I don’t have many pics of the engine removal process, was a little busy/involved with the process of getting it out to pause for pictures.
Will need to get my act together and pull a video together as I know I have some footage, certainly the bit where I rattled my head off the engine crane was captured!
With the engine and box removed, there’s not a hell of a lot left. Having only really worked on far more modern machinery prior to this, the overwhelming thought when working through the chassis and suspension was just how dainty everything is.
The steering rack on the Elan is mounted forward of the front axle line. The tie rods and rod ends will need replaced, rubbers weren’t perished but felt very old and will be replaced at the same time.
Front double wishbone set up has been modified, the wishbones look to be Spyder manufactured tubular steel items, where original Lotus ones were made from steel plate. The front damper assemblies are height & damping adjustable Avo units from the mid-late nineties.
The exploded diagram from the workshop manual shows nicely how it all goes together.
The chassis tubes show some evidence of being modified. I don’t recall this area being a particularly tight fit with the gearbox but that’s the only reason I can see for doing this alteration.
The rear wishbones feature zero adjustment for alignment, so a lot of faith/importance in the chassis mounting points. What I would call the hub is known as the bearing carrier in Lotus world. The lower damper tube is pressed in to the casting, the brakes mounted inboard. Up top there is a “Lotocone” top mount, essentially a rubber mount designed with a bit of give to allow the angle of the damper to change through the compression stroke.
Now came an interesting mission, removal of the knock off wheels.
There was of course the rubber mallet which lived in the car’s boot, not even close to budging them. Just knocked lumps off the mallet! Next up, bit of wood + 2kg club hammer. One smashed up piece of wood.
Gave up and ordered a tool off eBay, highly recommended by the Elan forum. Then I took the hump and really wanted them off, so one last try with a meter long section of 2×2 and an assistant to hold it so I could proper swing for it and not risk thumping the face of the wheel.
Success, just! Stopped at just getting them loosened off slightly, saved fully removing them for another day when it would be going on to axle stands for the suspension to be stripped.
Here’s an overview of the suspension I figured would be interesting with the Elan having such a reputation for handling