I have recently inherited a 1974 Elan +2 S130/5 and am about to embark upon it’s restoration, however I have a problem at the first hurdle - I can’t get the bonnet open!
Whilst the car has been sat in a garage for the last 35 years (without moving), it appears some rats may have setup home in the engine bay. The bonnet release catch hardly pulls out at all and there is very little play in the bonnet itself. I have tried spraying WD40 down the gap, however this doesn’t seem to have helped!
Can anyone provide any advice so I can at least sneak a peek at that wonderful big valve engine?!?
hi , benround ,
welcome to the forum…
hope it is’nt, but sounds like the release cable is seized!
mm, not good!!
can you get someone to push down on bonnet release points while pulling cable? may help…
good luck…
think you can drill two small holes through bulkhead,(inside,under the dash) next to bonnet mount clamps,to poke through hook and manually operate bonnet release… never done it myself!!! but sounds like it could work
good luck… stu…
hope it says ‘big valve’…all the best…
have a look at previous pictures of engine bays,to see what i mean…
Hi. I released my jammed bonnet by pressing down hard on the bonnet just above the bracket and operating the cable. Also, look at the other end of the cable and see whether the cable clamp has come loose - try a pair of mole grips if you can get them on there - my car doesn’t have the dash so it was easy - then tension the cable that way. Given the age of the car and time it has been standing perhaps the screwdriver approach won’t make a lot of difference in the long run - if you damage paintwork so what if you’re going to spray it anyway - best avoided though eh.
Hi, considering you are in the process of restoration… remove the dash. The plates that secure the bonnet catches to the bulkhead have rivnut captive nuts. Get a socket on these and you should be able to turn the nut and hence undo the catches. Then remove the bonnet complete with catches.
Hi, before you drill holes etc, locate the passenger side fairlead, which is a large diameter stud fixed by a large nut and shakeproof washer at both sides of the bulkhead. These are located below the catch and allow the cable to pass through the bulkhead. loosen the nut on the passenger side and push the fairlead through. You should now hopefully have enough room to get a tool on the lever for the passenger side catch. Pull the lever towards you hopefully thats the passenger side released. Now on the drivers side do the same. Try pulling the cable first as it may release the catch having dropped off one side of the sticky mechanism.
Wonder how bad the jammed bonnet may turn out to be? If it is a real basket case I wonder if the 1/4" UNC bolts that act as bearings may also be seized after such a long time. I was wondering as these can be seen between the bonnet edge and the body if so they could be carefully cut with a pad saw then the bonnet could be hinged up from the front enough to reach though with some gadget to operate the bonnet latches individually.
Not sure trying to remove the dash and undo the rivnuts will work. On mine the rivnuts were loose in the back plate but the bolts were well and truly rusted into the rivnuts so need to get spanner on the bolt under the bonnet to undo.
I think if it a really bad case I would try and avoid any process that damaged the fibre glass as this can be the most difficult and expensive bit to restore.
Bob,
I agree about preserving the fibreglass where it can be seen - the bonnet and scuttle. Cutting the front mounting bolts may well get you access but, failing that, I would follow Gerry and ElanFan’s advice and try access from behind the dash. If their solutions don’t work, you can easily enlarge holes here and repair any damage under the bonnet later.
Thanks all - very much appreciated. I obviously would like to release the bonnet without damaging the bodywork or drilling through the bulkhead, however I’ll have to see what happens.
The link to the service guide was useful and suggested that a well aimed screwdriver in the gap between the body and the bonnet at the catch itself may do the trick, however the picture at Lotus Service Bulletin: Bonnet Catch (Elan) and Cable (Elan and Plus 2) doesn’t look exactly like pictures I’ve seen of 130/5 engine bays… I’m thinking they changed the bonnet catch mechanism, however I’ll give it a shot.
Cal44 and Hartley Hare - see pictures attached. It’s in a bit of a state, however it was in a dry(ish) garage for the entire time and so I hope it’s not too bad. It’s now in a much better location and is somewhere I can start the project! The mileage is a bit of a shocker too - only 17,500! My father was the original owner and unfortunately ran out of money so had to garage it, however couldn’t bear to sell it. It was first registered in September 1974 (still got the original tax disc, which I found in the glove box!), so I think it’s one of the latest ones made - it’s an N plate.
Is there anyway I can find out the technical details from lotus using the chasis number and registration number?
hi benround ,
looks like you got yourself a great project,
hope it wasn’t sad circumstances you got the car…
havn’t been on here long myself, but you should get any questions answerd on here…
Hi. I have an Oct '72 manufactured +2S130/5, so if pics of the catches on that would help let me know. I had a look at it earlier and it doesn’t look easy to open the bonnet if the cables fail. I think you’ll need to work from the other side of the bulk head as suggested above. The quickest seems to remove the captive nuts as suggested.
Your car looks very dusty but wonderfully complete. Mine looks dusty like that at the moment but once cleaned is absolutely gorgeous as it’s been resprayed etc. I think I need to clean it again to inspire me to crack on with it.
Looks really good benround; very complete. Welcome aboard & thanks for the pics. Really like the stripe down the body. These are great cars, and that five speed will be great. Very nice to see another one getting attention it deserves. You’ve come to the right place; where else would folks get all excited about a dirty car!
Not sure, but your bonnet looks low in the photo’s, so may be quite jambed. elan_fan’s suggestion sounds like a good start. I find the bonnet mechanism a bit quirky as it appears the cable sheath moves the catches rather than the cable itself. Pulling on the cable coming through on the passenger side may free the catches. Agree you need help to have someone pushing down on the bonnet while trying though; with the springs compressed it is pretty stiff and it sound like yours is corroded.
You are probably removing the dash at some point anyway. If you decide this is required, make sure you take your time, take photo’s, and mark the wire connectors with marking numbers or flags. You will not remember it all!
Did you see the recently posted link to the parts book? That may help with seeing how it all works. If you haven’t got a workshop manual and parts book yet you can take a look at rdent.com. Ray has images from the parts book on-line that might help to get the picture. Apologies if the S130 is different; mine is a LHD Federal model.
Good luck with it. Keep us posted.
Was just typing and it looks like Jeremy has the definitive solution above, but I think his problem was worse 'cus he couldn’t get at the cable at either end?
Thanks Alaric - if you could send through some detailed pictures of both the driver and passenger side catches it would be really useful as the ones currently on the internet are pretty poor.
Thanks Jeremy - I actually found your thread early Sunday morning and was hoping it would work on mine. Certainly sounds like the easiest and safest option so far! Do you have a picture of the tool you fashioned from the hanger?
So each catch is held in place by screwing through a plate that has captive nuts welded to it - in this picture the rectangular plate is what the catch is bolted to with three captive nuts.
Ben, pictures of my high-tech bonnet opening tool.
Access the bonnet catch through the 3/4" hole where the cable goes through the bulkhead. No dashboard removal required. Sean’s pics are great to show where to hook the bonnet catch lever from within the car. Go in just where the mole grips are shown by undoing the nut & pushing the cable guide into the engine bay.
Keep the ‘tool’ in your onboard toolkit as it has a multitude of uses…
Aha the tried and tested solution has arrived. Thanks Jeremy. I’ll add a coat hanger to the boot of the car - oh bother wait a minute my cable operated boot catch is suspect too.
