means it's been hammered to within an inch of its life).

Love it :D

Do you realise just how many components there are in a steering rack??!! And the contents of a servo are truly mind boggling.
Mark
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PostPost by: jono » Thu May 17, 2007 6:38 pm

any of you guys know anything about doing throttle body conversion on the Lotus TC? I was (runs for cover) actually conidering going Zetec and full Spyder conversion :oops: but thought better of it.

The thought of full engine management and no twin carbs to go off tune does appeal

Also are there any routes for going 5 speed with the TC save of course for the Maxi derived box :roll:
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PostPost by: john.p.clegg » Thu May 17, 2007 8:22 pm

Jono
I bought a 2.0 mondeo with the same intention a while ago,lifted the bonnet and looked long and hard at it............and then decided that instead of all the hard work of an engine transplant ( and it is a lot of work) the improvement/gains to be had are mainly because of the injection/management system so instead of transplanting the engine,am in the process of rejigging the management and fuel injection system onto the twink.....

Still a long way to go yet but I believe it can be done,if the EEC-IV will not perform then there is allways Megasquirt to fall back on....

John :wink:
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PostPost by: dusty » Thu May 17, 2007 8:48 pm

Elanintheforest wrote:But it's worth doing as it's chassis 50/0032 and an ex-factory demonstrator Mark


Mines 50/0478 so not as early but still worth rescuing


Elanintheforest wrote:And the contents of a servo are truly mind boggling.
Mark


I know I've two Mk2a servos in pieces on my bench, and the internals are both slightly different!
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PostPost by: steveww » Fri May 18, 2007 9:05 am

QED do a complete kit based on DTA to fuel inject the good old twinc. John Voightis (or some thing like that) does a 5 speed kit based on the Ford type 9. He advertises in the Club Lotus mag, other people on this list will have his contact details. Ideally you will want to change the ratios in the type 9 to better suit the Elan, Quaiffe can help here.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress.
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PostPost by: msd1107 » Fri May 25, 2007 1:48 am

Alan Voight's 5-speed conversion is the best with respect to shift lever positioning. He has a special tailshaft with the shift lever brought foreward to the Elan position. However, he uses standard sedan ratios, gears, and shafts. This means a special bell housing, clutch, and driveshaft u-joint. And the ratios are atrocious for our light Elan.

Quaife uses the SPC gearset. This was designed around a 2.2 1st gear, and uses the same ratios for 5th, 4th, and 3rd. There are two selections for 2nd, and 4 selections for 1st. (actually, there is a second selection for 5th, but it is too close to be useable). The 2.39 1st, 2.54 2nd is the best of the ratios available for road use, but 1st is rather high for most people.

BGH makes probably the best ratio set for Elans. The E7 set with .82 5th and either 2.66 or 2.76 1st is the best. But the input shaft is standard T9, requiring an adapted flywheel, and the tailshaft requires adaptation to the Lotus driveshaft. There is no provision for bringing the shift lever forward in their conversion so this assumes it is placed in Alan Voights conversion. That makes the entire cost a little higher (!) than desirable.

Rumors are that Brian is working on a proper Elan T9 conversion, but I have not talked with him recently. They are always busy on other projects that pay the bills. And the economics of doing a project just for Elans does not make sense for most businesses.

There are rumors of a project underway in the US, supposedly being a drop in installation for the Elan. But until somebody makes an announcement that is wishful thinking.

By the way, the T9 fits in the latest Spyder chassis. It is a tight fit. I have pictures. Older Spyder owners can probably modify their chassis so the T9 fits.

David
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PostPost by: tower of strength » Sun May 27, 2007 6:18 pm

Injecting the twink in my plus 2 is my intention, eventually. I'll probably go for Jenvey(or similar )throttle bodies and Emerald M3D management from Mr Walker.

I've used an MT75 in my car, I'll post the full details (success or failure) in a couple of months when I get it on the road!!

Regards

Mark
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