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SJ Sportscars Devon - Lotus


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OK then. My spare RH vertical link is now all shiny and fully degreased for inspection. It's in really good condition....except for the top 2 threads on the trunnion end which are quite pitted at the root. Grrrr :wallbash:

Extracting the very good stub axle was accomplished easily using the big 'ammer on the side of the taper technique so now all I need is a new VL.

Rimmers are selling them for £150 a piece plus postage, however I've had a scout around and SJ Sportscars in Devon who are Lotus specialists do one for £123 delivered. Which seems a good deal.

Anyone any knowledge of SJ Sportscars?

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A bit more clarification too. The bolt on wheels for the Eurpoa/Elan used the early Spitfire/Herald VL, stub axle and hub. The knock on wheels on the later Elan, +2, and I think early Esprits used the GT6/Vitesse upright and stub axle with a Lotus special hub.

Interesting fact I had forgotten is that the GT6/Vitesse VL has a dimple cast into the web of the upper section to differentiate it from the Spitfire/Herald version.

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Colin I spent a while digging around for Spitfire vertical links last year. Not sure how much applies to the GT6 as well, but it seems there were 2 manufacturers on the market. Maker's marks are either ESP or BS. The BS ones are, appropriately enough, a bit suspect (more detail on this old CT thread, but the photos have been lost https://club.triumph.org.uk/menu/1/item/42861/view?messagepage=7). Those may have all disappeared now so perhaps nothing to worry about. 

I ended up ordering mine from Wins International. They cost more than listed on the website though! When they arrived they were both marked ESP but were evidently made differently from each other. RH was a direct copy of the original VL, with buttress threads. The LH looked newer and perhaps more basic in its finishing, although the top end of the threads (where they seem to snap) is beefier. 

I contemplated trying to get a matching pair but laziness prevailed and I fitted them. Only done 1000 miles since and neither has snapped!

DSC_6611.thumb.JPG.789bd3cf99f80c8627a969dacd400039.JPG

DSC_6609.JPG

DSC_6608.JPG

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2 hours ago, Nick Jones said:

Ok.... as you were. :smile:

Struck me it’s rare to see the style with the bolt-on caliper bracket in Herald/Spitfire flavour ..... but it looked like the smaller caliper bracket......

No worries mate. As I said to the doctor who sent me straight off to A&E when she saw the ECG I was getting as part of an alzheimer's research study...

"I have an unusual ECG and I'm pretty sure I'm not having a heart attack but I'd rather be wrong than dead" :blink:

1 hour ago, PeteStupps said:

Be interested to know if SJ Sportscars get them from a different manufacturer, or what. 

There is another company selling the Lotus uprights along with the stub axle for £160 a set which is an excellent deal, if I was short of axles! Pic they have shows the ACME style thread so hopefully that's the one

s-l1600.thumb.jpg.5ed9b5be4b74cabe037b50ac7d219ab6.jpg

I need to wait a couple of weeks until SJ get stock in but for £50 happy to do that

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32 minutes ago, Escadrille Ecosse said:

There is another company selling the Lotus uprights along with the stub axle for £160 a set which is an excellent deal

That is an excellent deal indeed! Hmm I wonder. They surely can't still have Stanpart VLs can they? 

And yes Acme not buttress thread, that's a different shape. 

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3 hours ago, PeteStupps said:

Colin I spent a while digging around for Spitfire vertical links last year. Not sure how much applies to the GT6 as well, but it seems there were 2 manufacturers on the market. Maker's marks are either ESP or BS. The BS ones are, appropriately enough, a bit suspect (more detail on this old CT thread, but the photos have been lost https://club.triumph.org.uk/menu/1/item/42861/view?messagepage=7). Those may have all disappeared now so perhaps nothing to worry about. 

I ended up ordering mine from Wins International. They cost more than listed on the website though! When they arrived they were both marked ESP but were evidently made differently from each other. RH was a direct copy of the original VL, with buttress threads. The LH looked newer and perhaps more basic in its finishing, although the top end of the threads (where they seem to snap) is beefier. 

I contemplated trying to get a matching pair but laziness prevailed and I fitted them. Only done 1000 miles since and neither has snapped!

DSC_6611.thumb.JPG.789bd3cf99f80c8627a969dacd400039.JPG

DSC_6609.JPG

DSC_6608.JPG

As far as I can see, the difference between those two threads is that the upper one has had the overall diameter reduced by a couple of mm along the length of the thread and extending into the shoulder, and the lower one hasn't.  Not entirely sure what the purpose of the reduction is (improved lubrication, less frictional area?) but would say it matches the original form better.

IIRC the original links had rolled threads, whereas current ones are machined.

If the Lotus boys are using them, I reckon they'll be ok for us.....

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