Technical

Duratec Elise – better late than never

By Joe Arico.

I guess the first place to start this article is with an apology.

After completing parts 1 and 2 of “Duratec Madness” many moons ago I never completed the series. It’s the usual reasons… life got busy with work taking most of my time. International travel was “fun” when I was younger (actually, not really!) but these days I find it nothing less than exhausting – and that was before COVID! I’ve managed to extract myself from that life recently (more on that later), but to those of you I left hanging on the Duratec project my apologies!

The good news is that the Duratec conversion was a success.

More so than I anticipated if I’m honest. It’s proven to be quick on track while remaining an entirely enjoyable car to drive on the road. It’s spent most of its life driving to Warwick and back to compete in the QLD Super Sprint series and I must say, it never ceases to amaze me (of Elise’s and Exige’s in general) that you can drive to the track, relentlessly flog them, place very well in your class / overall, and then drive them home!

I need to get out and do more in the car but somehow, through COVID and a few other life challenges, I lost motivation to participate in anything more than the sprints. That’s something I shall have to remedy in the coming year!

But let’s get on with where the conversion ended up. As I said it’s been some time since the last instalment so best I summarise and tell the story in pictures.

Engine mounts (final iteration):

From top left: Front engine mount, lower engine mount, gearbox mount

I still wanted to enjoy the car on the road, and as such was determined to do what I was told was impossible and retain the air conditioning. Space was an issue but where there’s a will there’s a way!

When I first got the car running it went well but with the competition being what it is at Morgan Park I wanted to squeeze a little more out of it. So, for Duratec v2.0 I ended up moving the bulkhead forward to accommodate a longer intake for more power / torque.

CES Racing did a lovely 4-2-1 tuned exhaust for me, and I got a bit carried away and designed a CNC coil cover badge because… well, just because!

The small block you can see at the back of the engine (that the PCV hose loops into) is an idle control / emissions manifold. I integrated PCV, cannister purge and idle control into a single block to tidy up all the plumbing and to make sure I complied with all the legalities of getting the car registered.

It took 18 months to complete and all the spare time I had but for me it was a bucket list experience. I learnt so much, least of which is how much I enjoy designing in CAD.

Which leads me to the part I said I’d get back to at the start. I recently decided to walk away from corporate life and start a business that specialises in 3D scanning / design / printing, reverse engineering and offers a manufacturing service. I’m focusing on cars to begin with but will potentially expand into other industries down the track if all goes well. My business is called Optimum3 Design and Engineering. If you’re interested and would like more information you can check it out at www.optimum3.com.au

Should you have any questions about the Duratec or anything else, please feel free to get in touch.

Unique +2 Road Trip to Brisbane

By Ian Loxton.

In August, Ian and Diane Loxton took their +2 on a unique road trip from Bungundarra (20 km northwest of Yeppoon) to Brisbane along the now notoriously bad Bruce Highway.

In over 50 years of travelling the Bruce Highway, the condition of the road is shocking and particularly so from Rockhampton to Marmor and Gunalda to Gympie. Interestingly, the condition of the ‘Bruce’ is worse travelling northbound, compared to travelling southbound. For those of you experienced in long distance travel in Queensland, this is not uncommon and is noticeable on other highways to north Queensland. Regardless, the +2 survived the journey each way without any damage or further scarring.

After a hard 18 months of mechanical removal of paint, hard and soft filler bog (up to 20mm thick in places), road grime, grease, fractured fibreglass, the body was bare and ready for fibreglass repairs.

I had been receiving valuable support from Alister Rees, Brisbane over the last 12 months with 1 tutorial session in Brisbane, followed by over the phone advice on the body preparation ready for repairs.

However, in order to make real progress, Alister needed to see the bare body. A plan was formed to trailer the bare body to Brisbane in August, 2022. I had previously fabricated a ‘spider’ frame that picked up on 8 of the chassis mounting point bobbins.

It was a very simple job to push the body on its frame onto our car trailer, strap it down and head off to Brisbane. While a reasonably slow trip due to the bare body and the condition of the Bruce, the +2 created a lot of interest each time we stopped along the way. Questions like what it’s off, or I know it’s a Lotus but which model. Plenty of interest along the M1 north of Brisbane, with one Porsche 911 driver slowing down in the fast lane to have look then accelerating away with a thumbs up.

The ‘hands on’ tutorial with Alister was invaluable, while Alister went over every panel to give me advice on the type of repair required. Alister summed up the condition of the body quite aptly when he said it was one of the most damaged intact Elans he had seen during his career. It is quite beyond Alister and I to understand how someone in the +2’s past had treated the car.

After the tutorial and some repairs by Alister, the +2 commenced its road trip home to Bungundarra, once again with out any ill effects or scarring from the journey.

I very much wish to thank Alister for all his efforts towards assisting me to complete the hardest task of my +2 restoration. I also wish to thank Craig Wilson for his ongoing support and advice on the restoration of my +2.

My Elan Story

By Stephen Amos.

So I guess this all dates to a childhood buried in Wheels magazines, and a ride in a Lucalia Clubman owned by a friend. After that – if there was to be a sports car it was going to be a Lotus.

As one did in the day.. if you were interested in a topic you looked up the relevant club, and so it was that I attended a Lotus club run in 1991! It was there that I realised two things. Firstly that I barely fitted in a Lotus 7, and that Lotus Elans were pretty cool. It was also here that I met the ever patient and encouraging members of LCQ. There was much more thought, competing priorities and so on.

I think it was around 1998 that I started looking in earnest for an Elan. Remarkably in the days before the internet you talked to the club. You put your ears to the ground and phoned people. I know I talked to the NSW and VIC Lotus clubs, and I got around to SA. I think it was Mike Bennett who mentioned he knew of someone selling an Elan. A 1969 Series 4 in Gold Leaf Red.

Elan advertisement that had pride of place on my wall.

I phoned the gent who said he was the third owner, and had owned it since the early 1980s. The story was that it was bought by the owner of one of the main Ford Dealers in Adelaide. As was the way back then, he ordered the car and picked it up in the UK and drove it around for a bit before bringing it back. Allegedly he liked the colours of the Sprint and painted it up. He sold it to another chap in 1978 who by all reports enjoyed the car very much and sold it about 4 years later. The current owner hadn’t driven it much. He’d done some work… engine rebuilds, soft-top replacements, but I think it was largely in the too hard basket which I would later come to understand. Nevertheless he assured me I could drive it back to Brisbane tomorrow no problems. He mailed me up four photographs of the car and I decided to go to Adelaide and see it.

Mike Bennett agreed to put me up for my one-night stay. I had a very memorable stay surrounded by cars like his Lotus 12 and an amazing drive around the Adelaide hills in his virtually identical Elan. I went to see the car. It looked pretty original. Only just over 40,000k since the speedo was converted on arrival to Australia. It was a bit tatty and tired but it had never had chooks living in it. It drove without stopping on the test drive (my first drive of an Elan) and I agreed to buy it. And so it was. Fortunately I decided to freight it to Brisbane.

When I got it home I started driving it around. There were lots of minor problems but nothing that seemed insurmountable. And then one day, while cleaning I decided to hose in the strut towers. But no water came out. So I started cleaning and removing dirt. And then rust. And then finding the holes in the strut towers. I vaguely remember the frantic call to Craig who was remarkably still taking my calls, and so it was that a great journey began, for an IT worker who’d never done more than change the oil in a car.

And the holes from the rust shine through.

And so the body-off restoration started. This was going to be a big job, and it was on a timeline as this vehicle was going to be a wedding car. Frankly it’s all a bit of a blur. I know I couldn’t have done it without all the help. People in particular like Craig, Tony, Greg, and Steve Taylor (Elan Factory) – how they still talk to me I don’t know. It was insane. The youngest owner of an old Lotus, and an IT person rebuilding an aged English car. Before YouTube even. After six months of total intensity, working mostly spare time, the car was finished just in time for the wedding. Luckily.

Buying a Lotus seemed like a good idea at the time.

It was driven quite a bit for a few years. Had some very memorable experiences including to the Lotus meeting in Victoria. Unfortunately, I think I was actually a bit burnt out from the very stressful rebuild. Competing priorities. Young family etc, etc. According to my records it did about 1200km between 2005 and October last year. Most of those would have been done at the excellent Lotus 2011 event. So it sat, neglected but not forgotten.

A very memorable drive back from Lotus 2001 over the Victorian Alps with Mike and Maggie Goodfellow.

Lined up with the other Elans at Lotus 2011.

Jumping forward to 2021 – I think I knew it was time to dig it out from under the covers. I made a few little digs at it, starting a list of what absolutely had to be done. Batteries, tyres etc. I phoned Craig who didn’t hang up on me. Things were looking up. I even decided to see if I could get some information about the car from Lotus. I wrote to them and their archivist was so helpful. It ended with a nice reply with the car’s details, see below…

So I was pretty chuffed by that. 53 years on and all the bits are still bolted together! Every time I drive the car I’m literally stunned by its blend of performance, handling and ride. I’ve literally got no idea how they managed to assemble a bunch of mostly mundane parts into something so special. Something that’s still so special. After 60 years no less.

I think my plan going forward is to make sure I keep driving it. I’d like to just tinker and fix the little things. I think the next big thing must be to freshen up the old paint. And I really think celebrating 60 years since Earls Court is a great idea. These cars need to be remembered. Hopefully we will see these cars being passed on and looked after by new owners in the coming years.

Rising from the Ashes

Part 1

By Andrew Row.

Thought it was time to do a follow up after the fire article a few months back. It’s hard to believe it is only two months since the donor bike arrived, and the rebuild began in earnest.

Feels like years of work as I write this with matchsticks propping my eyes open. The donor bike seems to have been a good gamble from the online auction. Was certainly someone’s pride and joy before it took a slide down the bitumen. We have such a wasteful society when you think an 8000km old rideable scratched bike is a write-off, never to be registered again. Felt a bit criminal to wreck it for parts.

The donor bike seems to have been a good gamble from the online auction.

Having loaded the majority of the car into the trailer to be dumped, there was a never ending list of parts to be ordered. Was like Christmas with parcels arriving daily. The local postie and couriers got so familiar they happily wandered through the office to drop things on my desk at work.

Assessing the burnt mess revealed that the fire was hot enough to melt aluminium in places, but not hot enough to melt copper. This should mean no concern for normal steel components, but anything high tensile or heat treated had to go. The three page bolt list kept the man at the bolt shop busy for an hour to pick and pack them all. Being all Ford Sierra bits led to an order from the UK for all the ball joints, tie rod ends, bearings etc after just receiving blank looks from the local parts guys when mentioning Ford Sierra. Cheaper from the UK anyway, along with steering wheel, harness, master cylinders etc all at half what they could be bought for here.

Loading most things in the trailer to be dumped.

Stripping every part of the suspension and driveline is a long and demoralising task when it’s all burnt and corroded. Fire extinguisher powder is amazingly corrosive. Fortunately Bride is a wiz with degreaser and steel wool, and could return nasty looking parts looking like new as quickly as I could strip them. Got through a few wire brushes on the grinder as well. Bit of team work to keep moral up. Surprising some of the parts that were salvageable. The engine bay floor and diffuser was fine with a good clean, well after we straightened out the bent fins after yours truly spun it trying to go full throttle under the bridge the run before. Apparently that isn’t possible without the rear wing, but that’s another story.

The bright side of the rebuild is the chance to upgrade things that were never great. Car had a Sierra steering rack that was far from ideal length and gave absurd bump steer. Although the old rack was 2.8 turns lock to lock, it always seemed slow to steer. After the fire burnt the boots off it revealed that someone made it a “quick” rack by putting lock stops on it to get the right turns lock to lock. The brand new 2.4 Escort rack will make a massive improvement to steering response, steering lock, and bump steer.

Engine mount adjustments for the new engine.

The idea of buying the complete doner bike was to steal as many parts as possible and remove the need for custom tunes etc – being a budget track toy. The bike runs a self-regulating fuel pump with no return lines etc. So to allow the bike pump to be kept a custom fuel tank was knocked up from steel sheet in the workshop after silly prices and lead times were received for farming the job out.

All the exhaust headers and airbox were kept so the tune would be good. The airbox is huge and tall, but it contains four of the eight fuel injectors, so was easier to build the body around it than work out how to revise it. It took a lot of hours staring at the wiring diagram before I took the leap of faith to cut out all the unused sections and override all the tip sensors and side stand switches etc. Turns out only cut one wire too many. The instrument illumination wire from the light circuit actually turns the dash on, not just the back lighting. Quick fix and it fired up and so sweetly.

The top half a bunch of unnecessary bits removed from the sub loom.

Have made good friends with our local waterjet cutter, with all manner of parts being cut and folded as required. Fortunately still had a bunch of the aluminium chassis panel cut files from the first build, so they were easy wins.

Bike engines aren’t normally built for cornering forces in the oil pickup. A quick google of what the pommy lads use for sump baffle plates on a Fireblade, along with some tracing paper and a scan on the work photocopier soon had a cut file for a baffle plate.

Next challenge was a lack of available front sprocket sizes, so a custom rear chain sprocket was drawn up from a long list of formulas, with tiny arcs and tangent lines that are all a bit irrelevant when drawn out to scale, but should do the job for the revised gearing on the new motor with its 13000 rpm redline. The aluminium body sidepods and radiator ducting were a challenge to my level of 3D drafting skills, but all fitted nicely with the idea of having a bit more side impact protection than the previous glass panels.

Speaking of panels, it has been the most asked question. Where will you get a new body from? To which I casually replied I would make one. Receiving the quizzical looks that one would expect, but we pressed on with the plan none the less. A couple of weekends and a bunch of mdf has made the beginnings of some one off molds. Have avoided the temptation to go down the road of full blown plugs and glass molds as it just doesn’t seem worth the time. Should get panels from these that are at least as good as the previous set. Will keep you posted in Part 2 how that turns out.

Plastering radius corners into the mdf molds.

MDF body molds being built over the car.

Off to the DTC this weekend as an open wheeler for a test run. Then a month to get a body on for Morgan Park. All easy if we just avoid sleeping.

Some history of Colin’s Elan

By Colin McKay.

Lotus Elan, 1968, S4, Drop Head Coupe (convertible). Standard specification: bolt on wheels, 105bhp, unboosted brakes, unperforated seating vinyl, no fancy chrome strips.

I purchased my Elan in Hong Kong, in 1987. The vendor would not let me test drive it, which I thought, at the time, unusual. However, there weren’t too many Elans in Hong Kong – I wanted it, so not a biggie. At least it wasn’t until I started driving it. The front right hand wheel kept rubbing the top of the wheel well. Further investigating revealed a badly repaired chassis that had split almost completely through on the offending side.

Thinking a quick chassis change would see me back on the road again turned into a 23 year labour of love. What was revealed was a pretty well neglected car that was 19 years old with only 34,000 miles on the clock.

Some of the major defects: split chassis, inoperative lights, metal stitching of a crack in the head, bog inches thick on the front right hand side etc.

I started the restoration in Hong Kong. The engine was pulled apart, head taken to QED in the UK, new chassis and numerous other parts ordered from Chris Neil’s in the UK.

The chassis change part of the restoration was fairly straight forward. The engine was reassembled with new rings and bearings and the overhauled head refitted. However, the body was proving to be a big job. Scraping various layers of paint (at least three in it’s relatively short life) with anything sharp I could lay my hands on, proved tedious. It also revealed a lot of damage to the front right hand side that would need fibreglass work beyond my ability.

So from 1987 to 1996 either the chassis or body was hanging from the roof of our garage whilst work was carried out on the other.

In 1996, we packed up our house, Robyn and our two daughters moved back to the Gold Coast to continue their schooling. The 40′ container also had the Elan in it for its journey to its new home.

Work restarted in about 2003 when I also returned, permanently, from Hong Kong.

The body was sent to John Woodlands who had done several Elan bodies for club owners. The paint job was carried out by apprentices at a tech college. This has proven to be a good job, as it is still in fairly good condition.

Not wanting to install the engine, after all the years in storage, as is, I asked Greg Bray to disassemble it, check everything, and reassemble a leak free engine. It has run faultlessly for the past 12 years.

In 2009 a friend invited me to take the Elan to his factory for final assembly. This pleased Robyn, as finally doors, bonnet, boot disappeared from the guest room, and the instrument panel finally left the table in my study.

The next year saw the engine and gearbox mated to the new (23 year old) chassis and the body lowered, from a two post hoist, to complete the car.

2010 the engine was started for the first time in 23 years and the first drive was a long looked-forward-to event.

In the ensuing years I have made some improvements to make the car more reliable and safer; mainly cooling, braking and lighting.

At the moment, the Elan is awaiting a new water pump. This is a major job on the twincam, and needs some thought and expert opinion.

Over the years, Robyn and I have had some great driving holidays in the Elan. Generally after the Biennial Lotus gatherings, and on the excellent Grand Tours organised by Ken Philp.

Since owning the Elan, I have had occasion to call on friends for advice, namely Craig Wilson and Greg Bray. Great to have knowledgeable friends.

I look forward to being back on the road, as the Elan always elicits a big grin, from me, and admiring toots, thumbs up etc from other drivers.

Retro fit aircon in an S1

By Barry Mather.

Back in 2018 (I think) I had grand plans to take my S1 Elise on a road trip of a few thousand kilometers. There were two major things that needed addressing though; luggage storage and aircon.

Working out how to carry a suitcase or duffle bag is necessary as I’ve removed the boot of my S1 to make way for more important things. At the time it was a turbo – that’s since been replaced with a nicely made ‘over the top’ exhaust manifold. So I set about designing a luggage rack to sit over the boot lid.

I procured some 25mm (ish) aluminium tubing with ~2.5mm wall thickness and set about bending and welding a rack together. The back of the rack slots into the wing mounts (I have to take the wing off to use the rack, but its only 4 bolts) and is held in place with a stainless pin with an R clip for easy access to the engine bay. The front of the rack attaches to a cross bar that is bolted through the clam near the rear windscreen with a spreader plate on the inside of the clam. It’s only 3 bolts per side to remove. The rack is then hinged using heim joints.

I gave the rack a ‘John Deere’ paint job and overall I’m pretty happy with the results. There is space for a couple of waterproof duffle bags to be held on with ratchet straps. The wing mounts are braced under the clam to the rear subframe so should be plenty strong enough for a few bags.

With the luggage rack sorted I turned my attention to the much more complicated problem of aircon.

I transitioned through a few different designs before I settled on a suitable solution. The first iteration used an electric compressor – at first I thought this would be a great solution, it kept the pipework short and I’d already relocated the battery from the front to behind the driver’s seat (it’s a small lightweight battery). But what I didn’t realise was how much power would be required. The stock alternator wasn’t producing enough juice to run it and the battery was too small. I didn’t want to install a much bigger battery or alternator so the electric compressor was removed and stored for another project.

So I moved onto a more traditional plan of using an engine powered compressor. The Honda compressor is quite large and will not fit in the Lotus chassis – but there was potential space where the power steering pump is normally located; just above the intake manifold. So I took a few generic measurements and headed to a wreckers yard – but there are not too many left in Brisbane that you can wander around and remove whatever parts you need, possibly something to do with insurance. But I found ‘King Auto Wreckers’ in Willawong and headed there with a small toolbox.

I wandered around for an hour looking at all the various cars trying to find the smallest a/c compressor. I ended up with a ‘D09’ compressor from a 2017 Mazda 3 – and from what I can tell all Mazdas from this era use the same compressor. I made sure to get a few a/c fittings and tubes while I was there and I set about making a bracket to fit the compressor in. It turned out to be fairly easy by bending some thick wall steel tube and making a few tabs – everything was almost too easy and of course the picture tells a thousand words!

Under the compressor there is another bracket to brace it and it’s extremely stable. One downside is that the Mazda compressor is only a 6 rib belt against the 8 rib Honda pulleys, but I didn’t think it would be an issue to run a 6 rib belt on 8 rib pulleys.

Routing the hoses was pretty straight forward using a mixture of hard lines and along with 10″ and 6″ flexible hoses. I sourced bulkhead fittings at the front and rear of the sills from Speedy Air Spares who carry a large range of a/c fittings and hoses.

I also purchased a hydraulic crimping tool specific to a/c hoses given I’d need to make up a few custom length hoses. Running the hose through the sill was tight, and I ended up with a few scraped knuckles but it works.
I then turned my attention to the front – I needed to install 3 items; a condenser, an evaporator/blower fan and a dryer.

I removed the front clam and engine radiator/shroud and installed a large condenser under the main radiator along with a single large fan. The dryer was easily installed on the side of the crash structure (the same as later S2/S3 Elises) and I made up several hoses to connect it all together. Then it was time to design and build a box for the evaporator. I searched through many online images to try and find one that would fit – I’d already removed the heater box so I had plenty of space, but I also have to leave space for the ABS unit (that’s a story for another time though).

I ended up with an evaporator of the perfect size – from the rear cabin of an NM Pajero. I bought a second hand unit along with the TX valve and setup about building a box for it. I made sure to leave around 20mm of space under the evaporator to allow for condensation to collect which drains through a 10mm hose into the wheel well – there is a handy hole already there to route the hose through. I bent up some 1.6mm aluminium to house the evaporator with an inlet for a cage fan and an outlet for some flexible hose to link into the standard Lotus air plenum leading to the cabin.

With all of the physical parts of the a/c system installed it was time to look into how to control the clutch on the compressor. I turned to eBay and found a fridge/freezer control that fits the bill perfectly. There is a small temperature probe that’s installed into the airstream from the evaporator and you simply set the temp desired and run a wire to the compressor to activate the clutch – simple!

Getting the system charged with R134 was easy enough and I can now enjoy cool, crisp 16 degree air. I transitioned through several different designs for the evaporator unit, the Pajero one is by far the best fitting solution and is perfectly sized for the Elise cabin.

So, can you have a/c in an Elise S1? Of course! It’s not hard to do and really only requires a few weekends to put together once you have the shopping list of parts!

[Show slideshow]

Rebuilding an engine

Can’t be that hard – can it?

By Barry Mather.

In mid 2020 I made the decision to rebuild my Honda K20A2. While it was not making any bad noises or was particularly down on power it had had a tough life. I bought it circa 2016 condition and milage unknown from a wrecker and it came marked as being from a 2004 Integra DC5R. There were some indications that it had been opened previously such as the wrong colour sealant around the timing chain cover, but it worked well.

Over the years I had run both normally aspirated and turbocharged, then back to normally aspirated in my Elise S1 and it had seen MUCH punishment on track – in fact this car is used mostly as a track car now. So it was time for a birthday.

I researched and researched and finally decided on 12.8:1 Arias Pistons, BC Rods and Drag Cartel 3.2 cams along with all new guides, chains, bearings, valves (and springs) and pretty much anything else that moved was sourced. Everything was ordered from Real Street in the US and turned up quickly.

The orange RTV … it should be grey hondabond!

Removing the engine isn’t a big deal from the Elise chassis – clam off, disconnect everything and yank it out with a crane – and a few hours later it was on the engine stand getting torn down. I made up a wooden frame and loosely stapled thick plastic to create a large drip tray – it worked really well!

But, the engine looked clean inside and parts had very little wear on them. The chain guides and big end bearings etc. had hardly any wear!

I continued to pull the engine apart, carefully labelling the parts in snap lock bags and trying to keep the environment ‘clean’.

At this point in time a K20Z4 block came up for sale with big end bearing knock – I took a chance on buying it cheaply as it was extremely clean, but was undecided on if I would use it.

Further evidence was uncovered the engine had previously apart when I pulled the head off and was greeted by a TODA head gasket! The cylinder bores looked ok, still lots of cross hatching with a minor amount of carbon build up at the top – nothing a very light hone wouldn’t take care of.

When pulling the head apart I noticed the first bit of wear that would need to be addressed – the exhaust valve guides were very slightly oval – enough to warrant the guides being replaced, so the head was sent off for a hot tank clean, skim of the deck and replacement of the exhaust valve guides.

A couple of weeks later I received back a very clean and shiny head …

If anyone is looking for quick and professional service in northside Brisbane – check out PEACH Performance Engines in Stafford.

In the meantime I’d continued to dismantle the block and came to a decision point – keep the K20A2 block or use the K20Z4.

There are a few differences between the blocks, but they are very minor and wouldn’t factor into a decision point. The decision came when measuring the main crank journals with the new bearings. Here is where it gets a bit more complicated…. Honda have a system of different sized main journal bearings – they install whatever bearing size is required for that particular crank grind.

So I installed the new bearings, which were only available in 1 size from ACL, and plastigauge told me that the Z4 block was the way to go – all the tolerances were right in the middle of the spec range. After that decision was made I cleaned the Z4 block and gave it a very light hone with a 3 stone drill operated tool and lots of lube. The cross hatching looked good before, it was just a case of taking the glaze off and the small amount of carbon build up.

After cleaning it again, and with the crank installed I plastigauged the big ends and again, everything right in the middle of spec. Plastigauge is a great invention – it’s a ‘calibrated’ piece of wax string that you cut a short length of, place it between the two surfaces you want to measure, toque the bolts and make sure to NOT rotate the crank, then take it apart and measure how squashed the wax is against the chart provided on the packet … that’s it!

Just clean off the wax, assembly lube the crank and journal and reassemble.

The pistons had their rings gapped to the specifications provided by Arias for normally aspirated configuration, rods attached & they were carefully slid into the block.

As you can see in the pic, I had been marking every bolt that had been torqued to spec – just a good visual reminder.

I’d bought a Wiseco 86mm piston ‘installer’ for the task and it was so utterly easy. It’s a conical shaped cylinder that you place on the block, lube up the piston and rings and slide it in – the conical internal shape compresses the rings and lines it up with the cylinder bore. Easy!

The rods had their ARP2000 bolts torqued up and that was that – bottom rotating end completed.
The pistons have quite the peak on them to achieve the higher compression ratio (standard on an Australian K20A2 is 11:1) with large reliefs for the intake and exhaust valves. There are a few sharp edges that were a little cause for concern as potential heat spots for pre-detonation, or pinking if your from the homeland. But they are shiny …

One of modifications required to the Z4 block is to swap to the K20A2 oil pump. The Z4 has a large oil pump with a balance shaft built in. They are known weak points for high rpms and its an easy swap. There is a small oil passage way that on some blocks is tapped, others require tapping to be blocked. And the A2 oil pump needs to have some webbing clearanced to fit on the Z4 block. Easily done and the cleaned A2 pump is installed with its chain.

Next it was onto assembling the head. I’d bought this cheap tool that worked perfectly for installing valve springs. It bolts to the head and you run a bolt through the top part onto a tube with a window cut into the side to allow spring to be compressed while the keepers are carefully slotted into place. This tool will enable spring changes without the need to remove the head if you pop a little compressed air into the spark plug hole.

So, new valve seals, Supertech springs and Ti retainers done … it’s a thing of beauty!

I also replaced all the lost motion springs and retainers. They keep part of the VTEC mechanism from flapping around when not in use, mine were quite worn.

This shot shows the head installed with new OEM head gasket and OEM head bolts torqued to spec. the rest is easy bolt on ‘stuff’ – water pump (new) and cleaned housing. Drag cartel cams are easy swap in along with new cam chain and tensioner and everything sealed up (with proper grey sealant) ready to install back into the car.

I also installed a swivel coolant inlet to enable swapping of coolant direction around the car – it makes for a simpler coolant and hose routing pathway but can only be done if you remove the heater from the car – no problem for a QLD based car!

Here is where the story takes another diversion.

At the same time I decided to rewire the engine bay, along with installing a Haltech Elite 1500 ECU. Which took weeks of effort – but I’m now happy I have 2 connectors to electrically disconnect the engine from the car.

Everything was buttoned up and it was sent to the dyno for mapping. I received the car back and was told ‘guess the power’ as I had a sprint the following weekend. Where the car did not perform as expected. Power felt low although everything worked ok.

Tuner then reported it only made ~175hp at the wheels … not what was expected at all.

I checked timing and a million other things, everything was ok. Then I took (another) detour and installed drive by wire throttle … very easy with the haltech and enables throttle curve mapping for different driving modes. I used a Honda pedal to TPS sensor adapter under the dash to convert from cable throttle to electronic signal and a Commodore v6 throttle body, a 72mm Bosch unit that matches the new intake manifold. All up, a very easy install.

After another dyno session where it still only made ~175hp I decided to swap back out to the stock K20A2 cams. After some careful listening to the exhaust you could hear what sounded like an exhaust leak, but the exhaust (a very nice ‘over the top’ manifold made by Stone Brothers racing) was not the culprit. It turns out it was the huge overlap of the Drag Cartel cams – swapping back to stock cams and another trip to the dyno it shot up to 200hp at the wheels on 6 week old BP98 fuel.

Conclusion

Building an engine is not hard, at all. Give it time, the right tools and a little patience and anyone could do it. Especially if you’re rebuilding to stock configuration.

I am lucky enough to have access to a well provisioned workshop, with a medium sized ultrasonic heated bath cleaner – this was key to cleaning some parts and made the reassembly job a pleasure. I was very surprised at the condition of all the bearing surfaces after so much punishment, a real testament to the quality of these engines.

So, what’s next? Just use it … see you out there on the track soon, and if you see me in the pits – drop by and say hi!

60 Years of Magic

Lotus ELAN 1962 – 2022

By Craig Wilson.

When Colin Chapman, Ron Hickman and the team at Lotus were looking at a replacement for the brilliant but expensive Type 14 Elite in 1961, little did they know that they were setting another benchmark which is still revered by the best designers, critics and owners six decades later.

As Gordon Murray CBE said on the McLaren F1 review. The two Elans in his collection are the benchmark on handling, and he nearly achieved that perfection, nimbleness, balance and driving experience in the F1.

The Type 26 Elan was announced at a Press Release with the S1 at the Earls Court London Motor Show – 17 October 1962. Some were available in kit form but cost fully built was GBP 1499.00.

The fundamental structure of backbone folded steel chassis and fibreglass body was half the cost of the monocoque Elite body and the method used for road going Lotus cars through the Elans, Europa, Elite, Eclat, Excel, Esprits up to the change in the iconic Elise and it’s revised structure for the new generation of Lotus.

The Elan was produced in S1 to S4 models with the usual variations of convertible, removable hardtop, FHC and ever increasing performance and styling upgrades of Type 36 and Type 45 in the final S4 Sprint in 1975.

There are also the many competition versions of 26R S1 and S2. This was a lightweight version produced initially to meet increasing factory requests to compete against privateer conversions of Elans for racing. (See story below.)

60 years later, these little race cars are still giant killers in Historic Racing such as Goodwood Revival.

Colin Chapman was very good at product placement and the Elan models featured in many TV series including the Avengers with Dianna Rigg (Emma Peel), Tara King, Peter Sellers and Paul Newman had one, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill and the list goes on.

So to all those Elan and Elan Plus 2 owners out there who are one day gunna do it, now is the time. This is the year. Make the effort. Get it out of the shed, open the boxes and go for it.

A big congratulations to Steve Amos who dragged his S4 out of the shed mid 2021 and refurbished it after 10 years. Well done Steve and he still can’t control the smile.

A further big congratulations to Gary Stewart who dragged his Elan out of the shed after at least 25 years during 2021 and completely refurbished all the mechanicals to arrive at the All British Day in style. Well done Gary.

Our hope is that Ian Loxton will make good progress this year on his very big Elan +2 project. Keep at it Ian.

Ian Wright’s S3 Elan is on the way – another Ian with an Elan project.

So there are a few on the go and if you know someone who has one, who needs a prod or some support, let them know there are plenty of people around to lend a hand.

We have at least 12 Elans and +2s on the road in Queensland and that could grow with a bit of encouragement. We would also like to see some magazine articles throughout this year on your Elan, its life, restoration and ownership so share those stories.

A 60 year celebration is in planning for later this year so there is plenty of time to join the Elan team.

TYPE 26 Elan S1 and S2

Contribution by William Taylor, Creative Director of Coterie Press

By 1961 it was clear that for Lotus to remain profitable, it was the Elite which had to be supplanted. As such, the Elan became more up-market. Overall, its design had less of the Elite’s uncompromised feel and far more regard for production viability and costings.

The simple, deep backbone chassis was of 18swg steel with local 16swg stiffening and weighed a mere 75lb. It measured 11.5 inches by 6 inches at the centre (which doubled up as a propshaft tunnel) and each end of the chassis forked out into narrower sections. Cross-members and turrets at the front cradled the engine, gearbox, steering and suspension, and the rear housed the final drive and suspension.

The body, designed by Ron Hickman, was moulded in two main glassfibre sections (floorpan/arches and upper body) which were then bonded together. Steel strengthening for the door jambs and screen pillars made it sufficiently rigid to not rely on the chassis for its strength. Clean aerodynamics suggested a pop-up headlamp arrangement, which was worked by vacuum cylinders. The front and rear bumpers were made of plastic and filled with polyurethane foam.

Chapman wanted a twin overhead camshaft engine for the Elan and turned to Harry Mundy of The Autocar magazine. Mundy, formerly with BRM and Coventry Climax agreed to develop a DOHC head. Preliminary work was on the 3-bearing 109E block, until the Ford 116E 5-bearing block became available. The alloy heads were initially made by J.A. Prestwich, and then by Lotus itself.

As announced, the Elan engine displaced 1,499cc and was basically a detuned version of the same unit that had powered the Lotus 23 earlier in the season. The head, pushrods, timing cover and water pump of the original OHV engine was discarded, and Lotus fitted its own aluminium DOHC head. However, the 100bhp engine was quickly superseded by a definitive 1,558cc, 105bhp version with twin Weber carburettors. Dellorto or Zenith-Stromberg carbs would be fitted later.

The interior, accessed by wide-opening doors, seated two, on well-shaped adjustable seats mounted on an inclined floor. The steering column was adjustable for reach by concentric tubes, designed for crash collapsibility. The fascia panel was of nineply, wood faced with teak and housed four gauges. The boot was generous for a sports car and under the floor sat the spare wheel and 10-gallon fuel tank. The windows were of the manually operated, sliding type, rather than having a bulky winding mechanism, (which wouldn’t fit in the tight confines of the door).

Initially launched in convertible form only at the 1962 Earls Court Motor Show, the price was £1,495 fully built or £1,095 in kit form. From May 1963, when the larger engine was standardised, a removable hardtop became an optional extra.

The Elan quickly gained a reputation as an ultra-responsive, balanced, and quick little car. The Elan attracted over 2,000 customers in its first three years and its success almost certainly saved Lotus from an early demise.

A revised Elan S2 arrived in November 1964. It had several small improvements like larger front calipers, full-width polished veneer dash with a lockable glovebox, quick-release filler cap and new rear lenses. The option of centre-lock wheels was offered in place of the original bolt-on type.

[Show slideshow]

Chapman Era Classics

By Craig Wilson.

The Chapman Era of Lotus was obviously fundamental in the creation of what Lotus is today and it is important to encourage interest in and preserve the cars and the legacy of such creative brilliance.

There are a significant number of members in LCQ with what we shall term, Chapman Era Classics. These are cars that were from Colin Chapman’s creation. From the early days of space frame chassis alloy clad lightweight racers to the fibreglass masterpiece Elite monocoque, the fibreglass bodied cars on backbone chassis such as the Elan or Esprit and Elite families of models.

All these cars cover such a diverse range of interest, expertise and availability and it is becoming increasingly more important that we create an environment within the Club to support anyone who has, or is interested in owning, these classics. There are some on the road, there are many more in sheds and boxes waiting for encouragement and daylight.

We have over the past 18 months had a few impromptu gatherings to view some members projects or just catch up with some of the owners of these classics.

Recently Craig and Carolyn Wilson hosted a morning tea for around 20 very enthusiastic members and it was great to see so many wives or partners along. Unfortunately the violent storms kept the Lotus cars away except for Maggie and Mike who live nearby and decided to chance their timing to perfection in their Elan +2. Well done.

If you own one of these models and need support to “get it out of the shed”, source parts, solve a problem, or just make contact with owners with similar models, please contact the club secretary with your details and we will give you a call. This is to protect your privacy.

Lets get the Chapman Classics out there again.

[Show slideshow]

The rebuild of my 1965 Lotus Elan S2 SE

Duration 1985 – 1992.

By Greg Bray.

By 1985 I had owned my 1967 Lotus Elan S3 SE Coupe for 11 years. I was born and bred in Southern England. My passion from a very young age was always cars. Conveniently I did not live too far away from the Goodwood racetrack, of which I was a regular visitor growing up.

I qualified as a British Leyland motor mechanic in 1971 working on cars ranging from Morris Minors to Jaguars. I was always changing my own cars every 5 minutes, until I came across a Moto Baldet Lotus Elan in 1974 needing some love and mechanical attention already at only 7 years old. At the time I owned a good condition MGB GT which I swapped for the Lotus, plus a bit of cash. Thinking I would sort the car out and sell it on as usual, 47 years on I still own the Elan!

So way back I joined the English Club Lotus and enjoyed the company of like-minded people. My love of all cars Lotus was born. By which time I was running my own car repair business and had a few customers with Lotus cars.

Whilst driving along Southsea seafront one evening I was flagged down by another Lotus Elan S3. The owner jumped out and introduced himself as Jerry Bell, who ended up a very good friend. Jerry happened to run a car body repair business and I with my mechanical business. I did all his mechanical work and he did my paint work. So I was very interested when Jerry rang one day in 1985 to say an advert was in the local paper for a 1965 Lotus Elan S2 in pieces for just £850.00.

The story went that the man selling the car knew nothing about it, as it was left behind in the double garage of the house he had just bought. He wanted the garage space for his boat, so Jerry and I shot around there to have a look. The owner could not tell us why the original owner might have left the Lotus behind, probably because it had been absolutely dismantled some 10 years or so earlier. Not just the engine and gearbox, but also the steering rack, brake calipers, everything just thrown into separate boxes and left to rust in the English climate!

Whilst the phone wouldn’t stop ringing regarding the car, I quickly established everything seemed to be there and it was original and complete.

Jerry and I were supposed to be partners in this rebuild, but I’m afraid Jerry wasn’t good at making quick decisions and he thought we should think it over and come back tomorrow. I knew the car would be gone and the owner was wondering what he really had and perhaps hadn’t asked enough money for these bits and pieces. I insisted to Jerry we give the man a deposit and come back with a big van tomorrow to take it off his hands, which we did. I quickly realised my dithering friend would not make a good partner in this long term rebuild, so luckily I was able to persuade Jerry it would be best I carry out the whole rebuild myself. I would need Jerry later to shape up the car and spray it for me. He agreed to that all ok, as he also liked Minis and I gave him my orange Mini 1000.

The only thing that had been done towards the rebuild was a total waste of time. The front turrets had been plated because of corrosion there and on other places on the chassis and a thick coat of black paint had been applied. I needed to throw away that old chassis and buy a new replacement chassis which was readily available. Then all new suspension and brake parts, differential rebuild with new 3.5 crown wheel and pinion, as 3.9 too low for the UK. Body repairs next, the body of the car was in poor condition. I ended up re-glassing more or less most of the car. Typically “drop heads” in English climate get corrosion. Which in this case had swelled the lower door sills reinforcing metal bars. I had to cut all the corroded metal out, so it could fill out the big gap in the lower sill. This was probably the worst repair I had to do on the whole car!

The body was cracked and crazed all over. I had to grind off a lot of gel coat and do a lot of fibreglass work underneath as well as on top. That was as far as I could go with it, so I passed the body on to my mate Jerry who shaped it and painted it. The car had been Spruce Green (Lotus British Racing Green); I decided to make it a red car in case I decided to sell it. As I would never part with my Lotus Elan S3 SE as it is the all-round better car to own.

Next with the body back and fitted to the new chassis, being a drop head in England the car’s interior had suffered greatly.

Fortunately I was able to service and clean all the switches and gauges, which were all still in good working order. The lacquer on the dash however was cracked all over. I was able to carefully use a heat gun to strip the lacquer off back to the veneer which was in perfect condition. After many coats of yacht varnish and rubbing down I was never going to get a perfect finish. So off to my friend Jerry again who sprayed it in his spray oven and got a perfect finish for me.

The front seat frames lower tubes were all rusted out, so they had to be replaced. I bought various trim parts and seat kits which I fitted myself. I also bought a new steering wheel. Hood and tonneau cover.

The engine and gearbox rebuild was the easy part for me as I did that type of work running my business. As for the engine typically I would usually spend four times as long doing the head than doing the bottom end. Typically being an early Mk 1 engine having no tappet guides in the head. So the tappets run directly in the alloy head having no wear, which I found normal with early heads.

Gearboxes of Series 1 and 2 cars all had close ratio gears. When the 2000E came out with the better Ford ratios, Lotus used those ratios in the Series 3 and 4. I kept the engine and gearbox rebuild original and also rebuilt the carbs as standard.

The car drove extremely well, very smooth and quiet. I was really pleased with the finished rebuild.

Of course it had taken me many hours over 7 years to achieve the rebuild in 1992 and I must pay tribute to my family for putting up with me missing from home. As I often worked on the car after a day’s working on my customer’s cars. I was also there most Saturdays working on the car. My wife Chris and our two boys insisted I spend Sundays with them, usually out walking in the countryside especially the South Downs to get some fresh air.

In 1993 I met a John Williams who came to my garage to buy a new Triumph Dolomite Sprint cylinder head I had for sale. When John realised I was interested in Lotus cars we got talking and I mentioned rebuilding the Lotus Elan S2. John asked would I be interested in him doing an article about the car as he was a writer for the English Classic Cars Magazine. So I was very proud when a six page article with 13 photos of the car was printed in September 1993.

At that time I would never have dreamt that in July 1996 I would be emigrating to Australia. By then I had three Lotus cars. My Lotus Elan S3, Lotus Elan S2 and a Twin Cam Lotus Europa which I had also rebuilt (maybe another article to follow?).

My first Elan, the S3 had to come with me. The Twin Cam Europa went to Japan (I’m sorry I let that one go) and the Elan S2 was sold in May 1996 at the annual Club Lotus weekend at Castle Combe racetrack. I turned up in the car with a For Sale sign on it for £12500. Within half an hour Kent Sports Cars came to look at the car and wrote me a cheque for the asking price without even wanting to hear the engine run. They sent a truck two weeks later to pick up the S2 from my garage. Within a month they were advertised the Elan at £19950, which at the time was the most I had seen a Lotus Elan advertised for!

The Covid Cam

Story and pics by Dick Reynolds.

So we are all looking at isolation, can’t drive the car without a valid excuse and I’m on “Special Interest Plates”. Daryl, Shane and Jon increasingly monstering my efforts on track!

Thinks to self “rip the engine out and do that cam replacement you’ve been dreaming of for 10 years”.

And that is exactly what’s happened.

Here’s the timeline:

Checked valve to piston clearances roughly and selected a Cosworth A3 grind.

10mm lift at valve, 47/83 83/47 timing giving 310 deg. duration. Rev range 4000 to 8000.

All depends on what’s in the engine as to how effective this somewhat warm cam is!

Took the head off, oversize valves – like really oversize, double springs, beautifully ported. Tick.

Piston tops look like forged items and definitely 83.5mm bore. So solid 1700cc. Tick.

Took engine out, flipped over, bearings OK and rods 125 Twin Cam items. Tick.

Removed the flywheel, pressure plate and clutch – AP Racing clutch. Sadly decided to replace and had all manner of problems chasing bits. All set now with 170hp capability! Tick.

Removed old cam – BCF2 fast road cam badly timed! (110hp on a good day). Checks with Dyno Day 82.6hp at wheels.

Cam arrived, set up the dial gauge and found original TDC of crank out by about 2 to 4 degrees so couldn’t time A3 at the required .087” (2.21mm) lift at TDC.

Duplex cam chain with Vernier adjustment arrived and set cam up at the precise timing. Installed home-made front cover hatch to allow adjustment of cam timing should I get it wrong or want to change it!

Did a “dry” assembly to check valve to piston clearance – 4mm! Plenty and room for a wilder lift at some later date.

Solid front pulley also arrived. This prevents pulley flying apart at high revs and is smaller diameter to slow water pump and reduce cavitation.

All new gaskets and followed the Wallage Kent Xflow book closely to re-assemble.

Assuming better breathing, installed 34mm chokes, 140 mains and 180 airs in DCOE Weber carburettors.

Put the completed engine back in car and set the ignition timing, primed the dry sump oil pump and re-filled the coolant.
Next step terrifying! You need to run the engine at no less than 2000rpm for 20 minutes to run the cam and followers in. Luckily, all went well and it’s run in.

Took the car out for a run and it went very well, no revs over 4000. Appears the jetting won’t be too far out.

Days later and a few runs around chasing various odds and sods like shorter fan belt etc. turned right out of Cannon Hill shops instead of left, entered the Gateway Bypass on-ramp and floored the pedal in third gear. Moment later the engine all but stopped – oh no! Looked down at instruments and realised I had hit the rev limiter.

Think this thing might have some poke!

Spent the next week solving little niggles like oil and water leaks and electrical glitches.

Now I’m sorting the tuning myself. Bit of plug analysis and getting the thing running sweetly.

Returns a day or two later!

Number one valve has half the lift it should and there’s a big knock in the engine.

Looks like a second wave of repair.

Such is life.

I’ll keep you posted.

Part 2

So in a couple of hours the engine is out and a bit later I’ve lifted the sump off to see what has happened! All single handed thanks to a borrowed “Endless Chain”.

It appears the follower or lobe – more than likely the follower – has failed, stopped rotating, lost hard face and begun to lose my much needed valve lift. Actually lift reduced from 10mm to 5mm in about 10 miles of driving! As an aside, the damn thing still seemed to pull like crazy!

Reason for the failure? Sadly I imagine a lack of pre-assembly lubrication on my part, and possibly not run in well enough. Could also be a fatigue crack in the follower – yeah right Dick!

So how to prevent a recurrence of this!

First off, get some good advice. Re-read the Bible (Wallage), spoke to various boffins – thank you Peter Bowl , Clive from Clive Cams, Daryl Jarvis, Greg and Paul at Taylor Street Mechanical, Steve Lennox and others.
Second off, take the bloody advice!

Strip the engine down and find out how far the bits of my “valve lift” went!

Oil filter, sump and bearing surfaces indicate the filter did its job perfectly.

Next, clean out the areas – bought a compressor and blew the thing clean.

Ordered some “Redline Assembly Lube” on the netty thing.

Chased up a valve spring compressor and took the inner of the double valve springs out. This reduced the pressure on the lobes by about 30%. Just have to work out how to put them back without taking the head off AGAIN! Post script, found a valve spring compressor that does this at Supercheap for $40!

Unfortunately Clive Cams are very busy and I have a 3 week wait for the replacement camshaft. Good chance to chase up a few annoying glitches in the car. Things like finding the ideal Allen Key to get to the dry sump pump bolts, the ideal bolt length to get to that terribly annoying centre bolt on the inlet manifold, perfect the sump gasket assembly process, etc. Post script – all done. And even stopped the head lights wobbling!

Cam arrived looking exactly like the last one, so began the re-assembly.

Steve Lennox turns up with a tube of angel dust! I’d tell you what it is but then I’d have to kill you – something about NASA or NSA or something! Suffice to say it protects – big time! Sorry for looking such a dill on the morning Steve – really shouldn’t try to set up a cam when “under the weather”. By lunch I was on the ball again and assembling away. Block and head positively dripping with $40 a microgram assembly lube!
Saturday night, minimal drink and early bed.

Sunday is move the engine out to the driveway and stick it in the car. With some invaluable help from my golfing nemesis Dan Hodder the engines back in by lunch.

Few glitches with wiring etc and it’s late in the day before I can start the thing.

You guessed it! Didn’t start.

Pulled the pin and got a good night sleep.

Monday after work I figure out we are one plug position out on the distributor. Quick twist of the dizzy (you Elise guys have no idea what I’m talking about – but that’s OK!) and it’s all go. Alive again! Oil pressure, no big leaks but the exhaust pipes are glowing red on idle. Seems I need the 50F9 idles! As an aside, the bible says idle new cam for 20 to 30 minutes at no less than 2000rpm. Can’t tell you how painful that is with a new engine, untested!

Did the 30 plus minutes cam run-in. Set the idle and went for a ten minute drive to see if all’s well. Yep, all’s well.

It’s now next weekend and I’ve set off for a two hour drive to run the cam in a bit more! Did a plug check at a Truck Stop and all looks OK.

All that’s left to do is put the inner valve springs back in, change the oil and re-torque the head then“give it one”, but I’m feeling a tad reticent!

Maybe a couple more hours at easy revs and we’ll see.

Well I’ve done the couple more hours, including an EMR to Mt Glorious, no revs over 5000 rpm.

Next day, devise a cunning plan to put double springs back on head. Most essential ingredient being Clothes Line cord – poke about 1.0m into spark plug hole to hold up valve!

Checked all, seemed OK and planned another run up the mountain.
Well, it seems the work has been well worthwhile.

Noosa Hillclimb next week, so we’ll see how it goes.

[Show slideshow]

Broken Gear Case, plug hitting trailer not an uncommon problem

The Ford Gearbox – some words of caution

By Greg Bray

Be careful when driving your Lotus 7 up onto your trailer. Making sure that the rear cross bar of the trailer is low enough to clear the gearbox drain plug, so it doesn’t hit the bar. Because the plug will and does break the casing, because it’s thinner than you think.

Ford Gearboxes used in Elans and ‘7’ run all the intermediate gears steel on steel with oil ways on the main shaft. They can only take the oil level so low before the gear seizes on the shaft which I’ve had a number of times. The car only wants to drive in one gear, and move forward in neutral.

Other gearbox manufacturers either have a bronze bush or a caged needle roller bearing and therefore can take the low oil without seizes. Fords are the only manufacturer that I know that did it on the cheap without bearings in gears.