Elan chassis 36/6810

[tvacc]

Thirty-Seven.

Ah....Birmingham. Great LOG. The museum was fantastic.

Tony V

[The Veg]

Great too because my brother lives in Da 'Ham (as some locals call it) so I could stay at his place for the weekend. I'm just up the road near Atlanta so the museum is a day-trip for me, not that I go very often. Due for another visit soon I think. A few years before LOG 37 I visited with LLSE, which was very cool because we got a VIP-tour led by John Viviani that included the restoration shops, the bottom level where a few cars are displayed must be viewed by the general public from the second level, and the 'secret underground vaults' that were full of bikes waiting to go on display in the then-new expansion.

Interesting too is that just the other day I was listing to a BMW-club podcast in which they interviewed Brian Slark, a legend in the motorcycle world who now works at Barber. Very interesting inside-view from him.

[bulfin]

Best thing about Log in Birmingham is track day at Barber Motorsports Park. The museum comes in second.


Bob

[tvacc]

Best thing about Log in Birmingham is track day at Barber Motorsports Park. The museum comes in second.


Bob

I did not do the track day. I really enjoyed Talladega. We were doing 140mph in my son's Elise. I was following an Exige Cup Car and I could not keep up with him. He must have been doing 145 or 150mph.

I was watching a friend of mine and fellow board member behind me in her Elise. She has a smile from ear to ear. She was pretty much on my tail. It was a fun weekend.

[Sploder90]

My MoT tester refused to test my car because the VIN had been defaced by the temperature capillary rubbing on it. They are not allowed to read the previous MoT to enter the number, which a previous post here explained is an acid etch. Certainly mine are vestigal now.

Think you may need to find an MOT station with nominated testers who can read and understand the testers manual.
They can't refuse to test or fail it for the VIN in your case.

No requirement for VIN if a pre August 1st 1980 vehicle or a "kit car" pre 2001..
Refusal to test would require the car to have neither reg plates or a VIN.
Ask him for a VT17 form next time, it might wake him up

[tvacc]

Hello All,
Thought I would chime in for moment and let you all know the outcome to all of this.

First, I would like to say that I have just sent the original warranty paperwork to Rob. I gave Rob several options on how to have it shipped and he chose Priority mail. It is currently in New York City at a postal distribution center according to the tracking emails myself and Rob are receiving. It is a rare bit of history being the original Lotus Warranty Document presented to Ed K. when the Graham Hill car was purchased from Lotus. (or from a dealer)

I would like to apologize to Rob for the time it took me to finally send it to him, life has just got in the way. And I did not want to do it until I had the time to fully complete the job in one sitting...to pull it out of the file, go to Fedex, Post Office and send it off. I just did not want the paperwork to get lost in all my other stuff. I was very aware of how rare this piece of paper was and if it got lost...well that would not be good. I find it amazing that after all these years it will be reunited with the Hill car.

It took most of a year to get the car I have titled in New York State. I have to thank Tim Wilkes and in the end Andy Graham, Lotus Archivist in helping me find out exactly what car I had.

It is a 1973 Elan Sprint. Right hand drive. The 40th one from the end of production. It has the original motor and head but the Dellorto Carbs have gone missing. For now we are going to keep it but it looks like it will not get restored for several years. Life is just getting in the way again. Maybe we will eventually sell it as is, because my son has a new job and I don't think he will have time to restore this with me. I have just sold one of my other two Elans and all three of my Europa Twin Cams are now gone. I am considering selling all my older cars as I just cannot work on them any longer. I am even considering selling my Caterham, So who knows. Life keeps getting the way of my Lotus Life.

[Billmack]

Wow! That's a great saga! I'm in RI and sorry to hear of your travails and like many impressed with your integrity. Are you the same guy who is involved with MGA twin cams? I have rebuilt a few of those engines over the years. I wish you good luck with your health issues. I certainly have a few myself.

[tvacc]

No I am not involved with MGAs in any form. I am the current President of Lotus Ltd and am really just a Lotus guy. Sort of a Lotus snob to be honest about it. I did just buy a 2005 MiataSpeed with the turbo and 23K miles to use as my daily driver. I could not use my Lotus cars for business due to insurance issues, plus tough to put computers in a Lotus. Not easy in a Miata, but I don't care as much how I beat up that car. Its a daily driver. It will get wear and tear.

The package to Rob just left the Jamaica USPS International Distribution Hub, hopefully on its way across the pond to Rob.

Oh, my health issues are not life threatening (I hope) but it is just I cannot turn high torque wrenches, pull motors, change heavy tires, etc etc. I am thinking of buying the new Type 131 when it comes out. It will be Lotus last combustion engine car.

[Billmack]

I am slowly restoring an elanS2. I'm 63 and have wanted one since I was a teenager. Made do with a lot of other old brit stuff in the meantime.

[tvacc]

I am slowly restoring an elanS2. I'm 63 and have wanted one since I was a teenager. Made do with a lot of other old brit stuff in the meantime.

Congrats on the restoration. It seems funny to say that my restoration days are over, I have done a few in my day. But like I tell others, getting old is not for the weak.

Consider joining Lotus Ltd. We are a great bunch of Lotus people.

[tvacc]

I have been informed by Rob that he has received the Original Warranty paper work for the Graham Hill car.
It is where it belongs. It was really to have all of you help me through this process.