one more problem...

[paul_adamson]

I have some advice. "Never buy a partly dismantled car."

I love my Elan but sometimes....

The restoration is progressing painfully slowly.
Almost everything generates a new set of problems.
Tonight I hoisted the engine in only to discover at the last instant that
the engine/gearbox
plate is the wrong one! (the plate that locates the starter and covers up
the clutch)
God only knows what this one is off.

I still need to find out where EXACTLY the fuel pipe runs in to the boot
(trunk)

I tried test fitting the fuel sender to my nice new Alloy fuel tank (from
Tony Thompson) only to discover that the threads are partially obscured....

There are no tabs on the front crossmember to tie down the brake pipe...

QED don't have any cam bearings in stock .... (hence the short motor being
fitted)

Another thing on my mind, is how the top of the screen is upholstered on a
DHC?...

Where am I going to get an Ashtray for an S4 Elan?....

Why did my car come with only a drivers side sun-visor - and how is it
supposed to fit?...

Can someone cheer me up?

My relationship with Lotus Cars started after I became disenchanted with
each car I restored eventually starting to rot. (English weather/Salt on the
road in winter)
I really enjoyed an MG Midget that I had, but I wanted something with more
power, better brakes, and a rot-proof body....

One fine day I discovered a 1968 Lotus Elan +2 in an Auction and I bought
it.
"Never buy a car from an Auction"
I moved to the Netherlands (Holland) and drove the car all over the place
with it breaking
down about once a month. I saved ALL my money and a year later returned to
England to restore
the damn thing properly.
On the final return to England, the car was written-off in an unfortunate
incident in a motorway service car park (that's another story).
So, I bought an Elan +2S and restored that. (Lovely car shame about the bump
steer).
"Never trust the steering rack height marked on the chassis"
Next I bought a S1 Esprit and a 1975 Elite.
The Elite was amazingly good to drive whereas the Esprit only looked
amazing)
Then I persuaded my sister to sell her sensible car and buy a S2 Europa.
(Fantastic car to drive but lacked a twincam)...

Over time I realised that I NEEDED a DHC Elan. So I sold the Elite and the
Esprit and bought
an incomplete S4 SE DHC Elan (this was around 1990 when classic cars prices
where at their height).
Slowly I began to buy parts for the car, but as it was going to have to be
perfect, the process took years on my paltry salary.

After a while, I realised I had not restored a Lotus in ages so I bought
another Plus 2 to while away the time.

Then I bought a house! (Sell both Plus 2's) with a garage! (Hurrah!)
Which is where you find your foolish Author tonight.
What I really need is a list on the Internet dedicated to that foolhardy
bunch of Lotus Elan
Enthusiasts, where I can go for help and advice and can be told to stick
with because it will
all be worth it in the end.

Oh, did I mention that I have never driven an Elan ever?!

Oh yes, there's one more thing - the car has to be completed by July.
My wonderful girlfriend and I are going on holiday to Rome in it.

Any advice?

Paul Adamson
Preston
Lancashire
England.

[fillpoke]

Paul,
I'm suffering in exactly the same way as you. Check out
http://members.tripod.co.uk/fillpoke2/ to see what I mean!!!

Dave





----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Adamson <***@***.***>

Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 10:10 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] one more problem...

[stevekerr]

Paul:

Perfectly restored by July, huh? Is that salary still "paltry"?

I have been hauling around my disassembled Elan ('66 S2) for over a decade. I
do have the advantage of having disassembled it myself, so I know all the parts
are there. And, I don't plan on any perfect restoration, since I have done a
lot of modifying to the car (enough to offend purists). *BUT*, I sneak a ride
with club members when I can, which is tremendously motivating. I cannot think
of anything better to light the fires under you. Having driven or ridden in
most Lotus street cars, the Elan, of all of them, has the perfect combination of
speed, feel, handling and comfort. I'm sure that all those on this list will
agree.

So, while you can only keep a stiff upper lip about the setbacks, get yourself a
ride (or drive one, better yet) from a mate. You'll see why you want to keep
persevering.

Good luck,

Dave Billings
Seattle, WA


Paul Adamson wrote:

[Rob_LaMoreaux]

Now you tell me....Only a year late.


The screwdriver slips on the Generator and you go to hospital for three
stitches.


snip


Mine came out just to the right of center above the crossmember if the
fiberglass patch and fuel tank have anything to say.



Mine are there, or at least the ones I didn't break removing the
original pipe.


SNIP

Vinyl glued over foam. I can't describe it better than that, but I might
have a before picture at home. I have the removed vinyl and foam sitting
in the house at the moment.


If you figure that one out let me know. When I veneered the dash I cut a
block of wood to fit the hole then veneered it at the same time, so the
grain matches perfectly. I think some of the Plus 2s used the same
ashtray judging by pictures.



it goes up from the inside, then a couple of screws hold it down, if I
remember correctly from when I removed them two months ago while I
stripped the body to get it ready for paint. I'll look tonight.


For only owning the car 1 year after it sat in garages for 20 years, I
think I can get it running by June. Of course it may cost a bit to get
the paint done right, and the total invested will be around $20000 US,
but it's been fun.

Oh yeah, I've never driven an Elan either! My brother's girlfriend
steered it on and off the trailer.


Robert D. LaMoreaux
4096 Central Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: (734)-971-5583
Work phone:(248)-449-8284
Work Fax:(248)-449-2577
Email:***@***.***
Work Email:***@***.***
Too many Hobbies, Too little Time, and way too much work.
1969 Lotus Elan...It's not a restoration, it's a never-ending adventure.

[S3_SE/DHC]

Paul!! Hang on man!! It does take a long time to do it up properly. It
sounds as though you are making progress. July does sound a bit ambitious
though. I had hoped to get my Elan fully restored, beautifully resprayed,
etc. by this spring, but this has again been delayed. I had saved what I
felt was sufficient funds for the final restoration work, but it seems that
the (now major) bathroom remodel project has taken over. So now I'll
probably do a little short-term touch up on the paint so that I can at least
enjoy a little top down motoring this summer. My current brake rebuild is
progressing, however. As each small item is completed, I get more inspired.

So, don't give up, try to get a ride in friend's Elan, take a test drive in
one that's for sale, go to a club meet, peruse some Lotus books, or at least
look at some pictures.

Best Regards,

Gerry Snow
Spokane, Washington USA (not far from Dave Billings, well compared to the UK
that is)

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Adamson <***@***.***>
To: ***@***.*** <***@***.***>
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 2:11 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] one more problem...

[mopho]

Hi Paul,
I take it my S3 Ashtray does not fit your S4? My restoration has taken 2 1/2
years with maybe a month or two to go, not too bad considering my fathers XK
120 FHC has been 16 or so years and still counting. It has been one problem
after the other too, the last big one was our shop manual showed the motor
mounts on the wrong sides("This can't be right" "That's what it shows") and
we had to modify all sorts of stuff to get the motor to fit with the
headers. Then someone told us it was an error in the manual, now it fits no
problem. Now we have to fix our "modifications". I have never driven an Elan
either, but I did get a ride in one about 6 years ago. What keeps me going
is when I tell people I have an Elan they usually start frothing at the
mouth!
---Morgan Segal
67'S3
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Adamson <***@***.***>
To: ***@***.*** <***@***.***>
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 5:11 PM
Subject: [LotusElan.net] one more problem...

[dave at tape-gallery.co.u]

Am I the only person on the list who actually drives his car?

After I bought it - paying what I thought at the time was way over the
going price - I had a few things fixed, but I'm now thinking that the
car is basically a good'un.

Even after two of the coldest, dampest weeks of the year, I just go to
the garage, a few pumps on the throttle, and off I go. It has never
shown any sign of letting me down.

The car even passed its MOT (roadworthiness) test without any tinkering.
I've even spent more on my daily driver (a terribly efficient Audi 80)
than the Lotus.

I suppose the moral of the story is that a well-sorted and fundamentally
sound Elan can be as reliable as any other - and the driving pleasure is
in another league.

Keep it at, Paul.

Kind regards


David

[Stevie-Heathie]

My 1970 Plus 2S Elan is my one and only car and my daily driver, has
been for 15 months. NO regrets, I'm VERY happy with her. Reliable she
is, given regular maintenance, and an absolute hoot to drive of course.

I'm afraid I don't have a garage and so she sits out in the street
outside my house - this morning she had frost on the inside of the rear
screen!! However she started on the button after the regular 5 pumps of
the throttle, then turn the key (NO CHOKE YET!!), wait til she catches
then a little bit of choke (Weber carbs technique), demist the
windscreen and away we go for the grin-inducing drive to work.

I hope this is motivational - I wouldn't swop my Elan for the world -
All I can say is stick with it and once the car's sorted I'm sure you
won't look back. Best of luck with the work.

Steve
Chester, UK

[elancoupe]

Take heart, you are not alone. Despite a chassis replacement, two
engine rebuilds, two suspension rebuilds and numerous transmission
escapades, I have driven my Elan in the fair weather every year for the past
20.
It is easy to lose motivation, but beg borrow or steal a ride
/drive. All the aggro is forgotten on that first section of twisties....

Mike B

[Rob_LaMoreaux]

I checked last night and my memory yesterday was a little faulty. To fit
the sun-visor use the following steps:

1 Slide the visor off of the rod it pivots on.
2 Remove the metal hood/roof/top front locating stip (you know the
one that runs acrossed the top of the windscreen surround) Actually you
may be able to do it without completely removing it, but if it is like
mine the rivets are tired and need to be replaced anyway.
3 Slide the pivot rod into the hole in the fiberglass
4 reattach the front locating strip with new rivets and washers
(on the fiberglass side). There may have been screws through the
sunvisor pivot plate, but I can't remember now, and don't have the
pictures/parts manual here to say for sure.
5. slide the sunvisor back over the pivot rod.

I suspect your other sunvisor succumbed to weathered foam and vinyl,
since mine are questionable even though the car spent most of it's life
in storage.

I wish you hadn't started this thread... It's gotten me so enthusiastic
I'm thinking about just taking the car in to the local Lotus dealer to
be painted in spite of the cost. At least I know from talking to him,
and one of his customers, that he knows what he is doing with
fiberglass. It won't be cheap, but it will be nice.


Robert D. LaMoreaux
BT Electronics LLC
22700 Heslip Dr.
NoVI, MI 48375
Phone:(248)-449-8284
Fax:(248)-449-2577
Email:***@***.***
Alternate Email:***@***.***

[brettengelaz]

Paul:

Keep working, it's really worth it, honest. While perfection is a very
admirable goal,
don't let niggling little things from allowing you to enjoy the car. Once
you start driving
it, you'll be surprised at the new found enthusiasm and motivation. My
first resto project
was a MGA coupe, and the first drive was around the block with no
windscreen or back
glass, bonnet, bumpers, etc..After less than 2 miles, I was ready to use
the rest of my
holiday leave hours to finish up the car. It was amazing how fast it came
together after that.

Mine, a '67DHC has been apart more than together for the 18 months I've
owned it. I rebuilt
the brakes, front suspension, rear suspension, differential, and re-placed
the muffler. But,
it is the most fun I've ever had driving on 4 wheels. Right now it has an
oil leak, the horn
honks on hard left turns, the lights won't lift (bad bellows), 2nd gear
syncro is rough and the DPO paint job is flaking off and has runs. But it
is at least twice as fun than the Other Car
(BMW M3)...During the off-season (May-August) when it's a bit warm here
(43-45C),
I'll fix those problems and maybe rebuild the engine and trans. For now I
have a drip pan,
avoid full-lock lefts, double-clutch and drive during the day, with a BIG
GRIN..

You must get at least a ride in an Elan! It's truly an amazing car, IMHO,
generations ahead of it's contemporaries that I've owned MG, AH, Fiat.
If you are _ever_ in Arizona, USA
you can come drive mine.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Brett Engel PSO Engineer
Cisco Professional Services
Off: (602)-912-1852 Cell: (602)-607-4614
Pgr. 800-365-4578 ***@***.***
Cisco Systems Suite 120
2390 E Camelback Rd Phoenix, AZ 85284
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