Project Black

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Re: Project Black

Postby Scott J » Fri 05.08.2016, 23:22

.
Last edited by Scott J on Sun 07.08.2016, 20:30, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Project Black

Postby Rambo » Sat 06.08.2016, 07:00

It's Jamie's new baby ;-)

PS I tried to persuade Jamie to keep the car and do a Honda conversion seeing as he has Honda blood flowing through his veins :lol:
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Re: Project Black

Postby par » Fri 06.01.2017, 20:28

Having enjoyed the car during the glorious summer of 2016 it is time to provide an update on the Winter refurb phase 2.

Focus is on the rear end this year and have removed most of the components for a refurb or replacement:

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Next stage is some major wire brush action followed by a good dose of rust remover to the chassis sections:-

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The wishbones are definitely past their expiry date! Both are holed under the bottom shock mounting position but not really visible when shock, hub, brakes and wheel are fitted so probably wouldnt get picked up at MOT time:-

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However one of the wishbones has rusted through in other areas and would certainly get picked up as a fail during an MOT:-

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Luckily Santa Jeemy finally came through with a delivery of the stainless steel wishbones for Christmas, these appear to be very good quality items with an exceptional standard of welding in every area, side by side comparisons indicate the dimensional fit should be good so hopefully that will be proven when it is time to refit:-

Image

I expect to be breathing in clouds of airborne rust powder over the next week or so :smt022
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Re: Project Black

Postby Rambo » Fri 06.01.2017, 20:56

Par - is that an old style, box section upper link (SE) on the LHS of photo 1 and a later, tubular style S2 upper link on the RHS ?
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Re: Project Black

Postby par » Sat 07.01.2017, 00:04

Rambo wrote:Par - is that an old style, box section upper link (SE) on the LHS of photo 1 and a later, tubular style S2 upper link on the RHS ?


No they are both tubular style, it is just that one is shinier than the other (for now)!

I was quite impressed how good the access to remove the bolt on the nearside is, once the grommet is removed there is an access hole from inside the boot to allow a socket through. Having replaced the suspension on my mates TVR a few months ago where you can only get a few degrees movement on some bolts I appreciate the consideration of Lotus in this aspect.
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Re: Project Black

Postby Brit-Car-Nut » Sat 07.01.2017, 00:09

Blowing up the picture, they are both S2 type but the one on the left has the wishbone link stay laying on top of it.
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Re: Project Black

Postby Rambo » Sat 07.01.2017, 10:32

Thanks both for clearing that up. I was confused for a moment

Still confused as to one of why one of the S2 uppers is shinier than the other :? Either one has been replaced recently or Par has been giving it a liberal dosing of POR15 over the New Year period ?
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Re: Project Black

Postby par » Sat 07.01.2017, 17:18

I guess they must have been replaced at different times. Looking through the history that came with the car I can see the O/S rear upper arm was replaced in Oct 2011 (that is the shiny one), I cant see any reference to the N/S so can only assume it was replaced previously.

Looks to be just surface build up and I am sure it will polish up nicely and put back on where no-one will see it :D
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Re: Project Black

Postby Rambo » Sat 07.01.2017, 20:11

Are you replacing the shockers with Koni ?

And what about those ball joints ? New ones ??
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Re: Project Black

Postby par » Mon 09.01.2017, 00:25

Plan is to clean up the Protechs and reuse them, they dont seem to be in too bad condition.

Ball joints also look to be in good condition so will be re-used, will get the anti-roll bar powdercoated along with the upper stays. I will need new eccentric bolts as I had to cut the one on the O/S to remove the wishbone as the bolt had completely seized to the bush!
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Re: Project Black

Postby Scott J » Mon 09.01.2017, 19:57

par wrote:I guess they must have been replaced at different times. Looking through the history that came with the car I can see the O/S rear upper arm was replaced in Oct 2011 (that is the shiny one), I cant see any reference to the N/S so can only assume it was replaced previously.

Looks to be just surface build up and I am sure it will polish up nicely and put back on where no-one will see it :D


the first was to be replaced was N/S upper in Oct 2011 iirc. The O/S was then replaced spring 2014 when the PNM calipers were fitted . I presume identical parts though first was bought from SJS and the later from P Matty .
Last edited by Scott J on Tue 10.01.2017, 09:12, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Project Black

Postby par » Mon 09.01.2017, 20:37

Thanks Scott!

That makes more sense as it is the O/S that is the shiny/newer one. Both parts look identical and I am sure will clean up fine with a bit of elbow grease.
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Re: Project Black

Postby chrisP » Wed 11.01.2017, 11:55

What are you going to do with regard to wishbone bushes - Lotus or poly replacements. I am planning to take the front and rear suspension off and refurb it in the next month or so

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Re: Project Black

Postby Bern » Wed 11.01.2017, 13:55

I'm interested too, I'm planning a rebuild on the rear suspension.

I'm hoping that my wishbones aren't anything like as bad as yours, but I will be replacing the bushes!

Cheers,

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Re: Project Black

Postby par » Wed 11.01.2017, 22:02

chrisP wrote:What are you going to do with regard to wishbone bushes - Lotus or poly replacements. I am planning to take the front and rear suspension off and refurb it in the next month or so

Chris


I am going to fit the poly bushes on the rear wishbones:-

Image

Most of the bushes on the front were replaced by the poly type last year when I rebuilt the front suspension. Hopefully your wishbones will be in a better state than mine were but it is worth noting I had to cut the inner pivot bolts to remove the wishbone on one side as the bolt had completely seized to the inner metal sleeve of the bush, the other side just knocked straight out.
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Re: Project Black

Postby Danevansgolf » Wed 11.01.2017, 23:34

Hi everyone. I changed all the front wishbones last year and used poly bushes. And same as above I had to cut them out and use a blow torch to melt the rubber. Bitch of a job, but well worth it. A good job once all stripped down sanded and painted and with new bushes in. A sense of pride and achievement once complete.
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Re: Project Black

Postby Bern » Wed 18.01.2017, 23:20

Can I ask where you got them from?

I've not seen a set anywhere, just individual. But then I haven't found many places that do Elan M100 parts yet!

I'm not sure whether to go for OEM style rubber or polybushes either.
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Re: Project Black

Postby Artaban » Wed 18.01.2017, 23:48

Bern,
Three places I sourced bushes from are SJ's http://www.sjsportscars.co.uk; South West Lotus http://www.thelotuscentre.com and particularly helpful was the parts department at Oakmere Lotus https://www.oakmeremotorgroup.co.uk/lotus. When I replaced all the bushes last year I got all the available rubber bushes I could and made up the rest with poly bushes. Taking out the bushes I found to be a real pain so in the end I gave them to a garage to remove and then got the various parts blasted and powdercoated before getting the new ones pressed in. I don't think you'd notice a difference in feel between the rubber and the poly but you'll notice a difference in the overall feel of the car; tighter but just as compliant, less wallowey. At least thats how mine felt.
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Re: Project Black

Postby dapinky » Thu 19.01.2017, 11:07

Bern,

Do you ever find yourself travelling through or past Wookey?

If so, you *may* wish to stop off to see Chris Witor.

Now, I know that he is a Tiumph specialist, but he is also the UK main man for Superflex.

He does not list any bushes for the Elan, but he *may* know something about them - rumour has it that a few years ago someone from this very forum spent a fair bit of time with him sorting out what bushes from the 'standard' range would fit the various applications on an Elan, and then sorting out the manufacture of them in suitably-rated polyurethane..... and then getting the other ones needed made up from scratch.

I'm also lead to believe that due to the development/production costs of the bushes which are currently stocked by both SJs and SWL, that they are an 'exclusive' item not available elsewhere. Neither of these suppliers have ever declared who makes the bushes, or where they get them from..... and Chris won't confirm or deny any involvement in their development and supply.....and so is obviously not able to list/sell them to the public.

The bushes I fitted to my car look pretty similar in all respects to the ones now supplied by SJ's and SWL....and I have known Chris for many years.

If you are unable to read between these lines, then you need better glasses :D
Dave

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Re: Project Black

Postby Bern » Fri 20.01.2017, 09:48

Dave - That's brilliant, many thanks, even though I've absolutely no idea what you are saying there ;-)

Andy - Thanks for the info, I've looked at the SJ Sportscars site but wasn't aware of the 2. I've replaced bushes in the past, and know how difficult it is - so I've decided to buy a hydraulic press!

Cheers,

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