to add headrest

[rdssdi]

I was wondering if anyone has added a headrest to an original Elan seat. I
have a 1969 Elan +2 without headrests. I was considering adding them.

Any suggestions?

Bob
1969 Elan +2

[Foxie]

Hi Bob,

I order to bring my Plus 2 to FIA spec for competitive events, I bent a section of 1" tubing to a hoop shape, put some tubular foam insulation overit, wrapped it in black tape, made two small opening in the seat padding, and bolted it to the seat frame at four points.

Sean Murray

[Elan45]

I can't believe you don't have endless numbers of +2 owners offering to trade their headrest fitted seat for yours. They restrict access to the back seat and punch holes in the headliner when tilted forward to gain the tiny access to the rear.

A friend used to have an add on, slip over the top of the seat back, head rest in his Mini rally car. You might have someone in an uphostery shop makeyou one.

Roger

[Foxie]

Roger,

I don't think any European Plus 2 came with seat head rests, I never seen them.

The head rest (restraint) also serves the purpose of locating the shoulder straps of the harness, as required by FIA specs.
With the roll hoop and brace bars, combined with the 4 point harnesses going to the rear turret bolts, there's no longer passenger space for anything but dwarf contortionists in the back of the Plus 2. So I removed the big rear seat moulding and fitted two cubby boxes with a full width bench lid. Very practical.

My other Plus 2 is completely original......

[Elan45]

Sean,

I think you are quite right.

When I was looking to purchase my +2 back in the 80s, every US Federal speccar I looked at had a tear in the headliner, which was just the exact samelocation as the seat top outer corners would go when they were tilted forward for rear seat access. We actually wanted access here because our son was of an age that if he were going to accompany us on our Lotus trips, he needed his own seat. When we had gotten our first Lotus, ten years earlier, he had just turned 4 and he would sit on the tunnel at the back between the seats. Today, this couldn't happen as he'd have to be in an approved child restraint seat, but I have wandered off the point. Suffice it to say, all the Fed cars we looked at, access was quite limited to the rear seats and this was because the head rests hit the top, not allowing the front seats to travel their full range and at the same time destroying the headliner.

Quite by accident, we happened onto a project, home market, +2S, that had been innocently smuggled into the US by it's owner in his quest to move to the US. We found a +2 so different from what was available over here that wehad to have it. Original Weber head, 3-eared KO's on chrome rimmed wheels.Neat adjustable backrest front seats and drop-down rear seat back, making a parcel shelf. No dual brake system, no side marker lights, just none of the stuff that always made Fed spec +2s so homely and so much trouble. We ran it for 2 years, until it was backed over by a van truck. If I can ever get time to restore it, I will correct the one fault it had, which was being RHD in a LHD country.

Today, if I were to have it back on the road, the rear seat would have a lot less importance, which I'm guessing is the way most people view the +2. Today, we would probably have the rear seat folded into it's parcel shelf mode. If I want a headrest, I would certainly make it removable, so as to still maintain access to the rear and retain the excellent original "S" seats.

Roger

[davidallen]

Now that is interesting........

You are the first person I have heard of with the fold down rear seat like
on my car! Every other +2 I have seen has a fixed rear seat and removable
centre section

I once mentioned this seat to Graham Arnold, ex marketing manager at lotus
in the 70's and he said "I have never heard of that!" and hung up!

I was beginning to think it was an after market addition.

Incidently, the reason I was speaking to Graham was to ask him what catches
hold the seat up, as they were missing on mine. I guessed and used the
chrome hood fastener. What is/was used on yours?

David

PS. The seat makes fitting rear seat belts very difficult as locating the
chassis plates in near impossible with the seat in postion.

David

[Elan45]

David,

There are two straps one near each upper corner, and if memory serves me well, The strap is about 3 inches long with the same type of hood (convertible top) snap as are used around the rear edge of a S3/S4 convertible top. This is the kind that is like a miniature collet where you pull out on a moveable element and inside this releases the collet jaws which clamp over a miniature ball post. The ball post is located in the shelf under the rear window. BTW, my +2S is a very late '69, perhaps shipped on new years eve, '69,so it still has the old serial number system 50-23**.

Does your car also have the recliner front seats?

Roger

[Elan45]

David,

I also remember there being a limit strap, from the top edge of the back tothe leading edge of the seat bottom, so that when the back was folded downto use the shelf, the straps were in tension so that the uphostery was notcompressed. Altough the car is in storage in a friends barn, the rear seatis in the loft of my garage, so I could get there to take photos if that would help.

Roger

[davidallen]

Thanks.

My seat still has the limit straps. It is a shame I did not speak to you
before about the catches; I went for the chrome push button hood catches
which are about 10mm dia when I had the top section of the seat repaired as
I did not know any better.

Yes, I have the reclining front seats as well.

David

[M100]

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:16:40 -0000, "Sean Murray" <***@***.***>
wrote:


So, what's changed?

--
Martin

72/45 (no back seats!)

[Foxie]

Roger,

My Plus 2S is just like the car you describe - and David' Allen's - the front seats recline, and the rear seat back dropped down to become a parcel shelf. The original S type rear seats are now in the attic. The lid on the lockers I fitted in looks just like the dropped rear seat back. I also fitted a pair of BMW 3 series E21 door pockets, they are ideal for maps etc..

I would say the Plus Two imust be one of the roomiest small coupes around.

Sean