Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hello Ross, I recognized the road in CO. and yes I would like to join you for, at least a partial trip in CA. There will be many that would might want to tour, at least, CA. roads as a group. Not all are S2s

Sarto

Steve & Ross (in the USA)

Great to hear that the Elan is keeping up with Collin's dream on the other side of the pond !!

I am puzzled to find out when an S2 becomes a 26 or 26R ? (or vice versa) are they the same car, or a variation of the basic car from birth ? Anyone know? Also where do I find the VIN plate to get the number? its not under the bonnet (hood!)on mine.

Bob ..Dorset UK
1965 S2 owned by me since 1978

Hello Sarto
I will keep you posted once I firm up plans around the first of the year. I will start a thread as things develop. This is a reprise of the 2005 Sevens Tour for me even if I do it solo and the target is LOG 30 in Gettysburg in Oct of 2010.


and Bob
All Series One and Two Elans are type 26 cars, the series three coupes are type 36 and the convertibles type 45 cars. The 26R was a limited run of S1 and S2 Elans factory prepared for racing - hence the type number.

bobweaver wrote:I am puzzled to find out when an S2 becomes a 26 or 26R ? (or vice versa) are they the same car, or a variation of the basic car from birth ? Anyone know? Also where do I find the VIN plate to get the number?

All S1/2 cars are type 26's, the 26R is the racing version of the car and there are more 26r's now then when Lotus produced it there are people on the forum that know far more about 26R's then I (or Lotus) do so I will leave it to those people to explain the finer points
The VIN plate should be on the vertical section below the bulkhead left side (firewall) failing this if you have an ORIGINAL CHASSIS then the number it will be stamped on the chassis below the carbs.

mine is on the road in between bolting on failed parts and motor rebuilds --ed

For any fellow S2 owners looking for an S2 badge Paul Matty now has these available ex stock...

types26/36/74 wrote:The VIN plate should be on the vertical section below the bulkhead left side (firewall) failing this if you have an ORIGINAL CHASSIS then the number it will be stamped on the chassis below the carbs.

Mine resides on the (horizontal) top of the footwell in the engine compartment. But it's LHD, so maybe that makes a difference.

26/5614 in Teignmouth, Devon. Normally on the road, but currently having a diff overhaul. Only had her a year and about 1300 miles, but useage should go up once she is properly sorted.

Gordon

Having been out of Lotus fixing for 16 years (the time its been off the road) dont know of Paul Matty. Is there any way you can get me a contact number/address for him, so I can check out the badges.
Also any idea of the options of bumper colour on the origional 1965 S2's ...mine are currently Hamerite gold and look awfull.
..... and missed the hub caps sale on Ebay and want to contact the guy selling them, anybody know who he is ?

Bob
Dorset

frearther wrote:

Mine resides on the (horizontal) top of the footwell in the engine compartment. But it's LHD, so maybe that makes a difference.

Of course you are correct....I'm getting my vertical mixed with my horizontal

that may be a problem at bed time Brian --ed

bobweaver wrote:..... and missed the hub caps sale on Ebay and want to contact the guy selling them, anybody know who he is ?

They were re-listed today, so they obviously didn't sell:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LOTUS-ELAN-WHEEL- ... 286.c0.m14

I have no connection with the seller and have no idea whether they are genuine original or not.

Paddy

Great to see a couple of new S2 owners on this forum?welcome. I?m very jealous of the yellow S2 cars shown?my favourite colour for an Elan. But mine was originally the same as yours, Bob, and will be going back to Jaguar Carmen Red?.my 2nd favourite!

Do contact the Type 26 register if you haven?t done already?Tim will be delighted to hear of more S2 cars having survived. The register, and parts, will be at the Club Lotus parts fair in Malvern in October, so you can also drop in and say hello.

I bought my S2, number 26/4726, by accident?I already had a green one, number 26/5803, one of the very last made. I had responded to an advert on this forum, where the owner was selling a very early Plus 2 and an S2, both taken apart in the 1970s. I was the only person interested in the Plus 2, whilst some 80 guys contacted him wanting the S2?usually for nothing of course.

What I hadn?t realised was that both cars, apart from the bodyshells, were stored on the 3rd floor of a huge house (the servants quarters) and some very steep and narrow staircases had to be negotiated to reach them. The bits were all pretty much jumbled up, and when I say they were apart, I mean very apart. The webers were in component form, in hundreds of pieces in tobacco tins, as were the servos, master cylinders, dynamos, starters etc. etc.

We couldn?t decide on the spot what parts belonged to what car, apart from the obvious stuff, so I had to buy them both. It took me a year to sort out what was what, and build the individual components into larger sub-assemblies, and over that time, acquire some of the rare bits that were missing from both cars. So I?ve just started to restore them both, slowed down a little by buying a Type 14 Elite?also in component form?I?m a glutton for punishment.

I reluctantly sold the green S2 to make room for the new two, and sadly, that had now been moved on again to become yet another race rep machine. Definitely one I shouldn?t have sold.

I had a small amount of paperwork with my Red S2, including a receipt dated 1974 Received, the sum of ?50, as seen tried and approved!! He bought the S2 because his Plus 2 had just failed the MOT on a rotten chassis. He was at collage at the time, so the S2 was bought just to keep him going whilst he put a new chassis on the Plus 2. 3 months later, the S2 chassis collapsed?.hence both cars were taken apart. ?50 was cheap even in 1974?I bought my S3 Coupe in ?75, and that was ?400 or so.

Not so sure when these cars are going to be on the road, but I?m aiming for 2 years. The S2 has it?s chassis built up, the Plus 2 has been painted, and the Elite is nearly ready to be painted. I?m retiring at the end of September, so things should speed up from here!

Mark

Elanintheforest wrote:Great to see a couple of new S2 Mark

......and three on ebay in the last two weeks ........just getting too common
The yellow one on ebay looks quite good

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

twincamman wrote:that may be a problem at bed time Brian --ed

Yes Ed, that and one too many wisky's