I Bought Another Lotus!

[khamai]

Awesome!!!

Welcome to the Elan side!

Cheers!
Kiyoshi

[CarNut]

Originally Posted by TimMullen

You are now officially crazy...

Some would claim that was a pre-existing condition.

Originally Posted by mopho

More pics!

Working on it.

Originally Posted by knucklehead

So does that mean the Elise becomes the daily driver?

I retired a little over a year ago so I don't have a daily routine and I can't call any of my cars a "daily driver". There are so many to choose from (see sig). It all depends on where I'm going, the weather, and how many I have to move to get the one I want. I try to drive them all on a regular basis.

[Ren Man]

Originally Posted by Flash G

I second that!

Congrats!

I 3rd it. Beautiful car congrats!

[zOOmz]

It's yellow - not a Lotus color. I have the color name and code somewhere in the pile of papers I got with the car.

Funny. On my work monitor it looked more green. Kind of like Key Lime Pie yellow, I guess.

Why is Babak beating his head against the wall?

[CarNut]

Originally Posted by zOOmz

Funny. On my work monitor it looked more green. Kind of like Key Lime Pie yellow, I guess.

Why is Babak beating his head against the wall?

In person, it's a medium yellow with no apparent green tint at all. It's similar to the MINI Liquid Yellow.

Babak started the "Itching to get an Elan" thread. From his posts, I'd guess he has Elan Fever pretty bad.

[shay2nak]

lookin good

[perryeyges]

Looks great!
Can someone give a short explanation of the spyder chassis setup?
I have always lusted after Elans and Europas...

[CarNut]

Originally Posted by perryeyges

Looks great!
Can someone give a short explanation of the spyder chassis setup?
I have always lusted after Elans and Europas...

The short answer is that the original Elan chassis is prone to rust and they eventually have to be replaced. Options are to buy another factory Lotus chassis (now available galvanized) or buy one from Spyder.

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/

The Spyder chassis is stronger and more durable (also a bit heavier) and Spyder also offers a number of other parts including roll bars, suspension and drive shafts.

[perryeyges]

Thanks for the info...

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by CarNut

The short answer is that the original Elan chassis is prone to rust and they eventually have to be replaced. Options are to buy another factory Lotus chassis (now available galvanized) or buy one from Spyder.

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/

The Spyder chassis is stronger and more durable (also a bit heavier) and Spyder also offers a number of other parts including roll bars, suspension and drive shafts.

To add to this, the original chassis is simply bent sheet metal with the brackets welded on for the suspension. It is very strong/stiff and lighter weight, but not really repairable if it gets bent.

The Spyder chassis matches the mounting points, but is made of welded tubing - a 3-D truss/space frame type structure. Even stronger, and probably repairable.

The original chassis has strut rear suspension - a mount at the top for the strut and an A-arm mount on the bottom. The Spyder chassis allows for the same set up or a double A-arm rear suspension.

The original chassis is pretty good. The Spyder chassis is considered better by many.

[tvacc]

There is another issue with the Elan's galvinized replacement chassis.

I put a galvinized Lotus chassis in my 72 Elan which I sold to Bill Rabel..then bought it back and drove it from Seattle back to Buffalo.

When got back to Buffalo< I noticed that the rear left was lower then the rear right. Not that much...but I put on new springs and is seemed to be fine. I then traded the car into Auto Europe for my Elise and they sold to a guy in Canada.

He eventually sold it back to me. When I got it back again, I noticed that the left droop was more pronounced.

I ended up buying the adjustable rear suspension from Bean which fixed the uneven ride height and eventually sold the car to a guy in Texas. I dont think it will end up in by hands again.

While I was reseaching (after I sold the car) soemthing else for a fellow LOONY, I happaned upon a bit of information. I have found out the the Lotus galvinized chassis have a tendency to "twist" from the galvinizing process. When I did all sorts of measurements I just could not figure out why this car was sagging on the left. It had never been hit. It all measured up fine. All mounting points were solid. Drove me carzy.

This explains it. I dont think nor would I reccomend anyone buy a Lotus galvinized chassis. I would have to say go with Spyder.

[Series 2 Elite]

I spoke to the folks at Dave Bean a few weeks ago about a replacement chassis for my +2S. According to Bean, Lotus no longer supply galvanized chassis. They are now supplied unfinished.

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by tvacc

I have found out the the Lotus galvanized chassis have a tendency to "twist" from the galvanizing process. When I did all sorts of measurements I just could not figure out why this car was sagging on the left. It had never been hit. It all measured up fine. All mounting points were solid. Drove me crazy.

This explains it. I don't think nor would I recommend anyone buy a Lotus galvinized chassis. I would have to say go with Spyder.

I believe it uses a hot dip galvanizing process which can cause the twist from the thermal loads.

The original chassis was not galvanized - they were just painted (with lead paint I believe) to prevent corrosion.

Another option is a re-enforced un-galvanized original chassis from Tony Thompson. They add gussets to the know weak spots of the original chassis, so it remains mostly original but slightly improved. I seriously considered going this way when I though I might have to replace my chassis, but it turned out that mine was fine.

I believe that the Spyder chassis was slightly more expensive than the Thompson chassis. The Thompson chassis was similar in price to the galvanized chassis. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of the three choices.

[codymac]

Congrats!

Glad it's not an FHC, or I'd have to really hate you.

[CarNut]

I knew Tony and Tim would have more to add on the Spyder chassis. Thanks for the additional info, guys. That's why I kept my answer to the short version and defer to the experts. I did my research before buying, but I'm still an Elan newbie.

[glb]

Originally Posted by TimMullen

I believe it uses a hot dip galvanizing process which can cause the twist from the thermal loads.

TIM - so you're saying I'd be a lot smarter if I hadn't kept licking the chassis?

CARNUT - I've already congratulated you, but a 2nd time can't hurt.

BTW, the Spyder double A-arm rear suspension allow larger wheels and tires, but the tires (Dunlop Formula R D83J) on this particular car already have a lot of grip.

One of the best mods is the Spyder rear axle, which eliminates one "donut" (rotoflex) per side. Makes the car smoother to drive @ part throttle situations and the remaining donuts are stressed less.

Plus, and this is big, if a donut were to let go, the axle won't whip thru the car like a chainsaw.

A dlr broke a donut (him driving) on a test ride in 1969; took us 45 minutes to walk back to dealership. He told me yrs later that that car was a total. Glad I wasn't driving and that we didn't crash...

[DeanG]

I believe the later cars have "safety" half shafts. They stay put if the donut breaks.

[mopho]

Originally Posted by TimMullen

The Spyder chassis is considered better by many.

It's considered worse by many too

[tvacc]

Given my druthers, I like the Spyder Chassis better. But I have worked and drivien them both and the Spyder chassis handles different (more like a modern sprots car) than the original and is a lot easier to work on. If things like that make you think it is better then it is. But it is not original and if that is important to you then it is not better. Sometimes originality matters. I dont think I would put a Spyder chassis into a 72 or 73 Sprint. I dont think any one is better, just they accomplish different things.

[tvacc]

Originally Posted by DeanG

I believe the later cars have "safety" half shafts. They stay put if the donut breaks.

They had reinforced donuts. But if they let go....the results were the same. One of my brother in laws friends had his let go. Tore up the tank and fiberglass.

Both my brother and law and his friend had Elans in the late 60's and that is how I met my wife, that that is another story. My brother in law that now lives on the Hudson in NY...still has his. Unfortunetly his friend has gone to the great Lotus garage in the sky. Perhaps he has talked to Colin about his experiences.