Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi All,

Now I have sourced the bottom winndscreen seal for my S2 I think that there may also be a top seal or trim ?
Can anyone confirm or even better send a photograph of the top part of the windscreen without the hood or the hard top fitted?

Thanks
Gino

Hi Gino

I have never seen anything other that the screen frame, bare fiberglass with black (factory) gloss paint.

Gary

Thanks Gary,

Looking at that huge recess along the top I was almost convinced that something should clip into there ?

Gino

The recess is for the soft top to slip into and hopefully not out of.

Gary

Gino, as Gary says no top seal with soft top, the soft top has a "flap" that pushes into the "slot" in the screen. I also have a hard top (not original) but with this I fit a seal that I made up......it still leaks though!

Gary, I was under the impression that the screen was finished in "satin black" (not gloss and not mat) .....a sort of dull gloss, have I been misinformed about that?

Thanks Brian.

Gino

types26/36/74 wrote:Gino, as Gary says no top seal with soft top, the soft top has a "flap" that pushes into the "slot" in the screen. I also have a hard top (not original) but with this I fit a seal that I made up......it still leaks though!

Gary, I was under the impression that the screen was finished in "satin black" (not gloss and not mat) .....a sort of dull gloss, have I been misinformed about that?

Hi Brian

You may be right, my memory for color detail sucks. In any event after 30 years of kicking around that if a screen still has some sheen to it I usually will call it gloss. The luster seems to fade with all the time and U V that they are exposed to. I have been wrong before and I will be wrong many more times before my mouth is shut for good. If others care to correct my bad memory thats ok as at times I just don't know. The first photo is posulliv's dash and seems to be a semi-gloss

Huge Photo in the link below
post101169.html#p101169
Take a look at the photo, they seem to agree with you.
more photos of the restored S2
elan-photos-f18/restoration-done-for-now-t18966.html

this next photo is 26/4045 and is my car out of California and its got just a hint of gloss, where there isn't any overspray - Maybe.



I guess I just don't know and I rebuild to what ever I want to see when I am sitting behind the drivers seat. I mostly do them body color as I seem to like them that way. how others do them is up to them.

Here is a photo of my S2 when I got it. It was 40k miles over a 4 year period of 1965 to 1969 (the inspection sticker is from spring 1969) and it may not be gloss but the rest of the Elan is not too glossy either. Photo was taken in 1994 so its about the best picture I have to what was "factory, as delivered"

I think i am inclined to agree with Gary on the oem finish leaning more towards the glossy than I originally thought -

I wonder in the process of a repaint how many times it was deemed unnecessary or too much work to properly repaint the frame , so it was left as is and the paint continued to flatten... now its what we are use to seeing and assume satin was the finish.

The good news is there is so little of it showing on the out side it does not really matter.

G