John Hatfield (or is it Howard Hatfield) asked about steering column
for series 3 and 4 Elans. Yes they are used in other lbc's, but no, I
have no idea which ones. Most Lotus parts that could be "borrowed"
from other lbc's were - at least on the early cars - Elans and
Europas. Chapman wisely decided that it was far easier and cheaper to
buy parts from other makers than to manufacture his own, at least when
suitable parts were available. For instance, the front trunions
(uprights), spindles, and brake calipers, and pads (and probably
rotors) on my 72 Elan come from a Spitfire (although the A-arms are
pure Lotus). The rear taillights are from a 69 (I think) Jag - at
least the part numbers match those for the Jag. Basicly, if you can
compare the parts to other makes (or have a good parts person) you can
find many that match other lbcs.
As for the switches, I don't know what they are from, but being Lucas,
you can probably take them apart and "fix" them if they are not
working, or I know that you can buy new ones from Dave Bean. However,
if you want to replace them because they don't look good (i.e. the
black plastic has faded and is now gray), new switches will soon fade
too. I have been told that the only cure is to lightly sand them, and
paint them with black paint (no I don't know what type), and this
recommendation came from the guy at Dave Bean (Jeff, I think - now one
of the owners of JAE) who could have just as easily sold me new
switches.
Back to the steering column, my S4 Elan has a locking sterring column with the
lock on the bottom center of the column (under the dash that is), and the key
enters from the _left_ side since the switch/keyslot faces toward the
driver (rearward) and slightly (about 30 degrees) to the left. Sound
familar anyone?... probably from a similar vintage MG or Triumph?...
Oh yea, removing the adjusting screws from Z-S carbs... I wouldn't
recommend using a punch from under neath, just use a hook (dentist
pick will work fine, I used a "pick" meant to pull o-rings out of
groves) to turn it sideways and pull it out of the hole. You should
be able to rotate it sideways so that none of the points of the star
washer scrapes the side... At least it worked for me....
Tim Mullen mullent@ymv5.ymp.gov Chantilly, Va
72 Elan Sprint "For the few who know the difference" - Lotus ad slogan
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