Interior Makeover

[steve matthews]

download/file.php?id=18959&t=1



Steve yes please

[Peter_W]

[chrisP]

Looks like a great idea to me, go for it!

[Elanlover]

Some has said that they don't like the height of the centre console arm rest/oddments tray lid, that it gets in the way of shifting, etc. and that lowering it would be a good idea. I'm not so sure that's possible. There's very little room under the oddments tray to drop it (and the lid) as the rear mounting tabs for the centre console are there. What might be possible is to shorten the oddments tray area (losing some valuable storage space there) and/or take the angled rise out (where the window switches are mounted) and make it run back level until we hit the oddments tray area.

Also, there's two options for cupholders. With the handbrake lever gone (and no need for the indent to grab the handle) a cupholder indent could be placed there. Not my first choice as its sure to get in the way of shifting if used. Alternatively, a slide out or drop down dual cupholder like these below could be integrated above the oddments tray lid. Again, not perfect as the cupholder would have to be retracted to get into the compartment below it but there's no perfect solution.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161057725066?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321160707786?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181172969272?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151063084431?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281065226930?ss ... 1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/140963011312?ss ... 1423.l2649

[djcar]

Where did you get those seats?

[epipete]

I like the Nissan Hawk (#4). Doubtful, but I wonder if that might be tweaked into the Ashtray gap!

[GeoffSmith]

Alternatively, get an S2...

Img_1987 x400.jpg (23.27 KiB) Viewed 18694 times

[Elanlover]

Alternatively, get an S2...

Img_1987 x400.jpg

You mean the centre console or the entire car?????

[Elanlover]

Where did you get those seats?

Who are you asking?

Assuming me they are Porsche seats I bought used then had new leather covers made for them. They are far more supportive than the stock Elan seats and I was able to move them back further as well.

[Scott]

Hey there..you have done good work and you have nice ideas..do you provide any of your project for us too?

[Elanlover]

Well, if I get to the centre console this winter I might consider having copies replicated. Keep in mind that the centre console project would be tied to a lot of things such as replacing the handbrake system with an electric one, possibly modifying the bottom of the dash, etc. So, its not going to be cheap, will involve a little work from those who jump on board (I doubt I will have all parts and components made up as its cheaper to source locally), etc. I plan on taking a closer look at the handbrake system shortly.

Right now I'm struggling with what to do with the centre console at the back where it could rise up (like the Jag pic) and provide storage or a cupholder. This would require removing the carpet pocket on the back bulkhead (Mine is already gone. I like the cupholder idea but wonder about the practicality of them being so far back against the wall. Storage would be nice too for an iPod, etc. Ideas, suggestions and pics are most welcome

[Rob P]

I know there are a few people who have Honda S2000 seats so thought about whether this might be suitable, maybe a little too deep but comes with an added bonus of a small wind deflector, just a thought

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350804976816? ... 266wt_1399

[Elanlover]

Just had a look at a bunch of those on eBay. My impression is that they are very wide and very deep - probably to large on both accounts for our car. They also have "stuff" in them that are a bit superfluous for our needs. Things like a trunk release button, a big hole at the bottom (cigar lighter?) and not nearly as much space as one would like in the drop down tray for that depth of unit. Good suggestion though and I'll try to have a look at one in the flesh if I can.

[Rob P]

Thought it might be a bit too deep overall but does look nice in the S2000, I will keep looking around and see if I come across something suitable.

just noticed the wind deflector on your car from an earlier post, is this something you made up yourself? looks very professional and fits neatly within the rollbars. As I have rollbars on mine I might have a look at something similar, I assume the material it is made of is Polycarbonate ??

[Elanlover]

The lgm rollbar came with a polycarbonate deflector as an option attached with straps. Before i had the bars chromed i had tabs welded on and had a piece of glass cut then tempered which attaches to the tabs. The Lotus logo is just a raised decal on both sides.

[Elanlover]

Okie Dokie. On the subject of an electronic handbrake mechanism that would also allow (and probably be a necessary add-on project) us to remove the handbrake lever and redesign the centre console I've done some preliminary investigation with a picky below.

What I've discovered so far is this:

1) the travel length of the cable on my car is 1 1/4" (less than I expected)
2) the entire handbrake bracket is 9" long
3) it sits about 9 3/4" from the rear bulkhead

So, not that much then However, I suspect that most everyone's travel length will be similar which means an adjustable 2" linear actuator like this one or this one would do the trick from a travel perspective. They are all about the same in terms of force at roughly 100lbs. Hard to know if this would be enough but I suppose I'd have to try it to find out. The other thing is that, to avoid shortening or otherwise messing with the stock handbrake cables, the orientation of the actuator would have to be such that it would "push" (not pull) the cable to engage the handbrake. Otherwise, it would have to be mounted well ahead of the current handbrake bracket which won't do. Shouldn't be a problem really.

I've looked at a lot of OEM buttons from Audi's, VW's etc. to activate it (and look somewhat stock) but It might be easier to have a custom switch designed like this one (but in black) with a Parking Brake icon on it. Those with stock dashboards and fascias could use one of the blank switch covers to mount it. I'm thinking that a tap off the brake switch would be the best "safety measure" to prevent accidental activation while driving. In other words, you have to have your foot on the brake in order for it to work (any other suggestions or ideas are welcome). Of course, there will also need to be a custom designed module to sit somewhere in the loop that would manage the "safety measure", know to release/engage the brake based on the push of the latching button and other things previously discussed.

The centre console design would be similar to what's I've already posted about. Taking the centre console back flat quite a bit more thereby eliminating the bump that exists for the handbrake mechanism, then rise up against the rear bulkhead with that vertical section housing a cupholder possibly a compartment for storage for an iPod, etc. and possibly a slot for the handbook (or maps) to replace the carpet pocket on the bulkhead wall that would have to be removed.

Comments welcome!

[dapinky]

Good work, Blair.

I have only one small observation, and nothing to do with the design of it all.....

...taking the power from the brake lamps could have a number of issues.

1) if someone drives into the back of your car and breaks the brake lights, can you still apply the handbrake?? (probably, as long as the fuse doesn't trip, I suppose)
2) far more importantly, when involved in a hill-start, or stop, you may well have one foot on the clutch, and one on the accellerator, so how can you release the handbrake?
3) if your foot is on the footbrake to release the handbrake, then the self-adjusting rear callipers will never adjust.




ohh, and a chavvy (4) - how can i possibly impress the babes outside Maccy D's with handbrake turns in the car park if I can't be accellerating when i use the handbrake????

[Elanlover]

Good work, Blair.

I have only one small observation, and nothing to do with the design of it all.....

...taking the power from the brake lamps could have a number of issues.

1) if someone drives into the back of your car and breaks the brake lights, can you still apply the handbrake?? (probably, as long as the fuse doesn't trip, I suppose)
2) far more importantly, when involved in a hill-start, or stop, you may well have one foot on the clutch, and one on the accellerator, so how can you release the handbrake?
3) if your foot is on the footbrake to release the handbrake, then the self-adjusting rear callipers will never adjust.




ohh, and a chavvy (4) - how can i possibly impress the babes outside Maccy D's with handbrake turns in the car park if I can't be accellerating when i use the handbrake????

All good points Dave and I've yet to noodle this out completely so everyone please keep the comments coming.

1) I was thinking that a tap could be taken right at the brake switch in the footwell. But, that brings up a great point about the fuse blowing. I suppose that in OEM systems you stand to have the same problem. The fuse on the e-brake could go and you'd be left without any handbrake operation. In this scenario, there would need to be a fuse to the actuator itself and the fuse on the brake switch already exists thereby doubling the number of fuses that could blow. Its a risk but (hopefully) not a big one.

The bigger issue I'm concerned about is how to engage or disengage the handbrake when the battery is dead. Again, how big an issue is this? Who knows? If the battery is dead then the car's not going anywhere so you shouldn't need to engage the brake. But, if the battery dies while the brake is engaged how do you take it off? I'd love to find a way to have a manual backup system which I'm thinking about (no luck yet) but it would likely require new brake cables so that a lever could be inserted into the middle of the cable run (maybe in the relatively empty area near the battery under the hood stowage tray?). Also, this would only permit activating the brakes, not releasing them.

2) I don't use the handbrake for help on hills. Does anyone do that? I just find the 'teeth" on the lever make it hard to use it for that. However, there's two ways to go regarding the need for the foot to be on the brake. You can have it so you need to have your foot on the brake for the entire procedure (engaging) OR just at the start of the procedure - in other words, foot on brake to push button but then you can take it off the pedal and the process continues to engage the brake. Either could be done but I'm not sure I see the need to have to hold your foot down the entire time as this process will likely take 3 seconds for full engagement of the brakes.

Now, all the above is related to ENGAGING the brake. In your example, I think what would be the correct circumstance would be DISENGAGING the brakes - correct? If so, I don't think there's any need to have your foot on the brake at all to disengage is there? In fact, the slower disengaging of the hand brake (likely only 1-2 seconds when disengaging) might make this even better for hill holding.

3) I've got the Hispec calipers all around so I don't know how that'll work for me (or others) relative to the stock setup. However, I can't believe that putting your foot on the brakes somehow screws up the calipers so badly that they wouldn't return to normal after you take your foot off the brakes. I routinely keep my foot on the brakes when I release the handbrake so I don't start rolling down the driveway. I've no idea though so perhaps you could enlighten me on that?

But, as per the above, if there's no need to have your foot on the brake while disengaging then this shouldn't be an issue.

4) Well, to soothe your fragile ego I was thinking about including this as part of the [project:

Exhaust_Flame_Thrower.jpg (10.75 KiB) Viewed 18432 times

Of course, you might be able to get the same effect with the ebrake on and full acceleration just from igniting the brake pads.





By the way, that's at least 4 observations.

[dapinky]

By the way, that's at least 4 observations.

Well, 4 sub-observations, all regarding one of your points, but that's just semantics!

At least my fears over looking good for the chavs has been addressed!

To explain my concerns(?) a bit.....

If you need power to operate the handbrake, then there is always an element of 'power failure' (either sudden - fuse? - or not-so-sudden - flat battery) to exist, but i can't really see it as a problem for most people. - Perhaps a second power feed (fused) directly from the battery (or elsewhere), through a 'hidden' switch will overcome the 'unexpected' failure bit????

As far as the need to have the footbrake on to dissengage the handbrake, living on a hill, it is an everyday occurrence that i need to do a hill-start. If i want to drive away, I only have 2 feet, so can't see how I can have the right revs to pull away, whilst holding the clutch at the biting point, and still manage to operate the footbrake to get power to the handbrake - unless I'm missing something?

The handbrake adjustment bit probably doesn't apply to the Hi-specs, but on the OE callipers, the "automatic adjustment" of the handbrake mechanism is performed by taking off the handbrake, with your foot off the footbrake (if there is pressure on the rear pads, no adjustment takes place).

Again, not really a problem as most owners don't know about it (despite a recent publication by B-C-N on the forum about it .... well, I didn't know, anyway!). Basically, if the handbrake can't ever adjust, as the pads wear, the handbrake will get worse and can't adjust - it can still be done 'manually' at the calliper levers, but it is something which would need to be incorporated in the drivers service routine......

...but if you incorporate the seperate power feed system as mentioned above, it's only a case of stopping the car on a flat bit of ground, flicking your switch, take your foot off the footbrake and operate the handbrake a couple of times to do the adjustment, then off you go as normal (I wonder how many people would bother, though - and even if they did, would the adjustment actually work!!!!)

Personally, I'd favour an electrical feed NOT from the footbrake, but that's just MY preference - and easily overcome if/when I do the installation.

[GeoffSmith]

I don't use the handbrake for help on hills. Does anyone do that?

Yes. Unlike the majority of motorists these days who sit with their (very bright and sometimes blinding at Elan eye level) brake lights on, I use my handbrake and I prefer its analogue nature rather than the very digital off/on EPB.


Your switch needs to be two position like the window switches rather than the pushbutton type you've shown Blair.

Surely there are two cases to consider: You need to be able to activate the brake even with ignition switched off and you could use the VSS output to disable it to avoid accidentally applying it if the car is moving, although if your brakes fail you might regret this feature! Conversely, I think you should only be able to release the brake with the ignition switched on.