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Lotus Elise Chassis Repair (Update)

39K views 99 replies 38 participants last post by  avonnieda 
#1 · (Edited)
Sad day, as probably one of the worst nightmares for us Elise owners became a reality for me.

During some spirited driving today with my local auto club, I went against a guardrail. A left turn with some gravel/debris plus a mistake on my own for going to fast into the corner, landed me sweeping the very hard guardrail.

Luckily I’m ok, as I hit the rail at approximately 35 mi/h, but the angle of the impact meant that most of the force was transferred to the wheel and then to the control arm and finally to the frame.

Car was immediately put into a flat bed and sent to my shop.

Even though I was still in shock, I could not help to start removing the front suspension components to inspect the extent of the damage.

This is a pristine, artic silver Elise with only 5,000 miles bought from a forum member back in 2012.

So, with a big hole in my stomach I present to you the aftermath.

First, the replaceable stuff:



Crash structure is intact , the front clam… not so much….



The headlight is gone



The radiator support structure has a couple of cracks….


The front wheel that took most of the impact.



The radiator support separated from the clam and cracked pretty bad.



Now the ugly….

Front strut…. Broken



Front-rear upper control arm mount…



Front lower…seems fine.



Now the real ugly.

Front upper control arm mount…completely ripped off the frame.





Tomorrow morning I will start taking parts off to look closer.

Obviously it’s a total loss according to US standards, but this car is located outside the county. Only 2 Elise in the country, which puts me in a very big dilemma; Collect insurance on the car or try to fix it. It may not seem like a dilemma to most, since it usually one of both alternatives in pretty much every accident…… the problem arises in the fact that I can't buy anything as fun as the Elise with the payoff from insurance.. The second option is also very debatable, since the front structure “Cant be repaired”

I have been reading pretty much every forum post regarding repairing the front structure damage, and sadly could not find any project detailing any alternatives in repairing. Most were 2-3 years old.

Has there been any advance in that front? I don’t know if you can still get a new chassis from Lotus, some post from 2010 have quotes of over 12K.

Some people were “experimenting” with bonding and riveting some supports and inserts into the front aluminum extrusion… but could not see any of them come to an end.

Anybody in the states managed to repair the control arm mounting points in a sort of professional way?

The parts list so far:
  • Chassis
  • Front clam and fitting
  • Radiator support
  • Front right strut
  • Front control arm
  • Lower control arm
  • Front splitter


Tomorrow will talk to insurance agent to see where do they stand, need to revise appraised value to see the alternatives.

Sorry in advance if there are typos or grammatical errors.

It’s been a hard day.

Thanks!

Daniel
 
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#2 ·
:(
So sorry to see this. Sorry for you loss, glad you are fine.
Oh, I'm sure that isn't going to buff out
Did you have track insurance? How is that going to work out?
Are you going to try and get another?

Make sure you post this in the Salvaged Yard thread with VIN.
 
#3 ·
Make sure you post this in the Salvaged Yard thread with VIN.
Yes, please do that.

Thanks for taking the time to shoot the photos and post them. That must be difficult for you.

I'm glad to hear that no one was hurt. I have a feeling that your only option might be to find another totaled Elise/Exige that you could salvage for all or part of the frame. I guess it depends on the buy-back price from your insurer.
 
#7 ·
You should talk to wirewheel. They would know and they have a great reputation.
Yes, Haze is the man, if he cant fix it up and get you back on the road for a reason price no-one can. Or I'm sure he would gladly buy it from you. So sorry to here about your loss man.
 
#5 ·
That damage is not all that bad... true, the structure is not repairable by the automotive industry, because they don't have the knowledge, but this is completely repairable by someone knowledgeable in repairing aircraft. That tub is also made from a 6000 series aluminum...that is also a weldable grade, but the welds cannot be next to the bonding. Go look for an aircraft mechanic or a race car mechanic...if you really want to repair the car.
 
#24 ·
That tub is also made from a 6000 series aluminum...that is also a weldable grade, but the welds cannot be next to the bonding.
Whilst the chassis is weldable, there's no way you can heat treat it back to T6. Around the welds would be like butter.

The only way to repair it is to machine tapered plates which bond & rivet to each side of the control arm mounts. I'm not sure is there is enough area for this to be done.
 
#6 ·
...
Obviously it’s a total loss according to US standards, but this car is located outside the county. Only 2 Elise in the country, which puts me in a very big dilemma;
What country?

This has an impact on repair costs based on labour rates and as you say you can get a replacement chassis. The swap over time is supposed to be ~80hrs.

...
Collect insurance on the car or try to fix it. It may not seem like a dilemma to most, since it usually one of both alternatives in pretty much every accident…… the problem arises in the fact that I can't buy anything as fun as the Elise with the payoff from insurance.. The second option is also very debatable, since the front structure “Cant be repaired”

I have been reading pretty much every forum post regarding repairing the front structure damage, and sadly could not find any project detailing any alternatives in repairing. Most were 2-3 years old.

Has there been any advance in that front? I don’t know if you can still get a new chassis from Lotus, some post from 2010 have quotes of over 12K.

Some people were “experimenting” with bonding and riveting some supports and inserts into the front aluminum extrusion… but could not see any of them come to an end.

Anybody in the states managed to repair the control arm mounting points in a sort of professional way?

The parts list so far:
- Chassis
- Front clam and fitting
- Radiator support
- Front right strut
- Front control arm
- Lower control arm
- Front splitter


Tomorrow will talk to insurance agent to see where do they stand, need to revise appraised value to see the alternatives.

Sorry in advance if there are typos or grammatical errors.

It’s been a hard day.

Thanks!

Daniel
Head over to SELOC and look for Junks - he may be able to help.

You should talk to wirewheel. They would know and they have a great reputation.

San
Agree
 
#10 ·
Sounds like you may be in a good position to put her back together man. Looking forward in seeing just that, good luck.
 
#18 ·
so sorry. Glad you were not physically hurt. Hope you can find a way to re-lotus.
 
#19 ·
Very sorry to hear about the car. It looks like the forged wheels are pretty strong - you said the front wheel took most of the impact, and it seems to have come out no worse for wear besides some scuffs.
 
#20 ·
Thanks all for the comments/help/support!!!

talked to insurance today. they gave me the celling of the payout before its totaled and the go green to start the deeper look into the damages.

The max they are willing to pay before its totaled is 30K USD, So now I need to start quoting for the parts to see what its the cost. I found a front clip for sale and will have to quote for the labor to have the bent/torn A-Arms mounts by fixed by a specialist (using the best possible and safest way to maintain structural rigidity) been talking to some automotive engineers, airplane engineers and race cars builders to find the best alternatives.

Already sent the part list to a dealer in Miami with all the initial parts including the new chassis (I want to explore that possibility too given the insurance limit)

Will let you know how it goes after todays clam removal!

best and again thanks!

Daniel
 
#22 ·
Thanks! This was my reading material for the day.

Tomorrow im going to perform the test on the frame to see if its straight. Using a 3/8 steel rod though the lower a-arms mounting point to the cabin.

This is where I left today the shop… long day removing stuff and making the list of parts.



Pretty tired.

I wanted to get your opinions on a couple of things:

What do you think about the crash structure? does it needs to be repaired? The damaged is mostly splinters in that part, but no creases or cracks made it into the inside.



The radiator support structure only has some cracks. This doesn’t seem like an structural part. Is it worth replacing or should I simply have it repaired?


One bad news is that the windshield cracked a bit on the lower part, haven’t noticed that. Flying in windshields is a major PITA. 50% of the ones we import for our customers make if broken….



Finally, here is a close up of both A-Arms mounting points.

Rear one seems relatively “straight” but this one worries me most, since cant seem to figure out how to work with it. Its not very accessible. Either if it needs to be riveted/bonded/welded or combination of all three….. it’s a very complex spot.



The front took most of the damage, but the accessibility makes it simple to treat, regardless of the approach.



well , that’s all for the day.

Tomorrow I’m having a guy that repairs jet engines and it’s an expert in low tolerances/structures/etc. take a look. I’m trying to have as many expert opinions as possible to figure out the best way to make the fix.

Thanks and will keep updating as any progress is made.

Best,

Daniel
 
#26 ·
What do you guys think about the new 2011 look? I found that the new clam and headlight are more readily available that the 05-07 clams and headlights. I love the classic elise look, but it may take up to 6 months to get a new one..... as opposed to 1 on the 2011 look.

I could potentially fix the 05 clam and order the lens cover and have both clams to be interchanged........

The Jet engine guy cancelled.... tomorrow I will have his opinion on way to fix/reinforce.

Daniel
 
#28 ·
Oh man, I'm sorry about your car. It's the worst feeling ever isn't it? I'm dealing with minor damage to mine, so I can only imagine how you're feeling.

I hope all goes well and you get back into a car asap!!!!!
 
#30 ·
For structures...but this is NOT a structure...in that, it is NOT a structural grade of aluminum. Since it is NOT a structural grade of aluminum, it is NOT loaded like a structure.

All T6 means is that it's been heat treated...aluminum will age harden on its own and work harden. It will eventually get to an equivalent T6 on its own. It would be nice to speed up the process...but not needed.
 
#31 ·
6063 is considered structural - it's just not as good as 2000 or 7000 series but has better finish, form-ability and corrosion resistance.
It will never age harden to T6. Depending on how you cool it after welding it will naturally age to T1 or T4 (but that can take years). Anything above that requires proper heat treatment and artificial aging.
 
#32 ·
Ok, So just had one expert opinion looking at the car today.

Sort of encouraging, but no clear path to go yet.

On the rear mount, he suggest to straighten the bent 5cm deep crack and reinforce it the some U shape brackets. As seen in the picture below. The brackets to be made of superior grade aluminum (he was gonna research the options) and to be bonded all around and (where the red lines are) some aircraft grade rivets (if the pneumatic machine can be fitted) or aircraft grade aluminum bolts if not.



However, on the front, he was very hesitant in the removing of the complete extrusion. He says that heat to burn down the glue will weaken the aluminum and also the glue of the surrounding frame. He said, if we can remove the piece without too much heat, than if we use the correct glue it should be no problem.

However, I can't seem to find a way to remove this piece without using heat.

Thats were we stand.

Anybody have an idea on how to remove the glue? would some sort of sharp heated element directly into the glue help to cut through it?

clueless at this point.
 
#33 ·
After seeing several cars like this, I've wondered whether a an extruded aluminum rectangular section can be pushed inside the existing one to repair the mount points (really not using the old points at all).

If the replacement box section goes all the way or nearly all the way to the other side of the car it seems like there is substantially more area for a weaker bonding agent/rivets to make up for the loss of the original bonding agent. My recollection is that there is some room in there to insert another section with perhaps a thinner bushing/washer arrangement.
 
#34 ·
Quick update.

Got the salvaged front extrusion.


Removed the crash structure. Could not save it. Tried for over a week with hot blades, but it would not even move. So had to cut it......


Here is how it stands, hopefully next week I can send it to the shop where they would do the a-arm mounts swap.


However, I need to remove the steering rack.... Its the last thing I need to take out. Today I had a go for about 3 hours... But cant simply get it out.
Removed the 4 inner bolts (17 and 13mm) on both sides and the one holding the steering column to the rack. But I just cant separate the two. The rack is against the front wall and the column wont slide back. Its very frustrating.

Anybody has any tips/pointers/guides? People seems to change the for quicker racing racks.... There must be a good DIY somewhere.

Thanks.
Daniel
 
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