I’m told by Paul Mattys that the problem with the overhanging doors was a known Lotus fault with the moulds, which they never corrected because of the cost involved. So, with so many Lotus owners annoyed by the problem, you might think that the market would provide a solution?
I’m told by another reliable source that to fix the problem you have to cut the door in half (from the side), take out the offending width, refix, make good and away you go. Given that that it is only the side of the door, you wouldn’t have to worry too much about getting the finish absolutely beautiful. Sounds reasonable but you would want to ensure that the interior space is sufficient for the door frame etc.
Now, if an owner had the time and was minded to have a go at this, wouldn’t it be helpful if the market/trade provided a DIY guidance paper? Or would that be too much to ask (or too much income to lose)?
Given all the other after market stuff that has been produced on the Elan, it is a shame that something like this is not available to Elan owners. Has anyone any thoughts? Jim
There are a few good fibreglass body repair companies who will do exactly that fix for you at not crazy money, but remember not everyone wants this ‘fault’ fixed. It is seen as an Elan ‘normality’…
Some are way worse than others. If Its really bad I’d have it (them) fixed. Almost fixed is good. It looks like you have made a good job of adjusting the doors then
Before even thinking about it become totally familiar with the adjustment of the hinge pin mounts and the lock striker plate as you may find that you don’t need the major surgery.
Each hinge-pin holder is clamped to the skin by two bolts in oblong holes that are larger than the bolts. This means that the position of the pin relative to the door can be adjusted around an area at least one inch diameter, possibly one and a half inches. Moving the top one out relative to the bottom makes the door tilt inwards at the bottom, though then the front top edge may then stick out.
The lock striker plate on the body determines the position of the back of the door when closed and determines how much the door seal is squished. It doesn’t really have much adjustment and be very careful to avoid weakening that as it is what stops the door flying open if you fall against it.
When I had my Elan stripped and repainted a few years back, my bodyshop guy told me that he resolved the door overhang issue by only tweeking the hinges. He is a Corvette body repair specialist (prepares Bloomington Gold Corvettes), and was surprised how thin the Elan fiberglass was compared to a Corvette’s.
He had me hold a stripped Elan door in one hand and a stripped Corvette door in the other. Even owing to the slight disparity in size, the Corvette door was markedly heavier. (lightness added; apparently Chevy didn’t get Colin’s memo.)
I seem to remember Sue Miller did an article in Club Lotus’s magazine about fixing the door stick out thing… as part of general guide to body restoration (cars that is!). Think it was called “Restore Your Elan the Mick Miller Way” or something like that…
Sad but probably true. Perhaps there is a market for replacement ‘perfect fit’ doors so we can all keep the ‘original’ badly fitting doors safe for when they are worth more than the ones which fit…
When I bought my sprint the drivers door was ill fitting, the vendor advised to leave it as is as it would be more original, however it is down to the owner to decide whether this panel fitment is to their taste or not.
I decided it was not and had SMS cut and shut the doors, they made the cut and checked that the window frame would fit - which it does.
Yes, I will agree, some lotus elan doors are a crap fit. I have just gone through the complete process
of dissmantling both driver side & passenger side doors on my elan S2, to realign them with the body.
The passenger door was the worst offender and has taken countless hours to get a good result.
The driver side on the other hand was a breeze to do and I completed the job in about two days
which included finishing to primer surfacer paint stage.
If I had known that other owners had taken this as a fairly serious issue I would have taken
several photographs of the whole process, I am writing an article about how it was done
and it was quite a different approach to what Brian Walton did.
(I read his article)
The end result is extremely pleasing, we now have doors that look right and operate
as doors should… and as for the originality side of it, it does not worry me one bit,
I would much rather something that does not look right, to be made right and not
have to continually make excuses to other people for what should have been taken care
of at the lotus factory, there is no excuse for poor workmanship on anything!
Col.
My currently early S4 had poor doors, I’ve had a later S4 and Sprints with better doors and also seen later ones with poor doors. Up to S3 seem to be OK. I suspect there was more than one set of moulds.
Its not too difficult to pull the corner in if you’re stripping and spraying the door anyway. Get the front alligned correctly first and cut a slice out with an angle grinder about a quater to half an inch from the outer edge in to the door shell and gradually pull in to shape. Fibreglass from inside and then make a vee on the outside along the cut and fiberglass in, etc. Profile gauges are very usefull.
I’ve owned 2 Elans currently a S1, and in the past an early coupe, sort of a S2-1/2.
The coupe was restored, or actually a ground up rebuild after having a lady in a Cadillac use it for locating her car while parallel parking. The only real problem I had with the doors was the multiple of adjustments (slots, shims and pivots) to get it to fit correctly. The S1 is now dismantled and is waiting to start building the body surfaces back to a point where it can be painted.
To make you feel better, I will say I owned an Elva Courier in the early '60s, and you don’t know what bad fit is until you’ve owned an Elva. The doors did not match in outline or profile, at all, and the hinges were about as crude as you could imagine. The body panels were wavy to the point that people would ask if I built the car. All the cars came to the dealer in white, and if you wanted a red or green one he would take them to the local cheapo paint shop and shoot enamel over the white; without primer or sanding. You were lucky if they took the windshield off before painting. Mine had paint all over the rubber seals and edges of the interior.
So things could be worse.
In answer to your PM, “And you’re saying what?” Lotus S14S2; I’m saying simply read the archives this subject has been discussed over and over and, as far as I am aware, relates only to the S3 cars onwards.
Judging by the size of the archives, I’m sure everything that ever had to do with an Elan of any series has been discussed before. If reliance on the archives was the reason for making or not making comments, I would think by now it would be unnecessary to ask any questions. I have found that over time, information evolves, if that was not true then David Vizard’s book on the Twin-Cam would be the last word in modification and repair; as much as I like it.
BTW, my comment did not deal directly with the “alignment or fit of doors” discussion. I would doubt there is much archived information on Elva Couriers.
I maybe an “Newbe,” on this site, but I have owned two Elans, four Elites, two 51s, and one 23. I went to SCCA Driving school in 1963, driving an Elite, and have owned just about one of every common sports car from a MG-TD to a Ferrari 250; as well as formula, and sports racing cars. I still own a Merlyn Mk.4A, Rochdale Bodied Austin Seven Special, an Elite and Elan. As an engineer I worked in maintenance, design, and repair on three professional auto racing teams in the late '60s and early '70s, and one motorcycle team. I feel I have enough experience and interest to send a reply. I have very seldom posted replies as I have read the posts, and felt the answers to questions seem to solve the problem. Other times there are the ubiquitous questions about Webers or Delorttos, and a good book would cover that. My comment this time was only meant to be a little lighthearted, and as such may have been unjustified. I’ve learned a lesson.
I joined this group because I have always had a deep enthusiasm and love for Lotus products, and own an Elan.
I thought when I read your original post that it was a good idea. I have just done my doors ready for a total re-paint, I had to read the old posts several times to fully understand what was required and even then I went very slowly. Instructions with pictures would have been very helpful for a dumbo like me.
There is a good deal of helpful information in the archives but they are not always easy to research through. If we just relied on the archives the posts would dry up and we would be denied some of the humor and more personal commentary that come in from time to time.
There are topics that do not seem to have a satisfactory resolution for example the crash pads, it seems that the fiberglass ones are not very good and the ABS ones currently on offer are also not very good so some topics seem to come up often but each time our collective knowledge gets better.
I too find it easier and more specific to ask questions even though the subject may have been discussed previously. Some archive material has been useful but on other occasions time slips by and the the search and reading of many threads has proven to be be very ineffecient.
It also helps us to become introduced to one another and on a few occasions this creates new avenues on parts and location which would otherwise not have developed…
So archives good but being in the moment has perhaps greater value?
I hope the SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP that exists between the UK and the US has not become damaged. I have sent over our Prime Minister this morning to sort things out. Expect a call very soon Jeff
