Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

So the car was inspected yesterday and is now street legal. I have some minor clean-up issues, like properly centering the steering column and shaving down the reproduction horn button to fit but the car is substantially complete. I'm going to run a tank of gas through it before tuning the Webers.

Observations:

-Rewiring and adding the Pertronix is like a night-and-day versus the old, cobbled wiring and points system. The car has way more torque and is deceptively quick.

-The CV joint conversion goes a long way towards creating a more modern clutch experience and I far prefer the feel to the gummy donut joints.

-The RDent exhaust is dead silent at idle but howls beautifully above 2500 RPMs.

-New tires transform it versus the old 20 year-old rubber on it previously.

-My Porsche is now a dull appliance by comparison; this is the most fun car I've ever driven and it isn't even close.

That's awesome news!

I may be traveling up that way sometime in the next couple of months, would love to see your car!

The Veg wrote:That's awesome news!

I may be traveling up that way sometime in the next couple of months, would love to see your car!

Ben,

Come on up. If the roads are clean and clear, we will go for a ride.

Look great! I sold both my Porsche?s after owning a Lotus. Can?t wait to see it in the flesh.

Certified Lotus wrote:Look great! I sold both my Porsche?s after owning a Lotus. Can?t wait to see it in the flesh.

I sold mine last week after almost 8 years of ownership. I will miss the vault-like build quality but the Lotus looks cooler, is far more fun to drive, and is probably cheaper to run. Of course, mere minutes after the new owner leaves my house, the thermostat sticks closed and the car nearly overheats.

I'm just hoping I can get the Lotus reasonably reliable in the coming months so I can properly enjoy it in the spring.

Certified Lotus wrote:Look great! I sold both my Porsche?s after owning a Lotus. Can?t wait to see it in the flesh.

I sold mine last week after almost 8 years of ownership. I will miss the vault-like build quality but the Lotus looks cooler, is far more fun to drive, and is probably cheaper to run. Of course, mere minutes after the new owner leaves my house, the thermostat sticks closed and the car nearly overheats.

I'm just hoping I can get the Lotus reasonably reliable in the coming months so I can properly enjoy it in the spring.

MrBonus wrote:I'm just hoping I can get the Lotus reasonably reliable

That'll be the problem. I mean, "challenge".

Interesting story. Just to add a few points:

- Reading the point about the bolts on the rear wishbones makes me think we should have a check list of all those "Easter eggs" for beginners like you and me. A sort of fast track guide to becoming an Elan "anorak" !

- I think there are two lengths of horn "pens" - the fine plastic horn operating switch that runs through the wheel. This reminds me to look at my own!

- I have a spare original type heater valve (original looking, but an Ebay special probably made by young folks after school in the Far East) that I bought but have never opened, and can send to you - free. (but you'll need to check it is right for your car and the threads on the head are probably more important than worrying too much about this issue! I will be fitting a 90? Lotus Cortina angled pipe and will be fitting a plastic, underdash valve to avoid the need for the rubbishy cables).

- I like your expression an "appliance". Sadly too many modern cars are rather dull to drive. I have sold my Z4 as I was not using it. It was only exciting when driven well beyond national speed limits.

- "Slowly but progressing": You have done quite a lot already. I'm rebuilding aboslutely from scratch (thankfully now at rolling chassis stage) and rethinking quite a few items. It takes a lot of time (2 years so far) !

Your car looks great.

A bit late now but I see that you drilled and tapped a hole into the front crossmember to anchor an Adel clamp for the brake lines. This is not advisable seeing that the front cross member is also the vacuum reservoir for actuating the headlamp mechanism. I don't think anyone has mentioned this previously.

Frogelan wrote:Interesting story. Just to add a few points:

- Reading the point about the bolts on the rear wishbones makes me think we should have a check list of all those "Easter eggs" for beginners like you and me. A sort of fast track guide to becoming an Elan "anorak" !

- I think there are two lengths of horn "pens" - the fine plastic horn operating switch that runs through the wheel. This reminds me to look at my own!

- I have a spare original type heater valve (original looking, but an Ebay special probably made by young folks after school in the Far East) that I bought but have never opened, and can send to you - free. (but you'll need to check it is right for your car and the threads on the head are probably more important than worrying too much about this issue! I will be fitting a 90? Lotus Cortina angled pipe and will be fitting a plastic, underdash valve to avoid the need for the rubbishy cables).

- I like your expression an "appliance". Sadly too many modern cars are rather dull to drive. I have sold my Z4 as I was not using it. It was only exciting when driven well beyond national speed limits.

- "Slowly but progressing": You have done quite a lot already. I'm rebuilding aboslutely from scratch (thankfully now at rolling chassis stage) and rethinking quite a few items. It takes a lot of time (2 years so far) !

Your car looks great.

I appreciate the offer. I'm going to stick with this plumbing unit since it works and I've heard the valves can be a failure point.

CBUEB1771 wrote:A bit late now but I see that you drilled and tapped a hole into the front crossmember to anchor an Adel clamp for the brake lines. This is not advisable seeing that the front cross member is also the vacuum reservoir for actuating the headlamp mechanism. I don't think anyone has mentioned this previously.

Aye, my friend did the brake lines and mounted them before asking me. This was my concern however the headlights function perfectly fine - for now. Hopefully this won't be a leakage issue going forward.

So everything on the car is "working." A mechanic friend and I rebuilt the leaky master cylinder. I have one lone cam cover nut that spews a little oil but I can live with it after replacing the gasket and the little rubber washers underneath the nuts. I straightened the steering wheel. I need to figure out some tie downs for my supplies (tools, coolant, oil, fire extinguisher). I went for a 20 mile run after work and the car is an utter joy.

I have a minor fuel delivery issue when the car is bone cold that makes starting after sitting for a long period a PITA. Basically, you have to prime the pump (electric pump) for about 45 seconds, then give it 10 - 12 pumps of gas to fill the Webers, then fight with it to "catch" and fire up. Searching this forum, this is a common issue with these and I'm not overly concerned.

So here it is, driving. Still need to hook up the GoPro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voKR23pKpmg

Awesome, congrats!

Great looking car, love those arches, where can a get a set???

Sits well on those 15" rims too.

CBUEB1771 wrote:A bit late now but I see that you drilled and tapped a hole into the front crossmember to anchor an Adel clamp for the brake lines. This is not advisable seeing that the front cross member is also the vacuum reservoir for actuating the headlamp mechanism. I don't think anyone has mentioned this previously.

If it's a Lotus Chassis there is a flat Tab welded to the back of the Chassis Cross Member to bend and attach the Brake Pipe
Alan