Am I missing the point

[graffiti]

I've just been reading the other thread on repairing a bumped Elan and the useful contacts etc. Excellent news and very helpful.

My brother has just handed his recently aquired Sprint (been stood for 20 years) to a "restorer" who has told him his car had had a bump at some time, he's just in the process of removing the body and looking at various bits of the repaired bodywork etc etc.

As such, until he gets down to the chassis he thinks the chassis may need alignment checking. No prob so far with all that, however....

The restorer is of the opinion that to have a very usable every day car, my brother should seriously consider replacing the Big valve engine with a Ford Zee Tec engine and transmission in it, upgrading the discs and possibly getting a new body.

Am I missing something here as to me he then ends up with a Kit Car (no disrespect to those who have one) and not an original genuine Elan Sprint.

My brother is now considering this as an option!

Photo attached (the Bonnet does close flush!)

[steveww]

First question to ask is: Do you want to use it as an everyday car?

If you just want it for a weekend toy then stick to original (apart from electronic points, alternator, electric fan).

If you want it for an everyday car then may be the "kit car" is the better approach.

IMHO - I would use an other car for every day and keep the Lotus special.

[Elanintheforest]

Totally agree with Steveww...and I think that he's taken it to the wrong restorer. They're not called Spyder are they?
Nothing wrong with the Zetec conversion, but there's nothing wrong with the twincam either. They can both be completely reliable, but the twincam will need a couple of 'tune ups' a year which take all of 30 minutes.
The only reason I can see to go the Zetec route is if you want 150 - 200 bhp in the Elan with reliablity rather than the standard 130 bhp. In which case, look to spend ?10k plus on the chassis, engine, ECU, wireing, petrol tank, pump etc. etc.
And with a new body as well.....add another ?10k if somebody else is going to do it. Seems daft to me....
Mark

[graffiti]

I'm glad it's not just me.. I agree entirely with Mark and question the "restorer". Yes you could do that to it but then it's not a true Sprint but a Hybrid/sports car "based on an Elan".

It wouldn't be used as an everyday car with the others being used for that purpose i.e 2 landrover lightweights, new freelander, Elan +2 and a Morgan.

I'm going to try to see the guy this week a gauge for myself his motives.

I just think if he's going to that much trouble on it then it's worth retaining originality.

[curly type 26]

If it was a moth eaten old plus 2 not a bad idea, but a sprint! surely not. But then its his car, improve it with some modern parts ie ,5spd box, electronics alloy rad- unlead conv if you change chassis try TTR 26r its stiffer and authentic chuck the doughnuts for modern driveshafts ajustable susp, there are loads of improvements without fitting ztecs ect. Also sounds like someone wants to earn lots of dosh why does it need new shell? They can take just as much work as repairing the old one. Steve is right keep it for that weekend blast or trip out use a tin car for daily use.

[jeff jackson]

No You are not missing the point. I agree with al of the above, but if your bro wants to persue a body restoration, please, please get some more quotes. I reckon his "restorer" sees this job as a license to print money.
Regards
Jeff 72+2

[elansprint71]

Can you tell us who this "restorer" is? Maybe someone here already has experience of their work?

[graffiti]

I'll know more in a few days but I gather it's a chap in the Southport area.

All very valid points but I think you either a purist over these things or not.

Spyder conversion vehicles (including their ZeTec motors) are I'm sure, excellent motors in their own right but are nevertheless Hybrids.

Question:-
If you had always wanted one and saw an Elan Sprint advertised for sale and went to see it, would you have gone or been as interested, if you knew beforehand it wasn't fully original but had been converted?

[reb53]

The consensus seems to be that it should be left as original as it is sensible to do.
I agree totally.

A tatty old +2 that needs a mountain of work is one thing but what sounds like an essentially original Sprint is another. You can't expect modern day reliability out of a 30 year old car that was designed 45 years ago on a shoe-string budget. If you alter it to the point that you can I guarantee you'll loose a lot of the soul that makes an Elan what it is.

Every summer when I jump into my Sprint, with its original seats, dash, steering wheel etc. I'm thankful that for the last 30 years I've resisted the temptation to mess with it and try and out engineer Colin Chapman and his mates.
Trade the fuming, noisy, razor sharp twin cam for a Zetec?
Not a chance!

Ralph.

[ppnelan]

Perhaps your ''restorer'' is 'happy' to 'get rid of' the 'old' engine, body & chassis for you... He may even give you a new registration number too...

Matthew

[lotusdelta]

My advise is go back to why you wanted to buy a lotus in the first place...it appealed to you for what it is, not what it could be made into

...I agree there are many things that you can do to make it more manageable, such as electronic ignition, improved cooling, alternator conversion etc. yet allows the car to remain true to the original spirit

....im appalled at what some people do to these cars...Everytime I drive my Lotus elan sprint coupe Im reminded why these cars are so unique and why they appeal to us all....why would you change that ?

david
72 elan sprint coupe

[Frank Howard]

If you just want it for a weekend toy then stick to original (apart from electronic points, alternator, electric fan).

If you want it for an everyday car then may be the "kit car" is the better approach.

Steve,

I don't think you have to take the "kit car" approach to make the Elan into an everyday driver. My car has the original motor, transmission, chassis, body and interior, but I use it as an everyday car because I have made the relatively minor changes as you pointed out. I was planning on driving it to LOG 27, 1,200 miles each way, but I took the minivan and trailer as I was moving my oldest to Denver. That left the Elan and the Europa as the only cars available to my 19 year old while I was gone. Kind of a sweet deal for any 19 year old! She has a job, and she drove the Elan exclusively as her everyday car for the 2 weeks that I was in Colorado. She even used it to pick up a 25" TV at a garage sale while I was gone! She said she put it in the passenger seat. No problems whatsoever.

[jeff jackson]

I think we are still getting away from the other question of the body....

"The restorer is of the opinion that to have a very usable every day car, my brother should seriously consider replacing the Big valve engine with a Ford Zee Tec engine and transmission in it, upgrading the discs and possibly getting a new body."

Still get more than one quote to restore the bodywork. ( please)
Also a set of plus 2 discs and calipers is all a brake upgrade needs, and that is not that expensive with the Girling calipers quite common.

Regards
Jeff

[graffiti]

I'll be talking to him at the weekend, I've attached a photo of the engine bay that shows what the restorer based his comment on apparently. He recons that if you look just beneath the l/h/s windscreen wiper on the inner bay bit you can see large amount of cracking. Also on the bays r/h side where a wire loom appears to come in you can also see an indent, same on l/h/s.

Evidence of a shunt at some time..

I'll take further advice as to me fibre glass bodies might need some work to correct but nevertheless can be done.

Good point about the brakes, not a problem.

I'll let you know.....

[Elanintheforest]

A small shunt can lead to gel coat cracks all over the car, many months after the main damage has been repaired. Many Elans have had a new front or rear or sections...it's no different to putting a wing on a normal car. Miles Wilkins won't touch a damaged car for at least 6 months after the crash...he knows what he's doing.

The firewall area is very thin...I'm repairing my S2 currently in that area and I doubt it is more than an eigth of an inch thick in places...very easy to damage.

A couple of easy checks to make. Take the inner hardboard covers off the sills to reveal the steel lattice work. If it's had a hard shunt in the side, or a wheel has come into the cockpit area, it will be bent to buggery. The sill area will probably be full of filler as well.With the body on the chassis and the wheels on the floor, check the gaps between the wheels and the arches...Make sure that the rears are the same as each other, and the fronts are the same as each other. There may be some difference even in a properly repaired car! If it's wrong it will be pretty obvious
Mark