New to me Elan finally arrived!!!!

PostPost by: Leo Leentvaar » Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:08 am

Hi Greek S1/S3,

Thanks for the pictures and story!! A lovely looking car you have, enjoy and cherish it.

Just some remarks on you observations:
1. Generator vs alternator.
I "upgraded" to an alternator last year. If you are not a sticker to originality there's various options to fit an alternator. There is also a brand that makes alternators looking like generators (search the topics here, it's been discussed upon last year here I recall).
For me the upgrade makes life a bit easier as the alternator at idle speed still generates enough power to not deplete the batteries when you use indicators f.e.

2. Bottom scraping exhaust
I have normal suspension and my car does not like speed bumps. Given the fact that in The Netherlands the B-roads have 60 kph (40MPH) speed limits there's lots of speed bumps around. It's nuissance that I have to put up with. My wife cringes every time we go over one as she hates potential damage to the car.

3. Weber carb's
Hissing and popping does happen to me as well when I shift down.
My specialist went through great pains to let the car run smoothly and it's improved since the engine was competely overhauled this winter. The word I got is that these little cars have a small engine with huge carb's and therefor are prone to burn exhaust fumes every now and then in the exhaust because they are so tuned. Again it scares the bejeezus outta my missus :).

That's my two pennies worth!!
Last edited by Leo Leentvaar on Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPost by: peterako » Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:57 am

Leo Leentvaar wrote:Given the fact that in The Netherlands the B-roads have 60 kph (40MPH) speed limits there's lots of speed bumps around. It's nuissance that I have to put up with.


:shock:
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PostPost by: GreekS1 » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:40 pm

Leo/Peter,

thanks for the replies guys! I will definately take them into account!
The only thing achieved today is to see that my Webers had some parts that where not standard on this type of carb. I ordered the [arts from the UK and they should be here next week... (Its easter over there now right?).
Other than that, I ordered the sidelight through Paul Matty.
Next jobs:
Window. I will take it to a specialist as on my atempt to raise the window, a wire came sticking out the bottom of the window!!!!
Water temp. Yes Peter, it is connected to the sender. However there is a sort of white goo surrounding the sender. Like mayonaise perhaps... anyway I think I will take it to an gauche specialist. He saw it and said we will need to re fill the wire with zinc because it might have a leek somewhere in the wire... :?:
I also think I will go for the generator look alternator.

Thanks it for now.

Ill update as the repairs continue!
1967 Elan S3 SE FHC
2000 Elise S1 - Sold

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PostPost by: peterako » Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:35 pm

Tipota!

It's definitly worth the effort :)

Peter
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PostPost by: alexblack13 » Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:13 pm

Hi all,

Very nice car Mr. ? Greek S1... Enjoy!
The window problem is a pain in the a** but there is no way round and no easy fix.You will need to remove the window frame. Have
you been in here before? The lift / lowering cable, the one sticking out, as you put it, has either broken or become displaced from the system. Get hold of a manual to see how it works. V fiddly job, but can be done. Depends what has gone wrong. Take some pics when you get it out and let us see what failed. We can help better when we see what's happened. All the parts you need are available including the bottom panel which has been known to completely rust out. Re cableing is fiddly and wrought with danger of breaking the glass. I made new type of fastner for this which grips the cable without putting stress on the glass. I put a sketch and a few pics on a previous post. I sent a few sets out to a few other 'listers' also.

Make sure the specialist knows the system before you let him loose on it. :roll:

Good luck with it.

Alex B....
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PostPost by: GreekS1 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:22 pm

As I am still waiting for the Weber parts, we tackled a couple of jobs with mixed results?

Firstly the window. Striped the door and took the whole mechanism out. The cable had broken or loosened and dropped off the left upper part of the mechanism. An expert fixed this and everything is back to normal? However the bottom part of the door card is now loose. I think I need to apply some sort of glue there.

Then the temperature dial. There was a lot of residue where the sender is. The sensor was jammed and didn?t work and here comes the ?mixed? result? everything was replaced and now works but in the effort to dislodge the sensor the guy damaged the cam cover!!! It was badly scraped and part of the ?S? in the LOTUS raised letters has been taken off!!!! It is a small part but it is really frustrating! :evil: ! I have since managed to put primer on the scrapes but the letter cannot be restored!!
Does anyone have the paint code for the metalllic green on the cam cover?? I did a search but couldn?t find it.

Thanks
Vassilis
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2000 Elise S1 - Sold

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PostPost by: GreekS1 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:37 pm

pic of window frame. You can see the loose wire which was re attached

Image
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PostPost by: Ringtone » Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:49 pm

Hi there Vassilis,
I noticed this interesting forum thread from 9 years ago when you first purchased your Elan S3 FHC from the UK. Well, I am now the new owner of this lovely little Elan and recently purchased it from Gerry at Sussex Sportscars who was very interested in telling me about your enthusiasm for the car and it?s interesting history whilst in your ownership in Greece.
I have owned Lotus cars for over 40 years and my first ever drive in a Lotus was in 1972 when a very close friend of mine from that time pulled his cirrus white 1966 S3 S/E over and offered me a drive. I bought this car as a tribute to that magic moment when I became hooked overnight and started to save up for my first Lotus.
Alas my friend is no longer with us, but this little car is a fitting reminder of very happy times we shared together. In spite of owning several Lotus over the years, this is my first Elan... why did I leave it so long.
Hope this message finds you in good cheer, please drop me a line and of course if you plan to visit the UK at any time it would be great to meet up
Very best Regards

Tony Caesari
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PostPost by: el-saturn » Fri Oct 26, 2018 7:25 am

i bought a varta 60Ah for 77 sfr (50 quid) dim: L: 245mm, H: 190, W: 170: thats a proper fit sandy
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PostPost by: Ringtone » Sun Nov 04, 2018 10:25 pm

LBA 14E back in the UK under new ownership ..I am really enjoying this car and loved reading it?s history log whilst in Greece and all those exciting European tour road trips.
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PostPost by: Mazzini » Sun Nov 04, 2018 10:32 pm

Welcome!!!!
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