Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Oh, I was just referring to the fact my cylinder head is about 20 miles from my block, which is still in the car, for now.

That's OK, you find a good home for the wheel, I wouldn't want to pay more than the 165 notes for the TTR one as I've fallen in love with it. Not saying for a second that it's not worth a lot more though.

Sorry but I need my hood and frame for a rainy day. They're in immaculate condition too.

I think Rich's Marxist Lotus community idea is pretty sound.

Spyder fan wrote:

Steve G wrote:Wow, you're making your car quite similar to mine (A Drop head Spyder chassis Sprint replica) except mine has half a twin cam, not a Duratec. Will you sell me your steering wheel? A Tony Thompson Racing one in red is top of my birthday list but I might still go for an original.

Hi Steve,

What's 'Half a Twin Cam'?

I would prefer to swap the steering wheel for something you don't need for something I need for my conversion. The picture of the wheel is virgin untouched or cleaned so it's therefore very very nice condition, the last one on fleabay in that kind of condition went for well over ?200.

I need a very good hood frame, hood tray and hood for an S4, if you or anyone else have any of those we can talk. I will probably bring the wheel to Malvern with me with an advert asking for swaps.

Regards

trw99 wrote:Spluttering over my corn flakes here! Your making it out to be Sprint.........is there no end to your poking us purists in the eye?

Seriously, you will have an interesting car when you have completed the project and I wish you good luck with it all.

Tim

Hi Tim,

It's not a real Sprint as you probably have realised, just a 1970's/80's gold leaf clone. I don't think it's a real crime to use the Sprint Logo's providing a period colour is used, I think Yellow over White is nicest.

I'm enjoying the experience of building the car by proxy, it will be a very different conversion and hopefully will create a lot of interest when it's done, I find Elan people just like Elan's pretty much in any shape or form.

Cheers

richgilb wrote:What about the spirit of the fraternity? We're all meant to be helping each other out on this site. This should not be limited to technical advice. It should also include even distribution of all assets, comrade.

Comrade Rich,
Glasnost, Perestroika and Vladivar to you and yours! The 7 year plan for this part of Siberia doesn't include for re-distribution of party assets to Northern bourgeois pseudo proleteriats. There has been mention in the party of rumours of class A poppers, beer and bitches at the Malvern cell of the revolutionary army, this will have to stop before we can welcome you back into the communist fold.

Remember, victory will be ours!

I've got a spare hoodframe, but it is an original...you may not like that!! Bring your wheel to Malvern and we can sit in my Lotus Cortina and negotiate

Don't bother with a second hand hood as it probably won't fit. Most cars seem to have the hood studs in different places around the back of the hood...you may as well get yours right and get a new hood to fit....they are pretty cheap.

Mark

Mark,

There's no chance I am going to sit in a Lotus Cortina, someone might take a photo and send it to Gary!!! If you can throw a hood tray in with the frame we might have a deal though?

Regards

Looks like you've got stuck in Alan, will be interesting to see how the duratec install comes along.
I presume you already have an engine sorted, but if you don't there's a brand new 2ltr for sale for ?900 on my other "home" the wscc....

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/iko ... =8;t=80657

Cheers,
Mark.

Mark,
Thanks for the buying tip on the 2.0 duratec. I haven't got the engine or box yet so that looks like a bargain!

Cheers

You wouldn't really have to sit in a LC...just trying to get you off on one but failed!!

I don't have a spare hood tray, but Matty sells them at about ?70, along with the convertible screen surround, and all the other bits and pieces needed. They are fibreglass, and it's difficult to tell a repro from the original...it's only the hood frame that matters

Mark

Hear, hear Mark!

And Alan, we will be checking........!

Tim

Elanintheforest wrote:You wouldn't really have to sit in a LC...just trying to get you off on one but failed!!

I don't have a spare hood tray, but Matty sells them at about ?70, along with the convertible screen surround, and all the other bits and pieces needed. They are fibreglass, and it's difficult to tell a repro from the original...it's only the hood frame that matters

Mark

I had a laugh at the "wind up" & thought it worked well.
The response was perhaps a bit more subdued than usual
John

D.J.Pelly wrote:

Elanintheforest wrote:You wouldn't really have to sit in a LC...just trying to get you off on one but failed!!

I don't have a spare hood tray, but Matty sells them at about ?70, along with the convertible screen surround, and all the other bits and pieces needed. They are fibreglass, and it's difficult to tell a repro from the original...it's only the hood frame that matters

Mark

I had a laugh at the "wind up" & thought it worked well.
The response was perhaps a bit more subdued than usual
John

Okay,
Lotus Dagenham Corpsetinas are not my favourite cars. My dad had a Consul badged 1500 super in the 1960's and that was a great car, the problem is that everyone really wanted the Lotus version and therefore the 2000 or so real Lotus Cortina's that were ever made became something like 20'000 Lotus bitsa Cortina's and the fact that you can 'make' a new Lotus cortina from a cooking 3 door cortina body shell, a twin cam engine and a few other bits totally devalues a real classic in my eyes. mini's are the same, I have 2 V5's in my file on SORN, one is for a Mk1 Cooper 970'S and the other is for a Mk3 Cooper 1275S, both cars are long gone, but I could ressurect them both from a pile of bits, they would be nice but they won't be the real thing. My +2 and S4 are the real deal, okay I have totally re-invented the +2 and am about to do the same to the S4, but at least they are the original body shells and identities.

Jesus, he is a purist after all. Traitor.

Spyder fan wrote:

D.J.Pelly wrote:

Elanintheforest wrote:You wouldn't really have to sit in a LC...just trying to get you off on one but failed!!

I don't have a spare hood tray, but Matty sells them at about ?70, along with the convertible screen surround, and all the other bits and pieces needed. They are fibreglass, and it's difficult to tell a repro from the original...it's only the hood frame that matters

Mark

I had a laugh at the "wind up" & thought it worked well.
The response was perhaps a bit more subdued than usual
John

Okay,
Lotus Dagenham Corpsetinas are not my favourite cars. My dad had a Consul badged 1500 super in the 1960's and that was a great car, the problem is that everyone really wanted the Lotus version and therefore the 2000 or so real Lotus Cortina's that were ever made became something like 20'000 Lotus bitsa Cortina's and the fact that you can 'make' a new Lotus cortina from a cooking 3 door cortina body shell, a twin cam engine and a few other bits totally devalues a real classic in my eyes. mini's are the same, I have 2 V5's in my file on SORN, one is for a Mk1 Cooper 970'S and the other is for a Mk3 Cooper 1275S, both cars are long gone, but I could ressurect them both from a pile of bits, they would be nice but they won't be the real thing. My +2 and S4 are the real deal, okay I have totally re-invented the +2 and am about to do the same to the S4, but at least they are the original body shells and identities.

Alan you might be able to re-create the Minis as copies but I and a couple of others could tell they weren't the real thing which we regularly do for buyers. However more fakes get through than not from buyers not doing research.

It does seem quite strange, to feel that way about replica Lotus Cortinas when you were contemplating putting an S2000 engine (or even a supercharged Buick V6!) into an original Elan! But then you are from Tunbridge Wells and two of the strangest people I know are from there.

I think every classic car enthusiast sits on a scale of purity, like the autistic spectrum. But there are a lot of grey areas. For instance; concourse restorations that make a car look exactly as they were new int he showroom but by replacing practically every part with new. I am contemplating fitting a Burton EWP and my car already has an electric fuel pump, but I would never consider replacing the twink with a Zetec, some would say there is hypocrisy in that viewpoint. I think an important classic car should be maintained in a way that doesn't alter its fundamental character, that where visible only period modifications should be made. But at the same time, I love Hot Rods which are custom cars that 'destroy' an original chassis and shell.

The way I see it is you are building a Hot Rod based on an S4 Elan and it will be interesting to follow the project's progression. The most important thing is that you will enjoy the car, I think that's better than leaving an original car rotting away in a barn, for someone to 'restore' the car years down the line with all new 'original' parts, then put it back in another barn.

Hi Mike,

I don't like fakes, I too can spot most fake Cooper or Cooper S recreations a mile off...... sometimes it's quite amusing to spot the glaring errors. A standard 2 door cortina shell seems to be worth an awful lot of money for some reason, can't think why as the 4 door is much more practical and quite rare these days And there seem to be almost as many mk1 coopers on the road today as there were in the 1960's, they must have made them from special non rusting and crash resistant steel I used to be in the old Mini scene and got the V5's as part of another deal, they will remain in my file until my conscience allows me to do something with them which means thats where they will remain most likely.

I don't feel the same way about Lotus Elan's, the modifications that I am making are so drastic that nobody with at least half an ounce of sense wouldn't know that my cars aren't original. Or if I built a totally standard 'original' car from a pile of bits and assigned a V5 to it, the car would be worth no more or less than any other similar condition example. The problem with Mini's and Cortinas and other similar cars that had a sporting item in the model range is that the surviving standard cars with quite low value can be "upgraded" to the same specification as the highly sought after models with all the associated problems and opportunities to hoodwink and basically con the unwary.

Keep spotting those fakes and let me know when you find a real one...... I might be interested!

Regards