65 Lotus Elan

[brandonsan]

Hello,
I have been lurking here for years and I always wanted an Elan. I was going to buy an Elan coupe about 10 yrs ago but felt it might be a little to small for me so I decided a DHC was the way to go since I won't drive with with the top on anyway. I am 6'1" with a long torso and the car I am looking at is disassembled so I cannot figure it if it is too small or not. I do not care if it is cramped but I need a reasonable amount of room. Is there enough room in the footwell to add a dead pedal ? Are there different pedal box options in order to get a little bit more room in between the pedals ? By the way I used to own a 67 Austin Cooper S just for reference.

[trw99]

Hi and welcome.

You will fit, no problem. We have several owners on here over 6'3" so you have little to worry about!

Tim

[brandonsan]

Thank you for the quick reply.

[tvacc]

If you put a open end wrench the right way on the clutch and brake pedal arm, you can easily bend it to give you more room. Done it on a few Elans.

Tony V

[bitsobrits]

Height is not an issue. Girth, and in particular width/length of feet is more relevant.

A college roommate, at 6'5" and 185lbs, could easily drive my first Elan, an S3 FHC. So thin gets in

Another friend at about 6'2" and something like 240lbs with size 13 feet found my current S1 to be un-drivable. With his somewhat wide derrière, he sat more on the seat that in it, and so looked a bit like a circus bear driving a clown car. Had it been a FHC he might still be stuck in.

At 5'11" (in my youth anyway) and 165lbs, the early Lotus cars fit me like a well made glove. Which is probably why I've stayed with the British sports cars despite forays into the Corvette and muscle car world.

[brandonsan]

Thank you for the tips and info guys. I do have a large frame and I fit well in my 04 NSX. The seats are kind of narrow on the NSX but very comfortable. I did sit in a Elan coupe about 10 yrs ago and I fit in the seat fine. It was just a little cramped as far as head room.

[vstibbard]

I'm just under 6'5", slim build long torso and weight ~ 90kgs. I fit into an Elan well.

Being tall you need to move the front seat to the rear of the two channels on the floor and reverse the clamps that hold the seat in place, then adjust the inner and outer steering column to suit your preferred driving position and style. The seats are very comfortable when in good condition, nicely reclined and good support undertake legs.

I found a driving position that was comfortable, roof down for 16-18 hour drives from London to just North of Toulouse South of France back in the mid 80's on the back roads.... FUN FUN FUN.

When I got the car to Australia I regularly drove Sydney to Brisbane in early 90's with one stop for fuel.

How many early 60's designed cars had adjustable steering columns other than the Triump spitfire/Herals that provided the assembly?

Cheers

V

[andyj007]

gordon murray has FHC and DHC hes 6ft3 -4 fits in perfectly.. im 6ft1 loads of room wide shoulders too