Testimonials

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12/03/2013
Col, Ready to purchase a set of CV ' for my "66 Elan coupe, which by the way, I purchased in 1965 & took delivery of 26 Jan 1966.
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9/04/2013
Col, They arrived this morning! They are works of art so rather than mount them on the Elan I'm displaying them among my other works of art in the den. Thanks & again, they are really works of art.
Ron I.
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23/10/2013
-Col, Hello again. The CV's went in "like Flynn" & now the 2 other Elan friends wish they had selected yours vice the "others" Funny first drive feeling, far better than donuts.

Hi Col,
I made it, thanks to your drive shafts, to the all British Day which was held at the Uraidla Oval in the Adelaide Hills. Having now fitted them, I have to say I'm not sorry the not so old rotoflex coupling let go, as the car is now transformed. I'm delighted with the way it is running and today it was very well received. It is great fun to drive.
Thanks for your assistance.

Hi Col.
Finally, last week end, I could go for a long drive and the feel of the elan is fantastic. My brother said: The elan feels like a modern car! No one will say it is from 1966!! Really, your drive shafts are really good. They transform the driving of the car. They are not only fantastic as a mechanical component, but they are also beautiful to look at. They are also very easy to fit, and all was done in a couple of hours.
All the best.

7/12/2017.
Col, the CVs arrived late Thursday which means the postal service is better between Vic and SA. We have fitted them with no problems and went for the first drive this morning. They are very well made. They work beautifully, and were so much easier to fit than the rotoflex, and hopefully we don't have to change them every 5 years or so.
Thank you!
Kind Regards

24/09/2017
Hi Col
Nine months after fitting I have to say I'm nothing short of delighted with the CVDS conversion. A world of difference that has literally added a new dimension to the car, and to my driving enjoyment. I've done a few classic car shows this summer and people in the know always ask about the donuts, which of course I now tell them are a thing of the past and the dramatic difference your product has made.

Name: Dave Webber
Comment or Message
Hi Col,
Thought it appropriate to make contact with you and congratulate you on manufacturing and supplying a product in Australia more than the equal of any other iteration available elsewhere in the world. I had considered the others but none of them measured up in anyway to the Elantrikbits CVDS.
Some may feel that I procured an Australian product as I am Australian but that would be incorrect. I decided on quality nothing else. It just so happens to make me proud that it was.
The rubber donut configuration has been a constant worry for nearly two and a half decades of ownership but I'm happily motoring around in my Elan now without the constant fear of a donut letting go.
Not only is the worry gone but the drive enjoyment is so much more pleasant. Was it bad with the donuts? No, it's just far more enjoyable with the CVDS.
I might add that for those that reckon it won't happen to them consider my own experience. When installing my units it became blatantly obvious that at some time before my ownership the LHR had let go in a big way. Extensive F/G repair and severe scoring on the diff housing were witness to the fact. I'm certainly glad that never happened to me at highway speeds.
It was a big decision for me to allocate the funds for such a purchase but I'm am so glad that I have made the change and look forward to many years of trouble free driveshaft concern.

After having consulted with Col regarding the manufacture and materials used in his drive shafts, I installed them into my 1964 S2 Élan around one year ago. On receiving them, I was very impressed by the quality, finish and details, such as the dust caps, grease points and high tensile bolts. After fitting, I have found them to perform very well, being very positive in use compared to the rubber donuts and eliminating surge particularly on take-off. As my "donuts" were getting quite old, I now don't have a fear of a dangerous failure. I would recommend the drive shafts to any one considering them for their Elan, particularly if they use their car in a spirited fashion!

Col,

CVDs were installed Friday (July 12th) in time for my first car show! Absolute night and day difference in the driving experience as you said. Could not be happier. Felt the difference immediately.
Hoping to get an Elan to pair with my +2 in the next couple of years and will definitely be getting your kit for that car when the time comes! Already convincing my mechanic who has an Elan that he needs to get them for his ride.
Wish you all the best!

Hi Col,
My driveshafts are now in my Lotus Elan Sprint back in UK and I would like to say how pleased I am with them.
Thank you again.
Kind regards,

Col.
I hope that you keep producing the quality product that you do. You and your firm have been a pleasure to deal with even if you are on the other side of the globe. If you want a test pilot for anything new you're developing, I'd be happy to road test it.
Thanks again for a fantastic product.
Cheers.

Hi Col,
I thought you might like to know how the CV drive shafts are performing now that I have some mileage with them. They certainly have transformed the driving experience of my Plus 2, and smooth gear changes are now easily made. Unlike the ones fitted to my car when I bought it, your drive shafts show no tendency to “bind,” even when the suspension is at full droop, which shows the benefit of using quality components. They also look the part with a nice finish to the machine work; pity they have to be hidden under the car! I can certainly recommend them to any Elan owner who needs to upgrade the driveline on his car.
Kind regards,

Hello Col,
Finally I managed to install CVDS over the weekend and made first 100km drive on it.
As expected I felt immediately a solid connection between my right foot and rear
wheels that made a car agile. I also noticed that the noises from drivetrains are reduced.
In total I am quite happy with the improvements!
Many thanks from Mitsu Japan!

Hi there Col, Yes fitted the new CVDS to my +2, nice and easy to fit, nicely made. Have done 250kms with them in the car. Has made the back end have more feel to it, there was no problem when the car was on full drop, turned over nicely. Very happy with the new parts and the fitting of them. Many thanks for your help.

So what's the elan like to drive?

It was absolutely 100% worth it, and while I’ve only been able to do about 100 Miles on them so far this week, they are in a single word; incredible. Even at low speed while letting the CVDS bed in as your paperwork says to do. The car is so much more responsive and so much more planted in every way. The squishy initial clutch engagement is completely gone. The car plants down and PUSHES forward in every gear as opposed to what it used to do.

What it used to do as I am sure you know, was the RotoFlex drives use to kind of windup and slingshot the car forward. Which is cool and authentic, but in traffic, it can be a bit terrifying around other cars. But my absolute favorite part is that the car doesn’t do that bobbing back and forth thing that it used to do when coming to a complete stop and letting off the brakes at say a light or when parking. Depending on my foot it could obviously be subtle or outright offensive, but now its non-existent all the time. I am also utterly amazed that the car also turns better.

The steering was always good as it is a Lotus and it weighs nearly nothing, but it always seemed almost notchy in the way it moved left to right or lock to lock prior. Now its razor accurate, super smooth and points with total perfection.
I am truly and utterly BLOWN AWAY by how much better my little Lotus is now versus what it was. It was always great, but now it feels incredible and better than that; it feels complete.

So in closing, your engineering was spot-on. Truly-truly-truly impressive work. They're worth every penny! Worth the wait! And absolutely worth the back pain of 8 hours on my hands and knees in the garage with the car on jack stands. LOL…

"I have used the solid CV joint drive shaft conversion on my Elan S4 and Plus 2 for many years. The Plus 2 has covered about 40,000 miles of every day road use, and the elan has done about 15000 miles of race use with the conversion with absolutely no problems. From a strength, reliability, cost and ease of maintenance & drive ability view point the double CV joint conversion is far superior to the original donuts and other designs I have seen using universal joints or CV's in a combination with donuts".

I've just installed a CV kit from Croucher Engineering Aust (elantrikbits) and am absolutely delighted with the result - so much tighter, there's no binding of the CVs and the+2 drives so much smoother with better gear changes and a more robust feel overall. I'll keep the Roto flexs and shafts but, if anyone is wondering whether the CVs are worth it, you are unlikely to look back.
(Many thanks for your help Col)
Best regards.

Dear Col,
We finished our elan restoration, we have travelled 7000 miles (11265.41KMS). We are very satisfied with the CV Drive Shaft which you sold us. We gave your address and phone number to a friend who has elan too, who is very interested in your parts.
Best regards.

05/05/2024
Hi Col,
I have driven my ‘65 Lotus Elan S2 a few times now since installing your CVDS axles. What a huge improvement!
My Elan snapped back like a rubber band mid-corner the first time I ever drove her and it scared the crap out of me! What a dangerous design, but, I guess, it was all they had back then.
I literally stopped driving the car and ordered your kit. I am so much more at ease with my car now that she has your kit installed. I am having a blast with her! Thank you again!

Dear Mr. Croucher.
Thank you very much. My mechanic says that your kit is the best in the market followed by Spyder´s.
Thank you again.

Hi Col,
This is just a quick note to let you know that I fitted the drive shafts the weekend before last, and have now done about 100 miles with them. I'm really impressed, they add greatly to the driving experience and detract nothing.

They were very simple to fit; I had no trouble at all. The only notes I would make on your instructions would be to use a strap to keep the spring compressed so that the shaft can be fitted while horizontal, with minimal angulation. Also, to release the handbrake rod before the A frame! I finished the installation by giving each joint 5 strokes of Red Line CV grease.

Hopefully, this is enough. I'll check the tightness of everything after another couple of hundred miles. There doesn't seem to be any way to get a torque wrench on the nuts (or Allen bolts), so I guess it's just a matter of making sure everything it as tight as possible with a regular spanner.

Compared to changing Rotoflexs, which I last did over 30 years ago and still remember what a miserable experience it was, the CV shafts were a wonderful surprise. It's hard to imagine why anybody would continue to use Rotoflexs.

The biggest problem was to get the car jacked up high enough to work on. I've only had the car a year and never had to do anything at the rear, aside from inspections, for which I used a couple of small ramps. Building a solid beam to fit across the entire car just in front of the rear wheels proved to be the best solution.
Anyway, many thanks. They're a great improvement on the elan.
Regards.

Hi Col,
Hope all is going well with you.
This is the note I promised you once I had the units fitted to my car. I had a local Lotus specialist fit them for me - incidentally, he was very impressed and complimentary about the quality of your units. To say that they have transformed the car is an understatement!
The Sprint was brilliant before, now it's beyond brilliant. Everything seems much more 'connected' somehow.
The only issue I now have is restraining myself during the running in period - but I will!

So, many thanks once again - looking forward to many enjoyable drives in the years ahead.
Good luck with your business, I'll certainly mention you favourably at every opportunity.

Just to let you know I continue to be delighted with the CV conversion – the only downside is the fact you can’t see the shafts easily. Everyone who has seen them is impressed with their finish – and then I take them out for a drive.
Cheers, and thanks again for your work –

Col.
I have received and installed CV axles, and the elan is a much better car.
Compliments.