After 2 weeks to ship, and a month in customs - my 912 Engine with Toyota Gearbox has arrived to get swapped into my Elite! I will soon have the fastest non-v8 powered RHD Elite in the US!

Over the next months, if anyone has 907 engine / gearbox needs or the like for an Elite / Eclat S1 or a Jensen, I'm going to be giving the parts away (or trading for Elite things I need if someone offers) just to keep space available in the garage.

Of course now I actually have to remove the body from the frame, which I've been dreading a bit for fear or what I might find...

WooHOO!

Can you rig up some block 'n tackle to suspend the shell from above? With the earlier cars four fit guys can lift the shell off the frame. Yours is HEAVY by comparison.

I'm still trying to figure that one out.

I've removed pretty much everything - interior, gas tank, all the glass, HVAC stuff, and even the really heavy doors with their electric mirrors and crash bars - to the point where it just is the shell.

I've scene multiple pictures of resting on a pair 2x4s (one thru each wheelarch) which are on cinder blocks, so it can't be THAT heavy. I've also read of people removing the bolts and just using a lift to raise the chassis, though I don't have a lift.

I'll probably use a 4x floor jacks, 3 guys (2 + me), and then slide a paint dolly underneath or some blocks to keep it stable.

Does anyone have a guess on the weight? I know the motor / gearbox and ancillaries are 500lbs, probably 100lbs+ of glass, 100lbs of interior - that accounts for 700 of the 2500lbs of weight...

Of course once the body is off - the real fun begins. Mechanical refresh AND body crack repair and repaint.

Which begs the real question: what color to paint it?

My WAG would be the shell stripped would be right at or just under 1K pounds. I used 2x4 saw horses (STOUT, short home-built ones!) to rest the Elan shell on the last time it was off. That only weighs 400~500, IIRC.

Where's "lotusposition" when we need him... I bet he knows for sure.

That would make sense.

My car (a 501 - having no AC or PS) is really closer to 2400lbs, so that would make sense. I know it's longer, wider and enclosed unlike the elan which would explain the 900lb weight jump. It's also much stiffer glass - just like the esprits of the era.

What I wonder is how much the backbone, suspension, rear-end, etc. all weigh when combined...

I know the Toyota W58 gear box that is going in is, the Aluminum GAZ shocks, PNM brakes, and dynamat insulation are all lighter then the original stuff, so it should probably loose a good amount of weight.

Something like this works.

I see you trussed those horsie things. Good work. That'd hold an Elite/Eclat shell, certes.