Interior Refurb

[Tanz]

I have removed the drivers seat for some repairs and a good clean and also in the process of removing the carpet. One of the alloy spacers that goes under the rear seat mounting is totally destroyed with corrosion. Can you buy replacements?

This is whats left of the spacer.


There are what appears to be two speaker covers. One is a speaker that is shot the other appears to be an old alarm. Looking at the connections could this be a factory/dealer fitted alarm? Has a key switch and small siren.




To remove the carpet, I also need to unbolt the lower seat belt mounting where it bolts to the sill. Is this a captive nut? Don't want to unbolt it only to find the nut drops into the sill.

[Saltire]

Well, that’s not an OEM alarm - it’s mounted in completely the wrong place, for a start. Are you SE/NA, or S2 (different alarms)? I suspect this is something which has been put in by a previous owner; does it work? Looks as though it’s been installed with proper connectors, rather than horrible Scotchloks or similar, so that’s one good thing.

It looks to me as though that is just the siren, and the alarm control unit is mounted somewhere else, because your photo doesn’t show as many cable connections as I’d expect (e.g. for indicators, door switches, etc).

[Kipperozzy]

Hi Tanz, my seatbelts were held in with captive nuts. Not sure if the seat spacers are available new, but should be able to get from a scrap yard, noting one is a different size .
Hope your outriggers are not rusty

[dapinky]

if you can't get hold of the proper spacer, a pack of M10 stainless steel penny washers will do the job.... can't remember how many you need, but it also gives you the chance to drop the seat a bit if you want to.

[Dave Eds]

Watch this space(r)

I need to attempt to get to the far end of the garage sooner rather than later.........

[Tanz]

Hi Tanz,
Hope your outriggers are not rusty

Got the carpet and insulation out. Fair bit of rust but could be worse. All the rust is on the inside face. The outside face is pretty good. Looks like water has been sitting inside the car soaked in the insulation. Prodded around with a screw driver and all solid but the corner felt weak. Will use a wire wheel to clean it up as best I can then use a rust converter. I normally use PR15 but that needs to be washed off with water which could be awkward. Can anyone recommend a rust converter that you can paint straight over

[dapinky]

The section just in front of the frontmost big hole is where the jacking point is constructed..... I would suggest that the amount of rust visible in that area would warrant further investigation.

The jacking point is basically a metal box, with one face being made from the sill plate, but the rest hidden from view. I managed to remove mine and weld up a replacement quite easily as the bits you can't see had dissolved sufficiently on mine to make it not fit for purpose.

Whilst you're there, it is better to have a look than to find that it is bad at some time in the future when you need a wheel change and the jack goes through the sill into the footwell.

Personally, I'd cut and replace the rusty bits (easy for me to say when I have a big garage and a welder!), but if you need to just 'kill' the rust, any Phosphoric Acid based rust converter will do......

Halfords do a selection, or easily available from Amazon etc https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hammerite-5092 ... th=1&psc=1

[Rambo]

Phil - have a look here....

Lotus Elan Central • View topic - What to do about heavy rust around the outriggers
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=17298

At least 13 pages to wade through but its all been discussed and done before by a few LEC'rs. I think there maybe even a diagram, with measurements, showing the jacking points box section. I'm fairly sure it was Basher, but if it's not there search under Basher's posts

[par]

Metalmorphosis is my go to for rust converter, a little goes a long way so works out quite inexpensive:-

https://www.landroverblogger.com/product/metalmorphosis

[Saltire]

I agree with Par - I’ve used MetalMorphosis with great success in the past on a number of vehicles. Comes in a big bottle, goes a long way, and is straightforward to use.

[Tanz]

Well, that’s not an OEM alarm - it’s mounted in completely the wrong place, for a start. Are you SE/NA, or S2 (different alarms)? I suspect this is something which has been put in by a previous owner; does it work? Looks as though it’s been installed with proper connectors, rather than horrible Scotchloks or similar, so that’s one good thing.

It looks to me as though that is just the siren, and the alarm control unit is mounted somewhere else, because your photo doesn’t show as many cable connections as I’d expect (e.g. for indicators, door switches, etc).

Just noticed this in the handbook supplement. Looks very similar to the alarm setup in my car except the key switch is mounted in the gril.