Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

prezoom wrote:Ross,

Is there a date yet? Only about 300 miles away, a nice easy ride.

Rob Walker
26-4889

Hey Rob,

Maybe we could caravan over?

Yesterday I needed some room in the corner to move one of my Klipschorn Speakers into. The Hardtop for the Elan had been collecting a lot of dust and Beauregard fur so I moved it out the needed corner and cleaned the it and the Hardtop too. Anyway I was planing on putting it back on the Elan for the trip down too Gettysburg whether I drove or towed it down. So I put some new storm window foam tape on it and installed it. After getting the lexan windows to fit a bit better I took it out for a quick trip down my street. I guess I did about 3/4 of a mile and turned around and brought it home. I did manage to get it up to 70 or 75 on my street and the windows seems a lot better with the modification I did to stop the internal pressure from bowing them out at the front. The top seemed to be sealed a lot better than when I had it on the S2 before and I remembered exactly why I took it off. The Elan without any sound deadener is not bad without any top on but once you seal the drum its a bit raucous inside. Good thing it's only an 8-hour drive down to Gettysburg, but it still looks like I am going to invest in some ear protection. If any one is looking to say hello to Beauregard this is going to be his dog house for the weekend.



Oh Yea Mike, I didn't look at thed date codes on the tires but they are the ones I bought when I rebuilt the elan back in 1997, my guess that they are at least 14years old, (I just looked at the flat spare in the boot and the date code is 495). I guess thats 15 and 5 months, well I am at the very least going to get the flat spare fixed before I leave. I'll bring some extra oil too...

Weigh stub from the first day I drove the rebuilt S2

Hey Gary,
That hardtop looks terrific! I have noticed the same thing about the noise level in both my S2 and M100 with the top up. All the mechanical noise and the exhaust noise just resonates. Your car also looks ready to travel. I will give it a Beau a fine hello in Gettysburg. Oh, yeah, and for you as well.

Ross

Eleven days and 1,415 miles after departing into a tropical downpour, Liz and I returned from our LOG tour. The Elan averaged a little better than 28 MP(US)G, and experienced no mechanical problems whatsoever.
The first day was the longest (355 miles) and the most difficult. The remains of a tropical storm were blowing through New England and the first two hundred miles were in rain. The only issue was a substantial leak on the passenger side in heavy rain, which would have drenched Liz's legs had she been in the car at the time. Fortunately, she rode out the worst of the rain in a different car with her brother and sister-in-law. After the rain came heavy, stop-and-go traffic. The Elan handled everything with aplomb.
After spending time with family in the Washington D.C. area, we encountered rain again as we drove to Charlottesville, Virginia. But it was light and soon gave way to a beautiful day. From then on, the weather was good-to-wonderful for the rest of the trip.
We spent two nights in Charlottesville, visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and ate too much. (This would become a theme.) Heading north, we stopped at Montpelier (James Madison's home) and Harper's Ferry before arriving at Gettysburg on Thursday. We also got to a couple of wineries and found some wonderful back roads.
At Gettysburg, we discovered that the LOUTS had arrived. (The first I saw of Ross, he was on the ground working under his Elan.) The next morning, as we headed out to tour the Gettysburg battlefield, we encountered Gary, Beau, Bill and others puzzling over Gary's disabled car, as has been related elsewhere.
The battlefield is vast. We concentrated on the central part where Pickett's Charge marked the turning point of the Civil War. The charge was unsuccessful and resulted in the loss of 6,000 Confederate soldiers killed, wounded or captured in an hour. The Confederacy never recovered.
I have included a couple of photos from the LOG concours. I'm sure Gary and others will cover this in great detail. My stepdaughter and her kids drove out from D.C. for the day to look at the cars and the Teddy bears.
The trip home, split into two days with a stop at the Delaware Water Gap, was uneventful. The Elan had been out for a much longer time and distance, and much farther from home, than ever before. It's not the best tourer: the gearing is too low (a fix is in the works) and it's too loud. I also should have raised the rear by an inch or so to compensate for the added weight of the baggage - we scraped the muffler on several occasions. And, despite balancing the wheels before we left, the car vibrated at 70 MPH. But it did everything we asked and brought us home safely. All in all, a great trip.

Andrew,

Nice trip! Sorry we did not meet as the time seemed to fly by and you are one of the ones I had on my list to meet.
I got really involved with my Elite, being its first outing and missed a few folks by that, but I wanted to take every opportunity to learn from the Elite master since he was in attendance. My sons drove in the S2 and I am sure took close notice of your car.

I did enjoy the trip East and meeting so many folks I have only read posts from as in the past I have only attended LOGs in our area of the midwest.

Other than the rain glad you had a good trip.

Mark

"The trip home, split into two days with a stop at the Delaware Water Gap, was uneventful. The Elan had been out for a much longer time and distance, and much farther from home, than ever before. It's not the best tourer: the gearing is too low (a fix is in the works) and it's too loud. I also should have raised the rear by an inch or so to compensate for the added weight of the baggage - we scraped the muffler on several occasions. And, despite balancing the wheels before we left, the car vibrated at 70 MPH. But it did everything we asked and brought us home safely. All in all, a great trip."

Elan.