Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

wellll ----next time you get a spare pad let me know --we can cut a deal====ed

expanding foam or 1\4 insulating foam look promising to shape into the correct form ----but I'm getting old and lazy and would rather spend my remaining time driving than fooling around with bits of foam ---Ill wait till Gary buys one in a wreck and cut a deal with him ----in the mean time Ill try not to hit anything that solid ed

I got a vacumn formed one from CN a number of years ago when I was starting my reno on my S4. it also is very shiny & I won't use it because it does not look or feel like the original. I have had my car from new & the original was not super shiny at all, just a low gloss & soft with the foam backing. The guy who is doing the body on my car is going to see what his trim guy can do with my pad. It has a 1/4" wide crack front to back. If I have any luck in the future I will keep the group informed.

Hi All

Fair comment about the hardness of grp- but do foam filled ones really significantly reduce injury (an elan is a safe car!)- for the driver (and most elans seem to have only one occupant whenever I see them used) getting past the steering column during an accident might be more of a problem.

Truth is I'm a skinflint- I like customising to suit myself and if (in my opinion only) it improves matters that suits me. Not all elan owners like altered cars and that's fine by me- but many do alter the spec and don't seem to have a problem with departing from originality (fuel systems/engine spec/cooling et al).

It's only my opinion (and we are only talking about a car after all) but elan interiors as std often left a lot to be desired (see contemporary road tests comments to back up this point) and as a nice interior is a major plus for me I'll go with upgrades anytime!

John

I don't know anything about this other than they have them and they sent me that picture after I asked about it. They did tell me they weren't very happy with them. I think the price was more like 300.00 if I remember... but that's about all I know. I did not buy one. I have been tossing it around though.

I still have my original dash. It's cracked in 2 or 3 places, but the foam is still firm. Don't know yet what I'm going to do. I've been keeping an eye out for a solution, but have been tackling this project in stages. Next stage is the engine and transmission. Once I have them finished the body should be back from the body shop. I will then start worrying more about the interior.

Paul Matty had some really nice ABS one's at Donnington this year for ?140 each. Shipping to the US might be reasonable as they are very light. They just need filling with expanded foam. They certainly looked like the original part and much nicer that the fibreglass ones some suppliers were selling a while ago.

Hello all

Re the point about the rigidity of grp crash pads.

Fair point- although most elans I ever see have only one occupant so in the event of an accident working your head thru the steering wheel might be more of a problem!

In any case elans are not "safe" cars (at least not as I understand the term).

I only offered the suggestion of making one at home because many owners like to play around with their cars (me included) and it's possible to both save money (if that grabs you) and upgrade the interior- contemporary road testers often criticised interior quality so it's not just my opinion that there's room for improvement.

As for the "originality" argument I seem to recall reading on this forum about owners swapping engines, boxes, diffs, brakes etc with apparent disregard for the factory spec so what's the problem?

Just one final point before I'm pilloried- we are only talking about a car aren't we?

Regards

John

welll John its not a case of authenticity --I'm just not talented enough to make a nice one --- and the ones made after market just dont look good ed