FHC to DHC - should I be wary?

[types26/36]

Brian,

So the designation DHC must be exclusive to the Lotus Elan because I can't think of any other car on earth that has a removable top and non-removable window frames. Can you?

There are quite a few Frank, as Pete mentioned also the Austin healEy sprite and Triumph TR2/3/MGA/MGB (not GT)....ops these are all roadsters

[Frank Howard]

I suspect that when the factory brought out the Coupe they tried to use the same mould, hence the story in the book but when the demand rose they had to do the job properly

Pete,

If you look at the picture again on page 32, it appears that the factory was using the new mould. The original mould had the door cut beginning a few inches in front of the windscreen pillar. The body on page 32 appears to have the door cut beginning at the windshield pillar. By the way, the caption says in part "At that time, all bodies at Cheshunt were made as fixed heads and then the top was cut off if an open car was required. This saved the expense and space needed for two separate sets of moulds."

But believe me, I'm not about to get into an argument with Ron Hickman about the Elan!

This is an interesting thread if I do say so myself.

[Elanintheforest]

Elansprint1....the E Type convertible is an OTS...Open Top Sports. 6 cylinder or 12.
Standardisation was never too popular in England. Where else can you travel a mile, buy meat in kilos, drink a pint of beer, 8 of which are 1.2 x a U.S gallon, buy coke in grams (allegedly) and bask in 20 degrees C in the summer?
Mark

[elansprint71]

I buy my coke in grammes; my dealer is from mongrel stock, allegedly. Although I believe he is Ugandan Asian.

How are things in the land between two rivers? If the answer has anything to do with two headed calves and banjos, don't tell me.

[Elanintheforest]

Ah, yes, Burgundy (only) induced dyslexia with the banjo music turned up too loud I fear?but how did you know about the calves? We tries to keep that a secret, you know. But we do knows us Jags.
Marhic

[hatman]

[quote="elansprint71"]

.... the V12 cars gained a window frame and became Drop Head Cabriolet, /quote]

I always understood 'DHC' to stand for 'Drophead Coupe'. Was I wrong then? 'Cabriolet', according to my understanding, is a car with a folding top, so 'Drop Head Cabriolet' would be tautological. Good thread this.

[bcmc33]

I do so love the way these threads develop away from the original question ? a normal group conversation, I would say.

Getting back to the original question ? I would not consider embarking on converting a FHC to a DHC. Now that may sound silly coming from someone who?s DHC is a converted Type 36, but I?m thinking about it from a cost point of view. A conversion would need to be done professionally followed by a complete paint job. Cost, I guess, would be in the region of 8k GBP + conversion kit.

To answer some of the comments; I bought my car knowing it was a professional conversion, and when placed by the side of a type 45 S4 I could see no difference. The areas around the windscreen and the parcel shelf were visually the same as the S4.

My only real concern when I bought the car was insurance. When I contacted a number of classic insurance companies to tell them that it was a conversion, they all answered ? ?that?s not a problem, so many of them are?.

I believe that the only way to tell that my car has been converted is that the VIN plate says Type 36.

DHC has always meant "DropHead Coupe" as far as I'm concerned - but then what do I know?

Brian Clarke
(1972 Sprint)

[jimbo]

Chaps,

Thanks for all the feedback. You've put my mind at rest. The car I was looking at was professionally converted in 1991 to what appears to have been a very high standard. It has the D-shaped hood frame which I am told is unusal for conversions (excuse my ignorance)?

Anyway, despite having been given some sound advice to not dive in (thanks Mark) my resolve crumbled and I've have signed on the dotted line for a '72 Sprint DHC (nee FHC). I knew I was in trouble when I test drove it, but the wife's enormous cheesy grin when she returned from her passenger ride sealed the deal.



James

PS - Any recommendations for insurance companies?

[types26/36]

For interest here is what Wikipedia says about convertables saying the Type 26 was indeed a roadster and the The type 45 a Drop Head Coupe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elan

an artical mentioning "Champans new Roadster"
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/1963_e ... tion.shtml

and a later ad for a fixed head coupe or a drop head coupe
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/elan_s ... _fhc.shtml

[Elanintheforest]

Well done James, you?ll have a lot of fun. The ?D? shape frame is the original one, so it?s not a Chris Neil conversion kit, and if someone has gone to the trouble of sourcing an original frame I should think that the rest of the conversion is pretty solid.
There?s only one more car you need to go with a Gold Leaf Sprint?the JPS Plus 2. Ironically, as the JPS was only available as a late model 130 S, it only had 2 ashtrays in the front, rather than the 3 in the earlier Plus 2s. We used to smoke a lot back in the 70s
Mark

[types26/36]

it only had 2 ashtrays in the front, rather than the 3 in the earlier Plus 2s.
Mark

So by then the kids were not allowed to smoke in the back?

[Elanintheforest]

I seem to remember that even by the early 70s smoking by the under five year olds was not encouraged, so by the time you could get away with it you were too big to fit in the back of a Plus 2. Lotus thought of everthing
Mark

[robcall]

so by the time you could get away with it you were too big to fit in the back of a Plus 2

...then came the Elite-with four ashtrays.So they really did think of everything!

[zarelan]

About insurance recommendations in the UK:

My Sprint 72 is insured with Heritage Classic. Very happy with them. My annual premium is ?155, with agreed value of ?14,500 and 5,000 miles limit per year.

It's very important to have agreed value when insuring a classic. Some insurers will ask you for a valuation certificate from a Club, or from a recognised specialist, which is a bit of a hassle when you've just got the car. Heritage will only ask you for a copy of your purchase receipt and a set of good quality pictures.

Last year the car got rear-shunted quite badly, extensive damage to the back. A stressful experience, but the insurance company came good. Not only they let me choose the repair bodyshop of my choice, without insisting on using one in their list of approved ones (never trust your Lotus to a general accident repair garage! ), but they handled the claim very swiftly and payed the very substantial bill without questions. Very impressed indeed.

--Antonio

[jimbo]

Antonio,

Thanks for the information. I've not insured a classic car before so a recommendation is great. I'll give them a call.

Thanks

James