50+ years later and it's still being handmade.......

[pamela]

Whether it has been clothing, jewelry, baking cakes, etc., I have always enjoyed immersing myself in the art of making things by hand. And now I am applying that to our 1966 S2 S/E. The need arose from the condition of the existing carpet having seen better days, as you will see by the pictures below. Since there was only carpet in the scuttle area, I had to hand cut and shape pieces for the forward half of the car where there was only originally loose black floor mats. I used an indoor/outdoor carpet which was easy to handle and cut. I picked grey for something a little different.

Later after the installation of the carpet, and since we are awaiting delivery of the trim strip along the scuttle area, I decided to create what I will call a beauty curtain, or fake convertible top cover. I used the factory soft top as a partial pattern to create the shape for along the back and borrowed the original design of the hidden flat metal bar for attaching it to the body. We decided to use an inexpensive and thin vinyl since I would be hand tailoring most of the curtain. Having bought it from a fabric center which is going out of business, the cost was just $8.00 for 4 yards! Working without a complete pattern was challenging! After altering my design and using nearly the entire 4 yards of vinyl, I finally fitted it to the car. Hubby was pleased and I was genuinely surprised at how it looked like it belonged there all along.

While I do enjoy getting my hands and fingernails dirty while helping out with engine work, this experience has been singularly rewarding. The Elan has been the only one of our collection of sports cars, that I have had a "hand" in making something special for it. I love that these cars were largely hand built and that 50+ years later, the Elan Community still repairs and adds beauty and value to these cars in a very personal way! I am so happy to have the opportunity to work on our Elan. I am constantly finding inspiration to jump out of bed each morning and wonder what project or Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious I can get myself into, with this little imp of a car!

A few pictures of my projects:

[richardcox_lotus]

Sounds like you've got the Lotus disease!

There is no cure, only treatment...

Regards
Richard