Oregon - M100 Elan

[Danj.pdx]

Hello,

For starters, thanks to Dave Pink for holding my hand through the LEC registration process. Much appreciated.

I recently bought an Elan in VA. Next week I'll start a 3-leg road trip back to Portland, OR. First leg is VA to MN via back roads through KY, IL & IA. The Elan will be joining a few other fun old cars here including a pair of '62 SII Sevens - a 1,340 Cosworth powered Super and a 948 America. I've not even seen an M100 in quite a few years and have never sat in or driven one. I'm optimistic it'll be fun, reasonably modern and straightforward to maintain.

The car I bought is just under 30k miles. It hasn't had much use in the past few years. It has a fresh oil change and T-belt service. And I just had new tires mounted - Yokohama Advan Fleva 205/45 - for the trip. I'll be bringing spare accessory belts and will swap out the fuel filter and spark plugs (NGK Iridium Plug Number BKR6EIX-11) before heading west. I'll pack metric tools, volt meter, etc.

The current owner says the one current issue is a charge light that's illuminated even though the alternator is charging when measured at the battery. He has replaced the voltage regulator but that didn't solve the issue. I'll do a bit more searching on the forum to see if this is a known thing.

Thanks all,
Dan.

[TorqueHorse]

Hey Dan, welcome!
Sounds like a great trip to bond with your new M100 . I saw that one listed on C&B and it looked very clean; congrats. A couple more things to add to your go-bag (if you didn't already have them on your list): Zip-ties, Metric hex driver sockets, and some towels in case it rains.
Maybe this will give you confidence to come out to the national club meet in SLC coming up at the end of Sept? There is a caravan of other Lotus owners coming from Portland, so you will be in good company.
Regardless, I hope you will post some updates about your journey home with it. Should be epic!

[FunElan]

That's gonna be an epic trip!

I recall hearing something here about replacement alternators leaving the charge light on. Curious what the volt gauge in the car says too (assume it says accurate charge?)

[Danj.pdx]

@Torquehorse - zip ties are a good idea and don't take up too much room, thanks. We'll almost certainly have some weather on the way, so it'll be a good way to find out how water tight it is. If things go according to plan, we'll be passing through the St. Louis area Thursday, then heading north to MN up the river valley. A bit too early to take in the Lotus gathering though.

@FunElan - I'll post an update regarding the charge situation once I've had a chance to test it. There are some pretty detailed threads on the subject here in the forum. It sounds as though the o2 sensor and charge light share a circuit. If the wrong regulator is fitted, the o2 sensor draws a bit more current than expected, which causes the light to illuminate. These forums are hugely helpful for troubleshooting and sharing experience. LEC to the rescue.

I'll post some updates along the way. I'm currently waiting for a delayed flight to DCA. Off to a good start.

Think good thoughts for this 35 year old Lotus getting some much needed exercise this week.

Dan.

[Tuga2112]

the voltage regulator needs to be of a specirfic type.

i think its called "with choke"
theres a signal wire out of the regulator which is used for the feedback loop to determine how much power the alternator shoulf be generating.

most regulators have this setup as a purely signal line, which does not provide enough currnet to heat up the o2 sensor (same wire) in the closed loop cars.

so what happens is that a closed loop car with a working alternator ends up with the light on because the power is being sucked up by the o2 sensor instead of keeping both sides of the bulb "high"

if you dig around the forum you will find out the correct regulator needed. i know the information is somehwer. but i dont know where

[Danj.pdx]

Quick update on the drive.

1,400 miles and 8 states so far, so good. We got to MN on Friday evening after 2 full days of mostly back roads.

The car is surprisingly comfortable and cruises along at 70 to 80mph seeming eager to pick up the pace further. It's fun and sticks like glue in the twisties. Even with two not small people, luggage, tools and books (full factory binders + tons of other related papers), it is eating up the miles and seems to be getting peppier as we go.

It's on jack stands in a garage today for a look over. The brake pedal was always there, but felt a bit long and not super confidence inspiring. So I'm changing the fluid to new DOT4 and bleeding. The pads and rotors look fine. I'm also draining the coolant and replacing the thermostat. When cruising at high speeds the water temp gauge hovers just above the bottom cold mark, even in 90 degree temps. When in traffic, the gauge will rise and fans turn on if sitting long enough. So it's acting like the thermostat is stuck open. We'll see tomorrow. Either way it will get a coolant flush and new thermostat. Oil level hasn't changed.

Last thing - there was a clunk developing in the front. With the car up and wheels off, I see the passenger front sway bar link ball joint is separated. The other side may be close behind. It looks like they are available so I'll order a pair. Classic Team Lotus has them - can anyone recommend a supplier in the US to reduce shipping and tariff hassles?

Other than that, so far so good. Very smooth, and 28 to 29 mpg with the top up or down, AC on or off. We still have a lot of miles to cover, but so far it's a great little road car.

Dan

[RonR]

Sounds like quite a road trip Dan!

Your description of the cooling seems pretty normal for an M100.
The gauge usually sits below the quarter mark with the car moving, and if standing still the fans will come on after a while as the engine's tightly packaged in the bay.
If you're changing the thermostat make sure you get one with a 'jiggle pin' and that you install it with the jiggle pin to the top, otherwise air locks can occur.

Oh, and somewhere on here there's a write-up on using rose joints, spacers and bolts to replace the anti-roll (sway) bar swivel joints, I think it was by Dave Pink.

Edit: Found it - Here.....

[FunElan]

Made this video a while back, it might be useful for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyNKWtTfXqA


Epic trip though!

[Danj.pdx]

Thermostat update - indeed it was stuck open. Replaced with new (190 deg was the closest match I could find locally) and the gauge now settles on the 1st mark when cruising at highway speeds.



For the sway bar links I'll go with something from one of the UK suppliers. I'm trying now to find one supplier that has everything I need in order to minimize shipping and tariff costs. For the short term I removed the broken link.

I will be resuming the drive west in the next week or so.

Thanks all for the suggestions and support.

Dan.

[Tuga2112]

if it helps you at all. the point that ron made about the rods and linked daves post.

i have had those rose joints in my car now for nearly 10 years and more than 35k miles... maybe even more than 40.. whos counting after all that time?

they are not only easier to get hold of, as well as considerably cheaper. it certainly is your car, your decision. but if your shying away from them because their not "the right part" i am absolutely certain they are for all intents and purpuses the same quality if not better than the "right part"