Build Log or One-off posts?

[bilcoh]

As a newbie to this community who is restoring his Elan after 24 years of sitting idle, I wanted to thank everyone for the many answers that have already guided me. I really look forward to having my own photos and experiences that will allow me to contribute more and ask less.

I've noticed a few instances of people having maintained a thread as a build log. Is there any preference from the community about doing that as opposed to just posting updates as individual threads over time? Just curious, and would also welcome any thoughts, as well as what is most interesting about each build. Being so far from the UK, I feel at some disadvantage, since I won't often be any sort of resource for local vendors.

Thanks,

Dave

[ardee_selby]

Dave, Good question...

IMHO, for any questions you want to put to "the community", individual posts are appropriate...but for an ongoing progress report (where you've embodied the solutions) a running thread would be best to "tell the story".

This goes back to the "How to improve the forums" question.

Maybe a separate place for "Restoration Case Studies" would be better than a thread buried in the existing ones. OTOH, perhaps the "Elan Gallery" could be used for them.

Cheers - Richard

P.S. When you say "restoring his Elan after 24 years of sitting idle" I assume you mean the car, not you!

[stugilmour]

First off, welcome to the forum Dave if I haven't mentioned before.

+1 on RD's comments.

I like RD's idea of using the Gallery section for what you have in mind. This area tends to see less traffic, so your 'tale' will stay on the front page for a while between posts.

I really like these sorts of story threads, but could easily miss a specific question put in one. Figure a good answer is about max exposure, so for specific questions the usual areas are probably best to get max attention and suggestions. You can always post a link in your question to your 'blog' thread if you want, say if you have some photo's or whatever. Try as best you can to be clear in your new post title.

We had a fair amount of discussion about how to use the forum more effectively a while back; think that is what Richard is alluding to. One of the key points mentioned was that questions, even if already covered in past threads, keep the forum alive and active. Do try to take a peek in the archives first using the search feature, and don't be reluctant to ask a question by attaching it to an existing archived thread that perhaps wasn't conclusive, would benefit from clarification, you may have a different view on, or just to mention you found the info useful and accurate. The software brings the thread forward, and provides a ton of background to anyone trying to help out.

I well know the difficulty of trying to restore one of these wonderful cars in relative isolation with no examples to directly compare to. This forum has been invaluable for me to find parts, figure things out, get mod options, etc. When researching a topic, I found the sort of story thread you have in mind (with lots of reference photo's ) invaluable to figure things out. Even though the thread may not seem that active, take a look at the number of views to recognize their interest and enduring value.

Just a few thoughts. More importantly props and encouragement for taking on the resto. It's worth the effort, and we will all be interested in hearing about your progress however you can let us know.

[UAB807F]

Personally I quite like reading a restoration tale, complete with pictures charting your progress, I'm following one about a guy rebuilding his Europa on Lotustalk and it's got me hooked. It might even give you that extra push when times get tough and progress slows down if you know the rest of us are waiting for the next installment

For those "how do I ?" or "where from ?" questions I think you're better either searching the archives and resurrecting threads if need be, or starting a specific new thread as you're more likely to get several answers than from a purely restoration thread.

Brian

[garyeanderson]

I would think of a build log as something that as a story that can be followed. A bunch of separate problems are just a lost tail that was never told. With that said its easier to write a build log after your done as you will know what the complete story is and how you want to tell it. So if you want to do one both or neither the choice is yours. My idea would be both, one for the build progress and separate posts for questions as they arise.

This is a story I wrote 10 years after the build,
elan-photos-f18/the-resurrection-4597-many-photos-and-some-text-t16846.html
I am not sure of how I would do a build log today or build.

Alex Black did a great restoration of his Sprint and documented it here
elan-f14/new-car-arriving-t15608.html
but its mostly text and I am a picture guy and I miss a lot with just words.

[ardee_selby]

I also had "Famous Frank", and his account, in mind...

elan-f14/why-restore-elan-t21876.html

I was following his account with interest, but could see it easily being lost as a story...

Hope all is well, Frank.

Regards - Richard

[lotusbaz]

Hi Dave,

I am a fellow newbie to this forum much like yourself. I have just started to restore my S2 which was last used in 1986 and i was thinking of doing a build log for my car, the only problem is that it might continue for ??? years!

I am looking forward to seeing the start of your log and if possible it would be nice if we could compare progress and perhaps help each other with problems.

By the way, the chassis number of my car is 4388, just 10 units after your car and it was dispatched from the factory on February the 8th 1965. Perhaps they were in the factory at the same time?

Best Regards, Baz


______________
Elan S2 26/4388

[bilcoh]

Wow! I've clearly hit the mother lode with this question. What a wealth of opinions, though why would I think differently, since like many other things, we all have them. Great thanks for the depth and volume of responses.

RD, if I'd not been sitting idle, I'd guess my little car wouldn't have either. Lost years spent on children, marriage, work (still doing that, unfortunately) and life. Just glad I resisted the dark times when I didn't want the anchor around my neck and almost sold the whole kit. BTW, wifey has never seen this car run, and we've been together 21 years. College girlfriend lives down our block (we're all great friends) and she remembers the car fondly. Interesting dynamic to navigate.

I think I hear loud and clear that a build log with *LOTS* of photos is appreciated and welcome, and should live in the Elan Gallery. In my short tenure, the photos have been so valuable that I'm thinking of buying a camera to keep in the garage so that I document everything in excess for all our benefit.

Also clearly stated that individual questions should be researched first, revived on existing threads if appropriate, or launched as a new topic if it can't be found.

I must be in the right place, as this was my suspicion before asking the question. Thanks for the links to other build logs, both of which I'd found previously and were inspirations for the idea.

Lotusbaz, I was hoping we'd hook up. While I think the old factory only housed 6 cars being assembled at one time (anyone feel free to correct me on that), it's almost certain that their components had to be crossing paths along the way. Mine is a RHD, but my understanding is that the car was originally brought to Southern California and sold through a dealer in Manhattan Beach. I'd be interested in confirming it's original history as much as possible. Guess I'll need to research how to do that a bit more. I'm sure there are posts in the archives on that, right?

Again, thanks for the support. And Brian, I think you're spot on about having a group of people interested in your progress to help keep focused on making progress.

Cheers to all. Hope you have some great motoring this weekend (for those on the road.)

Dave

[garyeanderson]

Hi Dave,

I am a fellow newbie to this forum much like yourself. I have just started to restore my S2 which was last used in 1986 and i was thinking of doing a build log for my car, the only problem is that it might continue for ??? years!

I am looking forward to seeing the start of your log and if possible it would be nice if we could compare progress and perhaps help each other with problems.

By the way, the chassis number of my car is 4388, just 10 units after your car and it was dispatched from the factory on February the 8th 1965. Perhaps they were in the factory at the same time?

Best Regards, Baz
______________
Elan S2 26/4388

Who cares if you don't do much at times and it takes a while? I have cars that will never be done but I post the photos. This project has been going on for 13 or so years,

elan-photos-f18/early-4020-t12947.html

Its a long term project, some day it may get more time and money tossed its way.

3rd of December 7:40pm
I tosses some money (not a lot) and a bit of time (plenty) at the early S2 in the above link. It morphed into a multi "type 26" year and is ongoing topic for 9 months.

elan-f14/sows-ear-chassis-t24752.html

[rodlittle]

Hey youre really quick, mine has been sitting more or less idle for 30 years.
My story for what its worth is being posted in the gallery as things happen
cheers
rod