Encouragemnt required!

[persiflage]

One male, just the wrong side of the 1/2 century.

One '72 F/H Sprint currently a static exhibit in my garage... and has been for several + years! Interior needs refit, otherwise lots of new bits when I had to replace the chassis.

Do I live with my fond memories? Or do I forget the decorating, forget the garden and put a smile back on my face again?

What is it like driving an Elan in todays traffic?

[billwill]

At my age (67) I'm a very conservative driver nowadays, but I do love having the oooomph to get out of potentially hazardous situations, like being alongside big trucks on motorways.

[twincamman]

I am also youth challenged [68[ and like to beat the snot out of the young punkers in their rice rockets in my elan or 7 ------WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE SONNY DINOSAURS HAD 427 S IN THEM TO WORK THE ASH TRAY --------ETC ETC -now help me out of the car so I can show you the proper apex--ed

[aussieelan]

Decorating ... just ends up going out of style

Gardening ... ends up regrowing and needing to be redone

An fully functional Elan is a thing of beauty forever

The Elan smile = Priceless

Some things in life are important ... Just Do It !

[John Larkin]

I'm 56 and modern traffic gets up my nose. Last week, after talking about it for thirty five years ( I like to think things over for a while) I drove my S3 Elan coupe from Dublin to the Stelvio Pass in Italy and back again, covering about 2400 miles in seven days and climbing to an altitude of 9000 feet. I prepared the car reasonably well before going but was full of apprehension anyway. I need not have been --- the car never missed a beat apart from one blown fuse and the exhaust heat cooking the carpet in the passenger footwell. I will be using the car a lot more from now on. I'd forgotten how good it was to drive it long and hard. So put your car back on the road and enjoy it!

John Larkin.

[peterako]

Well done John!

THIS is what Elans are made for!!

(I wasn't referring to cooking carpets....just in case there's any confusion )

Peter

[peterako]

.......now help me out of the car so I can show you the proper apex--ed

What

Blind as well.....

Now that's impressive

Peter

[SADLOTUS]

Hi persiflage, where in Surrey? come up to sunny (at the moment) Biggin Hill and i'll take you out for a blast. There's an S4fhc down the road used as everyday transport and one in the next road that regularly goes to Guilford just to fill up on 4star! On the road I have one problem: the exhaust keeps grounding... gonna fix that soon.

Ps I was also born in the 50's, the same age as Madonna, Prince, Michelle Pfeiffer and the Integrated circuit!

[trw99]

I'm 56 and modern traffic gets up my nose. Last week, after talking about it for thirty five years ( I like to think things over for a while) I drove my S3 Elan coupe from Dublin to the Stelvio Pass in Italy and back again, covering about 2400 miles in seven days and climbing to an altitude of 9000 feet. I prepared the car reasonably well before going but was full of apprehension anyway. I need not have been --- the car never missed a beat apart from one blown fuse and the exhaust heat cooking the carpet in the passenger footwell. I will be using the car a lot more from now on. I'd forgotten how good it was to drive it long and hard. So put your car back on the road and enjoy it!

John Larkin.

John

This sounds like it was a blast. Do you have any pictures of you storming up the pass? We would love to see them and hear more about your trip.

Tim

[johnsimister]

Rebuild it, use it (with vigour, not pootling along at 60mph), enjoy it. That's what they're for. I too am slightly the far side of the half century, and as restrictions grow, legislation creeps and modern cars become ever fatter, wider, heavier and less involving, an Elan becomes an ever more vital antidote to the ruination of driving.

I intend to use mine as much as possible and for as long as possible while we still can. In many ways it's ideal for modern traffic because it's so small and narrow, which means you can overtake in an inertia-free instant where you can't in a wider modern car.

Yesterday's drive to and from the Lotus 60th at Hethel was a joy, although a 3.55 diff would have made it even better. On the way back I was convoying with that remarkable +2 estate recently built by Paul Matty, and hardly anything overtook us as we buzzed along at speeds not deemed legal. And my S3 didn't miss a beat. Nick Adams at Lotus's motorsport division uses his S4 dhc every day and has done for years, averaging 10,000 miles a year. Consequently his car is reliable and drives extremely well, as cars do when they'ere looked after and used regularly.

Time to finish the rebuild, then...

John

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

It's the time of year to get started.
How much more gardening is there to do?
Starting in the Spring will have your head in turmoil deciding what jobs have proirity.
You can't really decorate in Winter; everyrhing takes too long to dry & the paint stinks the house out with closed windows.
Right so that's the line for 'er indoors
When I rebuilt mine from the ground up I was older than you & did it in a rented garage. It took me a few years because cash was short & I had to wait for reserves to build uo in order to buy the next needed parts.
But you don't have to give up life; devoting a one day at the weekend or even just several hours will get the job done & enjoyably.
Make this job "the biggy" so that you can have a few years of just "light maintainance motoring" when the job's done, then you will (re)learn to enjoy Elan driving.
Consider todays traffic. Like others have replied, it can get a bit scary because you're so tiny & fragile.
Think about making your own visibility better & put a good horn in it.
Depending on where you want to go in it consider the gearing.I agree with what others have said; a longer back axle ratio is more suitable for todays conditions.
If you later decide to do track days or something similar then maybe the standard ratio should be retained.
This is a forum full of Elan nutters & all of us enjoy driving our cars so don't expect anything very critical being said
Have a good root around in the archives; you'll find nearly every subject has been covered & thet will be sufficient encouragement or put you off for life.
There'll be plenty of takers for your car if so

Cheers
John

[persiflage]

STUPID of me to pose the question here...I was looking for the easy way out!!

SADLOTUS. In answer to your question, Camberley area. I haven't seen a baby Elan on the roads around here for ages. 4 Star in Guildford! more details please. The offer of a blast is much appreciated, is it an open one or is there a time limit?

I have grown accustomed to driving my more modern transport, never having to look under the bonnet (just as well because you can not slide your hand between engine and bodywork) and never having to fix anything.
Several years ago fellow student on a course I was attending had a model of sports car I had also owned and loved...we went for a spin and I was shocked at what a dog it was...don't want that to happen with the Elan!

When I first purchased the Elan it was my everyday transport for about 5 years and was as reliable as any car of its age apart from a hot starting problem ( see prev. post) I was probably doing about 12000 a year at that time and to be truthfull I can not remember it ever letting me down apart from the odd plug failure before I changed to NGK.

Thanks for not mentioning the spelling mistake hope it's the only one.

[ppnelan]

Rebuild it, use it, ...enjoy it. That's what they're for..

Yes indeed - use it NOW in case someone decides to ban classic cars one day...

BUT

...hardly anything overtook us as we buzzed along at speeds not deemed legal.

If you can't restrain yourself on the road then do the responsible thing and take it on a track day or sprint...

Matthew

[johnsimister]

Nothing dangerous, nothing inconsiderate, nothing anti-social. I would never do that. Just matching speed to conditions, as John Lyon (he of the High Performance Course) would say. Some time ago a driving expert called A.Tom Topper wrote a splendid manual on fast, safe, defensive driving and his car of choice was a Lotus Elan. He even devoted a chapter in praise of it. It was marvellous stuff. Of course you should restrain yourself on the road when restraint is necessary. It's up to us to judge what is appropriate for the moment.

John

[trw99]

John

I remember that book! I bought it just after I had passed my driving test and it has since got lost. So I have just bought a copy on Amazon. If I recall, all the diagrams featured Tom's Plus 2.

Thanks for the memory - and I saw your car parked up in the Lotus-only car park at the 60th, looking very smart.

Tim