Lotus Elan Central

Liked the look of many convertible car deflectors out there at the moment except the currently available M100 option which, dont shoot the messenger, reminds me of the type of mesh filter i put in certain air handlers at work to be honest and on the wrong side of £130 ( ) thought it would be at least worth exploring other avenues. Looking at old threads on here i found a couple of contibutors who had attempted something along the lines i wanted namely a clear screen which wouldnt inhibit rear vision nor the lines of the car.
Lupo from italy had created a lovely looking deflector which was vertically movable via motors but also quite complex to replicate which got me thinking about a simpler mechanism which with basic tools could be installed by the average diy'er.

Well this is what i have come up with, still version 1.0 but it works at 80 without creaking or flapping, has 2 heights - like to think one for summer and one for winter and does not interfere with rear view vision.

this being the fully up position.

The mechanism itself is a pair of bonnet stays - push up once to lock in top postion, push up again to drop to lower position simples..

fixed to the bottom and top of the stays are 3mm thick stainless L brackets which replace the original swivel hinges and allow fixing to bulkhead shelf and to the top stainless window clamp which holds the 8mm thick polycarbonate sheet in place via two hex screws per fitting.

Polycarbonate was chosen primarily for its non shatter properties over acyllic and in this thickness so there would be no give or flexing at speed, may have got away with 6mm possibly but thought i'dplay safe for initial build. The stays closed are 175mm and open 275mm so 100mm plus height of brackets and clamps movable range.


With a bit of wiggling i managed for the mechanism to operate and keep the handy pocket between the seats. One of my other objectives was to be installable without any need for drilling into the verticle bulkhead section - for those who dont know the fuel tank is sited directly behind it - so drilling is only required into shelf where rear speaker boxes normally attached to behind the seats




looking from inside - screen in down position and doesnt interfere with central storage lid operation


fully up, polycarbonate ordered with polished edges post cutting and 4" radius cut curves to top corners

clamp attachment detail, 316 stainless with rubber inserts, not seen on rear are two off 6mm threaded bolts that hold clamp together.

finally the down position from rear aspect, sits about an inch if that i suppose proud of hood cover


Costings
8mm sheet polycarbonate something like 930mm x 360mm (dimensions originally taken from a mesh screen retailer), edges polished and corners round cut approx £60 -if you have the know how and are prepared to finish the edges yourself you would save £20. Ordered from cut my plastic
2 off bonnet stays 175mm / 275mm £40 . Ordered from europa spares
2 off 8mm stainless 316 glass clamps flat bottomed not curved base - think i spent £28, can get them considerably cheaper in various finishes mind, requires a 8mm hex head bolt 30mm long max plus 8mm nyloc nut and washer to attach to stay per fitting

various 4mm and 5mm bolts and nyloc nuts to match

andy

That looks like a nice idea, I wouldn't mind taking a closer look at that at some stage (said the man also from Essex )

Whats with the ??

Cmon Steve i saw you only the other day



Alright 11 years back but we dont want to live in each others pockets now do we?

However im in benfleet / thundersley most saturdays these days running a footie team so could always take a swing by if your about or meet up at one of these early morning breakfast runs i see about subject to me not requiring a lie in (age you know)

That must of been at the Lodge ? near Woodham

Certainly was