What to do about heavy rust around the outriggers

[Rambo]

Some photos of my repair

The rust wasn't as bad as initially thought

A section of outrigger had to be cut away from the FNS and replaced with new metal welded, rustproofed, painted with Hammerite and insides of outriggers sprayed with Waxoyl etc .....

The FOS just needed strengthening near the pedals, rustproofed, painted etc...

[Jamie N]

Looks ok now though Mark, if it had been an MX5 on the other hand you would have had nothing to weld to!.

[dapinky]

Mark,

far neater than my efforts - looks good to me!

[Rambo]

Looks ok now though Mark, if it had been an MX5 on the other hand you would have had nothing to weld to!.

Think of the surprises lurking round the corner when Scott lifts up those soggy carpets in a few years

[Jamie N]

Looks ok now though Mark, if it had been an MX5 on the other hand you would have had nothing to weld to!.

Think of the surprises lurking round the corner when Scott lifts up those soggy carpets in a few years

A few years? Surely it wont take him that long to see the error of his ways!.

[Artaban]

Mark,
What did you do about the jacking points as they look a bit past it in your first photo. I was looking on the parts list and couldn't see them. Has anyone replaced them with something stainless? Are they possible to undo or will they all be rusted in by now? It was something I was looking at doing but hesitated because it could end up being a real pain the neck.
Andy

[Rambo]

Andy - both of the bolts are probably still OK and might have cleaned up. The only problem is that when they were new they had an Allan key fitting to the end of the head and this is now choked with 25 years of salt, grit and rust. I guess you could try removing yours retrospectively but I guess they're well and truly immovable by now

If you replace them, make sure the head goes through the location hole in the jack

[dapinky]

If you replace them, make sure the head goes through the location hole in the jack

I used 'standard' allen-head stainless bolts on mine - had to adjust the shape a bit with an angle grinder to replicate the original bolts, but at least they won't rust again!

[muley]

Looks ok now though Mark, if it had been an MX5 on the other hand you would have had nothing to weld to!.

On the other hand the MX-5 would have less rust 'cos the roof wouldn't leak..

[Jamie N]

Ah but on the other hand Muley an average MX5 only half the age of the Elan would have more rust all over the place, I have nothing against MX5's (had a couple over the years and worked on dozens of them) but unless they are fastidiously looked after and rust proofed they are rot boxes and highly susceptible to the old tin worm, look on PistonHeads gassing station for example, "what can i do about MX5 rust" is a very common topic, some say the back arches and sills start rusting the day they leave Japan .

[John_W]

Neil Enright and and Mark Rambo,

You both got me so paranoid about what was lurking under my carpets that I bought closed-cell foam and spray adhesive, and have just spent a day removing seats and jacking point bolts, and adding a couple of pounds in weight of rustproofer and copper grease to my Elan.

The photos below show that it is possible for a 25-year old Elan to have non-rusty outriggers. The soundproofing foam was perfectly dry and in original condition, but I replaced it with the closed-cell foam (in hindsight, I should have used a greater thickness than the 1cm sheet I bought - there's plenty room). I scraped what surface rust there was (restricted to the two small bolts per side that attach the metal to the fibreglass), and applied kurust, hammerite, waxoyl and other cavity wax.

I also managed to undo the jacking point bolts using an allen key and a bit of brute force, and replaced the large external load-spreading washers round the jacking point bolts (these were decidedly rusty, although the jacking points themselves were pristine). All was reassembled with generous amounts of copper grease on seat bolts, jack bolts and around jacking points.

Then I took the car for a run.

John

[clemo]

Neil Enright and and Mark Rambo,

You both got me so paranoid about what was lurking under my carpets that I bought closed-cell foam and spray adhesive, and have just spent a day removing seats and jacking point bolts, and adding a couple of pounds in weight of rustproofer and copper grease to my Elan.

The photos below show that it is possible for a 25-year old Elan to have non-rusty outriggers. The soundproofing foam was perfectly dry and in original condition, but I replaced it with the closed-cell foam (in hindsight, I should have used a greater thickness than the 1cm sheet I bought - there's plenty room). I scraped what surface rust there was (restricted to the two small bolts per side that attach the metal to the fibreglass), and applied kurust, hammerite, waxoyl and other cavity wax.

I also managed to undo the jacking point bolts using an allen key and a bit of brute force, and replaced the large external load-spreading washers round the jacking point bolts (these were decidedly rusty, although the jacking points themselves were pristine). All was reassembled with generous amounts of copper grease on seat bolts, jack bolts and around jacking points.

Then I took the car for a run.

John

That must have been a huge relief
good to know that not all will be rusty .. just hope more are like yours than not ...

[Rambo]

Well done John

Obviously the paranoia works. Pleased to hear that your outriggers/jacking points are in good condition. Well worth a look though as you have now put your mind at rest

Paranoia over. Roll on Italy and the Stelvio

[John_W]

As a colleague used to say, "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that the bastards aren't out to get you".

[roy666]

Hi Guys.. just reading this with interest and although I don't think its paranoia (or is it?!), I thought I would take just a little peek at my under-the-carpet-corner-bits.. so to speak. But for the life of me I can't get the plastic door sill cover up/off. I know its remove the front screw and pull, taking care not to beak the thing but ensure to break/crack all sticky gooh stuff underneath. Just can't shift it with out doing serious damage.. already deformed some of the inside edge. My Elan is a late 96 S2 and I note the carpet seems to go right up and across the top of actual sill by at least 2-3 inches... I thought it was supposed to be just tucked under the inside edge. I also found that the sound proof material in the passenger footwell goes very high up behind the dash. Is this normal? Do I just persevere and be v careful? cheers, Mike B

[John_W]

Mike,
You've probably sorted it by now, but just in case ...

You should be able to see in my photos above that I left my plastic sill cover in place. That's because I didn't fancy taking it off again as I found it just as traumatic as you when I took it off the first time I did it. The carpet does extend a couple of inches under it (see first photos above) but I was able to persuade it out! If you do decide to remove the sill, don't just pull it, but use some of these trim removal lever tools that you can buy quite cheaply off eBay.

The soundproofing on the front bulkhead does go up quite high, but I did not change that. I just renewed the stuff that has a chance of getting wet.

John

[Jamie N]

Yours look remarkably good John, did yours have any rustproof coating on them?, I had a look at mine the other day and they are totally rustfree as well but they are covered with what looks like clear waxoyl, something about it looks "factory", did Lotus spray them with anything other than paint?.

[John_W]

Jamie,

My car's been done with Dinitrol a few times as per original Lotus spec (but the last time was 2004 before the Aberdeen Village Garage Lotus dealer closed), but I think the main reason my sills are solid is that the car's never been a leaky one.

The Dinitrol could be seen inside the sills, and dribbling a bit out the big holes (as in the fourth photo), but the side of the sills that you can see are just blue paint.

John

[Jamie N]

Ah, so the Dinitrol is similar looking to clear Waxoyl then?, thats probably whats on mine but its been pretty heavily done, all of the inboard sides are covered with it as well as inside the sill cavities.
Also where did you get the Lotus sill protectors John?, they look good.

[John_W]

Jamie,
The Dinitrol's a bit darker than Waxoyl. It's almost everywhere on my car. The engine compartment is covered in it. The last time they even got some on the windscreen and it was a sod to get off.

Yes, the sill plates are a bit flash! They were a group buy many years ago. I forget who organised that one.

John