I haven’t been very good at keeping this thread updated. Again! So let’s see:
The carburetors are still a bit wonky; I’m having trouble tuning them, and I have a drip of gas at the bottom of the rear Weber after the car has been running. I have a couple of things to look at, plus some of what I’m seeing could be due to…
the #2 cylinder is showing low-ish compression. I checked valve clearances and they’re fine. I have another engine amongst the spares that came with the car, but I hope to drive the car as-is for a while and do the engine swap at a later time.
I managed to melt a hole in the oil pressure capillary tube going to the gauge. It dutifully spritzed engine oil all over the passenger footwell, soaking the ancient shreds of carpet and backing. That was not a fun cleanup. R.D. to the rescue with a stainless steel replacement line, although I had to cut off some of the fitting at the engine end of it to obtain a seal.
Saving the best for last – I had an opportunity to drive another Elan! @seniorchristo graciously handed me the wheel of his S3 SE/SS so that I could compare it to my own car. I found the steering, handling and ride to be quite similar, but his car has more power and the shift action is much tighter.
I haven’t the slightest idea what gearstick is in the Elan. Chris mentioned that his is a short shifter of some type however.
The shift tightness/looseness of the Elan is about the same as that in my 7, which has a Ford Cortina box of some vintage or another. Neither are “rifle bolt” tight, nor are they what I would consider sloppy. Especially when compared to my Porsche 996, despite my efforts to improve that limp noodle…
Wdb
The dripping of gas problem, do you have Misab plates fitted or are you on “O” rings, I had same problem and found the rings were probably quite old and no longer creating a good seal, so replaced them. Trying to hold them in position during fitting can be challenging, so resorted to a very tiny dot of glue on the plates at 90degress to one another which held the seal in place, so helped. Then getting the correct setting on the Thackery washer on the rear carb was also a problem. So I took off the nut and Thackery combination for the two rear studs, removed the nut and washer from the front carb and replaced it with the first rear combination and tightened it down, next started to back it off, counting the degree of turns (used a 1/4" drive and socket which makes it easy to get to the rear studs) to undo the nut to the correct setting for the Thackerys. Then refitted it to those dimensions on one of the rear studs, tightening fully and backing off Did same for second rear combination and then put the original combination back on the front studs. This provided a base line for the rear Thackery washers setting. Why keep each as a combination, because not all Thackery washers give the same tension. Checked for leakage and if necessary can then tweak each Thackery a tad to ensure the “O” rings are sealing okay.
I did smile about your oil pipe as I had the same issue, except mine is a RHD and I ended up not just with a footwell of oil but all over my clothes, socks and shoes. I was not the most popular person in the house for a while !
The lowish compression on No2, have you tried inserting a small amount of oil and see what happens when you test it, if the reading improves immediately then it indicates a ring problem, if there is little change from the original reading then it could be valves or a head gasket issue. Also when testing cylinders watch how the readings build up and how many jumps of the needle it takes to build to maximum pressure.If it takes several movements of the needle to reach maximum (over those of other cylinders), then again it shows issues with the engine, usually rings as they are taking longer to build the pressure in that cylinder. The final test is a leak down test, which is is done similar to the compression test, but does require a different gauge.
Let’ hope it is nothing too serious and does not need to pull the engine.
Tony
@2mAn the other Elan has CV joints and uprated springs/shocks, as does mine. His car might be a bit less apt to lean in turns; I’m still surprised by how much lean I get even with the uprated bits. I know that Elans were built to have a lot of suspension travel, and I’ve seen the Leno video where he really lays one over, so perhaps I will learn to live with it.
@tonyabacus I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who ruptured an oil pressure gauge feed line – I think! It sounds like your experience was worse than mine. It’s astounding how much mess it makes.
I’m using Misab plates to mount the Webers, with rubber cones on top and thackery washers below. Despite being a mere “10 minute” Elan owner, I’ve had Webers for several years on my 7 as well, and they’ve been on and off quite a few times. I feel as though I have the knack for getting them sealed up to the manifold. I did replace every piece of mounting hardware on the Elan because of age and leakage. As you and others have noted however there are variations in the newer thackery washers spring tension and overall quality; I sourced mine from Ray at R.D. Enterprises and he is a fussy person, so I trust these pieces are as good as can be had at this time.
Speaking of carburetors, I just finished removing them and drilling a 10mm (ish) hole in the inspection plate of the rear unit. Problem solved, no more drips. (The front Weber already had a hole.) Then I took it out for a run to be sure the drip was gone, and it runs okay. Not great, but okay. The 7 is so quick to start and so clean and crisp when running, so I know how good Webers can be. I still have some work to do with those on the Elan.
Thanks for the ideas regarding compression testing. I do need to revisit that. I believe the car had been sitting for quite some time prior to my adopting it, and although we drove it a few times while making it roadworthy I don’t believe it has had an ‘Italian tuneup’ in quite a long while. I’m going to fuss with the Webers a bit more and then take the car out and give it a thrashing, to see if that has any effect. Worse comes to worst, I have a freshly built motor sitting in the garage. This car came with lots of extras.
Wdb
Its always difficult when posting responses when trying to help owners, because you never know initially how much experience they have, so forgive me if it seems I am trying to teach granny to suck eggs.
The issue with Thackery washers is as you mention tension and unless you have the right equipment it is difficult to measure. However I am sure Ray has good stock. At least you have now resolved one problem and cured the drip. Perhaps you can post a picture to show others how you resolved the issue if you have any. Can I make a suggestion, before giving it a thrashing, try putting upper cylinder lubricant or a good system cleaner in the fuel tank, which may clean up any gum in the works.
Also I think you can readily access some 100+ octane fuel in the US, so again I would use some of that in the first couple of runs. It would be interesting to know the results of a leak down check and what it reveals so keep us in touch
Tony
I certainly have a lot to learn about these cars so please keep tossing ideas at me. I’ve lived my life by a motto: learn something new every day. Even this decrepit old brain still has some capacity I hope!
Marvel Mystery Oil is what we’d use in the colonies to loosen up gooey engine innards. It’s a good idea. 100+ octane might be available as aviation fuel or race gas; it’s not impossible to get but not exactly easy either.
The hole in the inspection plate is a well known modification. Weber even did it. It prevents pressure differential where there doesn’t need to be any. The earlier carburetors did not have the hole, so folks add it. Here’s a generic image I found on the web.
A few months ago I took advantage of a sale price offered by Lucas Classic Tires to pick up a set of Pirelli Cinturato CA67s in size 155HR13. I finally got around to getting them mounted on the steelies. I am very pleased with the way they look, and I am impressed with how the car drives with them as well. My “ten minute” Elan experience notwithstanding, I get a true period feel from them as compared to the more modern Vredestein 165/70R13s all season tires that were on the car at purchase. I’ve been informed that the modernized Michelin XAS is also a very good tire, but I can’t pass up a bargain!
The kombi arriving back home with a buttload of tires. It actually had 4 more in it on the way to the shop, but one VERY old set of tires stayed behind.
I’ve been putting a few more miles on the car over the past few days. It’s become a real delightful little thing to romp around in. I also finally got the speedometer working again. I ordered an angle drive from England and they sent me one that didn’t thread onto the transmission! So I took my old unit apart again, took the new one apart, swapped the bits, and Bob’s yer uncle. It doesn’t even leak (yet).
Earlier this afternoon I took the Elan over to an afternoon cruise-in about 30 minutes away. They close down the entire center of town and fill it with cars and vendors. I parked in among the “show” portion but at the very far end. Then I hiked down through the throng and back, picking up a delicious lemonade along the way. When I got back to the car I was surprised to see people looking at it! Taking pictures!! Mind you this was a mostly American muscle car show, with a hefty dose of tunerz tossed in. I saw one other English car among the hundreds there. There were two young men (young!) in particular who just peppered me with questions about the car for a good 30 minutes. The whole episode gave me hope for the future of broad spectrum car enthusiasm.
I drove the Elan back to visit with its original owner yesterday. The weather finally turned good and it was an ideal day for top down motoring. We had a drive, had some breakfast, had another drive. Then we spent a good bit of time shooting the breeze while finding still more Elan stuff in his garage. This 5-piece header was one item, although I’m not sure it is actually functional as it sits. The angle of the flange on #4 cylinder is pretty far askew. Also I have to wonder how it would seal at the connection point – the pipes are pretty loose fit.
Among other stories, I regaled him with my speedometer angle drive adventures. “Angle drive”, he said, thinking. “What do they look like?” I showed him a picture. He walked over to a drawer and pulled this out!! I told him I am going to start making weekly trips to his house, if only to collect all the parts he keeps finding.
WoW.. how good is that. I bought my Elan off the original owner and what a chap he was and what a life he had led.
He was on the Normandy landings when in his teens, formed a moutain rescue team when he got back home to the Lake district. Was also an artist and sculptor, a very remarkable and interesting man.
Sadly he passed away a few years ago, not many like him left now.
Al, the prior and original owner of this car, is quite a fellow as well. He owned and raced two Porsches and an S2 Elan before this car, served “in theatre” as an Army officer in Vietnam, plus many many other adventures. The stories are one of the reasons I love spending time with him.
Just a small update. The car continues to delight! I feel as though I can honestly say that I am fully experiencing a bucket list item. It’s been a bit of a haul to get to this point, mostly because I wasn’t expecting it to be this much work! But the payoff is well worth it and the tough days’ memories are quickly fading.
As I get more familiar with the handling I’ve noticed that the balance of the car is not ideal. Yesterday I took another look at ride height and, sure enough, the right rear side had settled a good bit. I raised it up to match the left side. In the process I came up with a new-to-me method for adjusting the coilovers. Previously I was trying to reach the spring perch and locknut from under the car with the wheel still fitted, the thought being that I would get a true ‘in situ’ adjustment. But trying to reach and turn those items was a PITA! Yesterday it dawned on me that I could jack up the car using the lower control arm jacking point as specified in the manuals; essentially I lifted the rear of the car without changing the suspension relative to the body. Then off with the wheels and, presto! Easy access to the spring perches. It made the job so much easier that I feel kind of silly for not thinking of it sooner.
I also decided to increase the setting on the rear Koni yellows by 1/4 turn, from my original 1/2 turn to 3/4 turn total (from full soft). (Tony Thompson instructions say 1 full turn for dry conditions but I believe that was in reference to racing.) The combination of ride height adjustment and damper setting resulted in a very noticeable improvement in balance and overall handling character. I’m quite pleased. If anything the rear might actually be a bit too stiff now, and I am going to try going back 1/8 turn towards soft. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when there are only 1-1/2 turns to work with a 1/8-turn change is approximately 10% of the total, which is nothing to sneeze at.
I have some pics from a recent outing but I’ve run out of time, so I’ll post again later.
I can’t believe I’m saying this – the handbrake works! I spent a few hours on it over the past two days and finally got adjustments where they need to be. I also got the under-dash lever to pull out further than it was before, although honestly I don’t know what I did to make that happen. A downside, if I can call it that, is that the indicator light no longer turns off. I removed the switch and looked in the tube but I don’t see anything that would press the little ball back in and extinguish the light. So I just left the switch out and secured the wires. It works well enough now that I’ll know when its on.
I also replaced the transmission mount. I’m pretty certain that the one I removed was original to the car. It would have been dry rotted if it weren’t saturated in oil. A sad old sponge. I took a short spin and I can’t say that I noticed a big difference. But I feel better. So there’s that.
Not pics from the last outing exactly, but hey – pics.
I secured a ‘Colin Chapman’ S4 steering wheel and finally had a chance to test it out yesterday. This will sound hyperbolic but it fundamentally changed my relationship with the car’s steering, in a good way. A very good way. The steering feels a little bit faster, a lot more direct, and more responsive. The new-to-me wheel is about an inch smaller in diameter, the rim is thicker, and the overall structure is much more rigid, compared to the original. My original desire was for a slightly fatter, smaller wheel, which this is; I just had no idea how much difference it would make to my enjoyment of this wonderful little car. I love it.
The reason I said “finally had a chance” is that the car stopped making volts last week. I’m fairly adept electrically and I have a spare generator, so I set about trying to rectify the situation. All for naught. The spare was in worse shape than the one on the car, and neither were producing volts during bench testing. So I went searching and found one in a place I was quite surprised by – NAPA Auto Parts. They actually had a remanufactured Lucas generator! And it works!! It even had a little rubber plug in the oil hole, something I’ve never seen before in 50+ years of wrenching on English cars. All I did was swap the pulley over to it. (I will leave my opinion of the local NAPA store out of this, suffice it to say I won’t be back there.) Yes, I could have gone with an alternator. That would have meant rewiring as well as converting the car to negative ground. That will happen, just not today. Today I want to Drive. The. Car.
Next up is the oil drain “breather” tube that’s squished between the head and the block. I intend to install my other engine over the winter but the leak is too big to ignore until then.
Yes, it was refurbished by the fellow I bought it from. Now you have me wondering what a thin rim in this diameter would be like. Oh, the possibilities…
As much fun as I’ve been having driving the car, I must also admit to some frustration over how much oil leaks out of the engine. As mentioned previously, much of the rubber on the car has deteriorated over the decades, and there was a great deal of oil coming down the carburetor side of the engine, so I suspected the ‘breather’ drain tube between the head and block. I did some reading here on replacement and was happy to see that some have replaced the tube in situ without removing the cylinder head. This suited my purposes perfectly, so I visited RDEnt and picked one up – along with several other bits, as per usual!
I was surprised to find that the one I removed was in pretty good shape. I know the head has been off the car and I assume the tube was replaced at that time. However it did not appear that any attempt was made to add sealant around the mating surfaces. I was able to get the new one installed, thanks to tips and tricks learned on this forum, and it is sealing well. I took an extended drive yesterday and was happy to see, well, nothing, on that side of the engine when I got back. Okay, okay, maybe the fuel pump blanking plate is seeping a wee bit…
