Lotus Elan Central

by **nchase** » Fri 24.08.2007, 18:26

I have had this fitted for a while, and it will be used in anger on Monday on the track, but even on the local roads I notice the difference, the back end just sticks now on bends I have certainly felt it go loose.

Many thanks Dave!

by **John_W** » Sat 25.08.2007, 09:23

Nick,
would be interested in hearing your thoughts after Monday.
John

by **abmunro** » Tue 04.09.2007, 21:21

I'd like one next time some are ready.

Location

Newcastle upon tyne

North East England

Cheers

Tony

by **Dave M** » Wed 05.09.2007, 15:02

Hi Tony, and thanks. I'll send you a PM about shipping details.

For anyone else who is interested, I have 8 bars sitting at home ready to be shipped. Thought I'd actually get them done and back from the powder coater this time before offering them for sale! :roll:

Sorry for those who had to wait in the past... Price is still $50 / bar + shipping. If anyone wants to group a shipment in the UK, let me know, otherwise I'll just send them individually. I have a new packing container that appears to be a bit cheaper to send than past boxes, so the difference in shipping may not be that great.

Thanks all. Great to see the pic, Chris. The bar looks good in there - I always liked blue on the Elan.

by **paza1** » Tue 11.09.2007, 21:39

Hi Dave,
You have PM.
Cheers
Mark

by **abmunro** » Sat 29.09.2007, 10:53

Well fitted stru bar and took only 20 mins following advice from others.

by **techlectic** » Sat 29.09.2007, 23:57

I've not had the good luck as others with fitting my strut bar. Initially it appeared quite a bit off, but I eventually realized that part of the problem was interference with part of the fiberglass body. I picked the side of the bar with the hole closest to the edge (they are not perfectly centered) and then took a little off the body with a dremel. In the picture here you can see at the back that the metal bar goes slightly under a piece of the black fiberglass. There was already a slight overhang there, I just opened it up enough that the flattened bar could fit in it. Doing so allowed the bar the bolt to move a bit in its hole, giving a little play.

by **techlectic** » Sun 30.09.2007, 00:06

On the other side, as you can see in this pic, I'm just slightly off - probably 1/16" would do it. Should I request another bar? Or should I just expand the hole? And if I were to do that, what would be the appropriate tool for the job? I think any of the tools that I have that might do it would take a long time. Would expanding the hole into a slot allow movement of the bar, or would the compression of the nut and bolt be enough to prevent that?

by **techlectic** » Sun 30.09.2007, 00:15

I just got someone to help me measure the bar, and it looks like it's slightly longer than 3' 4-3/4". Is that possible, Dave? The hole centers on my car are slightly under that, so I think it must be a combination of both being off a bit.

by **nitroman** » Sun 30.09.2007, 05:48

Tech, mine was off by about the same amount. I used a Sears Step Drill Bit and enlarged the holes a couple of notches. You can buy these way cheaper at Harbor Freight Tools... which most towns of any size have. Of course, Harbor Freight started out as and still is a mail-order place, before they became brick & mortor stores.

I torqued it down using an extension-bar that I ONLY use to loosen bolts with; so its not going anywhere.

PS - When I 1st tried it the rear of the car was up on ramps, and the alignment was WAY off. When I put the car back on level pavement it came as close as it does in your picture.

by **F1 LOTUS** » Sun 30.09.2007, 08:21

nitroman wrote:PS - When I 1st tried it the rear of the car was up on ramps, and the alignment was WAY off. When I put the car back on level pavement it came as close as it does in your picture.

Interesting - gives some idea what the bar might be doing

by **Dave M** » Tue 09.10.2007, 14:06

Hey there...I've had a few PMs with Tech, but wanted to continue the discussion here in case anyone else had issues. I measured all the bars I made in the last batch and they all came to the same distance between bolt hole centers (so it wasn't a random bar error) - which should be the same as all the other bars that were made. Tech notes that the bolt holes aren't centered and that is due to the interference of the body on the left side of the boot. My white and red cars are the same way (the white car was used as the template), though it sounds like there may have been a bit more interference on Tech's car than on mine.

As for the spacing, I wouldn't open up the entire hole to make it fit, but instead take a round file, your Dremel, or the like and extend the bolt hole inward just enough to get the bolt to fit. Having the hole extend outward should not be a problem as the chassis is unlikely to flex in that direction. Under load, if the chassis moves, it will press inward (i.e. - the body mounting holes with try to move closer to one another). If the bar doesn't move in that direction, it should be fine.

However like we discussed before, if you would be more comfortable with a new bar made to your specs, I'd be more than happy to make one up. The powder coater unfortunately can't send just one bar through, but I do have other parts that will be going over there soon, so I can put a new bar with that order - no problem.

Matt - interesting note about yours being off, too - especially about the flex when the car was on ramps! FWIW my measurements were taken while the white car was on the ground.

by **Dave M** » Tue 09.10.2007, 14:13

In light of the above, on any future orders if you could please take a measurement on your car from bolt center to bolt center in the boot - this will help ensure fitment for all bars. I feel badly about the issue Tech had and don't want it to happen to anyone else.

I do still have 8 bars ready to go, all in powder coated silver. I do have one that is "old school" polished (from an early batch ;-)

) for $40 instead of $50 as well.

by **ailwyn** » Tue 09.10.2007, 14:18

My bar wasn't exactly lined up with the existing bolts, it was out a little like the pic above.

I fitted the LH bolt first because it needed to negotiate a bit of the fibreglass body, then lined up the RH side as best I could and persuaded (?) the bolt through with moderate taps from a hammer, once the bolt got 1/4 way through one final tap sent it all the way.

My car was on axle stands, front and rear, which one would assume puts the chassis into it's neutral state.

Looks like good thing for Clemo to hang on to if you ever give him a lift, as yet, due to a few little jobs needing to be done I've not had a chance to see how much the handling has improved :twisted: