Step by Silky Step

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Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Mon 29.01.2018, 21:58

My '92 SE has been with me for a year now, so I thought it was about time I started one of these "Small Project" threads to let you good people know I haven't just been sitting on my ar*e for all that time.
The car covered ~3000 miles in the previous 10 years, so the basic idea was to make it reliable, then worry about the cosmetics later.

I'd just like to say I couldn't have taken on half these jobs without the good people of LEC, the Wiki and Obiwan Toby's Videos.

Here's a list of what's been done so far......

Jan '17:
    Removed HKS Dump Valve and Everest Chip to give a performance baseline and remove chavvy sound
    Fixed Driver's door lock (First encounter with Elan door internals!)
    Re-attached Glove box lid to glove box and fitted new lock, the old lock internals were long gone
Feb:
    Refitted original rear lights as Kia lights were allowing water into the boot - also wanted to re-instate the brighter 55w rear fog lights
    Fitted clear repeater lenses
    Fitted Metal Monkey Dial Faces - White on black with green illumination - much better in the daylight
Mar:
    Fixed leak into passenger footwell - The foam heater intake shroud deteriorated + the wiring loom dropped and cut through it - new foam is wrapped in neoprene sheet to keep out water and give some strength.
    Fitted BCN Gear Cables and Short Shift - Thank you BCN!
    Steering column lower UJ changed
    Rebuilt most of the cooling system as both rusty thermostat housing bolts sheared off
Apr:
    Fitted O2 sensor and Closed Loop conversion with S2 ECM from the spares list
    Fitted DAB radio and changed wiring so that the radio's memory isn't lost when ignition is turned off
    Rebuilt N/S Headlight motor and fitted new Main beam reflectors
May:
    Removed seats and carpets, inspected outriggers (all good!), painted outriggers and replaced underfelt with 12mm closed cell foam
    Fitted new Bosch S4-075 Battery
    Fitted new front springs and shock absorbers - old springs were sagging badly
    Fitted "Raid" steering wheel
Jun:
    Completed "A+B+C" service plus new Fuel Filter (Cam belt was done in 2016)
    Rear brake calipers rebuilt - handbrake now works and adjusts
Jul:
    Fitted a set of Jamie's one-piece Windscreen and A-pillar seals - Jamie the Seal my dry knees thank you!
    S2 Alloys refurbished and new Dunlop SportMaxx RT tyres fitted
    New NGK coils fitted, ignition module cleaned up and heat-sink-greased to ally backing plate - cured starting problems
Sep:
    PNM extra silencer fitted and rear silencer replaced as there was no wadding left inside!
    PNM Door waist seals fitted (Second encounter with Elan door internals!)
    1000 mile trip through France with no problems
Oct:
    Upgraded Everest chip to 1499 (S2) and put it into SE ECM - 200BHP AND closed loop!
    Built and tested Matthias' ElanLogger
Nov:
    Started work on ElanLogger display modification

Still to be done, in no particular order:-
    1. Replace twisted N/S/R Wishbone with possible "Project Creep" to rebuild the brake proportioning valves - if I can source the O rings.
    2. Fix tapping Hydraulic Valve Lifter - Wynns HVL Cleaner worked on all but 1 lifter - As the cam belt has to come off anyway I might just change the Head gasket while I'm in there as I'm pretty sure it's never been done and there's been a few reports of possible age-related HGF recently.
    3. Fix cracks on fibreglass front bumper or possibly replace with a good ABS one?
    4. De-rusting and refurbishing of the suspension and chassis
    5. Fabricate mountings and fit Porsche seats
I'll try uploading some photos in a later post.
Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby HJ2 » Mon 29.01.2018, 23:18

If every single post from you is like this, you'll have a brand new car in a post or 4 8)
If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby Rambo » Tue 30.01.2018, 10:24

And then you can start on mine :wink:

Well done Ron. Wish I had half of your skills :smt023
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Tue 30.01.2018, 15:01

HJ2 wrote:If every single post from you is like this, you'll have a brand new car in a post or 4 8)

At a rate of 1 post per year that might take some time.....

Rambo wrote:And then you can start on mine :wink:

Sorry Rambo, once the M100 is up to snuff I'm afraid I have a '68 +2 that's been awaiting my attention for >30 years. One of the reasons for me getting the M100 was to see if I still had the desire to muck about with cars, but without spending a fortune. I think that one's been answered now!

Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby Jamie N » Tue 30.01.2018, 19:52

Great bit of work you have put in there Ron . I like the sound of the Porsche seats, I have often looked at some of those and thought
they would be great in the Elan. Look forward to seeing them done. ;-)
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https://youtu.be/MGiyiIFjUew Rubbery stuff.
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby davidcgriffiths » Tue 30.01.2018, 19:55

Sounds good Ron where did you manage to source a glove box lock from. Mine requires replacing
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Tue 30.01.2018, 22:22

davidcgriffiths wrote:Sounds good Ron where did you manage to source a glove box lock from. Mine requires replacing

Hi David,

I got a new lock + 2 keys from K.L.C.K - Here
The one I have is listed as CAVALIER (MK3), and I can't see any difference between the new one and the original Lotus one.
I don't know if it will fit an S2 though as mine's an SE.

Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby davidcgriffiths » Thu 01.02.2018, 22:06

Thanks Ron got one ordered,
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Sat 03.02.2018, 16:18

First few photos of last year's fun:

Reason for leak into passenger footwell:
Reason-for-leak-into-passenger-footwell.jpg


What was left of the A-pillar seals:
A-pillar-seals.jpg


Sealing old seal attachment holes in header rail with Neoprene sheet and Sikaflex:
Sealing-old-header-rail-holes.jpg


Painted Header Rail:
Painted-Header-Rail.jpg


Wheel refurb - IMHO darker colour suits silk red:
Wheel-Refurb.jpg


Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby clemo » Sat 03.02.2018, 16:31

Can we have a picture of your back side so we can all appreciate it .
Thank you.
Jim Clark S2 - 1/12. The one with the Yellow spoke wheels . No 613 on dash (pushed in to factory in wrong order 615 on tub)
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Sat 03.02.2018, 17:06

clemo wrote:Can we have a picture of your back side so we can all appreciate it.


Not sure if you meant the back of the car or the outriggers Clemo:

P1040197.jpg


Extent of Rust in Outriggers.jpg


The other meaning is too dire to contemplate! :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby clemo » Sat 03.02.2018, 20:04

Neither of those and least of all the last option ! ... i thought you had put the Kia's back on .

Both very good photos in different ways

It is very pleasing to see that your inner sills are in exceptional condition ( as are mine )
So it goes to show to those who are fearful to go and have a look. They may be pleasantly surprised .

Have you also (like Rambo) fitted reverse sensors in your plate surround ?
and is that a shut up pipe inside the piper exhaust tail end ?
Jim Clark S2 - 1/12. The one with the Yellow spoke wheels . No 613 on dash (pushed in to factory in wrong order 615 on tub)
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Sat 03.02.2018, 22:24

Whew!

I must admit to crossing my fingers when removing the underfelt/sponge around the outriggers. It looks like the car had the drain holes in the sills from new, so that probably helped.
There are just 2 reversing sensors fitted at the moment, the other 2 will get inset into the bumper grille when I get a round tewitt.
The exhaust was a very early Cybox/PNM one. The round pipe looked original, but it has since been replaced with the latest PNM.

When the car had the Kia rear lights fitted they weren't sealed properly and so let water into the boot. It needed some fibreglass work to make them good and I didn't have the time for that so I refitted the originals. I still like the look of them but I'm not keen on having the fog and reversing lights behind the bumper grille.
I had a thought about them the other day - what if the inner red lenses were replaced with elise-style round fog and reversing lights like this?
Rev-fog.jpg
Rev-fog.jpg (22.37 KiB) Viewed 229252 times

I'll keep that one on the back burner for now...

Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Thu 26.04.2018, 17:10

Small update time:

Mar '18:
Replaced both door glasses, rebuilding door internals and using Wayne's sliders and PTFE Rod as rollers - this enabled the sliders to be fitted with roller ends outwards, making the glass less wobbly
PNM Door Waist seals refitted with 1mm solid neoprene sikaflexed to the outside mounting face - brought the seals into better contact with the glass

Apr:
Replaced door card carpet with removable panels of Ply / Neoprene closed cell foam / Alcantara
Door Carpet Replacement Panel.jpg


Repaired split in Porsche seat squab foam and reinforced with 15oz Hessian, rebuilt seats with seat heaters
Squab Foam Reinforcement.jpg

Completed Squab top.jpg


Made Adaptor brackets for fitting seats into car - still need to fettle the rear brackets a bit as there's contact with the seats gas struts
Adaptors test fit to runners.jpg
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby par » Sat 28.04.2018, 10:39

RonR wrote:Small update time:

Apr:
Replaced door card carpet with removable panels of Ply / Neoprene closed cell foam / Alcantara


Very nice, I like the carpet replacement and have been thinking of doing something similar. Couple of questions if you dont mind:

-What thickness of ply did you use?
-How have you fixed it to the door panel, is it just bonded in place?
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby dapinky » Sat 28.04.2018, 12:45

This is similar to how i did mine a couple of years ago.

For fitting, i made the 'base' out of 3mm hardboard, which I painted with fibreglass resin to give it some water resistance. I drilled 3 x 6mm holes straight through the board and the door panel (making sure that they were clear of anything underneath!)

They were fixed with 'Fir-tree' fasteners.

Then removed from the door card, covered with thin neoprene foam (spray glued). Once dry, i used a sharp blade to pare down the slight lumps where the firtree heads allowed the foam to bulge out a bit, resulting in a near flat covering.

Then glued the alcantara over the top, and tucked in round the back.

Once dry, they simply pressed into the holes in the door card. They are still there now, but easily removable if required.
Dave

Just the one now, but this one's mine! - and it will be finished eventually..... - but also temporary custodian of a project until it is finished enough for Angie to drive it

go on - click this link - you know you want to!
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Sat 28.04.2018, 18:54

My method was almost exactly the same as Dapinky's but using 3mm Ply, varnish, then 3mm foam and finally Alcantara.

Fixing is by 3 x plastic 'rivets', the top part is stuck to and passes through the ply and the bottom part goes through the door card:
fcp-0198-d.jpg
fcp-0198-d.jpg (13.52 KiB) Viewed 228885 times

It seems to be quite secure although time will tell....

Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby par » Sun 29.04.2018, 23:20

Thanks both!

That gives me enough pointers to try and put something together.

It took me hours cleaning off all the old layers of adhesive residue from the door panels and it would be a shame to cover them with contact adhesive again!
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby RonR » Mon 10.09.2018, 16:30

Another small update:

May '18:
Fitted new Battery connection, Fuses and relays under the hood stowage area for seat heaters and seat back electric operation.
Porsche seats fitted after making 3-part rear brackets, finally resolving the gas strut clearance problem. Had to add a couple of washers to the outside seat brackets tilting the seats inward ever so slightly to stop the hood frame from rubbing on the seat back.
Still need to fit the seat heater switches somewhere, possibly in the centre console cubby box?
Porsche seats installed.jpg


Aug:
My wheel centres were looking a bit tired, so it was time for a refurb. Decided I like the look of black badges, so ordered up some domed ally ones from Epay to try. Removed the old badges and the outer lip from the original S2 wheel centres, the new badges (56.5mm) just overlapped the old centres but still fitted in the wheel recesses, so I Sikaflexed them on and now they're looking a whole lot better IMHO. Well worth £10.28 for 4!
Black wheel centre.jpg


Cheers,
Ron
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Re: Step by Silky Step

Postby Rambo » Mon 10.09.2018, 19:05

Looking good Ron :smt023
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