Kuching Roll Hoops, Deck and Fairings

[Nige]

Oh go on Chris, you know it makes sense .

[Monty]

The rear deck seal is fixed to the body not the deck, so seals are not required (unless your seal is shot. If so they were in the parts sale, not sure if they still are).

Of course DUH! Don't know what i was thinking.

Simon does fit a foam type seal under the rear deck off the Hardtop

[chris.t]

Oh go on Chris, you know it makes sense .

no question there Nige. What I've got to get my head round is the styling issue of hoops although safety should take precedence. Also weight, also whether to go for the fairings and lid mod. I'll have a chat with you at CC tomorrow.

[markv]

That's exactly where I am too, Chris. I'd really like to see some more photos, particularly any with just the hoops, no fairing/lid mod.

[Monty]

There`s photo`s on the 1st page

There`s a few Pic`s here when i was fitting the hoops myself
viewtopic.php?f=79&t=2737&start=480

[Kuching]

Paul,

What I meant is - if the list reaches 10 is that the cut off point i.e. one batch then that is it? I am interested but I would prefer to sort out something over June first. Or is it when the list reaches 10 then the first deposits can be taken, but any orders will be taken to the end of July. That way, Simon can get production underway but orders may still be coming in. Obviously this is down to Simon, i know he is doing this as a big favour and we are all appreciative, its just I really do want this but if it looks like I emigrate soon then this may be unnecessary if I could not take the car with me. If I knew there was a finally cut-off date and not cut-off volume point that would be great for me.

Also, I assume that the hoops are the lighter steel varient (is it chro-moly?). Also is there any 'testing' of the hoops, and I appreciate that this is low volume so I mean testing in terms of CAD/engineering estimates or has anyone say in motorsport actually flipped theer elan with a cage fitted and the crash recorded. While I fully appreciate its probably a buy at your own risk and there will be the usual disclaimers and that anything is going to be better than the current collapsable seats I was just wondering. However with Simon's attention to detail he has probably way over-engineered it so it should be more than adequete, I am actually more concerned about the elan structural strength at the points of mounting.

Some good questions there that warrant a comprehensive answer.

Regarding the number of hoops to be produced, I will retain the jigs and tooling so I could always get more produced if required, but 10 would be a minimum to make it worthwhile setting up the CNC machines. However, I couldn’t offer to supply them at this low cost again so this will be limited to the first 10 names to confirm before the end of May. After this cut-off number and date, the price would have to be £675.

The Fairings and rear deck can be ordered at any time as they can be produced as one-offs without incurring any additional cost.

The material of the tubes is 4T.45. This is an alloy developed for aerospace structural fabrications and the strength far exceeds steels such as CDS, and yet demonstrates, in my experience, better yield behaviour in impact than comparable strength materials such as 15CDV6.

The hoops have not undergone any practical or numerical crash analysis purely because of the additional cost that would have to be added. As such, I don’t make any claim that this is a ‘safety device’. However, I think it may be fair to draw attention to some previous experience that demonstrates at least some degree of competence to take on this task. I am a professional motorsport design engineer specialising in chassis and structures, currently working for SPC Design. Previous exploits include contracts with the likes of Colin McRae, Ford WRC, Team Lotus and various other top race and rally teams as well as consultancy engineering for OEMs. Some of my rollcage designs include the one that Marcus Grönholm used to win the WRC championship, and the cage that Tommi Mäkinen rolled spectacularly in Argentina in 2002.

The Elan hoops use the same standards of design, materials and fabrication as the motorsport applications. It is fixed directly to backbone chassis and outboard steel supporting structure in 9 positions. By necessity therefore, it is not a quick, easy job to fit it. Several holes must be cut in the interior areas of the G/F tub, and some of the interior trim components need to be cut to clear tubes, so if you’re precious about keeping your Elan absolutely standard, this may not be for you! However, the finished job does look quite neat and unobtrusive. And even if you never have cause to use it, its nice to know its there!

Simon

[Nige]

Simon, good to hear from you. As someone who has the hoops, fairings and deck fitted I can vouch for all Simon says above in respect of his hoops for the Elan. I'm sure you will agree that there are few if any who are this qualified and have this level of interest in our Elan.

[superbad]

By necessity therefore, it is not a quick, easy job to fit it. Several holes must be cut in the interior areas of the G/F tub, and some of the interior trim components need to be cut to clear tubes

Is there any welding required on the chassis, or is it just cutting / drilling?

[Kuching]

The earlier installations did have two bushes welded into the backbone. However, this was quite an involved and expensive job, so later two M10 rivnuts were used for the central mounts. This makes it more realistic as a DIY job.

[chris.t]

Simon, sorry to be a pain but what are the respective weights for the hoops, fairings? Just need to know how much weight I need to lose in order to balance things

[Elanlover]

From what I saw, the farings and bumps on the deck weren't adding anything worth mentioning. Couple of pounds maybe? The rollbar looked lightweight relative to LGM's rollbar. I'm guessing 30 lbs. but Simon (or Monty or Nige) can confirm.

[lotos]

Any guess as to what shipping to USA would run?

who cares, go for it Randy!

I care! My wife cares! My future children's inheritance cares!

Depends on what you're buying. Are you looking at the complete package with hoops, farrings and deck? If so I'd be willing to bet its going to cost between $125 and $200. That's just a semi educated guess based on the size and weight of the items. I think LGM's hoops I bought cost something like $80 to ship from California to Canada. This is more gear, a bigger package and further to travel.

I'm nervous - I could see it creeping into $300-600 shipping cost. International shipping is pricey these days!

[Dico]

Just lay off the Pringles for a week or so Chris and all will be fine.

<Dico watching this thread from a distance. Just waiting to pounce>

[dapinky]

I'm nervous - I could see it creeping into $300-600 shipping cost. International shipping is pricey these days!

It will depend on the number of sets being shipped - but just thinking aloud, when LGM shipped the hoops from left to right across the water, I think i remember paying about £40 for my share of the costs (but I could be way off, and I don't know how many sets were sent, so I'm probably not being too helpful.....)

....I'll try and remember to ask Geoff tomorrow - he was the UK destination agent!

[Nige]

I did a group buy of Maries Hoops and shipping of 3 worked out at $152 per set of hoops and shipping of 5 worked out at $137 per hoop. Coming this way duty and VAT was payable on that after the cost of the bars was added to the carriage.

[superbad]

Shipping costs in general are well down compared to a year ago, because fuel is cheap again. I don't think it will be all that bad. That said, I may just get the bars right now and wait until later for the bodywork. I am buying way too much stuff for this car.

[Monty]

Just had a look through my project thread for the weight

The Roll Hoops are 10.5kg
Had a quick measure of the Hoops and added a bit extra for the packaging
130x60x100cm
and guessed weight with packaging 14kg

Just checked with http://www.transglobal.org.uk/ for shipping to the USA
But because of the Size of the item it goes off Volumetric Weight which can be calculated here https://www.parcel2go.com/volume.aspx
Weight: 14kg
width: 60cm x height: 100cm x length: 130cm

DHL, Chargeable Weight 135kg. Cost £224.60 + insurance
But gives a warning

There could be a problem with your order due to the volumetric weight.
This will not affect the order process but we suggest that you contact
The Transglobal Express

Looks like https://www.parcel2go.com/ won`t even except that parcel size

Simon may have better contacts for shipping

[Exbury]

Simon, thank you for your offer and your efforts to help us in the elan community. I will probably take you up on the offer (I just need to run past my bro as the joint owner), so should confirm by the weekend or early next week.

I just hope if I end up moving to Colombia I can still get to use the car somehow!! =)

[superbad]

Thanks for checking that Monty. It looks like a couple of hoops would nest together pretty tightly, and because you're paying for volume not weight, the price for two or three would be about the same. Of course the rear deck is a pretty hefty package too, unless there's sufficient void space to fit it in the same box as the hoops.

[Exbury]

I'm in, bro is in agreement, thanks for the opportunity Simon!

If you would like to join this run, and are serious about proceeding, please add your name to the following list

1. PaulWatkins - Roll hoops + Fitting
2. markv - Roll hoops + Fitting
3. G UK - The Works + Fitting
4. Richard K - The Works + Instruction "Video"
5. mvf906 - Roll hoops + Fitting
6. enndee - Roll hoops + fitting
7.Woody - Roll hoops + fitting
8.Exbury - Roll hoops + probable fitting
9.
10.
Cheers,
Woody