ELAN REPLACEMENT

[2cams70]

Apart from from English Ford derived cars I've always liked the early Hondas. They had some very out there and interesting products back in the early days. Soichiro Honda was a real innovator, was interested in racing and unlike the other Japanese manufacturers Honda did not start out by just copying or building under license products from the West. Soichiro Honda Honda was a very unique individual especially for a Japanese.

I once had a Honda Coupe 9 for a while. Like the model T's association with Henry Ford the coupe 9 was Soichiro Honda's design baby built around what Honda had learnt in Formula 1 and motorcycle manufacture at the time. It really was something special.

See Honda links below:

https://richmonds.com.au/portfolio/1971 ... -9s-coupe/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o57JwibqCb8

[shynsy]

Really enjoying this discussion. I have a slightly different slant on this. With my classic car stable I have tried to make sure I have different driving experiences so I have a car for as many different uses as possible. This tends to include a soft top sports car of some kind. In the past this has been a car for short fun drives along twisty country lanes. Depending on available funds over the years this has included a spitfire 1500 when I was young, a Tr6 (not very nimble, but built like a tractor) and an mg midget with a modern 1.8l k series twincam, power over handling!
I've have paired this with a tintop for when the weather is not so good but I still want fun. Hence 2 +2s over the years. For a while when funds were tight bringing up kids my TR6 doubled as a tiptop with its hard top fitted. Actually I think this is it's best form. Finally I have a car that my wife/mum enjoys being in with me. For a while it was a triumph 2500 TC which everyone loved and was a great load lugger. Now it's a stag with a rover 3.9l V8. This i use for work on motorway trips and it's a star for this kinda stuff.
Combining these three types mean that apart from having a 4wd all my moods are covered by my cars.

We now have the elan +2 with a britax sunroof, spitfire mk IV for my son and stag.


Tim

[alan.barker]

I glad i started this topic.
It's reminded me of a freind's 105E Anglia that a group of us worked on.
He found a 1600GT Cortina Engine that we slipped in under the bonnet to have fun. + Disk brakes, anti-tramp bars, neg camber, 51/2 J wheels. All sprayed up Aubergine very tasty.
Many evening spent driving looking for "burn ups", favourite prey was MGBs. Great fun.
Alan

[shynsy]

Hi Folks,
Great you mentioned a cortina, I refurbed and recommissioned my cousin's Mk1 Cortina Delux over COVID lockdown.
My cousin was really chuffed with it (he last drove it in 1992), we lowered it and put it on low profile minilights and it looked fab. Then this year he came back to me saying he was frustrated with how slow it was.. so out came the tired pre-crossflow. I refurbed it (bores were hardly worn, it only has 35K miles, but all valves were leaking) and upped it to GT spec with a twin choke downdraft weber, GT inlet and exhaust manifold, and Cosworth cam.. He drove it back to brighton.. All smiles.. It actually feels pretty pockey for a 1500 but now needs a rolling road tune.

Tim

[alan.barker]

The favourite for the 1500 was to bore to 1650, piper fy2 cam or cossie cam, if rich twin 40 dcoe, and richer still en40 crank.
The 1071 Austin Cooper S i had would give many a good run for their money.
Alan

[The Veg]

Interesting discussion indeed. I sometimes ponder what car I'd choose if I ever felt the need to part ways with the Plus 2. I'm 56 and in pretty good physical shape so that shouldn't be an issue for a long time yet, so if I moved the car on anytime in the foreseeable future it would likely be for other reasons, like if I ever get tired of the oil leaks.

A BMW 2002 would be fun if I can afford it, so would a 'hot-rodded' E30 3-Series. So would an Alfa Spider. The current generation of MX-5 is the only one I fit in, but I don't like the 'catfish' looks of it. I do like how the Fiat based on it looks. If I went non-sporty I could enjoy an old Merc or such, or maybe a Studebaker.

[2cams70]

Interesting discussion indeed. I sometimes ponder what car I'd choose if I ever felt the need to part ways with the Plus 2. I'm 56 and in pretty good physical shape so that shouldn't be an issue for a long time yet, so if I moved the car on anytime in the foreseeable future it would likely be for other reasons, like if I ever get tired of the oil leaks.

A BMW 2002 would be fun if I can afford it, so would a 'hot-rodded' E30 3-Series. So would an Alfa Spider. The current generation of MX-5 is the only one I fit in, but I don't like the 'catfish' looks of it. I do like how the Fiat based on it looks. If I went non-sporty I could enjoy an old Merc or such, or maybe a Studebaker.

Perhaps I’m biased but if you are in the USA and want something cheap and fun to drive and a soft top sports car is not on your list of must haves a mk7 Ford Fiesta ST is well worth considering. Not many were sold in the USA but the ones that are there have a cult following. You’ll find it much more engaging to drive than a BMW 2002 or E30. Just because it has a Ford badge, is based on a shopping trolley and has a reputation for being driven by uncultured immature bogans doesn’t make it not worth considering. The car snobs really don’t know what they are missing out on which is perhaps a very good thing for those in the know. When they do know what they have been missing out on values will start to rise. Right now they are at rock bottom. As a bonus they are very reliable, highly tunable and have no major issues

[The Veg]

Thanks but no thanks TwinCams; it may produce fantastic numbers but I drove a non-ST version as a rental for a biz-trip a few years ago and didn't like it for reasons unrelated to performance. If the hi-po version is more of the same but faster I'll pass. There was almost nothing endearing about that car.

[2cams70]

Thanks but no thanks TwinCams; it may produce fantastic numbers but I drove a non-ST version as a rental for a biz-trip a few years ago and didn't like it for reasons unrelated to performance. If the hi-po version is more of the same but faster I'll pass. There was almost nothing endearing about that car.

Fair enough. Each to their own. I'd be interested however in hearing further why you did not like the standard shopping trolley version of the car. I work in the industry and get to experience many different types of cars and it always interests me why some people like certain cars and others don't.

[The Veg]

Thanks but no thanks TwinCams; it may produce fantastic numbers but I drove a non-ST version as a rental for a biz-trip a few years ago and didn't like it for reasons unrelated to performance. If the hi-po version is more of the same but faster I'll pass. There was almost nothing endearing about that car.

Fair enough. Each to their own. I'd be interested however in hearing further why you did not like the standard shopping trolley version of the car. I work in the industry and get to experience many different types of cars and it always interests me why some people like certain cars and others don't.

I've also driven recent Fusions and Mustangs and Escapes and Exploders and think even a Flex at some point and an F150 or two (I travel weekly for biz and get to try all kinds of rental-cars) and recent Fords in general don't really connect that well with me. One complaint with many of them is that they don't efficiently translate available space in the body into interior space. Also not a fan of the current Ford infotainment interface. That said, I did still have fun with a couple of the Mustangs and could see building one of those into something more fun. But then I'd probably enjoy a '65-'66 Mustang even more.

Of the recent cars I've driven for biz that I get along best with, some of the current Nissans seem to suit me well, as the ergonomics are good, almost everything about the driver-interface is easy, and they're rather good on fuel efficiency.

My personal 'regular' vehicle is a Mazda CX-5 that I do like, a lot of things about seem very thoughtfully designed and overall it seems like less of an 'appliance' than most vehicles of similar design. I did read somewhere that one of Mazda's big points of design-philosophy is to make their cars satisfying to the driver, and I'd say they succeeded with the CX-5. I've briefly driven the CX-50 and CX-90 on short biz-trips and while they were very low-trim examples vs the high-trim of my CX-5, I thought they had good fundamentals but the low-trim interiour appointments felt a little TOO low. I like the central knob for controlling the infotainment but Mrs. Veg hates it.

The few recent Toyotas I've tried didn't do it for me overall, but a RAV4 grew on me a bit for seeming well-designed for an inexpensive model and delivered outstanding efficiency.

A recent holiday-trip with my wife found us in a Genesis G80 that impressed us for its comfort, smoothness, user-friendliness and overall class.

I've had good experiences with Chrysler products. The Chrysler 300 was very comfy and the performance seemed great for such a big heavy brick of a car, and I haven't even tried the V8 versions. Excellent ergos for a big tall strapping lad like me. The Pacifica van is impressive too, a veritable luxury-suite on wheels, and so comfy that I once drove one for three consecutive 800-mile days with no aches or other complaints. My wife and I had a Dodge Challenger for a trip a few years ago and she liked it so much that she bought one, a high-trim V6 model. People often regard the V6 as a disappointment vs the knowledge that you can get a screaming hemi V8, but the V6 is still 310 bhp and the car is no slouch. But she likes it for the retro styling and smooth ride and rarely gives it any welly.

I really liked a couple of Honda Accords I tried recently but the '24 model disappointed me because its only options for using Bluetooth were Android Auto and Car Play, rather than a basic Bluetooth audio-input. I listen to a lot of podcasts during my biz-travels but prefer a basic I put rather than those other options for connecting. But those Accords did in a weird indirect sort of way remind me of how much I loved the '83 Accord I had many years ago.

I've owned a Mk IV VW GTI and also a four-door family-hauler Mk IV, and they were nice and fun when they were young but once they hit about five years of age they became decrepit pieces of scheisse, bad enough that I don't think I'll ever have another VW. Just as well- tried a couple of them for biz-trips and don't like how they do their interiours and interfaces now.

[2cams70]

Some interesting insights there particularly from an American perspective. It reinforces that the major manufacturers have generally got things right I'm terms of understanding their mass markets, what features are regarded as important, will sell and be profitable.

American vehicles generally aren't my thing but I did in the late 90's have an opportunity to drive around in some large Chevy Suburbans (both Diesel and Petrol). Enjoyable (V8 Diesel especially) but a different type of enjoyable to a small quick car like a Fiesta ST. Definitely caused the body to secrete testosterone in a way driving something smaller can't.

[wolfchen]

i have and drive an elan s2 and a Miata mx5 NA , the Miata is a fine round town car and quite sporty but the elan I drive as my emotional support vehicle when I need cheering up or to clear my head ,

[rgh0]

"I've owned a Mk IV VW GTI and also a four-door family-hauler Mk IV, and they were nice and fun when they were young but once they hit about five years of age they became decrepit pieces of scheisse, bad enough that I don't think I'll ever have another VW. Just as well- tried a couple of them for biz-trips and don't like how they do their interiours and interfaces now."


I work with my son on his Mk4 Golf R32. Now 20 years old and still runs and looks like new. The headl ining is starting to sag in a couple of places which is a common problem now in these cars and ac rear wheel needed replaceing but otherwise only routine maintenance since he got it 7 years and 70000 kms ago . Handles well and I love the torque and sound from the 3.2 VR6. If my son ever wants to sell i would buy it but i think he wont. My Plus 2 and Esprit are still good for when i dont want to drive my Elan

cheers
Rohan

[Jason B]

"I've owned a Mk IV VW GTI and also a four-door family-hauler Mk IV, and they were nice and fun when they were young but once they hit about five years of age they became decrepit pieces of scheisse, bad enough that I don't think I'll ever have another VW. Just as well- tried a couple of them for biz-trips and don't like how they do their interiours and interfaces now."


I work with my son on his Mk4 Golf R32. Now 20 years old and still runs and looks like new. The headl ining is starting to sag in a couple of places which is a common problem now in these cars and ac rear wheel needed replaceing but otherwise only routine maintenance since he got it 7 years and 70000 kms ago . Handles well and I love the torque and sound from the 3.2 VR6. If my son ever wants to sell i would buy it but i think he wont. My Plus 2 and Esprit are still good for when i dont want to drive my Elan

cheers
Rohan

I had a VR6 Golf too after the ex took the VR6 Corrado. The Golf was not nearly as good as the Corrado but the replacement girlfriend was a big improvement!