S2/S3 Rear light rims remade in bronze

[bigvalvehead]

Hi All
I have recently commisioned CNC patterns to enable the manufacture of the rear light rims for the Elan S2 and S3.

They are cast in bronze , polished then chromed and will be available mid/end Nov.

Cost is GBP125 per pair.

Pic shows unchromed polished bronze.

[email protected]

Dave Hughes
26-R-9

[garyeanderson]

Hi Dave

Thats great to hear, the last ones I got in 2003 at Donington were ok but the fit needed the lenses to be ground to fit and the NOS lucas 684's arn't cheap to buy.

Gary

[bill308]

Gary,

You wrote

"the NOS lucas 684's arn't cheap to buyz"

I have no idea where L684's can be bought any more. As they became available, I bought several sets, used. Lenses can be had NOS, but not to my knowledge the base plate or chrome trim. I may be wrong.

I have several sets of L684's on the shelf but will be lucky to select 2-near perfect ones.

The problem iterms are the chrome trim and the base plate with reflectors.

Thank you David (bigvalvehead). I may purchase a set of your cast and chromed trim.

I've actually purchased a number of items from David over the years and the product has always been rare and the best available.

Between Tim Mees, the usual suspects, and guys like Gary Anderson, David (bigvalvehead), John Voight, John Esposito, and others, the future of vintage Elans looks bright.

People like the above enable us keep the history of the Elan alive. Some of us choose to extend the natural capabilities of the Elan and others seek to maintain their originality. Both are valid quests IMHO. The grey area in between, I find inspiring.

Bill

[garyeanderson]

As Bill has said, everyone has their own idea of what a Type 26 Elan is. There is no right or wrong here, the only wrong that I can think of is that they are ALL not up and running either on the street or on the track. With the limited number that were made (2200 to 2400) type 26 Roadsters (these are not drop head coupes) I don't think there are any more than a potential 1000 left in the world. My guess is that is the high end of the number scale. 600 to 800 would be a closer guess. The fact that Bob Herzog's S1 recently ended ebay auction only made $25,602 (not making reserve). With 7 bidders is some what disappointing, even with the poor economy.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lotus-S1 ... 2ea82d12bc
The amount of work involved in bring this car back for the dead is enormous and that top bid may have covered Bobs investment but not his time and blood and sweat. I was going to buy this Elan before Bob did, but he gets the job done fast and as well as any one I know. I know it would have sat at my house for a long time, as the funds to restore it are not available at the moment. To pour the dollars and time into it (for me) could not have been justified. I don't know what the reserve was but I would guess that for the amount of money and time that was put into it, $35K usd would not have pried it from my hands if I had done it. When I saw Stan put it on the market and looked at the photos, I had to decide within an hour whether I wanted to do the project. In my mind I could not get my head around the thought that I would own that car for a long time to get the price needed to bring it back to the level that Bob did. I would have to use the Elan to get the value back and then sell it as a well used, restored S1. All of my cars are like this early S1 and when the market wakes up to the fact that the fun that can be had for the dollars invested, my retirement portfolio will start to see more investment. The great thing is, the people that love these early Elan?s now have the opportunity to have them the way they were originally built or to have them as raced as 26r?s for a fraction of the price of other great cars of the same period. You just can?t have the kind of fun on the street or track for the money spent, not on anything?

Gary

[RedS4]

Well said Gary. bob's car as presented on the Ebay site is a work of art - certainly worth more than the closing bid. Maybe a sign of the times right now - Bob could try again in a few months when things have picked up a bit??