Microfiche

[miked]

Not Elan related but as many on here are also bikers so I thought i would post. I was srtuggling for parts manuals at high costs for classic Japanese bikes. Suzuki's. There are lots of 3 and 4 dollar microfiche cards with exploded views and parts listings. I bought 4 different bike cards for about 24 dollars shipped to the UK. I picked up a very nice card reader from Ebay for £85. Best thing i have ever done. Indispensable whilst building an engine or getting OEM part numbers. Many being common to lesser collectable models.
Previously I was going on CMSL and Partzilla web sites were they have blurred copies.
If someone has previously been in an engine i have found missing and wrong parts.
Great for the dual ratio gearbox models.

[69S4]

Parts books are a huge help when you're searching for bits. I've had a paper one for my 400/4 Honda for some years and PDF versions for my H1 Kawasaki and XS2 Yamaha for almost as long. Recently though I've been rebuilding an old 250 Yamaha of 1970 vintage and had to depend on CMSNL for their parts diagrams throughout much of the process. It's better than nothing but it is awkward to use. So when I found a PDF version on a German site a few days ago I was very grateful. It does help with finding and buying parts but mostly it's useful for telling me which bits go where.

If nothing else rebuilding this bike has made me appreciate how well the Elan world is served for parts. The bike is from the same year - not far off the same month - as my Elan yet bits for it are very thin on the ground.