3780R Resto - Engine Restart

[EuropaTC]

I thought my next step would be to remove the body and inspect the chassis to make sure it is still structurally sound, blast it of any rust and paint with a rust inhibitor.  My new friend who helped me get her running does not agree.  I'd like to hear from the group.

Removing the body is something you usually do when forced into it in order to make repairs/replace or if you're aiming for an "as new" restoration. As you've ruled out the the latter then you can make a reasonable assessment of the state of the chassis without removing the body.  I only took the body off my car because I'd seen corrosion when doing routine checks, and at that stage I didn't have a garage pit, just axle stands and a trolley jack.

These were the main areas I found, the one I noticed first was the corrosion around the engine mounting area and that was probably the most serious.  As you can tell, most of my problems were at the rear of the car but the other area to check is the front "T" cruciform structure.  I replaced the sheet metal where the pedals bolt on and also re-plated the bottom area of the front crossmember. That was because it's a common fail point on the Elan chassis and although it felt sound I was concerned about internal corrosion. I've no pictures to prove it but inside the box section was very clean and the job wasn't needed.

Basically if you go round underneath and either use John's ice pick or a hefty screwdriver, you'll soon find any problem areas.  In the UK MoT test they look for any corrosion within 30cm of a suspension or other mounting point, that's not a bad guide to start with.

Brian

[Certified Lotus]

I’m a big believer of frame off rebuilds, especially if you plan on keeping the car. I know I’m the minority but think about it......you will know every inch of your car. I’m on my third frame off rebuild and it is so much easier to rebuild and replace components with the body off. Plus, the Europa and Elan chassis are well known to rust over the years. If your going that route, do yourself a favor and have the chassis media blasted (take it to a shop that does grave head stone engraving. They have walk in blast rooms and are very inexpensive). Then paint a reassemble, replacing all rubber bushings and anything else that is worn.

The above advise is only if you are determined, willing to steadily work on your project and are known for not giving up. If you lose interest quickly, don’t bother taking the body off, you never get back on the road (I can’t tell you how many un-finished projects I hear about).

[jbcollier]

Anecdotally I would say 90% of all disassembled cars are never put back together by the person who took them apart.  Further, taking a car apart makes it much more likely to be scrapped or parted out than restored.  Obviously this group is a bit of bright spot in this regard but even here the amount of work required is often underestimated.  Life is busy, hard to predict and fraught with unexpected challenges and changes.  If you have a running car with a good sound chassis, don't take it apart.  Enjoy it as it is.

[4129R]

The places they normally rust are;-

1) The bottom of the front cross member where the closing plate is held to the chassis with 3 x 7/16 head bolts (between the suspension bottom arms).

2) Where the plate is on the bottom where the chassis becomes a Y, so at the front of the engine

3) Below the battery

[BDA]

I agree with everyone on this thread about body off restorations. I think it depends on our motivation, your mechanical aptitude, and the condition of your frame.

If your frame shows serious rust, then obviously, it must be addressed. If you are a restorer like Certified and/or you are driven to know all the ins and outs about your car - and as JB says, you are committed to finishing it - then a body off is a possibility even if the frame seems in good shape.

If you aren't sure of your commitment and the frame and there is no serious rust, I think that embarking on a body off is a mistake for the reason JB stated. You will miss out on a lot of driving enjoyment and regardless the condition of your frame, motivation, etc., the loss of that driving enjoyment should be factored into your decision.

[EuropaTC]

One thing that's occured to me during the day about this question is the simple fact that if you can drive the car then you're in a far better position to do a full scale renovation should you need to, and that's a really big plus.

I drove my Elan for probably 3 or maybe even 4 years before embarking on the chassis change.  By that point I had lists of all the things I wanted to do and had been collecting parts for months; it was definitely a planned job and went like clockwork with the car off the road for less than a week.

The Europa took far longer. I'd driven it for years but the chassis problems came as a surprise, it wasn't that well planned and took ages to sort it out.  But even so I knew the health of all the mechanical components and so knew that putting the gearbox back untouched (for example) was going to work. 

I'm not going to argue that a body off, chassis up rebuild will be better because of course it will.

However it's also the most expensive and time consuming thing you can do because you either take the risk that "the gearbox will be fine" or you overhaul everything. Even outsourcing jobs that's not going to happen quickly, just look how long some restorations have taken on this forum (and we're all enthusiastic about the cars).

If it's a pile of bits then that's entirely different and there's nothing to do apart from a full rebuild. But John & BDA are right, if it's running, drive it. At least then you'll know if you like the car and would be prepared to spend weeks/months of your time and certainly a ton of cash in rebuilding it.

[BDA]

I would also say that it's very difficult (at least for me) to do a limited restoration. There is always something else to fix up!