Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: kram350kram on Monday,January 09, 2023, 02:57:59 PM
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Any recommendations on stone guard material, # 34 in the Service Parts List. What was the original material , size, etc... would also be appreciated.
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Are you talking about the panels that close off the body behind the front wheels and in front of the rear wheels?
That being the case, the original pieces were something like tar covered cardboard.
I replaced mine with plastic sheet about 1/8” thick. I saw some patterns somewhere but I don’t remember where offhand.
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No, the ones that attach to the underside of the fender to protect from debris impacts, stones, etc...
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Ah! I know what you’re talking about now. I seem to remember them when my car was “new” but I don’t think I’ve seen them since. I’ll take a look and see if I have them on my car anymore. FWIW, I’ve gotten no damage from rocks hitting the underside if my fenders.
An idea you might consider in lieu of whatever was there - maybe some thick undercoating with some stainless steel screen embedded into it.
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BDA, if you still have it on your car, what size is it? And is it positioned directly over the wheel, or offset one way or another?
I have that part to replace, too.
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When I first saw this post I had no idea what you were on about, I had to go and look up your reference number (every day is a school day)
Although that's listed for the TC there's no sign of anything having been fitted on my car so I guess that's a later addition to the production run. The recommendation for the Elans was for a very thick coat of underseal in the wheel arches so BDA's option sounds right on the money. It would certainly be a pain to get that area clean enough for anything to stick well and not potentially come loose in the future. Maybe something like Tiger seal would do it but to be honest I'd go with underseal.
If the panel is perfectly clean and smooth then maybe some of the rubber sound deadening panels you get would be ok ?
Brian
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Spray on stone chip is ideal for this, available in various colours and most can be painted over if desired.
Works on fibreglass and you can always go back in a few years time (if needed) and repair small areas if it’s lifting etc.
Something like what’s in the pic (purely for reference) - available in spray cans which makes application even easier.
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what about using the black plastic fake grass kind of material Ive seen used on truck inner wheel arches.I guess that would be good for preventing heavy stone damage. Although personally i would use spray on stone chip as it looks less offensive
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I had trouble thinking of how to mold to contour and stick that chip guard to the roof of the wheel well. So I like the spray on idea. And as JR73 said, it’s easier to touch up later if needed.
For someone looking in the future, it might still be useful to know what material was used and how it was attached.
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I had trouble thinking of how to mold to contour and stick that chip guard to the roof of the wheel well. So I like the spray on idea. And as JR73 said, it’s easier to touch up later if needed.
For someone looking in the future, it might still be useful to know what material was used and how it was attached.
On my 693R (a '71 S2) there were 2 rectangular pieces made from the same material as the body panels at the back of the arches contact cemented up on the top of the inside of the fender then slathered with a lick of undercoating. They were about 10" long by 6" wide and pretty much centered on the wheel front to back. One on the left, one on the right.
When I redid the body, I took them off...cleaned up the wheel arches, re-cemented them where they came from, coated the entire upper fender with 2 coats of underseal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, added weight, etc.