Project Scruffy Thread

[elaninfuture]

grocki.jpg (45.52 KiB) Viewed 1077 times

I bought this car more than a year ago. After losing nerve and listing it for a sale here, I decided to dive in. My plan for the car is to see what it takes to get it on the road -- mechanicals only, while leaving everything else as is. The car was owned and raced extensively in Solo II by Bud Grocki, a school teacher in Worcester, Mass. The car placed third in A Stock in the 1973 National Solo II Championship in St. Louis. The car came with numerous plaques and trophies as well as time sheets. Even a speeding ticket. Based on the 1980 tags on the "Lotus-E" personalized plates, it's been off the road for some time. The car was sold through Bud's estate after he passed away in 2016. He was the original owner of the car.

I bought it sight-unseen from E-bay during a momentary lapse of reason. It needs a ton of love, but so-far things have turned out better than expected. After fiddling with the wiring and hooking up an auxiliary fuel tank, I crossed my fingers and hit the key. Fired right up! Excellent compression. Idles fantastic, which is bizarre as I didn't touch the carbs. Water pump is moving coolant. No coolant leaks, but she does drip a bit of oil. I have to assume the engine has been rebuilt.

I'm currently installing a new clutch master and slave and car will receive new brakes and lines. Then we'll see if she moves.

Rolling restoration for now, as I have no garage space to dive in as deeply as I would like. Updates to come.

[knockoffnut]

Excellent! Dripping oil only means it is British. When a British car stops dripping oil, that means its empty...
One drive and I am sure you will be completely hooked.

[StressCraxx]

"Idles fantastic, which is bizarre as I didn't touch the carbs."

Congratulations! That's great! Don't mess with them until you learn as much as you can about them.

Welcome to Elan ownership. Mine is very scruffy as well. Drive and enjoy.

Regards,
Dan Wise

[661]

Excellent! Dripping oil only means it is British. When a British car stops dripping oil, that means its empty...
One drive and I am sure you will be completely hooked.

LOL

Welcome to the mad house.
Rolling resto is absolutely the way to go, but I'm slightly concerned about the no garage bit. A large umbrella is better than nothing, but there are so many put-up covers that would work well.

[elaninfuture]

Thanks guys. It's going to be a while before it's on the road. One step at a time. I do have a garage to work on the car, Graeme, but it's too full of other cars, bikes, lawnmowers, etc. to allow space for a serious restoration.

Joe

[SENC]

Excellent Joe! Keep us posted on progress and with pictures.
Henry

[Slowtus]

"Idles fantastic, which is bizarre as I didn't touch the carbs."

Congratulations! That's great! Don't mess with them until you learn as much as you can about them.

Welcome to Elan ownership. Mine is very scruffy as well. Drive and enjoy.

Regards,
Dan Wise

Problem is, the best way to learn is to mess with them - agreed, when Webers work as they should, they are a delight.

[Elan45]

Joe,

So great to hear you're doing this. This is what I had to do to my coupe, since I bought it to drive, knowing the paint was poor, but it would allow me to continue to drive an Elan.

Once its running on its own fuel tank, drive it and enjoy it. Use polishing compound on the body and you will find it very satisfying and lots of positive comments. Check the donuts as you go through the brakes.

5526 is finally in the shop I lobbied for over a year to do the job. I didn't make it in yesterday to see it before Christmas, but I was told it would be in primer, 2nd coat, by end of day yesterday. The new year will start with with 5526 back home and going back together. It already has red under the arches.

I had never seen you archive page before, so I checked and both 5525 and 5526 shipped to Duchess Auto same day on same invoice number.

Welcome back! Anything I can help with from 1500 miles away, let me know.

Roger (in Florida)

[Ross Robbins]

Joe,
I too would like to offer a word of encouragement. I can assure you that the effort will be worth it once you can get on the road. Don't worry about aesthetics just yet, make her roadworthy and drive as much as you can to bond with her and let us know how it goes. We have mostly all been where you are and come through the process with joy at the end. I think you will too!

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

[elaninfuture]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. And thanks to the board. I'm not sure how people did this stuff before the internet.

Joe

[Certified Lotus]

Go for it! You?ll never regret getting your coupe road worthy and driving it for pure enjoyment.