Lotus Cylinder Head Rig.

During the past thirty four years of owning and maintaining an S2 Lotus elan, there have been many times when I could have made a wish to the automotive Jeanie that some special equipment would just magically appear in the workshop that would make the job of rebuilding and maintaining the elan just that little bit easier for one’s self.

But unfortunately, no amount of wishing and hoping will make it appear.
There are but two options; you either buy equipment, or you simply build your own.

I think from memory, the cylinder head on the S2 elan has been removed, stripped, and rebuilt more than three or four times over the past three and a half decades.

While the writer is passionate about the Lotus Elan, there are several operations that can be made much easier to carry out when working on these special cars.

If you ever become involved in a total body off rebuild/restoration project, then do your self a favour, and go beg, borrow, steal, or better still, design and build a rotisserie…. they are worth more than their weight in gold.

It is both a revelation, and a huge bonus to build something like a rotisserie, and the realisation of just how fantastic these rigs can be.

The same thing could be said for mounting the twin cam cylinder head onto a special stand or holding rig, that will allow unfettered access to carry out all of the strip down and rebuilding work… much easier than wrestling with the twin cam head on the work bench.

We want to explain to you how to build a cylinder head Rotisserie.

Lately, the twin cam engine in the S2 has become very tired and underpowered, so the engine was removed for a major rebuild, and it comes at a time when the car has covered a distance of more than 80,000 miles.

I’ve Wrestled With Twin Cam Cylinder Head Several Times Before.

Each time the cylinder head has been removed for stripping and rebuilding, because of its shape, it is a cumbersome object to work on. In reality, the head can only be rested on the bench on either end, or laid on it’s back, which as you’ll understand, is never the perfect angle, no matter how it is held or chocked with bits of hardwood, it is a never ending wrestle to move it into the correct position for what ever procedure one is trying to perform on it. Yes, there are generic cylinder head bench stands, but they don’t totally suit the twin cam head.

Maybe I am awkward, but I think there could be others out there who would agree with me.

And To Be Honest, I Think There Must Be An Easier Method, and there is.

Several years ago, a special twin rail type of frame support was fabricated, which has brackets welded to the arms which align with the cylinder head stud holes, thus some long bolts can be inserted, and the head support frame is bolted to a swivel bracket on the engine stand.

When mounting the cylinder head, it is essential to place firm rubber pads between the metal brackets and the aluminium cylinder head, other wise the gasket face of the head could be damaged

This idea has worked extremely well in the past, when only the head was removed from the engine block in the car.

But a problem arises when both the engine block and the cylinder head need to be worked on at the same time, and you need to have each item mounted on a dedicated stand.

The chore of swapping swapping the cylinder head and associated holding jig/bracket, and the engine block in and out of the engine stand is a pain, and real inconvenience to put it mildly.

Wouldn’t It Bo So Much Easier To Have A Dedicated Stand For The Engine Block And Also For The Cylinder Head.

So instead of wishing upon the Jeanie to produce something out of thin air, we decided to build something better and more convenient in order to make the work flow of dismantling and rebuilding simpler and more enjoyable to carry out, and there will be less chance of making mistakes also.

So That Is What We Did.

It is probably best that we describe the rig with photographs as well as a video, then I’m sure you will understand how this rig works.

The large flange and axle are donor parts from a vintage Austin Healey 3000 rear axle shaft… repurposing of found metal, and an ideal choice to make the major part of the swivel head. All of the other parts were built from metal scrounged from around the workshop, and or machined in the lathe. But if you have to purchase new material, then that is OK to.

Once the cylinder head build has been completed, and removed from the rig, the stand or rig can be dismantled and hung up out of the way on the workshop wall, and if its ever required again, it only takes about ten or fifteen minutes to assemble, and its ready for use again.

Watch The Video Below To Understand More About This Project.

Twin Cam Lotus Head Holding Rig. from Colin Croucher on Vimeo.

I just know that I will get comments from people who say, they cant build stuff like this, because they cant weld, don’t have a lathe… etc, etc.

We are not saying that you have to build this rig, but I’m sure the DIY people out there will appreciate this… and to be honest, we are just sharing with other elan owners what works for us.

It is very rewarding to be able to build special equipment for your workshop, and it does not have to cost an arm and a leg, just as we have described to you in this article what can be built from some  recycled metal, and a bit of effort.

The cylinder head rig was employed to make sure that the weber carbs fitted correctly onto the manifold studs, and on the exhaust side of the head, the extractors were trial fitted to make sure there were no snagging of manifold flanges onto the head studs. This kind of work is far easier to check and correct rather than wait until everything is installed back in the car.
The larger cold air box was also refitted to the back plate with a new bead of black RTV laid in the flange seal part of the backing plate.

The weber manifold studs were all installed and checked for specific length, making sure they were all equal, and that when the nylocs were screwed up to be level with the end of the stud, or a little further, they were all at the correct tension, and the thackery spring washers still had a bit of spring in them.
Webers are not supposed to be mounted solid, they are meant to have some flex.

Take and learn from this information what you can.
This is elantrikbits sharing DIY knowledge with the Lotus elan Marque owners across the world.