The rear suspension on a Lotus Elan is much more complicated than the front suspension.
Lotus’ design for this rear suspension system starts with bespoke aluminum rear hubs and uprights, combined with a strut insert and coil-over spring. Very wide, Lotus designed lower A-arms combine with what is c…
I've actually used short tie down straps to compress my rear springs, and I've got stiffer springs and adjustable shock inserts.
The rotoflex go on much easier when the springs are compressed, and I've put them on before and after the strut is connected to the chassis. Before works better when the body is off, but then almost everything is easier when the body is off.
Also don't fully tighten the inner suspension pivot bolts until the car is all together and the suspension is loaded to road weight. The rubber acts as part of the spring and will fail early if you tighten them at anything but normal ride height.
You might add that the diff only goes in from the left side, and even then it is tight.
A lot of Elan owners have replaced rotoflex couplings with CV Joints due to concerns about the quality of the currently available rotoflex couplings.
In reply to roblamoreaux:
You are right about the diff. What a pain! I had a long talk with Dave Bean, before he passed recently, and he asked me if I was trying to restore the car or not? I sheepishly answered yes. He told me to stop trying to modify it then and return it to stock. He also told me that while the CV joints do have their plusses, they destroy some of the awesome ride quality that the Elan was famous for.
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